I have to give Brian Michael Bendis full marks for making Venom into a genuinely engaging & truly frightening character, and while there is still some problems when it comes to establishing why Eddie would bear such hostility toward Peter, the revised back-story does provide a better foundation that can be built upon. I also have to say that I like the idea that the Venom suit looks to have a decidedly savage quality to it, as the scene where it looks to consume the poor cleaning lady who stumbles across it is handled quite nicely. Mark Bagley also deserves part of the credit here as while he hasn't made any major changes to the overall design, the Ultimate Venom certainly looks a great deal more frightening that his Marvel counterpart. The book also offers up a fairly solid exchange between Peter & Mary Jane, that continues to make their relationship one of the best realized pairings I've ever seen in a super-hero comic. Read Full Review

An iconic issue