Hello all and welcome to the Handbook. I‘m Jim of course and this is my bud Daron
It is indeed, me.
Hey Daron. It‘s all going well here. I do have a nice amount of questions but nothing like lately. I would‘ve loved a larger column personally. I will say that Cory got in early. I know I‘ve got a busy week coming and weekend with Wizard Philly. I‘ll be going again and hope to catch up on some news and the like. How about you Daron?
Just work and sleep, and more getting ready for this whole returning to school thing.
Cool plans. Well interesting at least. I will say that finding me will be always a complication with any con. I move around a lot. I‘ll be in all the Marvel panels of course. But let‘s get started.
Yeah…why don’t we do that.
Jeff Ritter our buddy emails
Jim…WAZZUP!!!
Hey Jeff
Just got around to catching up on some of the columns…I know, bad of me. Blame Daron, that slave-driving overlord.
Daron care to say something here?
Nope, that sounds about right.
Anyway, I wanted to sound off on Corey’s Top 10 Fights I want to see…but first, I want our friend Joe to send me (I can be reached by the link on the Welcome To My Nightmare columns) any and all pertinent information about that Douchebag who called him a poser. That Scrotum-monkey is official on The List. I will make it my mission to bury that abusive knuckledragger like I do anyone else who has no place in our business. Suffer not the assholes to live. God I hope that shop was in St. Louis…OK, to Corey’s Top 10 list!
Top 10 Marvel Melees I Want To See:
10) Gambit vs Shatterstar – This bout ends in a double fatality. And not one of those week long Marvel deaths either. Special Guest Referee will be Jubilee, and if she get’s croaked in the process too, well, who’ll really notice?
9) Thor vs Ares – War is a human creation. Thunder is a natural force. Mankind (the race, not the wrestler) needs to learn, you don’t mess with nature. Suddenly I sound like Ra’s al Ghul. I know, no DC stuff here. Besides, Ares smacks of Bendis/Millar silliness. Thor needs to wipe him off the printed pages before Bendis gives a whole issue of the Avengers featuring Ares having sex with monkeys. And don’t think that can’t happen, nobody really edits Bendis, apparently. FEAR THE HAMMER!
8) Peter Parker vs Tony Stark – Tony has fracked Pete up so bad it ain’t even funny, maybe even worse than Osborne ever did. Put Mary Jane in Pete’s corner and let him rip that goofy moustache off with a well placed webshot. Once Pete gets his pound of flesh, let Nick Fury run in and take another 5 pounds. Hell, you could really have a line waiting to lay the smack down, like that scene from Airplane.
7) Dr. Strange vs Juggernaut – I don’t actually mind the Juggernaut as a good guy. I think his motivation as a villain is pretty weak. But I’ve long contended that the Doc needs to get some more mainstream Marvel rogues to keep an ongoing title rolling. Sure, some Cthulu-esque Old Gods and Mephisto and the like are fine, but I think he needs to step away from the fringe of the MU a little to be more marketable. Come up with a reason why he can’t conjure something related to the Cyttorak and see how the arcane energy wielder handles the Juggernaut (bitch).
6) The Ultras vs the Avengers – I’ll keep saying it until they do something about it, the Marvel brass are missing a great opportunity by ignoring the Ultraverse they bought so long ago. Prime vs Wonder Man. Rune vs Ares. Mantra vs Ms. Marvel. Prototype vs Iron Man. Solitare vs Black Widow. Just let someone outside the Bendis Illuminati write it. In fact, it might suprise folks, but I actually think Fabian Nicieza could do a tremendous job on this one.
5) The Rhino vs Leonard Sampson – As you probably already know, I loves me some Rhino! He’s kind of a lovable loser. He reminds me of Ben Grimm in some ways. But everybody just uses him as filler in Spidey books. No more, I say! He punks out the The Incredible Gamma Tool, Doc Sampson. How Bruce and/or Jennifer haven’t killed him by know, I have no idea. This would be the start of a big win streak for the Rhino, culminating in his Avengers membership when I take over the book. It’s gotta happen sometime, you know. I saw it in Death’s Head II from Marvel-UK years ago. Cannonball was on the team too. And we all know Marvel Continuity is air tight, right?
