Alex Mercer vs. Carnage

## Description

*Originally living lives out of the norm, these two mass murderers shall put their shapeshifting abilities to the test in a Fatal Fiction.*

## Interlude

Hiro: A foreign substance that acts like a parasite can be a curse, but in rare instances, it can be a blessing.

**MBStarscream: That definitely rings true for these two humans-turned-monsters who greatly enjoy taking as many lives as possible.**

Hiro: Alex Mercer, the Prototype.

**MBStarscream: And Carnage, Marvel's sadomasochistic symbiote supervillain. Alliteration!**

Hiro: I'm Hiro Hamada.

**MBStarscream: I'm MBStarscream.**

Hiro: And it's our job to examine both warriors' strength, abilities, weapons, and weaknesses to see who would win in a fight.

## Alex Mercer

Hiro: Alexander J. Mercer was a young child with a difficult first nine years past in a foster care. When he turned 10, he was finally returned to his mother, who had spent the last nine years in prison, but for Mercer, it was better to be in foster care.

**MBStarscream: He was the** **only parental figure for his sister Dana due to a lack of any good parental figures, and he had some experience in martial arts due to the combat technique he is able to perform as the Prototype.**

Hiro: Once he got out of foster care, Alex worked his way with superb intelligence in biology to becoming a scientist of Gentek, an organisation full of scientists that had been working on a project for years passed down. This project was known as "Blacklight", and Alex was of great help in developing it with his team.

**MBStarscream: The Blacklight project was supposed to create a cure for cancer by changing specific cells of the diseased body, moulding away the cancerous cells back into their healthy states. However, Blacklight used Gentek and Alex as lab rats in weaponizing viruses from the past project "Redlight" into viruses that are capable of affecting enemies of racial genes, re-constructing the cells of different faces into what they expected it to be.**

Hiro: The Blacklight virus was pushing through into success, thanks to Alex and other's help. However, the media was able to dig through the security of Blackwatch, an elite army force trained to take down threats beyond the military's capabilities, and putting up their findings of the real purpose of the project. Gentek started to get more suspicious through their work by people and Blackwatch was afraid about the future, so they did what heartless creatures could do, even for mindless Infected.

**MBStarscream: Yep, killing people to cover up for such crap for their own freedom. Upon hearing of this, Alex fled with vials of the virus and used them to gain income by selling them as he continued his hiding as the number one threat to the United States.**

Hiro: Once pinned down in Penn Station, he had no other choice but to throw one of the dials, letting all hell break loose. The virus spread across New York with Alex at the epicentre, affected as well. After some time, he was brought back to Gentek in a body bag, but little did they know, as he was transported, the virus was reconstructing Alex's body, cell by cell; his biomass feeding the virus as it replicated the still-living matter it had infected.

**MBStarscream: Just as two scientists were about to cut open his torso with a scalpel for an autopsy, Alex jumped back to life, unsure of what had happened. He escaped the building, and soon discovered his new powers and abilities, granted by the virus he unleashed. He began to utilize his powers to learn more of his fragmented past, as he scoured all of New York for those responsible.**

Hiro: The Blacklight virus made Alex a terrifying foe. His incredible strength allows him to lift and destroy cars, trucks, tank turrets, APCs, and helicopters and throw them great distances, as well as leave craters in the ground with punches. He is far stronger than any normal human or most basic Infected, able to pulverize both with a single, glancing blow.

**MBStarscream:** **Alex is also capable of punching holes through almost anything if necessary, including reinforced steel doors. Some of his most powerful attacks can destroy hive infested buildings, which cannot be damaged by conventional tank missiles. His speed is likewise enhanced; he can achieve running speeds surpassing any vehicles including helicopters, and can run up walls.**

Hiro: He can perform amazing parkour feats such as flips and rolls and maneuvers over and around vehicles and debris with little trouble. His leg strength allows him to leap nearly ten stories into the air. Alex is also capable of gliding, by ejecting small amounts of mass for further propulsion.

**MBStarscream: Alex's endurance far exceeds that of a human's by leaps and bounds. His body no longer possesses weak bones or vital organs, rendering him immune to otherwise debilitating injury. This biological change allows him to survive falls from any height completely unharmed.**

Hiro: Bullets of any caliber will pass through his body, causing very little damage that heals instantly. He can withstand direct hits from rockets, hellfire missiles and tank shells, which cause only moderate damage. The superhumanly strong blows of the various type of Hunters and super soldiers cause the most damage of any type of attack. His superhuman stamina allows him to be physically active at all times without tire.

