Pop Mythology Pop Mythology: Movie, Book, Comic reviews & commentary
Venom: First Host #2 picks up right where #1 left off, in an alley with a fight between two bitter enemies reliving the Skree/Kree War. Eddie Brock/Venom come to after being knocked out to see the two intergalactic warriors fighting. There is a discussion between Eddie and the symbiote as to who they should aid in the battle. For a Venom newbie like myself, I found the internal dialogue between the two to be quite interesting. Unlike other characters, the Hulk for instance, the two personas aren’t vying for control, but are working together, or at least communicating. A genuine partnership has developed, even if it has evil tendencies.
Eddie trusts Venom enough to come to the aid of the Kree. The symbiote isn’t sure why, but it recognizes the Kree on some level and Venom drives the Skrull away. The opening action sequence is nice, but it isn’t the heart of the book. After some needed backstory, the Kree, named Tel-Kar, reveals he wants his old partner back. Not to reveal too much, but Tel-Kar is willing to go to any lengths to get it back, including tossing a person out of a window, threatening a spawn and destroying expensive lab equipment.* The symbiote can’t risk harm to its spawn, so it leaves with Tel-Kar. Eddie is certain that it won’t re-bond with the Kree, but Tel-Kar manipulates the symbiote and it willing leaves with him. Eddie is left holding the spawn, assuring the baby alien that everything will be alright.
*A fun side story idea: focus on the people who have the contracts to refurbished destroyed labs in superhero stories. The beaker breakage costs must be enormous.
Where exactly Tel-Kar is going is a mystery, which makes for a very satisfying ending to the issue. With the Kree and Skrull involved, the possible paths are endless. Tel-Kar seems a bit bent on revenge, against whom isn’t quite clear. Surely the Skrull are in his sights, but he was also betrayed by Kree leadership, so that is probably on the agenda too. Tel-Kar also alludes to “The greatest peace his galaxy has ever known” so he obviously has some big plans now that he is finally reunited with the symbiote.
How Eddie will pull this together and bring Venom back is the main plot point keeping me interested. The bond with this particular host, Eddie Brock, is special. When Tel-Kar tried to get the symbiote to come along peacefully, it refused by saying that with Eddie they, “become something…more.” How the Eddie/alien relationship survives this challenge promises long-lasting changes to the character going forward. It may lead to more stories about other hosts and it could lead to a subtle change in Venom’s abilities as he remembers more and more bondings. A web-slinging, Kree supersoldier Venom? That would be something to see.
