It’s the halfway point and I have spent most of the first half complaining about Cullen Bunn’s pacing and praising the artistic team’s efforts. Does Venomized #3 change things up for the better or are we still stuck in a conclusion that’s likely to doom the Poison trilogy? Also I don’t know if y’all heard about the leaked Venom movie news, but it’s looking like we’re getting a movie with only 5 minutes roughly of Venom screen time. Because that’s what we want.

You can also check out the reviews for Edge of VenomVerse, VenomVerse, and Poison X here (they’re all linked together for easy access).

Venomized #3: “Anomalies” 

Writer: Cullen Bunn

Artist: Iban Coello

Colorist: Matt Yackey

Letterer: Joe Carmagna

C. Artist: Nick Bradshaw & Jim Campbell

Editors: Nick Lowe & Devin Lewis & Tom Groneman

Editor-In-Chief: CB Cebulski

Recap: Thor is turned into a Poison, but found unworthy by Mjolnir. The separation of the hammer allows Jane to revert back to human form and break free of her Poisonous casing. This gives Cap and the other heroes renewed vigor against the Poisons, who are sent a new combat leader in the form of Jean Grey. This causes our heroes to turn on each other, as the youth want to protect Poison Jean now that they know people can survive the Poison conversion. 

Back at HQ, Scott learns of Jean’s presence and wants to go into action. Peter decides that both the Klyn’tar and Poisons deserve to die, but Eddie refuses to let him go forward with that plan. Flash chimes in with a plan to take out the Hivemind in hopes of saving individuals. Eddie realizes this a suicide plan, but enlists with Flash. Their first step is locating a base, so they leap into action to capture a Poison for interrogation.  

Jean’s Poison army is about to convert a big swath of heroes, when Kid Kaiju shows up with his monsters. They kick some serious Poison ass, before Cap sounds a retreat. Flash, Peter, Cyke, and Eddie arrive on scene, where Flash learns his touch kills Poison/Klyn’tar/Host all at once. 

Up in space, the Carnage process kills several Poisons, but the issue ends with a new Carnage being bonded with a Poison. 

Review: Cullen Bunn has chapters in each part of the trilogy that are great issues and Venomized #3 could be the shinning star of this chapter, unless the second half steps up in a big way. I always grade his middle portions highest, which makes me think that Bunn is a rather talented guy who struggles with pacing. We can see a bit of that here, especially towards the end of the issue when Team Venom (Flash, Peter, Eddie) decide it’s time to capture a Poison for interrogation; this same thing happened twice in VenomVerse and it’s just spinning wheels in a story that really does not have time to spin wheels. 

But everything else is great. Thor being able to best the Poison bond is solid, but how this leads to a division amongst the youth and seasoned heroes is great. It really deserves more time than it gets in this issue, but I am glad we got to see this disunion amongst the generational heroes.

Venomized #3 also sees Flash stepping up to make the Hail Mary play, inspiring Eddie Brock, of all people, to go with him. Flash is established as an anomaly that exists nowhere else, which supports my idea that all the Alternate Universes in the MU splinter off of decisions made in the Prime. And since Agent Anti-Venom is such a new character, rooted in a series of decisions involving Flash and Venom that could go so many different ways, it makes sense that he doesn’t exist out in the Multiverse quite yet.

A lot of heroes who received a big focus in Venomized #2 are absent here: Magneto and Elsa Bloodstone in particular. It allows us to spent some time with other heroes such as Nova, Lunella, and the Defenders, while also focusing on the main Team Venom. When Eddie recognizes Lunella, it’s a nice melancholic character moment. Unfortunately, Cyclops is largely lost in the jumble. Pete’s also still a dick, but there are some good jokes made at his expense by Eddie. Kid Kaiju makes a huge impact in Venomized #3 and it is the first time I feel invested in what happens to him next. Cap is a pretty inspired leader, which is nice to see. Even the Bert and Ernie act that is Poisonous Thanos and Doom is entertaining this time around. This is a really strong issue for Cullen Bunn. 