4) Wolverine vs Joe Quesada and Bill Jemas – “This is for ‘Origins’, eh?” *SNIKT!* “This is for calling me ‘Jim.’ The name’s Logan, bub. One word, like Prince.” *SNIKT!* “This is for that ‘Howlett’ crap. C’mon, ‘Howlett’? Wolverines aren’t wolves. They don’t howl.” *SNIKT!* “How ’bout them Mets?” *SNIKT!* “Stick me with this creepy redhead fetish going back to Canada, eh?” *SNIKT!* “And what’s the big idea of making me so much younger? You keep making that Parker kid older. For all you know I walked across the Bering Strait hunting mammoths, and I might have been old then. Probably didn’t have adamantium on my skeleton back then. Probably.” *SNIKT!* “‘Nuff said, bub.”
3) Joe vs the Comic Shop Asshole – Joe wins in the most one-sided contest ever. It would also be the longest, as millions of GOOD comic reading folks trail him to set the Guiness Book World Record for Biggest Entourage. Creators would be in that line too. After all, it’s in their best interest that shopkeeps work hard – and politely – to sell their products. Bungmunchers like that guy ruin it for EVERYONE.
2) Havok vs The Sentry – Both have the power of at least one sun (I admit, I forget how many Reynolds taps into), both are blonde, and when used by the right writer both are really cool. Havok’s got discipline, and I would think this one would come down to mind games and will power (and Summers’ staying out of Bob’s grasp), and Havok could probably trip Sentry’s psychosis up. It’d be wikkid destructiv, for sure.
1) Taskmaster vs Everyone – Damn skippy. Whatcha gonna do, brother, when Taskamania runs wild on you!?! I remember an issue of Elektra some time back where she, in the span of about 4 panels, absolutely decimates Taskmaster, Zaran, Machette, Razorfist, Batroc and many other so-called B-list fist fighters. And I resolved to never pick up another Elektra issue again. She was interesting as the star-crossed lover to Matt Murdoch. But she doesn’t crack my Top 10 Marvel fighters. The Taskster does, though. It’s time The Taskinator gets his props.
Very good list. I do think most of those matches would be cool as hell. After all some would be instant classics.
Keep fighting the good fight. Joe, gimme a holler, I’d be happy to help you find some good material to read and if you’re open to mail order I could put you in touch with my shop. Good guys! I promise! Hasta la vista!
I fully agree on this one Jeff. I hope Joe keeps fighting that good fight and I would like to hear more stories like this one as well
Cory emails
Cory’s back in the place to be…with many questions for J & D. Sup guys….here goes everything:
Hey Cory going good here.
…did you just lead off this segment with a “poem�
1. Who is more accurate at throwing their trademark weapons: Cap (shield) or DD (billyclubs)?
Hmmmmmmm I would say Cap. After all Cap is more experienced and older. Even though Stick trained Matt I think Steve has more practice and of course hits his targets often.
That and he’s not blind…
2. The Xavier Protocols (during Onslaught) stated that decapitation (at the time;bone claws) was the conceived strategy to kill Wolverine. With his metal back, this seem now to be null & void right? But could this strategy still work if he was to be attacked with a sharper weapon made of adamantium? (I can’t believed I listed a way to kill my fave Marvel hero). now if he did “die”, is it possible for his skeleton to be used sorta like the Terminator cyborg?
Adamantium on adamantium likely would not work. But we do know a weapon now that can kill Wolverine. The Muramasa blade:
The first time it’s existence was mentioned was in Wolverine # 1. It’s location has been revealed to Wolverine by Silver Samurai. The sword has been initially made for Logan by a madman, believed to be an immortal demon, Muramasa, thus the name of the sword. On their first meeting in Japan, Wolverine came to Muramasa after his wife Itzu had been murdered, so he could help him to “kill ’em all”. Muramasa accepted, and promised to forge him a “mighty blade -…- against which all… even one as great as you… will fall” out of Logan’s thirst for revenge. When Logan came to claim the weapon, Muramasa gladly gave it to him, telling him to “wield it like an angry god”.
Wolverine used it against a S.H.I.V.A robot, cutting it in half with a single blow. Later research of the remains of the robot have shown, that it was not cut, but rather “sliced, on the molecular level”. The scientist who was doing the research theorized, that the instrument could have been some sort of plasmic form. In a subsequent fight with Captain America the sword was used against Wolverine, leaving a scar on his chest, which oddly didn’t heal as usual.
Wolverine gave the sword to Cyclops, explaining it by saying: “This is the only thing in the world that can put me down for good.”
