Venom goes back to his glory days in Lethal Protector

Venom: Lethal Protector #1 variant cover
Venom: Lethal Protector #1 variant cover (Image credit: Lucio Parrillo (Marvel Comics))

Prepare for a 'Venom: Year One' style story in 2022, from the character's co-creator David Michelinie, called Venom: Lethal Protector

(Yes, that's right - the same name the first Venom series in 1993 went by - also written by Michelinie.)

Working with artist Ivan Fiorelli, Michelinie is turning back the clock to when Eddie Brock was a despondent newspaper reporter first crossing paths with the symbiote that would become Venom.

Venom: Lethal Protector #1 cover (Image credit: Marvel Comics)

"Getting to do a multi-issue story with the original Venom was like sitting down to dinner with an old friend - who wants to eat your brain for dessert!” Michelinie says in the announcement. "It was both fun and exciting, and I hope people enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it."

According to Marvel, Venom: Lethal Protector isn't just a trip down memory lane, but a hint at "what's to come in his future!"

Michelinie and Todd McFarlane created Venom in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man, picking up from when Spider-Man brought the symbiote back from Battleworld during the original Secret Wars event. The symbiote attempted to subvert Peter Parker to his will, but after the hero was able to resist the sinister urges, the sludgy alien monster found a more pliable host in Eddie Brock.

Paulo Siqueira has drawn the main cover for Venom: Lethal Protector #1, with variants coming from Bill Sienkiewicz, Lucio Parillo, Joshua Cassara (a Stormbreakers variant), and David Nakayama. Check them out here:

The new Venom: Lethal protector is part of a growing number of flashback series Marvel is currently publishing such as X-Men Legends, Maestro: World War M, and Ben Reilly: Spider-Man.

Venom: Lethal Protector #1 (of 5) goes on sale on March 23.

Eddie is one of many hosts of the Venom symbiote - but which one is the best? 

George Marston

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)

Read more
Web of Spider-Verse: New Blood #1
Spider-Hulk, Spider-Prowler, Count Parker, and more are the latest Spider-Man variants as the Spider-Verse and Venomverse prepare to go to war
Amazing Spider-Man #1
Amazing Spider-Man is relaunching with a new #1 in 2025 with a focus on classic villains
Spider-Man and his many foes.
All the new Spider-Man comics and collections from Marvel arriving in 2025
Hellgate takes down various Spider-people
Amazing Spider-Man #1 will introduce major new Marvel villain Hellgate, Peter Parker's "greatest challenge in the new era"
Dark Gwenpool slashing someone's head off
The original Gwen Stacy is coming back as Dark Gwenpool, a violent, Deadpool-esque mercenary with "Weapon-X abilities"
Art from The Killer.
The Killer – the hitman comic that inspired the Michael Fassbender movie of the same name – returns with Affairs of the State II
Latest in Marvel Comics
Close up on Emma Frost's face as she sits on a throne on the cover of Emma Frost: White Queen #1
"Bow down to the White Queen" as Emma Frost gets her own X-Men solo comic that flashes back to her time as a villain
Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #12
Gwen Stacy and Loki team-up for a cosmic adventure in Spider-Gwen: The Ghost Spider #12
An alien attacks.
Xenomorphs have taken the island as Alien: Paradiso nears its endgame
Doombot and the Runaways.
4 years after Marvel's Runaways ended, the gang is back – and Doctor Doom is coming for them
Kamala Khan holds Jean Grey's body in an homage to the cover of Uncanny X-Men #136
45 years after the original Dark Phoenix Saga, Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan will travel back in time to save X-Men history
Doctor Doom facing off with the students of Doom Academy
Doom Academy #5 brings the series to a close with a confrontation between Doctor Doom and his students
Latest in News
The Witcher 4 screenshot with Ciri using sword and sorcery to fight an ancient monster
The Witcher 4 devs explain how Ciri's fighting style will differ from Geralt's: "He's nimble, but he feels like a block...she's liquid"
Challenging The Manacle in Balatro, which limits hand size by -1 and playing two Jacks
From "I stopped working on the project entirely" to "we are so back," Balatro creator says the roguelike's development was always about passion and taking breaks was essential
InZOI screenshot from creation studio demo which depicts a shockingly realistic character model rendered in Unreal Engine 5
The director behind The Sims competitor InZOI spent 20 years making MMOs, but he ditched the massive RPGs after playing life sims with his son
Demon Slayer season 4 episode 2
True to the anime, Stardew Valley's hottest mod adds two romanceable Demon Slayer dudes who are both "rude and standoffish" at first
A group of Men wearing armour during the TV show, Vikings.
Vikings creator is heading back to his Norse roots with this new historical drama on Amazon
Balatro screenshot showing an assortment of joker cards
Balatro creator intentionally avoided roguelikes but did eventually play and "steal from" Slay the Spire anyway: "Holy s***. Now that is a game"