**MBStarscream: Alex's body has vast powers of self-regeneration. So long as he is properly nourished, Alex can restore his health and heal any wounds within moments. He can heal a small amount of his health even without consuming any creature. Examples include regenerating bullet wounds instantly after being shot, regenerating a massive hole in his face after being shot point-blank by General Randall, and reconstructing his entire physical form from non-descript piles of biomass and the biomass of a crow within minutes of being blown apart by a nuclear explosion.**

Hiro: Alex also seems to have a robust immune system. Though unable to counter a parasite which had been introduced into his body without outside help, he gained a growing immunity to Bloodtox with repeat exposure. His vision and hearing are also enhanced, allowing him to see beyond the visible spectrum and hear across great distances even with physical insulation. He has thermal vision which allows him to locate heat signatures, and infected vision which can detect large concentrations of the virus and tap into the hive mind itself.

**MBStarscream: Alex's Blacklight infection has granted him the ability to both shapeshift and fashion his body into weapons. An example this would creating four digit claws to shred his victims. The claws are strong enough to not only cut but also infect people at the same time with a single swipe. He can make spikes shoot up from underground by shoving his hands to the ground that are powerful enough to toss tanks dozens of feet in to the air and destroy them.**

Hiro: The Hammerfist is strong enough to easily crush tanks in just one hit and other armoured vehicle and can even create massive shockwaves strong enough to reduce zombies and humans to paste by clashing both of his Hammerfists together. It is so strong that it can bypass James Heller's armour.

**MBStarscream: Alex can transform his hand into a stretchy, flexible whip with a blade on the end that can hit enemies dozens of metres away from him, morph his arm into a massive curved blade, and increase biomass into his arm to make it even more muscular, enhancing his strength. He can also shift his arm into a tendril that ensnares his victims and rips them apart.**

Hiro: Alex can create a shield on his arm to block attacks ranging from missile rockets and high calibre bullets, and create armour around his body to enhance his durability. He can also absorb the organic matter of other living creatures, converting it into more biomass. This process sustains and regenerates Mercer's health and is referred to as 'consuming'. In addition, Mercer can consume individuals, absorbing their knowledge, skills, and even their physical form, which he can call upon at will.

**MBStarscream: His most powerful attacks are known as Devastators, which can tear apart strong Infected, tanks and choppers like paper. And if he wants to turn his target into a bio-bomb, he fills them up with tendrils, and the ensuing explosion releases tendrils that latch on to anything nearby.**

Hiro: Alex has shown to have some resistance to certain substances and other powers and can adapt to those things, like hot and cold temperatures, nuclear fission, telepathy, and any form of poison/diseases. Stated to be a "security nightmare", he can not be scanned by any military unit, and is immune to Galloway's sonar, which can track down Evolved like James Heller.

**MBStarscream: Alex is pretty dangerous with these abilities alone, but he also comes with weapons like a M9 Berreta Pistol, a M4 Carbine Assault Rifle, a M249 Light Machine Gun, a M32 Multiple Grenade Launcher, a FGM 148-Javelin Launcher, and a massive rocket launcher that can summon airstrikes three times by consuming generals and commanders, and destroy buildings with ease.**

Hiro: Blackwatch and the Infected definitely have their work cut out for them against Alex Mercer. The Prototype can lift up cars, tanks, trucks and helicopters with ease and throw them at a long distance, move faster than the eye can track, tank the destruction of an entire fuel base, and almost caused the end of the world. But these accomplishments don't mean that Alex is completely unstoppable.

**MBStarscream: Electricity can lock him into place, his powers will be completely ineffective against people if he has a small amount of biomass, and he's too heavy to swim due to the density of the biomass he has. He's also kind of a sociopath.**

Hiro: Though no one can argue that Alex Mercer is an opponent not easily bested. Stand in his way, and you will become a part of him.

*Alex Mercer: They think they are in control? They have no idea what I'm capable of.*

## Carnage

Hiro: Ever since childhood, wanted serial killer Cletus Kasady has surrounded himself with a long trail of blood and death, most of it he himself was responsible for. He killed his own grandmother, nearly died at the hands of his own mother after killing her pet dog, manipulated his father into killing her, subsequently got him executed by the state though a non-defense in court, repeatedly attacked others who ostracized him at the orphanage he was raised in not long after, and eventually burned the whole place down - all before adulthood.

