| Toxin (Spider-Man) (Venom) (Marvel Comics) | Paperbackby Peter Milligan (Author), Darick Robertson (Illustrator)
| 1 Used starting at: | $49.99 |
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| | Binding: | Paperback | | Publisher: | Marvel Comics | | Page Count: | 128 Pages | | Publication Date: | November 23, 2005 | | Sales Rank: | 2,947,186nd |
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CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 1 review)
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Great Hero, So-So Villians Make for Fairly Spectacular Read by SylvesterFox007 (USA)  5 Stars
May 15, 2007
"Toxin" is a follow-up to "Venom Vs. Carnage." I was sucked into "V Vs. C" because, besides the allure of those two titans clashing, the comic included Felicia Hardy/Black Cat, and if I ever had a crush on a fictional character, it's Black Cat.
Anyway, in that particular comic, the Carnage symbiote gave birth to an offspring, the grandchild of Venom. The new symbiote bonded with Patrick Mulligan, an NYPD officer. With the help of Black Cat and Spider-Man, Mulligan decided to channel the symbiote for good. It was a fairly decent read.
"Toxin" is actually a better comic. While "V Vs. C" was fairly decent, "Toxin" is fairly spectacular. "Toxin" picks up where "V Vs. C" left off. Patrick Mulligan has walked away from everything he loves: his career as a cop, his wife, and his newborn son, in order to try to gain control of his symbiote, whom he calls Toxin. Along the way, Toxin does battle with villains like Mr. Hyde, King Cobra, The Answer, The Pile Driver, and Razor Fist. Any of those names ring a bell? They don't for me.
The main, and most interesting, of the villains is Razor Fist. A first-rate sociopath who lost both of his hand and had them replaced with sword blades. Sure, he's extremely evil, but he looks more than a little cheesy. He's certainly no Doc Ock or Green Goblin, much less a Venom or Carnage. Anyway, Razor Fist has brainwashed an army of small children, turning them into psychotic serial killers. He calls them "Piranha Tots." He's blackmailing New York by threatening to unleash the Piranha Tots to slice up innocent victims on a day he calls "Slasherday."
Plot aside, the character of Toxin is the true driving force of the story. Or characters. Unlike Eddie Brach and Venom or Kletus Cassidy and Carnage, Patrick Mulligan and Toxin coexist simultaneously, often conversing and arguing with each other throughout the story. The symbiote itself doesn't seem inherently evil. It's more like a naïve child. Meanwhile, Pat Mulligan struggles with using Toxin as a vigilante without going to far. At one point, Mulligan steps in to avenge a cop that's been murdered, and Toxin viciously murders the killer. Parallels are drawn to the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Deservingly so. Also, Mulligan struggles with his decision to leave his family behind them. This is real character drama fueling the story, rather than action. In fact, most of the story's violence is unseen, and only implied.
Spider-Man makes occasional appearances though Black Cat, sadly, does not. At first, I missed the artwork of Clayton Crain, who brought a realistic look to "V Vs. C" and made Black Cat sexier than ever. But Darick Robertson brings a great look to the characters of the story, and his depiction of the Piranha Tots is especially disturbing. And Toxin is an amazing character. He deserves his own video games, action figure, and definitely more comic book spin-offs.
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