A C-level Spider-Man villain who was reintroduced in the first issue of Venom: Lethal Protector meets a horrible end in the latest issue of the series.

Venom: Lethal Protector #2 comes from writer David Michelinie, artist Ivan Fiorelli, color artist Bryan Valenza and letterer VC's Travis Lanham. In the issue, Eddie Brock/Venom is swinging through Manhattan when he stumbles across Humbug, a foe who Venom faced during the first issue of the series. The two begin fighting again -- only, this time, Humbug has recruited some extra help, Blood Spider and Death Shield, to join him in battle.

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As Venom quickly begins getting the upper hand over Humbug, Blood Spider appears from around a corner with a flame thrower. Before Blood Spider can so much as get a word out, however, Venom hits it with one of his webs, which causes the device to malfunction and then explode. A horrified Death Shield watches his friend go up in flame from a distance, noting that Blood Spider has been reduced to "nothin' but ashes a--an charcoal" before he runs away.

Venom turns his attention back toward Humbug following Blood Spider's death. When Venom begins filtering electricity through his body and begins threatening to unleash it on Humbug, the villain decides to give up right on the spot. "All I wanted was to make life better, to show how insects could be humanity's hope for the future," he tells Venom. "But that future ended for me when Empire State University canceled my research grant. I've tried to get money to self-finance my dream, but I always seem to fail. I have nothing left to live for, so...go ahead." Recognizing that Humbug's dream was destroyed by evil men being purposefully withholding, Venom/Brock lets the character go without harm.

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Blood Spider/Michael Bingham first appeared in 1992's Amazing Spider-Man #367. Created by David Michelinie and Jerry Bingham, Blood Spider (along with Death Shield and Jagged Bow, who appears earlier in Venom: Lethal Protector) were all trained by Taskmaster to mimic and kill Spider-Man. The character is equipped with web-shooters similar to Spider-Man; however, his shooters come out of a larger backpack connected to his wrists.

Venom: Lethal Protector #2 features cover art by Paulo Siqueira and Matthew Wilson, with variant cover art by Scarecrowoven. The issue is on sale now from Marvel. Venom: Lethal Protect #3 follows on June 22.

Source: Marvel