Here's another #POP that I got for July. It's Spider-Carnage! I know, it's been full of symbiotes and POPs lately, but hey! This is a pretty awesome addition so let's get right into the review of this thing, shall we?
So this thing is an "AAA Anime" exclusive. I'm not even going to pretend I know what company that is. Just from the name of the company alone, I'm going to assume it's an anime store? That's probably a safe assumption. It's an exclusive too and Spider-Carnage is not part of the "Venomized Series". Though honestly, it's Carnage and anything with Carnage is hardly straying far (not even for a moment) away from the Venom family. That and this is Spider-Man! Anyways.
Funny enough, "AAA Anime" sent Spider-Carnage in one of those specialized plastic covers. It definitely tempted me to keep him inside the box but... I ultimately decided not to. Once we get to the actual POP itself it should be apparent.
Again, nothing in this 'series'. The art in the back is something I appreciate though. Some comic panels of Spider-Carnage's appearance and his 'deranged' spider emblem on display!
The Clone Saga was an absolute mess! One of Spidey's lowest point... then again, it was the 90s and Marvel was struggling! Spider-Man was tanking too and the aforementioned saga did not help him one bit. Though despite all the debacles, it did give us Ben Reilly (even if brief) and his awesome Spider-Man suit. I like the suit and I actually liked Ben in the role. Sure he didn't do anything particularly special, however, he brought something new. Then he met up with Carnage and... well... he became Spider Carnage! The one thing I really like about this version of "Carnage" is that he doesn't alter Ben's Spider-Man costume too much. He adds some notable Symbiote/Venom/Carnage trademark like the mouth, the tendrils, and etc--areas that definitely needed some extra symbiotic love to make Carnage stand out from the aesthetics of his new host and stray away from the blood-red look of his original attire.
Now there is no mistaking it. Funko did an amazing job sculpting Spider-Carnage with all the things necessary to make him stand out from the norm Spidey POPs (and symbiote POPs). First, let's talk about the pose. They placed him in a jumping position that is held up by the transparent stand--something that I quite adored w/ POP Vivec. It makes him look dynamic and definitely a far less route that Funko takes with their POPs.
The little linework on his head and the symbiote ooze are all sculpted quite well--sculpted not painted. Really makes Spider-Carnage feel like Funko took a lot of time and effort with this guy.
Paint job is as good as any POPs I have in my possession. While there are some lines on the ooze that misses the red paint, I can't quite admonish them for it because it actually looks good that way--looks messy and not uniformed. As usual, the choice of paint and colored plastic goes well enough and overall I'm happy with how this turned out.
Here's Spider-Carnage from his 'first appearance'. Say what one will about those days of Spidey, some of the artwork, like the one above, is done rather well.
And here he is next to Venomized Punisher. One very neutral, the other dynamic in the pose. Both look good!
Ben Reilly had a pretty below mediocre run as Spider-Man. It was a mess and for some Spidey fans, a pretty terrible shot in the foot. Still, I adored Spider-Carnage and didn't mind Ben Reilly as much. With that said, I actually like this POP. Got a lot of things going for it. Not sure about it being exclusive, but hey, that transparent stand and the dynamic pose is something I always welcome in my POP collections!
Until Next Time!
