Warning: SPOILERS for Venom: First Host #3
There's a new Venom in the Marvel Universe, now that Eddie Brock has finally merged with his Symbiote's offspring. Which also makes it... his child, too. Either way, this new symbiote has the makings of a real superhero.
This new bonding of Eddie Brock and the child of the Venom symbiote has been a long time coming, even before Marvel restarted the main Venom series with a new creative team. But the tale of the child of Venom built up to by Mike Costa and Mark Bagley is finally getting to be told. In Venom: First Host #3, the newest symbiote hero is born - a bond between Eddie Brock, and the child Venom trusted him to raise.
As you can tell, the story has gotten... weird. So to make sure fans appreciate just how epic this new Venom symbiote superhero really is - and why Eddie is its only chance for saving its "mother" - let's catch up on the story so far.
- This Page: How Eddie & Venom Actually Had a Baby
- Page 2: The Child of Venom Merges With Eddie
Venom Kept Its Baby a Secret From Eddie
For this story, fans will have to go back to the final issues of Costa's run, concluding with Venom #165. The "Nativity" storyline dropped a bombshell on Eddie Brock when former colleagues of his attacked and subdued him, explaining his symbiote's impending delivery was a threat they had to deal with head on. That was news to Eddie, who soon heard the symbiote's confession in his head. But it had a good reason for keeping its upcoming offspring a secret.
The most famous spawn of the Venom symbiote is Carnage, the red-colored, murderous monster embraced by the cannibal Cletus Kasady. And soon, the Venom movie will show how twisted and villainous The Five Symbiotes (children of Venom) turned out to be in Marvel Comics. Needless to say, the symbiote keeping its next spawning a secret from Eddie makes sense. It was out of fear - fear that if anyone knew, history would repeat itself.
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The only hope for the symbiote was Eddie. Hope that he could protect it, or they could together, as Venom. Hope that Eddie could help their "child" mature into a hero, instead. And since Eddie Brock is a hero at heart, he stepped up to the job, as "father" of the coming symbiote.
The Venom Symbiote & Eddie Brock Become... Parents?
The baby was finally delivered in Venom #165, but it didn't go as smoothly as any previous. Understandable, as both have gone through plenty of trauma since then. But with Mac Gargan aka the Scorpion wanting to become Venom once again, Eddie needed to protect his better half while in labor. As the Symbiote have birth, Eddie defended it with his life. The result was the strangest "delivery room" drama comic books may have ever seen. But the fighting all stopped when the new symbiote was revealed to be stillborn... at least, that's what they wanted everyone to think.
The symbiote child of Venom survived, and has been quietly growing in secret, removed from the Marvel Universe. But the wait is over, now that the true, heroic child of Venom has finally bonded with its First Host - Eddie Brock.
Page 2 of 2: The True Child of Venom is Finally Born
The Venom Symbiote Has Been Hijacked From Eddie
The cliffhanger of the previous Venom series left the child of Venom locked away in a lab, with both of its parents insisting that it be cared for humanely, and studied respectfully in exchange. It was their main stipulation that the symbiote not be subjected to any harsh experimentation or extractions - and would absolutely not be allowed to bond with a human host until both Eddie and the Venom symbiote agreed to it. But even observing it from a distance, First Host revealed that this symbiote - born of a more heroic Venom - may have taken on the more positive traits of its parents.
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Not in its gelatinous, black form, obviously. Instead the secretions of the symbiote were studied and discovered to induce not aggression or psychoactive manipulation like usual. Instead, the child can induce empathogenic euphoria, light sedation, and 'friendlier' feelings (discovered when the secretions were ingested at a Kendrick Lamar concert). As potentially game-changing as a truly heroic symbiote may be, Eddie and the Venom symbiote remained steadfast, preferring only to witness its maturation a day at a time.
That is, until the newest issue of Venom: First Host saw Eddie Brock's other half stolen away by an alien warrior intending to use the Venom symbiote as a weapon. Leaving Eddie no choice but to bond with the symbiote Spawn. And together, go rescue its mother before it's too late.
The True Child of Venom is Finally Born
When taking the symbiote specifics out of this Venom arc, the story itself seems a far more archetypal one than might be assumed at first glance. The Venom symbiote being kidnapped and Eddie feeling compelled to pursue and return it to its rightful place is only natural. Yes, the fact that the Venom symbiote has been kidnapped by its first host, a Kree super-soldier determined to unleash genocide on the Skrulls using information he locked away in the Symbiote DOES add a bit of comic book flair.
But the foundation is universal: when mother is taken, father and child must get her back. And in this series, it's actually the offspring who suggests it first, reaching out to Eddie's mind to share its thoughts with his in the usual symbiote fashion. But no longer needing a physical link, instead using a chemical connection. Whether that link is due to any shared physiology or past contact isn't clear. But it doesn't matter, because Eddie knows that the symbiote is right. The day has arrived for the child of Venom to take its first host, and become a true symbiote hero... and the First Host is Eddie himself.
The combination may not have a name just yet, but it's certainly got a style and look of its own. With green accents instead of white, and carefully placed red markings on its head, it's a striking debut. But the creation of this second-generation Venom is only the beginning. Are its abilities intended for good as they seem? And will Eddie follow through on Venom's plan to raise their child into a hero?
Venom: First Host #3 is available now from Marvel Comics.