Venom Review: Lethal Protector, written by David Michelinie
Recommended: Yes.
I’d forgotten how much cognitive dissonance there was reading American superhero comics. It’s such a weird window into the American psyche.
To be fair, Venom: Lethal Protector (written by David Michelinie) was published in the 90s, so it’s dated in some respects - Eddie’s crop top and mullet for a start. But some of the other things are really eye popping because of their continued topicality. I used to occasionally read comics in this era, and at the time I didn’t really notice that the biggest wish fulfillment elements aren’t really about the superhero at all. They’re about American society. Also, there’s some on-point social commentary in Lethal Protector, and I think most of it (but not all) is even on purpose.
The most notable things:
Guns and bullets are everywhere, but suddenly become useless in the face of magical superpowers - how reassuring for a society suffering an epidemic of gun violence. Homeless people have secret societies underground with homes and food - another wish-fulfillment fantasy. Priests are nearly always baby-boomer, white, male, right-wing nut jobs… self-explanatory. Everything is relentlessly white and male, and violence is always the resolution to every conflict. The justice system is broken beyond repair at every level, which is why vigilantism seems reasonable and even a relief. And every rich person is corrupt. Every. Single. One.
Also, there’s a weirdly relevant subplot about a foreign power trying to take over the USA. This was written pre-internet, so it’s an old school Nazi-esque plot rather than Russian cyber-bots. Still, though. It’s so odd that that possibility has cycled through the American consciousness so many times. I read it as an echo of McCarthyism and Watergate, but it’s so relevant.
Huh, Eddie being friendly with the homeless is a plot point in this comic too. I’d like to see that explored more in the fanfic. Interesting to see Venom has some other powers we haven’t seen in the film yet - maybe the sequel. Cool.
Overall, I enjoyed this - it’s a fairly quick and easy read, with some interesting subplots that could easily be given the fanfic treatment, if any of you are looking for inspiration. There’s a lot of similarity with the film’s themes, while the comic is still very much its own story. If you liked the film, there’s a fair bit to like here, but the Eddie Brock of this comic is nothing like the Eddie Brock on screen. That may change in the later comics - I’ll report back once I’ve read them.
The more I read the source material, the more I think divorcing Venom from Spiderman was a wise idea.
Reblogged from Tumblr here. This entry was originally posted at https://cupidsbow.dreamwidth.org/431927.html.