—MyntrilThose aren't voices, Venom. That's the Cosmos. Agents are tied to the Cosmos itself. When we hear voices cry out... we answer.
Appearing in 1st story
Featured Characters:
- Venom (Flash Thompson) (Main story and flashback)
Supporting Characters:
- 803 (Only in flashback)
- Agents of the Cosmos (First appearance) (Only in flashback)
Antagonists:
- Unidentified Automatons (Only in flashback)
- Fmora (First appearance) (Only in flashback)
- Gramosian Space Pirates
Other Characters:
- Guardians of the Galaxy (Cameo) (Only in flashback)
- The Thing (Ben Grimm) (Cameo) (Only in flashback)
- Groot (Cameo) (Only in flashback)
- Star-Lord (Kitty Pryde) (Cameo) (Only in flashback)
- Drax the Destroyer (Arthur Douglas) (Cameo) (Only in flashback)
- Rocket Raccoon (Cameo) (Only in flashback)
- P'qui (First appearance) (Only in flashback)
- Hjuo (P'qui's deity) (Mentioned) (Only in flashback)
- Symbiotes (Mentioned) (Only in flashback)
- Humans (Mentioned) (Only in flashback)
- Several Unidentified Aliens
Locations:
- Unnamed Planet holding an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting
- Unnamed Planet the Guardians of the Galaxy were fighting on (Only in flashback)
- Outer Rim (Only in flashback)
- Unnamed P'qui Planet (Only in flashback)
- Earth (Mentioned)
- Unnamed Half-Destroyed Planet
- Gramosian Space Pirates' outpost (First appearance)
- Gramos (Mentioned)
Items:
- Venom Symbiote (Main story and flashback)
- Element Guns (Cameo) (Only in flashback)
- Drax's Knives (Cameo) (Only in flashback)
- Automated Drilling Station (Only appearance; destruction) (Only in flashback)
- YT-19 (Mentioned) (Only in flashback)
- Tarna's Symbiote (First appearance) (Only in flashback)
- Myntril's Symbiote (First appearance) (Only in flashback)
Vehicles:
- Kio's spaceship (Only in flashback)
- Agents of the Cosmos' spaceship (First full appearance) (Only in flashback)
Synopsis for 1st story
At an interstellar intervention group meeting, Flash introduces himself, saying it's been a while since his last meeting, but that he has two jobs. He states that things are finally starting to click with his main job due to his excellent co-worker, but things are more complicated with his new job. A little over 63 hours earlier, Venom was on a jungle planet fighting crustacean-like monsters in a swamp. As a crustacean grabs him in its pincers, 803 radios Venom to warn him that he's detected readings three systems back. Ripping off the crustacean's pincer, Venom tells 803 to keep an eye out for the ship that's been following them, causing 803 to ask why they even came to the jungle planet in the first place when they're being pursued by a warship. Venom responds that he heard a cry for help in his head again, exiting the swamp to be hailed as a hero by the indigenous P'qui aliens. As acid rain begins to fall from the sky, Venom shields them with his symbiote and asks where their village is. The P'qui respond that it's downriver, so Venom envelops them with his symbiote and asks who they called out to help from. The lead P'qui responds that they prayed to help from Hjuo, their goddess, leaving Flash confused. He asks what the crustacean-monsters were, and is told they are called fmora and are usually docile, but that a giant drill drove them out of their native habitat and made them aggressive.
Reaching the village as the acid rain ends, the lead P'qui offers to take Venom to the drill, saying it fell from the sky months ago and has upset the balance of the planet. At the drill site, Venom asks if there are any workers, and the P'qui responds that it's automated and periodically fires canisters filled with the fmoras' food into the sky. Asked why the drill is there, Venom says he doesn't know but tells 803 to target it, scan its technology, and open fire. 803 does so, and the P'qui celebrate and hail Flash as the incarnation of Hjuo. 803 asks Flash if he is a god now, and Flash retorts to get them out of there. 803 complies, belatedly informing Flash that they are trapped by a massive ship. Flash tells 803 to kill the engines, and the robot does so saying he's happy Flash decided to simply let the ship obliterate them and that there's no shame in a quick death. Flash says that if the massive ship wanted to destroy them it would have done so already, and 803 notes they're caught in a tractor beam. Flash jokingly compares the ship the Death Star, confusing 803, then tells the robot to stay with the ship and run as soon as he gets a chance.
