What If…? Dark: Venom #1 – Clobberin’ and Slobberin’

When handling a Marvel’s What If…? tale, it’s crucial to remember that they often exist because they fundamentally break characters to create a narrative that you’d never see in the main universe. Their job is to deliver a compelling and entertaining story, but most end up being overlooked. In almost all cases, What If…? Dark: Venom #1 ticks the boxes for what readers can expect from such a book, immersing itself in an indulgent amount of darkness while weaving a thematic tale about Ben Grimm’s most basic insecurities.

Set right after the events of Marvel’s first Secret Wars event, this issue does an excellent job with pacing and character development. Although the characters may act out of line with their main universe counterparts, this book undoubtedly explores some intriguing ideas surrounding Ben’s psychology and handles it skillfully. While it’s treated forcefully, the book delivers a fantastic message about what makes a monster and how it’s not about appearance. This is contrasted with a surprise antagonist that thematically opposes Ben’s internal struggles. While I won’t dish into spoilers here, the antagonist is quite fun but does require a bit of disbelief to be suspended from believing Ben would be led astray by the antagonist, even when his mind is under the symbiotic influence.

Since his inception, Ben Grimm, a.k.a. the Thing, has struggled with self-acceptance. After the accident that transformed him and his fellow members of the Fantastic Four into super-powered beings, Ben was the only one physically altered into something entirely unrecognizable compared to the rest of humanity. Being one on the inside but a rock creature on the outside shattered his sense of identity. As such, he was often melodramatic and overreactive, much like most characters under the pen of Stan Lee. This issue disregards the decades of growth Ben has experienced to overcome his insecurity, showcasing what could happen if he did succumb to darkness due to it.

There’s a predictable focus on Reed Richards in this issue, the story aiming at Reed’s inability to cure Ben, which drives a wedge between the two and propels Ben towards the symbiote. As a plot fuel, it’s convincing because of how well Phillips adheres to the most common understanding of both Ben Grimm and Reed Richards. The idea of art being ‘surface level’ is often considered harmful, but it works well when done with purpose. For example, the book’s swift pacing propels the story forward in a way that keeps its ideas superficial but maintains an unwavering focus on its core concept: Ben Grimm’s transformation into Venom. Through its streamlined approach, the narrative avoids unnecessary detours, allowing for a compelling exploration of Ben Grimm’s psychological journey. Like all good symbiote tales, the symbiote elevates the book’s human themes that extend beyond an excuse to design cool characters that will make for great action figures.

The book struggles to maintain a consistent tone, oscillating between dark and edgy moments while trying to deliver a character-driven tale. Melodramatic and darker themes can effectively develop the characters and their arcs. However, by the issue’s conclusion, it loses believability by going from zero to one hundred in terms of gore. Thankfully, Jethro Morales’ art is on overdrive, swirling even the most eye-rolling instances of edge-lord violence into panels ripe with beautiful framing and eye-popping visuals.

In all honesty, the book’s pitfalls line up with the fact that it only has 36 pages to explore a concept that would have made for a great three to four-issue mini-series. Phillips does a great job with what she can, but the speed at which the book flows is felt, even if the rush doesn’t prevent the story from being entertaining.