[Warning: This article contains spoilers for All-New Venom #5.] Face it, Tiger: there’s an all-new Venom… and it’s Mary Jane Watson. For months, Marvel has been teasing the mysterious secret identity of the gold-covered Venom who has been swinging around as a less-Lethal Protector after Venom War, which ended with Eddie Brock and son, Dylan Brock, both separated from the Venom symbiote and Eddie bonding with the Carnage symbiote. Meanwhile, Dylan investigated four potential suspects: the Journalist (Robbie Robertson), the Terrorist (Madame Masque), the Sidekick (Rick Jones), and the Mayor (Luke Cage).
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Ahead of Wednesday’s All-New Venom #5 from writer Al Ewing and artist Carlos Gómez, Marvel Comics released a spoiler page from the issue revealing Mary Jane Watson as the Venom symbiote’s new host. See it below before the issue goes on sale April 2.
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“We hooked readers in with the big mystery — albeit with a little misdirection thrown in — but now the cat’s out of the bag, we can really get into the unlikely interaction of MJ and Venom,” Ewing said in a statement. “Unlike previous hosts, these two aren’t together by choice, but their odd-couple energy makes for a bubbling pot of old-school soap opera thrills. If you’ve enjoyed this lighter take on Venom, there’s a lot more on the way — as well as some darker directions to come.”
MJ, who became the gadget-based superhero Jackpot in a 2023 issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, is Peter Parker’s ex-girlfriend (formerly wife, but the Spider-marriage was magically annulled during the controversial One More Day storyline). Her current boyfriend is the much-hated Paul Rabin, who also emerged as an All-New Venom suspect, after he and MJ took in the homeless Dylan Brock.
In the Zeb Wells-penned Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 6, Peter and MJ were transported to an alternate universe by the mad mathematician Benjamin Rabin, a.k.a. the Emissary, a villain from Wells’ prior Amazing Spider-Man run in 2008. MJ and Paul developed a situationship after being stranded in this dystopian dimension with Paul (Rabin’s son), and it was during this time that they adopted two children, Owen and Romy, and MJ adopted the identity of Jackpot. (While only weeks had passed on Earth, the missing Mary Jane was with Paul for years by the time Spider-Man was able to return to the alternate dimension to save her.)
All-New Venom #5
WHO IS THE ALL-NEW VENOM…REVEALED?! When all the red herrings have been weeded out – who’s left? The clues have been in front of you the whole time – and by the end of this issue, you WILL know the name of the ALL-NEW VENOM…but with M.O.D.O.K. out for symbiote blood, you might just be identifying the corpse!
On sale: April 2
All-New Venom #6
THE ORIGIN OF THE ALL-NEW VENOM! Now we know WHO the All-New Venom is…the question is HOW? What happened after the events of the Venom War? Why did the symbiote choose this host – and why can’t they separate? Jackpot confronts Venom – and she may not like what she finds out!
On sale: May 7
