Things are heating up in “Death Spiral”, with the event kicking into gear this week with part 3 in Venom #255. Coming off AIPT’s roundtable Venom Unleashed, where Spider-Man and Venom offices collided to answer your questions, it’s clear the murderer known as Torment is still an unknown. The killer is taking out Brocks, Parkers, and Watsons, with new targets continuing to be murdered this week as well!
Venom #255 juggles two duos. One is Peter Parker Spider-Man with Venom, and the other is Eddie Brock and Carnage. Both are complicated relationships: Peter and MJ have quite a history, and Eddie hates Carnage but sacrifices himself to stop it from going on a killing spree. All that effort from Eddie seemingly put a target on his and his family’s backs. Both duos are rushing to find Torment, with some parties feeling guiltier than others.
Kicking off Venom #255 is Eddie Brock’s father. Their relationship isn’t copacetic, and a killer is on the loose that might make him its next target. The dread is real when the issue cuts to Eddie, who sees a calling card message of Carnage on the front page of the Daily Bugle. Something is up with Carnage, Eddie believes, but he can’t figure out how. Their relationship is frosty, even when Carnage is goofier than ever, popping out of Eddie’s eye and doing a bit of schtick.
Meanwhile, Venom and Spider-Man are on the hunt for clues, starting at the Bar with No Name. The scenes with Spider-Man and Venom are good, since the three (Venom and MJ count as two) have history. There’s some clear story-building, like bringing in a boomerang to push the plot forward.
Carnage is a real goofball, here.
Credit: Marvel
Eventually, both stories come crashing together, building toward a hell of a cliffhanger. Think serial killer vibes that send this event into slasher territory.
Art by Carlos Gomez is super clean, with great color by Frank D’Armata. There are a lot of highlights, like Eddie jumping out of a window and transforming into Carnage through the air, Spider-Man’s expressive eyes, and the staggering height and size of Venom, always stealing the attention in the room. The goofiness is also quite well done, not an easy thing to do, from Venom’s kooky personality, since All-New Venom to Carnage goofing off with Eddie’s eye. The only visual that threw me off a touch was Tombstone, who doesn’t quite look like himself in recent years. Call it Gomez’s artistic license.
One gripe some may have is the goofiness, which doesn’t quite jive with the larger slasher story. The opening sets up dread with Eddie’s dad, but the story drops us into a Carnage-goofball scene, then later Eddie has a goofy disguise. I’m all for goofiness, but the larger scary slasher themes feel muddled at times, even if they do end on a strong note by the end of the issue.
Venom #255 pushes the Death Spiral event forward with an engaging mix of mystery, action, and character tension. The issue smartly splits its focus between two uneasy partnerships. Spider-Man and Venom pursue clues while Eddie Brock struggles to figure out Carnage’s secrets. Both threads circle the growing threat of Torment, a killer targeting anyone tied to the Brock, Parker, and Watson families. Gomez’s art keeps the pace brisk and expressive, highlighting both the physical scale of Venom and the smaller character beats that define these relationships. The story sometimes wobbles when its humor bumps into the darker slasher tone, yet the strong cliffhanger pulls everything back into place. By the end, the sense that something truly dangerous is stalking these characters feels stronger than ever.
You must be logged in to post a comment.