Does it matter? The Life Foundation is a tight operation, and they've found deeper pockets in recent times than I first thought. You and I aren't going to get him out from under them. She said to the damn cat. 

—Archer Lyle

Appearing in "Venomworld - Part One"

Featured Characters:

• Dylan Brock (Main story and flashback) (As Venom in flashback)

Supporting Characters:

• Sleeper (Main story and recap)
• Venom Symbiote (Main story and flashback)
• The Keeper (Eddie Brock) (First appearance)

Antagonists:

• Absent Throne (Behind the scenes)
  • Bedlam (Eddie Brock) (Only in flashback)
  • Life Foundation
    • Carlton Drake
    • Spearhead (Carson) (Main story and recap)
  • Alchemax (Mentioned)

Other Characters:

• Eddie Brock (Mentioned)
• Archer Lyle
• Sleeper Agent (Hank Hensley) (Name revealed) (First as Sleeper Agent)
• Agent Anti-Venom (Flash Thompson) (Mentioned)
• Carnage (Cletus Kasady) (Mentioned)

Races and Species:

• Humans
• Symbiotes

Locations:

• Earth-616
  • Earth
    • Ildefonso Archipelago, Chile (Mentioned)
      • Life Foundation HQ (Mentioned)
    • United States of America
      • California
        • Baywater (Only in recap)
          • Renegades Bar (Only in recap) (Destroyed)
        • Sacramento
• Venomworld (First appearance)

Items:

• Spearhead Armor (Main story and recap)

Events:

• Extreme Carnage (Mentioned)

Synopsis for "Venomworld - Part One"

Impaling Dylan Brock through the heart, Bedlam -- unmasked as Eddie Brock -- sneers at him for being weak and then leaves him to die. Sometime later at a Life Foundation facility, Dylan is hooked up to life support equipment while Spearhead explains to Carlton Drake that he and his team were detained fighting Sleeper and found the boy dying in the ruins of a biker bar. As Spearhead says Dylan should make a full recovery with medical attention, an unimpressed Drake tells him to get to the point and Mr. Carson says that Dylan is completely brain-dead, with only his autonomous nervous system functioning. Intrigued, Drake asks if they were able to locate the Venom symbiote, but Carson replies that despite Baywater being locked down they haven't found it yet. Drake coldly retorts that he couldn't care less about a brainless husk of a boy and only wants the Venom symbiote, and that his patience with Carson's incompetence is wearing thin. Ordering Dylan to be moved to the Life Foundation's Ildefonso Archipelago facility, Drake notes that the Venom symbiote was wounded and that this is the perfect time to capture it -- ordering Spearhead to use whatever means necessary to do so.

Fleeing through the sewers, the Venom symbiote stops to rest, mentally apologizing for not having been able to save Dylan's dying body, weakened and in-shock from Bedlam's assault and the revelation that he was Eddie Brock. Revealing it extracted Dylan's consciousness as a codex contained within itself, the Venom symbiote notes that it's odd their roles have effectively been reversed. Inside the Venom symbiote's mental world, Dylan finds himself overlooking a strange crystalline landscape, an incomprehensible black crystalline structure floating overhead bound by chains in all directions. Traversing the alien landscape, Dylan notes that it feels familiar though he can't recall why or how or even when he got there. Drawn to the black floating crystal, which feels most familiar of all, Dylan is attacked by a horde of feral symbiotes and transforms his arm into a blade to defend himself. Abruptly a black-robed figure appears in their midst and the feral symbiotes retreat, Dylan's hand returning to normal as he asks what they are. The robed figure replies that they are manifestations of rage, bloodlust, and hunger that infest the realm. As Dylan asks where they are and how long they've been there, the robed figure introduces himself as the Keeper and replies that Dylan has only been in the realm a short while but that he has been there far too long. Helping Dylan to his feet, the Keeper responds to his question of where they are by asking if he knows the meaning of the word "Klyntar", "cage" in the symbiote language.

In Sacramento, Sleeper - again in the form of a cat - enters the abandoned factory and tracks down Archer Lyle. Holding it at gunpoint, she asks if it's come to kill her for betraying Dylan, but it says it's come for her help in saving him from the Life Foundation. Archer notes she turned Dylan over to Alchemax, before feigning indifference. Sleeper says that it can tell she thinks she did the right thing in handing him over but nevertheless feels guilt for doing so. Lowering her gun, Archer asks what Sleeper thinks she can do about it, saying that the Life Foundation has a mysterious benefactor with deep pockets. Sleeper assures her that it just needs her to run interference when the time comes, and that it planted a "Sleeper Agent" as a contingency against something like this happening.

At a bar, Hank Hensley is hit on by a woman who asks if he's new in town. Saying he's ex-military and moved recently to work security for a lab, Hank notes that he's not sure exactly why he felt compelled to do so. Struck by a sudden migrain as Sleeper's offshoot begins to assert itself, Hank excuses himself and staggers into the parking lot before transforming and leaping into action.

In "Venomworld", Dylan abruptly finds himself on a large platform directly underneath the black crystal. Surprised by the Keeper knowing his name, Dylan asks who he really is and is shocked when the Keeper throws off his hood to reveal the face of Eddie Brock. The Keeper explains that he is a manifestation of Eddie's memories, and that Dylan needs to return to his physical body before it dies - with the only way out being the black crystal overhead. As Dylan asks what's inside it, the Keeper replies that Venom is and that if Dylan wants to survive he's going to need to understand the truth. As Dylan asks what he means, the Keeper throws off his robes and transforms into a version of Venom with a straight-tailed dragon emblem; asking if Dylan hasn't ever wondered how it's possible for him to be inside the Venom symbiote's mindscape or transform his limbs into weapons. Dylan asks why the Keeper is asking him this, and the Keeper replies that while it is his duty to keep the Venom symbiote's darkness -- the monster within -- caged, he is also the keeper of Eddie Brock's secrets. Saying that with Eddie's death the time has come for Dylan to know what he is, the Keeper fully transforms and lunges at Dylan, roaring that in order to escape Dylan must first go through him.

Solicit Synopsis

See Also

• 3 image(s) from Venom Vol 5 11
• 1 reprint(s) of Venom Vol 5 11

Links and References

References