Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Cafu
Color Artist: Frank D’Armata
Cover Artist: Cafu
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $4.99
Reviewer: StoryBabbler
Venom has been under assault without and within! Eddie, his son Dylan, and the Venom symbiote were attacked by the mysterious menace Meridius – an evil version of Eddie Brock from the far future. But Meridius’ plan was thwarted, first by Eddie himself, and not too later by Carnage himself. And after everything that the three have been through, the stage for a new battle is being set. But read Venom (2021) #35 to see the aftermath of Carnage’s attack on the Garden of Time as Eddie and the Kings in Black are lost in time.
Review:
Alright, so some time has past since we were back with Eddie Brock and his fellow Kings in Black. But first some recap, because it’s definitely necessary. Some time ago, during the whole End of Venomverse crossover event, Carnage got supercharged with Knull’s power and the crimson symbiote became its own equivalent of a King in Black, only red. Cletus Kasady hunted down Dylan and killed (partially, the Venom symbiote resuscitated him), then the symbiote chased down Eddie through time and destroyed Meridius’ Garden of Time. And this comic picks right up after its destruction.
So, after Carnage destroyed Meridius’ Garden, he, Eddie, Tyro, Wilde, and Bedlam were sent hurtling through Time and Space. But of course, Meridius isn’t happy about all this and tries to strangle Eddie to death. He can do this because thanks to Carnage’s actions, they’d all been untangled from not only Time but each other. So, now they’re each their own individuals, which means Meridius can kill Eddie and not fade out of existence or anything. But the same goes for him as the rest of the Kings of Black instantly gang up on him and use their combined powers to send him back in time. To the Cretaceous period where he takes over a T-Rex, which comes back full circle to his appearance in the Dr. Doom two-parter.
After that, the comic just devolves into setup for the upcoming Venom War event. And this is where we get right to the pros and cons of the comic and just where this series’ whole story is going. So, the positives are Cafu’s art with Frank D’Armata’s colors from start to finish, I really wish Cafu would just stay as the main interior artist for this series, his style works excellently with Venom and the Symbiotes. I also love that the other Kings in Black finally get their payback on Meridius, but my only issue is how it went down and this is where we get right to the negatives.
So, when Eddie and the others turn on Meridius that should’ve been a very cathartic fight, but as usual it’s not really a fight rather just talking before they send him back in time. Which was a bad idea considering Meridius’ expertise with Time travel and extreme patience. We see him pop back up in not only that Dr. Doom issue but in the last Blood Hunt tie-in where he takes Lee Price’s body as “a backup plan” or something. Either way, the downfall of Meridius didn’t feel as good or satisfying as it should’ve been.
Then there’s the whole Venom War thing. Look, I’ve always critiqued how Al Ewing just did a 180 and rewrote the dynamic between Eddie, Dylan, and the Venom symbiote to make his run feasible. And he’s been pushing the believability of this new strained father-son relationship more and more. But now, after one symbiote event year after year, Extreme Venomverse, Death of the Venomverse, Extreme Carnage, the latest Carnage crossover story, Venomverse Reborn. And now Venom War, where the idea is all the hosts of the Venom symbiote are going to be duking it out against each other. And there’s the threat of “Planet Venom” hanging over their heads. It’s been a lot, but I’m willing to at least give the first issue of Venom War a shot. Hopefully, it surprises us all.
Final Thoughts:
Venom #35 follows the aftermath of Carnage’s destruction of Meridius’ Garden and sets the stage for the upcoming Venom War event. One thing that was great to see was Eddie and his fellow Kings in Black gang up on Meridius. Even though it wasn’t as satisfying as it could be, it was cathartic to see nonetheless. And of course Cafu’s art and Frank D’Armata’s colors were good to see with Venom and Symbiotes in general.