Punisher/Carnage: Blade Red (Vampire-Derivative)

Punisher, the American anti-hero, and Carnage, the American abomination, engage in Europe where vampires run the streets of dread.

Well, I had to offer up one more story about comic book stylized violence imagination in the modern world, but one that references vampire destiny, inspired by the film Blade II. Signing off (thanks for reading),

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Frank Castle became the Punisher, an anti-hero but democratic vigilante in America. Cletus Kasady became Carnage, the psychotic mutating fleshy abomination of crime and evil. These two were opposites, and artists and writers and reporters were casting them in a story about a great stand between light and darkness. Castle/Punisher symbolized all the normal human values and consciousness we knew in the world we knew, be it modest or fantastic. Kasady/Carnage symbolized all the abnormal darkness and chaos of the violent world we sought to avoid or master in some way if we could if only to protect our humbly simple minds. The stage was set for this incredible engagement between Punisher and Carnage.

Now, Punisher worked in America for most of his crime-fighting deeds, and he took good money for his heroics from the FBI, especially after having rescued the FDNY chief's lovely celebrity daughter Kate Hudson! However, now Punisher was traveling to Eastern Europe where Carnage was establishing an underworld dominion with a clan of Satanic/Occult vampires known as Red Hood. According to Carnage, the Red Hood gang represented a centuries-old human species hypnosis with the dark ingestion of human blood and cannibalism, a defiance of the cup of Christ and the Eucharist in preference for the Incubus and the reign of the mysterious Woman of Babylon. Vampires were seductive and dangerous and hidden and had infiltrated every level of society in Eastern Europe and therefore drew the interest of the adversarial Carnage.

Punisher knew that Carnage was now working alongside Red Hood. Punisher was once the normal street-cop Frank Castle who was emotionally devastated after a ruthless crime-lord murdered his entire family, compelling him to become a freelance costumed vigilante. Carnage was once just a normal criminal named Cletus Kasady who was mutated in a biochemical lab accident, rendering his internal molecules morphing, shape-shifting him into a mass of fleshy muscle, able to make weapons-on-the-fly such as throwing bone-hatchets. Punisher was a real anti-hero, while Carnage was a real abomination, and now Punisher had to find Carnage weaving his way into Eastern Europe labyrinths with the Red Hood vampire gang of darkness.

The thing was that Carnage knew and understood and appreciated that while vampires and the ingestion of human blood in cannibalistic acts had persisted on Earth ever since the days of early man (caveman!), the vampire consciousness had evolved over the millennia to construct gangs and underworld dominions comprised of lurking Satanic blood-sucking masterminds such as the vampire Lestat and the vampire-siren Akashi who combined conspiracy and murder to create rings of great historic power and prestige in the criminal underworld. Carnage appreciated that he could use this sort of underworld to mold a new form of darkness, one of anarchy and urban riots designed to afford Red Hood vampires the chance to fly around without any threat of police control.

PUNISHER: You don't think you'll win, do you?
CARNAGE: Things change!
PUNISHER: Helping Red Hood won't change Europe.
CARNAGE: Really?
PUNISHER: Yes, Christians have denounced vampirism and cannibalism.
CARNAGE: The cup of Christ has been defamed and blasphemed by many!
PUNISHER: So you seek to give Red Hood vampires more prestige through anarchy?
CARNAGE: Yes.
PUNISHER: Why?
CARNAGE: Vampires have existed for a long time, but I want to add some brain power!
PUNISHER: Brain power, Carnage?
CARNAGE: Yes, Punisher!
PUNISHER: Explain.
CARNAGE: My form of mutating power chaos through violence will add some feathery darkness.
PUNISHER: What sort of additions is the Red Hood vampire gang really seeking from you?
CARNAGE: Why the hell should I tell you that, Punisher?
PUNISHER: You appreciate that I'm your strongest rival and adversary, Carnage.
CARNAGE: Alright; Red Hood vampires will gain from my strength of brain manipulation.
PUNISHER: You claim to alter social brain-conditions by creating mass urban riots and violence.
CARNAGE: Right; through massive confusion, I'll help vampires exploit humans scurrying in paranoia.
PUNISHER: So you're basically an advocate of the Plague.
CARNAGE: Perhaps I am, but you're nothing more than a bureaucratic servant of historic dollars.
PUNISHER: I hope so.

CARNAGE: You'd make a cliched candidate for Irish Republican Army work, Punisher.

PUNISHER: Maybe, but you'd be the ideal Rumpelstiltskin!

CARNAGE: I hope so.

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PUNISHER/CARNAGE