The Amazing Spider-Man: The Return of Anti-Venom

The Amazing Spider-Man (1999) (Collected Editions) #43

by Dan Slott, Christos Gage, Giuseppe Camuncoli (Illustrator)

Anti-Venom returns to help Spider-Man wage war against Mr. Negative and his criminal empire - whether Spidey wants him to or not! And when an all-new Wraith enters the fray, will she prove to be a friend or foe? Of all the days for Aunt May to return to the F.E.A.S.T. Center! Then, Spider-Man is a member of the FF and two different Avengers teams. As Peter Parker, he works all hours at Horizon Labs. That doesn't leave him much time for anything or anyone else. Now, it's time to pay the price as one of his greatest sins comes back to haunt him! Plus: the new Madame Web can sense great conflict brewing in Spider-Man's future - and his only hope for survival lies in the hands of Shang-Chi, the Master of Kung Fu! Can Spidey gain mastery of the martial arts in time to stop a deadly foe from his past?

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Spider Man, Marvel, Comic Book, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics

120 pages, Paperback

First published July 12, 2012

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

[RG · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Slott getting back in track. Cool story with Anto Venom. Spideys story is developing very nicely

[Tesutamento · Rating 3 out of 5]

Örümcek Adası isimli büyük Marvel hadisesi yaşanmadan önceki son sayı. Azıcık da olsa Örümcek Adası hikayesinin yolunu yapıyor. Madame Web ve Spider-Woman da bu sayıda. Hem de Spider-Man'ı fena dövüyor Spider-Woman. Bizimki örümcek hislerini yitirdiği için dövüş eğitimi alıyor hem de Shang-Chi'den.

Wraith geri dönüyor fakat bu kez rahmetli polis Jean DeWolff var maskenin altında. Tabi ki bu bir yanıltmaca. Peter'ın hiç sevmediğim sevgilisi Carlie bu sırrı çözüyor. Babasını ve sevgilisini ihbar etmekten çekinmeyen Carlie neden olduğunu anlamadığım bir şekilde Yuri'yi ihbar etmiyor. Saçmalık. Bundan sonraki hikayeler tamamen filler.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big Time was brilliant and all credit to Dan Slott but this next collection feels a little like filler until we get to Spider-Island. Still, I quite enjoyed the FCBD edition, mainly because I like Mandrill (and Humberto Ramos). Didn't Pete get lessons from Iron Fist or someone in the past? My continuities are getting a little muddled but I know that happened somewhere.

The Anti-Venom story was ok, saved more by some amusing interplay between Pete and Eddie. The whole Mr Negative thing finally comes out into the open but it all feels a little inconsequential and quite anti-climactic given the impact Mr Negative has had over the recent years.

We close with a few smaller stories, a slightly unpleasant one involving something unnecessary happening to Betty could have been skipped but the final story with Aunt May leaving was short and sweet. I hope they actually keep her out of the mix for a while. I've long thought One More Day (boooooo!) missed a trick (just one..?) by keeping her alive. It would really have freed Pete to have her die. Still.

So, not essential unless you've been following events since One More Day. Bring on Spider-Island.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Free Comic Book Day story is a nice intro/teaser, but doesn’t have a lot of depth [6/10]. Though the Anti-Venom story starts off slow, it ends with some nice character connections and some nice closure on a long-running thread [7/10]. The Crossroads story is a great one that really looks at Peter’s relations with his supporting cast [9/10].

[Kris Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy Dan Slott's writing a lot on this title. Aside from Humerto Ramos' “artwork” on the Spider-Man: Free Comic Book Day 2011 issue, the artwork is pretty decent. I am not crazy about the coloring by Matt Hollingsworth, as he is one of those colorists that uses muted colors. Spider-Man is not off red, or a dark pink, but red. Primary colors do not suck, folks!

I will never understand why Marvel does all of these ret-cons and flashback stories. They show the day that Peter is adopted by his aunt and uncle, but the age that they show him at flies in the face of continuity. They also show his neighborhood in Forest Hills as it appears in the movies, and not as it did in the original comic books. Another annoying thing about these flashback type stories, although not the one in this particular book, is how any time that there is a fun filled adventure, it must have happened in the past. As if there is no way on Earth that anything light-hearted or remotely fun could happen today. It's a cop-out that modern comic book writers use, and Slott has used it too.

The culmination of the Mr. Negative saga occurs here, and it does not disappoint. I find the Anti-Venom character to be interesting, ditto the new Venom. Not interesting enough to suck me into all of these sidebar ongoing and mini-series, though.

