• It's all or nothing as Venom and Kraven square off for their final battle!
• But how can Venom protect himself and the innocents living under New York's streets from a hunter who can't die?
Rated T+
While it is an underwhelming finale to the Lethal Protector arc, Venom #158 is still a fun comic to read. There is plenty of chaos and violence to keep the story exciting, and Bagley and Almaras art make for gorgeous visuals. This one still gets a recommendation. Give it a read. Read Full Review
Looking at Kraven The Hunter chase down dinosaurs in the sewers is one of the best examples of why we read comics in the first place. Venom is dumb fun that isn't afraid to be the comic that it is. To expect anything else would be foolish. Read Full Review
After such a strong showing these past couple months, it's frustrating that "Lethal Protector" ends on such a bland note. This issue delivers neither a fitting homage to Amazing Spider-Man #33 nor a satisfying rematch between venom and Kraven. Instead, it wastes time setting the stage for the return of Lee Price. Mark Bagley's clean, confident art helps smooth over these problems to some extent, but not enough to save what could have been a memorable finale. Read Full Review
The fight itself was pretty lame but everything around it was a good read. Shreik got her comeuppance! Maybe those wishy-washy cops should be fired too even though they did what reading fans probably hoped for. Nice cover and inside art.
The end battle between Kraven and Venom was such a let down. The rest of the book was good though. Art, as always, has been great since Bagley took over.
Venom uses Shriek as a club to beat Kraven unconscious. Outside of that, all of the actual heroism here is handled by Tana the Pteranodon. Much as I love that (Tana is awesome!), it's not a good showing for a Venom comic. Combine a ham-fisted courtroom scene with an unwelcome outcome (here comes Lee Bloody Price, again) with some art you definitely would not pick for a "Mark Bagley is awesome" exhibition and you have a thoroughly non-memorable read.
Well, that brief period of Venom being great was way too short. This arc was very average and relied on shoddy evidence that I feel nobody who knows how symbiotes would work would actually buy. At least we get to see more of Lee Price and they are doing something with thosw first 6 issues that starred him.