Marvel's Endgame Seals the Fate of Ultimate Venom

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In our recent interview with Ultimate Endgame writer, Deniz Camp, the post also included a five-page preview of the much-anticipated Ultimate Endgame #1, which will be released on December 31st of this year. That preview also revealed the fate of "Ultimate Venom," the very distinctive version of the classic symbiote figure from the Spider-Man comics.

It appears that the "Ultimate Venom" version of the character that debuted in the pages of Ultimate Spider-Man is done for the remaining stories in the Ultimate Universe, as Peter Parker was no longer willing to put his son, Richard Parker, in danger by allowing him to use the "Venom" suit.

Who is Ultimate Venom?

The suit cuts loose Image via Marvel

As you may or may not know, the whole concept of the Ultimate Universe is that The Maker (an evil alternate reality version of Reed Richards from the original Ultimate Universe) traveled through time and space to, in effect, conquer an alternate reality version of the Marvel Universe, making it so that no superhero ever developed. Captain America was never unfrozen after World War II, Hank Pym never developed his Pym Particles, and, of course, Peter Parker was never bitten by a radioactive spider. Decades have now passed, and Peter Parker is a married photographer with two children.

However, after Howard Stark took The Maker out of commission for two years, Stark's son, Tony, is now trying to repopulate the world with superheros before The Maker returns. So Peter is offered his powers now, in his late 30s. He accepts, and Tony also gave him a special Spider-Man suit that was made out of futuristic technology. The suit was powered by an AI based on Peter's own thoughts. Peter eventually ditched the suit for a cloth costume, but after he was kidnapped by some villains, the suit filled in for Peter for a while, and then begun being worn by Peter's son, Richard.

In Ultimate Spider-Man #19 (by writer Jonathan Hickman, artist Marco Checchetto, colorist Matthew Wilson, and letterer Cory Petit), the suit cut loose to protect Richard, and really seemed to become "Venom."

What is Ultimate Venom's fate?

In the preview given for Ultimate Endgame #1, we see that Spider-Man is joining Tony Stark to go take on The Maker, now that two years are up. However, Tony insists that he use the original suit, and the suit is stripped from Richard...

Richard and Tony spar Image via Marvel

This might very well be a suicide mission, and Peter is not willing to let his son be put into a situation where he could be killed, so while Richard Parker has seemed to prove himself as a young hero alongside the suit (whose AI is based on Richard's own father), Peter's sense of responsibility is ultimately to his family, and he won't let Richard die alongside him on this mission.

So "Ultimate Venom" is effectively finished for the Ultimate Universe (unless Spider-Man himself ends up "Venom-ing" out later).

Source: Marvel

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