My apologies to anyone eating while viewing this cover.
Uncanny Origins #7
Marvel Comics (March, 1997)
Venom: “Original Sin”
WRITER: Bob Budiansky
PENCILER: Dave Hoover
INKER: Bill Anderson
COLORIST: Bob Sharen
LETTERER: Jack Morelli
EDITOR: Terry Kavanagh
Eddie Brock was a man who thought his star was rising, until Spider-Man inadvertently exposed some bad reporting of a supervillain’s new identity, causing him to be fired. With only tabloids for income, the reporter blamed Spider-Man with a rage so consuming he contemplated suicide. That is until the alien symbiote Spider-Man tried to get rid of found him. Together they became Venom and started a war on Spider-Man, until he needed the hero’s help saving his ex-wife’s life. Finally realizing his mistakes, Venom decided to become a hero…albeit a more lethal one.
What they got right: I don’t know a lot of Venom’s comic history but I do like the established theme of Eddie having to learn to think about others rather than his own desires. It shows a character arc for Eddie and for the symbiote, whose backstory has changed quite often since the events depicted in this history. Marvel didn’t realize Spider-Fans liked Venom as a villain and just assumed they liked him, and tried to force Venom into the hero role, thus creating Carnage to take over his spot. They never quite got it right, although this comic does note that his past deeds, including murdering innocents despite Eddie himself declaring it wrong in pursuit of his form of justice.
What they got wrong: You can see it right there on the cover. While all of the other characters in the story are pretty decently drawn, Venom gets this squished head that couldn’t fit Eddie’s as drawn in this comic. The long tongue is even more exaggerated than it was in the main comics at the time. And the drooling, which looks somewhat menacing in the regular Marvel style, just looks like gross slobber, which kills the whole impact.
Recommendation: While the origin of the symbiote has changed as part of Marvel’s continued attempts to have Venom accepted as a hero, the history depicted here does still hold up for the early years of the Eddie/Venom union. So if you can get over the slobber it might be an option if you’re curious about the character as Sony continues to attempt a Venom movie.
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