[Adam Stone · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as part of my Venom/Carnage/Anti-Venom/symbiotes readthrough of the Spidey-verse.

Having just finished Dan Slott's reimagining of Venom (now a military weapon attached to Peter Parker's high school friend, Flash Thompson), we check in with Original Recipe Venom (now Anti-Venom), Eddie Brock.

This ties many, many things together. Anti-Venom's story overlaps with Spider-Man vs. Mr. Negative (who is the person whose power turned Eddie into Anti-Venom), AND fall out from Eddie's origin story, The Sin Eaters, plays a part.

It's very silver agey in parts. Parker doesn't believe Brock, Brock overreacts, Parker overreacts to the overreaction, the reveal of Wraith's identity to the reader, and the reveal of Mr. Negative's identity to the characters in the story are both very silly and transparent. But it's not too hokey, and all of the stories progress in interesting directions before Slott pulls all the pieces off the board for now, and goes in another direction.

If you like Brock and Anti-Venom, or if you enjoyed the Mr. Negative storyline, I would pick this up, otherwise it's at the skippable level of Okay.

[David Caldwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, I used to read a lot of comics. But as comic books went up in price, having less room to store them, fewer comic book stores near me, and having more time to read actual books. I stopped reading comic books for several years. I still love them but I am woefully out of date with story lines. Even main characters and groups have undergone some radical changes in their protayal and histories. Some characters are not even the same person that they were for decades. So now, I just pick up the occasional graphic novel that looks interesting and is reasonably priced. This is one that I recently found on sale.

I found the story to be fairly interesting and the artwork was good. I knew most of what wa going on or was about to figure it out so that was nice as well. Overall, I was happy with it.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed this volume A LOT. Brock's return as Anti-Venom makes for both a nice arch and an interesting development of their relationship with Spidey; also, I knew absolutely nothing about The Wrath and her storyline, but it was well written and kept the mistery without being confusing. As for the last chapter, it delves into Spidey's guilt and rage, touching his past in a really humane way, and it's one of my favourite issues by Slott so far. Overall, nice art, as good as the rest of this series.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an engaging Spider-Man storyline (I am an occasional Spidey fangirl so had come across this looking for Shang-Chi stories as I'm really fangirling over the upcoming Marvel movie featuring the Master of Kung Fu). Spider-Man never disappoints (at least in the titles I've read) and this one kept that promise as Spidey teams up with Anti-Venom and a mysterious vigilante called The Wraith who appears to be a back-from-the-dead heroic police officer.

[Sevki · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is lame, the story is mediocre, I am just reading this since I'm attached to character, and that just 7 more volumes are left to Superior Spider-Man and then NOW! period Amazing Spider-Man. But the Turkish volumes come like 3 for each year so after 2 years I will read "Dying Wish" I guess -_-

[Stewart D. Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection was good and short but not great compared to what these last couple runs have been.

Spider-Man is still without his Spidey Sense and what is he to do? Oh, learn to fight? From Shang-Chi? Alright.

Some pretty cool stuff with Anti-Venom and Mr. Negative

Good for a Spider-Man completionist.

I’m giving this one a slightly high three stars.

[Eldon Farrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my money, Dan Slott is one of the best Spidey writers... ever! He deserves a place up there with Lee and the Romitas for sure. When paired with Ramos on artwork... this run excels.

A quick chapter of the whole run here that was an easy read and outstanding overall.

[Duane S Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

He called aunt may his mother!

The action was very good! The quips back and forth were really great! But the real life connection between Spicy and his loved ones was especially heart warming! Reminded me of my family when we were really close! Thank you all so much for the love!

[Amanda Shepard (Between-the-Shelves) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad volume of Spider-Man! You can tell that this is a bit of filler for a larger event coming up, though. I liked the Anti-Venom storylines, though, and the free comic book day issue was fun! Some fun art included throughout as well.

[Simon Eadie · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was interesting to see the coolest heroes work together to stop some guy i never heard of.

[Trevor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume includes a lacklustre story about Anti-Venom & Mr. Negative and a really solid issue about Betty Brant's friendship with Peter.

[Cem Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Geçiş cilti. Ne çok kötü ne çok iyi. Net bi hikayesi de yok. Son sayıdaki Betty olayı güzeldi. 3.5/5

[Arda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a filler book before the big event that is Spider-Island. Big fan of the Way of the Spider.

[Cris González · Rating 5 out of 5]

La historia de Betty con Peter y como el ahora la ve como una hermana mayor la amé, refleja la evolucion de Peter. La ultima parte con Aunt May me hizo llorar.

