Venom (vol. 2) #39
Andi Benton’s life has turned upside down. After watching Jack O’Lantern murder her father she then finds herself bonded with a symbiote that looks exactly like the one worn by Agent Venom.[1] As she tries to make sense of what is happening, Jack tells Venom that he should explain what happened, but Flash has no clue how this happened either.
That’s when Andi remembers that Jack just murdered her father. She then picks up her father’s wrench and goes at Jack, intending to kill him to avenge her father. The blow twists around Jack’s mask which he corrects as Andi is busy ripping apart his robotic ragdolls. The two symbiotic attacks prove to be too much for Jack O’Lantern, but Venom stops Andi from killing their foe because the villain is his responsibility. By this point, Jack’s mask has been shattered and Venom realizes that this man is not the same Jack he has previously fought.[2]
Flash demands to know how this impostor knows everything about him. The man tells him that Jack is everywhere. He says a few weeks ago he was a nobody who worked at a storage locker facility. One day he was doing his rounds when he heard someone crying for help in one of the lockers. Breaking the lock he found it stocked with all of Jack O’Lantern’s gear. The cries was coming from one of the rag dolls which quickly hypnotized him and filled his head with everything the previous Jack O’Lantern knew. Reprogrammed with the previous Jack’s personality, he resumed where his predecessor left off.
By this time Andi has heard enough and is ready to kill. Flash stops her a second time, pointing out that this man is a victim as well since he was brainwashed into doing what he did. While he is explaining this, the new Jack O’Lantern recovers his rocket powered broomstick and flees the scene. Flash realizes he made the wrong judgement call and follows after Jack with Andi following from behind. When he sees this, Venom stops and tells her that she can’t come along with him because it is too dangerous. When she refuses to be benched, Flash attempts to summon back the portion of the symbiote that bonded to her, but it doesn’t work. She tells him to stop trying to take her new powers away and races off after Jack. Flash is shocked by how quickly she has adapted to her new powers.
Andi searches the city until she is ambushed by Constrictor, Lord Deathstrike and an army of Hand ninjas. They are confused by the fact that this is a young woman, but intend on killing her since she looks just like Venom. Jack also doubles back to help his fellow assassin. Luckily for Andi, Agent Venom catches up with her and the pair work together to take down their attackers. With the battle over, Andi prepares to kill Jack, but Flash tells her not to do it, warning her that once she crosses that path there is no going back. He warns her that if she takes a life she’s going to find herself on her own. Surprisingly, this convinces Andi to spare Jack’s life and the pair leave the criminals webbed up for the police.
In the coming days, Flash eases back into his civilian life as a gym teacher at West Philadelphia High School. However, he is alone again, because — following her father’s funeral — Andi has moved in with her aunt in Jenkintown. However, he has supplied her with a untraceable cell phone so they can keep in touch. At night, Flash continues his search for Lord Ogre, but his hired assassins are keeping their mouth shut. As for the new Jack O’Lantern, he entered a coma as soon as he was arrested and in a hospital on life support because he has mysteriously become brain dead. He tried to get Andi to promise to keep a low profile, but with reports of her taking down crooks, he is at least glad that she is doing a good job.
Still, there is the mystery of how his symbiote split in two. As he looks at a strange hexagonal device he knows who to ask, but they aren’t talking… yet.[3]
Recurring Characters
Agent Venom, Mania, Jack O’Lantern, Lord Deathstrike, the Hand
Continuity Notes
How this is possible is not explained here. However, in Venom (vol. 2) #42 reveals, this second symbiote is actually a clone of the original Venom symbiote that it consumed years earlier. See Venom #1-18 for more on this Venom clone.
That would be the Jack O’Lantern hired by Crime-Master. See Venom (vol. 2) #1-22.
The device Flash is looking at is a mind-reading device that was previously in the possession of Vector. See Venom (vol. 2) #28-30. Although this story implies that Flash is going to probe someone’s mind.
