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Quote1 Important place, Eddie. Bonded forever. No one will break that bond. Quote2
Venom Symbiote

Appearing in "Heart of Darkness"

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Synopsis for "Heart of Darkness"

Eddie Brock awakens from a nightmare of his turbulent history with the symbiotes. As he gets up and looks out the window at the nighttime cityscape, a manifestation of the Venom symbiote appears on his shoulder, urging him to go out and drink in the moonlight. As Venom web-swings over the city, the symbiote points out a robbery being committed by a group of men wearing armor with colored pauldrons and urges Eddie to stop them.

The armored thieves attach a bomb to the door of a building and detonate it. The purple-armored thief enters the building as the others go over their plan. Venom lands in their midst, causing the thief in red armor to flee in terror as the others pull out taser weapons. Unaffected, Venom grabs the blue-armored thief by the throat and demands to know why a bunch of terrorists would rob a biotech firm, guessing they're after a biological weapon. The blue-armored thief explains that they're not terrorists, but a technology group and that their tech is non-lethal. Venom demands to know who hired them, but the purple-armored thief returns with the item they were after, stopping abruptly as he spots Venom. Venom web-slings the blue-armored thief into a wall, killing him, as the yellow-armored thief gets up and attacks him. Venom tackles him to the ground, destroys his taser, and demands to be given what the purple-armored thief stole. Terrified, the thief turns over a genetically-modified tomato in a canister. Venom is dumbfounded, protesting that he thought he was stopping terrorists. As the police arrive, Venom flees and lands on a rooftop. Retracting the symbiote, Eddie demands to know what happened and why it lashed out with violence. The symbiote retorts that the thieves were little men who were taking something that didn't belong to them and needed to be put in their place, but Eddie snaps that they weren't hurting anyone. The symbiote protests that the men were thieves, asking Eddie if this isn't what he wanted, and Eddie retorts that they don't butcher men for being thieves, wondering aloud what he was thinking. The symbiote responds that he wants to be a hero and can't be seen looking stupid.

Travelling to the run-down Our Lady of Saints Church, Eddie sits in one of the pews as the symbiote observes this is where they first met and asks if he's sad. As Eddie responds that he isn't, a pair of young street thugs enter and confront Eddie, pulling out weapons. Standing up, Eddie menacingly tells them to leave him alone, the symbiote covering one hand behind his back, and the thugs lose their nerve and flee. A voice thanks Eddie for scaring them off and that the diocese asked him to restore the parish, a task made difficult by the increase in criminal activity. Eddie turns to see a priest, who notes that he's a dangerous man and asks if he's come for benediction. Eddie responds that he doesn't believe in God anymore, but the priest smiles and says that Eddie still came to God's house. Sitting next to Eddie, the priest states that when Galactus first attacked Earth and battled the Fantastic Four, almost all of his parishioners stopped coming to church after years of flawless attendance, but people who had never been to church in their lives started attending. Eddie pensively tells the priest that he recently resumed a relationship, and when asked by the priest if that's a good thing he responds that he'd been dreaming of it for years. The priest notes that Eddie's implying that it's not as he'd hoped, and Eddie states that he went through a lot of pain to get this relationship back, but that as a result he did something he thought he would never do again, and that he thought he'd put those days behind him. The priest asks if his partner was the one who made him do something he regrets and if Eddie regrets the reunion, but Eddie firmly denies this, saying that he will never regret this reunion but that he doesn't know who he and his partner are together anymore. The priest comforts Eddie, saying that if his partner loves him they wouldn't force him to do something he doesn't want to do, causing the symbiote to tell Eddie it doesn't like the priest. Eddie snaps that the priest doesn't know what he's talking about, but the priest warns him that he knows obsession when he sees it, and that if love is used to justify pain it turns into something ugly. As the symbiote reiterates its dislike of the priest, Eddie stands up, saying he has to leave, and the priest tells Eddie to come back whenever he feels the need to talk.

Walking down the street, the symbiote states that it only wants what Eddie wants, what they both want: to be together forever. As Eddie agrees with this, the symbiote states it will hurt anyone who threatens their bond, and Eddie tells it that no-one is threatening them, expressing concern over its behavior. The symbiote acknowledges it is succumbing to rage and hatred again, and that some days it's stronger than others, but that even in its weakened state it's more than capable of killing anyone who interferes. A bright light shines behind Eddie and the symbiote warns him of an incoming attack, not fast enough to avoid being attacked by the Scorpion. Mac Gargan sneers that he'd heard from his people at Alchemax that Eddie was Venom again, and that he has unfinished business with both Eddie and the Venom symbiote. Transforming into Venom, Eddie snarls that it's time to finish their grudge match, and lunges. Venom's claws spark off Gargan's armor as the Scorpion's tail shoots a torrent of flame at him. Venom grabs the tail and crushes it, but Gargan uses the distraction to blast Venom point-blank with sonic weapons mounted in his pincers. Gargan taunts Eddie as the symbiote sloughs away, saying that he had Alchemax modify his armor to pinpoint the frequency that causes the symbiote the most amount of pain, and that he still has nightmares of when he was bonded to it. As Gargan expresses his intent to crush Eddie's head and burn the symbiote to cinders, Eddie realizes that Gargan fears the symbiote and urges it to exploit this. The symbiote enters Gargan's suit and he immediately jettisons the Scorpion armor, terrified that it wants to bond with him again. Eddie sneers that the symbiote would never leave him for the likes of Gargan before punching him out and collapsing, exhausted from Gargan's beatdown. The symbiote envelops him and carries him to safety as he passes out, saying that it will always take care of him and won't let anyone get between them.

