Venom: The Madness #3

Background

Venom was helping a man named Abby, who had been inadvertently poisoned by his employer, the Scarmore corporation. He was helped by a lawyer named Beck, who was suing Scarmore. The company sent Juggernaut after Beck, who was defended by Venom. During the fight, Venom was knocked into a substance dumped by Scarmore, made up of a virus tainted by mercury.

The virus took a toll on Eddie's sanity, as well as that of the symbiote. This brought him to the attention of the other worldly beings called Dusk, Paranoia and Necromancer. His deteriorating sanity made him aggressive to Beck, who was unintentionally saved by the Juggernaut. During their second fight, Venom was knocked into a portal in the air, taking him to Dusk's realm.

Story Details

As soon as Venom arrived in the realm of madness, he was run down by Necromancer, who stole Ghost Rider's look. He explained that everyone visits the realm of insanity at some point in their lives but some people never leave. Necromancer said that Venom might be a lifer, judging by his rambling. Necromancer rode away as Venom promised to rip out his bike spokes and shove them down his throat. Eddie asked who said that and Creep took credit, calling itself an innocent little virus, a gentle little cancer. The symbiote responded that it was the only cancer in Eddie's body and it was there first. Eddie asked himself if he was dying as a green cloaked creature arrived, calling itself Paranoia. Venom screamed that he wasn't paranoid and the creature answered that it struck a nerve.

In San Fransico, Juggernaut was impatient to leave Beck's apartment, hating to be cooped up. He'd been under orders to stay put until further notice, keeping watch over Beck. She tried to relate to him, and he wasn't sure if she was a saint or stupid. He asked if Venom was her boyfriend and she wasn't sure. She said the suit claimed to protect him but she wasn't so sure, and explained how Creep was driving him insane. Juggernaut commented on her compassion for a man that murdered a janitor and she was stunned to learn about it. She began to cry and Juggernaut took it back, saying he didn't know for sure that Venom was the killer. As they talked, the TV began to broadcast a feature called "Are Lawsuits Ruining the Country?" Beck was used as an example, saying that her lawsuit against Scarmore was without evidence, legal grounds and only claimed that the company was driving it's employees insane.

Paranoia agreed that Venom wasn't paranoid and there were no bats with razor wings slicing him up. There were no snakes squeezing the life out of him. Venom said he could rip through the illusions if he had claws...and suddenly he had claws. He punched through Paranoia but found only a green cloak covering his hand. Venom said he had to keep control of himself, Eddie had to stay in charge. The suit's excitement made him kill the janitor as well as assault Beck.

He smelled sulfur and was punched by Necromancer. Venom realized that the creature reminded him of a scary story that he'd heard as a child. The story of a headless horseman had terrified him and beating up Necromancer would be therapy. Dusk arrived and said Venom was his, as were all supposed heroes and villains. Wolverine and Spider-Man arrived, and Dusk mocked them saying that they thought that their violence was acceptable under the guise of heroism. They were all lunatics and Venom was one of them.

Venom agreed that they all may be a little mad but Dusk was nothing but a parasite feeding on the misery of others. He tore through the Wolverine and Spider-Man hallucinations and said they were only as real as he allowed them to be. Dusk insisted that he'd lose due to his madness, which Venom denied. Dusk admitted defeat but insisted that Venom was insane, as a sane individual couldn't have navigated his realm so easily. Venom was returned to San Francisco and went looking for Beck.

In the underground, Abby contemplated his own fault in the janitor's death. He'd put the notion into Eddie's head that the CEO of Scarmore was evil but he himself never did anything about evil. He went on talking while Venom did something. In her apartment, Beck contemplated her forgiveness of Eddie. He'd committed murder but was also coping with the mercury virus. They'd told him to do something; he was like an attack dog that had been given a bad command. She told Juggernaut that she'd decided to forgive Venom, he was innocent. Juggernaut called her a monster-lover and said to stop with the dimestore therapy.

A news bulletin came over the TV, as Darby (the CEO's assistant) had gone to the police about Scarmore's illegal dealings, including kidnapping Beck. Juggernaut was furious that the police would be looking for him and that he wouldn't be getting paid. At the same time, Venom overheard a radio report of the same news. He also realized that the mercury virus was dying and promised to return it to it's pit in gratitude for it's help.

At Beck's apartment, the police gathered and were reluctant to enter after seeing the massive figure in her window. Juggernaut was eager to leave, sick and tired of waiting around. Venom arrived before Juggy could act and they fought briefly before Juggernaut left. Venom was going to go after him but was stopped by Beck, who said the situation was over and he had to keep a low profile to protect the underground. She forgave him and he was stunned that he still loved him despite knowing that he was a monster. She called him an attack dog that had been given a bad order. She also said that they couldn't be intimate anymore because he scared her when he was so passionate. He was furious that she was rejecting him but calmed down when she said he was losing a lover but gaining a best friend.

Later, Venom returned to the sewer to return Creep. He thanked the virus for bonding to him and helping him when he needed it. Venom congratulated himself on being a great hero.

General Comments

There is really too much going on to focus on any one thing. We've got:

• Venom fights Necromancer and Paranoia
• Beck empathizes with Juggernaut and her guilt over manipulating Venom
• Dusk plays mind games with Venom over his sanity, or lack thereof
• Beck empathizes with Juggernaut some more
• Venom realizes that Creep is dying and is glad to have beaten it but thanks it
• Venom learns that he killed the wrong person at Scarmore
• Venom arrived at Beck's apartment and Juggernaut ran away
• Beck forgave him but said they couldn't be intimate anymore
• Venom returned Creep to the sewer, thanking it for it's help

It's a lot crammed into 22 pages but none of it goes anywhere. (It wasn't even clear that Venom and Beck had been intimate until she expressly said so.) Frankly, there are so good ideas here but it's all crammed together and isn't explored. "Creep" was unnecessary to the story yet seemed to play a minor role. We never learn anything about Necromancer, Paranoia or Dusk. They're there just because. Dusk made an interesting point about the questionable sanity of superheroes tactics but Venom beats him by saying he isn't mad, he's happy. Venom's mental state could have been explored without the supernatural or failed viral experiment aspect. Then again, early 90s comics werent known for their subtlty.

Overall Rating

There are good potential parts but it's all thrown together into a mess.

Footnote

Venom's next appearance was Venom: The Enemy Within.