Venom: The End is a tale both beautiful and bizarre

Marvel might not exactly be the first name that comes to mind when you are thinking of tragic storylines, especially due to the standard their recent live-action films have established.

But the death of Spider-Man's uncle Ben and the fate of Wolverine's family in Old Man Logan, one cannot deny that their misfortunes were deeply saddening. 

The list of tragedies for our favourite Marvel superheroes are long. Pain and loss are not uncommon episodes in the heroes' journey, and it often shaped their drive and determination. Some can be unique and sporadic, but are equally empowering and overwhelming.

The fan favourite symbiote Venom has never strictly been a superhero. In fact, one can argue that he is not a hero at all. He was introduced as one of Spider-Man's most formidable foes. However, Venom would later fight for the right cause at times, giving him the qualities of an anti-hero. Like most Marvel characters, Venom too met his end. But the end to his story was a tragedy unlike any other.

Symbiotes live a long life. They are almost immortal beings. To survive all they need to do is find a suitable host. The host, however, does not live as long. Humans are fragile beings, prone to disease and physical incapacitations. So, what would happen if an immortal symbiote wanted to keep its mortal host alive past his limit? Can the human host survive for hundreds and thousands of years? What will happen if there is no host for the symbiote? All of these questions set the premise of the story of Venom: The End.

Venom: The End takes place in the distant future, in a time of war between organic beings and sentient machines. After long and exhausting battles, it became apparent that defeat of the human race was imminent. The universe's mightiest heroes fell one after another. Soon, Venom would become the last standing defender of all life in the universe. He, however, was fighting his own fight to save his old and only friend, Eddie Brock. Eddie is a mortal, yet the bond between him and the symbiote was nothing like we have ever seen before. 

Being a human Eddie should have died a long time ago, long before the start of the war. Venom desperately tried to keep the inevitable from happening. But after thousands of years, all seemed meaningless as death and deterioration slowly but surely devoured Eddie. Venom could only watch helplessly in despair.
 

Writer Adam Warren gave us a glimpse into what the Marvel universe might look like in the distant future in Venom: The End. And that view was pretty bleak. As the symbiote strived in vain to ward off the inevitable, we witnessed Eddie Brock deteriorate over millennia. The symbiote is always left behind by its host, and the cycle repeats.  

Despite the serious tone of the story, there are moments of humour that keeps the novel from becoming too grim. The plot was compelling, engaging and fascinating. Its primary obstacle, however, was its tremendous range and sheer vastness of the story. After all, it was part of a much larger 'The End' storyline series of graphic novels.

Explaining how Venom had managed to live across the millennia was a difficult task to say the least. Warren was forced to sacrifice much of the detail that ordinarily makes up a narrative because of the story's framework. It was very exposition heavy at times, and as a consequence Venom: The End sometimes felt more like a summary than a tale unfolding as you read along. Artist Jeffrey Cruz's strategy of cramming as much graphic information as possible onto each page only amplified this flaw.

Regardless, Venom: The End was a beautiful and bizarre story. It bit off more than it could chew at times but, despite its flaws, it was an enjoyable experience that readers are sure to enjoy.