Tag Archives: Venom

90s Comics, 90s Marvel, Uncategorized

Worthy of the Webs (part 4 of 4)

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Well, here we are! The epic finale in the slugfest between the fledgling hero, now known as the Scarlet Spider, and the veteran villain, Venom! Will Ben Reilly succeed where so many other heroes have failed? Will he defeat the Lethal Protector once and for all? (And will I finish this article in or out of the bathroom due to stomach issues? Stay tuned!)

Venom stood atop the skyscraper, lifting the broken and battered hero one handed by his neck! The Scarlet Spider’s feet dangled over the edge as Venom mocked him. Ben couldn’t help but wonder if he deserved this. He was nothing more than a clone after all. (Ugh! Stop with the pity party already and kick his ass, Benny-boy! Jeez! Am I right, folks?) That’s when the Scarlet Spider looked over to Scream. The woman within the symbiote was unconscious and barely breathing. That’s when rage overtook him! No! He wouldn’t surrender! Not when another human life was depending on him! Using all of his advanced strength, the Scarlet Spider balled up his fist and struck behind himself! The blow connected with Venom’s jaw, stunning him long enough for Ben to turn and deliver yet another powerful blow! This one sent Venom soaring across the rooftops, crashing straight through a billboard!

Venom doesn’t stay down for long though! As the Scarlet Spider swings towards his foe, Venom has already shot up a webline of their own, swiping at the hero with razor-sharp claws! Ben barely dodges! He’ll have to slow the villain down. He raises his web-shooter and fires countless orbs that explode upon impact into quick growing webbing! Soon, the symbiotic duo are completely encased, not unlike a deranged mummy! The hero attempts to take a breath and rest his open wound. He needs to plan. But an enraged Venom bursts through the several layers of ultra-strong webbing with an unearthly roar! Wasting no time, Venom pounces at Ben like a panther, sending them both over the building’s edge! (Damn, I nearly spit out my popcorn as I read the exciting words I just wrote! Damn, I’m good!)

The two trade blows back and forth in the small crater they’ve created in the street below! Finally, Venom seems to prepare for a killing strike! But too late! As the monster taunts him, Ben fires even more impact webbing balls into the symbiote’s open, fanged mouth! As they explode, the force begins to pull the Venom creature from it’s human host! As this transpires below, a lone figure dressed in a ragged cape watches from a rooftop with keen interest! The Spider then finishes his attack by firing a stinger bolt from his web-shooter! It hits Eddie Brock’s exposed skin, causing immense pain! While he’s stunned, the Scarlet Spider delivers blow after powerful blow to the villain! They connect with devastating results until, at long last, Venom drops! The mystery man from the rooftop stands, shocked. He will make his presence known soon. Ben Reilly will soon feel the mark of Kaine! (So cool! I have literal goosebumps! Who is this mystetious Kaine? Use Google. Who am I, your living encyclopedia? Presume much?)

Now separated from it’s unconscious and beaten human host, the symbiote lunges towards Reilly! It senses something familiar about him and longs for symbiosis! (What a cheating whore!) But Ben forces it away striking the already wounded alien creature until it drops. The Scarlet Spider then collapses, exhausted beyond words. Later, armored Guardsmen take Eddie Brock and the symbiote in to custody in separate containment chambers. Scream seems to have disappeared completely. The Guardsman takes the Scarlet Spider’s hand and thanks him as he shakes it. The Scarlet Spider then fires a webline upwards and swings away in deep thought. He just defeated Venom! Maybe he’s worth more than he originally thought. Maybe he can be a superhero after all!

End.

(P.S. I made it without running to the bathroom once! Yay, me!)

90s Comics, 90s Marvel, Uncategorized

Worthy of the Webs (part 3 of 4)

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Here we are, Unspokenites! Its part three of my look back at not only the Scarlet Spider’s first night out as a hero, but his first battle as well! And what a first battle too! I mean, who goes and picks a fight with Venom when they’re just a rookie? (I’d be searching for someone wussy like Egghead or something.) Anyway, I present to you the story from “Web of Spider-Man” #119…..

