Sometimes it happens that one of the supervillains becomes so popular that he receives his own series. Or Venom. Will the deadly defender stand out from other superhero titles thanks to its unusual protagonist?
In search of your place in the world
Eddie Brock gives up hunting Spider-Man and returns to his hometown, beautiful San Francisco. This is where he wants to make a cozy nest, which is not very easy, because when he first tries to rent an apartment, a police patrol recognizes him in no time. Ultimately, Spider-man, the vengeful Oath Keepers, and Roland Treece’s steel-clad gorillas set out to pursue him. Eddie faces a real challenge, but he can always count on the help of his symbiote. And as Venom, he smashes the heads of all opponents with wild delight. Although he is equally willing to defend the defenseless, including groups of homeless people hunted by Treece’s thugs. The action is going at breakneck speed, so first of all, you should expect a solid punch in the mouth. Venom. Lethal Defender is just a solid piece of good superhero comics. A certain diversion from the fight are flashbacks showing Eddie Brock’s youth, but little space is devoted to this thread. On the one hand, we can understand his motivations a little better, and on the other, it significantly affects the perception of this character.
Spider-man vs. Venom
Although the title character is Eddie Brock, Spider-Man is also an equally important character. When he learns about Venom’s actions from the news, he feels guilty and sets off for San Francisco. From the very beginning he has to struggle with opposing emotions. Because although Eddie Brock is a supervillain, he also actually defends the innocent. Although he uses more brutal methods, he cannot be clearly classified as a typical “evil”. In my opinion, the strongest point of the comic is the relationship between these two characters. On the one hand, they fight each other, and on the other… they cooperate. It’s a shame Roland Treece wasn’t depicted in similar shades of gray. In my opinion, he is just acting senseless. Moreover, I expected a more interesting intrigue here. Orwell Taylor and his Oath Keepers give Venom a hard time, but there is a significant problem with them – after an epic battle in the middle of the volume, they no longer appear. Perhaps this motif was developed in other issues devoted to the cosmic symbiote, but this thread still seems to be cut short. The final minor blemish in the script is Eddie Brock’s father. Thanks to him, the creators included a flashback, but in fact this character does not bring anything specific to the plot. And the meeting of Peter Parker and, after a while, Spider-Man is also unnecessary, or at least the screenwriter did not use this idea properly.
The deadly beauty of the symbiote
I like the lines in superhero comics from the late 20th century. I read this item with great pleasure. Venom looks amazing and is truly a deadly defender. The tusks are particularly impressive. The hero battles also look very good. I have no objections here, I really like the style of Mark Bagley and Ron Lim. Apart from the comic book itself, the edition also offers a few alternative covers, and that’s all, and I noticed two typos.
Is it worth adopting Venom?
Venom. The Deadly Defender is an enjoyable read that is hard to put down due to its dynamic fight scenes and sudden plot twists. Basically, there’s not much room to rest here. Because if it’s not Treece’s thugs, the Oath Keepers or Spider-man are attacking Venom. If you like comics about these characters, you will definitely not be disappointed. I didn’t find anything original or particularly memorable here, but I still had a great time.
