Warning! Spoilers for Venom: Lethal Protector #1 by Marvel Comics
Marvel's Venom is going back to his early days, as a new series from the character's co-creator David Michelinie will explore his first adventures as the symbiote antihero/villain. This week, Marvel Comics announced a brand new Eddie Brock-starring series, Venom: Lethal Protector by Michelinie and artist Ivan Fiorelli, that will take readers back in time and spotlight the character's earliest days with the alien symbiote.
Venom is one of Marvel's most iconic characters, as the symbiote antihero first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man by Todd McFarlane and David Michelinie. Reporter Eddie Brock was transformed into Venom after the alien symbiote Peter Parker brought back to Earth following the events of Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars split from him and chose a new host. With the symbiote, Eddie Brock became Venom. Initially, he became one of Spider-Man's most prominent adversaries before taking on a more heroic role in later stories. Currently, Eddie Brock is Marvel's King in Black, while his son Dylan has bonded with the Venom symbiote. Venom has been featured in two films, including the most recent Venom: Let The Be Carnage, where Tom Hardy played Eddie Brock and the symbiote.
On Monday, Marvel Comics revealed Venom co-creator David Michelinie would return to the character in a new series with Ivan Fiorelli called Venom: Lethal Protector. The five-issue series has the same name as Michelinie's (with art by Mark Bagley, Ron Lim, Sam Delarosa, and Al Milgrom) 1993 limited series. Venom: Lethal Protector featured Venom heading to San Francisco in his first solo title that explored Eddie Brock's backstory and introduced several new symbiotes, including Scream, Riot, and Lasher. The new series will explore Venom's sinister days following Eddie Brock's dark transformation.
Marvel Comics revealed Venom: Lethal Protector will take place before the arrival of Carnage, the different toxins, and Venom's more heroic turn. Instead, the series will fill in the blanks of Eddie Brock's transformation into Venom, capturing his sinister early days with the symbiote. Michelinie said returning to Venom was both fun and exciting, while comparing returning to Venom's earliest days like "sitting down to dinner with an old friend--who wants to eat your brain for dessert!”
The synopsis for the series compares Venom: Lethal Protector to recent comics X-Men Legends and Maestro - both of which have revisited classic storylines.
Before Carnage and space gods, clones and toxins, and the revelation that he was a father, Eddie Brock was a down-on-his-luck reporter who had tried to take his own life and been saved by an extraterrestrial alien. In the spirit of hit titles like X-MEN LEGENDS and MAESTRO, explore an earlier era of Marvel Comics for an all-new, horrifying tale that not only revisits the wicked web-slinger’s past, but hints at what’s to come in his future!
Readers can see Eddie Brock's earliest days as Venom when Venom: Lethal Protector #1 by David Michelinie and Ivan Fiorelli from Marvel Comics arrives in comic book stores on March 23, 2022.