**MBStarscream: What is *wrong* with this kid?!**

Hiro: These traumatic events shaped Kasady’s worldview, as he came to the belief that law and order were illusions and living through chaos was the one and only true path to freedom. Kasady was ultimately apprehended and sentenced to life in Ryker’s Island, during which he would temporarily share a cell with disgraced reporter Eddie Brock, the host of an alien symbiote which transformed him into Spider-Man’s arch-nemesis, Venom.

**MBStarscream: Following an encounter with the web-slinger and his subsequent incarceration, the symbiote had been forcibly separated from him, and he needed to bide his time before the two would rejoin to exact their revenge. While in custody, he and Kasady clashed due to their wildly opposing personalities and reasons for living, often resulting in fights that the former would win decisively and prove that he would not stoop to low as to become a crazed maniac like his cellmate.**

Hiro: In due time, the reunited Venom would make his escape from Ryker’s, but unbeknownst to him, the symbiote had been pregnant at the time of their breakout and left behind an offspring in his cell which it had failed to mention to Brock. This child would latch onto Kasady, and the two proceeded to create a literal long-lasting blood bond fueled by their shared insanity and commitment to performing wanton acts of violence.

**MBStarscream: Now with the means to show the world his philosophy and reason for living, Kasady and his new ally fused themselves into a single entity that would go on to become one of the greatest threats their universe has ever known, under a moniker that had best described the one thing they had wanted to spread the most: Carnage.**

Hiro: The Carnage symbiote hides in his bloodstream until a cut opens up on Cletus' body that lets the symbiote manifest and alter Cletus' form, granting him a variety of abilities. He has shown himself to be stronger than Spider-Man and Venom combined and can lift about 80 tons; this is not his true limit, as his strength increases with his size and variable muscle mass.

**MBStarscream: Carnage can run and move at speeds superior to those of any normal human being, and his musculature generates considerably less fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of an ordinary human. He can physically exert himself at peak capacity for about 24 hours before the build up of fatigue toxins in his bloodstream begins to impair his function.**

Hiro: Kasady's agility, balance, and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural physical limits of even the finest human athlete, and his reflexes are similarly enhanced, even surpassing Spider-Man's. The tissue the symbiote is composed of renders Kasady's body much harder and more resistant to physical injury than the body of an ordinary human. Kasady can withstand high caliber bullets, great impact forces, powerful energy blasts, and falls from great heights without sustaining significant physical injury.

**MBStarscream: Cletus can use the Carnage symbiote to shape himself into different forms and achieve a variety of effects. If he is ever damaged in battle, the Carnage symbiote will rapidly repair any injury it or Cletus receives in moments.**

Hiro: It can heal from deep cuts in its face, a bomb exploding in its mouth, being decapitated, or even having its entire head obliterated in mere seconds. Even if all of Carnage's symbiote body is somehow destroyed or removed from Cletus, it can instantly reform so long as there is a single drop of Cletus' blood Carnage is still attached to and an open wound exists for the symbiote to escape.

**MBStarscream: By controlling its body, Carnage can shapeshift at will, even far enough to reach across an entire city in moments. By forming its shape with precision, Carnage can manifest weapons from its body like swords, axes, maces, lances, or tendrils. It's not limited to just weapons, however, as Carnage can even form cages tough enough to trap Spider-Man or generate a parachute to slow its fall.**

Hiro: Like Spider-Man and Venom, Carnage can shoot out web-like strings of its own matter. These can be used to swing around, fired as a projectile weapon, or to ensnare foes. Carnage also inherited Spider-Man's ability to cling and crawl on nearly any wall, allowing him to rapidly crawl, walk, or run across even slickened surfaces.

**MBStarscream: Carnage can further exert his control over the symbiote by infecting others with it through physical contact. Using his tendrils, he can read the thoughts of others, implant his own insane thoughts into their brains and control their actions; even superpowered individuals like the Avengers and the Silver Surfer aren't safe from this.**

Hiro: In most instances, the infection is implied to be vampiric in nature, draining infectees of their life force. Carnage can also use this to absorb sources of biomass to become larger, accelerate his healing factor further, create clones of himself and even exert some control over technology and other forms of inorganic matter. Like Venom, the Carnage symbiote inherited Spider-Man's ability to cling and crawl on nearly any wall, and also inherited its parent's ability to not be detected by Spider-Man's Spider-Sense.