Now if you used it to cut off Wolverine’s head per say you likely could use the skeleton like a Terminator thing if you know what your doing. For instance Doom using it in Guardians of the Galaxy
3- Now I’ve seen him get his face shot off by the Punisher with a shotgun, burned to the bone by Nitro, and I won’t mention Magneto. But what really hurts him? His exit wounds from his claws in his hands??? Though his healing factor kicks in instantly, he has said that on multiple occasions that it always hurt. Just like he said in the movie…now coming from a tough guy, doesnt this seem like a paper cut hurting the Hulk? Just seems odd to me.
I think it‘s not just the fact of having to make those wounds every time. (think about the idea that they heal up and have to be made each time Wolverine uses the claws.) but it also could be something emotional and the like. Think of it this way. The admantium processing itself was not his choice and all the lives he‘s killed with these claws (with and without Adamantium) it may be that as well
Yeah, but, man paper cuts hurt like hell.
4- In X-Men #84, the Xavier Protocols listed the following X-men members: Storm, Beast, Shadowcat, Rogue, Colossus, and Gambit. What were the ways that were listed, if any?
We saw devices in the issue but no real explanations on how they worked or how they killed the X-Men. I would assume most nullified the powers or used them against the X-Men.
5- What is Sabretooth’s real name? Victor Creed or Graydon Creed, Sr.? On the 90’s animated series cartoon, the X-Men outside set up a holoprojector displaying Xavier’s profile on the mutant Sabretooth, real name: Graydon Creed, Senior. Discovering that another one of his trusted men was a mutant and seeing Sabretooth’s face again, Graydon Creed becomes unstable and begins screaming wildly.
He’s been called it. Sabretooth like Wolverine doesn’t fully know his real name it would seem and his full past.
Real Name: Victor Creed Current Alias Sabretooth
Aliases: Slasher, El Tigre, Der Schlächter (“The Butcher” in German), Graydon Creed Sr., Mr. Silver, God of the Hunt
6- Also what’s with cyclops new status? I hear he is shooting people (with a gun), no longer using his shades, and maybe dead. What’s up with that?
Ah you missed an Astonishing X-Men arc here.
During an impromptu telepathic “therapy session,” Emma Frost presented Cyclops with the possibility that his lack of control over his optic blasts actually stems from a sort of mental block that the young Scott imposed upon himself after the combined traumas of the loss of his parents, separation from his brother, and shocking manifestation of his powers; this is seen as a coping mechanism, giving Scott something to focus on and try to maintain some sort of control over at a time when events completely out of his control had effectively shattered the life he had led up to that point.
Surprisingly, Scott seems to admit that this theory is the truth of the matter, further admitting that he had even blocked making this decision out of his memory, to preserve the fallacy in his own mind and prevent others from discovering his “secret” (how Emma Frost was able to root this out of his mind when more powerful telepaths who have had longer personal relationships with Scott, such as Charles Xavier and Jean Grey, were unable to, has yet to be explained). The issue ends with Scott apparently in a catatonic state, with his eyes uncovered and displaying their natural shade of brown, with no evidence of his powers manifesting.
Apparently Emma was right: a fully recovered Cyclops rose in the subsequent issue from his catatonic state to shoot Perfection in the back with a pistol. However it has not been established yet, whether Cyclops has full control of his power or has been rendered completely powerless.
7- LAST WEEK: What are some hanging plotlines that you hope someday will get answered? I say those damn villains that escaped from the prison in New Avengers #1.
Very good one here:
A breakout occurs at the Raft. The original Spider-Woman and Luke Cage are escorting Foggy Nelson and Matt Murdock to meet with the Sentry as it is occurring. Spider-Man, Captain America, and Iron Man arrive to help keep order. The team is able to track one of the escapees, Sauron to the Savage Land. Wolverine also becomes a member. The team battles both the Savage Land Mutates and a SHIELD team led by Black Widow (Yelena Belova). SHIELD seems to have been selectively placing certain prisoners into the group. There are allegations of corruption, especially now that Nick Fury has been deposed as the organization’s leader.