[Enes Aktürk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wraith karakterinin kimliğini öğrendiğimiz bu ciltte Mr. Negative önemli bir rol oynuyor. Onun dışında çok bir özelliği olduğunu söyleyemeyeceğim bu cildin. 3/5

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dan Slott continus his saga of Mister Negative and Spider-Man with this collection of Amazing issues. The book opens with a preview of the Spider-Island story, as Madame Web observes Spider-Man battle Spider-Woman without the aid of his famous danger sense. The main storyline resumes as two very different vigilantes are on the trail of crime boss Mister Negative. One is Eddie (Anti-Venom) Brock, who is determined to atone for past misdeeds by ending the reign of Martin Li's alter ego. The other is the mysterious Wraith, who is cutting a swath through the underworld while wearing the face of deceased NYPD officer Jean DeWolff. Naturally Spider-Man finds himself in the middle of it all, leading to a massive team-up that ends Negative's public fronts. A one-shot issue sees Betty Brant injured, and Peter Parker attempting to fix the event as a vengeful wall-crawler instead of as a supportive friend. The volume concludes with May and Jay Jameson packing up for Boston, as Peter recalls the events that have occured in his childhood home. Dan Slott continues his run on Spider-Man, but the lackluster opponents for this arc make it less than memorable. Mister Negative remains an uninspired villain with a flashy art gimmick rather than a sense of true menace. The returning Anti-Venom shows promise, but gets relegated to about half the book due to buildups for the upcoming event. The art syles of Ryan Stegman and Humberto Ramos are still both fantastic and energetic, each bringing their own design to Spider-Man's world. Fans of the former Venom, Dan Slott, Mister Negative, or the Jay/May romance will not be disappointed in this collection - all others might want to return this book to the shelf.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

As we go into Slott's first mega arc Spider Island, we get a few shorter arcs that clean up loose ends from about a hundred issues of Brand New Day. Since I don't want Slott to read this and curse me out, I will make no assumptions as to whether he keeps making the deplorable decision to integrate Spidey with FF and Avengers or it's an editorial mandate above his head, but either way, his solo run so far is deeply marred by forays into what can most pleasantly be described as "advertisements by appearance" for FF and Avengers/Avengers Academy (the unpleasant way being "whoring Amazing Spider-Man out to promote lesser books"). This is all a real shame, because I think Slott has a great handle on the character and the comedy, in some ways superior even to JMS (not early JMS but later "The Other"/betraying Gwen Stacy JMS). Unfortunately, getting the character and telling a terrific story are not mutually inclusive, and since the stupendous "Big Time" arc that Slott started with, we've gotten the middling Spider Slayer/Marla dying/ No one dies arc, the lousy Future Foundation arc, the just as bad but mercifully shorter Avengers Academy arc (where Marvel showed they actually remember that Pete was a teacher), and the 80s-esque Anti-Venom arc (where Mister Negative was outed rather anti-climatically). Thank goodness Slott is funny enough, and Spidey is a good enough character, that we can survive this lousy run with a lot of goodwill intact. But for all those already touting this Slott run as one of the all time greats, either Spider Island must be stupendous, or you must really not be familiar with Spider-Man.

[Harrison Delahunty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another more average volume, but is a much snappier read than the previous.

The FCBD issue is fun enough and Ramos provides his usual energetic artwork. This issue had the narrative highlight of the book with Peter training to fight sans spider-sense.

The two Anti-Venom focused issues are fine; Wraith/Watanabe is a neat character and it’s cool to see her expanded. It’s also good to finally have the Mr. Negative bit wrapped up. Camuncoli’s Spider-Man is great, but he always has trouble with faces that is only slightly mitigated by Klaus Janson’s ever-fantastic inks. I will say that the narrative here swings the narrative largely away from Peter, which inherently makes the story less interesting.

Ryan Stegman’s issue, focused on Betty Brant, is far and away the artistic star of the book. He brings his a-game here, and it might be my favourite issue he’s drawn solely based on the art. The narrative is fine enough but feels a little too echoey of the Betty-focued issue from the Brand New Day run.

“Thanks…But No Thanks” is a bit of a run-of-the-mill narrative for when someone wants to say something a bit deeper about the character, but Nuack’s art is fun as always and it’s by no means offensive. “I’ll Never Let You Go” is a good lens through which to see Slott’s view of Aunt May, but Camuncoli’s facial expressions especially detract here.

Overall, this is another fine/average Slott book. Thankfully he’s still staying above the standard of the previous era, but not by a whole ton. Thankfully, the next book is Spider-Island which I remember being a triumph for his run.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This trade contains Free Comic Book Day 2011 (Spider-Man) and Amazing Spider-Man issues #663-665.