Exiting his ship and entering the massive vessel's cargo bay, Flash looks around and then calls out saying that he knows he's being watched and to get this over with. As the Venom symbiote covers him, a female purple alien with a fanged maw, red eyes attached to cephalofoils, long black hair, and hoofed feet attacks with a roar. Realizing the alien is bonded to a symbiote, Venom suggests they work things out peacefully, but the alien only roars and attacks, transforming an arm into a bladed tentacle and slashing him across the chest. Sprouting a fanged maw as he starts to get angry, Venom asks if the alien is a baseball fan before ripping a pipe out of the wall and bashing her with it. As the alien morphs her other hand into a pair of long claws and slices the pipe apart, Venom asks if it knows that symbiotes are supposed to be peaceful, speculating that alien is "one nasty piece of work" under her symbiote. Speaking for the first time, the alien retorts that Flash has no idea as she transforms her hands into a pair of sickle-blades. Just as the alien lunges, a voice sternly proclaims that's enough, as a top-heavy six-eyed male alien bonded to a white symbiote appears.
The white alien introduces himself as Myntril and the purple alien as Tarna, both of them Agents of the Cosmos like Venom. Tarna protests, saying that Venom is weak and barely in sync with his symbiote, but Venom interrupts saying that he and the symbiote have gotten along fine since the Agents of the Cosmos cleansed it, with his only problem being Myntril and Tarna stalking them and the voice in his head. Myntril clarifies that the voice Venom is hearing is the will of the Cosmos, saying that the Agents are tied to the Cosmos itself and that when they hear it call out they answer. Retracting the symbiote from his face, Flash asks if all being an Agent of the Cosmos entails is helping where help is needed and making the universe a better place one planet at a time, stating that sounds like fun, to Tarna's confusion. Flash asks why they were following him, and Myntril replies that they were testing him. Tarna says it was to see if he was worthy, but Myntril amends her statement to seeing if Flash was ready. Flash asks how he performed, and Myntril replies that he did very well, though Tarna snidely says he did adequately at best. Flash sarcastically notes that he and Tarna are going to be the best of friends, but she dismisses him as a waste of time and walks away. When Flash sarcastically remarks that Tarna must be popular on her homeworld, Myntril informs Flash that she is feared by all who have met her. Flash asks about the drill he destroyed, and Myntril responds that he doesn't know who is responsible but that they're not sanctioned by any of the galactic empires the Agents of the Cosmos are aware of. Myntril adds that the one responsible for the drill is likely the same person who tried to purchase the chemical weapons Venom intercepted, causing Venom to wonder aloud at the presence of rogue alien terrorist arming themselves with deadly weapons. As Venom boards his ship, Myntril says that Tarna is in charge of training him but that she will most likely disregard that duty, and to remember that the Cosmos is always with him.
At the intervention group, Flash concludes that it feels like he's been given a second chance and feels great, thanking the assembled aliens for listening to him and asking if the black liquid they're drinking is coffee.
On a half-destroyed moon, the Gramosian space pirate Mercurio discusses the destruction of the drill with his second-in-command, Tubin. When Tubin calls him a lord, Mercurio retorts that he will only be worthy of that title when he has conquered their homeworld. Asked what to do about Venom, Mercurio asks Tubin who the vilest creature in their cells is. Tubin replies that it is Pik Rollo, and Mercurio instructs him to place her on their fastest ship and tell her to bring him Venom's head.
Solicit Synopsis
• Between missions with the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, Venom fights strange, violent aliens and helps strange, peaceful aliens. Aliens can be strange, is what we’re saying.
• All the while, he’s being trailed by a mysterious warship! Are its operators violent or peaceful?
• Flash and his Klyntar are working better than ever, but there’s a lot Flash doesn’t know about being an Agent of the Cosmos. And what he doesn’t know could kill him!