It is my job to thread the needle between the two worlds. The new and the old are one in me. I will spread your thick black limbs upon the world that sleeps. I will do it all for you. I will only rest when we all sing your name. Knull. 
Appearing in 1st story
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Cult of Knull
- Dylan Brock (Joins)
- Norman Osborn's Carnage offshoot (Bonds to a raccoon and Dylan Brock)
Other Characters:
- Harry Osborn
- Norman Osborn (Mentioned)
- Venom (Eddie Brock) (Mentioned)
- Venom Symbiote (Mentioned)
- Liz Allan
- Numerous unnamed New Yorkers
- Mark Raxton
- Knull (Dream)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth
- United States of America
- New York
- New York City
- Manhattan
- Upper West Side
- Central Park West
- Liz Allan's apartment
- Central Park West
- Central Park
- Upper West Side
- Manhattan
- New York City
- New York
- United States of America
Items:
- Pumpkin Bombs
- All-Black the Necrosword (Named only)
- Knull's Armor (Dream)
Vehicles:
Events:
- Venom Island (Mentioned)
- Absolute Carnage (Mentioned)
Synopsis for 1st story
Waking up from a nightmare, Normie Osborn mentally notes that he hates the hungry voice that haunts his dreams. Glancing over at Dylan Brock, Normie disparagingly sneers that he's a wimp before remarking that he misses his grandfather. Spotting a note on Dylan's bedside table, Normie reads it and is disgusted by Eddie Brock's statement that Dylan means the world to him.
The next morning, Normie awakens to find Dylan furious that Eddie had suddenly disappeared on him and only left a note. Greeting Sleeper, still in the form of a cat, Normie tries to assuage Dylan's anger but only makes it worse. Ripping the note to shreds, Dylan angrily snaps that Eddie is treating him like a child when he's already a teenager. Normie remarks that his parents don't trust him either, having taken him out of school and making him wear a tracking bracelet. Dylan remarks that Normie's barely a tween and was turned into a symbiote-goblin monster, but Normie protests that that wasn't his fault. Stating that Norman had been controlled by the Carnage symbiote, Normie blames Venom for his grandfather's madness. Noting that Dylan seems angry at Eddie, Normie asks if that's why Dylan didn't tell his father about his powers. Baring his teeth, Dylan snaps that he kept a secret from Eddie because Eddie kept a secret from him.
Normie notes that his parents want to pretend like nothing's changed but that he can tell they don't trust him, and that he feels different. Dylan remarks that at least Normie doesn't have powers anymore but that he's stuck with a voice in his head. As Dylan laments that if anyone found out they'd think he was a monster, Normie cheerfully remarks that his father used to be the Green Goblin and is afraid that Normie will carry on that legacy, and that their fathers are the same: monsters who pretend to be human. Dylan remarks that their parents are doing the best they can given the circumstances and that Harry is trying to distance Normie from his psychopathic grandfather's influence; Normie snapping that Norman wasn't crazy and that Harry isn't as done with the Green Goblin as he pretends.
Watched silently by Sleeper, Normie leads Dylan to a hidden door inside a closet, stating that due to being cooped up he's searched every corner of the house. Unlocking the door - Harry having made his birthday the passcode - Normie reveals a hidden room containing a Goblin Glider and racks of Pumpkin Bombs. Normie laments that Harry secretly loves the power of the Goblin, Dylan comparing that to Eddie and the Venom symbiote. As Normie laments that he's tired of people keeping secrets from him, Dylan reveals he's been keeping one: that a small piece of Norman Osborn's Carnage symbiote survived. Pulling out a small jar with the red-and-black symbiote inside, Dylan states that he can control it with his mind.
Later on at lunch, Liz Allan asks Dylan how he and Normie are getting along. Dylan remarks that they're becoming good friends before thanking her for letting him and Eddie stay. As Liz asks Normie to show Dylan how to work with papier-mâché, Normie protests that's too boring. As Normie argues with his parents about being locked up, Dylan knocks over a cup of juice. Sleeper pounces onto the table and is told to get off by Liz, Dylan taking advantage of the distraction to extend the Carnage symbiote and snag Harry's keycard.
That evening, Dylan incredulously asks if Normie's parents really expect them to go to bed at eight. Normie remarks that Sleeper was watching Dylan and nearly caught him, Dylan retorting that it only saw what he wanted it to see. Unbottling the Carnage symbiote, Dylan directs it to leap around the room - nearly knocking over a lamp by accident. Normie remarks that Dylan needs to practice controlling it but that they risk getting caught; Dylan revealing he stole Harry's keycard. As Normie excitedly pulls out a pair of papier-mâché masks, Dylan uses the Carnage symbiote to remove his tracking bracelet - Normie warning him to be careful not to break it. Noting that his parents go to bed around midnight, Normie and Dylan wait before sneaking out - Sleeper watching them from the shadows.
