At the finale of last week’s ‘Venom’ #13.3, our four heroes (Venom, Red Hulk, X-23, and Ghost Rider) had made a devilish deal with Mephisto. In exchange for the satanic villain returning them to life, they agreed to do “a favor” for him at an undisclosed point in the future.
As this issue opens, it seems as if Alejandra’s death freed the Spirit of Vengeance. That means that she is no longer the Ghost Rider and the Spirit is free to seek out a new host. The Spirit immediately homes in on its old friend Johnny Blaze… but with Blackheart’s demon girlfriend Gari Oyle in hot pursuit. Meanwhile, outside the city, Dr. Strange and Hellstorm are fighting a losing battle to keep Hell contained within Las Vegas. When Gari Oyle captures the Spirit of Vengeance and presents it to Blackheart, the newly resurrected heroes attack the demonic villain head on, only to be tossed aside like flies, but not before they retrieve the Spirit. As the issue closes, the Spirit chooses a new host… and it looks like Blackheart may be in big trouble.
Rick Remender is back on his ‘Venom’ writing duties after a few others stepped in to help him flesh out the weekly ‘Circle of Four’ storyline. This issue, Remender does a great job tying up the various plot threats into an action-packed climax. His charactarizations of the characters, especially Alejandra, is touching and wonderful to read.
Aiding Remender is artist Lan Medina who does a spectacular job. With all the action going on against a detailed Hellish backdrop, it would be easy to lose focus. But Medina holds it together and presents a truly wonderful comic.
Join me back here next week the ‘Circle of Four’ comes to a close in ‘Venom’ #14.
Bonus: Now that ‘Circle of Four’ is almost complete, fans can put the four covers of the last few issues of ‘Venom” (#13.1 – #13.4) together to get the full image, featuring the four heroes:
Verdict: Buy
VENOM #13.4
Written by RICK REMENDER
Art by LAN MEDINA and NELSON DECASTRO
Cover by STEFANO CASELLI and FRANK MARTIN
