“Venom: First Host” #1

Just when you thought it wasn’t possible to add a significant new chapter in the lore of the Venom symbiote; Marvel gives us a look back at its original discovery and the first host it ever bonded with. Some Spoilers Ahead

Cover by Mark Bagley & Richard Isanove

In the distant past, an invading species stumbles upon the homeworld of the symbiotes, finding a lone and unstable sample to take back to their lab. Years later, in the midst of the Kree/Skrull War, we learn what happened to that particular symbiote and how it ended up in the hands of the Kree.

This is where we learn that Venom’s first host was not Peter Parker (nor was it Deadpool) during the Secret Wars, but in fact a Kree war hero who was using it as a armored battle suit and as a way to shape-shift into a Skrull to maintain his deep cover mission within their ranks. During his final battle while using the symbiote, the soldier hands it over to a Kree refugee for safe-keeping, where it is lost during the chaos.

Jump ahead to present day where we find Eddie Brock, who has once again taken up his dark vigilante ways as Venom, all while nurturing a new symbiote child and working alongside the good people of Alchemax, where not everything is going as planned. Both Eddie and Venom are constantly on their toes about the work being done at Alchemax, with their two main concerns being the care of the child and their continued mission of their version of justice.

Mike Costa returns to the writer’s chair giving readers the follow up to his own “Venom” series from last year. For fans of Venom and Marvel that maybe have been put off by how much Venom has been used over the years, how many hosts its taken on, Lethal Protector or his cosmic adventures, this could be the jumping on point you have been waiting for; with Venom back in his favorite form with his most famous host.

“Venom: First Host” has many elements that touch on quite a few well-known tropes of the Marvel universe. Jumping from one of the most influential eras in Marvel comics to present day gives the character an additional longevity that fans of Venom will cherish and those feeling symbiote fatigue may shy away from. While ‘First Host’ focuses on things we have seen many times before – symbiote offspring, Venom leaping around taking down muggers and corporate villains. With the inclusion of a beefed up back story and a new character that seemingly would know Venom as well as Eddie or any of its long term hosts, a breath of fresh air is pumped into this 30 year old character. Costa’s work on previous books bringing Venom through different iterations and back to his most beloved makes him the right man for the job.

We do not get a lot in the ways of deep character study or even big changes to Eddie or Venom, but it is a clear and well told story. It feels like this has been a long time coming. Even with Costa’s series from last year which saw Venom and Brock’s re-connection, it was a bit too short lived to fully execute its greater desired effect so we can hope that ‘First Host’ continues an interesting and compelling tale of Venom and Brock. I am admittedly not a reader of all things Marvel and while my own Venom fatigue comes and goes, this book is a solid extension of his story. It is a true joy to see the return of the classic version of the character cracking skulls and chomping faces. A few moments almost seem like they could be pandering to new readers who just saw the various Venom trailers, which is nothing new for Marvel. That being said, nothing like that took away from the quality of the book.

Mark Bagley’s pencils make for classic “Venom”/Marvel fare. His work is Modern Age technique wrapped in a blanket of Bronze Age glory. Hennessy’s inks and Sánchez-Almara’s colors add levels to the cosmic-Kirby portion and a timeless look to this Spider-Man spin-off as a whole. They are bright and energetic. This book has the range of a beautiful and perfectly executed animated feature. It is faithful to decades of various Spidey books while sitting comfortably in the greater Marvel universe.

“Venom: First Host” #1 does a great job of Costa’s narrative while side-stepping to shine a light on what will hopefully be a truly interesting and important aspect of Venom’s character.

Final Verdict: 7.0 – An enjoyable mash-up of intergalactic and street-level battles come together in this new mini-series that delves into the past and present of never before seen chapters of Venom’s life.