The Amazing Spider-Man: The Birth of Venom

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Published: 1 January 2012
Publisher: Hatchette Partworks/ Marvel
Pages: 200
Series: The Ultimate Graphic Novels Collection
Format Read: Physical Owned Collection

Blurp:

Venom: a symbiotic life form that embodies all of Spider-Man’s powers in one terrifying dark vision… Spider-Man rejects the sentient alien life form that had become his all-powerful iconic black costume, and the sinister creature is forced to find a new victim. Consumed with hatred for Spider-Man, a trait it shares with its new host – Eddie Brock, the wall-crawler’s deadliest enemy is born…

This bind up includes The Amazing Spider-Man #252, 256-259, Web Of Spider-Man #1 and excerpt from The Amazing Spider-Man #299

Thoughts:

This review has been a long time coming. Not long time as in it is going to be very good and well thought out, its just that I have had this book on my shelf for at least 8 years now… Having tried to read Spiderman up until issue 252 and failing to even get that far, I kinda gave up on it. Last month, however, I found out that Bookstooge was going to be reading the Web of Spiderman series and this bind up I have happens to include it so we lowkey did a sort of buddy read, after this Stooge and I will be buddying up with the rest of the WoS series. Web of Spiderman is where Spiderman tried to distance himself from the weird Black alien suit that he brought back with him after the events of Secret Wars, also a series I have not yet read, but later finds out thanks to Reed Richards of Fantastic Four telling him it was actually a symbiot. At this time Venom was not yet a thing. The Black suit bonded to Spidey and it is determined pretty soon that the suit had a life of it’s own. It could switch to normal clothes seemingly on command or by reading Parker’s thoughts. It was interesting to see how it all evolved into what or who we know as the Venom of today. By the end of this bind up the Black suit bonds with Eddie Brock who has a huge dislike of Parker after events that led to Eddie being made a fool of and costing his job at the Bugle, events from earlier comics that I also have not read, but loosely knew the back story of. Eddie and the Black suit, now the symbiotic goo, melding together would become the Venom we know. Not the funny Venom from the last two Sony movies, but a brooding, hateful entity who was out to get revenge on Spiderman. Not the kind of revenge that this bind up has on the front cover, but how Venom initially started out. The Venom at this time had not yet had the iconic whiplash tongue yet, but as far as the form of this character is concerned, this was the template that many other artists would build upon. I am now very interested to see how Web of Spiderman is going to turn out.

As a small extra, I will be including a small summary of each individual issue included in this bind up. Just going to list issue numbers with no pictures. I am lazy that way… And have a lot more reviews I want to type out today…

Issue #252:

This starts of with Spidey’s home town wondering where all the heroes are, seeing as they were still dealing with the events of whatever it was Secret Wars was all about. Not long after a black suited Spiderman and Doc Conners (Lizzardman) appear in central park seemingly teleported back from where they were. Not long after that the rest of the heroes appear as well. Spidey takes Conners home to his wife and kids and heads home to give aunt May a call and to tell her he got called out of town on an unexpected errand for a few weeks. He also calls his girlfriend Black Cat, but she is not in and Peter decides to go look around town and test out his new suit. Black Cat drops in just as Spidey left and they miss one another by mere panels. Black Cat, it is revealed has been given certain powers by the Kingpin of Crime (a.k.a Kingpin) and she would very much want to tell Spidey/Parker about it, but puts it of for now. Meanwhie Spiderrman hijacks two teenagers having an argument and swings them up high for a scenic view of the city. They are scared shitless, but Spidey is happy to be home.

