Venom: The Enemy Within #3

Background

A mob of goblins tore apart San Francisco, under the control of newly elected mayor Charles Palentine. Palentine planned to use the creatures to conquer the world but they had found a new leader in Demogoblin, who found Venom and Morbius at Alcatraz prison.

Story Details

Demogoblin sarcastically bade our heroes "Welcome to the pit!" as the goblins swarmed them. Morbius was soon covered by the creatures and was rescued by Venom, who was scorched by Demogoblin's hellfire. He threw a pumpkin bomb at Venom, which blew a hole in the prison wall, letting in sunlight. The light burned the goblins, as well as Morbius. The goblins retreated and Venom punched Demogoblin clear off the island. Morbius began to recover from the burns and was surprised that Demogoblin flew away instead of continuing the fight.

In the city, the mayor continued to goad the population into destroying the goblins by burning the city.

At Alcatraz, Morbius skeptical of the usefulness of Palentine's diary and Eddie insisted it was their only way of learning about the creatures. The diary confirmed that the goblins had been forced to dig a tunnel out of the prison for their master, and he planned to bury them alive in that tunnel after he escaped. Morbius said he probably became a lawyer and Eddie quipped he could be a politician. From the prison window, they saw an explosion in the city and they assumed it was the work of Demogoblin.

On the streets, the police attempted to quell the rioting as the firefighters threatened to douse the flames or the mob. Venom and Morbius arrived, and the vampire mentioned what a charming city Venom lived in. Venom started to say they needed to stop the arsonists when he noticed a political billboard featuring Palentine's signature. It looked familiar to the writing in the diary and he realized that Palene was Palentine.

In his swanky hotel room, Mayor Palentine mused how far he could take his scheme. He was interrupted by Venom and Morbius as they smashed through his window. (Morbius wondered why they didn't just use the front door and Venom said there was something about dramatic entrances.) They tried to take the necklace from him but were consistently brushed aside by it's power. Demogoblin arrived and snatched it from Palentine, mocking him for thinking that a mere human could fathom the infernal power that the Necklace of Rhan contained. The goblins then tore him apart.

Putting on the necklace himself, Demogoblin grew to a huge size, crowing that only a true goblin could command other goblins. He walked across town as police shot at him pointlessly, the goblins clutching to him. Morbius agreed that the creatures had been looking for a leader but wondered why they had summoned him. Venom assumed that he had been transported to San Francisco by accident, as both he and Demogoblin had origins in the netherworld. At least, that's what he guessed.

Morbius tried to stop Demogoblin as he approached the Golden Gate Bridge but was swatted aside as the giant told him that he's ruin everything. Venom heard the comment and remembered that Demogoblin's entire goal in unlife was murdered heretics and sinners. The goblins must qualify as heretics and said that their best bet to stop the plague was to do nothing at all. Halfway across the bridge, Demogoblin used the necklace to order the monsters to jump over the bridge. Once they were gone he threw the necklace over the edge, letting him return to normal size.

Venom started to thank him for his help but flew away laughing. Venom tried to shake Morbius's hand and was warned not to, as he'd been known to bite the hand that feeds him. After Morbius left, Venom called him a New York snob.

General Comments

Venom has always been a hugely popular character and The Enemy Within just goes to show that fans will buy anything that has "VENOM" in the title. Lazy, lame and predictable. I've always had a soft spot for Demogoblin, even if he doesn't make sense as a Spider-Man villain. He didn't serve much purpose here, only becoming important in the last few pages. Killing the goblins was oddly heroic of him (I'd think he'd be happy to see them tear apart some sinners, unless he was concerned about them harming children), as well as not fighting Venom or Morbius, two people he had reason to hold a grudge against. He flew away and the heroes did nothing to stop him.

I'm not even sure how "The Enemy Within" is relevant to the story. Who was the enemy within? The mayor?

Overall Rating

It speaks for itself.