8- LAST WEEK: If they do sequels to the Marvel movies that have come out (ie, if they were to do X-Men 4), who should be villians? X-4 plot, I say have Sinister be revealed as the mysterious benefactor behind the HFC (or not; or have the HFC as the new villains completely seperated from Mr. Sinister), have him have kidnapped Jean & Scott from their graves (to resurrect them), with the help of a Cajun thief, and at the end of the movie have it revealed that he works for En Sabah Nur. This way you can introduce the following: Mr. Sinister, Gambit, White Queen, etc. Cable & Apocalypse will be a part of X-5. Also what about DD, and where did that movie go wrong?
Nice plot for X-4. I actually would like to see something like that. As for Daredevil. Well the problem with Daredevil is sort of the same as Hulk. They did some things right but tried to fit to much in one movie. The sequal was Elektra in many ways of course. Elektra wasn‘t horrible but not great either
9- LAST WEEK: What characters from Marvel do you think should get there own movies, and which ones shouldn’t? NOTE: The Marvel subsidiary Marvel Studios has two films planned for every year, starting in 2008 with Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk. The following are in development: Ant-Man, The Avengers, Black Panther, Captain America, Cloak & Dagger, Deathlok, Dr. Strange, Ghost Rider 2, The Hands of Shang Chi, Hawkeye, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Magneto, Nick Fury, Power Pack, Punisher 2, Spider-Man 4, Sub-Mariner, Werewolf by Night, Wolverine, and X-Men 4.The titles in BOLD have been discussed, now let’s discuss the casting & villains:
A- Ant-Man: Matthew McConaughey.
B- The Avengers: Next week!
C- Black Panther- Djimon Hounsou. vs. Klaw & Erik Killmonger.
D- Cap: Jason Lewis or Brad Pitt. vs. Red Skull (I like Sir Anthony Hawkins for some reason), Crossbones, etc. Set from WW2 to now.
e- Cloak & Dagger: ?
f- Deathlok- Samuel L. Jackson. vs. Moses Magnum.
g- Dr. Strange- (since he like quirky roles) Johnny Depp. vs. Dormmamu or Baron Mordo.
h- Ghost Rider 2 – vs. Zarathos
i- Shang Chi- Robin Shou aka Lui Kang. vs. Fu Manchu
j- Hawkeye- Paul Walker.
k- Iron Fist- Ray Park. vs. Master Khan, Bushmaster, or Steel Serpent.
l- Magneto- pre X-men. Cameos by Sir Ian Murray McKellen & Patrick Stewart.
m- Nick Fury- *get back to you guys on this one*
n- Power Pack- *same as above*
o- Spidey-4- Lizard (Dylan Baker) & Kraven (Oded Fehr). Cameo by Venom, leading to Carnage or save that for part 5.
p- Namor- The Rock. Nuff Said.
q- Werewolf by Night-???
r- Wolverine- Hugh Jackman. vs. Sabretooth, etc. Weapon X and Pre-X-Men.
Very nice list. I like a lot of your choices as well for who should play the parts.
10- Speaking of Punisher 2, no more Thomas Jane. He was perfect to me. Though all you need is a caucasian male with muscles & guns, can this sequel work without him?
I loved him as Frank myself. He was perfect as you just said but yes they can do this without him. Which is why the production is still in the works. They can replace him
11- Well I don’t know about that last part. I can’t think of a single villain in the Marvel U who is as nuts as the Joker…How about Norman Osbourne or Carnage? The thing with the Joker is that he is always insane, where most Marvel villians have moments of insanity.
Good ones. Norman is mostly bouts of insanity but he’s pretty good for connection wise to Joker. Carnage is a sick bastard. Likely close to Joker ranks to
Sorry guys, neither of these guys even come close to Joker level’s of insanity…not even combined.
12- I asked about Gravitron last week, and forgot a top 10, so I will kill 2 birds with 1 stone. What are the Top 10 “non-pushed, yet useful” villains in Marvel?
I like this one a lot. I think this is a good idea for next weeks.
13- OH MY GOD! What is up with Black Panther? I just read the new FF issues with him as leader & his own book since getting married. How in the hell is he becoming the “deus ex machina”? I seen him put the Silver Surfer in a headlock & surf on his surfboard! WTF? Are you kidding me? The push of his charcter is cool, but why the drastic push? I would never expect Siryn to out-yell Black Bolt, it just seems WAY outta his league. What are all these incredible moments of BP’s new attitude? Damn, maybe I should marry Storm. Ha!
This is exactly my complaint from last week. Black Panther was needing a push but going as far as to have him fight the Surfer? What is going on? I mean I love BP as much as the next guy but this is just to much. I think Marvel is trying to push BP and it‘s a great idea. But the writers are going to far. Both the Panther writer and now the FF writer are allowing him to go to far. Defeat foes he should not.
