Appearing in "Codex"

Featured Characters:

• Venom (Dylan Brock) (Bonds to the Venom symbiote)
• Venom Symbiote

Supporting Characters:

• Sleeper Symbiote
• King in Black (Eddie Brock)

Antagonists:

• Absent Throne
  • Meridius
  • Bedlam
  • Life Foundation
    • Spearhead (Carson) (First appearance as Spearhead)
    • Carlton Drake
  • Alchemax
    • Dr. Zhi (First appearance)
    • Liz Allan

Other Characters:

• Symbiote Hive
  • Numerous unnamed symbiotes (Controlled by Eddie Brock)
• Carnage (Cletus Kasady) (Mentioned)
• Archer Lyle (Mentioned)
• Kang the Conquerer (Mentioned)

Races and Species:

• Symbiotes
• Humans
• Homo arachnus (Mentioned)

Locations:

• Earth
  • United States of America
    • California
      • Sacramento
        • Abandoned factory
        • Alchemax R&D Facility (First appearance)
  • Ildefonso Archipelago
    • Life Foundation HQ

Items:

• Spearhead Armor
• Spearhead's Spear (First appearance)
• Symbiote Codices (Mentioned)
• Symbiote Hive Portal

Synopsis for "Codex"

Sensing a pheromonal distress signal emitted by Sleeper, the Venom symbiote realizes that Dylan Brock is in danger and manifests its humanoid form. Setting out to rescue its host, the Venom symbiote fumes indignantly, asking itself why it shouldn't just leave Dylan to his fate when the boy obviously wants nothing to do with it. Cursing Eddie Brock for tasking it with protecting his son, the Venom symbiote claws at its face in frustration and asks itself how it can show Dylan that he can trust it and that it's all that's left of his father. Before the Venom symbiote can make it out the door, a high-tech spear impales it through the chest -- the tip emitting a sonic shockwave that destabilizes its humanoid form. Snarling as it pulls itself free, the Venom symbiote sees a squad of Life Foundation mercenaries stationed outside, led by a man clad in high-tech armor. Recognizing the man as the leader of the mercenaries who attacked it, Sleeper, and Dylan, the Venom symbiote snarls that it can smell his fear and mockingly asks if it didn't break him already. Replied that it certainly tried, Mr. Carson introduces himself as Spearhead and says that this time he came prepared, activating the spear's sonic emitter and dissipating the Venom symbiote's humanoid form.

At an Alchemax research and testing facility, Dylan Brock is trapped to a high-tech operating table, screaming in pain as robot arms stab syringes into him. Outside the testing room, scientist Dr. Zhi explains to Liz Allan that they've been trying to study the process through which codices are formed but that some quirk of Dylan's DNA degrades and neutralizes the symbiote biomass they attempt to bond to his genetic material. As Liz examines one of the inert samples of living abyss, she asks if Dylan is going to be alright. Dr. Zhi replies that she is doing the best she can to alleviate his pain but that she needs to run more experiments to obtain data. As Dr. Zhi says that she's concerned they're pushing Dylan past his breaking point, Liz coldly tells her to monitor Dylan's vitals but continue testing, saying that she's spent enough time around the Brocks and symbiotes to know that the research they're doing will be key to saving countless lives. Stepping into her office, Liz undoes her hair and slumps against the door, remorsefully wondering what she's gotten herself into.

At the abandoned factory, Spearhead blasts the Venom symbiote with a sonic attack, sending it flying onto a nearby pedestrian bridge overlooking a highway. As the Venom symbiote tries to pull itself together into its humanoid form, rasping that it has to find Dylan, Spearhead mockingly wonders what his boss sees in the creature and stabs it with his spear to disperse it again - explaining that his weapon was made with self-healing resonant nanomaterials that enable it to act as a tuning fork, creating sonic blasts. As the Venom symbiote collapses into a pile of amorphous ooze, Spearhead mockingly says that while it boasted about breaking him earlier it's nothing without its host. Flinging itself from the overpass, the symbiote lands on a passing truck. Spearhead is stopped from pursuing it by a drone piloted by Carlton Drake, who tells him they've done enough for one night and that it's now time to let the Venom symbiote recover, adapt, and mutate. As the truck drives away, a group of Life Foundation drones surreptitiously follow to monitor the symbiote's location and status.

At the Alchemax R&D facility, Dylan watches helplessly as a group of scientists carry the containment unit holding Sleeper past the lab, desperately praying to his father to help him. Abruptly, the symbiote containment units in the adjacent room shatter, the symbiotes merging into an amalgam with Eddie Brock's face. Smashing his way into the lab, Eddie speaks through the symbiote amalgam and says that he can't hold this form for long, lamenting the complications of time travel when Dylan asks if he's really there and still alive. Eddie asks if Dylan contacted Archer yet, saying that she and the Venom symbiote are the only ones he can trust, but Dylan furiously shouts that Archer betrayed him and that bonding to the Venom symbiote is what got him into this mess in the first place; demanding an explanation for the fake Eddie who showed up at the house and the phone call he got from another apparently fake Eddie telling him not to trust the Venom symbiote. Confused, Eddie processes this as he frees Dylan, promising to fix everything and prove Kang wrong. Telling Dylan that he'll have to figure out for himself who he can and can't trust, Eddie - his avatar starting to fall apart - says that the one thing Dylan can count on for sure is that the Venom symbiote will come for him. Admitting that his old symbiote is a lot of unsavory things, Eddie says he knows it better than it knows itself and that it will never let him down - since it contains a part of Eddie himself. Eddie's avatar melts into a seemingly lifeless mass of symbiote ooze, and Dylan - his resolve and determination restored - grabs a fire extinguisher and knocks out a scientist who comes to check on the testing. Rushing from the lab to where Sleeper is being kept, Dylan prepares to free his companion but is cornered by armed guards. Investigating the commotion, Liz Allan - feeling guilty over torturing Dylan and having doubts about the necessity of the experiments - tries to deescalate the situation, but the Venom symbiote suddenly bursts out of an overhead air vent. Dylan exults as the Venom symbiote engulfs and bonds to him. Sporting an altered chest emblem, Venom forms an arm blade and roars at the Alchemax staff and guards.

Narrating the ongoing events to Carlton Drake, Meridius - having emerged from a portal of living abyss into Drake's office - says that the changes the Absent Throne's machinations have set in motion are now bearing their fruit - and fangs - as they speak, and that Liz Allan will now see that the symbiote known as Venom is mutating into something new and dangerous. Drake grumbles that he doesn't see why they need to involve her and Alchemax, but Meridius reminds Drake that he owes the godlike alien a debt for returning him to his human form and remarks that Liz Allan will prove a useful pawn for pushing Dylan past his limits, just as the Life Foundation is pushing the Venom symbiote past its. Adding that he too shall do his part, Meridius spawns a colossal red symbiote with black eyespots and claws from his body, dubbing it Bedlam, and tells it to scare Dylan for him. As Meridius disappears through the portal, which closes, Bedlam towers over Drake and lets out a ferocious roar.

Solicit Synopsis

See Also

• 13 image(s) from Venom Vol 5 4
• 1 reprint(s) of Venom Vol 5 4

Links and References

References