Just as Eddie Brock seems to be going all the way back to full-on eat-Spidey's-brain-Venom mode in the pages of Dark Web Alpha #1, Marvel is flashing back to the time when he first became an anti-hero back in the '90s with a second volume of Venom: Lethal Protector.
Written by Venom's co-creator Dave Michelinie with art from Farid Karami, the five-issue Venom: Lethal Protector II flashes back once again to Venom's early years as an anti-hero, when Eddie Brock became the so-called "Lethal Protector."
(Yes, that's right - the same name the first Venom series in 1993 went by - also written by Michelinie.)
This time though, he's taking on an incredibly powerful supervillain: Doctor Doom.
"Swinging from the streets of NYC to the kingdom of Latveria, Eddie Brock is challenged like never before! What (or WHO) will Venom need to overcome the fiercest foe in the Marvel U?" reads Marvel's description of Venom: Lethal Protector #2. "One thing’s for certain, this monster’s bringing the mayhem!"
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.
After a few brutal fights with Spider-Man, Eddie/Venom found a different path as something of an anti-hero.
"One of the happiest parts of my career was when I was originating and developing Venom,” Michelinie said. “So returning to that era is like having my own time machine. And to put Venom up against Doctor Doom, my favorite villain...sweet icing on the cake!"
Venom: Lethal Protector II #1 goes on sale March 29 with a cover by Paolo Siqueira, seen here.
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