All-New Venom #1 has arrived, and as anticipated, writer Al Ewing, illustrator Carlos Gómez, color artist Frank D’Armata, and letterer Clayton Cowles present an exhilarating narrative surrounding the true human identity of the titular symbiotic hero.
Featuring four suspects, each more peculiar than the last – Luke Cage, Rick Jones, Robbie Robertson, and Madame Masque – the criminal possibilities are indeed expanding. And this doesn’t even account for the classic Venom host who’s still part of the equation. We will reveal all the details now.
Spoilers Ahead for All-New Venom #1
All-New Venom #1 begins with the trial of Madame Masque for her involvement in the previous Gang War crossover, where numerous gangs in Marvel’s New York City clashed in the streets for control. Alongside Madame Masque, a trio of suspected Venom symbiote hosts are also present.
Luke Cage is present due to his role as the mayor, making this a high-profile trial. Robbie Robertson is attending to cover the story for the Daily Bugle. Meanwhile, Rick Jones is there in his new position as the Bugle’s fresh reporter specializing in superhuman matters.
Since Madame Masque and the Maggia (Marvel’s equivalent of the Mafia) collaborated with the nefarious scientific organization AIM during this period, an AIM expert in superhuman body language provides testimony, asserting that he can confirm it is indeed Madame Masque on trial, as her mask is not removable.
However, as he is giving his testimony, AIM soldiers in specialized armor that absorbs and redirects kinetic energy crash into the courtroom to apprehend Madame Masque. Luke Cage intervenes as both Robbie and Rick flee the scene. In the fray, Luke is thrown out of the window – just in time for the AIM troops to realize that Madame Masque has somehow made her escape.
This means all four suspects are out of the courtroom when the new black and gold Venom enters, swiftly incapacitating all the armored AIM soldiers. As Venom exits, Luke, Robbie, and Rick reassemble inside the court. They quickly deduce that the three of them, along with Madame Masque, are indeed the most likely candidates for who could be the new Venom, who seems to have already been present when AIM launched their attack.
And they are not the only ones who make this connection, as the television news reports the same development. This leads none other than Dylan Brock, the son of the original Venom Eddie Brock, to declare that he is on their trail.