Venom Vol. 4 Book 2

This is Book 2 of the Venom Vol. 4 series, continuing the story after Book 1, Rex. In Book 1, writer Donny Cates and artist Ryan Stegman reworked the symbiote's origins, introducing the Symbiote God Knull and the ancient symbiote Rex, and for the first time opened a crack in the relationship between Eddie Brock and the symbiote. In this volume, the story shifts from large-scale mythic action to Eddie Brock's inner life and origins. Trust between Eddie and the symbiote is in crisis: the symbiote has been hiding something, and that concealment points to its origins deep in space. Meanwhile, Eddie returns to San Francisco, where what awaits him is not a warm homecoming but a father long estranged and a younger brother he has never heard of—old family secrets are peeled back layer by layer. On another front, the Maker (the Ultimate Universe version of Reed Richards) appears as the main antagonist, trying to find out what the symbiote and Eddie truly harbor. The tone is gloomier and more psychological-thriller than its predecessor, mixing action and horror, with the narrative focus shifting from harsh external combat to trust and betrayal between a man and his symbiote. The original collection gathers Venom (2018) issues 7 through 12. The Chinese edition is officially licensed and published by Marvel, corresponding to the original collection.