This week, Marvel’s next event kicks off with Venom War, a crossover pitting Dylan Brock versus Eddie Brock. Yep, it’s father against son in a story years in the making, thanks to Al Ewing. It’s also way sillier than you might have ever guessed.
It’s not quite a surprise due to the Venom War trailer. Venom War #1 has strong pro wrestling vibes. We’re talking an actual ring ala WWE, terms like kayfabe being used, and Eddie Brock putting together a team to win a championship belt. The biggest reason this is a surprise is that Ewing’s run is heavily about time travel and cosmic sci-fi, so it takes you off guard.
The seriousness of the run so far contrasted by the over-the-top wrestling doesn’t quite work, especially since the stakes are quite high from Dylan’s perspective. Much of this issue focuses on him and his desire to stop his dad from doing a very bad thing. On the other hand, Eddie is leaning into the wrestling aspect, taking over a ring to get a message out to the masses. It’s a goofy angle, which is clearly setting up an in-ring showdown.
However, one of the coolest aspects of this event is the use of Spider-Man. This Venom event is secretly a Spider-Man one, which is revealed as Venom’s symbiote seeks Spider-Man’s help. Ewing expertly navigates the rather complicated history of the symbiote in an easy-to-follow flashback, which ties Spider-Man into things nicely. At the same time, the symbiote gets its heroic arc, as it doubts itself, but Peter trusts it can learn and do the right thing going forward.
The symbiote facial expressions are pretty fun.
Credit: Marvel
Another wrinkle is the time travel, as seen through a much older Dylan. It’s Dylan from the future, and it feels quite convoluted right out of the gate. That includes a convenient “gotta go before I finish this sentence” cliffhanger. Given the tomfoolery of time travel in this series, I hope this aspect doesn’t become eye-rollingly bad.
The art is great under Iban Coello and color artist Frank D’Armata. Coello has to do a lot, from montaging to overly dramatic wrestling moves to some impressive facial expressions. The Venom symbiote may win the day on the latter, as there’s a good scene in which it talks to Peter and goes from one facial expression to another. The cute single-tooth look is excellent as well.
Spider-Man saves Venom War #1 from being too goofy for its own good, but I remain hesitant and cautious. This series has a lot of tropes at work that already feel at odds. Is this a fun fight comic or something more complex? It’s hard to tell what it wants to be right out of the gate.
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