Warning: preview images ahead for Demon Wars #1: The Iron Samurai
Currently, Carnage is teased as a potential villain in the story, and he had nothing to do with the original Civil War story.
The preview for Demon Wars #1: The Iron Samurai seems to pick up where Demon Days, Peach Momoko's previous story, left off. The protagonist, Mariko, monologues about how her life has changed since she discovered she was the child of an oni. She's seen with her grandmother and Kuroki, the series' Black Widow variant, as she prepares to head to a train station. While on the train, she is assaulted by images of strange yokai, and the preview ends.
But before Mariko questions her life's new status quo, the first s of the preview show off a hill in the Japanese countryside, and the reader is taken on a journey through a torii gate into a stony cairn and sitting within a hollowed-out boulder is the body of a red, headless oni. A mass protruding from the back of the oni reveals that the demon is unmistakably Carnage. It seems that Demon Wars is presenting Carnage as, well, a demon rather than an alien, as the symbiote's boulder is bound with a sealing rope. This tease makes it apparent that Carnage will have a huge role to play in the war.
Until Demon Wars is released, Carnage's role is pure speculation as there are a number of ways he could be involved. The transition from Carnage's imprisonment to Mariko's monologuing makes it seem as if her powers came from him, and the fact that he is sealed away makes it obvious he will be set free. Perhaps Mariko will be the one to do it? And what does Carnage have to do with Iron Man's and Captain America's - Captain Japan? - inevitable dispute? Maybe the ideological battle will resolve around whether demons should be sealed away or allowed to roam free, or whether or not humans should be allowed to use demonic powers.
Whatever the case may be, fans don't have to wait long to see samurai Iron Man and Cap duke it out again. This time around, Carnage will be a major part of their Civil War style battle, and it's only going to get more exciting as Peach Momoko continues to expand this corner of the Marvel universe.
Be sure to pick up Demon Wars #1: The Iron Samurai when it releases in comic book stores this Wednesday, August 3rd.