Eddie regains consciousness in Our Lady of Saints Church, asking the symbiote what happened and where they are. It responds that they're back where they first bonded, comparing their relationship to marriage, and when asked why it brought him there the symbiote responds that the church is a special place where they were bonded forever, and that no-one will break that bond. Looking around, Eddie is horrified to see the seemingly dead body of the priest nearby and that his hands are covered in blood, asking the symbiote what it's done. As Eddie sorrowfully cradles the priest's body in his arms, the symbiote ominously responds that they did what they will do to anyone who tries to come between them.

Appearing in "Dependence Day"

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  • Demons (Only in flashback)
  • FBI (Only in flashback)

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  • Venom Symbiote (Only in flashback)
  • Mania Symbiote (Only in flashback)
  • Hell-Mark (Only in flashback)
  • Flash's prosthetic legs (Only in flashback)
  • FBI's anti-symbiote suit (First appearance; destruction) (Only in flashback)

Synopsis for "Dependence Day"

Several weeks prior to the symbiote's reunion with Eddie, Agent Venom and Mania prowl the alleys of New York, dispatching a group of lower demons. Taking a break to eat pizza after the battle, Flash banters with Andi, all the while being spied on by the FBI, who want to reclaim the symbiote. As Andi departs to do her homework, Flash transforms into Agent Venom and tells his pursuers that he knows they've been tailing him all night and they're alone now. Turning, he sees a person clad in a bulky suit of powered armor, but is cut off in the middle of a quip when the armored figure blasts him point-blank with a flamethrower. Transforming into his monstrous form, Venom snarls that all they've done is made him angry, asking if it was his opponent's plan to get beaten down. The armored figure responds that his plan was to lure Venom in close before blasting him with a weapon that separates the symbiote from Flash and sends it into a berserk state. Flash tries to calm the symbiote down, but it assumes its humanoid form and flees. The armored figure mocks Flash, saying he's not so tough without his friend, but Flash angrily kicks him over before running off to find the Venom symbiote. Removing his helmet, Agent Wambaugh tells his superiors that the symbiote has been separated from its host and is in the open.

Together, Flash and Andi search for the Venom symbiote, using the Mania symbiote to track it down. Unsuccessful, Flash reluctantly gives up, and it is revealed he was summarizing what had happened to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

Elsewhere, the Venom symbiote comes to its senses but is still consumed with rage, ashamed that the anger embroiling it feels good. Weakened from a prolonged period without a host and struggling to suppress its feral urges, the symbiote falls off the roof of an apartment into an alley, where it encounters an elderly homeless man and takes over him.

Appearing in "Malled!"

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Antagonists:

  • Unidentified gang members (First appearance; dies) (Only in flashback)
  • Unnamed mall security guard (First appearance; dies) (Only in flashback)

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Synopsis for "Malled!"

Years ago in the Strickland Mall, Queens, Venom rips the head off a Spider-Man action figure and tosses it next to the dozens of others he's decapitated. Retracting the symbiote, Eddie laments that stakeouts are boring before saying that tedium is a small price to pay for revenge on Spider-Man for ruining his career and rejecting the symbiote. Walking through the mall, Eddie notes that a gang of criminals has been robbing shoppers, and that he intends to use the investigative skills he honed as a reporter to do what the police cannot and hunt them down. An alarm interrupts his monologue, and three armed men enter. Transforming, Venom perches on a wall and decides to wait for Spider-Man to arrive so that he can ambush him, but one of the thugs pulls a gun on a mall security guard for tripping the alarm. Before he can shoot, Venom snares his hand with a tendril and throws him out the window. One of the other thugs opens fire to no effect, and Venom quips at him while plugging the barrel with a tendril, causing it to explode.

Hiding behind a wall, the last remaining thug looks around for Venom, who emerges out of invisibility behind him and grabs him by the neck, quoting a Bible verse before snapping his neck. Returning to the security guard, Venom asks if he is alright, but the terrified man opens fire. Ejecting the bullets, Venom is confused by his reaction, but as he approaches the security guard grabs a woman and offers her to Venom in exchange for his life. Unamused, Venom notes that the security guard was entrusted with the lives of the people around him, asking if this is how he honors that responsibility. Irately noting he gave up revenge on Spider-Man to save the security guard, Venom smothers him with a tendril, proclaiming him to not be innocent. The woman he saved calls him a monster, but Venom mistakenly believes she's talking about the security guard and says he won't harm her anymore.

As the police arrive, Eddie Brock once again laments the misfortune and betrayal that befell him and the symbiote, before cheering up when the symbiote voicelessly tells him that betrayal makes them stronger by feeding their rage. With renewed determination and enthusiasm, Eddie transforms into Venom and web-swings into the night.

Solicit Synopsis

REUNITED, AND IT FEELS SO GOOD!

Or, feels so bad? However it feels, Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote have been reunited, and they’re web-slinging their way around New York again. Featuring a host (hah!) of Venom creators from the character’s near 30-year history, this monstrous anniversary spectacular welcomes guest artist TRADD MOORE for an oversized and brutal main story AND a lethal story featuring fan-favorite creators David Michelinie and Ron Lim, reunited! With questions still lingering about how the symbiote was separated from Flash Thompson, and what lies in its future now that it’s reunited with Eddie Brock, this is one issue you can’t afford to miss!

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