Venom: Lethal Protector #4
Deadly Birth!
Venom has been taken prisoner at a Life Foundation facility in the Mojave Desert owned by the Life Foundation. The foundation's leader, Carleton Drake, has Venom contained in a sphere of sonic energy to keep the ruthless vigilante contained. He explains to Venom that he was hired by Roland Treece to harvest the symbiote eggs that are growing inside Venom's living costume.[1] Using a sonic device, Drake manages to extract an egg that he dubs the "last son of Venom".
Meanwhile, in Santa Cruz, the police are chasing a car full of men who just robbed a convenience store. The chase comes to an abrupt end when the getaway car is stopped by Spider-Man. The wall-crawler easily wraps up the thieves for the authorities. After being thanked by a police officer, the web-slinger asks for some change so he can make a call to his wife, Mary Jane, back in New York City.[2] He gets Mary Jane up to date on his search for Venom, saying that he has come to Santa Cruz to investigate sightings of Venom-like monsters that have been attacking public places. He is going to follow up on another lead. While back in the desert, Venom discovers that the containment sphere has no effect on his human half, giving him a possible means of escaping captivity.
Later, Spider-Man arrives at a local mall which is suddenly under attack by a new female symbiote. While back at the Life Foundation compound, Carlton Drake is told by his scientists that they have succeeded in bringing the new symbiote to maturity. Using this same process, they were able to germinate four more symbiotes and matched them with security personnel. While everyone else is preoccupied, Venom withdraws his symbiote from his arm and grabs one of the technicians by the throat. He then tosses him into the computer that powers the containment sphere, freeing himself. When Venom tries to escape but is incapacitated by a sonic blaster. Considering their prisoner, Carlton Drake decides that Eddie Brock has outlived his usefulness and he will be eliminated. While back below the surface of the city, Elizabeth one of the undergrounders living in an underground city, explains to her son why Eddie Brock wasn't allowed to stay among their people.[3] This is met with criticism from Nathaniel and Reverend Rakestraw. When Elizabeth reminds them how Venom saved them from the Diggers, Rakestraw explains that their lives are in the hands of God now.
Back at the mall, Spider-Man battles the female symbiote and quickly discovers that it doesn't trigger his spider-sense, much like Venom and Carnage. Still, Spider-Man's experience allows him to get an advantage against her. Realizing that she is losing the fight, the female symbiote radios for an evacuation. In order to escape, she endangers one of the mall-goers forcing Spider-Man to save their life while the symbiote escapes. However, Spider-Man manages to spot the escape craft and snags a ride on it as it flies away. Meanwhile, Roland Treece has kidnapped one of the homeless undergrounders and subjects him to torture in order to learn the location of the lost gold that he is really seeking from his park renovation plans. At that moment, Spider-Man arrives at the Life Foundation complex and begins looking for Venom. When he is caught by security, it sets off an alarm. Watching the security of the monitors, Carlton Drake decides it is time for Eddie Brock to die. He orders his technicians to sever the bond between Eddie Brock and his symbiote. With the process complete, Drake contacts Spider-Man via video screen and shows him the apparently lifeless body of Eddie Brock. Spider-Man can hardly believe this, unaware of the fact that there are now five symbiotes in the facility looking to destroy him.
Recurring Characters
Venom, Spider-Man, Roland Treece, Life Foundation (Carleton Drake, Scream, Agony, Phage, Riot, Lasher), Mary Jane Watson
Continuity Notes
Drake says he learned about this from the data they gathered about Carnage. Cletus Kasady was the recipient of the first of the Venom symbiote's children in Amazing Spider-Man #345.
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 council of undergrounders denied Venom's request to live among them in Venom Lethal Protector #2.
This symbiote is not identified as Scream until Civil War Battle Damage Report #1.
The symbiotes Agony, Phage, Riot, and Lasher were not officially named until Carnage, U.S.A. #2.
