History ComicBook / VenomLethalProtector

* NoNameGiven: None of Venom's offspring are actually named in this series, and wouldn't be for quite some time. The symbiote later known as [[Characters/MarvelComicsScream Scream]] isn't given that name until ''ComicBook/CivilWar: Battle Damage Report'' in 2006[[note]]this name had previously been assigned to the symbiote with an action figure and a ''Ride/TheAmazingAdventuresOfSpiderMan'' tie-in comic, but those are considered non-canon to Earth-616[[/note]], while the others (Agony, Lasher, Riot, and Phage) aren't given their names until ''Carnage, U.S.A.'' #2 in 2012.

A [[Series/VenomLethalProtector2022 second series]] of ''Venom: Lethal Protector'' (subtitled ''Heart of the Hunted'' for the collected edition), set prior to the original series and also written by Michelinie, was published in 2022.

A second volume of ''Venom: Lethal Protector'' (subtitled ''Heart of the Hunted'' for the collected edition), set prior to the era of the original series and once again written by Michelinie, was published in 2022.

!! ''Venom: Lethal Protector'' Vol. 1 contains examples of:

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!! ''Venom: Lethal Protector'' Vol. 2 contains examples of:

* BadBoss:
** Carlton Drake threatens to turn Dr. Harwood into a test subject if her experiment proves anything less than a resounding success, and repeatedly reminds her that her life is on the line.
** In the final issue, [[spoiler:Justin Hammer self-destructs his base and escapes, leaving his valet behind to die]].
* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: Styx is shown trying to order a basketful of kittens to kill.
* BlackComedy:
** After Eddie's former colleague Dallas recognizes him and calls him a monster, Eddie turns into Venom and snarls that Dallas is a traitor, considering defenestrating him... but leaves. When the symbiote silently complains about not killing him, Eddie replies that killing Dallas would've made him a traitor too... and that they can always hunt him down and eat him later.
** After Venom kills Dr. Harwood, three hardened security guards respond to her screams. The first promptly throws up, the second quits the next morning, and the third is rendered mute for the rest of his life.
* CallForward: When Venom asks Justin Hammer why he put a bounty on him, Hammer explains that he did it for General Orwell Taylor, who Eddie would later meet in-person in Issue #1 of the original ''Lethal Protector.''
* CarnivalOfKillers: Venom has a bounty placed on him, leading to fights with Blood Spider, Death-Shield, Jagged Bow, Hydro-Man, Chance, and Styx and Stone.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Mulling over the events of the series, Venom almost comes to the conclusion that he needs to work on being a better person, and that love and compassion for others are important attributes. However, he instead concludes that love and compassion are weaknesses he must rid himself of if he is to attain his full potential as a super-hero... and kill Spider-Man, of course.
* ContinuityNod:
** Carlton Drake wants to recruit Venom to serve as the chief of security for the underground bunker he's building, a CallForward to him capturing Eddie and forcing his symbiote to spawn.
** Chance -- an adrenaline junkie mercenary who did a one-time job for the Life Foundation -- is one the villains drawn to attack Venom by the bounty put on him.
** While lamenting the loss of his pre-Venom life, Eddie asks the symbiote about its homeworld and whether it had any loved ones before its arrival on Earth -- a nod to the revelations in Brian Michael Bendis' ''ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' and Donny Cates' ''[[ComicBook/VenomDonnyCates Venom]]'' runs.
** Hammer's Hammer is made up entirely of villains who Justin Hammer had previously hired and given upgraded gear to in an ''ComicBook/IronMan'' story-arc.
* ContinuitySnarl:
** Venom kills Jagged Bow, Death Shield, and Blood-Spider over the course of the series, but the three show up none the worse for wear in comics set later on in the timeline.
** Melter and Porcupine appear as members of Hammer's Hammers, even though both characters were killed off prior to Venom's debut.
* CorruptedCharacterCopy: Dr. Dana Harwood is a reference to Dr. Dora Skirth from the 2018 ''[[Film/Venom2018 Venom]]'' movie, being a dark-haired glasses-wearing scientist working for Carlton Drake and threatened with death -- or worse -- if she fails him. However, while Dr. Skirth was a sympathetic character, Dr. Harwood is arrogant and condescending.
