WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Venom #25 by Donny Cates, Mark Bagley, Andy Owens, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Frank Martin and Clayton Cowles, available now.
Venom #25 serves as the conclusion to the "Venom Island" storyline, as well as the ending of the "chapter" of the title's last two years. In it, Eddie Brock finally got free of the Carnage symbiote, and he reunited with the Avengers after the team offered him a chance to join Earth's Mightiest Heroes. When he faces Captain America, Iron Man, Captain Marvel and the rest of the team, Eddie Brock decides to do something out of character and comes clean about everything that's happened to him lately.
He reveals everything about Grendel, Knull, his symbiote and his son Dylan, as well as the Maker and Cletus Kasady. But after discussing the past, talk then shifts to the future. In fact, Eddie warns the Avengers that Knull is coming to attack Earth, but the issue itself doesn't stop there.
In a two-page spread, Venom #25 shows us a glimpse at the future and every threat that is coming in the series. Of course, the pages feature known threats like the Maker, Knull, the Grendel, as well as the mysterious new character named Virus, but this splash also features the debut of someone -- or something -- we don't know about yet.
The look at the future of Venom is filled with dangerous threats, both old and new. On top of those we know, there also appears to be a giant, possibly Celestial suit of armor controlled by symbiotes. But that is not the most interesting new addition to the Venom mythos featured here. That distinction is reserved for a mysterious character that appears on the right portion of the two-page spread.
Thanks to a mask that covers his entire face, the character's identity remains a mystery. The character is wearing a sleek armor that bears the glowing red logo of the Grendel, and that crimson glow continues on the character's forearms and boots. On top of that, they're wearing a long cape to complete a look that makes the character look both ancient and futuristic.
The only clue we presently have is the character's long hair, which may lead some to deduce that this is simply Knull wearing a new armor to go into battle against Venom. But that may not be the case. This character could also easily prove to be Eddie Brock. Sure, Eddie may have shot hair right now, but he did sport it with a much longer length at the start of the title. If this mysterious figure is Eddie, then it could be the first signal of his turn to the dark side and falling under Knull's sway.
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Of course, there's always a possibility that whoever this character is is a completely new addition to the mythos. If that is the case, then they could come from the past, the future or the far reaches of the cosmos. Regardless of their origins, this character already casts an imposing, menacing design that makes it clear that they mean business.
While Venom and the Avengers will face the mysterious Virus soon enough, but the new character teased here is the real mystery. We don't know anything about him, but he seems destined to play a very big role in the future of Venom.