—Bedlam (Eddie Brock)Nyaha! Uh-uh-uh... not so fast! You think you killed me? You think I am soft and squishy in the middle like you?! [...] Bedlam is my naaaaame! See? We could snap you like a twig if we wanted to, Venommmmm. We are a King in Black! But nooooo... we want to make you stronger, don't we? And pain makes you stronger, doesn't it? [...] Survive... survive and come back to us. Look upon my face, boy. And know pain.
Appearing in "Too Late For Heroes: Part 2"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Sleeper
- Jake Yahkin (Death)
Antagonists:
- Bedlam (Eddie Brock) (Identity revealed)
- Hell Hounds
- Life Foundation (Cameo)
- Spearhead (Mr. Carson) (Cameo)
- Numerous unnamed soldiers
Other Characters:
- Unnamed trucker (First appearance)
- Spider-Man (Peter Parker) (Mentioned)
- Archer Lyle (Mentioned)
- Renegades (Disbands)
- Numerous unnamed bikers (Death)
- Cal (Death)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth
- United States of America
- California
- Baywater
- Renegades Bar (Destruction)
- Baywater
- California
- United States of America
- Hell (Invoked)
Items:
- Spearhead Armor (Cameo)
Synopsis for "Too Late For Heroes: Part 2"
Coming to a stop outside Baywater, California, a trucker lets his passenger out but warns him that the town is a warzone. Walking towards the town disguised as a human, Bedlam replies that it's not gone to Hell quite yet.
In Baywater, Venom roars and lashes out with his fists and arm-blade, sending several members of the Hell Hounds biker gang flying. The gang's lieutenant, Trevor, tries to shoot Venom from behind, but Venom deflects the bullet with his arm-blade and prepares to impale him. Dylan Brock begs the Venom symbiote to stop, but it sneers that Dylan is a whiny little brat who's too pathetic to do what needs doing. Tossing Trevor aside and retracting from Dylan's face, the Venom symbiote tells him to look around at the death and destruction they caused, snarling that this is who they are and that if Dylan doesn't stop holding it back sooner or later they'll be the ones who're dying. Trevor recognizes Dylan as the boy who's been working for Jake Yahkin and notes that his boss Len was right that Jake and the Renegades were behind the attack on the Hell Hounds' weapons cache, revealing that Len's gone to Jake's bar looking for retribution. Sleeper interrupts to inform Dylan that it's sensing the Life Foundation operative known as Spearhead on the eastern edge of town. Venom advocates getting out of Baywater, but Dylan refuses to go without helping Jake. Sleeper volunteers to keep the Life Foundation's forces occupied and meet up with Dylan later, telling Dylan to go be a hero.
Outside Jake's bar, the Renegades face off against the Hell Hounds. Jake tells Len that he doesn't want any trouble, but Len replies that even if an alien really did attack his gang his business associates in Mexico aren't going to buy it; but if he blames the Renegades and brings them Jake's head business will continue as usual. The Renegades pull out their weapons, but Jake tells them to stand down and challenges Len to an old-fashioned brawl, saying that if he wins Len will leave his crew and the bar alone, but that if Len wins then he can do as he pleases; Len accepting when Jake offers to let Len kill him either way.
Perched on a church steeple for a vantage point, Dylan notes that Jake's bar still looks to be in one piece and if they hurry they can prevent further bloodshed. The Venom symbiote warns him that it senses something and engulfs him just as Bedlam grabs them and smashes them through the steeple, an adjacent building, and a car; snarling that Venom is pathetic for needing a host to unleash its full power. The Venom symbiote asks Dylan if he still wants it to hold back, and Dylan says no. Uppercutting Bedlam away, Venom snarls that the Life Foundation hasn't learned a thing if they think sending a thug in a symbiote will work any better than it did last time. Bedlam wryly asks if Venom even remotely has a clue who he's dealing with, Venom firing a chain and snarling that Bedlam is dead meat. Coiling the chain around Bedlam's neck, Venom yanks the colossal red symbiote closer and impales him through the head on his arm-blade before running in the direction of Jake's bar.
Punching Jake in the head, Len demands to know why the old man just won't quit before shouting for the Hell Hounds to just shoot him. One thug tells Len that they still respect the old rules and that if he wants to kill Jake he'll need to do so himself. Taking the thug's gun, Len demands to know why Jake insisted on playing a hero. Jake replies that he's spilled too much blood to call himself a hero, but that he still wants to fight for something better. Len shoots Jake in cold blood and the Hell Hounds gun down the Renegades, torching Jake's bar. Arriving too late, Dylan lets out a scream of anguish only to be tackled from behind by Bedlam, who slams him into the ground and restrains him with tendrils. Mocking Dylan for thinking that impalement would be enough to kill him, Bedlam sneers that unlike Venom he has no host inside to make him vulnerable. As Dylan asks who he is, Bedlam introduces himself and reveals he is a King in Black. Boasting that he could break Venom like a twig, Bedlam says that his goal is instead to make Venom stronger by inflicting as much pain and suffering as possible -- transforming his finger into a blade and impaling Venom through the chest. Transforming his upper body into that of his human self, Bedlam tells Dylan to look upon his face and despair, Dylan gazing in horror at the visage of Eddie Brock.