WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Venom #21 by Donny Cates, Mark Bagley, Andy Owens, Frank Martin, Erick Arciniega and Clayton Cowles, in stores now.
After Marvel’s Legacy revamp, the Avengers united once more and formed a new version of the super-team based in the North. Captain America, Thor, Iron Man and Black Panther joined forces with some new additions that have defined Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for this bold new era: Black Widow, Captain Marvel, She-Hulk, Robbie Reyes’ Ghost Rider And Blade (along with Boy-Thing) have all joined the ranks of the Avengers, who now operate out of a base formed from the body of a dead Celestial appropriately called Avengers Mountain.
This roster, made up of classic and surprising new characters, has led to some fun and interesting character dynamics. But now, another oddball Marvel character may join the super-team. In Venom #21, the Avengers offer membership to... Eddie Brock.
As Venom #21 begins, Eddie Brock shaves off the beard he has sported ever since the start of Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman’s Venom series, and puts on a clean suit for what we come to understand is an important meeting. Eddie is then flown (via a robotically-controlled flying car) to Avengers Mountain, where he comes face-to-face with Steve Rogers and the rest of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. There, Captain America extends an offer to Eddie, as well as his super-powered symbiote, to join the ranks of the superhero team.
The offer is surprising, to say the least, considering Venom has long been viewed by other superheroes of the Marvel Universe as a menace. However, all of that changed during the recently-concluded Absolute Carnage event. In the event series, Cletus Kasady attacked every character who had ever bonded with a symbiote by unleashing an army of drones to collect the codices left behind in every one of his targets. Since some of these characters turned out to be the Avengers themselves, characters such as Captain America, Spider-Man and Hawkeye joined the fight against Carnage.
Despite their best efforts, however, it was Eddie Brock’s heroic acts that ended up saving everyone and defeating Cletus Kasady. Because of this, the Avengers are now impressed with Eddie, and his undeniable turn to good. In fact, they are so enamored with his actions that they are willing to count Venom as one of their own.
Steve Rogers is the first to endorse this addition, making it clear that he supports the offer by telling Eddie he already has his vote. What’s more, Thor is equally impressed with Brock, as well as his symbiote. Before Eddie can give his answer however, he has to leave to deal with a remnant Carnage problem. But the Avengers’ invitation still stands. Better yet, Eddie already has an Avengers ID card, one which he can use to call in favors from Captain America. The card already comes in handy before the issue comes to a close, and it may very well prove useful further down the line.
For the time being, though, we’ll have to wait and see if Eddie gets his own room in Avengers Mountain. But with Knull and his symbiote army on their way to Earth, he will surely need all the help he can get.