Venom #17
Twist Part Four
The man in black has just explained to Patricia Roberston who rogue moments of his species created the clone of the Venom symbiote — a clone that she has become a host — was all part of a scheme to eradicate all life on Earth to pave the way for a long-abandoned colonization plan. As Patricia loses control of the symbiote, they are interrupted by one of the many Frankie clones that were created by these masterminds to assist in this plot. She tells the man in black that she has wried this entire sewer tunnel with explosives which, if detonated, could harm the lives of innocent commuters in the nearby subway tunnels and since the man in black wants to avoid the loss of life, wants to make a deal. Since this clone tried to kill her once before, Patricia isn’t quick to trust them. However, the clone explains that she has a copy of the frequency that can turn on the control collar that Patricia is wearing that allowed her to control the symbiote again.[1]
However, the man in black can tell that she is not lying and accepts the deal. With the new signal, they reactivate the control collar, allowing Patricia to tame the symbiote. However, she is exhausted after her ordeal and passes out. The man in black then demands that the clone keep up her end of the bargain by explaining who is still carrying out the abandoned plan for the colonization of Earth. She tells the mystery man that her employer is a man who is simply named Bob. She asks him if he ever heard the Bible story about Noah’s Arc. He confirms that he has and reveals that this flood was actually the original extinction plan of his people and that it was canceled. That was due to the fact that his people became aware of a group of humans that were forewarned and protected against their plan, seemingly by the same entity that sent them on their mission. Hearing all this punctuates how much she had been manipulated by Bob and she explains how she started learning the truth when she was sent to try and capture the clone of the Venom symbiote in Northern Canada. She left Bob thinking she committed suicide, but in reality, she shot off the control collar so she could be free to operate independently.
Comparing notes, they both confirm that the whole purpose of cloning the Venom symbiote was to trick the Venom symbiote to merge with it so it could then reproduce and create an army of symbiotes to wipe out humanity. She also explains how Bob’s entire operation is run through the Ararat Corporation and that it has used money and influence to infiltrate every government and law enforcement agency on Earth. Since Bob has far reach, the man in black decides to do something to ruin Bob’s advantage. Going to an electrical station, the man in black destroys a transformer causing a blackout across Manhattan. The man in black’s efforts to shut down the power grid is detected by the electric company who tries to prevent an overload, however, their efforts are in vain and New York City, and the entire Eastern seaboard is plunged into darkness. In a darkened office building, Bob attempts to contact his agents but is unable to reach anybody.
Later, Patricia Roberston wakes up in a containment cell at the Fantastic Four’s headquarters. When she is awake, Mister Fantastic sends a message to the news media telling them how they "captured Venom” as a means of drawing Eddie Brock to their headquarters. This also draws Spider-Man to the Baxter Building who tries to convince Mister Fantastic that he doesn’t understand what’s going on. However, Reed assures the web-slinger that he knows what’s happening. Before they can argue it further, Venom comes crashing in through one of the windows.
Recurring Characters
Patricia Robertson, Spider-Man, Venom, the man in black, Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, Thing), Bob, Vic
Continuity Notes
Patricia was outfitted with this control collar in Venom #10, the collar was deactivated in Venom #14.
Topical References
The Vic/Frankie clone says that she has a copy of the algorithm to turn back on the control collar on her PDA. At the time this story was published PDAs were commonly used. However, this should be considered a topical reference as the advancement and proliferation of smartphones have rendered these devices practically obsolete.
One of the Con Ed employees says “not again” in regards to the massive blackout. This is a vague reference to the Northeast blackout of 2003. There was no electricity for a number of days. There were roving blackouts for weeks as the problem was corrected. It was great, I got two paid weeks off from work.
