All-New Venom (2024) #2 Review: Paul Gets Annihilated

Throughout the years, audiences have seen Venom be a brain-eating zombie, transform into a literal god capable of controlling all other symbiotes, and now try to be an honest-to-heart hero in All-New Venom (2024). There's no denying it: They grow really fast. Proof of that is that the Lethal Protector quite literally starts issue #2 trying to protect New York City from a group of supervillains without eating anyone in the process—which means he isn't "lethal" anymore but just an amazing protector. However, is this era of the character a breath of fresh air? Or does it pale in comparison with what came before it?

The mystery about Venom's identity continues

I can't overstate how much I loved the very first panel in All-New Venom (2024) #1. The twisted web-slinger is standing in the middle of Times Square with horrorized people looking at him, and four big billboards in the background showing the four possible suspects behind the symbiote. This is the effect of two bigger elements: First and foremost: this whole mysterious identity arc has proven to be quite successful so far. Granted, it hasn't been long with only two issues being released, but I wasn't quite sure if the premise would prove to be effective from the get-go. On the bright side: it definitely has. Secondly: The art in this series is simply amazing.

I have to admit I'm not a huge fan of how humanoid Venom looks in some panels. His mouth and eyes are too small, while his teeth look... normal, which doesn't sit right with me at all. That being said, it's just a "me" problem, and it's in no way taking away from the fantastic work of artist Carlos Gomez. In fact, his illustrations are filled with lots of small details such as people roaming in the background of a scene, or dozens of billboards being visible in almost every panel taking place in Times Square. All-New Venom (2024) is just a pleasure to look at, and it could go toe-to-toe with Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) for the spot as the best-looking Spider-Man-related comic currently being published.

I do have to say some panels look rather... cartoony. There's one where Venom swallows a whole bomb and—when it explodes—he almost looks Black Manta-esque with a big bubblehead. It does go in line with the rather light-hearted tone of the series, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't take me out of the experience sometimes. Furthermore, it's a shame that one of the main four suspects behind Venom's new identity has already been discarded. After all, this mystery was one of the main selling points of the saga and it looks like it won't last long. Granted, there's a chance that Al Ewing is simply trying to misdirect us and if that turns out to be the case, then hats off to him. But for the time being, I would've liked just a bit more clues and "it could definitely be that person" moments before starting to rule out contenders.

Thankfully, we get a small but rather interesting new mystery when Venom says the host and symbiote didn't bond because they liked each other. They claim they're not even friends, after all. Instead, they're simply "stuck together". So I'm really intrigued to see why the two had to join forces once the identity mystery is over.

Last, but definitely not least, I just have to say I love how it's clear Al Ewing isn't a fan of Paul most like the rest of the whole world. I mean, his character gets absolutely annihilated by Dylan Brock in this issue. Dialogs such as "How stupid do you have to be to get fooled by a pair of imaginary kids?" were just ruthless—but also a bit deserved. Now, that's really giving audiences what they want.

Verdict: Keep the saga going

All-New Venom (2024) #2 may be a bit cartoony for its own good sometimes, and it (seemingly) rules out one of the four main suspects behind Venom's identity way too quickly. However, it's also action-packed and contains breathtaking art filled with tons of little details courtesy of Carlos Gomez. Al Ewing has been doing amazing work at proving that watching the usual Lethal Protector try to be a hero was the right move, and taking the character back to basics after many cosmical adventures has been a breath of fresh air so far. So, by all means, keep the series going!

All-New Venom (2024) #3 will be released on Feb. 12, 2025.