Marvel’s latest trip into the Venomverse just brought back one of the most terrifying twists on Iron Man of all time.

“No Escape” brings readers into the far-flung future of Earth-23203 where, over 800 million years from the present, Venom stands as the last line of defense for all organic life in the Marvel Universe. As an army of Venoms from across the Multiverse leap into battle for the fate of the cosmos, the progenitor of the villainous Godminds narrates the situation at hand — and this version of Tony Stark can’t help but gloat about his own greatness in the process.

Written by AL EWING, PHILLIP KENNEDY JOHNSON, CHRIS GIARRUSSO, and ADAM WARREN Art by DANILO S. BEYRUTH, JOHN MCCREA, CHRIS GIARRUSSO, and CHRISCROSS Colors by CECI DE LA CRUZ, CRIS PETER, CHRIS GIARRUSSO, and GURU-eFX Letters by VC’s TRAVIS LANHAM Design by CARLOS LAO Main cover art by TONY DANIEL & MARCELO MAIOLO Variants covers by DERRICK CHEW, LEINIL FRANCIS YU & ROMULO FAJARDO JR., and ROGÊ ANTÔNIO & MARCELO MAIOLO

The reality of Earth-23203 was introduced in 2020’s Venom: The End by writer Adam Warren and artist Chamba. Like other entries in Marvel’s The End series of titles, Venom: The End found the titular symbiote eking out what little existence was left to be had at the end of all things. In this particular reality, various cosmic empires were swept up in an arms race centered around creating artificial super-intelligences, all while Venom himself began consuming the powers of others and forming living worlds in his own image. These two forces eventually waged war against one another, culminating in over one trillion years of constant battle between Venom’s biological army and the sentient AI secretly controlled by a digitized Tony Stark.

In the same vein as the Spider-Verse, Marvel’s various Venomverse titles have given readers a look into the lives of different iterations of the eponymous symbiote from across the Multiverse. Beginning with 2017’s Edge of Venomverse #1, the Venomverse has introduced a host of Venomized versions of fan-favorite heroes and villains. The Venomverse has also given rise to unique takes on Marvel’s premier symbiotes who have become fan favorites unto themselves, such as Kintaro, better known as Kid Venom.

Apart from entirely new versions of the character, Venomverse Reborn has also given Venoms from other media a chance to make their own Marvel Comics debut. As seen in Christos Gage and Greg Land’s story “Kiss the Ring” from the pages of Venomverse Reborn #1, these include the Venom of Earth-1048, otherwise known as the world of Insomniac Games’ Marvel’s Spider-Man. This Venom was dragged through the Multiverse by none other than Knull, the progenitor of all symbiotes and original King in Black who was ultimately cut down by the Eddie Brock of the primary Marvel Universe during the events of King in Black.

Venomverse Reborn #2

Source: Marvel Comics