Marvel’s New Spider-Man is Already Making One of His Greatest Villains Look Stupid

3 days ago 6

John Dodge is an MTV Writer for CBR who specializes in movies, television, comics, and pop culture. He has a deep knowledge of franchises like Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Marvel, and DC Comics, along with a passion for indie and horror titles. An expert on obscure productions from the ’80s and ’90s, John is known for his encyclopedic recall of cult classics like Beetleborgs.

The following contains major spoilers for Al Ewing and Paco Medina's opening story from Venom #252, on sale December 3 from Marvel Comics.

Spider-Man's smartest supervillain is feeling pretty dumb after facing off against the latest Wall-Crawler.

In a preview of Venom #252 (by Al Ewing, Paco Medina, Frank D'Armata, and VC's Clayton Cowles) from Marvel Comics, readers find Doctor Octopus facing off against none other than Spider-Man. Or rather, against Venom, who has recently decided to trade in their trademark look for something a little more red and blue. Unfortunately for Doc Ock, Venom's new disguise is holding up better than expected, even when it should be painfully obvious who is actually under the mask.

Venom #252

Written by AL EWING
Art by PACO MEDINA
Colors by FRANK D'ARMATA
Letters by VC's CLAYTON COWLES
Design by CARLOS LAO and JAY BOWEN
Main cover art by CARLOS GÓMEZ & FRANK MARTIN
Variant covers by DAVID BALDEÓN & ISRAEL SILVA; CORY SMITH & EDGAR DELGADO; DAVID CURIEL & R.B. SILVA; IVAN SHAVRIN; and JOEY VAZQUEZ

While Peter Parker is indeed usually the one underneath the Spider-Man costume, he is currently nowhere near Earth to try and lend any help to those in need. Following the hero's battle against the enigmatic and ominous Hellgate, Peter was rocketed across the universe itself, ending up in a far corner of the cosmos under the care of one Doctor Xanto Starblood. Alongside Starblood and the likes of Rocket Raccoon, Peter has settled into his latest interstellar adventure as best he can, while New York City has been dealing with a rash of impostors.

Among the most prominent of these impostors have been Harry Osborn and Ben Reilly, both of whom took to playing themselves up as Spider-Man and Peter Parker, respectively. Although the pair quickly uncovered each other's secrets, leading to an especially tense confrontation, it doesn't seem like either of them has anything particularly untoward in mind for Peter's life, at least not as of yet.

Since shortly after the events of Marvel Comics' Venom War crossover event, the Venom symbiote has been bonded to an incredibly unlikely host in the form of Mary Jane Watson. The two bonded to one another in a moment of sheer desperation, which has since paved the way for them to get back into the action as the All-New Venom. And, while that did kick off a major Marvel Comics mystery, the decision has since given Venom and MJ the chance to refashion themselves as something better than ever before.

As exciting as things might be for Spider-Man and Venom right now, they are only going to get more wild as this year ends and 2026 begins to unfold. This is all thanks to the upcoming Death Spiral event, which will see the events of Venom, Amazing Spider-Man, and Eddie Brock: Carnage all culminate in a terrifying new story that will introduce the Marvel Universe's next terrifying serial killer.

The official solicit synopsis for Amazing Spider-Man: Death Spiral #1 from Marvel Comics reads, "A new super powered serial killer is on the loose and they’re coming for Spidey, Venom and everyone in between. But what terrible secret has CARNAGE learned and what does it have to do with Spider-Man?!"

Venom #252 goes on sale December 3 from Marvel Comics.