5/14 Comic Reviews: What’s the Deal with Yaleo?

Spider-Verse VS Venomverse #1 written by Mat Groom and Kyle Higgins with art by Luciano Vecchio

“Ooh. Crossover time again. Very exciting.”

After years of Spider-Verse and Venomverse events, it was only a matter of time before the multiversal teams were pitted against each other. I think I’ve made it clear that I am not much of a comic event person. I feel that they tend to go for style over substance which can be cool, but not what I come to comics for. Of course, most event comics aren’t written by Mat Groom and Kyle Higgins. Again, anyone who has been reading my reviews knows how much I love both of these writers and how fantastic they are as a team. In fact, they already proved in Ultraman X Avengers just how effectively they can balance an ensemble cast of characters with a high-stakes, world-shattering plot. Needless to say, I went into this book without the slightest doubt that it would be anything less than a blast, and, one issue in, I’ve been proven correct. 

Ok, I lied a second ago. There was one concern I had. I’ve always had a lot of love in my heart for the Symbiotes, and I’ve particularly enjoyed the heroic turn they’ve been taking in the recent Venom and All-New Venom books. So, when I saw “VS” in the title, my fear was that the symbiotes were going to be falling back into their old habits as brain-eating bad guys. Thankfully, from the very first page, my fears were completely assuaged. The first four pages serve as an introduction narrated by Peter and Eddie, explaining their origins, their relationship with responsibility, and their multiversal experience. Sounds pretty straightforward, no? Would you be surprised to learn that my jaw was on the floor throughout the entire sequence? Reader, there was only one set of narration boxes, colored white and red on one half and black and white on the other. With the exception of a few key details that were given their own boxes, Peter and Eddie’s narration is identical. The idea of them sharing the same narration is nothing short of brilliant. It completely crystalizes how similar their arcs have actually been and makes it clear to the reader that neither one is the hero or the villain here. They’re both coming into this conflict with the exact same perspective. Now, that raises the question of why they’d all be fighting in the first place, right? After all, there is a big ol’ “VS” in the middle of the title. This book presents the idea that every Spider-character in the multiverse is tied to a cosmic entity called “The Web-Heart” while every symbiote is tied an entity called “The Hive Mind.” Both entities govern the multiversal expansion of their respective groups and have each arrived at the conclusion that at some point in the future, there is going to be an inevitable conflict which will lead to countless lives being lost. In order to avoid that, they’ve agreed to a competition. Three challenges in which a team of five heroes from either side will compete. The winning side gets to go home while the losing side has their entire faction wiped out of existence. Not exactly ideal circumstances to be sure. What this does is prevent any of the ten contestants from immediately being designated as a villain. None of them want this or would choose to commit a genocide, but they all have people depending on them that they need to go back to, so it’s not as if they can just roll over and let themselves be erased from existence either. It’s an impossible dilemma, and no one is given the time to process their situation before being thrown right into the first challenge.

Before we get into that, let’s go over our heroes. On Team Spider, we’ve got good, old Earth-616 Peter Parker. The book opens with him attempting to track down an arms dealer only to find it already taken care of by Spider-Man (Miles) and Silk (Cindy). Even within his own universe, Peter is finding himself tied to a community more like him than he ever expected, something he clearly appreciates. Just as he’s expressing that sentiment to his friends, he’s whisked away to the cosmic contest. He immediately finds himself joined by four other Spider-people, one of whom he knows quite well. Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham, is a beloved mainstay in these events, a fact which even he remarks upon. He may be a goofy, cartoon pig, but he’s a hero to the core and has provided guidance and mentorship to several of the younger Spiders. They are less familiar with the other three newcomers. Spider-Prowler is a version of Miles Morales in a world crumbling under the invasive forces of the Kree. Like his mainstream counterpart, he’s a heroic young man, but one hardened by war and willing to make the difficult decisions our Miles might not be. Zion Reilly, aka Recluse, is probably the Spider I know the least about. She’s touted as “the Electro Corporation’s biggest mistake” which certainly does a lot to endear her to me and casts her as someone willing to fight for the underdog. We don’t see much of her in this issue, but I’m excited to learn more. The last one we get is Weapon VIII, a Peter Parker who appears to have gone through the same super-soldier program as Wolverine and emerged equally as temperamental and violent. Among the Spiders, he’s the one most likely to get in the way of peaceful negotiations. He’s fiercely loyal to his team, but that also means he won’t hesitate to take his opponents off the board permanently. 