Issue #256:

Starts with Spidey kicking ass and chewing gum, while Black Cat takes action shots with Parker’s camera. Things escelate and Cat jumps down to help Spidey out a bit, showcasing some of her powers that she still has not told Parker about. Cat and Spiderman go back to his appartment and share a kiss before Cat needs to go somewhere urgent.  Spidey counts his luck and is happy that he is getting some love from the Black Cat and prepares for bed after a long day discovering his old costume in his closet he reminisces a bit about the old days with the red and blue. Peter goes to sleep and we find out whare house that they were kicking ass in was connected to the Rose, a crook I have not read a lot about. Rose is pissed and employs the help of Puma to take Spiderman out of business for good. This was also the issue where Puma was introduced for the first time. Peter is constantly tired we find out as M.J appears out of the blue at the Bugle and wants to party. She seems to pick up an interest in Peter as she does not understand how easily he just brushed her of like that! Go Peter! I am sure M.J also does not know that Peter is actually dating Felicia a.k.a the Black Cat still. Not long after Peter leaves the Bugle, Spiderman is attacked by the Puma, being tired all the time seems there is a delay with his spidersenses, what could it possibly be??? Puma manages to pull one of Spidey’s arms out of its sockets and Spidey breaks a chimney trying to pluck it back in. Spidey is seen on the ground as Puma prepares to pounce, but the issue calls curtain on the big battle and kids in the 70’s/80’s had to wait a week for the next issue to drop. I did not, lucky me!

Issue #257:

Just as Puma is about to end Spidey’s life with a clawed hand, Black Cat drop kicks the living shit out of Puma. Like a good cat Puma is luckily only slightly dazed and wants to pounce on this new opponent, but he can’t really as the Rose only hired him for Spidey. Cat is in his way though so he makes one exception to his code and just as he wants to pounce Cat the floor underneath him gives way, Cat still has not told Spidey about he powers, but the two manage to escape. While Puma licks his wounds Cat and Spidey are in Parker’s apartment accessing the damage to his arm. Parker finds it difficult to get the suit to come of him, where it normally was as easy as a thought, but the suit gets the idea and glides of him. Cat is concerned, but not concerned enough to stay the night with Peter to make sure he will be oke as well as thinking Parker’s flat is a dump and how she does not know why Parker does not want to move out to a beter place. Does this mean Cat is growing tired of Spidey? While all of this is going on Kingpin finds out about Rose hiring Puma to kill of Spiderman, but  that does not fit into his plans for the Wallcrawler yet, so he gets the message out that Rose needs to cease that idea. Spidey is off the hook now, but seemingly entering love triangle territory as M.J rocks up at his apartment mere minutes after Cat left, yet just in time to be thrown out of Peter’s flat as the Puma strikes at his flat! They take the fight outside and end up crashing a gym, where Puma overshoots throwing a whole gym contraption at Spidey and Spidey breaking away from the fight to save people getting hurt by the projectile. Puma flees the scene  and plans on taking the fight at a different time. Giving just enough time for Rose to make contact and to call of the contract on Spidey’s head, for now. Puma leaves the city immediately,  Rose schemes against Kingpin only to be interrupted by non other than Hobgoblin! Back at Peter’s apartment, M.J barges through the door and drops a bomb on Parker, no she is not pregnant, but, pause for dramatic interlude, SHE KNOWS HE IS SPIDERMAN!!!!

Issue #258:

Picks of right were the last issue ended, Peter does not know what to do with this info, clearly wants to talk to M.J about it, but Black Cat surprises them both by dropping through the window, which Peter has told her many times not to unannounced, boundaries you see, always good to have. This only proves M.J’s revelation as more truthful and she leaves in tears while Parker is torn between explaining to Black Cat what is going on and pleading M.J to stay. Cat sees that as her cue to a break up but as she wants to leave through the same window Parker’s jacket shoots a web out to keep her from doing so. Cat sees that as a sign of Parker wanting her and not M.J, all is seemingly forgiven or is it? Meawhile in New Mexico, Puma wonders when he can pit his skills against Spiderman again. Flashing Back to where Parker wants to speak to M.J, but she is not answering the phone as she seems to be packing to leave the big city. Parker gives up and slowly falls asleep on his couch while wallowing in sorrow about how everything is just not working out for him. We see the suit creep up to Parker and that is manages to make Parker go about town Webslinging, in his sleep! Parker has a nightmare where his two suits, old red and blue and the black suit are fighting about him, and waking up in a cold sweat, thinking he imagined the the suit moving of it’s own volition. Next day Spidey finally decides to take the suit to Reed of FF so they can run some tests. While that happens we see Hobgoblin taking out Rose’s goons which happens to be a test as Rose was under the impression that Hobsy was dead… Back at FF Towers Reed asks Spidey to take of his suit after determining that the suit is ALIVE, Spidey can’t so Reed blasts him with a sonic blaster. Black suit comes of and Human Torch makes a ring of fire around it till Reed can fix up a containment cell for the alien goo. For comedic purposes Parker is only left in his undies while covering his face, FF do not know his real identity yet, so Torch lends Parker an old F4 suit and a paper bag as none of them use masks. Torch gives Parker a ride home halfway and on his way there is a mugging taking place, so Sack head Parker intervenes to the general public’s confusion if there is a new FF member that they still need to be introduced too… Peter manages to get away quick and just as he turns on the news to see his bagged head on the news M.J rocks up, telling Peter she has know about his secret for a long time now, issue fades out with the now identified symbiotic is hitting against the glass container it has been imprisoned with, we are told that it is accessing it’s situation, it begins to plan… to hate… to hunger for revenge!