14- I think in the end it would come down to Bats & Deathstroke (DC side) and Wolvie and Taskmaster (Marvel side). From there…it’s really hard to say. So…without being Marvel-biased, who are the victors?
Hmmmmmm ok this is returning to last weeks. I like this idea. I think Bats can take out Taskmaster in the end somehow. Wolverine takes out Deathstroke in some fashion. Now it‘s Batman vs. Wolverine. This is every fans dream match. Who wins? THE FANS! You could have either win or have a draw and I think the fans will be cheering
Well without trying to be “DC biased†the fact that Bats has taken down supes and plenty of higher powered foes (higher than Wolvie for sure), I’d say he would probably figure out someway to take him down. But yeah it would probably come down to these two.
15- Also, those Top 10’s from last week, who wins? daron, what you think? Mine:
1- Hawkeye vs. Bullseye
2- DD vs. BP
3- Storm vs. Thor (a thunder battle)
4- Rogue vs. She-Hulk
5- Wolverine vs. Ares
6- Moon Knight vs. Nighthawk (Kyle Richmond)
7- Shang Chi vs. Iron Fist
8- Cannonball vs. Nova (in a race)
9- Deadpool vs. Sabertooth
10- Colossus vs. Omega Red (battle for Mother Russia)
Yours:
2. Mystique/Morph
3. Rogue with all the abilities of those she’s touched/Super Adaptoid
6. Beta Ray Bill/Red Norvell
7. She-Hulk/Deadpool (Fourth wall battle)
8. Madcap/Deadpool
9. Moon Knight/Blade
10. Namorita/Namora
My choices on who wins:
Hawkeye
Black Panther
Thor
Ares
Moon Knight
Shang-chi
Nova
Deadpool
Colossus
Mystique
Rogue
BRB
Deadpool
Deadpool
Moon Knight
Namora
I am also working on that Deadpool petition & the Spidey/Batman rogues gallery battle. That’s all from me this week guys! Thanks a mil, Make Mine Marvel, & See ya in 7!
Cool. I can‘t wait to see what you come up with on all parts Cory. Welcome and see you next column
Jackal posted
Hey who thinks that there should be a major update on the Scorpion/Venom profile? I mean he has joined with the symbiote as well as the T-bolts
Venom symbiote: The full story
Once Spider-Man returned to Earth, the alien costume could not tolerate being separated from its host for long periods of time. At night, when Spider-Man’s alter ego, Peter Parker, slept, the symbiote would engulf him and send the somnambulator to battle evil. Later, Spider-Man battled the Puma, who perceived that the wall-crawler’s webs were organic. Startled by this revelation, Spider-Man accepted Reed Richards’ offer to study the costume. Richards learned that the costume was actually a living alien symbiote, a parasite trying to graft itself permanently to Spider-Man both mentally and physically. Richards succeeded in separating the alien costume from its host by shooting it with a “sonic blaster.” He then contained the being in a special environmental cell. But the alien was much more intelligent than anyone perceived. It escaped from its cell and made its way to Peter Parker’s closet where it waited, disguised as a spare red-and-blue costume.
Spider-Man unwittingly donned the costume, which immediately made itself apparent. He brought it to the tower at Our Lady of Saints Church gambling the intense sound of its bells would destroy it. Spider-Man lost the gamble, and he succumbed to the bells before the costume did. However, the empathic parasite had preyed upon the emotions of Spider-Man long enough to learn how to feel, and in feeling, to act. Sacrificing itself, the alien costume saved Spider-Man, who assumed it then, crawled away to die. Actually, the symbiote, weak and dying, slithered down into the church where Eddie Brock kneeled in prayer at the altar. Raised a Catholic, he begged forgiveness for the suicide he was contemplating.
Brock had been a successful columnist for the newly revived Daily Globe until he began writing a series of articles about the “Sin-Eater murders”. A bogus offender had confessed to Brock about committing the murders. While protecting the “murderer’s” identity under the First Amendment, Brock wrote a series of stories in the Globe detailing his dialogue with the supposed killer, until mounting pressure from the authorities forced him to write an exclusive revealing the murderer’s name. Although that edition of the paper sold out immediately, Spider-Man soon revealed the true identity of the Sin-Eater to be Detective Stan Carter, making Brock a laughingstock among his fellow journalists. Fired from the Daily Globe, he was forced to write venomous drivel for scandal newspapers. Brock’s wife left him, and his future appeared to be over. Brock blamed his predicament on Spider-Man.
