All-New Venom # 6

 By Mark Rodriguez

After several red herrings with Luke Cage, Rick Jones, Robbie Robertson and even Madam Masque, it turns out that the All-New Venom was none other than Mary Jane. How did Venom and MJ end up being linked together? What will be Robbie and Paul's reaction? What about all these people out to kill Venom? let's see what happens next.

The story opens as Mary Jane explains that everything started during the Venom War when Meridius, an evil future version of Eddie Brock, released an ancient mega-symbiote called the Arachniote. MJ was fighting against it as Jackpot and was losing badly. She knew all of this was Venom's fault. Venom says that's not fair. MJ asks who glooped up her machine. Venom said she was the one that wanted her superhero slot machine to not be so random. Spider-Man and Venom helped make it work better. Instead of some random useless power or machine, she now had something that worked, just like she asked for.

As Robbie and Paul sit and hear out their story, Paul asks why Venom is sitting with his arm around MJ. MJ says they have to maintain contact. Usually she's wearing Venom or he's in her bloodstream. She says it's not like they're friends. Venom repeats that they're not friends but they do have to stay together. MJ says if they don't, they'll both die. Venom says that's another story.

Robbie tells them to finish their current story first. He says eyewitnesses of the Arachnoite saw Spider-Man and Venom blow it up from the inside. MJ says that Spider-Man risked his life, diving into the monster just to give her moral support. Venom says that Spider-Man is pretty amazing. MJ says two minds were harder to eat that one, so working together helped get the Jackpot device back under control and help destroy the Arachniote.

Paul says the news saw the monster explode, while he saw something different based on the readings of the device. He thought MJ died and was very relieved when she came back home. MJ remembers that moment and felt so helpless, never wanting to worry Paul like that ever again. She said it was a horrible time for her Jackpot device to really start flipping out. Paul remembered that this was when he started losing contact with her. 

Paul told MJ she needed a day off, but she was buzzing and itching for action. As she flew through the sky, Paul radios for her to cut her patrol short. MJ says she heard a car alarm go off and should check it out. Paul says it could just be a car alarm going off because they do that. Just then MJ's device starts running a jackpot on its own. She asks Paul if he's controlling it remotely. 

MJ's slot-machine bracelet flipped to Skull-Cherry-Venom and she suddenly turned into some cherry-colored blob creature that can't fly. She fells with a splat. The slot machine kept running and pulled up Seven-Venom-Horseshoe that turned her into a Kree Super Soldier. She tried to get the bracelet off but it was now bonded to her. Venom tells Paul this is his fault.

Venom tells Paul that his glyph technology was science with a little magic mixed in. The link he made with it was science with magic too. This was a bind deeper than he knew, which wouldn't have been such a problem if he wasn't shot up with the anti-symbiote K-Chemical and time-travel Carnage goop. He crawled into the sewers, hoping to die, thinking all he ever did was hurt people. This is when MJ ran into him, with her skin now out of control.

MJ blames Venom for this and says this was his plan to mess with her to get back to Peter. MJ had rolled two skulls and a Venom, and she was enduring a crazy amount of pain. Robbie asked MJ if she didn't consider coming home. MJ says the sliver of Venom in the Jackpot Device wanted to rejoin the rest. The wheels kept spinning, this time pulling two skills and Venom, which caused her bones to repel each other. MJ knew she was running out of chances and if she gets three skulls as a jackpot, she'd die instantly. Robbie asked Paul if he really built such a device for her. Paul says it was a mistake but he ensured the limited would ensure a triple roll would never come up. I'm wondering why Paul even added skulls as an option to begin with.

MJ says with the limiter on, being Jackpot was safer than driving a car, pretty much being a superhero with the seat belt on. Then she asked Venom to take the safeties on. Back to the story, MJ's device finally hit the three-skull jackpot and she was disintegrating, as was Venom. Venom thought at that moment 'what would Spider-Man do?'. Spider-Man would try even if there was the smallest hope, and  even if there was no hope, he'd try just the same. Venom did what he knew what to do as his most purest instinct as a symbiote. He became the bond that kept her together, the glue keeping her in one piece. They're not just bonded, they're fused on the molecular level. They are Venom, they are Mary Jane Watson, or they're dead.

That night they got home and passed out on the couch. Paul found her, being out looking for her for hours. He came back to call the Avengers and found her 'napping' on the couch. MJ says the patrol took a lot out of her and they need to talk. Paul says she can't do that to him again. When the signal died, he thought she died. In MJ's head, she can hear Venom asking if she's going to introduce her to Paul. Paul realizes this is why they haven't been intimate in a while. MJ says there were too many people in the room.

