Venom #36: Old Man Dylan

Venom #36 intrudes upon the territory of Marvel’s resident Terminator knock-off Cable with the introduction of old man Dylan Brock. Much like the time-displaced son of Cyclops, he is grizzled, scarred, armed to the teeth and burdened with immense mommy issues. Where older Dylan differs from the iconic mutant is in his dynamic with his younger self, as he is actively helping his teenage counterpart cheat fate and prevent a dystopian future from being realized.

The issue opens on an obligatory display of the dystopian future with Dylan in the heat of battle, a tactic taken straight out of James Cameron’s playbook. This short sequence is filled to the brim with cameos from supporting characters within the spider-lore, such as Liz Allen, Normie Osborn and relatively new Spider-Boy Bailey Briggs. Cafu takes an imaginative approach to aging each of these characters by several decades, making them into a ragtag band of post-apocalyptic warriors. It’s always a treat to see matured versions of Marvel’s youthful characters, given that the nature of comics will prevent them from ever aging naturally.

In a last-ditch effort to save the world, old man Dylan travels back in time to the events Amazing Spider-Man #28, seeking to forge a weapon from the metal alloy of forgotten villain Molten Man. Gronbekk and Cafu go beyond the call of duty to stay faithful to Marvel’s sliding timescale, given that the New York depicted in that comic reflected the real-life year of 1965. While the setting that Cafu has drawn is peppered with flavors of the ’60s, it remains anachronistic on the whole. Molten Man’s golden complexion shines with a brilliance that would undoubtedly make his creator Steve Ditko proud to see.

Before Dylan is able to fully extract the substance he needs, a plucky teenage Peter Parker swings into the scene to interrupt, not knowing that his pure intentions may be dooming the future.