Something that has been made QUITE clear throughout the All-New Venom series, which is now the legacy-numbered Venom series (this is an instance where I really don’t care for the idea of using “legacy numbering” for a character that did a series of miniseries for half a decade. There IS no legacy for Venom numbering), is that this series is going to have a much different vibe than any other Venom series up until this point.
That definitely continues in this issue, which deals with the fact that symbiotes are very much hated in New York City following the Venom War (where Eddie Brock and his son, Dylan, fought over the Venom symbiote, but the whole thing got much broader than just that), and so the symbiotes that we follow are taking new approaches to being heroes in New York City, with hilarious results.
Image via Marvel
Venom #251 is from regular writer Al Ewing, fill-in artist Paco Media, regular colorist Frank D’Armata, and regular letterer Clayton Cowles, and it continues Mary Jane Watson’s journey as the new Venom (afrer she and the Venom symbiote became bonded together agains really either of their wills, but the symbiote needed to bond with her to save her life).
In this issue, Ewing cleverly explores the fact that symbiotes can shapeshift, and thus they don’t all HAVE to look like Venom or Carnage or whatever.
How does Mary Jane try to get back to a normal life?
Image via Marvel
In the previous issue, we saw Mary Jane and the Venom symbiote really try to discuss Mary Jane’s desire to get back into her acting career. She has taken a lot of time off, and as a result, she really has to work her way up from the bottom again. This includes doing an infomercial based around her last name “Watson” (as it is a Sherlock Holmes-themed ad).
The debate with Venom in that issue revolved around the idea of whether Mary Jane can even TAKE ON another job, as her new role as Venom has taken up so much of her life, and she is also dealing with a lot of the same problems that her old boyfriend, Peter Parker, had when it came to keeping a steady job, the fact that she has to disappear at any given moment.
Mary Jane’s wacky adventures in acting is part of the general sign by Ewing that this is a comic book that is about having FUN. There are certainly going to be some serious stuff in this book on occasion, but the general vibe is a classic old school superhero series, just with symbiotes.
Heck, the previous issue had an epic space adventure akin to something you’d see in an old Captain Marvel story, so it is clear that Ewing wants to bring in classic Marvel storytelling approaches, but, of course, adapt them to the characters present in this series, namely make it work for symbiotes.
How do the symbiotes hilariously try to disguise themselves?
Since symbiotes are all wanted by the government, there is specifically a team assigned to hunt them down (now led by Doctor Otto Octavius, who has received a full pardon, and can now be employed by an anti-symbiote agency, and not even be breaking any law). This leads to a fascinating series of pages where both Venom and also Toxin (which is bonded with Rick Jones) try to disguise themselves.
Venom pretends to be Iron Man, using his roller skates instead of his fyling boots because, well, obviously, Venom can’t fly. Ewing’s work has always had a nice appreciation for continuity, and that’s present in the way that they revisit Iron Man’s unusual past armor features (the roller skates).
Things take a big change when they go to capture Blue Streak, an obscure supervillain, and Blue Streak explodes their head. You see, Mary Jane is a bit shorter than most Venom hosts, so Venom’s “head” is actually above her in the symbiote. However, of course, no one else knows what is going on.
So, to the rest of the world, it looks like Tony Stark just had his head blown off by the Blue Streak, of all supervillains, and Venom and Mary jane have to think of other disguises. Meanwhile, Rick Jones recently agreed to bond with the Toxin symbiote, and they ALSO want to fight crime in a city that hates and fears them.
Since they ALSO have to disguise themselves, they pretend to be Captain Spider (Rick Jones, of course, was once Captain America’s sidekick, Bucky, so he has been trained to fight by Cap). The Toxin symbiote is having trouble adjusting to life as a superhero.
In one of the funniest bits in the issue (THE funniest bit is clearly Venom running around looking like Iron Man, only with his head blown off), Rick asks the Toxin symbiote whether he should step in when “Captain Spider”‘s dialogue sounds a bit too violent. Toxin says, OUT LOUD, “No, Pat, I can do this!” Rick responds through their telepathic bond, “My name isn’t Pat. It’s Rick. Rick Jones. Also, don’t use my name.”
Pat Mulligan was the Toxin host back when Toxin received his own comic book series back in 2005, one of the earliest attempts to do a superhero version of the symbiotes. It’s a nice little continuity nod by Ewing, while not requiring the reader to know who Pat IS.
Paco Medina has stepped in nicely to draw this issue (and the next). He is a veteran comic book artist, and he handles everything really nicely, from the hilarious back-and-forths (like Luke Cage learning that Doctor Octopus has been pardoned, and is now leading the anti-symbiote forces) to the action sequences, he nails it all.
And, of course, in the finale of the issue, he does a wonderful job depicting Venom’s solution to having to disguise itself as other susperheroess. it has decided to just become ANOTHER Spider-Man running around New York City! I can’t wait to see how long that disguise holds up.
Source: Marvel