We all know crime doesn't pay, but such a concept was taken to a whole new extreme in the Marvel Universe. Spider-Man's life is usually upside down on any regular day, but lately it has been derailed into a twisted spiral that leads to death and senseless murders. No one in the wall-crawler's life is safe, including the supervillains he usually stands against, and it's all thanks to a new terrifying player in town.
Torment is here, the latest Marvel serial killer looking to rival Carnage in levels of insanity and number of lifeless bodies left on his path. At first, it seemed the villain's victims were picked at random, but upon closer inspection, it is clear that they were all related to Peter Parker or Eddie Brock. Unfortunately, the killing spree doesn't end there, as Torment just picked a new victim: Mary Jane Watson. But before getting to MJ, everyone who has ever met her will pay with their lives, starting with one iconic criminal.
Torment relentlessly kills Shocker in the latest The Amazing Spider-Man issue
Shocker may not be the most dangerous Spider-Man villain ever created, but he's popular enough to appear in multiple projects like Spider-Man: Homecoming, Marvel's Spider-Man for PS4, and Spider-Man: The Animated Series. Unfortunately, Herman Schultz's story came to a very unexpected end in The Amazing Spider-Man (2025) No. 23.
Herman Schultz has a cousin who married a Watson. That very loose connection was more than enough to put Shocker in Torment's sight. After all, the newest Marvel serial killer is going after everyone remotely related to Mary Jane Watson, and he will stop at nothing to hunt them all. Fortunately, Shocker is capable of standing on his own, so he surely put up a fight before his passing, right? Well, turns out it was a little more anticlimactic than that.
Herman was in his apartment getting ready to drink a beer when Torment suddenly showed up and slashed both of his ankles without any warning. To make matters worse, Torment chopped Shocker's arm clean off while he was still alive. However, the torture did not last for long. The police would later find a very violent crime scene containing one lifeless body, and a message written on the wall with blood: "Carnage Ruled," letting New York City know that there's a new serial killer in town worthy of rivaling Cletus Kasady.
Before his death, Shocker had a very quick encounter with Spider-Man and Mary Jane's Venom, so the two will be taken by surprise when they learn about the villain's fate. After all, only Eddie Brock knows about Torment's existence, and he hasn't had the chance to join with the wall-crawler and the Lethal Protector yet. That being said, the spiral of deaths is set to bring them all together in one very unlikely crossover.
We're two issues into the ongoing Death Spiral storyline, with seven more to go. So far, Torment's identity remains a mystery, while our friendly neighborhood hero hasn't had the chance to face him. However, the gears are finally in motion, and it won't be long before we get a new chapter in this violent story.
Venom (2025) #255 will be released on March 11, 2026.