Out on the town, Normie thanks Dylan for helping him escape and have fun for once. Dylan remarks that he's glad that Normie isn't freaking out over his powers, and that Sleeper is afraid of him. Dylan tells Normie that the voice in his head told him that he can control the symbiote but warned him not to let anyone find out, Normie promising to keep it a secret. As they enter Central Park, Normie excitedly thinks to himself that the Carnage symbiote is a piece of his grandfather and that this is fun rather than scary, lamenting that he doesn't have powers anymore. As Normie assures himself that the voices Dylan is hearing must be like the one haunting his own dreams, Dylan pulls out the symbiote and sends it after a raccoon perched in a nearby tree. As the symbiote latches onto the raccoon, Normie gleefully thinks that Dylan is the coolest friend ever before wondering if the unstoppable sensation of finally being in-control that he feels is what it's like to be a superhero.
As the Carnageized raccoon climbs down from the tree and sits at their feet, Dylan remarked that it worked. As they walk into a store, the clerk spots the raccoon and moves to attack it, Dylan snapping at him not to touch it. Retorting that any damage the raccoon causes will come out of his paycheck, the clerk tells Dylan to get out of his way. Dylan angrily shoves the clerk to the ground and recalls the Carnage symbiote from the raccoon, standing on the clerk's chest and threatening to use the symbiote to enslave him. Frightened, Normie recalls being controlled by the symbiote as the Goblin Childe and tells Dylan that he's no longer having fun, asking to leave. As they run, Normie notes that he's now afraid that he'll be next.
A few days later, Normie jealously remarks how Liz smiles at Dylan but not him, and that Dylan's got everyone except him fooled. Smiling cheerfully, Dylan remarks that Liz's house is starting to feel like home and that he's grown to see Normie as a little brother. Shooting a dark look at Normie, Dylan says that as long as they're friends he'll "protect" him and ensure that he doesn't become a monster again. Spooked by the veiled threat, Normie recoils when he sees Dylan's piece of the Carnage symbiote extending towards him. As Liz tells them that she and Harry are going out for the night and that Mark Raxton is going to babysit, Normie lobs a pillow at Dylan to disrupt his control of the symbiote. Liz angrily tells Normie to go to his room, and he watches as she and Harry get ready to leave, wondering why she didn't even say goodbye to him or why his father won't even look at him. Normie notes that his parents are afraid not that he is a monster, but that he could become one. As Mark enters and greets him, Normie scurries off to his room, noting that Dylan is the one they should be afraid of.
As Normie slams the door to his room, Dylan tells him not to disrupt his journaling. Normie hides under his covers, trying to convince himself that Dylan can't hurt him if he's asleep. Waking up in the middle of the night, Normie hears Dylan - his eyes black with red spirals - pledging allegiance to the dark elder god Knull, saying that he understands that his job is to thread the needle between the old world and the new one, to spread his master's darkness across the world, and to not stop until all worship the King in Black. As Dylan continues his dark prayer, Normie hides under the covers, terrified. Noticing that the room is suddenly silent, he peeks out to see that Dylan is gone. Confused, Normie decides to tell Uncle Mark everything, but spots Dylan's journal on the floor. Picking it up, he reads an entry describing one of Dylan's visions of Knull, who he reverently describes as an etched man with bone-white skin and a nightmarish face, clad in black armor and wielding a dark sword. Dylan's journal entry disparages Eddie's fear of Knull, stating that the King in Black stands guard over him as he sleeps and that he has come to see the dark god as his real father. Finally possessing tangible proof of Dylan's malevolence, Normie decides to show his parents when they return home.
Dylan abruptly returns and berates Normie for reading his journal, Normie protesting that they're something wrong with him. Dylan menacingly retorts that something is wrong with Normie for missing his grandfather so much, threatening to bond the Carnage symbiote to him and turn him back into the Goblin Childe. Lunging for the door, Normie tells Dylan that he's telling Uncle Mark, Dylan remarking that it was just a harmless prank. Normie snaps that he saw Dylan talking to the wall earlier and that he's lost his mind, Dylan shouting for Normie to give him back his journal. Normie kicks Dylan away and snaps that he's crazy, Dylan furiously shouting that he's not crazy; bonding to the Carnage symbiote and punching Normie through the window - the sound awakening Mark.
