A Truly Odd Couple — Reviewing ‘All-New Venom’ #6

Some unions are dreams come true. Others, well, they tend to be made of the stuff of nightmares.

With the true identity of the new Venom duo revealed, questions about their origin begin to fly. Al Ewing, Carlos Gómez, Frank D’Armata, and Clayton Cowles are ready and willing to dole out some answers.

**SPOILERS FOLLOW**

Mary Jane Watson watched what the alien symbiote Venom did to Peter Parker. She was at the receiving end of Venom’s terror when the symbiote was attached to Eddie Brock. Now, she’s on the other side, bonded to the symbiote in a truly life-changing way.

Turns out, some Venom-related tweaks to her Jackpot device (during the Venom War event) had dire consequences. A bad roll of three skulls meant the end of life completely, seeing the duo about to be wiped out of existence. Asking itself WWSMD? (What Would Spider-Man Do?), Venom pulled a heroic move to bond with Mary Jane and thus saved them both from annihilation.

The only major downside? They’re now bonded at a molecular level and must remain connected, lest they go back to the state of ceasing to exist. Talk about a real dependent relationship right there.

Finding out that Venom was now Mary Jane behind the symbiote was an interesting move. The way it was pulled off was the hard part. ‘Never fear’ should always be written around Ewing’s name for any project. Somehow, no matter the circumstances, he’ll turn what could be a confusing or seemingly nonsensical story beat into the most compelling.

A continued level of deep character work remains at the series’ forefront. From the issues that Mary Jane and Venom still have one another, to Venom’s feelings about Peter Parker (adoration?), to the complications this brings for MJ and Paul (who isn’t happy…understandably so). Now we have a complication of Flash Thompson/Anti-Venom thrown into the mix.

It always helps that Gómez is here to draw the hell out of this series. He milks every emotional beat to fill the pages with precise and powerful expressions. Gorgeous figure work feels dense and authentic before our eyes. A story like this, mostly taking place in one space that’s full of talking, relies heavily on being able to hit those emotional notes.

We feel the pain, disgust, betrayal, and other emotions truly through facial expressions and body language. The different states we find our protagonists at in the past feels hard. Even with the whimsical colorful bold feeling of Gómez artwork, the painful aspect is strong. This is a swashbuckling superhero story to its core but the symbiote related body-horror remains.

Glossy vibrant colors are right at home next to the darker and stronger ones we see. D’Armata is able to bridge the gap seamlessly, delivering even more weight and depth to every moment. This allows the shadows really sink into things as we move along, adding levels of familiarity to spaces and creating lighting that feels genuine from the apartment to the sewers and beyond.

We’ve got ourselves an origin background type of story here. Lots of exposition and narration to weave the tale of happenings and feelings. In particular there are two main voices here, three if you count Paul, who have their unique perspective to convey.

Cowles always is one of the best at handling things like this. He gives both Mary Jane and Venom their distinctive voices at every turn, from how the words are laid out to the modifications which enhance them. More than that, though, we can perfectly hear the emotion and tone of each word. These reliable voices are created in our minds as the story unfolds.

All-New Venom #6 is now available from Marvel Comics.