Venom: The Hunted #1

Background

Ben Reilly had replaced Peter as Spider-Man. The first symbiotic invasion of earth, the first Planet of the Symbiotes, had just ended.

Story Details

After a woman was murdered outside of a nightclub, two detectives attempted to analyze a blurry security camera image. While one was uncertain, the other was convinced that Venom was responsible for the death, the sixth in three weeks. The female detective, Steen, said she had already told the police chief of her suspicions and was given the order to use extraordinary means to bring Venom in. The male cop, Clark, wanted to know what happened if Venom wasn't the perp, and they used all that manpower to go after Venom while the real killer is loose. Steen reminded him that he wanted to be chief someday but he didn't want it that badly.

Eddie Brock was kicked out of a movie theater after falling asleep during a movie. As he left, a theater employee gave him some cash for a hot meal, which briefly restored his faith in humanity. He soon found a cafe called The Daily Grind.

At police headquarters, detectives Clark and Steen were meeting with Doctors Ashley Kafka and Pazzo. Kafka explained her belief that an alien symbiote bonding to a mentally ill person worsens the mental illness, which Steen assumed meant that Brock was the killer. Dr. Pazzo disagreed, as the murders didn't fit Venom's pattern of killing those that harm innocents. Clark agreed that Venom didn't seem like the killer and Kafka said he could be identifying with the perp. Steen suggested they let the doctors do their work and Pazzo agreed.

While at the Daily Grind, Eddie ordered the meatloaf but quickly left when Ben Reilly arrived to work. Eddie left before Ben could positively recognize him, and he had to remind himself that Anne didn't want him going after Spider-Man anymore. If he could control himself, she might take him back. He was doubtful of that.

Outside of police headquarters, the media was waiting for the doctors and police to make a statement about the "The Brain Eating Killer." Kafka reiterated her certainty that Venom was the murderer, as many killers have thought themselves to be heroic. Doctor Pazzo disagreed, saying that the conjecture was getting out of hand. Steen interrupted, saying that the commissioner had authorized the formation of a special task force to bring Venom in. Pazzo and Clark didn't like what they were seeing and went to discuss the situation alone.

Elsewhere, Eddie got sick of his own self-pity, which is something he thought was for superheroes and mutants. He had a job to do and there were brains to eat.

At an apartment, a woman in a shower was startled by another woman getting her makeup. The blond woman in the shower thanked the redhead for taking her in while she dealt with her problems and the redhead said they were all in the same boat. Before leaving, the redhead warned her to not let anyone into the apartment. She thought to herself that the blond was so naive and didn't know what she had gotten herself into. Meanwhile, she had another night of searching to do.

Venom came across a robbery in progress at a grocery store, where a group of crooks had already killed an old man and were about to kill the other one. He soon had their crumpled bodies tossed out the window and onto the street, terrifying passersby.

Clark and Pazzo discussed her past in dealing with symbiotes. While she had encountered Carnage and not Venom, she saw them as two different animals. She noted that the human host has a strong influence on the symbiote, so she doubted that Eddie Brock was the killer. He saw himself as a champion of the innocent, so it didn't make sense that he would kill a woman outside of a disco. She suspected that Kafka was hyping the odds of Venom being the killer to increase funding for Ravencroft. Clark said he suspected that Steen had co-opted his desire to be police chief.

At the apartment, the blond woman watched TV, glad that Donna had found her. As she enjoyed the sitcom, a black and green substance moved toward her.

Pazzo and Clark discussed a scenario where Venom could be the killer: the stress of being a vigilante, a fugitive and the paranoia and rage at Spider-Man could have affected his mind. The symbiote's influence was an unknown factor. She suggested that Eddie could be blacking out after each murder and remember nothing. Detective Steen arrived and wanted their congratulations, as the mayor had authorized helicopters for the task force. Clark said that the manhunt had just turned into a turkey shoot.

At a 911 call center, an operator tried to talk to the blond woman, who was screaming that something was killing her. The call ended before he could get her address.

The next morning, Eddie grumbled to himself about his situation, swearing that he needed a way to make legitimate money. He was startled by a police helicopter, which opened fire on him. As he fled, he admitted that he had been hard on the thugs in the grocery store but the cops were overreacting.

General Comments

This is a step up from the previous Venom books, at least this one has a little bit of thought put into it. I appreciate the appearance of Ashley Kafka and Dr. Pazzo. I'm a sucker for continuity. Too bad we haven't seen more of Pazzo, I like the idea of having a cast of characters that have experience with symbiotes. Kafka was written a little out of character, she's normally much more cautious in how she acts. It's odd to see her so certain that Venom is the killer when the only evidence she has is a blurry security camera image.

Speaking of out of character, Ben didn't go after Eddie at The Coffee Bean.

When Jurassic Park 3 came out years ago, a film critic said that we are all amazed at how realistic the dinosaurs look but at the same time, we don't know what dinosaurs looked like. That's the way I felt when Pazzo was describing the interaction between a human host and a symbiote, the ideas were cool but anything can be said about fictional creatures and we'd say "it's probably true." Still, I appreciate a story with elements of psychology.

As is pretty typical for a Venom comic, especially in the mid-90s, the art is exaggerated. If they could leave the surrealness to the alien monster, that would be great.

Overall Rating

For a Venom comic, it's not bad. We'll see where it goes.