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Planet of the Symbiotes #1-5
Venom: Planet of the Symbiotes
Collects material From Amazing Spider-Man Super Special, Spider-Man Super Special, Venom Super Special, Spectacular Spider-Man Super Special And Web Of Spider-Man Super Special. Fearing the growing influence of his “other,” Eddie Brock takes the drastic step of splitting himself from the Venom symbiote! But the unwitting result is a full-scale invasion by its alien race! As more and more humans are taken as hosts, Eddie must team with Spider-Man and the Scarlet Spider to save Earth from being overrun. And to do so, they must journey to the Planet of the Symbiotes! But whose side will the Venom symbiote be on? And amid all the chaos, Carnage awakens from his coma ― and plans to absorb as many symbiotes as he can! Can our heroes deal with a 50-foot-tall psychopath? It’s a symbiotic sci-fi super hero spectacular!
128 pages, Paperback
Published September 11, 2018
7 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 5, 2018
Venom is my favorite comic book villain of all-time, edging out legendary baddies like the Joker and Green Goblin by miles. Luckily for me, Venom got a slew of limited series devoted solely to his endeavors in the '90s, independent from Spider-Man's outings and away from the stigma of simply being another one of his nemeses. Unfortunately, however, Venom's comics have not always been as great as I know they could be. So what makes a great Venom story? I have a rough criteria outlined of what should be included in the best Venom comics:
1) A heavy focus on Venom, obviously
2) A lot of intense action and fighting sequences to keep things exciting
3) Significant guest stars (not one-off characters) to keep things fresh and mix things up
4) The villain/antagonist has to be an equal match to our symbiotic anti-hero
5) The stakes have to be high, both for the innocents as well as for Venom himself
6) Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Venom has to develop as a character by the end of the arc
It is sad to say that not every Venom comic can achieve each of these points, whereas even the merely serviceable Spider-man stories manage to do these things without a hitch (and the great stories do even more). But when everything goes right for Venom, boy do they go right! Simply put, Planet of the Symbiotes is one of those Venom story arcs that works fantastically within the context of the character – it's not a perfect comic, but it's a damn good Venom story, and one of the better ones I've read so far.
The premise of Planet of the Symbiotes is as crazy as it sounds, but nobody wants an innocuous Venom story, right? Eddie Brock, after several episodes of uncertainty with his symbiotic other, has decided to separate from it so he can reconsider his life as an independent man once more. Suffering after this jarring separation, the Venom symbiote shrieks in pain so loudly that it makes contact with other symbiotes located in space, alerting then about Earth and prompting them to invade the planet with aspirations to take it over completely, as this species is wont to do. It's no Kraven's Last Hunt, but it doesn't have to be a masterpiece to be entertaining. This setup gives us Venom at his most compelling, easily making this one of his best appearances so far.
Making things even better, both Spider-Man and the Scarlet Spider tag along this time around to team-up with Venom. I love these odd team-up stories in comics, and this was one that did not disappoint in the slightest. They were featured fairly prominently throughout the story, but they never detracted from Venom's role, never stealing the spotlight that rightfully belonged to him. The individual comic issues comprising this story arc were technically Spider-Man comics for the most part, but this was Venom's show through and through.
One of the problems I've had with some Venom stories was that their events were not significant enough to have warranted being told, but Planet of the Symbiotes raises the stakes to levels not seen since Maximum Carnage (another fantastic graphic novel). As the whole planet has been overrun by symbiotes, the whole human race is at stake this time around, and things don't get more pressing than that. This means that Venom has to push himself to his absolute limits to do whatever he can to protect the lives of innocents and correct the egregious wrongs he has caused with his poor choices. Venom is truly an embattled hero this time around, proving both to himself as well as to readers that he is worthy of the title “hero” more so than “villain” despite his past indiscretions.
Admittedly, it would have been cool to see more of the brutal effects on humanity that the symbiotes wreaked. We see glimpses of it throughout, but never too in-depth to really press it home just how sinister the symbiote invasion really was. Though, this is a trade-off that I can live with because it meant more time dedicated to Venom and his allies, which managed to deliver in spades this time around.