Issue #259:

Filler issue where M.J and Parker are in the park and M.J is telling him her “tragic past”. Its a pretty  heavy pill to swallow with M.J’s dad being piece of shit and her older sister marrying someone just exactly like her farther, it tells the story of a young M.J growing up and making people believe that everything is fine even though she is always hurting inside. Peter just wants to get to the part where he can be sure that M.J won’t tell the word that he is Spiderman. M.J tells him that she is jealous that Parker gets to be Spiderman and get all the shine, but that his secret is safe with her, she just told him about her secret did she not? They hug and leave the park as friends, closer than ever. Where was the Black Cat though? Meanwhile Hobgoblin is black mailing people for protection money he has some scheme in the works. The people he is menacing happen to be connected to Kingpin though, what is he driving at? She-Hulk is helping out at FF headquaters and there is a small little piece of dialog about how Reed identified Spidey’s suit to be a living, thinking thing. After Parker’s stroll in the park, he comes home only to find out that the Hobgoblin has been spotted about town on the news, Parker only now finds out that Hobs was never as dead as the world wanted him to think he was ( issue 251 is handily referenced, but not included in this bind up), we get a montage of Parker suiting up into his old Red and Blue suit. There is also an epilogue where some drone like object breaks out the alien goo from it’s containment and flying towards the city…

Web of Spiderman #1: Till Death do us part:

Starts with Parker feeling paranoid. The suit is waiting for it’s moment to pounce while Parker is wondering if the feeling is from the recent breakup with Black Cat ( which apparently happens in issue 100, while they were together in 258?). While Parker is not paying attention he does not see the black suit change into his red and blue suit and that way ends up putting the black suit on. He finds out soon enough though! Somewhere else some people are mugging someone else before they suit  up in costumes which they apparently learned how to make no thanks to Vulture. They go on a suit test run with the plan to track down Spiderman for some reason. Meanwhile Spiderman is having trouble getting to FF Headquarters so Reed can help get the suit of of him. The suit now bonded back on Spidey is making it very difficult. A few blocks away M.J runs into aunt May and tries to talk May into reconciling with Peter. In the background issues there was a story line that Peter dropped out of colledge and May found out and was super pissed off about it. M.J sort of convinces May to think about it. While Spiderman is still srtuggling with the suit, he gets picked up by one of the Vulturions who then flies him back to his committee. The suit then starts to attack the Vulturion mid flight and they quickly end up on top of a belltower. As the bell starts tolling the suit comes of off Parker and escapes to safety, but it seems the tolling of the bell is slowly  killing Parker too, so the goo goes back up to pull Parker to safety, the goo now has a conscious? The issue ends with the alien dissipating into thin air…

Phew, now that was a mouth full. this review has taken me way longer to write than I thought it would! I really liked this bind up. It had a lot of extra info for interesting issues to read up on and some info dumps at the end. I gave this bindup a 4 out of 5 on GR. It was easy enough to get through. Reviewing it all was a tad bit harder though. Web of Spiderman will continue for a while I hope!

Till next time!

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