**MBStarscream: Speaking of Spider-Sense, Carnage actually has his own version of it, where it acts as a second set of eyes, senses any oncoming threats and warns Kasady of their approach, allowing him to react accordingly.**

Hiro: Together, Cletus and his symbiote have done all kinds of crazy things, like defeating Spider-Man, Human Torch, Silk, Clash, and Miles Morales all at the same time, surviving a 125 ton explosion, defeating Anti-Venom, and infecting the entire populace of Doverton, Colorado. Yet despite all his strengths and abilities, Carnage still has flaws.

**MBStarscream: Like how bat-shit insane he is?**

Hiro: That, and terrible anger issues that often cloud his judgment or lead him to violently outrage. Like all Klyntar, the Carnage symbiote is particularly vulnerable to extreme heat and fire. Exposure to flames causes it to feel intense pain and to retract into Cletus' bloodstream, leaving him vulnerable to attack.

**MBStarscream:** **High-frequency soundwaves have the same effect, or at least they used to until Kasady got rid of the sound weakness and instead became weak to some sort of magic that will probably matter exactly 0% of the time. His healing factor also has its limits; while Carnage has survived a lot of things which should have likely been his end, the symbiote can take a lot of time to help him recover from especially grievous injuries.**

Hiro: But killing this monster is way harder than the heroes give him credit for. No heroes or villains have been able to forever stop Cletus Kasady from completing his one true wish - to just kill everyone and everything in his path.

*Carnage: We're gonna paint the whole damn world red!*

## Fatal Fiction

*Mario flips a coin.*

Hiro: Well, Alex has his terrain to help him out here, but is this homefield advantage enough for him to survive against the union of symbiote and Cletus Kasady?

**MBStarscream: Let there be... *Carnage!***

*Manhattan*

Manhattan bustled with vehicles and sidewalk traffic, the city basking in the noon sun. A man in a black coat and hoodie held his head low as he walked through the busy street. The peace was suddenly shattered when police sirens started blaring loudly. Turning his head, the man saw a red car speeding down the road with three police cars in hot pursuit. "Driver, stop your car NOW!" One officer yelled. His demand fell on deaf ears as the driver, a tall and ginger man, continued to drive madly. Suddenly, a black, metallic-looking spike shot from the ground in front of the red car as the driver gasped. It was too late to brake, the vehicle hit the spike head-on with enough force to launch Cletus Kasady out of his car and send him flying, violently hitting the road and forming splotches of blood on the concrete. The man in the hood smiled in amusement. *Bet you didn't see that coming.*

The three police cars stopped in front of Cletus as he tried to get up. Officers immediately pointed their guns at their target, ordering him to stay down or they would fire. "Okay, you got me officers, you got me." He said with pretend defeat as he put his hands behind his back, waiting for them to be cuffed. A nasty smile spread across his face as one of the officers approached with handcuffs. As he cuffed Kasady and pulled him up to his feet, the killer suddenly broke free of his cuffs with ease and clasped a hand over the officer's mouth as a blood-like substance formed over him. Muffled screams erupted from the officer's mouth as the substance was force-fed down his throat.

Bladed tendrils then ripped through his abdomen, flailing like worms, then burst out his back in a similar fashion.

"Now *I've* got *you.*"

Last but not least, they burst from the officer's skull, causing them to go limp in Kasady's grip. As his corpse fell, Kasady, now looking like a monster with red skin that had black markings all over, completely white eyes and a mouth filled with sharp teeth, turned to look at the other officers, who wasted no time firing their guns at him. The bullets doing nada to his durable body, **Carnage** slashed both officers across their chests and, as they staggered back in pain, hurled two fragments of himself at their chests that sank into their bloodstreams. The officers screamed in agony as their bodies began to tear apart at varying points, blades bursting free of their body and blood spurting everywhere. Their heads split open before bursting to pieces, revealing two shrieking, sharp-toothed heads. As for the civilians watching, they had long since noped out of there.

Carnage turned around to see the man in the hood approaching him. "Ah! Another play thing!" he said sadistically. The man, **Alex Mercer**, only replied with, "Never seen an Infected like you before. Maybe I'll kill you and take your powers for myself."

The symbiotic murderer only threw his head so far back in mad laughter that he somehow snapped his own neck. One twist later, though, and it was like nothing had happened. "Just try and touch me!"

**FIGHT!**

Alex slammed his fist into the ground, a black path shooting ahead as a series of spikes jutted up not far behind where the blackness snaked ahead. Carnage leaped to the side and fired two strings of webbing towards the police cars. He tossed the vehicles at Alex, who dodged one of them and used a tendril to slice the other two in half. Alex let his Whip wrap around Carnage's chest, pinning his arms, and reeled him in. Alex brought back his Hammerfist and smashed it into Carnage's face, sending the villain flying back. Carnage lobbed a piece of himself at Alex that took the form of a double-bladed axe, but Alex deflected the projectile with a large Blade. He then charged at Carnage with his Blade and tried to impale the symbiote through the chest, but Carnage grabbed the Blade and threw Alex into the air.