So it had Spider-Man and Scarlet Spider, great action throughout, and a fun and intense premise. All of these things made Planet of the Symbiotes really good, but one thing in particular made this graphic novel great, and that was Venom's character development. For several limited series now, Venom has been slowly questioning his accountability in all the killing he does in the name of protecting innocent lives; whether it was his symbiote other making him a killer or he himself who had the killer mentality has been a point of contention for him for a while now. This conflict culminates to a grand conclusion in Planet of the Symbiotes, marking a major turning point in Venom's history that will undoubtedly have major ramification down the line for him and those who would dare stand in his way. Easily one of the best endings to a Venom limited series yet.
I have almost nothing bad to say about this storyline...almost. One thing I found irksome was the inconsistent art between each of the five issues. Somebody different did the art for each issue, and it was distracting. One issue would have great art, the next would have sub-par artwork, but luckily none of the art ever got so bad as to deem any of it ugly beyond redemption. I wish one artist could have stuck with the art the whole way through, preferably whoever did the third issue's art, but what we got was more than tolerable thanks to the great writing.
Planet of the Symbiotes had everything a Venom story needs to be fun, exciting, significant, and a blast to read. Venom comics have been notoriously inconsistent, ranging from downright awful (Dark Origin) to quite fantastic (Separation Anxiety), and this graphic novel ranks among the best that Venom has to offer. It won't win any awards for best writing or most intellectually stimulating story, but it's just the kind of dumb comic book fun I've come to love from Venom, showcased here at its best. If you are looking to read Venom's greatest hits, you would be remiss to overlook this exhilarating chapter in this symbiotic anti-hero's life.
(This story arc is also featured in the Venom: Carnage Unleashed graphic novel if you wanted to read it early.)
1) A heavy focus on Venom, obviously
2) A lot of intense action and fighting sequences to keep things exciting
3) Significant guest stars (not one-off characters) to keep things fresh and mix things up
4) The villain/antagonist has to be an equal match to our symbiotic anti-hero
5) The stakes have to be high, both for the innocents as well as for Venom himself
6) Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Venom has to develop as a character by the end of the arc
It is sad to say that not every Venom comic can achieve each of these points, whereas even the merely serviceable Spider-man stories manage to do these things without a hitch (and the great stories do even more). But when everything goes right for Venom, boy do they go right! Simply put, Planet of the Symbiotes is one of those Venom story arcs that works fantastically within the context of the character – it's not a perfect comic, but it's a damn good Venom story, and one of the better ones I've read so far.
The premise of Planet of the Symbiotes is as crazy as it sounds, but nobody wants an innocuous Venom story, right? Eddie Brock, after several episodes of uncertainty with his symbiotic other, has decided to separate from it so he can reconsider his life as an independent man once more. Suffering after this jarring separation, the Venom symbiote shrieks in pain so loudly that it makes contact with other symbiotes located in space, alerting then about Earth and prompting them to invade the planet with aspirations to take it over completely, as this species is wont to do. It's no Kraven's Last Hunt, but it doesn't have to be a masterpiece to be entertaining. This setup gives us Venom at his most compelling, easily making this one of his best appearances so far.
Making things even better, both Spider-Man and the Scarlet Spider tag along this time around to team-up with Venom. I love these odd team-up stories in comics, and this was one that did not disappoint in the slightest. They were featured fairly prominently throughout the story, but they never detracted from Venom's role, never stealing the spotlight that rightfully belonged to him. The individual comic issues comprising this story arc were technically Spider-Man comics for the most part, but this was Venom's show through and through.
One of the problems I've had with some Venom stories was that their events were not significant enough to have warranted being told, but Planet of the Symbiotes raises the stakes to levels not seen since Maximum Carnage (another fantastic graphic novel). As the whole planet has been overrun by symbiotes, the whole human race is at stake this time around, and things don't get more pressing than that. This means that Venom has to push himself to his absolute limits to do whatever he can to protect the lives of innocents and correct the egregious wrongs he has caused with his poor choices. Venom is truly an embattled hero this time around, proving both to himself as well as to readers that he is worthy of the title “hero” more so than “villain” despite his past indiscretions.
Admittedly, it would have been cool to see more of the brutal effects on humanity that the symbiotes wreaked. We see glimpses of it throughout, but never too in-depth to really press it home just how sinister the symbiote invasion really was. Though, this is a trade-off that I can live with because it meant more time dedicated to Venom and his allies, which managed to deliver in spades this time around.
