Warning! This article contains spoilers for Venom: Lethal Protector #1
Even after Venom gave up being a villain and became Marvel Comics’ Lethal Protector, he still never fully captured the spirit of being a crusader for good. Venom was created after Spider-Man’s black suit symbiote was ripped off by the Wall-Crawler and attached to Eddie Brock. Originally, Venom’s main goal was to destroy Spider-Man as both Eddie and the symbiote hated him. However, after Spidey agreed to leave Venom alone so long as he didn’t commit any more crimes from that point on, Venom left the life of villainy behind, though his attempt at being a hero was troublesome at best.
In Venom: Lethal Protector #1 by David Michelinie and Ivan Fiorelli, fans are taken on a trip back in time to when Eddie Brock first started using his powers for good. In the issue, Venom faces off against a team of pathetic villains consisting of Jagged Bow, Death-Shield, and Blood Spider. While Venom makes quick work of the villainous squad, he later attempts another, more subtle act of heroism, one that backfires immediately.
While walking down the street, Eddie Brock comes across a man who is homeless and asks Eddie if he has any spare change he could give him. Brock initially blows him off, but feels bad about that and decides to give the man more than just some spare change. In broad daylight, Eddie breaks into a jewelry store, steals a number of expensive valuables, and gives them to the man in need. While Eddie walks away proud of himself for helping someone, the police immediately target the man after they are alerted to the jewelry store break-in and arrest him for being in possession of stolen items and for appearing to be the one who stole them in the first place. Even when Venom tries to do something as small as giving money to someone in need, he ends up making that person’s situation so much worse.
While this issue makes it apparent that Venom is a terrible hero, it reinforces the fact that he never wanted to be a hero in the first place, even after he stopped being a villain. Venom at this point in his life is an antihero as he would kill the occasional bad guy and while harboring a deep hate for Spider-Man. Plus, he isn’t called the “Lethal Protector” for nothing, a title that’s telling of his unstable heroics.
Despite the fact that he sometimes kills people and wants nothing more than Spider-Man’s head on a platter, Venom has committed himself to helping others. He even managed to save the world later in his career from the invading forces of the King in Black event. However, even though his intentions are at least somewhat pure, Venom actually makes a terrible hero, and this issue proves that Marvel knows it.
