« Home | Only low expectations can be found in DCnU's versi... » | Jim Lee ripped off some of his own imagery for Sup... » | Rob Liefeld has gone off his rocker » | It's only because of diversity that some think thi... » | NY Daily News' lethargic report on the new Supes/W... » | Mark Waid's weak interview with Paste magazine » | Wired is pretty favorable to Billy Tucci's Blackwa... » | Superman editor Matt Idelson channels Joe Quesada » | Superman/Wonder Woman romance being retooled to st... » | Jakeem Thunder said that? » 

Tuesday, September 04, 2012 

Venom isn't the right "hero" for Philadelphia

The AP/Entertainment Weekly's reporting that Venom, or his current host, Flash Thompson, is moving to Philadelphia after the abuse Flash has already suffered by losing his legs:
Philly’s getting a new fan in the pages of Marvel Comics, but whether the City of Brotherly Shove takes to anti-hero Venom remains to be seen.

Marvel Entertainment LLC says that Venom — a brute with big teeth and an elongated tongue who’s made a habit of sparring with Spider-Man — is leaving New York City to start fresh, and maybe learn to be a hero on the streets of Philadelphia.

Writer Cullen Bunn and Editor Tom Brennan, an alum of Philadelphia’s Drexel University, said it’s time Philly had a hero of its own, putting it in the same league as Los Angeles and New York, among other real-life cities that populate the fictional world of Marvel.

But is Venom — an alien symbiote bonded to Peter Parker’s one-time high school rival Eugene “Flash” Thompson — the hero that Philly wants or needs?
I think not. And Flash doesn't need to be lacking in his own legs either. Here's the reason he's let the symbiote take him over:
Flash, who lost his legs in Iraq, has taken control of Venom to be able to walk again and work as a super-powered soldier and spy for the U.S. government. But his alcoholism and habit of lying to his teammates has him at the bottom of a deep hole.

“Now, he’s trying to do the right thing. He’s reassessing what it means to be a hero. And he’s looking for a fresh start,” said Bunn. “This means a lot of things for Flash. He’s surrounding himself with new people — such as tabloid journalist Katy Kiernan and his new love interest, the Asgardian Valkyrie. He’s changing his approach to being a superhero. And he’s looking for a change of scenery.” [...]

“We’re not just moving Venom to Philly in hopes of getting free hoagies, though we’ll take them. Flash Thompson has been on an emotional roller coaster. His superhero career almost cost him everything,” said Brennan. “This is a good man with a troubled past who needed a fresh start, and thought the City of Brotherly Love was the perfect place for him to take his next steps in becoming the hero he was born to be.”
Oh, so now Flash has been added to the number of former supporting cast members who've become superheroes instead, or even anti-heroes. And his love interest now is Valkyrie, who'd once been a member of the Defenders, because that's probably the only kind of girl he can expect to lead a steady relationship with now that he's got, ummm...a superpower. In other words, Flash has become a victim not just of an injury that likely stemmed from a story laced with anti-war traces, but also of the insular trend now devouring mainstream comics.

And the whole Venom story should've been put to bed long ago.

Labels: , , ,

About me

  • I'm Avi Green
  • From Jerusalem, Israel
  • I was born in Pennsylvania in 1974, and moved to Israel in 1983. I also enjoyed reading a lot of comics when I was young, the first being Fantastic Four. I maintain a strong belief in the public's right to knowledge and accuracy in facts. I like to think of myself as a conservative-style version of Clark Kent. I don't expect to be perfect at the job, but I do my best.
My profile

Archives

Links

  • avigreen2002@yahoo.com
  • Fansites I Created

  • Hawkfan
  • The Greatest Thing on Earth!
  • The Outer Observatory
  • Earth's Mightiest Heroines
  • The Co-Stars Primer
  • Realtime Website Traffic

    Comic book websites (open menu)

    Comic book weblogs (open menu)

    Writers and Artists (open menu)

    Video commentators (open menu)

    Miscellanous links (open menu)

  • W3 Counter stats
  • Bio Link page
  • blog directory Bloggeries Blog Directory View My Stats Blog Directory & Search engine eXTReMe Tracker Locations of visitors to this page  
    Flag Counter Free Hit Counters
    Free Web Counter

    This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

    make money online blogger templates

Older Posts Newer Posts

The Four Color Media Monitor is powered by Blogspot and Gecko & Fly.
No part of the content or the blog may be reproduced without prior written permission.
Join the Google Adsense program and learn how to make money online.