WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for War of the Realms #6 by Jason Aaron, Russell Dauterman, Matthew Wilson and Joe Sabino, in stores now.
When Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman took the helm of the Venom title, they turned Eddie Brock and the symbiote's world on its head. The series introduced Knull, the so-called god of the symbiotes, and Venom's confrontation with the ancient cosmic being left the symbiote badly damaged. As a result, the alien entity was cut off from the Klyntar hivemind and was left a shell of its former self, acting only on instinct.
Since then, Eddie and the symbiote have been separated, and it couldn't have happened at a worse time, given that the villainous Carnage is just about to make his move on the Marvel Universe in the upcoming Aboslute Carnage -- Marvel's next big summer release.
Still, that hasn't stopped both Eddie and the symbiote from taking part in the massive War of the Realms. Now, with the Thor-centric event series finally coming to its conclusion with Issue #6, the Venom symbiote undergoes a pretty big change that sets a course pointing directly towards Carnage.
The Healing Begins
During the War of the Realms, although they are on their own, Eddie Brock and the symbiote have both been taking part in the fight. For his part, Eddie was gifted a Dreamstone by one of Malekith's War Witches that granted him a symbiote-inspired Asgardian weapon, which he used to protect people from the invading Dark Elves. However, the symbiote was on the opposing side.
Thanks to the power of the Ebony Blade, Malekith was able to defeat the symbiote in War of the Realms #3. Worse still, the Accursed used his dark magic powers to take control of the symbiote and wield it against the heroes of the world. Finally, in War of the Realms #6, Malekith bonds himself with the magic-infused symbiote. However, he is eventually separated from it after Thor brings a rain of fire down from the sky.
Once Malekith is finally defeated, the battle comes to an end. As the heroes lick their wounds and start to rebuild, we see the symbiote walking away. It explains that, thanks to Malekith's dark magic, it was reconnected to the Klyntar hivemind and made whole once again.
Finally, after months of being but a shell of its former self, the Venom symbiote is fully restored. Better yet, it knows that Carnage is out there, and it knows that a big battle lies ahead.
There's only one thing missing: Eddie Brock. But now that the symbiote has been healed, and now that it knows the looming threat of Carnage, it's quite possible that its first act will be to seek out its former host. Then, and only then, will Venom be whole again... and ready for the carnage that is to come.
Written by Donny Cates and illustrated by Ryan Stegman, Absolute Carnage #1 goes on sale Aug. 7 from Marvel Comics.