Peter's been hard at work balancing two superhero teams, a dream job and a steady relationship. This collection features the hectic schedule catching up to him, as his normal Spider-Man duties intervene.

The opening issue is told via the new Madame Web. It gives a quick summary of Spidey's origin and then features a comedic adventure in which Peter has to face a mind controlled Spider-Woman. There's a layer of ominousness added by the remote Madame Web and the story sets up some interesting threads for the upcoming Spider Island event.

Issues #663 and 664 are the titular Return of Anti-Venom story. This was extremely good, tying together several ongoing plotlines and focusing on reoccurring characters Mr. Negative, Wraith and Anti-Venom. There are lot of important developments and intriguing turns here. My one complaint is the direction of Peter's personal relationships, as he's been making some incredibly stupid decisions that are starting to make him unlikable. Not a good feeling to instill in the reader. That aside these are some of the best issues I've read of Slott's run.

We end with a tale about priorities that calls back to Peter's earliest days as Spider-Man and a couple of short "everyday life" side stories, one for Spidey and one for Peter. These were fine.

Overall a somewhat short but very good collection. I'm particularly looking forward to more with Wraith and Anti-Venom.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yes as many others are saying, this is the janitor's closet of Spider-Man issues - tossing all the loose ends in a bucket to take them out to be dumped somewhere. This is hardly the natural, artful culmination of these stories - this feels more like the work of a Christos Gage, who just churns out deadened stories to fill his page quotient.

I don't even know why we needed that Betty Brant story - seemed like a fill-in issue but it was Slott who wrote it himself. Why? Marvel wasn't ready to launch Spider-Island quite yet, so they pulled an old script and dusted it off?

Art in this book is amazingly inconsistent too - cant figure if the artists were chosen deliberately or "we've got everyone on the Event so lets scrape up some newbies to spackle in while we get all the ducks lined up."

Best part of the original issues were the "Infested" prologue-to-Spider-Island stories - a little sinister, elusive look at what's coming - and they didn't even include those in the trade!

[Maddsurgeon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slott takes the fact that Spider-Man is suddenly on a bunch of super-teams and blends it seamlessly into the whole "juggling real-life and superhero life" motif that has always made this book so great. Part of the effectiveness of this run is that the other superhero characters (Anti-Venom, the Wraith), also have established real-world identities that are well-developed, interesting characters with stakes in the greater world. The Anti-Venom/Wraith section was a fun, dynamic example of great "juggling," and the Betty Brant story (#665) was a dramatic, emotional example. I'm liking Slott's treatment of the whole cast of characters more and more and I can't wait to read the "Spider Island" run.

[Silas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, if short, trade. It features Spider-Man, Anti-Venom, and Wraith figuring sorting out the drug syndicate of the Negative Man, along with several shorter stories. Several of these lead up to the Spider Island arc, and some other ones deal with some smaller parts of the Spider-Man continuity. The last one was a poignant story about Aunt May moving away to Boston (which I recall happening at the beginning of Spider Island) which was really well done, and a nice note on which to finish the story. I liked how they emphasized how smart Peter is, along with his other spider-powers, and there are some fun comedic moments along the way. This was a solid Spider-Man arc.

[Pturingan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really, really good volume once again. Dan Slott is now four volumes out of four when it comes to writing great, fun and entertaining Spider-Man stories as far as I'm concerned. The artists rotation of Ramos, Caselli, Martin et al has also been top-notch as well. Even the huge cast of supporting characters have gotten nice moments and storylines of their own (the scenes with Aunt May are a personal favorite of mine; hilarious yet touching at the same time).

If you aren't reading this series, now would be a good time to catch up. Here's a free tip: start your reading with Big Time.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

A hodge-podge collection of stories with a myriad of illustrators. Marvel likes to switch their illustrators even more often than they like to change costumes. All the stories were fairly interesting and decent and I only noticed one picture that looked like Spider Woman had broken her leg (which was described by a third party in the novel as having "excellent form"--nope, pretty sure that's just a broken leg.) That illustrator wasn't great, but at least he drew his men as equally unrealistically.

[Jeff Barber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of this collection is pretty mediocre, I'm assuming it's mostly filler until we get to Spider Island. I did enjoy all the issues, but it was the last one that stood out to me. Peter reliving (sorta) the events of his Uncle's death, and facing one of the things a lot of people noticed more from the newest movie than in the original comic, that Peter abandons Aunt May in her misery while he avenges Uncle Ben. It was interesting to see that fleshed out.
Definitely worth the read.