The Scarlet Spider clings to the wall of a building, holding pressure to the webbing that’s holding his insides in place. Venom almost gutted him just moments ago. He needs to get home. Find a way to treat his wounds. Somehow, he manages to return to his apartment. Using his hooded sweatshirt, he ties pressure over the deep gashes on his side just as his webbing finally dissolves. He dresses in his civilian clothes and attempts a call on the telephone for help. But the blood loss is too great. He passes out in the building’s hallway. A neighbor discovers him and, despite her distrust, decides to get him to the hospital ASAP. (Man, I know this is a serious moment in the story, but who else would become a peeping tom if they were granted spider powers? Well? A show of hands? Liars!)

Elsewhere, Venom swings toward the apartment of one Peter Parker in search of answers about this fake Spider-Man that they’ve just battled. The symbiotic duo crash through a window and examine the dwelling. Empty. Annoyed, they look elsewhere. (The subtlety of a triggered Gilbert Gottfried-sounding burglar alarm. Rest in peace, dude.) Their search next take them to the home of Parker’s Aunt May. Nothing. What’s been going on in their absence? Where is Spider-Man? At that moment, as Ben Reilly receives the last of his stitches at the hospital, a nurse casually leaves the room and searches out a phone. Finding one, she makes a hurried call to reporter, Ken Ellis, of the Daily Bugle. He had called earlier, offering cash to anyone who had news of a young man with a specific, serious injury that should arrive this night. Hanging up quickly, he rushes out the double doors and into a passing cab.

Ellis’ sudden departure does not go unnoticed. A being atop a building across the street uncloaks herself, becoming visible. (It’s a Disney-owned Predator! Run! Run before it forces you into it’s inevitably crappy movie!) It’s the female symbiote, Scream. She will follow this reporter. He will lead her to this new Spider. And through him, Venom. Then she will have hope again. Hope of controlling her alien “other”. She cloaks herself once again and follows the cab from the rooftops. Meanwhile, a room of gangsters speak to a shadowed man as he reads the newspaper. They demand he do what they hired him to do, murder the head of another crime family for them. This is his specialty after all. The mysterious man is called Kaine and he doesn’t like taking orders. Kaine ignores them and continues reading in silence. Now angered, guns are drawn and held on him. But Kaine merely knocks the large chandelier down onto many of the criminals with the throw of an unseen weapon, disarms two more men with ease, and finishes by burning the face of the most outspoken one with his mere touch. He dies in anguish! Kaine leaves the paper behind with the headline announcing the Scarlet Spider. Kaine whispers to no-one that he’s found something else more interesting to do.

Back at the hospital, as Ben lowers his shirt over his bandaged midsection, he overhears a commotion from behind his curtain. Peering out, he spies Ken Ellis pushing his way through the nurses. Frantic to conceal his identity, Ben leaps onto the ceiling and pulls the casing off of the overhead vent. He crawls through hastily, making his way to the roof in hardly any time. When Ellis bursts in, he’s met with an empty room. (I know I’ve felt like crawling to freedom exactly like Ben did to escape the utter boredom of the emergency room where I live! You need how much blood? How long does this test’s results take? Madness!) But when the Scarlet Spider reaches the rooftop, he finds he isn’t alone! Scream’s waiting for him! Good thing he thought to pull his mask on! She demands his aid in finding Venom. But Ben has had enough of this situation. He swings off quickly, leaving her to rage alone! Or did he?

