In the lead-up to Spider-Man/X-Men: Dark Web, the villainous Madelyne Pryor/Goblin Queen had a fateful meeting with Eddie Brock in which she promised to use her magic to help him locate his son Dylan Brock, using a bit of that same magic to make him slightly more open to her suggestion to keep the former villain turned anti-hero on her side.
But December 7's Dark Web Alpha #1, the official start of the crossover which pits the clone villains Goblin Queen and Chasm against the X-Men and Spider-Man, takes things even further for Eddie Brock, returning him to a version of Venom readers haven't seen in some time.
Spoilers ahead for Dark Web Alpha #1
In the course of Dark Web Alpha from writer Zeb Wells, artists Adam Kubert and Frank Martin, and letterer Joe Caramagna, Goblin Queen and Ben Reilly/Chasm kick off their plan to invade Manhattan and steal the souls of their respective progenitors, Jean Grey and Peter Parker.
First, they send a horde of monsters from Limbo to attack the skating rink at Rockefeller Center, distracting Spider-Man and the X-Men (who are all out Christmas shopping at the time). But while Spidey and the X-Men are distracted, Chasm attacks Norman Osborn, and Goblin Queen sends new supervillain Hallow's Eve and Venom to collect Spider-Man.
However, whatever magical effect Madelyne Pryor put on Eddie Brock seems to have gone a bit too far, as rather than simply capturing Spider-Man, Eddie goes full-on feral killer symbiote, vowing "I'm going to eat Spider-Man's brain!"
Yeah, it's been a while since we heard that coming from Eddie's mouth, as for the last few years he's been increasingly more heroic, even allying with Spidey more often than not. But it seems that Goblin Queen's spell has had the added effect of making Venom go full supervillain once again.
The story continues in December 14's Amazing Spider-Man #15 - which features a showdown between Spider-Man and Venom.
Catch up on everything you need to know about Spider-Man/X-Men: Dark Web.