Soon after, Brock began an intense physical workout program hoping to reduce the stress his life had become. However, such physical exertions only increased his violent obsession with Spider-Man. Although his body had been honed to near-perfection, Brock’s mind was reduced to an all-consuming vessel of hatred. It was this fierce emotion that attracted the empathic parasite. In order to survive, the alien costume had to feed off the nearest and greatest source of emotion. The symbiote joined mentally and physically with Brock, whose emotions overwhelmed the already confused alien. The dominant thought on both their minds was that of Spider-Man. But Brock’s sheer hatred for the crime fighter twisted the symbiote’s feelings to a similar extent. In effect, Brock’s emotions drove the symbiote insane, just as their bonding may have driven Brock over the edge. Brock soon discovered that the costume gave him all the powers of Spider-Man, and more. It also added bulk to his already large frame and increased his strength to superhuman levels. Calling himself “Venom,” Brock directed the costume to sprout a hideous grin and plotted his revenge. Through the costume, Venom learned a great deal about Spider-Man, including his secret identity.
Brock taunted Peter Parker with minor assaults, such as pushing him in front of a moving subway train. The alien costume could cancel out the wall-crawler’s spider-sense presumably by projecting conflicting frequencies upon Spider-Man’s brain waves. Venom finally made a bold move when he confronted Parker’s wife, Mary Jane, at their old Chelsea apartment. Although Venom’s twisted sense of morality did not allow him to physically harm Mary Jane, Spider-Man immediately realized the nature of this threat. Taking the time to retrieve the sonic blaster from the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man challenged Venom at Our Lady of Saints Church. Although he fired the blaster at Venom, Spider-Man soon discovered that the symbiote could not be separated from Brock because it had completely bonded with him. Trying to escape and rethink his options, Spider-Man was caught unawares by Venom. He captured Spider-Man and secured him to the inside of the church bell with a considerable amount of webbing. Spider-Man narrowly escaped the bell’s crushing clapper before defeating Venom by forcing him to deplete his webbing supply, of which the alien symbiote was actually comprised. Before the alien could regenerate enough of its mass to become a renewed threat, Spider-Man brought Venom to the Fantastic Four who imprisoned him in a sonic containment cell. The Fantastic Four then shipped Venom to the government super-prison in the Colorado Rockies called the Vault. A young guard who had just been assigned to the Vault was fooled into thinking that Venom was a fallen colleague and released the gate mechanism, which imprisoned the criminal. Venom killed the naïve guard and escaped to New York City, where he once again confronted Spider-Man. This time Spider-Man used psychological warfare upon Venom, by taunting the alien symbiote to return to him. The alien, torn by its love-hate relationship for Spider-Man, tried to leave Brock and to re-establish its link with its original owner. But the trauma of trying to detach itself from Brock’s nervous system was too much to bear. The alien costume and Eddie Brock were both knocked unconscious and were subsequently returned to the Vault, where they were incarcerated. Since then, Venom has gone through many changes.
The next fight, Venom went after Spider-man around the same time Jonathon Caesar, an insane and obsessed fan of Mary Jane Watson-Parker, sent two mercenaries Styx and Stone, after the wall-crawler. Venom unintentionally became involved in the plot when the two attempted to follow him through the sewers in the hope of finding Spider-man. Unfortunately for them, Venom escaped the sewers in his human guise. After yet another fight with Spider-man, Styx and Stone found the two and attempted to kill Spider-man. Fortunately for Spidey, albeit in a bad way, Venom would not allow anyone else to kill Spider-man, save himself. Attacking the two, the fight ensued, before Styx, the living cancer, touched his symbiote, killing it in the process. The symbiote seemingly dead, Eddie Brock was sent to a normal prison.
However, later, it was revealed the symbiote was merely sent into a comatose state, seemingly immune to Earthly diseases. Returning to Eddie Brock, the two easily escaped. In the breakout, however, the suit left a small spawn behind it, which would bond with Eddie’s cellmate, Cletus Kasady. No one would no about this for months. Eddie brought Spider-man to an island in the Caribbeans, away from people and innocents, in the hope of killing him alone. However, Spider-man later realized that Venom would only be happy if he knew that Spider-man was dead. Faking his death, Spider-man made Venom believe that he had died. Happy at last, Venom thought there was no reason to return to civilization, having all he needed on the island, and stayed there.