Scream tears the rooftop to pieces in her anger, sending pieces of debris flying downwards to the people in the busy streets below! But the Scarlet Spider hasn’t left the scene quite yet. Half expecting this, he hid and waited. He catches and crushes as much of the falling pieces as he can before she swings away. Ben begins to think, what if he hadn’t been here to rescue these people below tonight? What if he’d ignored them and left them to save themselves? It reminded him of Peter’s Uncle Ben and how his murder could have been prevented should Peter have stopped a certain thief earlier that fateful night. Perhaps he’d forgotten Spider-Man’s lesson: “With great power comes great responsibility.” (Is anyone else sick of this constantly repeated credo? Ugh! It’s like the Spider-Man origin story in general. I consider leaping from a high window whenever it’s retold. Maybe it’s just me…..Nah.)

Later, the woman who saved Ben Reilly’s life knocks on his apartment door. She’s been wondering if he’s okay since his sudden disappearance at the hospital. (Yeah. And she saw his muscles while he was unconscious too. I bet that played no part. Women. What a bunch of perverts.) Ben answers but doesn’t remove the chain from his door. He apologies and tells her that he’s busy. She looks taken aback at his rudeness but nods and leaves. He closes the door all of the way and continues suiting up. He’s going to war against Venom! He may still leave this city, but it’ll be with a clean conscience because he’s stopped that creature! Elsewhere, Scream has absolutely lost it! She throws even more heavy objects from the great height of another skyscraper, putting countless more innocent people in harms way! She’s stopped rather quickly, though, as two feet hit her at great speed and with superhuman force! She turns. Venom has arrived and they’ve had enough! Venom knocks Scream down with a powerful punch to the face! They then pin her down and begin to literally tear the bonded symbiote from the human host’s very flesh!

Just then, small orbs are fired upon Venom from behind! Venom turns, confused. The Scarlet Spider stands where the tiny balls were shot from. The pellets suddenly explode with webbing and it covers Venom’s face so quickly and completely, that even they must struggle to tear it off! The hero states that he calls his new invention impact webbing, and he’s brought plenty to end this fight! The two square off. The final battle is here at last!

To be concluded…..

90s Comics, 90s Marvel, Uncategorized

Worthy of the Webs (part 2 of 4)

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Hello, my dear Unspokenites. I bring you this article now as I brave severe tooth pain. (AKA Feel sorry for me.) But as I love you guys and my job at the Unspoken Decade, I will brave this mind-blowing agony and give you what you’ve been desperately waiting for. (AKA Feel really sorry for me yet excited for my impending excessive droning on and on and dumb jokes.) I present now my look back at the Scarlet Spider’s first battle in this exciting second part of the story. It was originally presented in “Spider-Man” #53. Enjoy…..Sigh. No-one has ever suffered as I now suffer. (AKA I’m a big wussy.)

Kenneth Ellis sat at his desk at the Daily Bugle, still impressed with his recent first page story that presented exclusive knowledge of Venom’s recent visit in New York. That’s when his phone rang. He picked it up with haste. The man on the other end began negotiating price before he gave up his bit of knowledge on Venom’s recent whereabouts. Ellis replied that the contact would be paid handsomely if the tip paid off. Satisfied, the man told Ellis where Venom was right this very moment. Excited, the reporter burst through the double glass doors to the famous newspaper building. As he speed walked, he spoke out loud of his hopes and dreams to become top reporter in this city, even though he did hate it here. A voice spoke nearby. It said it was disappointed that Ken didn’t have any pride in his home. Looking up, Ellis saw a man hanging from a building’s wall in a Spider-Man-like fashion! In fact, his costume even somewhat resembled the infamous wall-crawler’s! (Man, does Iron Man ever stop upgrading his armor? This set of duds doesn’t even slightly resemble his usual work. There’s a spider emblem on the chest too. What the hell? I want answers!)

