Queen in Black: Venom Unchained #3: A Vacated Throne

This third and final issue of the Eddie-centric Queen in Black tie-in sees Brock succeed in his endeavor to become Venom’s host once again. He just never counted on everyone else having the same idea. “Everyone else” meaning all eight billion human inhabitants of Earth, as the symbiote has bonded with them all to form Venomworld as a last defense against Knull’s invasion. Wandering the sea souls now lost within Venom’s mindscape, Eddie must find a way to win the singular attention of his former partner, as well as his estranged son Dylan.

The comic can’t help but feel like its retreading familiar ground as it explores the tense dynamic of the Brock family. Dylan and his father always seem like they are one step forward, two steps back on the path towards healing, and the contents of this issue don’t imply that this will change anytime soon. Although there one flashback together is presented as the emotional centerpiece, there’s only so much mileage one can get out of the same old family drama.

The father-son relationship that proves far more engaging, and comically enough, far healthier, is between the Venom and Sleeper. The franchise’s supporting cast has been feeling a little bloated in recent years as symbiote’s non-hostile spawn haven’t had much to do beyond wait around for their patriarch to return from one multiversal adventure after another. Finally, one of them is given an ambition of their own. Made cynical and self-serving by the harsh anti-symbiote sentiment of Earth, Sleeper had sought to escape and inherit its father’s throne, becoming a benevolent King in Black to lead their species towards a better future. Eddie and Venom don’t stand in the way of their ambition, passing on cosmic power in favor of becoming the lethal protector once again.

And although their reunion was long foreseen, the epicness of the moment is sold by Juanan Ramirez masterful end page spread. His commitment to portraying the Klyntar race with a unique phsyiology can’t receive enough praise. When Brock and Venom are bonded at last, their form has the bulky imposing frame fans are used to, but the musculature is inhumanely curved and bendy; truly alien. It’s imagery as striking as that which makes the promise of a Venom renaissance believable.