Carnage then lassoed Alex around the leg and slammed him on the ground before jumping over him and raining down crimson daggers. Landing on his feet, Carnage turned and walked towards Alex, who was getting to his feet. Carnage threw a punch at Alex, but the Blacklight virus bio-weapon grabbed Carnage's fist and ran his Blade through the symbiote's abdomen. Carnage angrily sank his teeth into Alex's throat and kicked him away. He drew back as the hole in his stomach regenerated, waiting for Alex to die, but the Prototype's wounds closed rapidly. Alex charged forward and the two monsters began trading blows until Carnage pinned Alex to the ground, then slashed him repeatedly with his claws before springing off.

As Alex got up, Carnage morphed his hands into dual axes and lunged forward. Alex brought his Blade up and blocked Carnage's axes, causing the two to struggle against each other's blades. "Enjoying our little game?" Carnage asked. "I haven't *begun* to play, pal." Alex answered before forcing Carnage's axes upwards and stabbing his Blade through the symbiote's chest. Carnage retaliated by driving one of his axes into Alex's neck. They continued to struggle against one another until Alex pulled back a fist, sent biomass into it to form a Hammerfist, and punched Carnage away from him.

Putting his hands together, Carnage formed a giant crescent-shaped blade and spun his whole body like a top, making himself into a giant buzz-saw. Alex held up his Blade to counter Carnage's pendulum, the attack pushing him back until Carnage hauled the pendulum into the air, turning it into a giant battleaxe and slamming it down on Alex's Blade, shattering it to pieces. Carnage followed this up by lashing out with his claws and slashing Alex repeatedly, changing weapons with every few swipes--axes, scythes, claws. The spawn of Venom then picked Alex up by the throat with his tendrils and stabbed him repeatedly before slamming him violently on the ground.

Carnage shot several tendrils into the air from his chest and arms, then rained down several spearheads attached to the tendrils at Alex, but only hit solid ground as Alex rolled out of the way and formed his Blade. Carnage's tendrils flew towards Alex to stab him, but the Prototype swung his Blade at them, slicing through some of them as they retreated back into Carnage's body. A few tendrils got Alex in the chest and pulled him towards Carnage, who brought a knee up to the virus' jaw so hard it cracked as Alex's head went up. After punching Alex across the face twice, Carnage doubled over after taking a punch to the gut, then flew into the air after Alex planted a Hammerfist-empowered uppercut to the monster's jaw.

As Carnage descended, Alex threw mighty Hammerfist at his opponent. Carnage flew back and landed hard on the road. Getting to his feet, Carnage spoke, "Gotta admit, you pack a punch!"

"You're quite tough yourself." Alex answered as he marched forward. "More dangerous than the rest, I'll say."

"Flattering. But it's not gonna get ya anywhere." Carnage said as he got into a combat stance. Alex continued walking forward and threw a punch at the symbiote-human union, who ducked under the blow. The combatants punched each other until Carnage headbutted Alex, then grabbed him and threw him toward a building. Carnage then aimed his hand at Alex and shot a stream of webbing at him, not stopping until Alex's chest, arms and abdomen were engulfed in a thick layer, pinning him to the building. The Prototype looked down as Carnage scaling the wall on all fours. As Carnage got closer, Alex's Blade sliced through the webbing. When Carnage was eye-to-eye with him, Alex flung his Blade across Carnage's neck, slicing his throat wide open.

The symbiote held his throat, the wound slowly patching as Alex tore himself free from the webbing, throwing himself at Carnage and sending them both careening towards the ground. Carnage responded by shooting a quick splat of web into Alex's eyes, blinding him as he struggled to tear it away. Carnage grabbed Alex by the shoulder, turning him around so he fell to the ground first, and began to bash him over the jaw. Finally, Alex managed to free his eyes, his hand extending out into a massive paw with claws, and hooked it into Carnage's stomach, the symbiote howling in pain. Alex switched positions, his arm growing massive as he brought it back, unleashing a swing that nearly knocked Carnage's jaw off, the appendage barely dangling by a strand of flesh on his left side. The symbiote went to work as Alex brought his fist back and slammed it into Carnage's chest, visually caving it in several inches, the psychotic killer coughing blood from his gaping maw, the lower jaw slowly being brought back.

