Venom #6 Spoilers

[Godzilla2099]

I've been waiting a long time for Venom's Return

spoilers:

- Start things off from the preview. Brock gets briefed on the situation. Lee-Venom is flying a helicopter trying to get out. Spider-Man arrives and sees this new Venom isn't Flash. Lee decides to kill Spider-Man. Symbiote doesn't want to kill. Brock sees the Symbiote as refers to it as 'My darling' - Brock is in the sky. Confirms the civilians are cleared. The helicopter he is on the does not have sonic weapons but the team on the ground does. Containment unit is also on the way. They open fire on the Lee-Venom - Brock and Spider-Man talk. Brock has a plan to stop Lee-Venom (one that Spider-Man won't like) - Spider-Man tells the Symbiote that he'll be the new host. Symbiote agrees since it sees Spider-Man as a hero and removes itself from Lee in a painful way. Spidey traps the symbiote in a container. Symbiote is pissed and hates Spider-Man for this. Lee is brought into custody. - Back at FBI Headquarters, Brock asks a guard named Gibbons what will happen to the Symbiote. Gibbons said it will be transported off-world. Brock knocks Gibbons out. - Final scene shows The Gibbon's Commanding Officer finding him webbed up to a wall and the Symbiote escaped. Beautiful page at the end showing Venom swinging through the city. Venom is back

end of spoilers

I thought the issue was alright. One thing I can't understand:

spoilers:

Eddie's Plan made zero sense to me. Eddie was obviously a hero as Anti-Venom and in the Carnage Series. Instead of framing Spider-Man, why didn't he directly ask the symbiote to bond back with him instead? Eventually the symbiote is going to find out the truth. I mean, it can read minds. I was really relieved to see the guard Eddie assaulted was alive. At first I thought Eddie snapped his neck but he ended up knocking him out.

end of spoilers

I'm really hoping for progression. A new start for Venom and not regression (back to hating Spider-Man and senseless killing). I'm perfectly alright with him seriously messing bad guys up though! I'm sticking around. Looking forward to the Venom/Stegron Fight

[Miles To Go]

Well that was a pretty fast method to restore factory settings

[Inversed]

Okay, I guess I can understand that being a reason why Venom would hate Spider-Man now, since he's made it clear how much he hates being contained, even if it seemed a bit too fast, but I'm still confused on why Brock is suddenly so attracted to it again. I do agree I hope that some of this progressed Venom still remains and it's not just back to "Kill and do whatever cause Brock said so".

[Supermanfan1986]

I think Brock wanted to reunite with the symbiote because he missed the partnership and bond he had with it. Plus now that he's gotten a better perspective on things, he probably wants to do the whole 'Lethal Protector' thing the right way. Just no killing involved whatsoever I guess? ^^;;

[blackspidey2099]

This was so stupid - Brock went from wanting to kill all symbiotes to hating symbiotes despite being bonded with one and is now calling Venom his darling? Spider-Man gets beaten up by Venom despite having sonic weaponry in his webshooters and wearing armor that makes his stronger and more durable than Venom? The CIA/FBI/whatever only having one operative guarding the symbiote? Still no sign of Flash? Ugh.

[doomeye56]

I think the reasoning that Brock didn't try to get the symbiote to bond with him during the fight is because the Government agents then would have turned on him.

I'm gonna wait till next issue to see if they give any reasoning for Brock to want to be Venom again.

Maybe Toxin left a strong need to be bonded

[CentralPower]

Maybe it is supposed to be a question of proximity? The closer that Brock got to the symbiote, the more he wanted it? Brock seemed fine until he was close enough to recognize the symbiote?

I was assuming a similar dynamic with the symbiote and Gargan in the first issue. (The symbiote sensed Gargan in the alley, and was trying to get to him, accidentally getting Gargan.)


But, there is no question about what the purpose of this issue was. The symbiote (physically and mentally compromised) now has a grudge against Spider-Man. Brock has a fixation on the symbiote, which will almost certainly set up for a new Venom with a grudge against Spider-Man. (The write-up on the first page does not mention the symbiote's retroactively benign nature.)


I am not happy about Venom being set back to 80s spec. But, as long as Costa is in charge, I can reasonably hope that it will be done well. And, Costa (hopefully) has some ideas to get more use out of Lee Price.

[Chimeratengun]

I have a strange feeling that Eddie has been drinking the Hydra kool-aid from Rogers.

[Kurolegacy]

I really hate this forced plot designed to have Venom hate Spider-Man. Not only does Spider-Man act like a dick to the symbiote despite having made peace with it and knowing full well that it's alive but from that Venom now hates him instantly. It's such an obvious plot point that only exits as a means to and end rather than just to tell a good story. This is another reason I haven't been able to enjoy this Venom run, it just reads like the writer just wanted an evil Venom by any means necessary.

[SuperiorIronman]

That was...,something.

1. Why would Eddie want it back? Nothing is established that Eddie just changed his mind on the thing, and considering how he hunted down the others and tried to kill Venom on numerous occasions recently I'm a little lost.

2. Why doesn't Spider-man take in the symbiote? He HAS gear for this. He not only still has the tech from Superior Spider-man but he also had gear he used in the last series. Why not use it? Or at the very least why did he not just grab it and confront Lee?