A few months later, however, the megalomaniacal serial killer, known only as Carnage, began a mass-murdering rampage throughout Manhattan, killing hundreds of people. Spider-man attempted to stop him, but swiftly learned that he was greatly outmatched, despite his superior experience. Realizing that Carnage possessed a symbiote, Peter reluctantly realized that he needed Venom’s help in order to stop this menace. Contacting Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, they went to the island where they had left Venom. When Venom realized that Spider-man was alive, he attacked the two. After a brief spat, however, Venom listened to what Spider-man had to say. Promising to help Spider-man stop Carnage in exchange for his freedom, Spider-man reluctantly agreed, starting the first of many uneasy alliances with each other.
Returning to New York, Venom and Spider-man attempted to stop Carnage’s rampage twice with equal failure. Finally, however, at Madison Square Garden, they stopped Carnage after trying to kill J. Jonah Jameson. Turning on the sound system to the max, Spider-man stopped Carnage, and reluctantly attempted to stop Venom, before Venom attacked him, still possessing enough hatred and strength to attempt to choke him. However, Venom was stopped by the Fantastic Four, who Venom realized was behind this all along. Venom’s hatred for Spider-man was greater than ever.
After years of combating, however, Venom reached an understanding with Spider-man, and made a truce.
After dealing a truce with Spider-Man and relocating to San Francisco, Venom was recruited via an ultimatum by the government to be a special operations counter-terrorist agent. Venom agreed, but one stipulation of the deal did not sit too well with him. A bomb was planted in his chest to assure complete and utter obedience. After a few missions, Venom became tired of the situation and had the symbiote perform surgery on him and extracted the bomb. A brouhaha ensued wherein the end result was Eddie Brock lying unconscious and the symbiote “dead,” only to return later on and re-join with Eddie. Thus Venom was whole again and looking to square things with Spider-Man once again. He had lost his memory and no longer knew the secret identity of Spider-Man, but knew that a deep seated hatred resided within him for the Web-Head.
Shortly after the reunion, Venom joined the Sinister Six for a brief period in order to get at Spider-Man. After being scorned by the group, he hunted down certain members of the team for revenge (including Electro, the Sandman, and Kraven the Hunter (Alyosha Kravinoff). Later Eddie Brock approached his ex-wife Anne Weying, and at the thought of having the symbiote back in her life, she jumped out of her apartment window and killed herself. Venom blamed Spider-Man, whom he had a skirmish with right before Anne died. Thus the hatred for the old Web-Head was fueled anew.
After an extended period of inactivity, Venom resurfaced with cancer, and the only thing keeping him alive was the symbiote, who did not want him anymore. After seeing a spiritual movie, Eddie decided to sell his symbiote off in an auction, swearing off his life of vigilantism.
After Eddie Brock decided to reform and try to make something of his life, he put the venom suit for sale at an auction to raise money for charity. Don Fortunato bought the suit to try and make a man out of his son, Angelo.
Angelo quickly made use of his new Venom persona by attacking the school where Peter worked as a teacher and killed one of his former classmates. They finally clashed on the roof, where Angelo appeared to kill Spider-Man by apparently ripped out his heart,but he had been duped, and the villain fled. Seeing that Angelo was a coward, the symbiote detached from him in mid-air, and Fortunato fell to a bloody death.
Later on, Scorpion was recruited by Norman Osborn, informed of Spider-man’s real identity, and ordered to kidnap Peter’s Aunt May if anything should happen to Osborn. In the middle of his task Scorpion was approached by the recently freed symbiote. Seeking a new host that shared both its hatred of Spider-Man as well as the will and experience of a seasoned criminal, the symbiote bonded with the Scorpion, who eagerly accepted the offer, and was thus transformed into the monstrous Venom.
After an elaborate plan paid off and the Green Goblin was out of prison, the Goblin led Spider-Man and the Black Cat into a direct confrontation with the newly formed Sinister Twelve, which included the new, more powerful Venom among its ranks.
Venom and the Twelve very nearly defeated Spider-Man before the Fantastic Four and a small faction of the Avengers headed by Captain America joined in, leading to the eventual defeat of the Twelve.
