History YMMV / DonnyCatesVenom

** CharacterRerailment: And on an ironic case, when Cullen Bunn come along to write the War of the Realms tie-in, he has Eddie enjoying killing the invaders to release his rage, many found this Eddie far more likable and in-character because it has Eddie finally returning to his roots with he being more competent by himself, wanting to save innocents for the monsters even when he was outmatched and showing that all the rage and violent impulses were all his and not the symbiote changing him, and admitting that all his own rage is what alienated himself from his friends and family, finally acknowledging his flaws taking responsibility for himself.

** Character Rerailment: And on an ironic case, when Cullen Bunn come along to write the War of the Realms tie-in, he has Eddie enjoying killing the invaders to release his rage, many found this Eddie far more likable and in-character because it has Eddie finally returning to his roots with he being more competent by himself, wanting to save innocents for the monsters even when he was outmatched and showing that all the rage and violent impulses were all his and not the symbiote changing him, and admitting that all his own rage is what alienated himself from his friends and family, finally acknowledging his flaws taking responsibility for himself.

And on an ironic case, when Cullen Bunn come along to write the War of the Realms tie-in, he has Eddie enjoying killing the invaders to release his rage, many found this Eddie far more likable and in-character because it has Eddie finally returning to his roots with he being more competent by himself, wanting to save innocents for the monsters even when he was outmatched and showing that all the rage and violent impulses were all his and not the symbiote changing him, and admitting that all his own rage is what alienated himself from his friends and family, finally acknowledging his flaws taking responsibility for himself.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: At the end of issue 6, the symbiote an Eddie team up to kill the Grendal symbiote, nearly killing them both and before they lost consciousness, the symbiote told Eddie that it loves him, many fans found this moment heartwarming but in an interview with Cates, is stated it was meant to be seen as the symbiote being possessive of Eddie, causing fans questioning the intentions. The story reveals that the symbiote has been manipulating Eddie this entire time, altering his memories to think he had relatives that died of cancer and make him believe to have it to so he would be dependent on it and that supposedly it did something to Anne that is related to the existence of Dylan and what drive her crazy to the point of suicide. A lot of fans has been disgusted by this and it made no sense for symbiote's character, the story stated that it did all this because of its nature (which as also questioned as not a single symbiote, good or evil, as shown being possessive of their host) and fans lamented how the symbiote has been treated from being mind-controlled by Knull or braindead yet its still antagonized for just existing. The story does show the symbiote trying to fix its mistakes but fans still think that none of this should have happened in the first place.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: At the end of issue 6, the symbiote an Eddie team up to kill the Grendal symbiote, nearly killing them both and before they lost consciousness, the symbiote told Eddie that it loves him, many fans found this moment heartwarming but Cates has stated in an interview that this is meant to be seen as the symbiote being possessive and manipulative of Eddie, which started a huge controversy around the time. Later on, the story reveals that the symbiote has been manipulating Eddie this entire time, altering his memories to think he had relatives that died of cancer and make him believe that he had cancer so he would be dependent on it and that the symbiote supposedly did something to Anne that is related to the existence of Dylan and implying that what the symbiote did to Anne is what drive her crazy to the point of suicide. A lot of fans has been disgusted by all of this and that none of the fits with anything about the symbiote's character, the story stated that it did all this because of its nature (which for many made no sense as not a single symbiote, good or evil, as shown any trait being possessive of their host) and fans lamented how the symbiote has been treated from being mind-controlled by Knull or braindead yet its still antagonized for just existing. The story does show the symbiote trying to fix its mistakes but fans still think that none of this should have happened in the first place.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: At the end of issue 6, the symbiote an Eddie team up to kill the Grendal symbiote, nearly killing them both and before they lost consciousness, the symbiote told Eddie that it loves him, many fans found this moment heartwarming but Cates has stated in an interview that this is meant to be seen as the symbiote being possessive and manipulative of Eddie, which started a huge controversy around the time. Later on, the story reveals that the symbiote has been manipulating Eddie this entire time, altering his memories to think he had relatives that died of cancer and make him believe that he had cancer so he would be dependent on it and that the symbiote supposedly did something to Anne that is related to the existence of Dylan and implying that what the symbiote did to Anne is what drive her crazy to the point of suicide. A lot of fans has been disgusted by all of this and that none of the fits with anything about the symbiote's character, the story stated that it did all this because of its nature (which for many made no sense as not a single symbiote, good or evil, as shown any trait being possessive of their host) and fans lamented how the symbiote has been treated from being mind-controlled by Knull or braindead yet its still antagonized beyond belief. The story does show the symbiote trying to fix its mistakes but fans still think that none of this should have happened in the first place.

