Into the Jaws of Death

Eddie Brock is walking through the streets of Lower Manhattan when he is suddenly called into an alley. To his surprise, the person calling out to him is a talking rat, who calls himself Dirt Nap. The rodent has taken an interest in Brock due to his size and strong frame. Once Brock gets close enough, Dirt Nap tries attempts to consume Brock and assume his form. Although Eddie tries to change into Venom and fight back, he cannot stop the process that allows Dirt Nap to take possession of his body. Dirt Nap finds that Brock's body tastes interesting and has some unique DNA, but doesn't have time to examine this further as he has an appointment to keep.

While downtown. two skateboarders named Jerry and Rocky decide to go boarding in the subway tunnel where they recently witnessed Venom's battle with the Xenophage.[1] When Rocky crashes into a supply closet, they discover a strange metallic device. Finding a button on the device, they are surprised when it unfolds into some kind of ship and decides to go inside. Not far away, Donna Diego has returned to the scene of the battle as well. A symbiote herself, she has decided to find Phage's lair in the hopes she can uncover a tracking device that will allow her to find all the remaining symbiotes that have been stranded on Earth following their failed invasion of the planet.[2] Seeing smoke coming out of the nearby supply closet, Donna goes to find the source and comes upon the ship that Jerry and Rocky uncovered moments earlier.

Meanwhile, Dirt Nap -- still in possession of Eddie Brock -- arrives at a building on Park Avenue. While riding the elevator, he discovers that he has not entirely absorbed Eddie Brock as something has prevented him from taking full control, much like the trouble he had in the past attempting to absorb Wolverine.[3] As he struggles to maintain control, Dirt Nap arrives at the offices of Landau, Luckman, and Lake to meet with a woman named Chimera. As he enters the office he is surprised to see Wolverine in the waiting room, motorcycle and all, and tries to remain calm. At that same moment, Donna has entered the alien ship discovered in the subway. There she finds Jerry and Rocky playing around with the controls and tries to stop them. However, her warnings come too late as one of the boys flips a switch that causes the ship to condense itself and take off to points unknown. Back at the LL&L office, Dirt Nap tries to read a magazine, hoping that Logan does not recognize him, and is confident that Wolverine will not be able to notice him as the feral mutant has not met this host in the past.[4] Still, Dirt Nap begins to panic because he remembers how Wolverine slaughtered his fellow Dark Riders, and this is the reason why he wants to flee. That's when Logan notices him and begins asking if they know each other, as he detects some familiar scents.

Wolverine's questioning is interrupted by Emmett, one of Landau, Luckman and Lake's office boys. He is decked out in battle armor and guns and he is also curious about this stranger in the waiting room as they don't have any other appointments on the schedule. Using a scanner, Emmett discovers that this intruder has three distinct nervous systems, raising even more questions. Realizing the jig is up, Dirt Nap begins revealing his true form when suddenly, he can no longer contain Eddie Brock, who fights free from Dirt Nap as Venom. Recognizing Dirt Nap, Wolverine attacks as Venom struggles to get free. Before Wolverine can kill Dirt Nap, he takes on the form of the young boy that Dirt Bag had consumed in Times Square during a previous battle with Logan.[5] This stops Wolverine, as he cannot bring himself to kill Dirt Nap until he can find a way to save the boy trapped inside of him. Unfortunately, Venom has no such restrictions and tries to attack Dirt Nap himself. However, before he and Wolverine can come to blows, the ship carrying Donna and the skateboarders come crashing in through the office window.

In the ensuing confusion, Dirt Nap runs into another one of the offices with Venom and the alien ship in tow. That's when Wolverine and Emmett realize that they are going into a room where one of LL&L's warp chambers is kept. When they rush into the next room, they are too late to stop Dirt Nap, Venom, and the ship from passing through the portal. Asking where the portal goes, Wolverine learns that it leads to the dimension where Chimera lives. Since he was called to LL&L to help deal with the Chimera problem, Wolverine puts on his X-Men costume, looking forward to getting into it.[6] Mounting his motorcycle, Wolverine and Emmett ride it through the portal before it closes.

Recurring Characters

Venom, Wolverine, Scream, Emmett, Dirt Nap

Continuity Notes

1. Venom battled Phage and befriended a gang of skateboarders in Venom the Hunted #1-3.

2. The symbiotes attempted to invade Earth during the Planet of the Symbiotes story arc

3. Dirt Nap attempted and failed to consume Wolverine in Wolverine Vol 2 #95.

4. Dirt Nap's guess is wrong as Wolverine and Venom have met in the past as seen in Marvel Comics Presents #117-122.

5. Dirt Bag consumed this kid in Wolverine Vol 2 #95.

6. At the time of this story, Wolverine had just recently battled Chimera in Wolverine Vol 2 #97.