In the midst of the battle Osborn escaped, with the full intention to murder Peter’s wife, Mary Jane. Spider-Man soon followed only to be stopped by Venom. The two foes continued to battle high above on New York’s rooftops. After catching Gargan off balance Spider-Man dropped a condemned building on the new Venom, ending the battle. Venom was arrested and sent to Ryker’s Island. He promised Spider-Man he would never reveal his identity, as that was his only leverage against him.
More recently, he has escaped. First, to journey to Battleworld, along with a ragtag group of characters including the likes of Henry Pym, Gravity, The Hood, and others, in order to enter a contest of champions. Shortly thereafter, Venom was approached by a S.H.I.E.L.D. task force, and joined the new Thunderbolts team.
Initiative update
Avengers Initiative #3: We join our heroes flying home from the last mission. On the trip Hardball sees Komodo’s secret identity and she gets angry with him. Moonstar and Beast meet Trauma who uses their nightmares on them till Moonstar stops him. We see the recruits train with Hellcat, Black Widow, Stingray and finally have a fight with Thing. Hank and Curt Conners talk over Komodo during the Thing bout. Later Hank tells Komodo about the secret project to take the powers of those not registered in the end (Komodo finds out about She-Hulk). We go to Spider-Man facing the Sinister Syndicate of Shocker, Hydro-Man and Boomerang and being watched. War Machine and Komodo arrive and Komodo goes after Spidey with the anti-power weapon. We see Hardball go to a bar and meet an odd man asking questions. We see the Sinister Syndicate taken down by the Scarlet Spider’s (armored Spider-Men) as Spidey escapes
Iron Man #18: Dugan and the Hellicarrier crew take on the creature which escaped the mans chest last issue as Iron Man and his crew face those deformed guys. As the creature starts taking over Hill calls Tony for help as he shows up and deals with the creature. We find out Sal is dead as Iron Man finds Maya. Tony takes off his armor and allows the creature to attack him. He uses Extremis to take it out in the end. Dugan is asked by the head of security if he wants the job but he sticks up for Tony in the end. As Tony tries to figure things out we see Maya join the Mandarin
Ms Marvel #16: Miss Day meets with Will Wagner. Carol fights Wonder Man who is under Modok’s control still. As they fight SHIELD continues to face the AIM agents. We see Sean try to escape and get caught by Monica Rappaccini until Modok shows up and they teleport away. Agent Locke takes on the monsters as Carol and Simon return. We see Monica dealt with as Agent Locke is hurt and taken to the med bay. Carol talks to Monica about Sean and we find out he’s Modok’s son in the end. We see him plant a device in Modok and send him to the middle of New York.
New Warriors #1: We see Grey Gargoyle captured by someone in a yellow jump suit after running away. From the looks of things he’s shrunken down waiting for the cops to arrive. The cops find him and find New Warriors painted on the ground near him. We find the former Wind Dancer in New york having just woke up from a dream of flying again and losing her powers. She heads to a diner where she’s working and talks to a young man named Barry who she hits on some. Later she is contacted to meet the New Warriors. We see Anaconda has been captured by the New Warriors using some type of webbing so they think. Wind Dancer after finding the location runs into Barry and finds out he formerly was Beak. The two friends hug and head to New Warriors base and run into Night Thrasher.
Omega Flight #3: Simon Walters is at the museum as the Wrecking Crew arrive with Sasquatch captured. Talisman still angry over the Collective being brought onto the team and taking the role of Guardian and the fact he killed her father. Before it could get to far the team is sent on a mission to take on the Wrecking Crew without Guardian. We watch the Wrecking Crew enter a portal and find themselves in a dimension where they run into what looks like a Sasquatch type structure which attacks them. Beta Ray Bill shows up when one mentions it looks cosmic and fights the Wrecker. Wrecker battles Bill and it ends with Wrecker on top.
Hey Daron I thought it was an enlightening column as always. BUT more questions would not hurt. You agree?
Of course, more emails is always a good thing.
1. Digital comics Comics you can read online
2. Marvel is in the process of adding new bios and added a ton of new ones. Check them out here
3. As always your opinions on anything in the article or out on the shelves is welcome. After all you never know what type of response you will get.
4. Keep those emails coming and make sure to label them Marvel Handbook. The more emails the better the article is. Till next week Make Mine Marvel.
And make mine the Nexus. Send us those emails, everyone!
