"Venom: Agent Venom"

 

            The following is a review of the graphic novel “Venom: Agent Venom” as presented in Marvel Modern Era Epic Collection format.

            Eugene “Flash” Thompson was a corporal in the United States Army, inspired to be a hero by his idol Spider-Man. He lost both his legs. He was recruited to be part of Project Rebirth, where he was joined with the alien symbiote Venom. He would go on twenty missions for the United States government as Venom. He would be separated from the symbiote between missions to prevent permanent bonding. As Venom, Flash had the ability to walk on walls, shoot webs, enhanced strength, increased speed and agility, and shape-shifting capacities. The symbiote was also able to create legs so that Flash could walk. He was assigned to work under Katherine Glover, who had a kill switch. If the symbiote ever took over, she would press the button and fry the symbiote. After the twentieth mission, Flash’s term as Venom would be up, and a new soldier would be assigned to wear the symbiote. He could tell no one he was Venom or even part of Project Rebirth, his cover story was he was a traveling worker for the V.A.

            Flash’s first mission was in Madripoor, where he was to put a tag on Countess Bianca Demonico, who was believed to be part of the terrorist group Ultimatum so she could lead Project Rebirth to their base and leader Flag Smasher. While in Madripoor, Flash met Yusef Kassim, a Middle Eastern banker. Flash’s mission was successful. Flash returned home to find that Marla Jameson had died, and that his girlfriend Betty Brant was grieving. She asked him to talk to his best friend Peter Parker (who, unknown to everyone but Mary Jane Watson, is the amazing Spider-Man), who had shut down. Before he could talk to his friend, though, he was alerted that Kassim had been abducted by Ultimatum and assigned to rescue him. Flash was successful in rescuing Kassim, but during the rescue, Venom became savagely aggressive. Flash and Katherine had lost contact during the mission, so she was unaware of this behavior, and when asked if Flash lost control of Venom, Kassim just said he saw nothing less than a true hero. He returned home to find Betty was disappointed in him for not doing what she asked, and for missing Marla’s funeral, but Flash vowed to do better.

            Flash’s next mission was in Nrosvekistan, where Flash was to detain an arms dealer named Ferid Ekmecic. However, Flash wasn’t the only party interested in Ekmecic. A villain known only as Crime-Master and his adopted son, the supervillain Jack O’ Lantern, were also after the arms dealer, hoping to obtain dangerous, illegal, and powerful new weapons. Venom fought Jack and placed a bomb in his pumpkin, but failed to put an end to the villain, who tried to get away with Ekmecic, but Flash made a move that assured that neither side succeeded in bringing Ekmecic alive. Flash returned home to be lectured by the head of Project Rebirth, and to be accused of returning to his alcoholic ways by Betty, whom he missed a date with.

            Flash’s next mission was to destroy an Antarctic Vibranium mining facility in the Savage Land. He ran into Spider-Man’s longtime nemesis Kraven the Hunter, who mistook him for Spider-Man. They fought in a cave full of giant bats, who used their echolocation and created sonic waves, which weakened the symbiote and exposed Flash to both Kraven and to the Crime-Master, who had cameras in the Savage Land, and he was able to identify Flash’s identity. Flash was able to defeat Kraven and destroy the facility, but a shipment of Antarctic Vibranium was leaving the Savage Land in a helicopter. Flash got to that helicopter, where he was radioed by Crime-Master, who informed him he knew who Flash was and that Jack O’ Lantern had Betty strapped to a bomb and that if Flash didn’t bring Crime-Master the shipment of Antarctic Vibranium in New York, Betty would meet an explosive ending. Flash did as instructed, and Crime-Master told Flash that Crime-Master would call to collect again another day in the future and told Flash Betty’s location. Flash was swinging to rescue Betty, when he encountered Spider-Man. Peter Parker found Betty’s ramshackled apartment and mistakenly believed Venom had taken her. Venom won the fight, but it was Spider-Man who saved Betty. Project Rebirth was able to reacquire the Antarctic Vibranium, and Flash falsified his report, saying he never lost control of Venom except for when battling Spider-Man and omitted that the Crime-Master knew Flash’s identity.

            Venom next battled the Human Fly, whom he easily defeated and captured. He returned to his apartment, where he got a message from his mother that his father had been drinking again and that she wanted Flash to find his father. Flash and his father did not have a good relationship when Flash was growing up. Flash tried to ignore the message and went to cook with Betty but got a call from his mother and agreed to try to find his father. Betty offered to help, but Flash turned her down, instead turning to Peter Parker for assistance. Flash found his father at the police station, but his father collapsed and was taken to the hospital, where Flash and his family learned that Flash’s father had cirrhosis of the liver and was dying, and that drinking was his way of numbing the pain.

