Along Came A Spider

After laying low following the symbiote invasion of Earth, Venom emerges from the sewers in order to check in on his ex-wife, Anne Weying.[1] Having tapped into a subway phone line, he tries to call Anne at her home. However, he is unaware that Anne is in police custody and they have tapped her phone. Unfortunately for Detectives Clark and Steen, Anne refuses to aid them as she believes that Eddie Brock means well. They remind her that there is a stack of police warrants in both San Francisco and Chicago that convinces them otherwise.[2] As the phone rings, Eddie wonders if Anne is avoiding her after he allowed his symbiote to bond with her.[3] However, the symbiote suggests that she will want them back after getting a "taste" of being bonded with the symbiote. This response confuses Eddie, but he doesn't think about it as long as Anne finally answers the phone. When Anne starts calling him "Edward", a name that he hates, Brock becomes suspicious and sends his symbiote through the phone line. Sure enough, the NYPD is tracing the call and just as they learn the location of Brock's phone call, the symbiote comes through the phone receiver and begins bonding to Anne again. The bonding between Eddie, Anne, and the Symbiote suddenly causes the three beings to feel absolute ecstasy.

Meanwhile, at the Daily Grind, Ben Reilly overhears some patrons trying to make sense of how many Spider-Men are active in New York City. As he leaves, Ben can't blame them for being confused as his life has become incredibly complicated recently. For years, Ben thought he was a clone of Peter Parker until a test proved that he was the original after all and that his clone has been living his life for the past five years. However, with his clone married to Mary Jane and retired as Spider-Man, Ben has taken up the mantle once again.[4] Passing by an electronics store, Ben catches a news report about snipers surrounding police headquarters and how Venom's ex-wife was being held there. Realizing that this could be trouble, Ben climbs up onto the rooftops to change into Spider-Man. Back underground, Venom has to release his connection to Anne because it is too intense. However, once the connection has been severed he quickly realizes that now knows everything she knew and vice-versa. Now knowing that the police have Anne, Venom decides to free her from their custody and begins formulating a plan on how to do this.

As Spider-Man arrives on the scene, police both inside and outside the police station begin securing the area. Meanwhile, Anne Weying is reeling after her symbiosis with Eddie and is now coming to terms with how he really felt about her. Back outside, Spider-Man realizes that Venom wouldn't attack the police station directly and decides to search the sewers. No sooner has the wall-crawler gone underground, a pizza delivery man arrives on the scene. Apparently, the chief of police put in an order for pizza. Detective Clark yells at the deliver boy with his bullhorn in order to confirm that this isn't Venom in disguise. Convinced that this is not the case, Clark sends the pizza into the station. He then orders his officers to sweep the area while he searches a nearby alley with an uncovered manhole. Directly below, Spider-Man searches for Venom but finds nothing but dead alligators. Climbing up a nearby ladder to look who is above, Spider-Man pokes his head up to look but finds nobody there. This is because Detective Clark has returned to the police cordon outside. Detective Clark tells his officers to keep an eye out and goes back inside to join the others. Inside, Detective Steen and the other officers have determined that nobody ordered a pizza and pull their guns on the delivery boy. However, that's when "Detective Clark" enters the room and reveals that he is really Venom in disguise.

Outside, Spider-Man has just discovered the real Detective Clark, who had been stuffed into a nearby dumpster by Venom. At that moment, Venom manages to shut off the power in the police station and overpowers the officers inside. Rescuing Anne from custody, Venom smashes his way up to the roof where he runs into Spider-Man. When the wall-crawler orders him to put Anne down, Venom does, only so he can attack Spider-Man, leaving the wall-crawler to wonder if he has bitten off more than he can chew.

Recurring Characters

Venom, Spider-Man, Anne Weying, Detectives Clark and Steen, Shirley Washington, Trish Tilby

Continuity Notes

1. Eddie Brock's relationship with Anne Weying was detailed in Amazing Spider-Man #375. The symbiote invasion took place during the Planet of the Symbiotes story arc.

2. Venom had relocated to San Francisco in Venom Lethal Protector #1. However, Venom ultimately left California in Web of Spider-Man #118. The criminal charges against him in Chicago during the events of Venom Separation Anxiety #1-5.

