As for Beyond, I think we can massage the timeline to allow Pym one adventure post-Disassembled, pre-Civil War.

Ah. I probably read too quickly, and thought you wrote that he invented *Venom* for the better. Which, no. Replacing a somewhat nuanced crazy-villain-who-thinks-he’s-a-hero with a wannabe cannibal-Carnage is not an improvement.

Anyway, it could be argued that the Mac that appears now has very little relation to the one that was the Scorpion. Gargan was crazy, but he was never mass-murder, eat-people crazy. It’s pretty much a whole new character.

The symbiote forced Eddie to feed on brains due to a deficiency as part of the Hunger arc. I went on about it in We Care a Lot Part 8.

Oh, I see now. I’ve only read Venom’s appearances in Spider-Man, not his solo stuff. I still say that the original character was never intended to be cannibalistic, but instead was just Brock’s version of smack talk.

Hey did you miss the part in the dark reflections story that it was the Dark Avengers ship that created the gust that knocked him off? Or did I imagine that?

So it wasnt just natural selection but more bad luck and bad timing for the poor guy. Making him more sympathetic then an idiot who shouldnt have been on a roof

To the other guy.

Venom ate brains in the Hunger because he needs phelenamyne (sp?) or whatever, but found he couldnt get it from choclate which is easier.

Thats why I dont really buy the whole canibal Gargenom thing. Surely even if you are morally “evil” (the sheer concept of and labels of good and evil and corny stupid and over simplistic but thats another issue) it’s still easier to buy a choclate bar, with no risk of being caught on camera and losing your job as an avenger?

Good post, liked the bit about people not reading T-bolts SI arc and then bitching on the internet.

Say what you will about Millar’s run, but he most certainly did reinvent Mac Gargan for the better. You know what Gargan was doing before Millar got his hands on him? He was looking like a complete joke in She-Hulk’s comic. He was built up as an issue’s guest villain, only to be taken out with one suckerpunch. Now he’s not only replaced Eddie Brock in Spider-Man’s “Big Three” of villains, but he’s become an Avenger with a major role in the current status quo. Millar ultimately did Mac a whole lot of good.

Hey, speaking of which, I’m not the Venom-ologist that you are, but I’ve read more than my fair share of appearances. Am I incorrect in thinking that Venom never ate anyone until Ellis got his hands on him? Venom certainly didn’t start out cannibalistic; all the talk about eating brains and whatnot was simply Brock’s twisted humor, and to creep out Spider-Man.

But I don’t recall him ever taking an actual bite until the face-off with the Steel Spider. (Shame, man; I liked that kid.) Am I wrong?

Eddie Brock Venom hasn’t devoured anyone whole, but he has in fact eaten pieces of people. Namely the brains. The symbiote forced Eddie to feed on brains due to a deficiency as part of the Hunger arc. I went on about it in We Care a Lot Part 8.