The issue starts with Eddie Brock and the symbiote perched on top of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan. 100 days. Venom asks Eddie if he is ready to step out of the coffin. Yes, Eddie is ready.
That’s when Spider-Man appears, saying that with all the potential hosts, it’s always “you two”. Venom warns Spider-Man shouldn’t sneak up on people, with Eddie following up with, “You never know how they’ll react.”
The art direction for Venom is awesome. Venom has bits of him swirling around him, making him feel like a living entity.
Spider-Man tries to offer sympathy. He brings up all the heavy situations Eddie has dealt with lately, from bonding with Carnage and losing his father to doing time in prison and dealing with his son Dylan being sent away. He offers to help if Eddie needs it. Eddie isn’t in the mood for a heart-to-heart. Leaving, he politely tells Peter he is taking things one day at a time.
Making a Scene Downtown
Later on, Venom is downtown. People are afraid of him, so the police call for backup. They decide to take a shortcut through the subway system to get downtown, carrying a symbiote wrapped package behind him. Venom realizes people see them as a monster. Once on the train, no one pays them attention. People taking the subway have seen it all. A giant black symbiote… no sweat.
On Chambers Street, Venom heads straight for City Hall. SWAT teams and local cops are already there and open fire. Venom tells Eddie the bullets can’t hurt them. Nothing can, including the poison. Venom takes their guns. Picks up one of the trucks and shakes the occupants out of the truck. While Venom is obviously being very gentle, the chaos attracts Mayor Luke Cage, who calmly asks why Venom is there.
Eddie explains he just came to talk. Cage agrees to take the conversation inside his office, but Eddie needs to leave the car outside.
Cleaning Up Alphabet City
Inside Mayor Cage’s office, Eddie reveals his face to confirm he’s the original Venom. Cage doesn’t beat around the bush. He tells Eddie that his reputation is trash and mentions that Avengers are already on their way. Before the tension boils over, the story takes a quick step back to explain what led to this visit in the first place.
Earlier that day, a villain named Hazmat attacked Alphabet City, spraying a deadly, highly flammable chemical compound all over the neighborhood. Venom stepped in to put a stop to it. Hazmat sprayed them with flammable adhesive. Venom subdued Hazmat so he didn’t set them on fire. With Hazmat subdued, Venom transformed the poison Hazmat sprayed everywhere into something safe. Venom was basically a sponge sucking all the toxics out of the poison, cleaning the streets.
Holding Ground at City Hall
Back in the present, Eddie unwraps the mysterious pod to reveal Hazmat trapped inside. He wanted Cage to see firsthand that he saved the neighborhood instead of causing a disaster.
Before Cage can process the reveal, the reinforcements arrive. Iron Man, Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Invisible Woman burst into the office ready for a fight. Spider-Man tells Venom their time is up, but Eddie calls an immediate timeout to keep City Hall from getting destroyed from their fight.
Eddie tells Stark to review the city’s security footage, proving he didn’t start a single fight all day. Addressing everyone, Eddie makes his position very clear. He isn’t asking for permission or looking to be locked away like a loose cannon. He is back in New York to save lives on his own terms, and he warns everyone present not to stand in his way.
99 Days
Later that night, Eddie and the symbiote relax on a Lower East Side roof top to celebrate the progress they made during the day. They share a drink and a fist bump while laughing about how they put the Avengers and the Mayor in their place. Eddie asks the symbiote if he’s happy. Before he could respond, Yelena Belova joins them on the roof.
That is a good question. Is Venom happy? His lack of a response shows he’s frustrated that no one is giving them a chance, other than Yelena.
Yelena asks if the boys played nice with the heroes. Eddie responds he told have the Avengers “they could kiss my %$#”. Venom said they didn’t need anyone’s permission anyway. Eddie says that he feels great. It was a messy day, but it feels like the start of something real.
Yelena responds, “let’s go to bed”.
We know the 100 days starting at the beginning of the issue isn’t about how long Eddie and Venom have been today. It’s a countdown because the issue ends in 99 days. What happens when the countdown hits 1?
Also, when is the symbiote going to go rogue? It’s clear that Venom was in control during the fight with Hazmat. If he’s not happy and wants to make it clear they should be respected can Eddie stop him? He did suggest killing Hazmat and Eddie reminded him they have a no killing rule. Can Eddie force Venom to adhere to that rule? Or will he be reminded once again that Venom has a mind of his own?
