Venom is one of those characters who has stayed at the heart of my collecting and comic fandom from pretty much the beginning. I cheered the day I saw him on the comic shop shelf portrayed on the cover as a hero instead of a villain. I’d disliked Eddie Brock and his bruised pride and perceived slights that became full blown obsession. And that was why I liked him. He could have been a cardboard cut out villain so easily, but he kept growing. From a petty and angry man, his resentment growing with each appearance and then one day, there he is in all his manic glory, the worst villain Spider-man had ever faced. In some ways a villain he had created with his own need to always be the hero above everything else. Now these cast offs (Eddie and the Symbiote) had come back to haunt him. Venom invaded every aspect of Spider-man’s life in a way no other sinister villain had or even could have. Venom had impossible knowledge not just about Spider-man, but Peter Parker himself, right down to the most intimate and nitty gritty bits.

They could have left Venom like that. Hundreds of issues back and forth like Batman and Joker until it just turned stale and fans bought more out of loyalty and obligation than any genuine interest.

But an interesting thing happened that is just so unique to Spider-man and certain people in his life, whether they like him or not. Spider-man’s earnestness infected Eddie and the Symbiote right back. It crawled under that oily blue-ish black skin and started laying down webs that worked their way right into Eddie’s brain. In ways he, and us the readers, never expected that innate goodness bubbled to the surface of the Venom’s lizard brain. He found himself as a whole being choosing to do good in situations where doing bad would have worked just as well for him. And as much as both entities wanted to hate Spider-man & Peter Parker, they began to respect and admire him. They emulated him.

And then it appeared they both came to an understanding that they had made their own choices that led them to ruin and ultimately to each other.

The moment of their acceptance wouldn’t mean the end of their struggles or even their disdain for their former all-encompassing obsession. It was however, the culmination of character growth for a character many at the time (and some still do I’m sure) dismissed as all flash and no substance; a bully and waste of paper. Venom showed even the angriest being on the planet can find peace and purpose, can mean something to somebody, and make the right decisions when needed most.

Sure, they both still screw up and won’t win father of the year. But they never give up no matter how many times the Marvel Universe knocks them down.

And that’s a character worth cheering for. Or drawing a lot of covers of, lol.

Don’t Sleep On This!

Fox