History YMMV / DonnyCatesVenom

** "Blond Kratos" became a FanNickname for Eddie beginning in the second arc, on account of his beard and moustache resembling those of Kratos in ''VideoGame/GodOfWar4''. When Dylan Brock was introduced fanart depicting him in the role of Atreus and Eddie in the role of Kratos started popping up, [[spoiler:with the comparison becoming all the more apt with the revelation that he is indeed Eddie's son]].

** Probably knowing that fans would miss Flash Thompson, Cates begins every arc with a character wishing that Eddie ''was'' Flash Thompson.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Happening with some readers, as by issue 11, there’s only been an increasing barrage of darkness and despair and everything going horribly wrong. [[spoiler:From the symbiote going mad, to them then going brain dead to Eddie finding out Flash is dead, to doubting he was ever good enough for the braindead symbiote, to the reveal of the symbiote messing with his memories, making him believe he had a sister and his cancer being back, to him being rejected again by his father and left penniless, despairing and alone thinking about how wrong everything has gone for him.]]

** [[spoiler:The Symbiote Rex]], for being a BadassNormal symbiote with some humanity and depth, being able to contain Venom with thrown together equipment and [[spoiler:impersonate a person for years while conveying more depth than most symbiotes with only a handful of appearances]]. The ''Ve'Nam'' one-shot only helped, giving it something of a character arc and delving into its past.

* MemeticMutation: "''Venom'' is better than ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}''." [[labelnote:Explanation]]With the high praise the series is getting, Donny Cates began to joke about how the series is better than Creator/AlanMoore's groundbreaking graphic novel, with cited reasons including how [[Film/Venom2018 the Venom film]] got a song by Music/{{Eminem}} while ''Watchmen'' didn't. [[https://twitter.com/doncates/status/1035526870551474181?lang=en Alan Moore seems to be okay with it though]].[[/labelnote]]

** Knull's name is ominous and invokes the nothingness and despair that he is god of... and it's also Swedish for "fuck".

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: The series follows up [[ComicBook/MikeCostasVenom Mike Costa's run]], generally considered to be SoOkayItsAverage, and also uses Eddie Brock rather than Flash Thompson, who had only recently died. Not only that, but it was also worried the series would be too much of a tie-in to the film. Instead, the run so far is considered one of the best Venom series (to the point that it was joked that this run is better than DC's ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'').

* StuffedInTheFridge: The first two women characters mentioned in the series, Scorn and Mary Brock, are both BackForTheDead.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: [[spoiler:The Symbiote Rex]], for being a BadassNormal symbiote with some humanity and depth, being able to contain Venom with thrown together equipment and [[spoiler:impersonate a person for years while conveying more depth than most symbiotes with only a handful of appearances]]. The ''Ve'Nam'' one-shot only helped, giving it something of a character arc and delving into its past.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Happening with some readers, as by issue 11, there’s only been an increasing barrage of darkness and despair and everything going horribly wrong. [[spoiler:From the symbiote going mad, to them then going brain dead to Eddie finding out Flash is dead, to doubting he was ever good enough for the braindead symbiote, to the reveal of his sister being dead and his cancer being back, to him being rejected again by his father and left penniless, despairing and alone thinking about how wrong everything has gone for him.]]

* CrowningMomentofHeartwarming: The symbiote telling Eddie they love him. [[spoiler:Even if he cannot hear them.]]

* CompleteMonster:
** [[CivilizationDestroyer Knull]], the [[PhysicalGod God of Symbiotes]], [[AncientEvil predates almost all existence]]. Despising the light of existence, Knull warred with the gods and consumed entire worlds before [[ArchnemesisDad creating the symbiotes]] and loosing them on civilizations to devour them, killing countless billions. Eventually betrayed and sealed off by his own "children", Knull returns and attempts to torture Eddie Brock's symbiote to relieve it of any honor and nobility, intending on recovering his old power and resuming [[OmnicidalManiac his mission]] of devouring all life-starting by consuming everyone and everything on Earth.
** Carl Brock, who is an abusive monster of a parent.
** [[spoiler: Carnage]] of course.

