Marvel Relaunches Iconic Hero With A Jaw-Dropping New Superpower

Published Sep 2, 2026, 12:47 PM EDT Nicolas Ayala is a Senior Writer for the Comics team at ScreenRant, with over five years of experience writing about Superhero media, action movies, and TV shows. Sign in to your ScreenRant account A major Spider-Man character opens a new chapter in their Marvel Comics history by bonding with a symbiote for the first time. The most famous Spider-People across the multiverse possess wildly distinct power sets that set them apart from Peter Parker's traditional toolkit. Miles Morales stands out due to his unique bio-electrokinesis, Spider-Gwen blends her standard spider-abilities with a ballet-inspired acrobatic fighting style, and Spider-Man 2099 compensates his lack of Spider-Sense with a hyper-advanced technological suit, telescopic vision, and biological enhancements. Parallel to Marvel's ever-growing Spider-Man lore, Marvel's symbiote lore has evolved into its own massive standalone mythology, though it's always tied in one way or another to Spider-Man's legacy. Venom's corner of the Marvel Universe has developed its own complex hierarchy with the introduction of Klyntar, the King and Queen in Black, All-Black the Necrosword, and a long history that precedes most Marvel Comics heroes and villains. But no matter how far into deep space or ancient cosmic history the symbiotes venture, they remain eternally bound to Earth's street-level web-slingers. Yet, not every Spider-Man character has been host to a symbiote, and not every symbiote has had a significant interaction with a Spider-Person. This is especially true for Jessica Drew a.k.a. Spider-Woman, who usually stays far away from Spider-Man's conflicts despite her similar moniker. Spider-Woman Is Marvel's New Carnage Spider-Woman 50th Anniversary; Written By Ann Nocenti; Art By Stefano Raffaele & Neeraj Menon Jessica Drew stars in two largely standalone stories in her celebratory Spider-Woman 50th Anniversary issue, fighting the Flying Tiger and one of the Jackal's many monstrous experiments. In the second story, Jessica recounts her encounter with the Jackal's Man-Spider to Ben Urich, but she skips a major element in her retelling. Instead of seeing the creature fall due to his lack of spider webs, Spider-Woman actually shocks it by unveiling her Carnage-possessed form before pushing it to its death. At this point, Jessica Drew isn't ready to admit she's Carnage's new permanent host. Carnage has changed hands a lot lately. Ever since Eddie Brock broke his connection to Cletus Kasady's symbiote, Carnage has jumped between characters like Peter Parker, Torment, Maka Akana a.k.a. Spider-Girl, and Norman Osborn aka the Red Goblin himself. Norman only allowed Carnage to bond to him in order to protect the Spider-Versity heroes, and Jessica Drew did just the same, both to protect her apprentices and to prevent the Red Goblin persona from fully taking over Norman Osborn's psyche. Unlike all previous temporary hosts, however, Spider-Woman seems to have retained Carnage in an attempt to control the symbiote. Carnage Is In Desperate Need Of A New Host Carnage Needs Someone Who Understands His Hunger For Violence Within canon, Carnage's search for a new host is a matter of literal survival, not only because his symbiote nature compels him to bond to an anthropomorphic being, but also because the red symbiote, specifically, feeds on violence and blood. Carnage thrives when he maintains a psychic bond with a willing killer who amplifies his powers. Without a partner to actively generate and share that bloodlust, Carnage faces stagnation. Not even a one-sided alliance with Eddie Brock was enough to keep Carnage happy, so the symbiote's bond to Spider-Woman may not last long, either. Carnage's bond to heroes like Spider-Woman and Spider-Girl makes for entertaining dynamics where the heroes have to control the symbiote's urges or hide its presence. However, Carnage ultimately needs a new permanent host who's fundamentally ruthless. To truly evolve in a similar manner to Venom with his bond to Mary Jane, Carnage deserves to meet a new merciless villain, perhaps a cold-blooded assassin or a rising crime lord, who can mirror Cletus Kasady's absolute lack of empathy. Of course, this alliance would also be temporary, as Cletus Kasady will eventually make his inevitable return to Marvel canon to reclaim his birthright. Which Marvel character would you like to see become Carnage's permanent host? Spider-Woman 50th Anniversary is now available from Marvel Comics Movie(s) Spider-Man, Spider-Man Strikes Back, Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: Far from Home, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse TV Show(s) Spider-Man, Spider-Man, Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Spider-Man Unlimited, Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Ultimate Spider-Man, Spider-Man, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Spider-Noir First Film Spider-Man First TV Show Spider-Man Cast Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Shameik Moore, Zendaya, Kirsten Dunst, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei, Rosemary Harris, Sally Field, Jacob Batalon, J.K. Simmons, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Michael Keaton, Jamie Foxx, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jon Favreau, Tony Revolori, Laura Harrier, Angourie Rice, Benedict Cumberbatch, Nicholas Hammond Created by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko