Venom 28 SPOILERS, DO NOT READ IF YOU DONT WANT TO BE SPOILED

Since he is irate regarding the events from the spinal trauma in Absolute Carnage, and follows Venom through the portal, he is probably from 616.

So then I don’t see how marvel knights is relevant - wasn’t that ultimate Mac in that series? ASM 19 and Venom 25/26 are still the relevant books. ASM 28 just gives us more info on him and reveals more.

If Dylan suddenly grows an eye on the back of his head, that doesn’t change the significance of Venom 7/9. I think there are a lot of people trying hard to downplay the 1st Virus appearance for whatever reason.

He follows Dylan/Eddie from 616 through the portal to 1610.

He’s from 616.

It is kinda a let down we were all expecting some big reveal, Donny Cates even went as far as saying this is a new character not someone already established in comics. Big fat lie Mr Cates it’s not a new character it’s Scorpion a Marvel character that has been in comics for 50 years.

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If my memory serves me correct Marvel Knights was 616 not 1610 but I could be wrong. Haven’t read it in years.

People are buying MK 10 because Venom 28 is a Venom story and the whole thing is about Eddie and Venom. Mac becomes Venom in MK 10 so it has some relevance to what’s going on. And most people can’t afford ASM 19/20 so they go onto the next thing. I agree it’s not great spec either way.

I don’t think anyone is “downplaying” Virus for their own reasons. I probably have more Virus books then most. But you need to look at it logically. They already did away with the character 3 issues later. The spec is likely dead (for now). The character is done. Mac has gone back to his old name and has a new suit.

That doesn’t mean it’s done forever. No. Someone can be Virus #2. Definitely. But typically when that happens the book is when X becomes Y #2. Not when a different guy first became Y #1. When Flash became Venom in ASM 654, that caused 654 to pop it didn’t effect ASM 299/300 for example.

But while that is typically the case, it’s not always perfect look at Swamp Thing. House of Secrets is basically a one off Alex Olsen. Swamp Thing 1 is Alec Holland who has been the Swamp Thing everyone knows and loves. But HoS is significantly more valuable then Swamp 1.

Typically it’s the other way like ASM 654.

I agree it will be a huge letdown if this was the end of Virus.

Then his tweet should have been ‘introducing a redone old ass character with a new suit and name who changes back to the old name in a few issues’

Guess he didn’t think that would sell enough books. False advertising FTL.

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Yes they will find a diverse teenager and put them in the Virus suit in the future I’m sure that’s what Marvel does and then 5 years later after that people will claim it should be a $1000 book.

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Remember, Donny Cates and Marvel primarily want you to buy their books for reading and enjoying the story. The value after it hits the market is not their concern and if it stays a $1 book or becomes a book worth $1000 doesn’t matter to them. Disney/Marvel makes enough money they don’t need to count on their comics to become collectible and carry value over cover price after they’ve already sold them for half the original cover price
 :wink:

I had a few of the tongue variants, sold them all around release, and gave my last one to a good friend, because I hate Venoms tongue. Damn you, Larson. This is the best look, for Venom👇

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On the basis of that alone, yes. But a book getting hot on the Secondary market drives sales of future books and makes them more money. Look at what Cates is doing with Venom/Thor and what Tynion is doing with Batman (arguably the three hottest series in DC/Marvel) by using the speculators to sell books. Introducing new characters, Cates using Twitter and Tynion using his blog to hype those new characters, and sell books. So they do care about books drawing spec interest and raising value because it leads to more sales.

A book that goes for double/triple/quadruple cover sells out at Diamond and leads to more orders of the next few issues.

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True but they don’t care about overall value. Just people buying to help future sales is all they care about cause they still sell all those future books at the low low rate of well below cover price. They care about quantity sold to make profit, not secondary market value.

That’s what I was intending to imply with my previous comment
 can’t ya’ll read minds? :stuck_out_tongue:

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Alas, I only managed a day or two.

Marvel Knights books were generally either 616 or out of continuity. They were never the Ultimate Universe, to my understanding. When Marc becomes Venom that is 616. I got a copy of #10 for cheap coming I hope to flip if it gets hotter.

Well I didn’t want to be spoiled, but I saw a preview of this thread and now here I am, haha. I searched “Venom 28” hoping for cover art images and then I see a 2-3 sentence preview of this thread under its title. Oh well, it is fun reading and discussing none the less!

I believe Dylan is Codex just based on the Absolute Carnage storyline. That was all about finding codecis and then his powers are revealed. It seems like a no-brainer although to be fair I would have had to re-read all the books to really put that together.

Are we certain that Mac Gargan = Virus or is that still rumor? I do recall Scorpion and MILES having a battle
 I’ll have to reread that issue to see if anything points to him turning into Virus.

If true, this sucks on Cates’ part. He promised an all-new character NOT being someone already in existence within the Marvel universe. This is like shades of Rocksteady saying Arkham Knight (video game, not 'Tec 1000-1005.) is a new character
 I guess we’ll know the truth in a week or so.

I guess it all comes down to how you view characters taking on new mantles. Do you view Grayson Robin and Grayson Nightwing as different characters? On one hand, same dude under mask but different duties and responsibilities for each respective persona.

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Yes. The video at the beginning of the thread shows the panels.

Mac (616) is Virus but drops the name and suit.

Dylan (1610 not 616) is Codex.

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I see. Well, I definitely didn’t see that coming at all. Cates definitely hoodwinked me. Let’s see what happens next and HOPEFULLY Marvel and tighten up their printing process. I like the mystery, anticipation, and drama of waiting for the reveal.

OK I have a question in regards to the story and Gargan’s motive to become Virus and attempt to kill Venom/Brock


I went back and read the Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales issue where Carnage digs his tendrils into Mac’s back to grab his codex (this after saying he’s going to “rip out his spine”
not so much I guess.) and Venom/Brock actually SAVES Mac. I also re-read Absolute Carnage 3, which takes place immediately following the Miles Morales issue. Venom/Brock CONTINUES to save Gargan from hordes of Carnage soldiers and then Carrie’s him away, delivering him to the Avengers. The last time I saw Gargan he was on Cap’s shoulders.

I’ll admit I didn’t crack open AC4, but I don’t recall Mac Gargan appearing in the series after AC3. I could be completely wrong


So what exactly is the reason for Gargan being mad at Venom/Brock and claiming he ruined his life? Didn’t Gargan desire the symbiote? Wasn’t he happy that the symbiote seemed to elevate him from B level to A level villain?

Any insight is appreciated.

Gargan attempts to run away from the fight, but Brock kicks him back in, resulting in him getting skewered by Carnage causing the spinal trauma.

That isn’t what I see. After Carnage grabs Gargan and does his spinal tap is when Venom enters the scene and grabs Gargan and carts him off. They are subsequently jumped by Carnagized Rykers inmates in issue 3 of Absolute Carnage.