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Quote1 Once I get my suit back... you'll never see me coming. And neither will anybody else. Quote2
Lee Price

Appearing in "Lethal Protector: Part 1"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Inmates (First appearance)
    • Jimmy (First appearance; dies)
    • Unnamed others (First appearance)
  • Lee Price
  • Corrupt NYPD officer (First appearance)
  • Unnamed drug dealer (First appearance)
  • Moloids
  • Unnamed "mole monster" (First appearance; dies)

Other Characters:

Races and Species:

Locations:

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Synopsis for "Lethal Protector: Part 1"

In a cell at the New York Corrections Supermax Facility for Superhuman Incarceration, three inmates discuss carrying out a hit on a big name-but-powerless supervillain, vetoing Absorbing Man and a former Hobgoblin by the name of Ryan Markinson. Deciding to target Lee Price, they approach him in the cafeteria and interrogate him over the rumors that he used to be Venom and tried to take over the Black Cat's gang, a skinhead named Jimmy mocking him over his failure and incarceration. Price dismisses them, saying that they're imprisoned too. Noticing he's surrounded, Price asks if they killed the guard or paid him off, and one of the inmates retorts that they paid the guard off but are going to kill him and that he should take that as a compliment. Price asks if they're not even going to let him eat his last meal in peace, then abruptly slams the edge of his meal tray down on Jimmy's fingers, breaking them, and then catches the second thug in the throat with it. The third inmate grabs him from behind, but Price breaks his fingers and then throws him headfirst to the ground. Approaching Jimmy, Price angrily asks if they thought he'd be an easy mark just because he doesn't have superpowers. Swearing to annihilate Jimmy's gang of skinheads once he's out and has the Venom symbiote back, Price pummels Jimmy to a bloody pulp, saying no-one will ever see him coming.

In a New York ally, Venom clings to a wall eavesdropping on a conversation between a dirty cop and a drug dealer, snaking a tendril towards them. Snaring the drug dealer by the neck and slamming him into the wall of an apartment, Venom drops down and confronts the officer, who tries to cut a deal in exchange for mercy. Accusing the officer of betraying his oath to serve and protect, Venom says that the officer's punishment must be special and then roars that he's going to eat his brains, his fangs lengthening and tongue snaking out of his jaws. Recoiling, Venom exclaims that he can't eat the cop, who agrees saying that he would be unappetizing - being a smoker and all bones and gristle. Knocking the officer out with a backhand to the face, Eddie retracts the symbiote from his face and says the officer is lucky that he met Venom on a night the symbiote needs to take its medicine. Web-swinging away, Eddie grouses that he didn't realize how long it had been since it's last dosage.

At Eddie's apartment, the symbiote complains that it doesn't need the medicine, but Eddie retorts it that it almost ate the police officer and had they killed the cop they'd be public enemy number one. Saying that the medicine should calm it and heal its mind, Eddie preps an injection, but the symbiote replies that the problem isn't with it's mind, it's just hungry. Acknowledging that he's been too reliant on its metabolism and needs to eat more regularly and find better shelter, Eddie spots a billboard for the Fact Channel.

Transforming the symbiote into a suit, Eddie meets with editor Jennifer Kao and introduces himself as Mr. Sym. Kao asks why she's never heard of him before, and Eddie states that he prefers to operate under pseudonyms and understands that wouldn't be a problem here. Going over his resume, Kao notes that his tenacity is impressive but that the material he brought for publication - exposing corruption in the NYPD and FBI - aren't what her new division of the Fact Channel, the Fact Sheet, has as its purview. Saying that if he's worked in print before he should know the drill, she says her paper focuses on falsified stories like Elvis coming back from the dead and people living on the Moon. When Eddie retorts that people do live on the Moon, Kao tells him to go and write that up with the skill he put into his exposés. Eddie protests that her station is called the Fact Channel and that journalism can be a powerful tool for justice, but Kao retorts that she's not interested in justice, only in making sure sales remain steady and her employees get their paychecks. Responding to Eddie's frustration, the symbiote suggests they eat her.

Later, Eddie makes his way through the sewers, the symbiote asking if they're there to look for danger and chances to be a hero. Transforming into Venom, Eddie responds that the dinosaur people owe him a debt and that he figured they'd have something bloody the symbiote could eat without Venom having to steal or kill a newspaper editor. As Venom approaches the dinosaur-peoples' village, they hail him as their savior and welcome him into their community. Venom says he's come to break bread with them, and an anthropomorphic Ankylosaurus says they have meat, leading him to a bonfire. Venom says that something smells good, but seeing that the roasting meat is a Moloid, asks if the dinosaur people know where it came from. The ankylosaur responds that one of their members, Togar, captured it while foraging in the slime pools. Venom irately says he knows of these creatures and that there's never just one Moloid, just as a horde of Moloids and a subterranean beast burst through the wall. Venom surveys the chaos as the two sides clash, the dinosaur people eager for more meat. The symbiote asks if they should join the fray and devour everyone, but Venom steps in and tries to put an end to the bloodshed, saying that the Moloids are sentient beings that should be afforded the opportunity to live in peace. Before he can finish, the mole monster eats him and the dinosaur people attack it in an effort to save him. Ripping out of its throat, Venom calls an end to the fighting and explains that the Moloids are not just prey to be hunted, but are part of a civilization just like the dinosaur peoples'. Personally returning a dead Moloid to his brethren, Venom apologizes for the horrible mistake and tells them to go in peace to bury their dead - save for the mole monster, whose corpse is too big to transport. As the Moloids retreat, one of the dinosaur-men asks Venom if they understood. Venom says they definitely didn't, grumbling that this is one of the most bizarre things to happen to him at dinner. The symbiote complains that it's still hungry, and Eddie responds that's why they didn't let the Moloids take the mole monster. Addressing the community, Venom proclaims they will honor the mole monster by feasting on its flesh, but that this is never to happen again.

Elsewhere, Sergei Kravinoff speaks to Dmitri Smerdyakov on the phone, asking if he has any news for him. Dmitri informs Kraven that the Hague is angry at him for hunting in the Savage Land without a permit the year previously, but Kraven says he was talking about finding an interesting hunt to pursue. Spotting a Fact Channel tabloid article written by Eddie Brock about dinosaur-people in New York's sewers, Kraven cuts Dmitri off and tells him to fuel up the jet and contact their people in New York, eager to go on a new hunt.

Appearing in "Marvel Legacy Primer Pages"

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Synopsis for "Marvel Legacy Primer Pages"

The Venom symbiote narrates that it came into existence on the planet Klyntar, lightyears from Earth, but was not truly born until it bonded to Spider-Man. Spider-Man rejected and tried to kill it, but their time together had given the symbiote access to all his powers, which it bequeathed to its next host, Eddie Brock. While it bonded to many other humans both good and evil in the years since, it is back with Eddie, the host who understands it best, and together they are Venom.

Solicit Synopsis

Something sinister is lingering in the darkest depths of New York and no one is safe! But even the monsters have something to fear when the world’s deadliest hunter Kraven makes them their prey. Their only hope is Venom, a lethal protector who can make the hunter… the hunted. PLUS: Includes 3 bonus MARVEL PRIMER PAGES! Story by Robbie Thompson and art by Mark Bagley!

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