By: Charles Singh
In the recent Venom #28 Eddie Brock finds himself in odd company. But how and why did the strange scene above take place? Venom #28 is part 3 of writer Donny Cates’s Venom Beyond story arc. In this arc, Eddie Brock and his son Dylan Brock track down The Maker in hopes of understanding Dylan Brock’s strange abilities.
Dylan has the ability to manipulate symbiotes and even remote-pilot them from long distances. The Maker is a version of Reed Richards Mr. Fantastic from a different dimension. Although this version of Reed Richards is evil, he has taken an interest in Dylan and the Brocks believe he will help. There is only one problem. As Venom tracks The Maker, he himself is being tracked. Virus, a character who had his life ruined by Venom is determined to get revenge. Virus is a villain equipped with a suit of armor similar to the War Machine armor, but specially designed for symbiote combat. He also possesses Goblin tech.
Virus ambushes Venom at The Maker’s laboratory and everyone in the lab is forced through a portal. Eddie, Dylan, and Virus end up on an alternate earth where New York City is ruled by the mysterious symbiote villain Codex. As soon as they land in the strange alternate Earth, Dylan and Eddie are attacked by Virus. Luckily, a symbiote version of The Avengers appears, giving Dylan and Eddie a chance to slip away into the sewers.
In the sewers, Dylan and Eddie discover a symbiote resistance made of one of the strangest Marvel Comics teams to date. The leader of the resistance is none other than Anne Weying, Eddie’s late wife. The team also features a symbiote Spider-Man, Carnage and Deadpool! To make things even more bizarre, the team is attacked by a group of symbiote versions of Marvel heroes and villains. An epic battle ensues.
Venom Beyond is quickly gaining momentum as Eddie and Dylan delve deeper into this strange symbiote-overrun Earth. Venom joining forces with Peter and Cletus Kassady is just one of the many mind-blowing moments in the arc thus far. Donny Cates has transported readers to a world where every hero and villain imaginable is under the evil Codex’s influence. The end of Venom #28 also captures the most shocking moment in Venom Beyond yet: the identity of Codex!
Will the symbiote resistance be strong enough to take on an entire city of heroes and villains controlled by Codex?
