The secret identity of All-New Venom is revealed, and it would have been a shocking moment had it not been spoiled earlier in the week. To Marvel’s credit, that’s something that was out of their control since pages from the issue started leaking online. Even with the cat out of the bag before the official release, there is still the matter of seeing how All-New Venom #5 would break down the fine details for readers. Because at the end of the day, we’re still dealing with a prominent Marvel character serving as the host of the Venom symbiote, which is the foundation that all great Venom stories come from.
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To get down to the matter at hand, Mary Jane Watson is our All-New Venom. The only major negative I can fault All-New Venom for is making readers jump through hoops with our four suspects. It’s the classic bait-and-switch that fakes everyone out, but with the surprise out of the way, it allows the story to really take off. It reminds me of when Jane Foster started masquerading as the Mighty Thor. While there wasn’t a marketing machine pushing fans to guess the Mighty Thor’s identity, there were several suspects it could be. Maybe I’m partial to that story because I correctly guessed it was Jane Foster.
If fans look back through previous issues of All-New Venom, they will surely find clues and signs that Mary Jane was underneath the symbiote. Venom’s team-up with Sleeper against M.O.D.O.K. was fun to watch unfold. The parental side of Venom/Mary Jane started to shine during their exchanges with Sleeper. And using Robbie Robertson as the investigative journalist to pull back the curtain on the reveal was a clever trick. I like how Venom’s muscular physique disappeared after it was fatigued, revealing how it was a slender-built person serving as the host. The art team did a top-notch job displaying the different sides of Venom, all while making M.O.D.O.K. appear as a dangerous adversary.
Marvel has made some pretty drastic changes to Mary Jane over the last couple of years. It wasn’t long ago that she was dressing up as the superhero Jackpot, and now she’s joined the Venomverse. Marvel really needs to decide what path they want to take Mary Jane, and stick to it. She’s a beloved character, and some fans won’t be happy with her getting another set of powers. However, it does allow MJ not to be the damsel-in-distress. She’s clearly graduated out of that role. But being a Venom comes with a lot of responsibility and baggage.
It will be exhilarating to follow All-New Venom’s journey now that the secret is out in the wild. Down the road, we have Spider-Verse vs. Venomverse, which means Mary Jane and Peter Parker will be on opposite sides of that war. Fun times are coming, folks!
Rating: 3 out of 5
Published by Marvel Comics
On April 2, 2025
Written by Al Ewing
Art by Carlos Gomez
Colors by Frank D’Armata
Letters by VC’s Clayton Cowles
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