3. If the symbiote could just leave then why not just ditch Lee anytime if all it took was to call out Lee on his **** and jump to somebody else?

4. Why didn't Spider-man just wear Venom for a bit until he could find Flash? If he knows it still has a thing for him then just let it stay with him for awhile until he can find Flash or someone he trusts. Peter is intelligent enough to know how to house this thing.

5. Who was the moron that let Eddie Brock in? Yeah let a guy who has a psychotic history with it, and becoming monsters patterned after it, to be the guy to take point on the job. They aren't hunting Cletus Kassidy where that experience is needed, it's the suit that causes Brock to have a bloodlust. Call the Avengers, call PI (since Spider-man an employee), call SHIELD, call anyone BUT EDDIE BROCK.

6. ONE GUARD. Eddie Brock is in the building, the symbiote is violent and could escape, the security is apparently only a door and a glass tube. Who the hell designed this?

7. This story is forced.

This is a solid D.
It only serves to get Eddie into the suit, it doesn't explain what happened to Flash, the people fighting Venom are idiots (this is not the first time it showed up, HAVE A BATTLE PLAN), and as a result I just don't care about anyone involved. A bad past makes is supposed to make me care for Lee? Eddie just wants the suit now? The basics of this issue are fine but I need less about how I'm supposed to care for a psychopath, and more on why Eddie wants to be Venom again despite the last years of the franchise. The plot only serves to set a status quo and it's unfortunate because I still don't care for Lee besides his Venom design, and everyone else in the story is inept.

[Celgress]

I'm just glad the real Venom is back, bad plot aside.

Marvel, please take, more of, my money!!!

[CentralPower]

Most of this stuff is best explained by the real-world reasoning. On-page reasoning sorts itself out.

I have a strange feeling that Eddie has been drinking the Hydra kool-aid from Rogers.

Are there any solicits about this? (I have yet to check. We know that there will be a Doctor Octopus cross-over for "Secret Empire".)

This is another reason I haven't been able to enjoy this Venom run, it just reads like the writer just wanted an evil Venom by any means necessary.

It was most likely Marvel Editorial wanting Venom/Brock back in place to sync up with the movie that is dropping next year.

1. Why would Eddie want it back?

I am standing by my proximity-guess. (The next issue or two should either prove or disprove that.)

2. Why doesn't Spider-man take in the symbiote? He HAS gear for this. He not only still has the tech from Superior Spider-man but he also had gear he used in the last series. Why not use it? Or at the very least why did he not just grab it and confront Lee?

We know that Parker Industries is going away, and Spider-Man is being set back to spec soon. That is probably being reflected early in this series.

3. If the symbiote could just leave then why not just ditch Lee anytime if all it took was to call out Lee on his **** and jump to somebody else?

The symbiote is weak and confused, as shown since issue 1.

5. Who was the moron that let Eddie Brock in?

The same guy who decided to have only one guard on the symbiote later? (That kind of convenient stupidity is endemic to comics, and sci-fi. And, it is not wholly unrealistic.)



Lee is a good character. He is not supposed to be likable or sympathetic. He is a right bastard. At this point, I am sticking around because I want to see if Costa still has any plan for Lee. (Maybe have the series end with Lee making a suicidal run at getting the suit back? Not ideal, but the best likely outcome.)

[Webhead]

This was literally From Point A To Point B: The Comic.
Given the place this issue leaves us in, I question the need for Lee Price's flat and inconsequential existence.
Eddie's motives don't mash up with what we last saw in the Carnage series or the Agent Venom run, and the symbiote being in a brain damaged state (how?) so it could get to hate Spider-Man quickly was spiteful.
One relatively interesting aspect of the book, FBI being tired of playing second fiddle to SHIELD or such and trying to get its way in superhuman affairs, was undermined by how unbelievably monster-movie-levels of stupid every cop acted. Right down to a seemingly glass prison (how'd Eddie break it if the symbiote couldn't?) for a nigh-invincible alien, guarded by a single, not specially protected agent.
One could only hope that there are good plans for the original dual character, otherwise this wasn't even good for what it set out to do.

[Yagamifire]

This was extremely jarring.

I am glad to have Eddie back as Venom but I really like Lee as a character and I am praying we get to see him be the new Toxin. Pretty easy to do too since the military could just lean on Lee's own military background and give him a suit since he's been proven to be able to control symbiotes (and Toxin is WAY more docile than the Venom symbi). I want more of Lee Price with a symbiote please.

Everything else in this issue? Rushed and weird. Very weird. Very rushed. Now, I don't mind stuff going quickly but Brock's characterization was a total 180 from what we've seen him like. Even a line about him missing being bonded after having been with Toxin again would have been nice...but maybe we'll get that in the future?

Lee is a good character. He is not supposed to be likable or sympathetic. He is a right bastard. At this point, I am sticking around because I want to see if Costa still has any plan for Lee. (Maybe have the series end with Lee making a suicidal run at getting the suit back? Not ideal, but the best likely outcome.)

Say it with me..."Lee as Toxin!" Dude already has a really toxic personality and his training would let him easily leash the immature Toxin symbiote

[Scarlet Spider-Man]

I'm very glad to have Eddie back as Venom, but the method used to get there was very contrived. This issue was clearly a means to an end and nothing more.