To say that Venom has been on a bit of a wild ride in recent years is an understatement. The iconic symbiote separated from Eddie Brock and it meant some big shifts for both of them. Venom bonded with Eddie’s son, Dylan, and then Mary Jane Watson while Eddie ended up the host for the serial killer symbiote Carnage. Now, the duo are back together but that comes with some changes, too. This week’s Venom #1 sees Eddie and Venom closer than ever, but there are some fresh challenges for the pair as well as the aim to move from antagonist to hero — and the journey has just begun.
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ComicBook spoke with Venom writer Charles Soule about this week’s Venom #1 and, according to Soule, there’s a lot in store for Venom and Eddie as the pair make their way towards a shared goal, even if they don’t see things quite the same way all the time. There’s also a very interesting romance for the pair, plenty of surprises to come and don’t worry if you aren’t as up to date on Venom as others. The new series is a great jumping on point. And if a deep dive into this week’s issue isn’t enough, we have an exclusive first look at Venom #2!
Venom and Eddie Have to Fight Preconceived Notions on Their Path to Hero
ComicBook: There’s this page, this incredible page where Eddie is trying to explain this big change. This one quote from it really jumped out to me, “When you get that low you do anything you can to feel better to make it stop. You make bad choices. And people who don’t know what you’re enduring, people with only half the story… they judge you. Put you in a box, close the lid, seal the scary monster away.” It is Eddie and Venom making a very good point about how we perceive others, but it also feels like they’re saying something about how they feel about themselves, too. How would you say Venom and Eddie are really handling everything they’ve been through?
Charles Soule: I’m glad that page connected with you as strongly as it did – I rewrote it about five times before the version you see in the issue. I wanted to set out a sort of “mission statement” for the series, which would work not just as a message Venom is trying to convey to Luke Cage and the Marvel power players, but also to the readers, in terms of where Eddie and the symbiote see themselves – both separately and together. This run is a new beginning. Of course, this book is informed by the amazing efforts of all the other creators who have worked on Venom stories in the past, but I am very consciously trying to work against preconceptions of what a Venom story can be, and what the character can be. This is exactly where Eddie and the symbiote are too – some in the Marvel Universe see them a certain way – as a monster at worst and a failure at best. They are going to do everything they can to reject those preconceived notions, but they also recognize it isn’t easy. Once the opinions of people (both in comics and the real world) are set, it can be incredibly difficult to shift them. We’ll see how it goes.
Sort of an extension of that, both Eddie and Venom have changed so much over the years and we’re seeing a Venom fully committed to his heroic leap while Eddie struggles to stay on that right path. We get a taste of that push and pull dynamic between them in the issue. How much of that will see going forward, this sort of internal right versus wrong?
The internal dialogue between Eddie and the symbiote is one of my favorite parts of writing the character. It lets me get into internal language in a way comics often don’t, mostly because thought balloons have been out of vogue for so long. I love writing banter, too, and the “internal conversation” stuff between them is a great chance to do that. As far as their dynamic – well, they’re separate people even though they’re bonded, and so they won’t always see things the same way. That said, they both have the same general goal, this redemption idea, and they can always work toward it together even if they don’t necessarily see individual steps the same way.
The whole issue felt like a return to form for Venom in a lot of ways — it even felt like a good intro point for people who maybe don’t really know much about or follow Venom — but there’s still a lot there for people who have followed the characters who have seen the changes that Eddie has gone through. One of the biggest might just be Eddie being a father which sort of begs the question, how does Dylan fact or into this new turn for Eddie and Venom — and will we be seeing him sometime soon?
That was exactly my goal – and I think the goal of every #1 issue, really. New-reader friendly but also with beats for the long-term fans. There’s a LOT of lore with the symbiotes, and I’m aware of how it all works, but I really wanted to pull back from some of the more dense concepts, at least for the time being. I see this series as a chance to expand the fandom, or bring folks back in, and being straightforward with the character felt like the way to go – at least for now. I have this planned as a three-act story – the “countdown” you see in the issue is an element of that – and larger elements of the lore are part of that, as is Dylan. I know Eddie and the symbiote’s son has a lot of fans out there, and I have a plan for him. Just be patient. My focus right now is on Eddie and the symbiote. The rest will come.
So, the end of Venom #1 we get a very… intimate is the wrong word but there’s definitely something personal about that moment with Yelena and Eddie and Venom. And we know thanks to NYCC that a relationship between the three is coming. With Venom and Eddie having been portrayed as being their own relationship in recent years, how does adding Yelena into the mix change things?
No, intimate is exactly the right word. When we end Issue 1 it should be very clear that Yelena Belova (aka the White Widow) is in a romantic relationship with both Eddie and the symbiote. I wanted to write something complex and grown-up and interesting for these characters, and a relationship is a zone in which they haven’t really traveled. The Yelena element is one of my favorite parts of the book so far, and I’m so happy Marvel let me run with it when I pitched it. There was a little raising of eyebrows, but now it’s all really starting to sing. The relationship brings new things to all three characters, and I can’t wait for readers to see where it all goes.
Things Heat Up For Eddie, Venom, and Yelena in Venom #2 First Look
Yes, you read that right. Yelena Belova is dating Eddie and Venom, which was also previously confirmed at New York Comic Con this month, and while we got a taste of the relationship at the end of Venom #2, things start to heat up a bit in Venom #2, out November 2nd. We have an exclusive first look at the issue and, well, you can see for yourself where that intimate final moment of this week’s issue ended up.
Here’s how Marvel describes Venom #2: “She’s with them?! Eddie Brock is back bonded with his original symbiote, and THEY ARE VENOM, now and forever! But wait, what’s this — could it be that the pair have found themselves a new lady love? Who is this mystery woman… and is she snared in their web or are they snared in hers?”
Venom #1 is on sale now from Marvel Comics. Venom #2 hits shelves on November 25th.
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