So have y’all been keeping up with the Fresh Start announcements? On top of the killer revelation of Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman on Venom, we got Ta-Neshi Coates and Lenil Yu on Captain America, Nadia Pym’s returning with Scott Lang in Ant-Man and Wasp by Mark Waid and Javier Garron, and Al Ewing and Joe Bennett on a Hulk horror book to list some of the titles I am excited for. It really feels like Marvel is putting some of the best talent on their icon characters, who are taking them in directions not often seen. Its got me questioning my financial abstinence from every Marvel comic outside of Venom. 

Anyhow, let’s get back to our weekly Venom madness. 

You Are Reading Part 4 of the Crawlspace Poison X Review. Click the links to find: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 5. 

X-Men Blue #22: Poison X Part 4

Writer: Cullen Bunn

Artist: Jacopo Camagni

Colorist: Matt Milla

Letterer: Joe Carmagna 

C.Artists: Nick Bradshaw & Federico Blee

Editors: Nick Lowe & Devin Lewis & Mark Paniccia & Darren Shan & Tom Groneman & Christina Harrington & Chris Robinson

Editor-In-Chief: CB Cebulski 

I Didn’t Even Make One Joke About Putting These Guys On Ice: The X-Nom (Klyn’tar fused X-Men) and Venom track down the symbiote pirates that have Corsair. After making short work of their henchmen, the team splits from Cyclops who goes off on his own to find his father. His reunion with his father goes off without a hitch, but the others lose track of Jean when she goes off to fight Killer Thrill. Scott’s connection with Jean is suddenly severed and the issue ends on the reveal that Jean and Killer Thrill have been Poisoned. 

I Can’t Help But Feel I’ll Never Scott Again: I got nothing but praise for Cullen Bunn after this last issue. It does a really great job of hyping up expectations that Cyclops is about to get Poisoned (but never oversells the idea) and then completely pulls the rug out from under the reader by having Jean become the first Marvel hero to become Poisoned in 2018. I did not see it coming and I am excited that it happened, as it means Jean is likely the one who will kill Corsair; imagine having the love of your life kill your father? Cyclops is in for a rough 2018 if things play out according to expectations. I also feel like Jean will be the key to ultimately overthrowing the Poisons, as the issue emphasizes her inability to bond with her Klyn’tar fully, making her akin to Deadpool in VenomVerse. I would further theorize that Jean and Scott’s psychic rapport will be what pulls her back from the corruption. 

And this book does a really good job of making me forget this is a Poison X event until the Poisons appear; they apparently hate the term Poison as their descriptor. Most of the issue is the X-Men continuing to use their new power-sets in fun ways. Some notable examples include Bobby being able to fade into his ice to hide, Angel’s wings growing claws that attack people, and Jean using her psychic power to trick the symbiote pirates into hearing sonic noise. Jean’s powers are utilized in really clever ways and Killer Thrill is revealed to be a psychic that romantically bonded with her Klyn’tar, an interesting parallel to Jean’s hesitance to embrace the Klyn’tar. 

Jacopo Camagni feels like a perfect blend of the artists on Venom (Edgar Salazar and Ario Anindito) with a leaning towards the more cartoony style of Anindito. Poison X has me falling in love with Killer Thrill, who is a full suited symbiote with a boob window; that hilarious design accentuates her hilarious character. I am actually quite upset she was one of the first to be Poisoned, but the story is unlikely to play out like VenomVerse with the X-Men involved. Camagni does such a good job of detailing even the minor ship workers that I want to spend more time with even the most unimportant of characters this issue. There is also some stellar creative paneling anytime Jean uses her powers in the issue and he does a great job of visualizing new powers for the X-Men. 

Matt Milla has been the MVP so far for the larger Poison story-line, but his coloring effect seems a little subdued after the killer work Dono Sanchez-Almara did last issue. He still overlays panels with specific X-Men based colors, such as Bobby chilling the room blue, but there isn’t as much of a distinction between Bobby’s power and the Klyn’tar’s influence on them. The neatest effect in the issue is a colored pointillism effect he uses to color the void of space. 

Joe Carmagna probably fills the MVP void in his absence. I can not express how much I love Carmagna’s lettering in this series. It is bold, it is fluid, it is colorful, and it always enhances the scene. I do have one minor complaint however. When Jean fakes out the Klyn’tar with the sonic noise, I wish the letters had been a little less bold and little more transparent to indicate the imagined effect. Otherwise, Joe continues to deliver A+ lettering. 

List of Known Venoms: Eddie Brock, Scott Summers, Jean Grey (Poisoned), Warren Worthington III, Robert Drake, Hank McCoy, Mary Jane Watson, X-23, Black Panther (Ngozi), Mania, Rocket Raccoon, Logan (deceased?), Doctor Strange (deceased[Self-Sacrifice]), Ant-Man (Scott Lang) (Poisoned), Deadpool (Poisoned), Robbie Reyes (Poisoned), Flash Thompson (deceased[Hulk]), Peter Parker (Poisoned), Captain America (Poisoned)

List of known Poisons: Kraven The Hunter, Killer Thrill, Jean Grey, Doctor Doom, Thanos, Thane, Gladiator, Warbird, Super-Skrull, Groot, Starlord, Gamora, Rhino (deceased[Rocket]), Hawkeye (deceased[Rocket]), Bullseye (deceased[Rocket]), Storm (deceased[Rocket]), Polaris (deceased[Rocket]), Silver Samurai (deceased[Rocket]), Spiral (deceased[Rocket]), Gorgon (deceased[Rocket]), Scarlet Witch (deceased[Rocket]), Silver Surfer (deceased[Rocket]), Hulk (deceased [Rocket]), Spider-Man (deceased[Eddie Brock]), Daimon Hellstrom (deceased[Eddie Brock]), Doctor Octopus (deceased[Eddie Brock]), Host-Rider (deceased[Carnage]) Iron Fist (deceased[Carnage]), , Green Goblin (deceased[Carnage]), Daredevil (deceased[Panther]), Enchantress (deceased[Black Panther]), Nico Minrou (deceased[X-23]), Ant-Man (Scott Lang) (deceased[X-23]), Captain America (deceased[Deadpool]), Gwenpool (deceased[Deadpool]) Sabertooth (deceased[Old Man Logan])

Verdict: This is the issue that left me feeling fairly confident that Cullen Bunn’s 3 part Poison storyline will be one of the best Venom events in Marvel history. Now there is a chance Venomized could go completely to crap, but that seems highly unlikely. Venom is very much not the star right now, but seeing the Klyn’tar bonded X-Men use their powers has been a real highlight these last couple issues. With the game changing event at the climax of this issue, I can not wait for the final part of the Poison X story-line and Venomized. 

Pros: 

• Creative use of mutant powers and Klyn’tar
• Unexpected turn
• Stellar art

Cons: 

• Minor complaints with the colors/letters
• Venom sidelined

A-