            A virus was released in Manhattan that gave regular humans spider powers. Flash was tasked with bringing in a giant spider-beast. Flash was successful in defeating the monster with the help of a young superhero called Gravity and brought the monster back to Project Rebirth base. The creature got loose and attacked the base, and Flash was going to destroy it until it was discovered that the creature was Steve Rogers/Captain America. Flash defeated Captain America again, and they were able to detain Captain America. Meanwhile, Betty was at the hospital with Flash’s dying father. The spider virus was mutating humans into spider creatures, and Eddie Brock/Anti-Venom was able to cure them. Project Rebirth tasked Flash with bringing Anti-Venom to Horizon Labs to synthesize a cure for the spider virus. Anti-Venom did not respond well to Venom’s presence, and the two fought. Venom won in the end, and Anti-Venom was brought to Horizon Labs. Flash made it to the hospital just in time to say goodbye to his father for the last time. Venom then battled the Queen, who was responsible for the spider virus that was plaguing Manhattan and was joined in the fight by a restored Captain America. The two won, but the Queen herself mutated into a giant Spider-Queen.

            After the Spider-Queen was defeated and the citizens of Manhattan were restored back to normal human beings, Flash fought a villain called the Hijacker, who rode around in an impenetrable tank. After watching several innocent people become collateral damage, Flash lost control of the symbiote and put a violent end to the Hijacker. He then returned home to receive a letter Flash’s father wrote to him before he died.

            At Flash’s father’s funeral, Jack O’ Lantern turned up and brought Flash to the Crime-Master, who told him if Flash didn’t do what Crime-Master told him to do, his remaining family, Betty, and friends would join Flash’s father in the grave. Crime-Master told Flash to get the symbiote and go to Las Vegas. Flash went to Project Rebirth, where Captain America arrived to announce the Project was being shut down and that the Venom symbiote would be taken and contained by the Avengers. Before the symbiote could be secured, Flash stole it. Venom battled Captain America, won, and escaped. Meanwhile, Eddie Brock was getting ready to go after all the symbiotes and destroy them. Flash was joined on his escape by Jack O’ Lantern. Captain America tasked General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross/Red Hulk with defeating Venom, securing the symbiote, and bringing Flash in for a court-martial. Flash and Jack O’ Lantern arrived in Vegas, where Flash learned he was supposed to be obtaining the Toxin symbiote for Crime-Master. Venom tried to destroy the symbiote, but Jack intervened. Venom and Jack O’ Lantern battled, and Jack extorted Flash into letting Jack make off with the Toxin symbiote. Flash then called Betty and broke up with her over the phone.

            Blackheart and Gari Oyle planned to bring Hell to Earth in Las Vegas. Blackheart prepared a ritual. Laura Kinney/X-23 learned that Blackheart had obtained samples of her blood and went to Vegas to get it back. Red Hulk found Flash in Vegas. X-23 found a laboratory containing Venomized clones of hers. Alejandra/Ghost Rider arrived in Vegas and tried to stop Blackheart’s ritual and rode through his centrifuge, but instead completed the ritual, and Hell started to spread to Earth, starting in Las Vegas. If Ghost Rider stopped riding through the centrifuge, Earth would be sucked into Hell. Johnny Blaze, the previous Ghost Rider, placed a relic outside Vegas to prevent the spread of Hell, then rode through the centrifuge so Ghost Rider could battle Blackheart. Venom, Red Hulk, X-23 and Ghost Rider then teamed up to battle Blackheart, but Blackheart used his mirror to create their Antitheses, The Evangelist, Encephalon, X-666, and Ichor to battle them. The heroes all lost their battles as died. In death, they all got everything they ever wanted out of life, but since they were now in Hell, it all went horribly wrong for them. Mephisto, Lord of Hell and Blackheart’s father, offered the heroes a deal. They all died in Hell, so he was able to restore them, but they had to make an unholy pact with Mephisto. The heroes returned to Vegas, where the Red Hulk joined with both the Spirit of Vengeance and the Venom symbiote and were able to defeat Blackheart and Gari Oyle. After the battle, the Spirit of Vengeance returned to Alejandra, who rode off, and the Venom Symbiote returned to Flash. Captain America arrived to arrest Flash, but Red Hulk vouched for Flash, and instead, Flash was recruited into the Secret Avengers. They would keep the Venom symbiote in the Lighthouse Space Station and send it through the phone when Flash dialed their number, using the technology of Pym Particles.

            Eddie Brock went on his mission to destroy all symbiotes, and Flash returned home to lie to his friends and family about his double life.

            Flash was tasked on an Avengers mission to supervise the Human Fly’s transfer to the Raft, when the train they were transporting him on was attacked by the Hobgoblin. Venom battled the Hobgoblin and protected the Human Fly but had to make a difficult decision between protecting the prisoner as was his mission or saving the lives of the other guards helping with the transport.