MJ was planning on telling Paul about this but the days went on and she was now too deep into the lie. We see MJ roll for bars- cherry-lucky seven and get hammer hands as a power. Paul says his device isn't getting a signal like it's completely broken. He also says according to his notes, that combination should have been an energy blast. All of her powers lately have been physical things. MJ says it might have been the luck of the draw. Venom says he can't keep a secret, but he wants something in return.

Venom wanted MJ to call Flash Thompson and make sure that Dylan was alright. He didn't want Dylan being tortured somewhere, which has happened before when he wasn't around to stop it. We flashback to MJ talking Paul into having them adopt Dylan and keep him out of juvie. MJ apologizes to Paul. Paul asks Robertson if he plans to reveal the big scoop even if it will destroy their lives. Robbie says this is why he came alone. He's known MJ for some time and he's published lots of stories about Venom as well. He seen Venom act like a villain, a vigilante, an agent of the state, and desperate fugitive, but he's never seen him act like a traditional superhero. When he looks at Venom now, sitting six feet away from him, he doesn't feel afraid of him at all.

Robbie says he won't splash the story all over the place and get S.C.A.R. on their case. Paul asks if he has to do so as a journalist. Robbie says he'll probably write a book about this in three or four years, but til then their secret is safe. He'll still keep an eye on them and warns Venom not to return to old habits. MJ asks if he wants to stay for dinner. Robbie says he's been away from work too long and they probably have a lot to discuss.

Just then Dylan comes in, yelling and complaining about school. He sees Robbie and asks MJ and Paul if they're opening up the relationship. Robbie says he's just an old friend and he's leaving. At this point, Venom got back inside MJ before Dylan could see. Paul tells Dylan not to be so crass. He also says he doesn't think he'd be able to stay in a relationship with three people in it even if the other two were open and honest, while giving MJ a look. He goes off to start dinner. Dylan says he was just joking and asks if Paul's OK. Just then MJ's phone goes off.

Flash says that S.C.A.R put some extra conditions on the agreement they made about Dylan. According to some information they gathered, this could create a problem for them. MJ asks if they need to meet somewhere to talk. Flash is outside of MJ's apartment and says rather than talk, they might need to fight.

My Thoughts-

So now we get the whole story. I have to admit, I've been seeing the panel of Venom sitting with his arm around MJ all over the internet as they both explain their situation. It just made me more curious as to what exactly got them that way.

 It looks like Venom, while falling apart due to events of the Venom War, fused with MJ as she was in the middle of exploding molecule by molecule, and now they find themselves into a position where they have to stay bonded at all times or they both die. I thought symbiotes helped heal their human hosts, and while we have seen Venom reshape himself after several injuries, I guess he can't prevent MJ from exploding again if they lose contact.

This opens the door to a whole new weakness. Most of time, people like S.CA.R and whatnot are armed with super sonics or other weapons that are designed to separate the symbiote from its human host to make capture easier. Now we know that this simply cannot happen to Venom since this would kill them both... but naturally the bad guys don't know that nor would they care, especially the S.C.A.R members with personal grudges.

I'm guessing in this case with Venom bonding with MJ on a molecular level rather than, I suppose, the regular way, this prevents Dylan from detecting them.

I haven't read any of Jackpot or the main Spider-Man comics that introduced Paul so I missed out on exactly how MJ's powers work or why she decided to become a superhero. From what I gather her slot machine would give her random powers depending on what comes up, but there is a limiter put into place to prevent a triple slot. I really don't understand why death skulls were thrown in there, unless the device was so random it was beyond Paul's control... but then why risk giving your girlfriend such a dangerous device? Even Robbie had to ask 'and you built this for her'.

The issue was mostly the origin story of this union, but it was a long-awaited explanation so we could use the breather issue. MJ kept it entertaining with the constant digs at Venom, leaving the poor symbiote to respond with 'harsh' or 'ouch'.  

We'll see what happens next issue as it seems Agent Anti-Venom and the All-New Venom now have to stage a fight to appease S.C.A.R? I have to say, with such a lethal weakness, I do wonder how things are going to play out. I also wonder how if ever Venom and MJ will be able to safely separate. I also noticed that while the situation might not be exactly the same, this is how Eddie also got stuck with the Carnage symbiote as both their lives depend on their bond.

The last thing I want to mention is something that the comic made me think about. The fact that MJ stayed away from sleeping with Paul since she has the symbiote in her. While I doubt Venom wants any of that... does this mean that Eddie Brock or Flash Thompson never got laid while they have the symbiote? I don't even want to think about whatever Carnage was doing whenever Cletus and Shriek for busy. Why Marvel, why??