Venom: Lethal Protector - Life and Deaths

Venom: Lethal Protector (Collected Editions)

by David Michelinie (Writer), Farid Karami (illustrator)

Venom vs. Doctor Doom! Venom co-creator David Michelinie returns with a new story set in the sinister symbiote's past, back when brains - and Spider-Man - were still on the menu! Prepare for an epic that will take Venom far from the streets of NYC - all the way to the kingdom of Latveria! When Silver Sable and S.H.I.E.L.D. come calling, Venom is recruited into a battle to stop a tech-worshipping cult from getting their hands on a doomsday weapon. Speaking of doom, there's a certain supreme leader of Latveria who also has his titanium-armored eyes on the same prize - and he's not the only one! Brock is about to be challenged like never before! What (or who) will Venom need to overcome the fiercest foe in the Marvel Universe? Collecting LETHAL PROTECTOR II #1-5.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Superheroes

140 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 2024

Reviews

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty fun, you get to see Venom and Silver Sable team up vs Vanguard, an elite group of mercenaries aka bad guys and they have an artefact that they will use to wipe out civilization and thus humans so it falls on these two to stop these people and fight their soldiers called "Unitroopers" and I really like their design and battle and how it ends, plus a good moment for both and the friendship there is awesome, and there is the element of how Venom is doing it for a kid called Pablo and it shows how Eddie has grown as a character.

Then there is the thing with Dr Doom and why he wants the symbiote and him abducting a few people and how Sable ties in again.. his motive felt a bit confusing like why did he want the symbiote for the battle vs hell every year but anyways there is a cool battle there and I felt it could have been a little longer and better.. like its Doom so he should be super tough any day.

But weird ending aside, I like the moments in this volume and how it challenges Eddie and how he grows as a character and good humane moment in the end realizing who he is and why he needs people too, like total opposite from the end of last volume. So yeah cool writing and the art continues to be great, and this is one of the best series from Marvel for real.

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another series by David Michelinie that gets to revisit the anti-hero Venom of the 90's. Nobody knows Venom better than his co-creator. Nostalgia is a powerful thing. Recently, Marvel has been pressing that nostalgia button a lot in the last year or two.

This series has all the 90s shout outs. Silver Sable, the Wild Pack, Colonel Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.....aaaaaaaaaand(?) Cardiac! (another Michelinie creation). It doesn't really add much to the Venom lore. Lots of it just feels like a story pulled from that era. That's the whole point, right?
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Bonus: If you get Venomized here, why aren't you 'codexed' in the recent (2022) stories?
Bonus Bonus: Since when did Vulture have electromagnetic powers? Was that a 90s thing I missed?

[Malcolm Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

A continuation on the Lethal Protector storyline following on from Heart Of The Hunted. This time Eddie and Venom team up with Silver Sable to retrieve a McGuffin from some bad guys. Nicely presented, the story flowed pretty well. The big bad reveal and intention was spoiled by the front cover and a resolution that was just a bit too easy. A fun ride though.

[Matt Bouchard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Misleading title, Doom is barely in 2-3 issues of the run. Majority of the story is Venom and Silver Sable. Even when Doom shows up it’s brief and then inconsequential in the end anyways. A bathroom read at best.

[Cody Wilson]

Marvel has been putting out a ton of these nostalgia miniseries, especially for fans of the 90s. It makes sense that David Michelinie, prolific Marvel writer of the 80s and 90s, should write a new story set in the past with his co-creation, Venom, fighting Dr. Doom, star of a few memorable Michelinie stories of the past. It sounds like a recipe for success, right?

Michelinie has more or less refused to update his writing style over the past few decades (unlike some of his peers such as Gerry Conway) and seems to have become bitter that he doesn't get much comic work anymore, based on interviews. When he does get a project like this Venom miniseries, you understand why his writing only makes sense in a short, nostalgia-fueled burst. His dialogue is full of corny one-liners that most modern writers would cringe to include in a script. The plotting is heavily reliant on coincidences, and despite attempting a character arc about Eddie Brock realizing he needs others' help, action is the story's almost sole focus. Michelinie over-explains the mechanics of characters' abilities in a way that fell out of fashion after the 90s. Frankly, this reads like a story from the late-80s - readers will find it either charming or frustrating. They shouldn't expect modern writing conventions from this miniseries. As someone who has read many comics of Michelinie's heyday, I'm able to have fun with this storytelling style when I turn off my brain.

Besides dated scripting, Michelinie somewhat lazily relies on tropes he's deployed throughout his career: the one-dimensionally evil businessman, the mercenary who may or may not have a moral backbone (in this case Silver Sable), forgettable technology-based villains for the hero to beat up. At this point, you know what you're getting into with Michelinie. I am annoyed that these tropes eat up most of the story's page space while its hook, the relatively unexplored relationship between Dr. Doom and Venom, is side-lined until the final two issues. The editor should have focused Michelinie on what is compelling rather than frankly unnecessary tangents with pet characters like Cardiac. (Also, the number of MacGuffins in this story is laughable.)

Michelinie's scripts historically served as vehicles for superstar artists like Todd McFarlane to produce stylish work, and this is no exception. While no superstar (at least yet), Farid Karami is up for the job with dynamic, eye-catching art. His Venom is muscular and goofy, fitting Michelinie's approach to the character. Karami likewise draws Silver Sable as a confident, brawny woman. I could see readers taking issue with liberal shots of her backside, but to be fair, Karami depicts some well-defined male rumps as well. I think he just really enjoys drawing butts. Either way, his vigorous, action-oriented art fits this story well (far better than the Avengers ongoing he is currently drawing).

Overall, this is a miniseries strictly for hardcore fans of 90s Venom. Most other readers should probably skip it.

[Pa_tr0_clus · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are only so many Venom stories you can tell. And every past symbiote now creates a question for that Carnage codex thing.

Still neat that they keep doing these modern throwbacks.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up because I liked Heart of the Hunted, which this is a sequel to.

First off, the art isn’t quite on par, but it gets the job done I guess. It’s not one of those comics where you have lots of great shots of the main character in action, so be aware of that.

The story is also a bit all over the place. Lots going on, plenty of characters appear, and that doesn’t leave much room for Venom himself. In fact, he stumbles into the story as it’s already in motion.

It was at least interesting to see him get along with a certain female hero. Other characters appear and feel a bit pointless.

Not exactly bad, but it’s tough to recommend.

[Dylan Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 actually