So it had Spider-Man and Scarlet Spider, great action throughout, and a fun and intense premise. All of these things made Planet of the Symbiotes really good, but one thing in particular made this graphic novel great, and that was Venom's character development. For several limited series now, Venom has been slowly questioning his accountability in all the killing he does in the name of protecting innocent lives; whether it was his symbiote other making him a killer or he himself who had the killer mentality has been a point of contention for him for a while now. This conflict culminates to a grand conclusion in Planet of the Symbiotes, marking a major turning point in Venom's history that will undoubtedly have major ramification down the line for him and those who would dare stand in his way. Easily one of the best endings to a Venom limited series yet.
I have almost nothing bad to say about this storyline...almost. One thing I found irksome was the inconsistent art between each of the five issues. Somebody different did the art for each issue, and it was distracting. One issue would have great art, the next would have sub-par artwork, but luckily none of the art ever got so bad as to deem any of it ugly beyond redemption. I wish one artist could have stuck with the art the whole way through, preferably whoever did the third issue's art, but what we got was more than tolerable thanks to the great writing.
Planet of the Symbiotes had everything a Venom story needs to be fun, exciting, significant, and a blast to read. Venom comics have been notoriously inconsistent, ranging from downright awful (Dark Origin) to quite fantastic (Separation Anxiety), and this graphic novel ranks among the best that Venom has to offer. It won't win any awards for best writing or most intellectually stimulating story, but it's just the kind of dumb comic book fun I've come to love from Venom, showcased here at its best. If you are looking to read Venom's greatest hits, you would be remiss to overlook this exhilarating chapter in this symbiotic anti-hero's life.
(This story arc is also featured in the Venom: Carnage Unleashed graphic novel if you wanted to read it early.)
October 25, 2021
Okay I must confess, I'm having a blast with these 90's venom stories.
This one just has Peter, Ben, and Eddie all teaming up together. Right there that got me excited. Throw in the over the top Macho art of Peter looking like massive body builder, Venom looking more and more like the hulk, and Ben Riley's ass so nicely shaped you'd think the artist was getting paid by the cheeks, and you got a amazing story of the three of them traveling to the planet of the symbiots to try and stop an invasion.
The story actually took a surprise for me and felt very much like a Aliens storyline. Filled with a lot of funny moments, cool fights, and stakes I didn't see coming. The only thing I didn't like was carnage at the end...who thought that was a good idea?
Anyway, super fun and cheesy 90's galore. A 4 out of 5.
This one just has Peter, Ben, and Eddie all teaming up together. Right there that got me excited. Throw in the over the top Macho art of Peter looking like massive body builder, Venom looking more and more like the hulk, and Ben Riley's ass so nicely shaped you'd think the artist was getting paid by the cheeks, and you got a amazing story of the three of them traveling to the planet of the symbiots to try and stop an invasion.
The story actually took a surprise for me and felt very much like a Aliens storyline. Filled with a lot of funny moments, cool fights, and stakes I didn't see coming. The only thing I didn't like was carnage at the end...who thought that was a good idea?
Anyway, super fun and cheesy 90's galore. A 4 out of 5.
July 20, 2023
venom!!!!!!!!!!
love the homoerotic relationship of venom and eddie throughout the whole comic
ben reilly ftw
score: 4/5
read 07/2023
February 28, 2019
Here is an alien invasion story that, beat for beat, wouldn't stand out too much from the pack but for the familiar characters involved and their own personal connections to the aliens invading. That key element makes all the difference for this reader. Michelinie draws on Marvel's history to tell this story, so a bit of knowledge of Spider-Man/Venom lore doesn't hurt. To it's credit, though, the book pulls off a few flashbacks for the uninitiated pretty deftly without interrupting the narrative flow.
The art, from different artists, manages to be fairly consistent. It's pretty bombastic. To borrow from a cliche that I normally dislike: it's like Ditko on crack. Normally, coming from me, this would be quite the harsh criticism. But it actually works quite well, here. Human features and shadows are exaggerated for horrific effect. Add in slithering oozing symbiotes and, for one chapter, Gigeresque alien backdrops, and images seem to explode off the pages.
Side note: I love the inclusion of the Scarlet Spider here. Count me in that minority of fandom that actually likes the character and, though I do agree that he was eventually wildly mishandled, thinks he was never given a fair chance by a lot of readers.
This is a fun tale that can bring to mind those fun Marvel Monster stories of yesteryear.
The art, from different artists, manages to be fairly consistent. It's pretty bombastic. To borrow from a cliche that I normally dislike: it's like Ditko on crack. Normally, coming from me, this would be quite the harsh criticism. But it actually works quite well, here. Human features and shadows are exaggerated for horrific effect. Add in slithering oozing symbiotes and, for one chapter, Gigeresque alien backdrops, and images seem to explode off the pages.
