bobafettishhh-blog

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My autistic superpower is not really having strong emotions, unless:

A: the emotion is “annoyed”

B: a movie makes me cry

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the way andor has skyrocketed mon to one of the top spots on my glup shitto leaderboard

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Debatable Firsts: Venom

Among Comic Collectors, The Amazing Spider-Man #300 is well sought-after for being the first full appearance of Venom, the supervillain comprised of Eddie Brock and an alien symbiote.

Well, for the most part it is. Venom’s true first appearance has been a hot topic of debate for years, as he is revealed briefly at the end of issue #299:

This however is generally considered a cameo as opposed to a full appearance, given we only see the whole character in one panel.

But, looking at the side-by-side below, we can see Venom’s full body in both, so why isn’t 299 considered his first full appearance? The only big difference is that we see Eddie’s face in 300, which begs the question…

What IS Venom? The suit? The man? The combination? After the symbiote went from Peter Parker to Eddie Brock, it went on to several other hosts, most notably Flash Thompson, Peter’s former high school bully. But how does this affect Venom’s first appearance debate?

Well, the name “Venom” followed the suit, not Eddie. The same goes for any other host of the symbiote, which is eventually referred to as “the Venom symbiote” by other in-universe characters. In fact, the currently ongoing series “All-New Venom” began with the premise that the reader wouldn’t know who the host was until the end of the first story arc, implying even further that “Venom” is the alien.

If we stick with the theory that Venom is the suit, then its first appearance is in The Amazing Spider-Man #252. In this issue, released in May 1984, Spidey is suddenly wearing a new costume that seems to be giving him extra strength and abilities.

[Side note: During his black suit era, there were FOUR different concurrent Spider-Man titles being published (The Amazing Spider-Man, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man, Web of Spider-Man, and Marvel Team-Up, which paired Spidey with a different hero each issue). Marvel Team-Up #141 released in May 1984 alongside ASM #252 and also featured the black suit, but took place after it, giving ASM #252 the “first appearance of the black suit” trophy.]

Anyways, it wouldn’t be until The Amazing Spider-Man #258, released in November 1984, that Mr. Fantastic would discover the suit was alive and actually an alien lifeform:

After that, it wouldn’t be until Secret Wars #8, which took place before ASM #252 and released in December 1984, that readers would find out the suit came from space, created for Peter by a costume-making machine:

So which issue is the first appearance of the suit? The first one available? The first one chronologically in-universe? The one that introduces it as an alien and therefore a living character?

A similar issue is present for Eddie Brock, but I’ll get into that in part 2.

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“It IS the Spider-Man!”

(Ultimate Spider-Man #11 2024)

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In the case of audience connection, a superhero’s secret identity is so much more important than their powers or suit.

Daredevil succeeds in places that “lighter” superhero fair falls short because we know Matt on such a deep level well before he ever dons the horns. Even if you’re just jumping in with Born Again, you understand his convictions, guilt, regrets, sense of humor, love life, and passion within the first hour. You understand why he needs the horns and how he’ll use them.

It makes sense that a long form TV show is stronger in this area than say, Ant-Man or Man of Steel. When a comic book movie takes an hour to get to the comic book part, we feel ripped off; but if it moves too quickly, it feels unearned. That balance is hard to find in a 2ish hour time limit.

“Marvel makes better movies, DC makes better animations” is something you used to hear a lot in online spaces and comic stores. While this was true at the time, I think the secret ingredient may have actually been the medium. Shows like The Penguin and X-Men ‘97 are highly praised while recent MCU entries have underperformed. Sure, people are less excited without Steve and Tony around, but since when do people care about a Penguin show?

I’ll conclude my yapping by saying I’m thrilled to live in a time with so much comic book media that there’s enough to compare this heavily.

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I’m always so perplexed by the complaints viewers choose to share about comic book movies. Not even just the sexist/racist stuff like whining about the Endgame “she’s got help” scene or the fact that Sam carries the shield now. I could of course jump into the “Comics have always been woke/Have you ever read any X-Men?,” argument, but even on the surface level…you have gone out of your way to find something “unrealistic” in the movie about an alien that fights a metal man, a norse god, and a guy with a shield over six rocks that can do anything, activated by snapping your fingers.

“Sam shouldn’t have survived Red Hulk.” Yeah well there shouldn’t have been a red or any other color of Hulk. It is made up. It is sci-fi created to entertain us, and if done exceptionally well, make us feel something. Is it cool when Spider-Man swings around and punches guys? Yes! That would be enough! Is it even cooler when he swings around and punches guys AND we’re excited/tense/devastated because of what he’s dealing with? Yeah!

Are some comic book movies better than others? Of course. But if you’re worried about realism, these movies aren’t for you.

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Me bidding on too many comic books online

(Art by Mark Bagley in Venom: Lethal Protector #2)

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Forge has had enough (X-Force #2, 2024)

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When there’s cat puke on the floor but I pretend not to see it

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Panels without context day 1

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Based on that one Calvin and Hobbes comic.

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Some handy Marvel reaction memes for you:

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Our dog after we went outside to take the trash out and get the mail (we were gone for 90 seconds)

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Matt Murdock visits Clinton Church late at night. He sits in a pew alone, reflecting on his recent sins. The church's emptiness at this hour is usually reliable, but this time he notices a second heartbeat. Not in the seats, but in the rafters.

Nightcrawler teleports into the pew behind him, crouching on the backrest.

"Odd that you are not in flames, mein freund," he says with a smile.

Matt tenses. He’s not in his horns.

“…how do you know?"

Kurt teleports into the seat next to him. "I am not without connections. Also, I work with several telepaths."

Matt relaxes. He knows he can trust this X-Man.

Kurt looks toward the pulpit. "What brings the devil to God's house then?"

“'I didn't realize you yourself were a man of God." Matt follows Kurt's gaze, though just for show.

"I admit it is not easy." Kurt pulls a Bible out of the pew in front of them. "I have met, and fought, my fair share of gods."

Matt chuckles. "And how do you know none of them were yours?"

Kurt turns to face Matt. "They fell."

They sit silently for a moment. Matt sighs.

"I come here for what I tell myself is guidance, conviction." He rises. "But what I really want is justification. Reassurance that the people I harm are the bad guys. That when I break a bone, I'm breaking it to better God's world." He faces a stained glass window of Paul. It’s been there since before his accident. "But who am I to say who's bad?"

Kurt remains sitting. "Hm. You are asking the wrong questions I think, Mr. Murdock. We are all the bad guys, as is our nature. I am as much devil as you, and in fact, may even resemble him more. It is our attempts at good that make us who and what we are."

He teleports in front of Matt. "Our abilities, given by God? Maybe. But our desire to use them in the way we do? Most definitely."

Matt sniffs and smiles. "You're not wrong. I wear the horns, but you wear the brimstone.”

Kurt laughs. "Yes, a lovely gift for the clergy come Sunday morning."

The pair pace around the chapel. Matt continues the conversation.

"Our work takes us offworld, outer space, other dimensions. We meet living proof of Greek, Roman, and Egyptian deities. The Avengers once fought a representative of the supposed writer of the universe. Ghost Rider's powers come from a Hell nothing like Revelation and the Infinity Stones work nothing like Genesis. In a world proving the legitimacy of so many beliefs, do you not wish for your own validation?"

Kurt makes eye contact. "Of course I do. But that would not be faith, mein freund.”

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The side of Deadpool we don’t see as often (Uncanny X-Force #7, 2011)

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