* CompleteMonster: [[CivilizationDestroyer Knull]], the [[PhysicalGod God of Symbiotes]], [[AncientEvil predates almost all existence]]. Despising the light of existence, Knull warred with the gods and consumed entire worlds before [[ArchnemesisDad creating the symbiotes]] and loosing them on civilizations to devour them, killing countless billions. Eventually betrayed and sealed off by his own "children", Knull returns and attempts to torture Eddie Brock's symbiote to relieve it of any honor and nobility, intending on recovering his old power and resuming [[OmnicidalManiac his mission]] of devouring all life-starting by consuming everyone and everything on Earth.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Happening with some readers, as by issue 10, there’s only been an increasing barrage of darkness and despair and everything going horribly wrong. [[spoiler:From the symbiote going mad, to them then going brain dead to Eddie finding out Flash is dead, to doubting he was ever good enough for the braindead symbiote, to the reveal of his sister being dead and his cancer being back, to him being rejected again by his father and left penniless, despairing and alone thinking about how wrong everything has gone for him.]]

* CompleteMonster:
** [[CivilizationDestroyer Knull]], the [[PhysicalGod God of Symbiotes]], [[AncientEvil predates almost all existence]]. Despising the light of existence, Knull warred with the gods and consumed entire worlds before [[ArchnemesisDad creating the symbiotes]] and loosing them on civilizations to devour them, killing countless billions. Eventually betrayed and sealed off by his own "children", Knull returns and attempts to torture Eddie Brock's symbiote to relieve it of any honor and nobility, intending on recovering his old power and resuming [[OmnicidalManiac his mission]] of devouring all life-starting by consuming everyone and everything on Earth.
** Carl Brock, who is an abusive monster of a parent.
** [[spoiler: Carnage]] of course.
* CrowningMomentofHeartwarming: The symbiote telling Eddie they love him. [[spoiler: Even if he cannot hear them.]]
* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Happening with some readers, as by issue 10, there’s only been an increasing barrage of darkness and despair and everything going horribly wrong. [[spoiler: From the symbiote going mad, to them then going brain dead to Eddie finding out Flash is dead, to doubting he was ever good enough for the braindead symbiote, to the reveal of his sister being dead and his cancer being back, to him being rejected again by his father and left penniless, despairing and alone thinking about how wrong everything has gone for him.]]
* EnsembleDarkhorse: [[spoiler: The Symbiote Rex]], for being a BadassNormal symbiote with some humanity and depth, being able to contain Venom with thrown together equipment and [[spoiler: impersonate a person for years while conveying more depth than most symbiotes with only a handful of appearances]]. The ''Ve'Nam'' one-shot only helped, giving it something of a character arc and delving into its past.

* CompleteMonster: [[CivilizationDestroyer Knull]], the [[PhysicalGod God of Symbiotes]], [[AncientEvil predates almost all existence]]. Despising the light of existence, Knull warred with the gods and consumed entire worlds before [[ArchnemesisDad creating the symbiotes]] and loosing them on civilizations to devour them, killing countless billions. Eventually betrayed and sealed off by his own "children", Knull returns and attempts to torture Eddie Brock's symbiote to relieve it of any honor and nobility, intending on recovering his old power and resuming [[OmnicidalManiac his mission]] of devouring all life-starting by consuming everyone and everything on Earth.

* CrowningMomentofHeartwarming: The symbiote telling Eddie they love him. [[spoiler: Even if he cannot hear it.]]

** Once Knull shows up, Cates uses him as a vehicle to undo the unpopular changes Brian Michael Bendis made to the Symbiote lore -- their original name is Symbiotes and they aren't a noble warrior race, these are both lies the Symbiotes spread to distance themselves from their past.

* DarkneeInducedAudienceApathy: Happening with some readers, as by issue 10, there’s only been an increasing barrage of darkness and despair and everything going horribly wrong. [[spoiler: From the symbiote going mad, to them then going brain dead to Eddie finding out Flash is dead, to doubting he was ever good enough for the braindead symbiote, to the reveal of his sister being dead and his cancer being back, to him being rejected again by his father and left penniless, despairing and alone thinking about how wrong everything has gone for him.]]

