Make Mine Marvel – Looking back at “Venom” by Donny Cates

Marvel Unlimited, Marvel’s digital comics subscription service, is currently offering all fans free access to some of Marvel’s most iconic stories from recent years, including now-classic Marvel Comics events and critically acclaimed runs featuring the Avengers, Spider-Man, Black Widow, Captain America, Captain Marvel, and more.

With that in mind, I’ve decided to take a look back at these classic stories and maybe help you decide whether or not you would like to check them out. Our next series follows a classic villain/anti-hero who has spent his life believing he’s doing the right thing. Now he’s about to face his biggest challenge yet and the whole world might be at stake.

Venom

Eddie Brock has been through a lot with his alien symbiote known as Venom. Now they are weak and Eddie is terrified of the thought of being left alone. That’s hardly his biggest problem though, as he continues to lose control and break into a violent rage. You know, even more so than normal.

Still, that is something Eddie has dealt with before and can handle again. That’s still not his biggest problem though. The much bigger problem is what’s coming. The biggest problem is that everything Eddie thought he knew about the symbiotic alien race known as the Klyntar has been a lie. And now, he has to deal with their god. He has to deal with Knull.

The alien god is close to freeing himself from his cage and Eddie will have to work with some unexpected allies to keep that from happening. Who would have thought Venom would be the one who has to save the universe from being plunged into eternal darkness? Eddie Brock certainly didn’t.

This is an all-time great Venom story as it greatly expands on the mythology of the Klyntar. Knull tells the whole story of the alien race, which has seemingly played a much bigger role in the history of the Marvel Universe than we previously thought.

Knull himself is also the perfect villain. He is horrifyingly menacing, with world-ending potential. In other words, he’s an Avengers-level threat that Venom has to take on alone. Which is much easier said than done, as he has power over all symbiotes, making Venom effectively useless against him.

Luckily for Venom, he’s not alone. A mysterious man named Rex Strickland has called him in for help. The cautious Brock eventually learns that Rex may not be exactly what he seems but he’s going to need all the help he can get. Plus, the man’s knowledge of the Klyntar is too valuable to overlook.

And of course, whenever Venom is around, Spider-Man is never far behind. This time it’s not Peter Parker though. Venom is confronted by Miles Morales for the first time and while the young Spider-Man has some issues to settle with the anti-hero, they can both agree that the giant alien dragon in New York is the bigger issue. So, clearly, this is a very fun story arc.

You can read “Venom” by Donny Cates for free now. And be sure to check back as we look back the rest of these classic Marvel Comics stories over the next several weeks.

Mike Mack
Mack is the Editorial Director for Marvel and ESPN content and he has covered comic cons, theme park events, video game showcases and other fun events. He is a fan of theme parks, sports, movies, Marvel Comics and is a self-proclaimed "nerd."