** Fans that ship the Venom symbiote and Eddie have expressed distaste for Cates' run, as they see Cates going out of his way to make Brock and the symbiote's relationship out to be incredibly toxic, including using retcons to get this point across -- which is something fans object to as after Mike Costa's run and the Venom movie this relationship was seen as a stand-in for an LGBT pairing. Others, however, like this depiction, as the relationship has always been some level of emotionally abusive and they enjoy Cates acknowledging this and exploring it.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Symbiote-wise there was [[spoiler:Scorn and Rex, both [[EnsembleDarkHorse good characters]] with a lot of potentials who were abruptly killed off.]] In terms of human-wise, with the plot centring on Eddie’s human family, [[spoiler: some feel this could have been used as a chance to bring Mary back and develop her properly, instead of her being unceremoniously fridged on a [[FakeMemories meta]] level.]]
* On an ironic case, the character of Venom has been largely missing in this run because of the symbiote's braindead state since the second arc and the story not being much about dealing with a plot but more about Eddie having his history retconned. This is not the first time when Eddie and the symbiote has been separated inside an individual story (Venom: Lethal Protector, Venom: Separation Anxiety and Planet of the symbiotes to give a few examples), but it has taken for too long, to the point it feels like Wolverine Publicity except Wolverine is missing an entire arc in one of his runs.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Because of the symbiote going away and leaving Eddie alone with Dylan, it means that the Wars of Realms events has no Venom to make a tie-in story with, so Bunn has to come up with the idea of giving Eddie a fake magical symbiote to make up for it, the first issue was liked well enough but feel that it would have been better if Eddie and the symbiote were dealing the chaos of the event together.

** The tendency for important continuity details and snarls to sometimes be clarified on Twitter by the author and not in comic, such as [[spoiler: on Eddie’s cancer]] can be seen as this. Not everyone checks Twitter and would like the clarifications to be in-comic.

** Fans that are invested in the relationship between the Venom symbiote and Eddie have expressed distaste for Cates' run, as they see Cates going out of his way to make Brock and the symbiote's relationship out to be incredibly toxic, including using retcons to get this point across -- which is something fans object to as after Mike Costa's run and the Venom movie this relationship was seen as a stand-in for an LGBT pairing.
*** Not helped by the fact that the writer Donny Cates does see them as a romantic couple, from having the symbiote say "love you" to Eddie, as well as other metaphors of family and love in this run and comments in his own social media. So it gives fans the impression that he is passing their relationship as toxin knowing well the romantic overtones.

** Opinions are split on the cosmic level of the story - and with those who like cosmic, opinions are split on how it’s done here.
** In terms of the characterization put in place for Eddie here, [[spoiler: the reveal Carl was physically abusive]] and the addiction metaphors, some feel this would serve better as a Flash story.
*** Having Eddie done nothing in the first place is also a common criticism, besides moving to one location to another, he has not done much and more often then not, he ends up being tied in a chair with a character in front of him is exposing retcons to the Venom mythos.
** The symbiote's portrayal in this run has also been heavily criticized for how little it has done, most people accepted the first arc with Knull controlling it, but then the second arc starts with the symbiote being braindead after the fight with the dragon and taking the form of a dog for reasons that never got explained (and some fans concerned that it just an excuse to pass the symbiote as some animal), because of this, the symbiote has basically done nothing in this entire run other than few moments in the first arc, resulting in the character of Venom (Eddie and the symbiote) not showing up since the begining of the first arc besides kicking Dylan.
** Some fans have pointed out that Eddie has been fully clothed despite he being known for end up being naked when he is separated from the symbiote but never shame about it, to the point he would even interrupt a conversation bare naked. In this run, however, despite the fact that Eddie is still poor and homeless like in the 90's, he still somehow wearing clothes, more jarring when you consider that Eddie in the Costa run actually had money and a job, but the symbiote would still turn itself into clothes for him.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
Because of the symbiote going away and leaving Eddie alone with Dylan, it means that the Wars of Realms events has no Venom to make a tie-in story with, so Bunn has to come up with the idea of giving Eddie a fake magical symbiote to make up for it, the first issue was liked well enough but feel that it would have been better if Eddie and the symbiote were dealing the chaos of the event together.

** The symbiote's portrayal in this run has also been heavily criticized for how little it has done in this run, most people accepted the first arc with Knull controlling it, but then the second arc starts with the symbiote being braindead after the fight with the dragon and taking the form of a dog for reasons that never got explained (and some fans concerned that it just an excuse to pass the symbiote as some animal), because of this, the symbiote has basically done nothing in this entire run other than few moments in the first arc, resulting in the character of Venom (Eddie and the symbiote) not showing up since the begining of the first arc besides kicking Dylan.

** Some fans have pointed out that Eddie has been fully clothed in situations that previous stories would have him naked, to explain, the symbiote usually give Eddie clothes and when they get hurt by sonics and separated, Eddie usually ends naked but never ashamed by it, he would even fight people and interrupt fights showing without any piece of clothing besides an underwear for censorship's sake. In this run, however, despite the fact that Eddie is still poor and homeless like in the 90's, he still somehow wearing clothes, more jarring when you consider that Eddie in the Costa run actually had money and a job, but the symbiote would still turn itself into clothes.

