Venom: Dark Origin #2
A man buzzes the apartment of Jean DeWolff, a police captain with the NYPD. Recognizing the voice, she invites the man inside her apartment and offers him a cup of coffee. While her back is turned, the man puts on a green mask and pulls out a shotgun. Turning around, Jean DeWolff is stunned into silence before she is fatally shot through the stomach by the double-barreled shotgun.[1]
In their apartment, Eddie Brock and his wife Anne Weying read about the DeWolff killing in the paper. Anne finds it tragic, but all Eddie can see is a good story.. She finds this horrible, but Eddie tells her that reporters see things differently. When she looks on page 3 for the story Eddie recently wrote she can’t find it. He gets annoyed and tells her that sometimes articles are pushed out to make space for more important stories. She tries to apologize for hurting his feelings, but he tells her he has to go because he is running late. As it turns out, Eddie has been lying to Anne about his role at the Daily Globe. Instead of the hardboiled reporter he makes himself to be, he is nothing more than an intern, and when he arrives the real reporters have a list of needs that he has to fill. One of the reporters, Paul Barnum, hands Eddie a stack of letters saying that he needs to write a letter column for the next edition and charges Brock with sorting through the letters to find the most interesting ones to use. As Eddie looks through them, he comes across a letter that is purportedly written by the Sin-Eater who claims to have taken Jean DeWolff’s badge after he killed her. The letter instructs a reporter to answer a payphone at a certain date at a certain time. Checking the calendar, Eddie realizes that the date is today and rushes to the payphone to take the call for himself.
When he answers the phone, Eddie manages to talk tough and convince the man claiming to be the Sin-Eater that he is a crime reporter for the Daily Globe and that Paul Barnum is on medical leave. The man claiming to be he Sin-Eater gives him Jean DeWolff’s badge number and tells her that there will be more victims coming as that’s what the voices in his head want, saying there is so much sin in the world.[2] Getting a huge grin on his face, Eddie Brock goes back to the Globe and tels publisher Barney Bushkin everything. Paul is furious because Eddie is only an intern and the letter was addressed to him. However, Eddie insists that it is his story and the so-called Sin-Eater will only speak with him. Barney doesn’t think DeWolff’s badge number is enough to go on, but when Eddie threatens to take his story to the Daily Bugle, Barney offers him the front page if the Sin-Eater strikes again within the next week. Sure enough, a few days later, Judge Rosenthal. From there, Eddie continues his conversations with the man who claims to be the Sin-Eater. He tells him that Judge Rosenthal was killed because was a friend to criminals, according to the voices. When the Sin-Eater later clashed with Spider-Man leading to the death of innocent bystanders, the man Eddie is speaking with tells him that he will go through anyone who stands in the way of his mission of divine retribution.[3] As promised, Eddie gets the front page. Seeing it in the morning edition makes Anne happy and she congratulates Eddie.
When he goes into the office the next day, Brock treats the new intern as other reporters did him. When Paul Barnum sarcastically asks him how the psycho beat is going, Eddie quips that it’s good for the circulation. Once at his desk he gets a call from the man claiming to be the Sin-Eater, who asks Eddie to meet him at the church at Broadway and 11th. Eddie’s uncertain if he can bring himself to go until Barnum makes fun of his recent article, strengthening his resolve. Waiting in the Our Lady of Saints Church, Eddie passes the time by looking at a statue of the Virgin Mary and is convinced that she has started weeping a single black tear.[3] That’s when the man claiming to be the Sin-Eater sits in the pew behind him and asks Eddie if he is saved. Eddie confirms he is a Catholic and was baptized, briefly distracted by the black substance on the statue which takes on the shape of a spider web before disappearing entirely. This pleases the man, who tells Eddie that he needs help because he doesn’t want to hurt people but the voices keep telling him to do it and a few days later some people die. He then tells Eddie that the voices have been talking about Reverend Finn, who preaches at this very church. He concludes that he has been testing Eddie and has deemed him a good man and asks him to do whatever it takes to stop him. As the man gets up to leave, Eddie jots everything down in his notepad and asks the man what his name is. The man says his name is Emil Gregg and he leaves shortly. Eddie writes the name down with a big grin on his face. As he walks home, Eddie passes a cop and pauses for a moment as he considers telling him what he learned and decides against it.