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: The series follows up [[ComicBook/MikeCostasVenom Mike Costa's run]], generally considered to be SoOkayItsAverage, and also uses Eddie Brock rather than Flash Thompson, who had only recently died. Not only that, but it was also worried the series would be too much of a tie-in to the film. Instead, the run so far is considered one of, if not ''the'' best Venom series (to the point that it was joked that this run is better than DC's ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'').

* EnsembleDarkhorse: [[spoiler: The Symbiote Rex]], for being a Badass Normal symbiote with some humanity and depth, being able to contain Venom with thrown together equipment and [[spoiler: impersonate a person for years while conveying more depth than most symbiotes with only a handful of appearances]]. The Ve'Nam one-shot only helped, giving it something of a character arc and delving into its past.
* {{Narm}}: Knull's name is ominous and invokes the nothingness and despair that he is god of... and it's also Swedish for "fuck".

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: The series follows up Mike Costa's run, generally considered to be SoOkayItsAverage, and also uses Eddie Brock rather than Flash Thompson, who had only recently died. Not only that, but it was also worried the series would be too much of a tie-in to the film. Instead, the run so far is considered one of, if not ''the'' best Venom series (to the point that it was joked that this run is better than DC's ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'').

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: The series follows up Mike Costa's run, generally considered to be SoOkayItsAverage overall, and also uses Eddie Brock rather than Flash Thompson, who had only recently died. Not only that, but it was also worried the series would be too much of a tie-in to the film. Instead, the run so far is considered one of, if not ''the'' best Venom series (to the point that it was joked that this run is better than DC's ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'').

* EnsembleDarkhorse: The Symbiote Rex, for being a Badass Normal symbiote with some humanity and depth, being able to contain Venom without thrown together equipment and [[spoiler: impersonate a person for years while conveying more depth than most symbiotes with only a handful of appearances]]. The Ve'Nam one-shot only helped, giving it something of a character arc and delving into its past.

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: The series follows up Mike Costa's run, generally considered to be SoOkayItsAverage, and also uses Eddie Brock rather than Flash Thompson, who had only recently died. Not only that, but it was also worried the series would be too much of a tie-in to the film. Instead, the run so far is considered one of, if not ''the'' best Venom series (to the point that it was joked that this run is better than DC's ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'').

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: The series follows up Mike Costa's run, generally considered to be SoOkayItsAverage, and also uses Eddie Brock rather than Flash Thompson, who had only recently died. Not only that, but it was also worried the series would be too much of a tie-in to the film. Instead, the run so far is considered one of, if not ''the'' best Venom series. (To the point that it was joked that this run is better than DC's ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}''.)

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: The series follows up Mike Costa's run, generally considered to have a SoOkayItsAverage beginning before becoming good once Eddie gets the Venom symbiote back and also uses Eddie Brock rather than Flash Thompson, who had only recently died. Not only that, but it was also worried the series would be too much of a tie-in to the film. Instead, the run so far is considered one of, if not ''the'' best Venom series. (To the point that it was joked that this run is better than DC's ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}''.)

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: The series follows up Mike Costa's run, generally considered SoOkayItsAverage, and uses Eddie Brock rather than Flash Thompson, who had only recently died. Not only that, but it was also worried the series would be too much of a tie-in to the film. Instead, the run so far is considered one of, if not ''the'' best Venom series.

* WTHCostumingDepartment: A sticking point for the first arc was Eddie's hair, which was so long and un-Eddie that it made him look like Sabretooth. He eventually ''does'' get a new haircut in the second arc, however.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: Probably knowing that fans would miss Flash Thompson, Cates begins every arc with a character wishing that Eddie ''was'' Flash Thompson.

* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: The series follows up Mike Costa's run, generally considered SoOkayItsAverage, and uses Eddie Brock rather than Flash Thompson, who had only recently died. Not only that, but it was also worried the series would be too much of a tie-in to the film. Instead, the run so far is considered one of, if not ''the'' best Venom series.

* AwesomeArt: Ryan Stegman channels the best aspects of the nineties into his already energetic style and the result is just beautiful.