Venom Modern Era Epic Collection, Vol. 4: Agent Venom

Venom Modern Era Epic Collection

by Dan Slott (Writer), Joe Quesada (Cover Art), Humberto Ramos (Illustrator)

America has a new hero! Flash Thompson is Spider-Man's biggest fan. That inspired him to join the Army, where he became a decorated soldier. Though he lost his legs, Flash never lost his dignity - or his desire to serve. Now, the government has offered him a chance to don a familiar alien symbiote and protect his country once again as its most lethal Agent Venom! But how long before Flash starts losing control to the symbiote? And when Jack O'Lantern blackmails Flash into following the merciless Crime-Master, can Venom complete the mission and save his loved ones? After a portal to the underworld opens in the middle of Las Vegas, Venom must join Red Hulk, Ghost Rider and X-23 to stop Hell on Earth! Collects Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #654 (B story), #654. 1; Venom (2011) #1-16, 13. 1-13. 4.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Spider Man

496 pages, Paperback

First published August 29, 2023

About the author

Dan Slott is an American comic book writer, the current writer on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, and is best known for his work on books such as Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, She-Hulk, Silver Surfer, The Superior Spider-Man, and Ren & Stimpy.

Reviews

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

A staple of '90s Marvel Comics, the concept of the Venom symbiote as first introduced in the original Secret Wars has always found itself awkwardly being phased in and out of Spider-Man stories. But a stroke of brilliance hit during Slott's Amazing Spider-Man run when it was decided that a new, more heroic host should take on the mantle. Enter Flash Thompson, mostly known for his time as Peter Parker's most prominent school bully, who has now distinguished himself in military service during the Iraq War. Now a veteran who has lost both his legs in combat, Flash works for a clandestine military outfit that hopes to bond the symbiote to a new host to create the ultimate special ops soldier. Flash and the symbiote become "Agent Venom", a super-soldier that is able to utilize the Spider-Man-esque abilities but without the restraint of a mainstay superhero. Flash must practice a stringent regimen of time spent unbonded to the symbiote to ensure that a full symbiosis never takes place and prevent the true emergence of the villainous "Venom".

Introduced in a B-story of an issue of Slott's ASM run, Agent Venom is spun off into a solo title headed by Rick Remender and artists Tony Moore, Tom Fowler and Lan Medina. For the 22 issue run that Remender writes, Agent Venom tackles various foes like Crime Master and Jack O'Lantern, while Flash navigates relationship issues with Betty Brandt and his terminally ill father. The balance of superheroics and regular day-to-day life mimics similar beats in standard Spider-Man comics, but the contrast of it being Flash Thompson instead of Peter Parker is fairly well realized by Remender. Flash bounces off of Peter in interesting ways throughout the run, with Flash disapproving of Peter's own personal struggles with relationships only to find himself similarly struggling as his time being Agent Venom ramps up. The parasitic relationship the symbiote presents also adds a textured dimension to the overall run. Unfortunately, the tie-ins to events like "Spider-Island" or an overarching story like "Circle of Four" do diminish the more interesting plot beats. For a rather brief 22 issue run, there are far too many detracting storylines to really cultivate a compelling saga for the character. Nonetheless, the rather unique stretch for Venom makes this a memorable portion of the character's history and something well worth reading for any Venom fan. The overall accessibility to this series also makes this an easy recommendation on my part.

[Ross Cudmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who is Flash Thompson? An alcoholic, a hero, a bully, a victim of abuse. Now he is Agent Venom. Bones with the Symbiote, Flash is looking to be just like the hero he has always idolised, Spider-man.

Remender does a great job providing a complicated inner life for Flash. As a victim of childhood abuse, he suffers from doubt, frustration and resentment. As a former addict, the people who care for him fear that he might fall back into old habits. The character work Remender does is really stellar.

The story is generally quite interesting, as Flash works different jobs for the military, all while trying to suppress the violent influence of Venom. The only story that seemed a little dull was the Vegas story arc, where Hell has come to Earth (literally). This arc stars Ghost Rider, X-23, and the Red Hulk, but none of the character interactions were particularly memorable or iconic. Which is a shame.

[Aaron Jefferys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flash Thompson… my poor, broken boy. This collection showcases the beginning of Flash’s descent into permanently bonding with the Venom Symbiote. His dependence creeps along at an unnerving pace with every issue. Its effect on all parts of his life becomes more and more apparent with every (way too eager) use of the slimy suit. He knows how to wield it for proper results, but I’m excited to see how much more his need for it ruins every other part of his personal and professional life. He’ll find a way out (or through).

This run is a different take from what I’m used to with Venom storylines, but I am thoroughly enjoying every page.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best solo Venom story I've read so far. While reading this I saw Remender wrote this which explains it, as he did my favorite Marvel series ever, Uncanny X-Force. Flash is a great character to showcase the corrupting influence of Venom, and the arcs are awesome. Definitely recommend to any Venom fans.

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really quite good.
A character study of Flash Thompson with great action also. Humorous at times. Women could play a bigger role in it, but Betty Brant also has some limited agency at the end.

Issue 16 was really good.

Circle of four was good for 2-3 issues. Really didn't like 13.4 and that was by Remender.

[Riley OMara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing project with a great host for venom. While Eddie Brock is the OG venom, seeing Agent venom in stories with the apocalypse FF, fighting jack-o’-lantern and learning about self control, it masters the balance of power struggle, alcohol addiction, and what lies can cost you

[Joshua K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve never really been a Venom guy but Flash Thompson is a compelling hero to give the symbiote to. The whole spy/government agent angel the run takes allows this to set itself apart from the fairly generic tales I tend to associate with Venom.

[Kris Deters · Rating 3 out of 5]

First half was very cool, the arc with Blackheart was kind of a let down, even with some cool moments here and there.

Jack-o'-lantern is proper disturbing.

[Jack Phoenix · Rating 4 out of 5]

There may be some ableist tropes that don’t hold up well, but overall the dynamic story of Flash Thompson’s turn as a militaristic Venom is a stroke of genius.

[Adam Tarrant · Rating 2 out of 5]

An alcoholic, disabled war veteran who gets super powers should've made for an interesting character, but instead he just acts like a knock-off Spiderman who is still in high school. The plot is kinda dumb but it wasn't so bad that it made me angry - I felt indifferent about what was happening most of the time. I did become engaged by the road trip sequence later on, but then the story becomes really stupid when all of hell literally breaks loose and knock-off Spiderman has to team up with the discount Avengers (which includes the most obnoxious version of Ghost Rider I have ever seen).

While the cover art is cool, the majority of the pictures are ugly and confusing to follow (just like the recent Venom movies), and the violence is surprisingly not graphic for a graphic novel about Venom with guns. There are occasional splatters of blood, but for the most part, it feels censored (also just like the recent Venom movies). I'm planning on reading “Absolute Carnage” next so hopefully that will satiate my blood-lust…
There is some cool stuff in here, but this collection is expensive and I don't think it offers enough to justify the price tag. Look, I wouldn't ever recommend watching the recent Venom movies, but they are certainly a lot cheaper than this.

[Patrick King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big and dumb and a hell of a lot of fun. Scratches the same itch that a John Carpenter/Kurt Russell movie does. Oh and Venom goes to Hell (Las Vegas?) and eats some people.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really really good. The Circle of Four storyline drags it down a bit because of the length imo, but it's still a really good read.