Alex brought his arm back once more, the dense structure thinning into his Blade, and swung it down, splitting Carnage's head in two right down the middle. Alex kicked the symbiote off his claws, readying and landing on his hands and knees on the ground. His descent created a web-like pattern in the cement from the force he crashed into it, but he arose to his feet unharmed. He looked over at the cleaved villain not far away and approached as his hands turned to claws. Carnage sat up, strands of his symbiotic suit pulling its head back together, then turned to see Alex dashing towards him.

The Prototype grabbed hold of Carnage and held on for a few moments, but nothing happened. Alex looked on in confusion until Carnage started laughing evilly.

"Nice virus. Too bad we're immune. But we're bored of our guy. I guess you'll do."

With that, the Carnage symbiote began to affect Alex, leaving Kasady on the ground. Alex tried to get the substance off, but it just kept spreading all over him. If that wasn't enough, the symbiote began "healing" him. Alex yelled in pain as the symbiote began to remove the Blacklight virus, but all it was doing was killing him. After a while, Alex's screams faded away and there was nothing left of him. The symbiote then returned to Kasady, who held up his hands, as though admiring his handiwork, then reared backward with a wicked laugh, tendrils flaring from his body.

**FATALITY!**

## Results

**MBStarscream: I'm legitimately scared.**

Hiro: Both Carnage and Alex were incredibly dangerous biological weapons, and they were quite similar stat-wise. Most importantly, they seemed pretty even in the ways they manipulate their biomass. However, Carnage just barely takes the edge.

**MBStarscream: In strength, Carnage wins out via overpowering Spider-Man and Venom simultaneously. For reference, Spider-Man can lift a 150 ton locomotive at full power and Venom can lift a 200 ton carnival wheel in a weakened state, so Carnage can move/lift at least 350 tons minimum since he beat them both at once.**

Hiro: The best thing Alex has is casually sending a 70 ton tank flying with a single arm, which would make Alex able to move about 250–300 tons at best in comparison. True, he wasn’t putting much effort into flipping that tank, but neither did Carnage when he shrugged off and overpowered Venom and Spider-Man at the same time.

**MBStarscream: Carnage was also slightly faster. Alex may be able to go Mach 1 at will, as well as move so fast that Dana didn’t even see him leave the room, which easily puts Alex at OVER NINE THOUSAAAAND miles per hour, but Spider-Man himself has also moved that fast, from one time when he dodged a knife being thrown at him by a thug five feet away from him so fast that the guy didn’t even see him dodge it, and since Carnage can move so fast that even Spider-Man’s Spider-Sense can’t keep up, Carnage is clearly at least somewhat faster than Alex.**

Hiro: But, most importantly, Carnage has far better regeneration. It’s been shown that the Carnage symbiote can regenerate almost instantaneously from a single drop of Cletus Kasady’s blood. Wolverine needed a special, magical gem to do that in a non-canon comic, and the symbiote can heal its host almost as well as it can heal itself. The only other character who can match that level of regeneration is Deadpool, who Carnage is fast enough to blitz I might add.

**MBStarscream: Remember how Alex once survived a nuke? Yeah, the only reason he survived at all is because a completely random crow got too near his steaming corpse in the aftermath and was consumed by him, just barely giving him enough biomass to regenerate.** **Meanwhile, Carnage once survived a similar blast from a massive bomb after he stretched his biomass to smother it and completely halted its explosion from destroying everyone and everything for an incredibly wide radius, and although he was also reduced to a boiling pulp from the blast he was back up and fighting Nova pretty soon afterwards like nothing happened ever happened without the need for any external aid whatsoever.**

Hiro: So, while both are pretty close in strength, speed, durability and skill at shapeshifting, Carnage just barely takes the edge in physical stats and is not only immune to the Blacklight virus, but has a far better healing factor that’ll make it nearly impossible for Alex to permanently kill him while in the middle of a heated battle. And, since Alex doesn’t use neither sound nor fire in his wide arsenal of powers, he has no way to put Carnage down for good without him just regenerating back and keeping up the fight, while Carnage can take all of Alex's punishment and can keep up until victory is in his grasp.

**MBStarscream: Alex just got symbi-owned!**

Hiro: Carnage wins.

## Advantages

### Carnage (Winner)

* Stronger
* Slightly faster
* More durable
* Better regeneration
* More experience fighting powerful foes
* Immunity and resistance to Blacklight virus and consumption