Venom #8 Serves Eddie Brock Humble Pie

I love the concept of a legacy hero. It’s often a complex and satisfying addition to superhero canon, and done right it can add a lot to the original. Venom #8 offers the original hero something they often don’t face though–was the legacy better?

After last issue’s revelation that Eddie Brock didn’t know about previous Venom Flash Thompson’s death, Donny Cates, Iban Coello, Andres Mossa and Clayton Cowles pick up the pieces from that revelation.
[Spoilers ahead!]

Eddie confronts the Maker about Flash and learns that his heroic successor/predecessor is about to be harvested for dissection. This leads to a violent confrontation with Oversight, and a momentary resurrection of Agent Venom. Free again, Eddie decides to try to figure out where to go from here, and that begins back home in San Francisco…
After last issue’s tense back and forth, this issue is a welcome change. Cates has shifted the Maker’s status quo a bit, progressing his role as a weird science-themed villain, one that I think the Marvel Universe has been lacking. His progression with Eddie is absolutely fantastic, though. To make a protagonist realize another in his role was not just good but BETTER as a huge character step, and it’s done in a way that doesn’t reduce or minimize Eddie.

Coello and Mossa’s art really makes the issue sing. Where last issue was a little more passive, this is an intense action-oriented issue, and line art and colors sing together. They also nail the quieter moments, with Eddie visiting Flash’s grave getting the quiet impact it deserves.
This continues to be a top-notch superhero book with a dark side.
Venom #8 is available now from Marvel Comics.