Appearing in 1st story
Featured Characters:
- Venom (Eddie Brock) (Main story and flashback)
Supporting Characters:
- Venom Symbiote (Main story and recap) (Controlled by Knull)
- "Rex Strickland" (Main story and flashback) (Joins S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Sym-Soldier Program in flashback) (First appearance chronologically)
Antagonists:
- Grendel Symbiote (Main story and flashback) (Unnamed) (Controlled by Knull)
Other Characters:
- S.H.I.E.L.D. (Only in flashback)
- Sym-Soldier Program (Only in flashback)
- Unnamed soldiers
- Rex Strickland (First full appearance) (Joins) (Only in flashback)
- Unnamed symbiotes (Photo)
- Nick Fury (Only in flashback) (Shadow only)
- Unnamed others (Only in flashback) (Shadow only)
- Sym-Soldier Program (Only in flashback)
- Jamie Brock (Referenced) (Deceased)
- Catholic Church (Referenced)
- Carl Brock (Referenced)
- Miss Lewis' son (First appearance) (Only in flashback)
- Daily Globe (Referenced)
- Emil Gregg (Referenced)
- Spider-Man (Peter Parker) (Referenced)
- Treece International (Only in recap)
- Harlan (exo-suited Digger) (Only in recap)
- Unnamed exo-suited Digger (Only in recap)
- Carnage (Cletus Kasady) (Referenced)
- God of the Symbiotes (Mentioned) (Main story and flashback)
- God (Invoked) (Main story and flashback)
- Stark Tech (Named only) (Only on screen as a static image or video record)
- U.S. Army (Main story and flashback)
- Unnamed Việt Cộng sniper (First appearance; dies) (Only in flashback)
- Captain America (Steve Rogers) (Mentioned)
- Rex's father (Mentioned)
- U.S. Air Force (Only in flashback)
- The Devil (Mentioned)
- NYPD
- Numerous unnamed New Yorkers
- Mayor Wilson Fisk (Mentioned)
- Avengers (Mentioned)
- Spider-Man (Miles Morales)
Races and Species:
- Humans (Main story and flashback)
- Symbiotes (Main story and flashback)
- Gods (Mentioned)
- Celestials (Named only) (Only on screen as a static image or video record)
Locations:
- Prime Marvel Universe (Main story and flashback)
- Earth (Main story and flashback)
- United States of America (Main story and flashback)
- New York (Main story and flashback)
- New York City (Main story and flashback)
- Manhattan
- New York City Sewer System
- East Village (Only in recap)
- Empire State University (Referenced)
- Alphabet City (Only in recap)
- Our Lady of Saints Church (Only in recap)
- Rex Strickland's Warehouse
- George Washington Bridge (Only on screen as a static image or video record)
- Manhattan
- New York City (Main story and flashback)
- California (Only in flashback)
- San Francisco (Only in flashback)
- Tenderloin (Only in flashback)
- San Francisco (Only in flashback)
- New York (Main story and flashback)
- Vietnam (Only in flashback)
- South Vietnam (Only in flashback)
- United States of America (Main story and flashback)
- Hell (Invoked)
- Earth (Main story and flashback)
Items:
- Digger Suits (Only in recap)
- Toxin Symbiote (Referenced)
- Anti-Venom Symbiote (Referenced)
- Spider-Man's Suit and Web-Shooters
Events:
- Vietnam War (Only in flashback)
Synopsis for 1st story
In the wake of the symbiote dragon's escape, Eddie Brock lies on the ground with a gaping hole in his chest. The Venom symbiote immediately begins healing him before palpitating his heart with tendrils to resuscitate him. In his hideout, Rex Strickland notes that Eddie is taking too long and wonders why he placed his trust in a man he knows next to nothing about. Strickland begins reviewing what little he knows about Eddie Brock: that his mother died giving birth to him and his father was a wealthy businessman until Eddie was involved in a car accident, the exorbitant medical bills all-but impoverishing him. Eddie was raised as a fundamentalist Catholic, and went to college to become a successful journalist at the Daily Globe before the Sin-Eater Incident and his encounter with the Venom symbiote. Wondering why Eddie focused so much hatred towards Spider-Man during his first tenure as Venom, Rex glosses over his period in San Francisco as the Lethal Protector, his battles with Carnage, and his time bonded to the Anti-Venom and Toxin symbiotes; noting that Eddie's been extraordinarily lucky to have received so many second chances. Noting that one day Eddie's luck is going to run out, Rex dismisses him as just another dead man wearing his own coffin.
As Rex apologizes to the photo of his comrades, Eddie enters the hideout and informs him that they are dead before angrily accusing Rex of lying to him and the symbiote. As Venom confronts him, Rex asks Eddie what he means and tells him to calm down. Instead, Venom bowls him over with an oil drum and says he's done playing Rex's game. As Rex backs towards the furnace, Eddie feels the symbiote dragon seizing control of the Venom symbiote and fights against it. Grabbing the furnace door, Venom opens it and sears the symbiote with the flames, regaining control. Rex asks Eddie what happened to him, horrified by and recognizing the eldritch language the symbiote spoke in. Eddie tells him to turn on a TV, where news reports cover the symbiote dragon and its rampage through Upper Manhattan; the U.S. Army attacking it with helicopter-mounted flamethrowers. Eddie tells a shocked Rex that the symbiote dragon was being transported alongside his men, seized control of their symbiotes, and killed them. Rex reveals he knew of the creature beforehand but thought it was dead, telling Eddie that during the Vietnam War he was mortally wounded saving his squad from a Việt Cộng trap. S.H.I.E.L.D. approached him with an offer to become whole by bonding him with a symbiote, Nick Fury himself overseeing the procedure. Upon bonding to the symbiote, Rex realized that it was only a piece of an ancient eldritch monster that had travelled the cosmos devouring entire civilizations, and that this monster had woken up and spoke the same words he'd heard the Venom symbiote say; words he's heard in his nightmares ever since and now knows the meaning of: "God is coming."
Rex tells Eddie they need a plan, but Venom has already left. Rex groans as the news anchor states that Spider-Man has arrived to fight the monster. Web-swinging through the city, Venom notes that he always knew that one day something like this would happen. Watching the army uselessly fire missiles at the symbiote dragon, Eddie prepares himself for what he assumes is going to be his final battle just as Miles Morales emerges from invisibility behind him and attacks.
Solicit Synopsis
REX PART 2 FROM DONNY CATES AND RYAN STEGMAN!
• Long ago, a mythical monster once terrorized both humanity and the Symbiotes alike. Now, it’s awake. And it’s angry.
• To make matters worse, this ancient horror has a unique influence over the Venom symbiote – an influence that threatens to sever Eddie Brock’s connection with his Other!
• If he survived the first issue, that is…