Venom: Along Came A Spider #2 (Story 1)

Background

Anne Weying is being held by the police to draw out her ex-husband, Eddie Brock. Venom has rescued her and took her to the police station rooftop when Spider-Man (Ben Reilly) arrived.

Story '...and Sat Down Beside Her!'

Venom was throwing Spider-Man around like a ragdoll but as Spidey started to turn the tide, Anne stopped him by hitting him with a lead pipe. She was sorry for doing it but she said Eddie was just trying to help her. The police arrived, began shooting at Venom and he shielded Anne with his body. The police stopped after seeing their mistake and Venom used the lull to web up Spider-Man and threw him over the rooftop. Spidey stopped himself from going splat and grabbed a megaphone from a cop. He headed back to the roof and tried to use the noise of the megaphone against the symbiote, but it didn't work. Venom claimed that it might have worked, if the battery had been fully charged.

The police went back to shooting at Venom, despite the fact that Anne was still there. She tried to reason with them and Venom told her to not bother, as they were too corrupt. Spidey's attacks did nothing against his enemy but Venom easily threw him against a police loudspeaker. Downstairs, detective Steen used the loudspeaker's feedback to stun Venom. He fled and told Spider-Man he'd be back. Afterward, Anne was arrested by detective Clark on charges of obstruction of justice and aiding and abetting. Spider-Man told them that Anne was a victim of Eddie Brock, and the police told him he could be arrested for assault, reckless endangerment and interfering. He left and said he was going to contact the media to get Anne a fair trial. Steen and Clark were unconcerned.

At police headquarters, Steen confronted Clark about the charges he was brining against Anne. She backed him up against Spider-Man but knew he had a point. Clark said he wanted to be police chief one day, and nailing Venom was a good first step. Anne wanted her phone call but was told that the land lines hadn't been reconnected. She got her phone call and contacted Eddie, telling him to stay away, no matter what. Eddie said he would stay away but again sent the symbiote over the phone line to her. The transformation was captured by a news crew and Spider-Man witnessed the symbiote overtake Anne.

General Comments

This was better than the first issue but still felt like lazy writing. Venom used the same trick twice in two issues. The fights were mindless and without any threat. The police shot at Venom twice, nearly hitting Anne twice despite being scolded by their commander.

For some reason a new artist took over the issue in the last few pages and they're an improvement. I do like that detective Clark is motivated by ambition but the plot thread is barely used.

Overall Rating

Better than the first issue but not by a whole lot. It's forgettable.