* CurbStompBattle: Venom's first battle with [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain Humbug]] ends in a humiliating defeat... for Venom. Turns out Humbug's amped-up recordings of insect cries are good for something after all.
* EyesDoNotBelongThere: There are several scenes where Venom manifests eyes on the back of his head, like when he fights the SWAT Team at the beginning of Issue #4.
* GoneHorriblyWrong: Dr. Harwood develops a serum that will render the symbiote immune to sonic attacks, and it works... but causes the symbiote to lose control of its shapeshifting powers. Unimpressed, Venom demands Dr. Harwood undo the cure... and then brutally murders her.
* GreaterScopeVillain: General Orwell Taylor never appears in the series, but most of what occurs in it was caused by him paying Justin Hammer to deal with Venom.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: Spider-Man briefly appears responding to a fire, but is inconsequential to the story.
* HeroWithAnFInGood: Eddie initially ignores a homeless man's pleas but then has a change of heart and decides to help him out after all, stealing a bunch of jewelry from a store and giving it to the man. As Eddie walks off contentedly, thinking he's done a good deed, the police show up to arrest the homeless man with the jewels and drag him off.
* HypocriticalHumor: Venom is in full ObliviouslyEvil mode here, and is completely blind to the fact that he's just as bad as the other villains who are coming after him.
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Nebbish entomologist Professor Buchanan Mitty once again dons the mantle of Humbug when Empire State University cuts his funding and relegates his office to the basement... only to get laughed at by Blood-Spider and Death Shield for thinking being a super-villain is a well-paying gig with medical and dental coverage. Despite his initial success against Venom, Buck is still unable to truly win the respect of the other villains -- Blood-Spider and Death Shield letting him join their team but planning to kill him once Venom's taken care of.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: When Eddie learns that Anne has a new fiancé who's everything he's not, he flies into a jealous rage and declares his intent to hunt Allen Hoffman down, tear him apart, and eat his brains... and then stops, lamenting that doing so would just make Anne sad. However, Eddie's jealousy compels him to tail Hoffman, learning that he's corrupt and a drug-dealer on the side. Rather than kill him, Eddie threatens him into cutting off all contact with Anne and leaving New York immediately. Anne figures out what Eddie did, however, and berates him for it.
* KilledOffScreen: Dr. Harwood's death after Venom gets fed up with her insulting him isn't shown, but the narration says her corpse was so horribly mangled that the three security guards who respond to her screams -- noted to be hardened individuals -- are left scarred for life.
* LethalJokeCharacter: Joke villain Humbug being able to replicate and amplify insect noises turns him into a ManOfKryptonite for the sound-weakened Venom.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: After hearing why Humbug was after him, Eddie comments that he and Humbug are not so different and leaves him to be arrested by the police.
* RobotMe: To test the effects of her serum, Dr. Harwood has Venom fight a giant android copy of Klaw, complaining about how she wanted to hire the real Klaw.
* RoguesGalleryTransplant: The one who put the bounty out on Venom is revealed to be none other than [[spoiler:ComicBook/IronMan bad-guy Justin Hammer]].
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Taskmaster takes off after Venom beats every member of Hammer's Hammers.
* UndyingLoyalty: Justin Hammer tells his assistant to remain behind in their CollapsingLair. When Venom asks why he is actually doing it, the assistant explains, "A gentleman prides himself on loyalty, sir. And betraying one's employer simply isn't done."
* WeaksauceWeakness: Venom beats Hydro-Man by throwing a truck full of laundry supplies at him, causing Hydro-Man to begin bubbling uncontrollably as Venom pops the bubbles with a nailgun.
--> '''Hydro-Man:''' This is embarrassing...
* WhosLaughingNow: Humbug is mocked by the other super-villains for his goofy costume and insect-themed gimmick, but when his sonic attacks let him curb-stomp Venom the other villains are left speechless.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/93d4331a_9400_41ff_bd6a_7b07b95b1019.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[subscript:''Venom: Lethal Protector'' #1 cover by Mark Bagley]]]]

A second volume of ''Venom: Lethal Protector'', set prior to the era of the original series and once again written by Michelinie, was published in 2022.

