SPOILER WARNING for King in Black #2!
Spider-Man’s life as a superhero is full of tragedy, but one of the most infamous moments in the web-slinger’s long history has to be the death of Gwen Stacy. The event, which took place in Gerry Conway and Gil Kane’s Amazing Spider-Man #121, sees Peter Parker’s girlfriend Gwen in the clutches of the Green Goblin. Spider-Man comes to rescue her, but his enemy throws Gwen from the top of the George Washington Bridge in the ensuing battle. In an attempt to save her, Spidey shoots a web and catches her by the ankle, but the sudden maneuver snaps Gwen’s neck, killing her. The trauma from unintentionally causing Gwen’s death has haunted Peter ever since, and Venom just gave the wall-crawler a flashback to that horrible day.
Knull, the God of the Symbiotes, has already managed to take down several of Earth’s greatest defenders in his galaxy-wide reign of terror and destruction in Marvel’s King in Black storyline. By the end of the first issue, he’s turned heroes like Captain America, Storm, and the Thing into his own minions and he’s even managed to kill the all-powerful Sentry. Seeing no other options, Eddie Brock decides to confront the monster face-to-face, but this doesn’t go as planned. Knull almost instantly rips the Venom symbiote from Eddie’s body and drops him from the top of the Empire State Building.
In the opening of King in Black #2 by Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, and Frank Martin, Eddie Brock plummets into the top of a car. Spider-Man witnesses the fall firsthand and quickly arrives on the scene. As he approaches Eddie’s mangled body the wall-crawler grieves, crying, “No, Eddie, I couldn’t… I c-couldn’t get to you.” Panicking, Spider-Man begins calling out for help. Instead of receiving immediate assistance, Spidey is attacked by a horde of his allies who are now under Knull’s control. Luckily, the Human Torch arrives and begins holding the minions off. His sacrifice allows Spidey to escape with his former enemy.
Spider-Man and Eddie are able to make it to safety with a small band of other heroes like Black Panther, Iron Man, the Invisible Woman, and Mister Fantastic. Sadly, things look pretty bleak for the ragtag team. With so many fractures, ruptures, and other injuries, Eddie is barely holding on to life and they figure that the only way to save him will be to pair him with another symbiote. Iron Man manages to find one, but when he pairs it with Eddie, it attacks. Eddie’s son Dylan reveals his own powers, destroying the symbiote, but it is already too late. Eddie flatlines and the rest of the heroes stand around his deathbed in mourning.
While everyone in this issue will be hit hard by Eddie’s death, Spider-Man might have the worst reaction. He blamed himself after failing to save Gwen Stacy from falling to her death and Venom’s fate may bring all of that guilt back. Peter’s reaction immediately after Eddie hits the ground is a good indication of his feelings, as he desperately bargains and pleads for his ally to be okay. This mirrors the hero’s desperation after discovering that Gwen had been killed. As Venom joins Marvel’s 2020 death count, the ramifications of his passing have only just begun. With Dylan Brock’s abilities, there is a sliver of hope remaining, but chances are, Knull’s path of destruction will only continue to grow in the wake of Eddie’s death. King in Black #2 is available now in stores.