Venom (vol. 2) #8
Spider-Island Part Three
At Project Rebirth, Aaron MacKenzie has been able to develop a cure for the spider-plague based on the data collected by Mister Fantastic after he examined the curative properties of Anti-Venom’s symbiote. MacKenzie has developed his own version of the cure from samples of the Venom symbiote and is about to use it to cure Steve Rogers who had been transformed into the Spider-King.[1]
While in Manhattan, Flash Thompson is at the hospital with his girlfriend Betty Brant. His father had just died of cirrhosis of the liver and he has been silently processing this turn of events. Betty then tells Flash that his father wrote him a letter in the event he couldn’t make it there on time before his death. As Flash reads it he gets contacted by Project Rebirth and is ordered to eliminate the Queen as Agent Venom. In order to get away from Betty, Flash tells her that he is going to find the nearest evac zone so he can get her out of there, telling her to stay put and giving her his gun so she can protect himself. When Betty questions if Flash, given his disability, should be the one to go, he reminds her that he is a corporal in the United States Army.
As Flash changes into Agent Venom and web-slings across a city in utter chaos he thinks about the words in his father’s final letter. He is unaware that it express relief that Flash’s sister and mother are safely away from this carnage in Queens. He also expresses his approval of Betty Brant, and encourages Flash to marry her. He also expresses deep regreat for how he treated Flash over the years. It closes by telling Flash to marry Betty and have children, raise a family and live a good life.
By this time, Agent Venom has infiltrated the Queen’s hideout in Central Park. The mastermind behind Spider-Island is watching the news broadcasts as one of his spider-minions gives her a manicure. Knowing that Flash is in the room, she snatches away one of his guns with her telekinetic powers and kills her minion for chipping one of her nails. She is able to hold her own in combat against Flash, explaining how she was one of the few female soldiers during World War II and how she got her powers when she was exposed to radiation. Power she will now make the corrupt and misogynistic world pay for the indignities she has suffered over the years.[2] To demonstrate this, she unleashes a sonic scream that strips the symbiote from Flash’s body, leaving him defenseless.
Luckily, Flash is saved by one of the spider-creatures that attacks the Queen. Laying in a puddle of the symbiote, Flash sees that his father’s letter is near some flaming wreckage. Instead of recovering it, Thompson merges with the Venom symbiote again and makes a strategic retreat. The letter, the final words of Harrison Thompson, go up in flames unread by his son. Once outside the hideout, Flash tries to regain his strength and ambushes the Queen when she comes out looking for him. Despite his best efforts, Flash is overpowered by the Queen who revels in the opportunity to fight someone to the death. However, before she can land the killing blow, Captain Steve Rogers — his humanity restored — arrives on the scene.
With his photonic shield, Rogers knocks the Queen aside and engages her in combat. Rogers is able to hold his own but ultimately, the Queen begins to overpower him thanks to her enhanced abilities. However, while she is pre-occupied fighting the original Captain America, Agent Venom manages to sneak up behind her and impale her with Steve’s photonic shield. Flash immediately regrets killing the Queen, but was following orders. After Rogers confirms she is dead, the two men are shocked when the Queen’s body suddenly rips open, as her final form — a massive spider creature — emerges from her human shell. Now calling herself the Spider-Queen, she vows to destroy him. When Steve asks Agent Venom if he is ready for round two, Flash vows to always fight by Cap’s side.
This story concludes in Amazing Spider-Man #672….
Recurring Characters
Agent Venom, Brad Dodge, Kate Glover, Aaron MacKenzie, Samson, Spider-King/Commander Steve Rogers, Betty Brant, The Queen, Mister Fantastic
Continuity Notes
For more on Steve Roger’s transformation see Amazing Spider-Man #670.
For more on the Queen’s origins see Spectacular Spider-Man (vol. 2) #16-20. The reason she still appears to be in her prime, despite being alive in World War II is because the mutation that the Queen her powers also slowed her aging process.
