Shortly after the events of Carnage, Kasady takes over a small town in Colorado. With the entire town being held hostage, Spider-Man and the Avengers are brought in to subdue the psychopath. When the Avengers are taken over, it is up to Venom, Scorn, and a new team of symbiotes to stop Carnage.
The Good:
Carnage - He is a bad dude; plain and simple. There is not one redeeming quality about this guy and that is what makes him a great villain. From the beginning and the way he torments the townspeople to his last stand with Flash, you know that he will never become more than a sadistic killer. As far as I know, he is the only Spidey villain like this and Zeb Wells writes him perfectly. The Other Symbiotes - I doubt there was a Venom/Symbiote fan alive that didn't see the last panel of issue 1 (the list of the government's special task force) that didn't instantly get pumped for the rest of the series. Then to actually bring back and reintroduce the symbiotes in Mercury Team or to further establish Scorn - it was simply amazing! To top it off, we get a 90's style showdown with Agent Venom vs Carnage followed up by Flash vs Kasady. While it may of posed more questions than it answered (What happened to Hybrid? Whats Venom's role with the Secret Avengers?), I'm sure everything will become clear in due time.
The Bad:
Spider-Man - I feel like this guy is always included in 'the bad' section of my reviews. Seriously, Venom has a gun in a serial killers mouth and Spidey feels the need to stop him from shooting? I think the entire Marvel Universe knows of Carnage now, do we really need Spider-Man popping up in every story? There are tons of other heroes that I would love to see take on Kasady. The Ending - It was kind of lack luster for me. With the twists and surprise endings the last series brought (as well as certain issues in this series) I was expecting a cliff hanger that would make me want more. While the story wrapped up nicely, it also seemed rushed towards the end. If it wasn't for the knowledge that 'Minimum Carnage' was coming in a couple months, I would be worried that Carnage (and the other symbiotes) would be in for a long hiatus again.
The Overall:
3.5 outta 5. I like this series, but not as much as the previous mini. The creation of Mercury Team was the high point for me. While I will always be a fan of Crain's art, I can see why some criticize it (faces all look very similar, the art is dark a lot of time, white/empty space is overused). I am fine with these five part minis coming out once a year, but does anyone else want to see Carnage get the mini series treatment Venom did back in the 90s?