Flash Ahhhhhhhh …Savior of the Universe
Written by: Robbie Thompson
Art by: Kim Jacinto, RB Silva, and Java Tartaglia
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 29, 2016
Review by: Branden Murray
If you were a young boy growing up in the 90’s, chances are Venom was your favorite anti-hero/villain. However you want to classify him is really up to you, but I don’t know a single person who didn’t think that Venom was the most badass thing in the entire Universe back then. Skip forward a few decades and Venom is still lingering around the Marvel U, though he has become a bit less popular, has a new host in Flash Thompson, and a spanking new mission statement. So let's peep in on our rambunctious symbiote and check out what trouble he’s currently causing in space. Full disclaimer: this is the first time I’m reading this series since the relaunch and I jumped in at issue nine. It’s a holiday weekend people I don’t have time to catch up on eight back issues this week.
Moving on, I need to throw out immediate credit to the writing team because the summary page provided me with more than enough information that I didn’t feel lost at all jumping in here. The actual story begins by tossing the reader into a series of flashbacks scenes as well, so everything is good to go. Here we learn the symbiote is mentally manipulating Flash to relive these certain aspects of his past he doesn’t particularly care to remember. You know those deep dark secrets Jim shares each week on the podcast! As Flash struggles with the Venom symbiote on the inside, we see they (being Flash and Venom) are also attacking his friends in the present. You just can't find a trusting symbiote nowadays, I guess.
The overall feel of arc has a really simple, but effective premise. If the symbiote and Flash could only work together, they could be heroes, but lately Venom has shown signs of instability. Flash is essentially trying to get it back under control with a little help from his friends without, you know, killing the symbiote itself. As the middle act continues, we see Flash confuse what and who he is really dealing with as Spider-Man ends up making a brief appearance … or does he? We are in space after all
The final act of the book does see Flash finally find some peace and a little light deep within the symbiotes mindscape. The team is then able to get the Venom problem contained and they discuss their options from here. Flash decides the only way to save Venom is to take it back to its home planet and hope the Klyntar can fix it somehow. We’re treated to a cliffhanger that might lead to some interesting possibilities for our team down the line. I also think it may end up leading to some answers as to why Venom is so feisty lately, but that may just be me getting my daily exercise form jumping to conclusions at this point in time.
Venom and I had a long break from each other but I was interested to see how his space adventures were shaping up. I never realized I missed the ugly alien symbiotic bastard so much. I was particularly impressed with the current direction of the title and will be back to see if this is something Flash and his team can handle. I hope so or they may have to leave Venom behind forever. It feels like there is some weight and pretty high stakes to this story and I always enjoy that.
To sum things up, Robbie Thompson is doing a pretty nice job of taking a middle tier Marvel title and making it pop in a crowded market. This is now a book I will look forward to continuing to follow and keep up with. Having a history with Venom as a character definitely helped my enjoyment, but Robbie and the art team are also able to latch onto and bring those feelings back out of me from my earliest comic reading days. The ending of the title also moves in a direction I look forward to revisiting.
Bits and Pieces:
So here we have Venom Space Knight #9 with some kick ass art and an incredibly gripping story. I would say the only downside to the package this month is I have to wait 30 more days to see how it continues.
8.6/10
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