And shocker, the artistic team continues to excel. Coello and Yackey are perfect together. Joe Carmagna is a boon to any creative team he is a part of. Thor is a character that receives a lot of attention early on and the art crackles off the page. Lightning casts the panels in dark blue shadows, which contrasts against the stark white of Poison Thor and her lighting to tremendous effect. Her Poison redesign looks a lot more like Jane FosThor than her Venom redesign did, but the sequence where Jane breaks free of her Poisonous shell is brilliant. Matt Yackey inverts the color scheme that came before it, casting green viscera against a bold red backdrop. 

A lot of the redesigns in Venomized #3 are top notch. When Kamala is hit with a Klyn’tar, Matt Yackey colors her with the colors of Carol Danver’s armor in the Captain Marvel set photos. It’s a brilliant nod to their shared legacy and it looks great. Carnage’s redesign probably gets the most screen time, as he goes through both a painful Klyn’tar bonding and a last page Poison reveal. The difficulty of his conversion is beautifully realized, with several panels of the Klyn’tar morphing into unnatural forms that projects pain off the page.

There is a lot of unconventional panels in the issue, which helps add variety to the scenes. It is one of the many aspects that allows Kid Kaiju’s entrance to stand out. This is the big set piece of the issue, as the Defenders, Devil Dinosaur, and Team Venom are also present. Characters are being thrown and pulled around, which looks great. There is several panels of giant insects ferrying our heroes around, which is a nice humorous beat. Iban Coello excels at drawing things in motion. 

Iban Coello kills it in the Peter and Eddie scenes. The ways in which Peter and Eddie are presented, even the shapes of their panels, are different. There is a loose anime style for Eddie, with shifting panels, while Peter is presented in a more classic comic book style, with strong figures and classic panels. Unfortunately, Agent Anti-Venom never looks quite right. He seems like a bunch of loosely conjoined segments rather than a fully formed figure. 

There is such a wide array of effects and coloring in Venomized #3 that it feels a little spastic at first, but dramatically enhances the issue with each reread. Their is a rhyme and rhythm to the colors here: we got the neon green blood of the Poisons, the purple haze of Jean Grey’s powers, dark but vibrant shades for the Klyn’tar bonded heroes, and dramatic red back drops for enhanced effect. And then there is the natural lighting of the scene, which effects the shadows. Joe Carmagna uses the primary wheel color to great effect here, using bold yellow letters over light blue skies, or thick red letters over heavy blues. 

List of Poisons: Carnage [Prime], Doctor Voodoo, Blob, Iron Fist, Doctor Octopus [Female], Vulture, Doctor Druid; Killer Thrill [Prime], Demolition Man [Prime], Rage [Prime], Wolverine, Domino, Cable, Feral, and Fantomex, Hawkeye (returning from VenomVerse), Taskmaster, Crossbones, Vulture, Iron Man (?), Grim Reaper, Scorpion, Shuma-Gorath, Thanos (returning from VenomVerse), Doom (returning from VenomVerse), Black Cat, Morbius, Lady Deathstrike, Sabertooth, Captain Marvel, Gamora, Thing, Frankenstein’s Monster, Blade, Werewolf By Night, Thor [Prime; killed when Jane breaks free], Nova [Killed by Cletus], Angela [Killed by Cletus], Hyperion [Killed by Kid Kaiju/Aegis], The Punisher [Killed by Agent Anti-Venom]; Spider-Woman [Killed by Elsa Bloodstone], Hurricane [Killed by Elsa Bloodstone], Groot [Killed by Elsa Bloodstone],

List of Venoms: Devil Dinosaur, Ms. Marvel, Jimmy Hudson/Wolverine; Eye-Boy, Bling, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Old Man Logan, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Storm, Falcon, The Thing, Iron Heart, Nova, Demolition Man, Rage, Hercules, Thor [Poisoned], Demolition Man [Poisoned], Rage [Poisoned], Carnage [Poisoned]

 

Verdict: Venomized #3 is an issue I really enjoyed.

The whole creative team is on game, although there is a few missteps. I hope this continues into the final half of Venomized, because the ending of this needs to be strong; it also serves as the finale to so many different titles.

Here’s hoping for another Flash/Cletus showdown (the last time was glorious) and a strong finale. 

Pros: 

• Great redesigns 
• Controlled chaotic coloring
• Interesting concepts and character beats
• Distinct scenes, distinct styles

Cons: 

• Agent Anti-Venom looks off
• Story is still spinning wheels
• Another interrogation sidetrack

A-