Side note: I love the inclusion of the Scarlet Spider here. Count me in that minority of fandom that actually likes the character and, though I do agree that he was eventually wildly mishandled, thinks he was never given a fair chance by a lot of readers.
This is a fun tale that can bring to mind those fun Marvel Monster stories of yesteryear.
April 13, 2025
Pretty decent book collecting the Five part series “Planet of the Symbiotes” which took place during the Clone Saga.
The story reminded me of the Symbiote events in the PlayStation 5 game, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 - and for the most part I enjoyed it. It was a fun and action packed adventure featuring Spider-Man and his clone Ben Reilly (Scarlet Spider) team up with Venom to save the world from a symbiote invasion.
The book is kind of inconsistent, in that sometimes the artwork and writing would be pretty good and then other times not. Particularly some of the pencils at the start of the book, had some ghastly drawings.
The book did end quite well though with the exciting return of Carnage!
Overall, not an amazing book but would still recommend.
The story reminded me of the Symbiote events in the PlayStation 5 game, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 - and for the most part I enjoyed it. It was a fun and action packed adventure featuring Spider-Man and his clone Ben Reilly (Scarlet Spider) team up with Venom to save the world from a symbiote invasion.
The book is kind of inconsistent, in that sometimes the artwork and writing would be pretty good and then other times not. Particularly some of the pencils at the start of the book, had some ghastly drawings.
The book did end quite well though with the exciting return of Carnage!
Overall, not an amazing book but would still recommend.
January 14, 2024
I quite enjoyed this one, who doesn't love spiderman? Also venom is a fun character I will have to see the others he is in.
The vocabulary surprised me in this also, there was a couple of words I had to look up to make sure of their meaning! They caught me off guard, and I didn't expect that from a comic.
I loved the images also, thinking of maybe drawing something from it one day 🤔.
The vocabulary surprised me in this also, there was a couple of words I had to look up to make sure of their meaning! They caught me off guard, and I didn't expect that from a comic.
I loved the images also, thinking of maybe drawing something from it one day 🤔.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 2, 2018
Boy, this got nuts! The symbiote and Eddie still at odds, he teams up with Spider-man and Scarlet Spider to battle an overwhelming amount of baddies. There was plenty of great artwork and an unforgettable story arc.
April 30, 2025
My first foray into a Venom-centered world-shattering crossover event. A fun time throughout. The Venom/Eddie Brock melodrama surrounding the constant “who am I/who are we?” question grounds the intergalactic quest from the world of the Symbiotes to NYC. Hanging out with Ben Reilly is a plus too!
September 17, 2018
Demasiado caos en un guión bastante simple, pero bastante "clásico" de su época.
October 12, 2018
This is a classic 90s storyline that was just loads of fun. A great read before seeing Sony's version of the movie!
June 16, 2019
Some of this was cheesy as hell! Some of the artwork was very cool. Some of the plot was ridiculous. The bits about Eddie and his other's bond managed to be all three at the same time :D
June 20, 2022
Tomo 10 del coleccionable, dedicado al Planeta de simbiontes noventoso.
September 9, 2023
m leí este con la otra colección sin darme cuenta k pendeja
December 13, 2020
"Şimdi masumları korumak bizim değişmez kaderimiz biliyoruz. Neye mal olursa olsun. Hangimizin bu asil hedefe nasıl ulaşaçağımıza karar verdiği önemsiz;önemli olan tek şey başarı."
Asalak simbiyotlar ve insanlar. Bir istila. Bu istilada bir simbiyotun ırkından farklı olarak baskın olmak yerine ait olarak bir konakçı aramasıyla dışlanışını kendi halkından izole edilişini anlatıyor. Bu simbiyot Eddie Brock un simbiyotu "Venom". İstilaya da bu simbiyot sebebiyet verse de sonrasında dünyanın kurtulmasında en büyük etken ona ve onunla birlikte Eddie Brock'a ait. Gerçi artık sen ben yok, "BİZ VAR, VENOM VAR".
İyi ama altı tam doldulurulamamış bir hikaye olarak değerlendiriyorum bu eseri. Venom'a bir de bu açıdan bakmak güzeldi.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 9, 2025
Tomo 10 del coleccionable, tercero dedicado a Venom. Creo que esta saga no se había editado en Argentina antes.
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