3. In order to save Anne's life, Eddie had her bond with his symbiote during the events of Venom Sinner Takes All #1-5.

4. Between the "Seinfeld" cast and Ben Reilly's exposition, there is a lot going on here:

   • At the time of this story, Ben Reilly was convinced that he is the original Peter Parker after a genetic test in The Spectacular Spider-Man #226. However, this is all a deception created by the Green Goblin as revealed in Spider-Man: The Osborn Journal #1.

   • Peter and Mary Jane are referred to as husband and wife here. However, years later, their marriage is erased from existence by Mephisto in Amazing Spider-Man #545. As such they should be considered a common-law couple here.

   • The "five-year" period is an accurate measurement of time per the Sliding Timescale. It is roughly the amount of time that has passed between Amazing Spider-Man #149 and this story.

   • When Ben Reilly returned to New York in Web of Spider-Man #117 he later took up the mantle of the Scarlet Spider in the following issue of that series.

   • Not long after this, Peter Parker retired as Spider-Man in The Spectacular Spider-Man #229. Ben continued operating as the Scarlet Spider until the reputation of his costumed identity was ruined in The Spectacular Scarlet Spider #2 forcing him to take up the mantle of Spider-Man again in Sensational Spider-Man #0.

First Touch

In a secret complex deep within the Adirondack Mountains, Scott Washington is one of the Guardsmen placed in charge of keeping four symbiotes that have recently been taken into government custody.[1] When the aliens try to escape, the Guardsmen prepare to destroy them, however, Doctor Edmund Zwerling orders them to stand down as the containment units are equipped with multiple redundancies to prevent escape.

With the immediate situation under control, the Guardsmen are relieved of duty for the next six hours. As Scott changes out of his armor, he is glad that this is only a temporary assignment. Once he is done, he calls his mother to check in on her. He assures her that soon he will have enough money to send her so she can move herself and his brother Derrick out of the ghetto. He then gets his brother on the line in order to check up with him and make sure that Derrick hasn't joined up with any of the local street gangs. Ending the call, Scott hopes that he can be an inspiration to his brother like Vance Astrovik was an inspiration to him. He thinks about how Vance, a super-hero, was incarcerated at the Vault for murdering his father.[2] One day, his teammates in the New Warriors attempted to break him out of the facility. However, instead of allowing the breakout to happen, Vance decided to stay and serve his full sentence.[3] Scott had recently heard that Vance is now leading the New Warriors and reminds himself to look him up in the future.[4]

Three Weeks Later:'

With alien symbiotes invading the Earth, Doctor Zwerling demands that the symbiotes be experimented upon immediately in the hopes that they can learn of a way to repel the invaders. As they are being experimented on, Scott Washington watches and can't help but feel sorry for the poor creatures who are in utter agony. When the experimentation begins the four symbiotes manage to break free and, to the surprise of everyone gathered, they all merge into a hybrid creature.

When the Hybrid attempts to escape, it tries to bond with Scott Washington. However, they flee into the ventilation system when the other Guardsmen open fire. Scott is unharmed but has been emotionally touched by the pain and sorrow the Hybrid feels. When Scott is sent to search for the creature with the other men, he is the one who finds the Hybrid but allows it to escape. Unfortunately for Scott, this is caught on the security monitors. After an inquiry, those in charge of the facility confirm that Scott was not under the symbiote's influence when the creature escaped and he is fired from his job.

With his career in ruins, Scott Washington returns to the ghetto that has been his home for years, his hopes of getting his family out of there utterly dashed. As he walks home he is unaware that a car full of gang members is following behind him. While upstate, the Hybrid creature travels through the wilderness alone and afraid. However, it has made a link with Scott Washington and knows that he needs it as much as it needs Scott.

Recurring Characters

Scott Washington, Hybrid

Continuity Notes

1. These symbiotes were the children of Venom birthed in Venom Lethal Protector #4. At the time of this story, their hosts were murdered during the events of Venom Separation Anxiety #3-4. These symbioses are unnamed in this story, and won't be identified until Carnage, U.S.A. #2.

2. Arnold Astrovik was an abusive father whom Vance killed in self-defense in New Warriors #21.

3. The New Warriors attempted to break Vance out of the Vault in New Warriors #25-26. Vance was later released from prison in New Warriors #43.

4. Vance took over leadership of the Warriors in New Warriors #60.