Bendis changes things up slightly with this volume, with a story that is largely self-contained. That’s not to say the other volumes haven’t told stories in that way, but Venom as a threat seems distinct from the general narrative of the book so far. It doesn’t all work perfectly, but it’s another bold entry in this series.The most striking thing about this story is how wholly the Venom character is changed from the version we’re more familiar with. The general ideas behind this revamp are quite good. Bendis sets the stage well, with Peter discovering a tape of the Parker and Brock families having a picnic together. Through that, he opens us up to the world of young Eddie Brock and the work their fathers did together. It makes sense to give the Parker parents a bigger role in the Spider-Man mythos. And the basic idea of Venom, that he’s not an alien suit, but a medical advancement Peter and Eddie’s fathers made to help humans combat disease, is certainly a daring change, one that I feel is explored quite well throughout this story. There’s also a lot of potential to starting fresh with such a simple idea; some of these concepts have grown too big in the main Marvel Universe, and here, Venom is brought back to basics, with a strong foundation.
Bendis puts a lot of work into the Eddie Brock character, who is now a university student whom Peter tracks down after learning how close their families were. Prior to Eddie's transformation into Venom, Bendis sharply draws the character, and he provides a nice contrast to the Peter we’ve been reading about. The discussion he has with Peter about moving on from high school is a great scene – made even stronger when we find out he gave Gwen the exact same speech. So we see someone that, for all his confidence about moving on in life, still has issues with how he presents himself to people and perhaps with his self-confidence. It’s also nice to see Peter and Gwen hanging out with him, experience something outside of high school life. Gwen also fits in well in this role. I can’t imagine Mary Jane being so gung ho on riding off with Eddie, and it's nice to see Peter and Gwen hanging out.
The bigger story almost goes on hold for an issue when Peter gets the venom suit attached to him. Bendis uses that issue for a very fast-paced action piece where Peter tests the capabilities of the suit against various criminals in the city. Bendis nails the voice of this excitable Peter, so taken with what the suit can do, but also overwhelmed by it. The moment where he lashes out at an innocuous criminal and transforms into the more familiar-looking Venom we’re used to is very good, as is his attempt to get rid of the suit. He and Eddie’s confrontation after that is gripping stuff, with Peter divulging his secret identity as no other choice presents itself and explaining the disgust he feels with himself over how the venom suit made him act.
Eddie quickly turns after this, double-crossing Peter and putting on the suit himself, transforming into the
Venom appearance we are familiar with. His initial transformation is a powerful sequence, as he unknowingly kills a cleaning woman and struggles to understand why he can’t feel his feet, his heart beats, and his body movements. It’s a wonderful example of Bendis putting a realistic spin on superheroes; comic characters go through these superhuman transformations regularly, and here we get a human voice showing what it must actually be like. A fight with Peter quickly follows, livened up by interspersing scenes of Peter watching a fairly ominous video of his father discussing his scientific work through the fight scenes. The desired effect is achieved – this feels like a well-done, suspenseful movie. As much as I’m not interested in a big slugfest with a snarling monster (shades of Peter’s first battle with Norman in volume 1), this fight is grounded in Richard Parker’s narration, which hits on the wider points of the story without being intrusive or heavy-handed.Bendis wisely includes a seventh issue for some decompression. Peter confronts Nick Fury on why he didn’t intervene this time to help. It’s a decidedly interesting take on Peter’s growth as a hero and I like how it connects Peter to the wider Ultimate Universe. I’m getting a little annoyed with Fury/SHIELD cropping up in the final issues of each story to mop up (or, in this case, to not mop up) the problem Peter faced, but there’s still potential to this idea. Next, he learns that Eddie, whether dead or alive, is gone from his dorm. Finally, he confronts Eddie’s professor, mentioned throughout the story, Dr. Curt Connors. I’m not crazy about plot elements that are introduced in the closing act of a lengthy story, but this is ok. Bendis strongly ties it to the story’s wider themes and the bigger story of the Ultimate U – did Richard Parker’s experiments lead to the superhero uprising, and has this influx of superheroes been a good thing? Peter predictably lashes out, defending his father’s attempts to help people, and is left standing in silence, contemplating if his father, or he himself, have helped anyone. Like the previous two volumes, it ends on a dramatic note, with the lead character left to wonder where things went wrong.
This is the most irregular volume so far in that the Venom story is fairly self-contained and takes up the vast
majority of the story. There are no other plotlines running alongside it, and although the Nick Fury stuff shows up at the end, this is basically all about Venom. Bendis does still make some room for the supporting cast, though. Gwen is getting more comfortable living at the Parker’s. Aunt May has a wonderful moment, where she is in a state of shock after seeing the family picnic video, which her husband appears in. And MJ gets quietly jealous about the developments in Peter’s life since their break-up. In both his personal life and Spider-Man career, she feels like she is missing out. There’s a great reunion with her after Peter has his experience with the venom suit that really feels like he’s trying to reach out to the one person he can talk to about this sort of stuff. Bendis choosing to have Peter tell one of his friends his secret identity so early in the series remains a strong decision.There are some uneven moments here. The story becomes less interesting when it moves to action. But, the heart of the Peter character is preserved through it all, as he makes bad choices, acts out, and learns from his mistakes. It asks bigger questions about the value of heroes and has guts in doing so. Peter’s success rate is not consistent and the toll his actions have taken on real people has been large. So is this all worth it? I don’t think the established Marvel Universe would have the guts, or ability, to ask such ballsy questions and keep them as running story threads. It may not be Bendis' absolute strongest story yet, but it is gutsy and dramatic and has a strong voice. I quite liked it.
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