Venom: Lethal Protector #6
'Frisco Kill!
After escaping the Life Foundation, Venom goes to the mansion owned by Roland Treece in order to find out why he is trying to renovate a park in San Francisco and evict the homeless who live there. He finds no trace of Treece, but he manages to get ahold of one of his bodyguards. Disarming the man and forcing his way through the security systems, Venom threatens to kill him unless he explains what Treece is trying to do. The guard has no choice but to tell the whole plot. He explains that the part of the city that was swallowed up in the massive earthquake of 1908 also claimed a large cache of gold. Roland Treece learned of this underground city and sought to claim the gold in secret, as it could be claimed by the government if it became public knowledge. This plot became difficult to accomplish when he discovered a group of homeless people living in this underground city. This time, Treece intends to set off a large number of explosives to eliminate all opposition and get the gold he seeks.
Venom rushes to the part in order to stop Treece from carrying this out. Spider-Man has just arrived at the location, having made a connection between Treece, the Life Foundation, and Venom. When Venom arrives on the scene, Spider-Man manages to ambush him thanks to San Francisco's trademark fog. However, during the fight, Brock manages to snare Spider-Man in his symbiote's material. With the wall-crawler incapacitated, Venom asks his foe for help. This comes as a shock to Spider-Man, who agrees to help after Venom explains the situation. The pair interrupts Treece and the construction workers before they can set off the explosives. However, Treece is not unprepared and unleashes the Diggers upon the two heroes. As the pair trash the Diggers, the battle is being observed by some of the undergrounders who are surprised that Venom as comes back to protect them after they turned him away from their secret society. Even though his plans are ruined, Roland Treece still intends to set off the explosives and flees to the trailer where the detonator is located. Venom tries to go after him, but a spark from a damaged Digger ignites fuel splashed around the trailer surrounding it in fire.
With Spider-Man occupied with the rest of the Diggers, Venom risks his left to send his other through the flames to pull Treece out. He succeeds in stopping Treece from blowing up the underground city. With the Diggers incapacitated, Spider-Man is surprised that Venom risked his life to stop Treece, but also spared his life. Venom points out that Spider-Man would have done nothing different. When the authorities arrive on the scene, Venom manages to slip away before Spider-Man can apprehend him. Later, Peter Parker is at the San Francisco International Airport waiting to take a flight home. He takes the time to call his wife Mary Jane to tell her how things turned out.[1] Although he lost track of Venom, he is convinced that his foe will keep his promise to stop coming after Spider-Man.[2] Later, Eddie watches as government workers recover the lost gold, as Roland Treece revealed his plans. He is then approached by some of the undergrounders who invite him back down to their underground city. There, the council reveals that they have overturned their decision and are now welcoming Venom in with open arms. The only one who still protests this decision is Reverend Rakestraw, who thinks they will come to regret this.
However, Venom assures them that he will defend these people from any threat that may try to harm them.
Recurring Characters
Venom, Spider-Man, Roland Treece, Mary Jane Watson
Continuity Notes
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.
Venom made this vow in Amazing Spider-Man #375.
