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| The Abyss: Chapter One | |
| Comic Book series: | Venom Vol. 4 |
| Issue Number: | 9 |
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Release Date: |
January 16, 2019 |
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Executive Editor: |
C.B. Cebulski |
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Cover Artist: |
Ryan Stegman JP Mayer Frank Martin |
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Writer(s): |
Donny Cates |
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Penciler(s): |
Ryan Stegman |
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Inker(s): |
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Colourist(s): |
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Letterer(s): |
{{{letterers}}} |
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Editor(s): |
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Previous issue: |
Venom Vol. 4 #8 |
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Next issue: |
Venom Vol. 4 #11 |
Venom Vol. 4 #9 is the 9th issue of Venom Vol. 4.
Plot[]
On the bus to San Francisco, Eddie Brock morosely stares out the window and at the rain and contemplates the codependent nature of his relationship with the Venom symbiote - which has taken the form of a dog, and the nature of loss. A man approaches Eddie and asks if he can sit next to him, having been annoyed by the old woman he was sitting beside, but Eddie is too caught up in his thoughts to pay attention. The man remarks that they're not supposed to have dogs on the bus anyway, becoming angry when Eddie doesn't respond; but the Venom symbiote snarls at him, scaring him away.
Arriving in San Francisco the following day, Eddie walks to his father's house, ruminating on death as he thinks about his sister Mary - who at some point had developed and died from breast cancer; and that cancer had killed his uncle and nearly Eddie himself. Passing the spot where he'd been hit by a car while chasing a cat, Eddie recalls that the hospital bills had bankrupted his father and increased his hatred towards him. Eddie notes that his toxic relationship with Carl Brock shaped him into the temperamental, vengeful, self-loathing failure he is, and why he's afraid of being alone. Steeling his resolve to stare into the abyss of his childhood and make something better of himself, Eddie knocks on the door.
Throwing open the door, Carl Brock yells at Eddie to leave or he'll call the police. Tersely greeting his father, Eddie tries to forestall an argument, but Carl snaps that Eddie has no right to be there after he showed up the month before pursued by government agents. Guessing that Eddie's fleeing the police again, Carl angrily berates him before Eddie yells at him to shut up and that he doesn't want anything from him. Apologizing for his outburst, Eddie states that he doesn't know why he came to Carl's house last month, but his father snaps that his house is not Eddie's home and that he has brought nothing but pain, misery, and shame to his family. Snapping that he wants no part of Eddie or the delusional life he's leading, Carl snaps that Eddie is not his son.
Cutting his father off, Eddie says that he knows that Carl hates him but that he's all Eddie has, and that he wants to try starting over after the deaths of his mother, Mary, and Anne. Carl asks who Mary is, wondering if she's some prostitute whose life Eddie ruined. Eddie incredulously states that Mary is his sister, but Carl snaps that he's sick of Eddie's games and that he never had a daughter. As Carl closes the door, Eddie tries to hold it open, demanding to know why his father would say that. Carl punches Eddie in the face and tells him to leave or he'll make sure Eddie's put away for life. Enraged by its host being attacked, the Venom symbiote transforms into a massive maw and tries to devour Carl, who recoils into the house and slams the door, calling the police.
Eddie desperately tries to hold the symbiote back, begging it not to kill his father, but it engulfs him and rips through the door. Just as it's about to eat Carl, Dylan Brock comes downstairs to see what's going on. Shocked by Dylan calling Carl "dad," Eddie manages to restrain the symbiote, staggering away and apologizing. As Dylan checks on his father, Carl yells at Eddie to run away like he always does. Struggling to keep the berserk symbiote under control, Eddie flees into the street and is nearly run over, but the symbiote lashes out and flips the oncoming car onto its roof. Horrified by the destruction, Eddie realizes his father's right and that all he's capable of is causing pain, misery, and death. As the police arrive, Eddie flees into the sewers; lamenting that he has nothing and deserves to be forsaken and abandoned.
Two days later, Eddie sits in an alleyway, thinking that all he has left is the Venom symbiote and wondering if it's not time he lost it too and desperately begging it to just say something and tell him he's not alone. As a passerby tosses him a coin believing him to be a vagrant, Eddie picks it up and abruptly coughs up blood - having suddenly contracted a tuberculosis-like disease after his altercation with his father, and suspecting that the symbiote is responsible. As he begs the symbiote to fix him, to help him; a voice addresses him and asks if he's Eddie Brock. Looking up, Eddie sees Dylan Brock standing nearby, his hoodie drawn up to cast his face into shadows. Saying that he recognizes Eddie as the man who came to his house the other day, Dylan asks if he's Venom. Stepping forward to reveal the right side of his face is badly bruised - with one eye swollen shut and his arm in a sling, Dylan tells Eddie that they need to kill their father.
Characters[]
Featured Characters:[]
- Eddie Brock (Main story and recap)
Supporting Characters:[]
- Venom Symbiote
- Dylan Brock
Antagonists:[]
- Carl Brock
Other Characters:[]
- God (Yahweh) (Invoked)
- Numerous unnamed San Franciscans
- Eddie Brock's uncle (Referenced) (Deceased)
- Mr. Belvedere (Recap)
- Project Oversight (Mentioned)
- Jamie Brock (Mentioned) (Deceased)
- Mary Brock (Mentioned) (Deceased)
- Anne Weying (Mentioned) (Deceased)
- SFPD
- George Washington (Quarter)