Marvel’s Black, White & Blood series tends to feature mostly unconnected tales starring whatever character it’s focusing on. Venom: Black, White & Blood #2 has its creators taking a different approach with the Lethal Protector, since they’re optiong to highlight different moments in his long, bloody history. What follows is a trio of tales that reminds you of all the different ways Marvel’s tried to reinterpret Venom across the years.
The first story, “Convergence”, takes place early in Venom’s career and sees Eddie Brock attempting to go on a date, unaware that his paths are about to converge with Peter Parker, who’s taking his wife Mary Jane Watson to a big Hollywood party. “Convergence” is probably going to draw eyeballs due to the fact that it’s drawn by Erik Larsen, who had a fairly solid run on Amazing Spider-Man before co-creating Image Comics and spending the majority of his work on Savage Dragon. Larsen’s signature style lends itself well to the Black, White & Blood anthology, especially as Venom’s black and white suit contrasts with Spider-Man’s red and black suit; the majority of the issue is divided down the middle to show how Eddie and Peter’s paths cross.
Larsen also has Spidey call Venom out on the reasons why he wants the web-slinger dead, and I have to say, it’s well thought out. Not only is Venom’s entire motif of “protecting the innocent” dismantled, but so is his obsessive hatred for Spidey. What makes it tragic is that at that point, Venom probably did know deep down he was in the wrong, but he doesn’t care. Larsen brings “Convergence” to a shocking end that only underlines just how much Venom’s vendetta costs him, even if he doesn’t realize it.
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The next story, “Venom Vice” by Karla Pacheco and Pere Perez, serves as a sequel to Venom: License to Kill, a miniseries that had Venom conscripted into becoming a secret agent (this was back in the ’90s when “Venom Fever” was at its highest). Pacheco is having an utter blast, scripting a comedy of errors where Venom’s attempts to track down a crime lord results in a trail of bodies. So is Perez, who puts the “blood” in Black, White & Blood. Bodies are run over, eyes are plucked out, and in one of the more gruesome moments, Venom bashes a guy’s head open against a dumpster.
Things cap off with “Hard Choices, Heavy Burdens”, which puts the focus on another Venom who was a secret agent: Flash Thompson, aka Agent Venom. Flash is set to speak at a veterans’ hall when the ceremony is interrupted by his nemesis Jack ‘O Lantern, forcing him to choose between fighting and helping others. As a fan of Rick Remender’s Venom run, I’m glad that Tom Waltz managed to capture the same inner turmoil that Flash went through in this storyline, down to showcasing why he makes the choices he does. And while this is the least bloody of the three tales, Brian Level brings a knock-down, drag-out fight that Lee Loughridge splashes with flashes of red, particularly when bodies are sent flying by an explosion.
Venom: Black, White & Blood #2 hopscotches through the Lethal Protector’s history, continuing its trend of blood-soaked battles. With the next issue promising to explore Venom’s early days and even a few alternate universes, future installments in the Black, White & Blood series should take note.
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