Do the Right Thing

Pat Mulligan has used his Toxin symbiote to break up a bank robbery now finds himself debating over if he should kill the robbers or not. One of the thieves begs Toxin not to kill them, saying that he wasn’t raised properly. That’s when Toxin says he was joking about eating their brains and places them under arrest. That’s when Spider-Man makes his presence noticed and congratulates Toxin for getting the situation under control on his own.

However, when Pat returns home and spends time with his newborn son, Edward, he thinks about how close he was to losing control. When his wife Gina enters the room and asks what he’s doing, Pat says he was just checking to make sure Edward was okay. He then admits to her that he’s worried that they have brought their son into a world filled with evil, but she tries to convince him that the world isn’t that bad.

Later, Pat attends the funeral for an artist named Randolph Z, an associate of the Black Cat who was murdered by Carnage the night before. The Black Cat is there and she asks why he came, and he says he decided to come after talking to Spider-Man about her. That’s when Pat senses something is amiss. That’s when they are both ambushed by Venom and Carnage. Turning into Toxin, Pat asks why the other two symbiotes can’t leave him alone. That’s when Venom reveals that he has decided to kill Toxin because of his decision to ally himself with his foe, Spider-Man.

At that moment, Spider-Man has just finished rounding up some nudists who have been running around Manhattan wearing animal masks. As he’s leaving the streakers with the police his spider-sense suddenly goes wild and follows.

Back at the cemetery, Venom and Carnage overpower Toxin. However, before Venom can crush Toxin under a tombstone, the Black Cat tells him to stop and think about what he’s doing. She suggests that he should actually give his “grandson” a chance to grow to see how he turns out,[1] to actually be there for him, unlike her father was for her.[2] Venom considers this, and decides he’ll do as the Black Cat suggests, but warns her that of Toxin doesn’t turn out the way he expects, he’ll come to kill her after he’s destroyed Toxin. That’s when Spider-Man arrives on the scene, making his presence known by spraying webbing on Venom’s face.

In the ensuing battle, Spider-Man, Carnage, and Venom end up crashing into a mausoleum among dead bodies dating back hundreds of years. Before they can kill Spider-Man here, Toxin joins the battle and is joined by the Black Cat. When the Cat comments how Pat is pretty angry, he explains that he’s usually a pretty calm individual until he was turned into a monster. Spider-Man points out, however, that getting mad after everything that ha happened to Mulligan recently just proves that he’s human. Eventually, the three heroes force Venom and Carnage to retreat. Toxin wants to continue after them, but Spider-Man tells him to calm down because the battle is over for now.

Reverting back to human form, Pat wonders if this is his future, constantly fighting monsters with more and more appearing every day, Toxin being the latest on the list. Spider-Man is a little more optimistic, telling Pat that he can learn to control Toxin and use the symbiote as a force for good. When Pat asks how he can balance this with the life he has with his wife and son, the web-slinger isn’t certain but asks Pat to tell him if he ever figures it out. After Spider-Man leaves, he admits to the Black Cat that he views Spider-Man as his new role model because he seems to have it all together. The Cat assures Mulligan that under his costume Spider-Man is just a frightened little boy. Felicia then offers to walk Pat home.

Later that evening, Pat checks on his son Edward and thinks the boy has grown since he last saw him. That’s when Pat notices his son is playing with a severed finger from the cemetery — probably having fallen out of one of his shirt pockets when he was leaning over his son’s crib. Horrified, Pat grabs the finger and runs to the balcony and tosses it away. Deciding he has defiled his home, Pat decides the best thing to do is to pack up his things and leave. Gina enters the room as he does so and asks why he is packing his things up. He assures her that it isn’t because of another woman, or that he doesn’t love her or Edward anymore. He can only tell her that he can’t stay and leaves. As he walks down the empty streets, Pat Mulligan thinks how his old life is over but in his new one, he vows to use Toxin for good, and no matter what he will always do the right thing.

Recurring Characters

Venom, Carnage, Toxin, Spider-Man, Black Cat, Gina Mulligan, Edward Mulligan

Continuity Notes

1. The suggestion that Toxin symbiote is the grandson of the Venom symbiote is not accurate. Although Venom gave birth to the original Carnage symbiote in Amazing Spider-Man #345, it was later killed in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #10. Cletus Kasady subsequently obtained a nearly identical symbiote found in the Negative Zone in Webspinners: Tales of Spider-Man #13. Read more about the symbiote issue here.

2. The Black Cat’s father, Walter Hardy, was a cat burglar who spent most of her life in prison until his death as seen in Amazing Spider-Man #194-195.