''Venom: Lethal Protector'' is a 1993 Creator/MarvelComics limited series, written by David Michelinie and drawn by Mark Bagley[[note]]issues #1 — #3[[/note]] with Ron Lim and Sam [=DeLarosa=][[note]]issues #4 — #6[[/note]]. It is the first-ever ''ComicBook/{{Venom}}'' solo series, specifically with Eddie Brock in the title role.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/venom_lethal_protector.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[subscript:''Venom: Lethal Protector'' #1 cover by Mark Bagley]]]]

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Mulling over the events of the series, Venom almost comes to the conclusion that he needs to work on being a better person, and that love and compassion for others are important attributes. However, he instead concludes that love and compassion are weaknesses he must rid himself of if he is to attain his full potential as a super-hero... and kill Spider-Man, of course.

** Melter and Porcupine appear as members of Hammer's Hammers, even though both characters were killed prior to Venom's debut.

* WhosLaughingNow: Humbug is mocked by the other super-villains for his goofy costume and insect-themed gimmick, but when his sonic attacks let him curb-stomp Venom the other villains are left speechless.

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: When Eddie learns that Anne has a new fiancé who's everything he's not, he flies into a jealous rage and declares his intent to hunt Allen Hoffman, tear him apart, and eat his brains... and then stops, lamenting that doing so would just make Anne sad. However, Eddie's jealousy compels him to tail Hoffman, learning that he's corrupt and a drug-dealer on the side. Rather than kill him, Eddie threatens him into cutting off all contact with Anne and leaving New York immediately. Anne figures out what Eddie did, however, and berates him for it.

** After Eddie's former colleague Dallas recognizes him and calls him a monster, Eddie turns into Venom and snarls that Dallas is a traitor, considering defenestrating him... but leaves. When the symbiote siletly complains about not killing him, Eddie replies that killing Dallas would've made him a traitor too... and that they can always hunt him down and eat him later.
** After Venom kills Dr. Harwood, three hardened security guards respond to her screams. The first promptly throws up, the second quits the next morning, and the the third is rendered mute for the rest of his life.

* ContinuitySnarl: Venom kills Jagged Bow, Death Shield, and Blood-Spider over the course of the series, but the three show up none the worse for wear in comics set later on in the timeline.

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: When Eddie learns that Anne as a new fiancé who's everything he's not, he flies into a jealous rage and declares his intent to hunt Allen Hoffman, tear him apart, and eat his brains... and then stops, lamenting that doing so would just make Anne sad. However, Eddie's jealousy compels him to tail Hoffman, learning that he's corrupt and a drug-dealer on the side. Rather than kill him, Eddie threatens him into cutting off all contact with Anne and leaving New York immediately. Anne figures out what Eddie did, however, and berates him for it.

* WhosLaughingNow: Humbug is mocked by the other super-villains for his goofy costume and insect-themed gimmick, but his when his sonic attacks let him curb-stomp Venom the other villains are left speechless.
* RobotMe: To test the effects of her serum, Dr. Harwood as Venom fight a giant android copy of Klaw, complaining about how she wanted to hire the real Klaw.

* BadBoss: In the final issue, [[spoiler:Justin Hammer self-destructs his base and escapes, leaving his valet behind to die]].

** After Venom kills Dr. Harwood, three hardened security guards respond to her screams. The first promptly throws up, second quits the next morning, and the the third is rendered mute for the rest of his life.