The clone had read Ellis’ recent article. He noticed how he always seemed to be in the right place at the right time with Venom. And if that truly was the case, Reilly would need his help in locating the Lethal Protector before anyone else got hurt. After a moment of consideration, Ken replied that he would tell this costumed mystery man what he knew if he agreed to an exclusive interview after the fight was over. (Yeah. Lets negotiate with a masked guy that’s literally hanging from an alleyway wall in a city full of superpowered killers. Smart move, dude.) Ben didn’t say yes, but he didn’t say no either. That was enough for Ellis. He told the spider-clone that Venom was currently at the Roosevelt Island Trans Terminal! Ben swung away on a webline quickly, readying himself for battle! Meanwhile, Venom mused at the number of police waiting for them below the building they currently perched atop. Didn’t these law-bringers know that Venom was now one of the good guys? Fools. Venom then looks back at the pile of pummeled, bloody bodies of muggers and killers stacked close by and stops talking. They don’t seem to be talking back much anyway.

Just then, the police look up at a swinging form coming their way and instantly relax. Venom follows their gaze. Could that be Spider-Man? The police chief orders his men back. No need to get caught up in this fight between two super-beings. Venom questions “Spider-Man’s” change in costume aloud. His answer is a swinging kick to the ribs! (Oh it’s on now! Bring on the blood! Bring on the pain! Bring on the toothache gel! I’m still in agony here!) Venom begins to fall, but instead of dropping alone, the symbiotic duo grab Ben’s leg on the way down, dragging him with them! Ben shoots a webline to a building top and slows their decent! But Venom turns so that Reilly takes the brunt of the impact! Venom then lunges at Ben, claws ready to tear flesh! Ben barely dodges the attack! Venom states that this can’t be Spider-Man that they’re dealing with. Spider-Man and Venom made a deal to stay out of one another’s business. That means that this man is a fake. And Venom hates fakes! Venom then tears through Ben’s abdominal area with their razor-sharp claws as they finish their sentence!

As Ben Reilly tries to hold his insides in. He admits that he is a fake. Venom replies then that he must now die for this outrage! A female voice interrupts Venom from delivering the finishing blow! Venom looks towards it’s source and sees their female “child”, the symbiote called Scream! Scream warns that soon armored men will come for them should they not flee the area now and that she will help them escape! Venom roars that they will never accept help from their spawn! They are all like Carnage and must therefore die! Venom lunges at Scream with murderous intent! As the two symbiotes fight, Ben sees the amount of blood he’s losing. He should run and save himself. At that moment, reporter, Ken Ellis bursts through the crowd and begins taking notes of the battle! Scream backhands Venom a good distance away from her! They smash into a parked car with a terrified woman trapped within! Venom ignores her and springs back at the female symbiote! However, Ben does notice her. He pulls himself to his feet, ignoring his extreme pain. Hobbling over to the demolished vehicle, he tears off the car door, freeing the sobbing woman! (Does anyone else hear Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out For a Hero” in their heads as this scene takes place?)

A man loses his balance from up high during this titanic scuffle and begins to fall towards the asphalt! Quickly Ben fires a web at the man, webbing him safely to a wall! Above, Scream roars that she and the other symbiotes just want Venom’s help. They want to learn from them. Venom dismisses this plea with a death threat! They slam into the tram, snapping it’s cable! Without even stopping to think, Ben Reilly swings toward the battle, straight at Venom with both feet in the creature’s spine! Venom tumbles as Scream roars in outrage! But Venom grabs the female’s tendrils and pulls her with them as they both plummet into the icy water below! Ignoring this, Ben enters the tram car and scoops up the operator. He then swings them both to safety. He carefully sets the man down in the crowd. The people cheer at this new superhero that has saved the day. But Ben is too deep in thought to notice. He must leave the city tonight. What did he think he was doing playing the part of a hero? (I seriously don’t remember Scream being in this story. Guys, you can tell me. I won’t get mad. Am I perhaps getting a bit old? I humbly accept your criticisms…..sob……sniff.)

Ken Ellis breaks through the crowd, demanding an interview with this new superhero. Ben declines as he swings away. He replies as he leaves that he’s no hero. Ken thinks to himself that the people here would disagree. And he’ll write his story about this…..Scarlet Spider anyway. Scarlet Spider. Yeah. He likes the ring of that.

To be continued…..