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Venom’s tongue proved to literally have a life of its own when it created a clone that was more ruthless and violent than Marvel’s first symbiote.
The creature known as Venom is a nightmarishly dangerous foe, not just for Spider-Man, but for anyone unfortunate enough to cross his path. An alien symbiote capable of possessing the bodies of organic hosts, Venom has acted both as an antagonist to Spider-Man and as a lethal protector of the innocent. His nebulous moral compass makes him a very dynamic character, one who struggles constantly to define himself as either a villain or a hero. But in one of the most bizarre incidents to befall the hulking anti-hero, Venom’s unadulterated aggression was released in a clone of himself created by nothing other than his own severed tongue.
2003’s Venom series (by Daniel Way and Francisco Herrera) begins with a US Army soldier named Pat Robertson as she approaches an outpost deep within the frozen Arctic landscape. The story takes many cues from John Carpenter’s The Thing, a classic horror film also set within the frozen wastes of the far north. Robertson finds the entire installation destroyed; corpses litter every room, many brutally mangled. A sole survivor babbles about something lurking in the shadows, waiting for them. Robertson then comes face to face with Venom and learns that her odds of surviving both the alien symbiote and the harsh Arctic environment are woefully low.
What transpires throughout the course of the story is a tangled web of mysterious synthetic aliens, gun-toting clones, and Wolverine surviving a mini-nuke. It’s a wild ride of explosive action, and Robertson is caught in the chaos. Venom is eventually defeated by an intense energy blast detonated from within Wolverine’s chest. But the Venom that had been terrorizing Robertson was far more aggressive and volatile than usual, and it was strange that it wasn’t attached to Eddie Brock.
Issue #11 skips back in time to help shed light on the strange events that had transpired. The issue opens in New York City with Venom victorious in a battle against Spider-Man, although his celebration is cut short. The Thing, resident bruiser of the Fantastic Four, crashes through the wall and engages Venom. Rather than engaging in a typical brawl, Venom instead forces his tongue down his opponent’s throat. The Human Torch appears and severs Venom’s tongue with Sue and Reed Richards finishing up the fight. As the Fantastic Four leave with Venom and Spider-Man in tow, a young man walks out onto the scene of the battle and finds Venom’s severed tongue on the ground. He takes it, hoping to sell it online to make a quick fortune; instead, his apartment is violently broken into and the tongue is stolen.
As is elaborated further within the following issues, the tongue is stolen by clones working for an enigmatic man named Bob who is obsessed with learning as much as possible about Venom. As Bob and his team of clones run tests on the isolated portion of Venom, it grows and transforms into an exact copy of the original symbiote. Wanting to gather more data, Bob sends a team of scientists to a secluded Arctic base. He also sends the Venom clone as well, leading to their demise. Issue #13 ends where issue #1 begins, with Robertson approaching the destroyed base and discovering the bodies.
While sometimes dense and somewhat confusing to follow, Daniel Way’s take on Venom is unique and explores the interesting question of what would happen if a portion of the symbiote was removed from its core body. As its astounding regeneration and utter lack of empathy can attest to, the answer is a terrifying development for a creature that seems to already be spawned from nightmares.
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