To celebrate 35 years of the first appearance of Venom, the flavor of the summer ’23 at Marvel will be coming from space. It’s the Summer of Symbiotes! It will be Symbiotes crossovers after Symbiotes crossovers with even more Symbiotes. Yes, a lot of Symbiotes.
In fact, everything begins this spring with Carnage Reigns, a crossover that is presented as Miles Morales vs Carnage written by Alex Paknadel and Cody Ziglar and featuring art by Julius Ohta, Jan Bazaldua, Federico Vicentini, and Francesco Manna. Here is how it starts:
Cletus Kasady is back, and of course, he is more powerful and bloodthirsty than ever before! “With his soul trapped within the Extrembiote Armor created by Tony Stark during the King in Black event, Cletus has the means to level an untold amount of chaos and, well, carnage on New York City and the entire Marvel Universe. But like any good Tony Stark invention, the Extremis coursing through Cletus’ symbiotic veins needs POWER, and that means Cletus is HUNGRY. Good thing Brooklyn’s very own Spider-Man is there to stand in his way! If he survives their first encounter, that is.”
This crossover also involved Red Goblin, the new symbiote series starring Normie Osborn.
Carnage Reigns is published in May, and in June, the Summer of Symbiotes continues and will eventually lead to the “Death of the Venomverse.” Also in May, the 5-issue miniseries Cult Of Carnage: Misery by Sabir Pirzada and Francesco Mortarino.
Liz Allen is the mother of Normie Osborn, who she is blissfully unaware is the all-new and all-deadly red goblin! but what Liz does know is that the Red Goblin has been active and has been seen very close to her home. And after her late husband’s father, Norman Osborn, gets pulled into the chaos and violence swirling around Normie, Liz has no choice but to use the resources at her disposal as the head of Alchemax to take matters into her own hands and become something the marvel universe has never seen before!
What do you need to read to ease into the Summer of Symbiotes?
The story of Carnage, Venom, and the other symbiotes changed a lot these recent years, starting with the Absolute Carnage, then the King in Black event. The consequences of that event led to Extreme Carnage which open the way for the new Carnage series.
- Carnage Vol. 1: In The Court Of Crimson
Collects CARNAGE (2022) #1-5 and Carnage Forever #1. - Carnage Vol. 2: Carnage In Hell
Collects CARNAGE (2022) #6-12.
As for Venom, things are quite complicated, you may want to explore our Venom Reading Order for a good road map. He was recently mixed up in Spider-Man’s Dark Web event which opened the way for the Red Goblin series.
- Venom Vol. 4: Illumination
Collects Venom (2021) #16-20. - Red Goblin Vol. 1: It Runs in the Family
Collects Red Goblin #1-5.
Summer of Symbiotes Reading Order
Summer of Symbiotes: The Collected Editions in Order
- Carnage Reigns
Collects Carnage Reigns Alpha (2023) #1, Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2022) #6-7, Carnage (2022) #13-14, Red Goblin (2022) #5, Carnage Reigns Omega (2023) #1. - Cult Of Carnage: Misery
Collects Cult Of Carnage: Misery #1-5. - Extreme Venomverse
Collects Extreme Venomverse #1-5. - Death of the Venomverse
Collects Death of the Venomverse #1-5.
Summer of Symbiotes in Order: Issue by Issue
Carnage Reigns
- Carnage Reigns Alpha (2023) #1
- Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2022) #6
- Carnage (2022) #13
- Red Goblin (2022) #5
- Carnage (2022) #14
- Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2022) #7
- Carnage Reigns Omega (2023) #1
Cult Of Carnage: Misery
- Cult Of Carnage: Misery #1-5
Extreme Venomverse
- Web of Carnage (Vol. 1) #1
- Extreme Venomverse #1-5
Death of the Venomverse
- Death of the Venomverse #1-5
What Will You Read After the Summer of Symbiotes?
Summer has ended and there still are symbiotes to follow in new adventures. Following the Web of Carnage #1, a new Carnage series starts this fall.
Last Updated on October 10, 2023.