As the symbiote engulfs Dylan's right arm, he and Normie grapple with each other as they plummet to the ground. Sleeper - in its humanoid form - catches them and berates Dylan for having secretly kept a piece of Norman Osborn's symbiote. Dylan protests that Sleeper doesn't know what it's talking about, but Sleeper tells Dylan to let it absorb the Carnage symbiote and put an end to its threat there and then. The hungry voice in Normie's head whispers for him to kill Dylan before Dylan kills him; and Normie tackles Dylan to the ground, shouting that Dylan hurt his grandfather and punching him in the face. Pulling them apart, Sleeper snaps that they're seconds away from Mark finding Normie's bedroom destroyed and that if the truth comes out they'll all suffer for it - pointedly telling Dylan that Eddie would never trust him again and Normie that his parents would lock him in the house forever. Dylan acquiesces to tell Eddie the truth when he gets back but retorts that he's keeping the Carnage symbiote. Normie agrees to return home but snaps that he and Dylan are no longer friends.
As Mark enters the bedroom, he finds Dylan holding a baseball bat and Normie a baseball glove, Sleeper lying on the floor in cat-form. Buying their excuse for the bedroom being in ruins, Mark notes that he didn't think his nephew was that stir-crazy and uses his heat powers to weld the window shut. As he leaves, Normie thinks to himself that soon Dylan will be gone and he'll be safe from the monster that was once his friend. Smiling in his sleep, Dylan dreams of Knull telling him that he must kill everyone who poses a threat to him.
Appearing in "The Putrefaction of Tel-Kar"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Unnamed aliens (First appearance)
- Unnamed king (First appearance)
- Unnamed royal guards (Only appearance; death)
Other Characters:
- Tel-Kar (Controlled by Sleeper Symbiote and death in main story, as well as bonded to the Venom Symbiote in recap)
- LaMarche Demon (Corpse, skeleton or other remains)
- Skrull Empire (Only in recap)
- Symbiote Imperium (Vision or hallucination)
- Knull (Behind the scenes)
- Numerous unnamed symbiotes (Vision or hallucination)
Races and Species:
- Symbiotes (Main story and recap)
- Kree (Main story and recap)
- Unidentified alien species
- Badoon (Referenced)
- Skrulls (Only in recap)
- Alien Gods (Behind the scenes)
Locations:
- Uncharted region of space (Main story and recap)
- Unidentified planet (First appearance)
- Klyntar
Items:
- Venom Symbiote (Only in recap)
Vehicles:
- Skrull Battleship (Only in recap)
Events:
- Kree-Skrull War (Only in recap)
Synopsis for "The Putrefaction of Tel-Kar"
Having slain the LaMarche Demon at the behest of an alien civilization, Sleeper is commanded by the king to unmask so that they can look upon the face of the noble warrior who saved them. Sleeper begrudgingly complies, revealing Tel-Kar's comatose and desiccated body. Horrified, the king orders his soldiers to open fire and bring him the symbiote. As Sleeper is pelted by a hail of bullets, Tel-Kar is fatally wounded, briefly jolting his consciousness free of the coma that Sleeper had induced. Feeding on the dying Kree's rage, Sleeper douses the soldiers in Badoon acid and a disorienting blood mist.
As Sleeper flees, Tel-Kar dies from his injuries - Sleeper collapsing briefly before manifesting a jetpack and taking off into space. Feeding off Tel-Kar's rapidly decaying corpse, Sleeper absorbs his memories of having fought in the Kree-Skrull War alongside its progenitor, Venom. Abruptly, Tel-Kar hears a sinister voice beckoning him to return to the Hive on Klyntar. Awakening from the vision to find himself utterly alone, Sleeper finds it is ultimately indifferent to Tel-Kar's death - the Kree soldier having been little more than a meat-puppet - and sets off to find the source of the voice calling to him, eventually arriving on Klyntar.
Solicit Synopsis
WHILE VENOM’S AWAY, THE CHILDREN WILL PLAY!
Dylan Brock and Normie Osborn have survived the trials of ABSOLUTE CARNAGE, but what’s next for the Goblin Childe and the Son of Venom?Notes
- Zac Thompson establishes Dylan Brock as being a few years older than Normie Osborn, despite Normie having been born before the Venom symbiote's arrival on Earth.
- The events of Web of Venom: The Good Son are seemingly disregarded by Venom (Vol. 4) #23-25, leaving its canonicity ambiguous.
- Despite Tel-Kar being illustrated as he appeared posthumously in Venom (Vol. 4) #18, Sleeper's internal narration establishes that he was still alive and had eyes prior to being shot.
Trivia
- The issue's title and plot are a reference to The Good Son, a 1993 movie about a psychopathic boy who terrorizes his cousin and masks his behavior behind the veneer of a well-mannered child when around adults.