WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Venom #6 by Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Frank Martin and VC's Clayton Cowles, on sale Wednesday, September 19.
On a first glance, it would seem that the character of Venom has stayed the same since the alien symbiote bonded with Eddie Brock in 1988's Amazing Spider-Man #300. All-black appearance, white eyes and spider-emblem on chest, and powers similar to Spider-Man pretty much sum up the Lethal Protector for the first thirty years of his existence.
However, Venom would soon begin to change in 2011 when Spider-Man supporting character Flash Thompson became Agent Venom. More super-soldier than web-slinger, Agent Venom became a Guardian of the Galaxy and a Space Knight, even discovering Klyntar is the name of the symbiote's alien race. As great as those additions to the Venom mythos were, they may pale in comparison to what Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman are setting up in their Venom run.
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Symbiote gods and dragons, along a link to the early days of the Marvel Universe are only some of the high-profile concepts introduced in the first five issues of Venom. Another major development happened last issue when Rex Strickland, who was revealed to be the symbiotic husk of the former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, was absorbed by Venom, granting the anti-hero new abilities.
With the Rex symbiote and his "other" together in his mind, Eddie Brock now has a world-class soldier as a third voice to pass along everything he learned during his S.H.I.E.L.D. tenure, like how to use a wide array of weapons. As the all-new Venom prepares to face off against the symbiote dragon in a preview of Venom #6, he begins to arm himself from head to toe with anti-symbiote weapons like assault rifles, swords, knives, bombs and anything else that can give him an edge. The result is a Venom straight out of your favorite '90s-era action comic.
You have to admit, the sight of Venom using the symbiote to attach guns to its arms and shoulders while holding a large sword in his hand, all with a toothy grin on his face totally fits the tone of the horror series Cates and Stegman have cooked up. They've taken into account what other creators established for Venom and added their own flavor to the mix, all while having fun in the process.
Of course, we'll have to wait until Venom #6 goes on sale September 19 to see whether or not the "Symbiote of War" is enough to defeat Knull's symbiote dragon. If it isn't, then Venom and Rex will have to dig into their bag of tricks for a hail mary play before they get absorbed by the dragon, which would then allow it to soar into the cosmos to reunite with Knull.
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