Patrick

@elcapitan276 Still somehow smaller than Venom War.

@PhantomRoxas The tie-ins too, but one of them is Eddie and the others flash so not too much of an issue, but they’re milking it for sure

I can't comment anymore #SymbioteSpoilers

@elcapitan276 I just mean as far as being the future evil version of a hero. Again, I'm going off of my own theory, but I'm worried that Peter isn't really "necessary" to defeating Hellgate. Just indirectly.

@PhantomRoxas But that needs his fam to die. We know the mom is the new company lady. Idk punching down on Peter to hype up a villain, it’s superior again

So he's Aunt May and Uncle Ben's son?

@elcapitan276 It would be really awkward, because this would be the potentially final issue of what's happening in Venom right now would just be a "To be continued" telling people to then go read Queen in Black.

@PhantomRoxas Not to mention venom 262 is not even the penultimate of the event, 260 alr focuses on Dylan flashback. Plus spidey is involved somewhere here too

@elcapitan276 Sort of. I think it's more that they stop Hellgate by making sure he *doesn't* end up like Syndrome. Maybe 28 establishes that Peter isn't the right mentor that Kintsugi needed? Dark Dan from Danny Phantom has been the main comparison on my mind.

@PhantomRoxas Oof, that’s not great. More syndrome then

@elcapitan276 I think it's... a relief to see that QiB will only take up three months. Lining up the endings like this also feels like an attempt to focus, or at least set up so that the next eras for both Spider-Man and Venom begin from a unified focus.

@PhantomRoxas That’s it tho but we as fans also have to be on board w that acceptance per se but so far it’s very forced and lacking focus. A lot to do for 1 issue

@elcapitan276 This is my own theory, so I cannot hold this against the story until we see how much any of it pans out. If, somehow, this is on the money, my theory here amounts to "Kintsugi becomes Hellgate because he didn't get his invitation to Spider-Versity."

@PhantomRoxas It’s very weird coz this side of things sounds really good, but where we are now is so weird, and forced between Peter buddy buddy w Norman

@elcapitan276 They've basically said that her acceptance is exactly what leads to the new form. Judging by the trades, I expect that Venom ends at 262, for now. Same month as ASM 1000 and the end of Queen in Black. That way, Marvel gets three major endings all at once.

@PhantomRoxas They’re clearing riffing off asm 258 so at the end we shld understand her more and feel properly everything that’s happened since. Coz her getting the new form would be a level of acceptance/embracing her new role/responsibility (even tho, it feels like coming to an end soon)

@elcapitan276 That's what I'm thinking. Even if Norman can't redeem himself, he could at least put Kintsugi towards a "good" path. The way to defeat Hellgate will come from preventing his existence.

@PhantomRoxas Yh yh, coz Kelly also said kintsugi will have a diff dynamic w Peter too. So maybe it’s a looper thing, where kintsugi goes on the bad path and ends up as hellgate but Norman “redeems” himself by being a proper model for the kid

@elcapitan276 I think 258 will acknowledge Paul, but not dwell on him any more than necessary. Maybe just to discuss the contrast between MJ's relationships with him and Peter.

@PhantomRoxas I really hope so, like they could’ve done some of that here w a convo w Peter, Eddie or even some private convo w the symbiote. But there’s no focus on her at all. My worry is 258 ends up being too much on Paul

@elcapitan276 It's blatantly saying that Norman is already using "steelsilk". Niko says Hellgate needs a teacher. If Hellgate is Kintsugi, and Kintsugi wanted to learn from Norman, then it means the solution is that Norman finally gets to teach him.

@elcapitan276 That said, you did get me thinking. There was one issue where Kintsugi was looking forward to meeting Norman, and actually seems to *want* to learn from him. Before 975, there was a reporter saying Norman's webs were stronger than steel.

@elcapitan276 And yet this will lead to some moment of self-reflection and inspiration for her in 258 and 259.

@PhantomRoxas That’s it tho, she’s not here for her or anything exploring her, more abt connecting the dots. There’s so much to play w and do but they just don’t do it

@elcapitan276 From the Kid Who Collects Spider-Man? Maybe. I think it's more likely that Kintsugi is sick because that's the catalyst for why he becomes Hellgate. I also believe Nikodimu's prophecy of the "Prince of Steelsilk" is supposed to be about Ben, not Peter.

@PhantomRoxas Dk a better way to phrase that😭

@elcapitan276 MJ is here because she provides another intermediary between Peter and the Venom symbiote, on top of Peter's own bond with the symbiote in the past.

@PhantomRoxas Nah just 1st cousin. Yh but they don’t like to deal w that or anything mj related. Like no attempt on Kirsten, her cousin too. Whats actually mj here in this story

@elcapitan276 I figured that 31 would be a wrinkle to the origin. For a bit, I was expecting that it would be recontextualizing Ben's murder. Something like Spider-Man 3, and revealing that the Burglar wasn't the one who killed him.

@PhantomRoxas Maybe he thinks it’s just a wrinkle in the spider-man origin, who knows, that also assumes he’ll write abt aunt may for aunt may too

@elcapitan276 I may have mentioned this to you before, but my personal theory is that 28 will have Kintsugi fall through some kind of time vortex, and then a later issue will reveal that he became Hellgate. So Hellgate is the result of a time paradox.

@PhantomRoxas The way Kelly talks abt kintsugi like there’s more to come from him. He gave it away a while back that Peter will go back to space for a bit, guessing for hellgate and to conclude raelith story too

@elcapitan276 Exactly. As far as direct connections are concerned, Torment would kill this cousin (Does he even get a name here?), then May, and then Peter. You know what's weird? If Baby May, somehow, were still alive even in spite of OMD? She should connect Peter and MJ's spirals.

@PhantomRoxas That 1st cousin is just b4 May🫠

@elcapitan276 I call it stretched because Kintsugi and Brian have been comparatively minor, though Brian at least has had more of a roll. He also still has the final battle with Hellgate. He doesn't have that much, yet he wrote most of his subplots concurrently. Why add this to the mix?

@PhantomRoxas Yh he defo shldnt intro smth like this w such little time to develop. Dont think hes stretching tho moreso hes alr got too much on his plate Dont see why they’d kill aunt may, there’s no impact there

@elcapitan276 I've talked with a couple of people on Discord who were expecting that Aunt May would be written out by having her move in with Ricardo. *If* she's written out (And I'm trying to play it safe there), it would technically make more sense if it's to connect with her son.

@PhantomRoxas Kelly and Lowe gonna say “oh she’s out of town”🫩

@elcapitan276 Some of Torment's victims were usually so far removed that they would just be another innocent victim to him, but nothing more. Torment is going after May, but he's written as having a set "order". Think of it as degrees of separation.

@PhantomRoxas Get that moreso whether is it just a throwaway line like a random cousin or that’s actually the big secret. Coz it’s April and that issue is out in June. But w how loose the books play w family and everything, plus why doesn’t torment go after her? It feels very loose