** The symbiote's portrayal in this run has also been heavily criticized for how little it has done in this run, most people accepted the first arc with Knull controlling it, but then the second arc starts with the symbiote being braindead after the fight with the dragon and taking the form of a dog for reasons that never got explained (and some fans concerned that it just an excuse to pass the symbiote as some animal), because of this, the symbiote has basically done nothing in this entire run other than few moments in the first arc, resulting in the character of Venom (Eddie and the symbiote not showing up since the begining of the first arc.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Symbiote-wise there was [[spoiler:Scorn and Rex, both [[EnsembleDarkHorse good characters]] with a lot of potential who were abruptly killed off.]] In terms of human-wise, with the plot centring on Eddie’s human family, [[spoiler: some feel this could have been used as a chance to bring Mary back and develop her properly, instead of her being unceremoniously fridged on a [[FakeMemories meta]] level.]]

** In terms of the characterisation put in place for Eddie here, [[spoiler: the reveal Carl was physically abusive]] and the addiction metaphors, some feel this would serve better as a Flash story.

* StuffedInTheFridge: The first two women characters mentioned in the series, Scorn and Mary Brock, are both BackForTheDead. [[spoiler:UpToEleven with the reveal that Mary ''[[FakeMemories didn't even exist]]''.]]

** Then there’s the darkness-induced audience apathy. Some find it okay and feel for Eddie and some believe it to be simple shock factor.

** There’s also those who don’t ship it romantically who ''still'' dislike all the retcons being done to the characters, the relationships, and the story in general. This ''especially'' goes for longer-standing fans of the franchise seeing so much material they read being suddenly put out of existence, to the extent that a reviewer called it the “One More Day of Venom”, and it's gotten so bad that only a few days after #11 dropped Cates reported receiving death threats.

** For those that related to it especially, finding out that [[spoiler: Eddie’s cancer recovery story was fake.]]

** There’s also those who don’t ship it romantically who ''still'' dislike all the retcons being done to the characters, the relationships, and the story in general. This ''especially'' goes for longer-standing fans of the franchise seeing so much material they read being suddenly put out of existence, to the extent that a reviewer called it the “One More Day of Venom”, and it's gotten so bad that only a few days after #11 dropped Cates reported receiving death threats

** Fans that are invested in the relationship between the Venom symbiote and Eddie have expressed distaste for Cates' run, as they see Cates going out of his way to make Brock and the symbiote's relationship out to be incredibly toxic, including using retcons to get this point across -- which is something fans object to as after Mike Costa's run and the Venom movie this relationship was seen as a stand-in for an LGBT pairing. There’s also those who don’t ship it romantically who ''still'' dislike all the retcons being done to the characters, the relationships, and the story in general. This ''especially'' goes for longer-standing fans of the franchise seeing so much material they read being suddenly put out of existence, to the extent that a reviewer called it the “One More Day of Venom”, and it's gotten so bad that only a few days after #11 dropped Cates reported receiving death threats

* BrokenBase: Fans that are invested in the relationship between symbiote and Eddie - have distaste for Cates' run, for they see Cates going out of his way to make Brock and the Symbiote's relationship to be incredibly toxic, including using retcons to get this point across -- which is something fans object to as this relationship was somewhat of an stand-in for an LGBT pairing.
** There’s also those who don’t ship it romantically who ‘’still’’ dislike all the immense levels of retcons being done to the characters, the relationship and the story in general. This ‘’especially’’ goes for longer standing fans of the franchise, seeing so much material they read being suddenly put out of existence, to the extent that a reviewer called it the “One More Day of Venom”.
** Then there’s the darkness induced audience apathy. Some find it okay and feel for Eddie and some believe it to be simple shock factor.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Symbiote wise there was [[spoiler: Scorn and Rex, both [[EnsembleDarkHorse good characters]] with a lot of potential who were abruptly killed off.]] In terms of human-wise, with the plot centring on Eddie’s human family, [[spoiler: some feel this could have been used as a chance to bring Mary back and develop her properly, instead of her being unceremoniously fridged on a [[FakeMemories meta]] level.]]

** In terms of the characterisation put in place for Eddie here and the addiction metaphors, some feel this would serve better as a Flash story.

* BrokenBase: Those fans that are really into [[{{Shipping}} SymBrock]] are very loud with their distaste for Cates' run, for they see Cates going out of his way to make Brock and the Symbiote's relationship to be incredibly toxic, including using retcons to get this point across -- which is something these fans object to as they saw this relationship as somewhat of an stand-in for an LGBT pairing.

* BrokenBase: Those fans that are really into [[Shipping SymBrock]] are very loud with their distaste for Cates' run, for they see Cates going out of his way to make Brock and the Symbiote's relationship to be incredibly toxic, including using retcons to get this point across -- which is something these fans object to as they saw this relationship as somewhat of an stand-in for an LGBT pairing.