On the Symbiote side, we have a version of Eddie Brock who comes from a world where Peter has died by his hand. Now, he seeks to atone by filling the void and is every bit the responsibility-burdened hero Peter is. We also have Anne Weying. In one lifetime, she was Eddie’s girlfriend and the mother of his child, but in another lifetime, she served as Agent Venom in a war-torn world that took away her lover and her son. Like Miles, she’s not a malicious person, but she will do whatever it takes to protect the people in her care, even if it means consigning every Spider to oblivion. Next up, we have Venom of the Spider Clan, from the fan-favorite Marvel Mangaverse. No stranger to war and death, this warrior nonetheless lives by a code of honor and discipline. He may be ruthless, but he will not do anything more than he feels he has to. However, his victory will mean the death of his universe’s Spider-Man with whom he shares a complicated relationship. How that factors into his choices remains to be seen, but it presents the potential for surprises down the line. The fourth member of their team is Anders Arnvidrson, the Viking Venom, a figure from the past on a mission of vengeance with his own moral code. Like his comrades, he is a fierce warrior and his actions in the book lead to things heating up quite a bit by the end. Finally, there’s Yaleo, a mysterious individual Mat Groom stated he would not be taking questions about. When I pressed for more information, all he did was angrily (jokingly) tap the sign. He has a cool coat and cool sunglasses (which is why I’ve been mentally referring to him as “Sym-Shady” since the moment I first saw him. What does he want? Who knows. What’s the deal with his symbiote? Who knows. Is he going to do anything? Well, according to him, no. Of course, we all know that’s not how stories work, but we’ll have to wait and see how this enigma wrapped in a trench-coat, wrapped in sunglasses will affect the outcome of this contest. 

As mentioned, the characters themselves are barely given time to react before they’re thrown into a strange forest and told to reach their respective pillar within the allotted time or else they’ll be removed from the contest. Both the Web-Heart and the Hive Mind also plant the subtle hint that some of them may not survive, basically giving unspoken permission to use lethal force. One of the driving mysteries for me is how much of what these two entities say can be taken at face value. For one thing, this is the first time we’ve seen either of them. Up until this point, the highest authorities of their respective factions were the Great Weaver and the King in Black, but the entities brush both of them aside and claim to be the real power behind them. The fact that both entities specifically recruited champions more inclined towards violence and ruthlessness is also questionable. Peter and Eddie are serving as the voices of reason on their respective sides and clearly want to work together to reach a compromise, which in itself undermines the argument that the Spiders and Symbiotes are destined for conflict. It also seems calculated that everyone is immediately thrown into the contest and forced into action before they’re given the time to talk things over. There’s a lot more going on here than just good guys versus bad guys or “let’s bring out all the action figures and let them fight” with the story providing a number of fun wrinkles to keep the audience guessing at how things will play out.

On top of everything I just mentioned, this book looks absolutely stunning. Both Spiders and Symbiotes have a reputation for spectacle with fluid motion and monstrous power. Luciano Vecchio delivers on both and then some. As I mentioned, the first four pages serve as a recap of Peter and Eddie’s histories, and while four pages sounds like a lot, it’s actually a limited amount of space to cover decades of comics, but Vecchio nails it with some stunning spreads which encompass tons of iconic moments without feeling cluttered or incoherent. Managing that may be the most impressive dimension-bending feat in this whole crossover. There’s also the two page spread where the Web-Heart and Hive Mind are explaining the rules to the champions and it really is a sight to behold. The silky, white strands of web and the writhing, black tentacles of Symbiote-matter look so similar and yet completely distinct from one another. It emphasizes the two teams as equivalent but opposing forces and helps play up the idea that they really are destined for conflict. The action in this book is top-tier as well. Despite most of the characters having similar power sets, they all fight in unique ways which play to their individual strengths. Anne and Miles both favor projectiles, while Zion is zipping around on her webs. Spider-clan Venom is strong and swift, while Ham supplements his skill with cartoon physics. The standout scene, though, occupies the last two pages. The first part is stylized in a way that lets us see the characters fighting while the background is their zoomed in faces. The level of detail is insane and it makes the scene both spectacular and personal within the same panel. And that last page... Oh, boy. Gorgeous, horrific, and something that is going to cause a ton of problems for everyone. I wish I could describe it in a way that would do it justice, but you’ll just have to see it for yourself. 

This book is everything I could ask for of the first issue of a crossover event. We got all the information we needed to understand the conflict and every other moment was focused on letting the characters bounce off each other, giving us enough reason to care about them despite the short amount of time we’ve had. Compared to the “we’ve got everyone” crossovers we generally get, having a smaller cast is both refreshing and a highly effective way to get the reader invested in each character and the conflict as a whole. Crossovers can be a tough sell and often favor style over substance, but this creative team is fully delivering on both. If you’re a fan of Spider-Man and/or Venom, this is a book that shows both characters in a multifaceted light with some amazing comic-action to boot. This is the event everyone is going to be talking about, and you’re going to want to be along for the ride.