Marvel Reveals More Tragic Insight Into Venom’s Backstory

Eddie Brock has never exactly had the happiest of origin stories, but this week’s new issue of Venom gave us perhaps the most tragic chapter in the anti-hero’s history. One page after another, Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman’s Venom #10 revealed a haunting truth from Eddie’s past that goes a long way towards explaining why he’s been so broken.

WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for Venom #10. Continue reading at your own risk…

The issue begins with Eddie talking to a young boy who he just discovered is his half-brother. The kid asked him to murder their father and Eddie wanted to find out why. Of course, being that he’s a kid who just discovered Venom is his brother, he had a million questions, many of which Eddie was reluctant to answer.

Eventually, Eddie had to break down and tell his brother why their dad hates him so much, and it’s a terrifying story. A series of flashbacks shows a young boy running into the street after a dog, and a car barrelling down the street towards him. Eddie’s father is on the porch and tries his best to stop the accident from happening, but there isn’t enough time. He screams at the top of his lungs to no avail.

As Eddie tells the story, it makes it seem as though he’s the young boy about to be hit by the car. However, that isn’t at all the case. After the car hits the boy, a teenage Eddie Brock steps out from the driver’s seat, beer cans tumbling onto the ground. Eddie was driving drunk and killed an innocent kid.

Don’t worry, things get even worse from there.

Eddie’s father was a prominent figure in the community and couldn’t have his son in jail, but Eddie didn’t see it that way. He told the police that he was going to plead guilty because he had done something terrible and deserved to pay the consequences. Eddie’s dad needed to convince his son otherwise. Dear old dad started punching Eddie in the face repeatedly, beating him until he said the words “I’m innocent.”

This event truly broke Eddie, and it sadly helped shape the dangerous, desperate man he became as an adult. This is perhaps one of the most horrifying and tragic additions to Venom’s backstory, and that’s certainly saying a lot.

Venom #2, written by Donny Cates and illustrated by Ryan Stegman, is available now online and at your local comic book shop.