The following day, Eddie tells Anne over the phone that he’ll be working late on a lead in the Sin-Eater story, telling her that it’s putting food on the table. That’s when he’s called into the bullpen where everyone has gathered to watches the latest reports of the Sin-Eater’s lastest victim, Reverend Finn.[5] When Barney tells his reporters to get ahead of the TV news on this. Eddie tells Bushkin that he has something that he’s been working on that they can roll with. Soon, Eddie’s interview with the man claiming to be the Sin-Eater is published in the Daily Globe. When it hits the newsstand it takes the notice of J. Jonah Jameson, the publisher for the Daily Bugle. However, Jameson is uninterested and asks for a copy of the Bugle instead. When Jonah puts out a ten thousand dollar reward leading to the capture of the Sin-Eater, it angers Emil Gregg who calls Eddie at work again to tell him his displeasure with the Globe’s competition and considers making Jameson his next target. Eddie tells Gregg that he wants to meet again but asks him to call back later as two detectives have come to question him about the Sin-Eater. When they ask Brock if he knows the Sin-Eater’s true identity, he confirms that he does but refuses to reveal who he really is. Soon, the Daily Globe’s lawyer is representing Eddie and telling the media that they won’t be releasing the identity of the Sin-Eater due to Eddie’s rights under the First Amendment of the US Constitution. When they are asked if Eddie knows the identity of the Sin-Eater, the lawyer says they have no comment, but Eddie adds that any information they do have will be divulged through his column in the Daily Globe. After the press conference, the lawyer warns Eddie that he can stall the trial but he doesn’t think they’ll win and Eddie could be looking at going to jail as an accessory to murder. Eddie isn’t concerned, telling the lawyer that prison will give him time to write his first book.
When Eddie returns to his apartment he finds his father waiting for him outside. His old man knows Eddie is lying and knows the truth about the Sin-Eater’s identity. Eddie confirms this, but says he isn’t going to reveal his source, likening his work to those of the Washington Post reporters who exposed the Watergate scandal. Carl Brock, however, points out that his son is only protecting a murderer and his story is not as important as the victims he is claiming. When his son refuses to change his position, Carl is disgusted and tells his son that he is abusing his power and he’s ashamed of him.[6] This hits Eddie hard and he decides to go ahead and publish Emil Gregg’s name in his next column for the Dail Globe. The following morning, Paul Barnum is in an uncharacteristic good mood and congratulates Eddie for revealing his source finally. Eddie says it was the right thing to do and he is now fielding calls for movie and book deals. He is told that the Editor-in-Chief wants to talk to him and moments later he is in Barney Bushkin’s office. Bushkin is furious and shows him the morning news broadcast. Even though the police have arrested Emil Gregg for trying to go after J. Jonah Jameson,[7] Spider-Man caught the real Sin-Eater, a guy named Stan Carter who used to work with Jean DeWolff. As it turns out, Emil Gregg was nothing more than a copycat and the real killer was captured and saved from an angry mob by Spider-Man.[8] Because of this, Bushkin has to recall every copy of the morning edition and then tells Eddie that he is going to have to take the fall for this, ordering Eddie to clean out his desk because he’s fired. As Eddie cleans out his desk and leaves the Daily Globe for the final time, Paul Barnem watches with a huge grin on his face.
Recurring Characters
Eddie Brock, Anne Weying, Carl Brock, Emil Gregg, Sin-Eater, Jean DeWolff, Barney Bushkin, Spider-Man, J. Jonah Jameson
Continuity Notes
This story takes place during the events of Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #107-110 when the original Sin-Eater was on murdering people. The death of Jean DeWolff happened in issue #107.
The man Eddie Brock ends up talking to in this story is Emil Gregg, a mentally ill man who thought he was the Sin-Eater because he lived next door to the real killer, Stan Carter, and developed a delusional fantasy that he was the Sin-Eater by overhearing Carter’s own insane ramblings as we’ll learn in issue Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #109.
