It’s the end of the road for Venomverse, a miniseries that has plenty of ’90s action and about as much of the depth too. And that’s alright. Cullen Bunn and Iban Coello have not lead us on or promised us anything but what we have here, which is popcorn action and tons of Venom craziness.
So what’s it about?
Why does this matter?
This is the conclusion, so expect some answers or at least some wrapping up from the last four issues. We also get to find out if Deadpool is a good guy even though he’s a Poison, or if he’s really turned to the dark (or is it white?) side.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
The Doctor Doom Poison really freaks me out.
At this point, I’ve refused to think there’s any deeper meaning, character work, or interesting story here outside of the fun action. The comic is still entertaining, though, as it’s all about great looking visuals and some fun twists. Coello keeps drawing a solid looking book that has an event level of detail and pace. Doctor Strange looks particularly cool in his Symbiote–and seems to always have an eye peeking out–and there’s a great layout of Venom fighting Poison Spider-Man. Some of the best pages come at the very end after the letters page. Readers can’t miss this scene as it not only teases a bigger story to come but also has some interesting character design and a huge reveal.
The story itself is entertaining enough. The good guys fight off the bad guys, villains die, heroes die, and Carnage gets to let loose. It pretty much reads like a fanservice story and thus goes about how you’d expect it. Rocket gets to play a bigger part in wrapping this story up, which is a nice surprise.
Deadpool saves the day!
It can’t be perfect can it?
Unfortunately, it’s incredibly easy to see where the story in this book is going. I wasn’t surprised by anything before the letters page (again, the post letters page scene is great) and the characters you’d expect to live make it to the very end. Spider-Man and Venom finally get to fight again–and Spider-Man even says it’s a rematch–but damn is it disappointing. After a single page, the actual battle takes place off page! There’s explanation as to who won or how it ended up which is not only not satisfying but also seems to suggest Bunn might be holding back on this for a future story. Holding back in a finale for a series that has been lukewarm at best is probably not the best tactic. This was one blip amongst many that proved this miniseries was at best mindless fun, but really just not worth the time.
Is It Good?
This series sparked a new type of villain that could one day be formidable and interesting, but not in this story. The book is without much character or point, ending up serving as a fight comic with alternate reality heroes you couldn’t care less about. To make matters worse, this final issue seems to be holding back for a future story.
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