This week we’re covering season 3, episode 10 of Spider-Man: The Animated Series – ‘Venom Returns’.
It’s the one where, yes, Venom returns.
Venom is back with a bang, and before you can say “aw s***, he we go again” Eddie’s trolling is has led to a far worse kind of extremely online crazy: Carnage the slack-jawed yokel.
Ol’ Cletus is Chucky meets the Joker meets one of the chans, but luckily pessimistic Peter is here with some back-up from a George Foreman-powered War Machine. But behind the scenes, cheery Dormammu and SEO-seeking Baron Mordo are back to pull some Lawnmower Man CGI shenanigans and talk about… uh… replicating.
After that, Jack discusses the return of Venom in the comics and the first appearance of Cletus Kasady in The Amazing Spider-Man #344.
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Further podcast notes
No proper comic origins this week as I’ll be posting a full Carnage run-down once our next episode is out – but I do have one panel reference I mentioned during the podcast I thought I’d include here – a classic Parker luck one:
Tough crowd. Well that’s what it’s like being a public menace I guess. This is pretty much the opposite of that scene on the bridge in the first Spidey movie, right?
Episode Stills!
Now for some dumb and fun episode stills from everyone’s favourite 90s Spider-Man cartoon. First up is our first look at a pre-symbiote Cletus Kasady, who is stirring up trouble with the police after (presumably) a killing spree.
Cletus is caught… pretty easily. Maybe don’t yell about how long the timer on your bomb has got next time buddy.
Terri Lee conducts SWAT raids on heavily-armoured locations containing serial killers in… a business skirt? Points for style, if not practicality.
What does ol Pete get for his troubles? A ton of rubble on his head. As per usual.
This meteor scene remind you of anything? Reminded us of the way the Venom symbiote makes its way to Earth in Spider-Man 3.
Red, huh?
Madam Web turns up again, mostly to give vague clues about making an unlikely alliance and to throw a few sarcastic barbs Peter’s way.
Cletus and Eddie, enemies at first sight.
Baron Mordo is back after getting away at the end of the first episode of the season. Now he’s talking to Dormammu through a crystal in some underground lair.
Dormammu has chilled out a lot this time. I think he might be getting a little high on his own headfumes actually. Look at that cheery smile.
His schemes aren’t about magic rods this time, but take us to the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane (basically Marvel’s Arkham Asylum).
While Eddie Brock and Cletus are getting unfriendly in their cells, Curt Conners is eager to present a regular businessman to Peter Parker.
Unfortunately, Peter knows that dude is Baron Mordo. Dude does not get a rest.
Eddie gets a visitor, courtesy of Baron Mordo. It’s an old friend from out of town.
Reunited at last, Symbrock breaks out similarly to how he did in the comics.
Cletus is mad jealous.
This next shot? Purely here so I can make a reference to The Graduate.
This one is here because I thought it looked dumb. A LOT of my screenshots end up being stuff like this. Henry calls them gorms.
Rhodey, pre-suit-up, doesn’t have that good of a time fighting Venom. Tony… watches.
If you try your best to ignore Venom’s big round butt he looks pretty threatening.
Lucky for Spidey – and Rhodey, really – there’s a War Machine armour available to kick some ass.
Where’s Mordo in all this? He’s hiding… not too well. Do you think he thinks no one can see him?
Clearly, things aren’t going according to plan as both War Machine and Spider-Man turned up suspiciously quickly to stop Venom from stealing the dimension-gun-thingy, so it’s time to fall on Dormammu’s plan B:
Yep, Cletus Kasady is the perfect host for the surprise second symbiote. Turns out the symbiote asexually (you’d hope) reproduced on the space probe at some point, coming back home as two instead of one.
Now baby red has met Cletus, they’ve become Carnage – a name Baron Mordo is a big fan of. So, how’s Venom doing against War Machine?
Oh. Not so good then.
But before long he’s joined by his new… son? Anyway, Venom does “recall replicating”.
Carnage is super small compared to Venom, which I like. But that doesn’t mean he’s less dangerous.
In fact, he quickly wipes out Spidey and War Machine and asks Eddie to join in on the fun. Eddie is trying to be better though… so what will he do? Well, looks like we’ll have to find out next week.
Otherwise, that’s all for this week, folks! Next episode we’ll be doing part 2 of this two-parter and talking about the comic origins of Carnage!
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That '90s Spider-Man Show 