            Okay, so now let’s get on to my personal thoughts on this book. I thought this was an enjoyable book. I really enjoyed it. The stories were to my liking. I found it an interesting idea to make Flash Thompson Venom. He’s Spider-Man’s biggest fan, and now he’s got similar powers to Spider-Man? I just thought that was brilliant. And the conflict when he battled Spider-Man was so beautifully written, how he was so hesitant and how hard it was for him to fight the man who inspired him to be the man he became. And I loved how the writers also focused on Flash’s personal life with his family and friends, the drama was just so gripping, having to deal with lying to his friends and family about who he was and what he was doing, and having to deal with an alcoholic father and losing him, I thought it was even better than Peter Parker/Spider-Man’s drama. And I liked how Flash was put in such a hard position, having to be in the debt of a literal master criminal (hence Crime-Master) in order to protect his loved ones because he knew who he was, I thought that was even better than the Peter Parker and Norman Osborn/Green Goblin drama. My problem with this book comes from the artwork. I just didn’t like the artwork in this book at all. There were a few issues here and there that I liked, but this book had a smorgasbord of artists, and in general I just didn’t like all their work, I’m sorry to say. But as far as the story goes, it was great.

            Next, we’re going to talk about accessibility. Now, when I say accessibility, I mean how easy it is for someone who knows nothing about Venom to read this book. This book has a few caveats. Yes, it has the full origin story of a new Venom, containing the start of his series. Oddly though, this book was the first Venom Modern Era Epic Collection published, despite being Vol. 4. I can tell you that my review of Vol. 1 is coming up in a little over a month from now, so keep a look out for that. I can say though that it can kind of be a bit of a jump on point, and I might have advised it, except for the “Spider-Island” storyline, which was actually an event that was published mainly in “Amazing Spider-Man” with a few spin-offs, but if you didn’t read it, it would be very hard to follow it in this Modern Era Epic Collection, especially since the ending of one issue of Venom actually picks up in “Amazing Spider-Man” and leaves on a literal cliffhanger, and while this book does give a brief description of how “Spider-Island” ended, it’s still not easy to follow if you didn’t read the main event, so I will tell you that if you are a new reader and wish to read this book, I would seriously advise you to read the “Spider-Island” graphic novel as well as this book, because the main event is not covered at all in this book and that’s a serious chunk of needed material left out. Also, Red Hulk, Ghost Rider, and X-23 aren’t the best-established characters now, so their storylines in “Circle of Four” would be slightly confusing. Heck, I don’t even know Alejandra as Ghost Rider, and I don’t know the origin of the Red Hulk, so if I don’t know all this and I’ve been reading for twenty-four years, a reader who has never picked up a comic before sure as heck won’t know all this either. Also, people who have never read a comic book before would not believe that Peter Parker and Flash Thompson become best friends, people who only know Flash from other media only think of him as Peter Parker’s bully and not as his friend, so this will be hard for a new reader to accept. And Eddie Brock’s transformation into Anti-Venom is also something new readers might find difficult. I wasn’t reading comics at the time, so I know little about Anti-Venom and his true capabilities. And there are just so many symbiotes in this book that other Marvel media hasn’t established yet, so those would be hard to get, especially for those who only played “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” and think of Mary Jane Watson as Scream, as Scream does appear in this book and in the Marvel Universe, Mary Jane was never possessed by the Scream symbiote. Now, I can say that this book contains a level of accessibility on the front that it’s an origin, but there’s just so much backstory and crossover content that using this as your first foray into Marvel comics isn’t the best idea if you only plan on reading this book alone without “Spider-Island.”

            Now it’s time for my numeric score. I’m going to do this quickly because I have been going on for quite a while, so I’ll just tell you my scoring system. I score on a scale of one to ten. One is the worst, which means this was so horrible it shouldn’t be read, ten is the best, which means this book is so good it should be read a million times. I will say I have read this book three times at this point, but I’ve only done that because I read it the first time I got it, then once as each new volume came out, so if you do the math, that means that there are two more volumes now, and the reason I’m reviewing this now is because I didn’t have a laptop to review this book on the first two times I read this book. But anyway, let’s just get to the score. Now, since this is a GRAPHIC novel, I must consider both the story, which I loved, and the artwork, which I didn’t really like. So I will just combine the two as I give this score, and I would love to give this book a really high score because I loved the story so much, but the artwork was just so disappointing I have to knock down the score quite a bit, I’m going to have to churn out the score of… seven. I just did not like the art enough to give it a high score, it just took so much away from my enjoyment of the story that I really had to deduct points, but if they were consistently better, the score would have been higher.

            Next up, we’re going to talk about if I recommend this book or not. I would very much recommend this book; I thought it was a terrific book and very much worth reading. But, like I said, read “Spider-Island” first or you will not understand the story in this book. If you are a regular comic book reader and a fan of anything Venom but have not read this book, I am telling you to read this book, I found it to be top shelf quality. Even if you don’t read comics and like Venom and found this review to be interesting, you should totally read this book, I’ve told you everything you need to know anyway, so you’d get it just by reading my words.

            Anyway, I’ve been going on for way too long at this point, so I’m going to wrap it up now. If you’re still here reading at this point, you are THE BEST! I’ve written dozens of reviews already, I’ve already written fifteen reviews of Modern Era Epic Collections at this point including this one, and there are plenty more on the way, you can expect my next review sometime in the next three days. I’ve also written short stories, poetry, essays, editorials, and other content, so if you liked this post and want to read more, keep checking out timcubbin.blogspot.com for more content, there’s plenty more like this and my other content on the way, and until next time, Tim Cubbin… out!