The murder of Judge Rosenthal was chronicled in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #108. The crowd that was mowed down by the Sin-Eater happened in that same issue.
This, obviously, is the Venom symbiote which has lived in the church almost exclusively since Spider-Man thought he destroyed the creature in Web of Spider-Man #1 (it did briefly leave to rebond with Deadpool as seen in Deadpool: Back in Black #1-5, but that’s a whole other story)
Reverend Bernard Finn was also murdered by the Sin-Eater in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #108.
This rift ultimately estranged Eddie from his father as we’ll learn in Amazing Spider-Man #375.
The attempt on Jameson’s life by Emil Gregg happened in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #109.
The capture and revelation that Stan Carter was the real Sin-Eater happened in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #110.
Chronology
Venom: Lethal Protector #3 (page 14, panel 1): Eddie is inspired by a political scandal and pursues journalism.
Sensational Spider-Man (vol. 2) #38 (page 1 panel 1-4): Eddie listens to and is inspired by a lecture during his first year of journalism given by J. Jonah Jameson.
Amazing Spider-Man #375 (page 6 panel 3): Eddie Brock eventually sweeps Anne Weying off her feet. Venom: Lethal Protector #3 (page 14, panel 2) ~ Sensational Spider-Man (vol. 2) #38 (page 2 panel 1-2): Eddie gets hired by the Daily Globe and an intern.
Venom #-1: Eddie Brock encounters the monster Korbaa. Attempts to write a story about it for the Globe, but gives up when he realizes when nobody will believe his story.
Untold Tales of Spider-Man #15: When J. Jonah Jameson is framed for fiscal malfeasance, Eddie Brock is one of the reporters who asks him questions after posting bail.
Spider-Man Family (vol. 2) #2: Eddie investigates Devlin-MacGregor Pharmaceuticals’ lethal baldness cure. Drops the story when Anne's threatened.
Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 2) #5 (page 1, panel 2): (False Memory) Eddie Brock is diagnosed with cancer. Amazing Spider-Man #300 (page 22 panel 2): Eddie starts his interest in the Sin-Eater story.
Amazing Spider-Man #375 (page 6, panel 4) ~ Venom: Lethal Protector #3 (page 14, panel 3) Carl Brock is also uninterested in Eddie's Sin-Eater coverage. Venom: Dark Origin #2 (page 1-9): Eddie finds a crank letter from Emil Gregg. Uses this as leverage to write exclusive stories about the killer for the Daily Globe. Given front-page treatment. Brock continues to meet with Gregg, is able to predict more killings. Is riding high.
Uncanny Origins #7 (page 1): Eddie meets Anne for lunch to gloat about his latest Sin-Eater story (This moment is framed as though Eddie and Anne are already divorced, this could probably be assumed as a false memory created by the Venom symbiote although there is no evidence to suggest this) Anne is annoyed by his gloating and leaves.
Venom: Dark Origin #2 (page 10-18): Eddie meets with Emil Gregg in person. Decides against telling the authorities that he knows the killer's identity even with legal threats. His father tells his son that he is ashamed of him for not revealing Sin-Eater's name.
Venom: Dark Origin #2 (page 19-22) ~ Amazing Spider-Man #300 (page 23, panel 2-3) ~ Uncanny Origins #7 (Page 3, panel 1-3): Eddie walks home after getting fired. Reads up on how Spider-Man caught the real Sin-Eater.
Topical References
Barnum jokes that Eddie must think the Daily Globe is the Weekly World News. The Weekly World News was a tabloid newspaper that published far out stories about the weird and paranormal, making no effort to disguise the fact that their stories were utter bullshit. It was a fun read. The tabloid ended its print run in 2007 and now exists as a purely online publication since 2009. It’s a reference here should be considered topical.
What is not topical is references to the Watergate scandal, which are mentioned in a historical context, in this case it was an inspiration for Eddie to become a reporter.
Outdated technology: CRT televisions and computer monitors.