* BlackComedy: After Eddie's former colleague Dallas recognizes him and calls him a monster, Eddie turns into Venom and snarls that Dallas is a traitor, considering defenestrating him... but leaves. When the symbiote siletly complains about not killing him, Eddie replies that killing Dallas would've made him a traitor too... and that they can always hunt him down and eat him later.

* HypocriticalHumor: Venom is in full ObliviouslyEvil mode here, and is completely blind to the fact that he's just as bad as the other villains who are coming after him. In particular he complaints about being targeted over an accident mirror his own grudge against Spider-Man, which he remains oblivious to.

* HypocriticalHumor: Venom is in full ObliviouslyEvil mode here, and is completely blind to the fact that he's just as bad as the other villains who are coming after him. In particular he complaints about being targeted over an accident mirror his own grudge against Spider-Man, which he remains oblivious too.

!! ''Venom: Lethal Protector'' contains examples of:

* DiscOneFinalBoss: Orwell Taylor is set up to be this story's {{big bad}}, but Carlton Drake eventually emerges as much more of a threat to Eddie and Venom and something of a {{greater scope villain}} as the creator of his various offspring.

A second volume of ''Venom: Lethal Protector'', set in the era of the original series and once again written by Michelinie, will be published in 2022.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: This series reveals the circumstances that made Eddie the way he is, namely an [[AbusiveParents abusive father]] who became that way after Eddie's mother [[DeathByChildbirth died during childbirth]] and [[MaternalDeathBlameTheChild blamed him for it]]. Because of this, Eddie constantly tried to impress his father through success and accolades, [[WellDoneSonGuy but it was never enough]]. The final nail in the coffin for their relationship was Eddie's disgrace following a botched investigative case involving the supervillain known as [[Characters/VenomRoguesGallery Sin-Eater]], which eventually led him to becoming Venom's host.
* DiscOneFinalBoss: Orwell Taylor is set up to be this story's {{big bad}}, but Carlton Drake eventually emerges as much more of a threat to Eddie and Venom and something of a {{greater scope villain}} as the creator of his various offspring.

* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: Venom's offspring follow in the trend of [[Characters/MarvelComicsCarnage Carnage]] as visual variations on Venom with different colors and slightly different designs, each having their own unique palette.

''Venom: Lethal Protector'' is a 1993 Creator/MarvelComics limited series, written by David Michelinie and drawn by Mark Bagley[[note]]issues #1 — #3[[/note]] with Ron Lim and Sam [=DeLarosa=][[note]]issues #4 — #6[[/note]]. It is the first-ever ''Venom'' solo series, specifically with Eddie Brock in the title role.

* BizarreAlienReproduction: Venom's "offspring" are revealed to him

* NotQuiteDead: Venom's offspring are implied to be killed in issue #4, but ''Venom: Separation Anxiety'' #1 a year later would later reveal them to be have survived.

''Venom: Letal Protector'' is a 1993 Creator/MarvelComics limited series, written by David Michelinie and drawn by Mark Bagley[[note]]issues #1 — #3[[/note]] with Ron Lim and Sam [=DeLarosa=][[note]]issues #4 — #6[[/note]]. It is the first-ever ''Venom'' solo series, specifically with Eddie Brock in the title role.

In addition to being the character's first solo series, ''Venom: Legal Protector'' is also notable for delving deeper into Eddie Brock's origins, further expanding the lore of the symbiote, and marking their transition from villains to {{Anti Hero}}es.

''Venom: Legal Protector'' is a 1993 Creator/MarvelComics limited series, written by David Michelinie and drawn by Mark Bagley[[note]]issues #1 — #3[[/note]] with Ron Lim and Sam [=DeLarosa=][[note]]issues #4 — #6[[/note]]. It is the first-ever ''Venom'' solo series, specifically with Eddie Brock in the title role.