Review: Venom First Host #3, a new kind of symbiote
A war between two different aliens species just got even deadlier by putting Venom’s symbiote in the middle. Read our spoiler-filled review of Venom: First Host #3!
Venom: First Host #2 ended on a high note by putting Eddie and the symbiote on a complicated and really interesting situation. So going into this week’s issue, I had high expectations on the direction that the series was taking. Fortunately, the setup paid off, and the story keeps going strong. Unfortunately, though, there’s one major issue that pulled me off from this experience and its story.
The plot
Venom: First Host #3 has a decent narrative. The highest point of which is explaining the villain’s plan, and providing the reader with some background on his story. This helps as not only it creates a three-dimensional character, but it also makes his plan much more believable. However, the thing that I liked the most about this issue is that it shows us the other side of the story the series has been telling.
Since the very beginning, the Kree-Skrull war has been a central plot revolving Venom’s first host. A Kree warrior named Tel-Kar used the symbiote in order to infiltrate the Skrull’s militia and gather information, sabotage missions and save his species from the massacre. As a result, you may see the Krees and Tel-Kar as the good guys from the very beginning. In fact, issue #1 featured a Skrull trying to take down Venom, and she almost succeeded until Tel-Kar appeared to “save the day”. Nevertheless, things take an unexpected turn and now we get to know Tel-Kar’s true evil nature. Also, we get to hear the story from the Skrull’s perspective, making the whole deal even more complex (which is always appreciated and makes the narrative feel even better).
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My only complain, though, is a big one. I usually don’t do spoiler-filled reviews, but I had to point out one inconsistency through the story. In last week’s issue, Tel-Kar pretends to steal the symbiote’s offspring as a technique to persuade its father to join his quest instead of his child. Venom accepts as he knows taking the offspring would be too dangerous for it. That’s when the Lethal Protector says:
"The child is too young! You would hurt it more than it can help you.(…) Cannot risk hurting the little one."
After that, Eddie and the symbiote got separated as they try to protect the symbiote’s child. However, on this issue, Eddie wears the offspring just before going to space to try to take down Tel-Kar. But, wasn’t it a bit risky using the offspring? Wouldn’t this hurt it more than it could help Eddie? Its father took its place because it was too young, and not ready to be used. Still, Eddie uses it here in order to go fight in outer space. As a result, I consider the story to be a bit confusing and somewhat contradictory. I understand the symbiote wanting to protect its child from a Kree warrior, but trying to prevent it from being used just so that Eddie uses it later is not a great plot.
The action and illustrations
The illustrations are top-notch in every single panel. Whether you are looking at Tel-Kar, Eddie or the new Venom, drawings are smooth and perfectly crafted. And while there isn’t almost any real action, there is a sweet scene where a disguised Tel-Kar takes down some Skrulls. This is more than enough to stand up and give the issue a better pacing and some stakes (even if they are not too high for now).
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Overall, this was a decent issue with great characters, illustrations and good pacing. However, it also had a plot inconsistency that, unfortunately, dragged the whole experience down for me.
C+. . Mike Costa, Mark Bagley, Ron Lin, Andrew Hennessy, Scott Hanna, Dono Sánchez, VC's Clayton Cowles. . Venom: First Host #3
What do you think about Venom: First Host so far? Let us know in the comments below! And stick around with Whatever A Spider-Can for more comic book reviews.