Venom: Spaceknight

Settle in, fellow nerds: it's infodump time! You already know how Flash Thompson became Agent Venom, so we won't repeat that here. With his new powers, he was asked to join the Secret Avengers (and the Thunderbolts), and when the Avengers were looking for a way to maintain closer ties with the Guardians of the Galaxy, they chose Flash as their envoy to the team. Once in space, the symbiote started to go nuts, attacking everybody and trying to run back to Earth. Eventually the Guardians made their way to the Planet of the Symbiotes, who call themselves "the Klyntar." They explained that they're actually benevolent creatures, looking to create heroes on disparate worlds, but that they can be corrupted by bonding with unbalanced beings (such as Deadpool, who briefly wore the suit before Spider-Man found it). These symbiotes become destructive parasites, feeding on their hosts' adrenaline, and purposefully spread lies about their species to make other races hate and fear them. The Klyntar cleansed Flash's symbiote, allowing him to unlock its full potential. He was now an Agent of the Cosmos, a soldier to protect his home planet and anyone who needs his help. Venom: Spaceknight is the Build-A-Figure for Series 4 of the Spider-Man Marvel Legends. He's built from six pieces, and stands over 7½" tall once assembled. The character was redesigned by Ariel Olivetti. Like the classic Venom, the body is large and muscular, but not completely organic - that is, there are bits that make it look like a military space suit. For instance, yes, he may have a smooth, biological chest, but there are angular panels on the shoulders, a flexible seal on the throat, defined kneepads, overlapping plates on the forearms and feet, etc. It's a mixture of typical Venom goo and a manufactured protective suit. The head is, in broad terms, the same shape as always - it has a long chin and white panels around the eyes, but it's all straight lines. This is clearly a helmet, not a face. It's still made by the symbiote wrapping around Flash's head, but it's not going to have teeth and a tongue. It's kind of weird to get used to, but it makes sense. It helps that Venom keeps his traditional colorscheme: black with white accents. He's still got the big spider on his torso, but the lines are all crisp and straight rather than being wild and jagged. The lines have been sculpted as raised pieces, so there probably won't be a lot of re-use potential here. There are white patches on the back of his hands - diamonds, rather than squares - but the palms of his hands, the insides of his forearms, and his heels and calves are all white as well, giving new features to the Venom suit. Since he's still a Guardian of the Galaxy, the team's symbol is printed in light blue on both shoulders. This is a new body, but the articulation is up to snuff. The toy moves at the ankles, knees, thighs, hips, waist, chest, wrists, elbows, biceps, shoulders, neck and head. He's a beefy figure, so while he has double-hinged knees, he only gets single elbows. He doesn't have any accessories, but then, he's a Build-A-Figure: he is an accessory! Venom: Spaceknight is an interesting new take on the character, but the growth is organic. If you demand Venom be a drooling, fangy pile of goop who wants nothing more out of life than to kill Spider-Man, this probably won't appeal to you, but if you want some big crazy '70s Heavy Metal-style space barbarism adventure, and can accept the idea that a kid who went to high school with Peter Parker is the star, it's worth a shot. I admit that this really isn't "my" Venom, but he'll look cool fighting alongside the Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel, and that one Iron Man who otherwise has no friends. Ultimate Spider-Men | Evil Adversaries | Web-Slinging Heroines -- 07/01/19

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