Part 4: Flash Thompson
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| Brought to you courtesy of the Red, White and Blue. |
Eugene “Flash” Thompson is another
character that I think gets a lot of crap. Sure, he began as Peter Parker’s
bully, but over the years he’s developed into a hero all his own.
Unfortunately, TV and most of the movies never go beyond the jerky bully stage
of him. The man was Peter Parker’s Best Man at his wedding, before it was
erased from history. Freaking Demon Lord’s man. Whatever, my point is that he's more than what he started off as. Now on with the show, here's a brief look at the first truly heroic incarnation of Venom, Agent Venom.
After college, Flash served a
number of tours in the Army. He became a decorated soldier, before he lost his
legs trying to protect his commanding officer. Needless to say, he spent the
next few years coming to terms with the loss of his legs, and battling a few
mental demons like following in the footsteps of his abusive alcoholic father.
He comes through stronger though, and is offered a unique opportunity from the
US government. They offer him the Venom Symbiote, in exchange they want him to
become a special agent/government sponsored superhero.
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| When you see this, Run! |
Flash jumps, metaphorically
speaking, at the chance. The suit not only gave him back his legs, in the form
of the Venom suit’s biomass, but it also allowed him to emulate his favorite superhero,
Spider-man. The government, wary of the side effects the alien can have on the
psyche of those bonded to it, put special limits on Flash. He would only be
allowed to be the newly dubbed Agent Venom for twenty missions before being separated
permanently. Furthermore, he could only
be bonded to the suit for 48 hours at a time, to reduce the risk of the suit
creeping into his mind. Finally, in case of a complete loss of control, they
implant a few high grade explosives into Flash, to destroy him and injure the
suit if necessary. Honestly, it seems odd that they’d pick a recovering
alcoholic to use a bioweapon that creates addictive behavior in its hosts, but
sometimes usual problems need unusual solutions. They use a combination of the
strong sedatives developed by Norman Osborn and Flash’s strength of will to repress Venom’s personality
and sent him off. What could possibly go wrong?
A whole lot, actually. For example, if a
mission goes longer than 48 hours, the failsafe’s active separating Venom from
Flash. Leaving a disorientated pile of goo and a legless former soldier. Not
the best two for covert ops. There is also the risk of the alien overcoming the
drugs used to control it, but thankfully they have a few warnings before that
gets too serious. As Flash loses control the suit reverts to its usual hulking
form, complete with gaping mouth and super tongue. When that happens it
probably a good idea to fling a Flashbang or two. And run like hell.
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| How he appeared on TV. I'm glad they didn't just remove the spikes. |
Flash, despite a few instances, excels
in his new role. When his twenty missions were up, he went AWOL rather than
return the suit. With help from Captain America, Flash is allowed to keep the
Symbiote, and joins the Secret Avengers. They’re like the regular Avengers, but
covert. How Captain America can be on their roster I’ll never know. A short time later, Flash moved to Philadelphia and became the cities residential wall crawler. Thus Flash
Thompson becomes like the Hero that he’s always admired. He's since signed on with the Guardians of the Galaxy, so it could be argued that he's surpassed Spider-man in a way or two.
Flash has all the same powers as his predecessors,
but he utilizes them in different ways. He incorporates his own combat
experience with the suit’s powers. So instead of just tearing into people with sharp claws, he combines boxing and Army grade hand-to-hand combat with the Venom suit's webs and enhanced reflexes. He's a devastating opponent. He is the first Venom host to use the alien’s
ability to store an immense amount of objects within itself without adding a
lot of bulk or weight. What does he store? Why guns, bullets, and grenades of
course. And shuriken… not sure why he has those.
A superhero
after my own heart.
That’s true Deadpool, you two must
have a lot in common.
Not really,
it’s just the love of guns thing. Apparently I’m too “Impulsive and Destructive,”
for his tastes. The team up would have been soooo awesome.
Very true Deadpool, very true. Back
on task.
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| The Thunderbolts. Red Hulk, Agent Venom Electra, Punisher and Deadpool. It's a good group, of mostly former baddies. |
Flash Thompson appears in every bit
of Spider-man media. 100% of the time during his bully incarnation, but later
shows and the Amazing Spider-man movie has shown him growing as a character. At
least a little.
As Agent Venom, he’s only ever
appeared in Ultimate Spider-man. I’ve stated before the show is okay at best,
but I have to applaud the writers’ ability to tone down more extreme characters
for a younger audience.
LIKE ME!
Yes, like Deadpool. You probably
wonder how they could turn a very combat and weapons heavy hero into a Disney
friendly superhero. Why with Armored Mercenaries, that’s how. Ultimate Spider-man
explains most of Agent Venom’s body armor by stating they were originally
football pads that Flash was wearing when the suit first manifested. All of his
grenades, shoulder mounted weapons, and his armored chest plate were literally ripped
off tech enhanced mercenary The Beetle. The best line of the episode was Flash
shouting “You’ve got good armor, I can make better armor!” before ripping off
The Beetle’s chest plate and belt, incorporating them into his Venom suit, and
finally adding the Venom symbol over it. It was cool.
I like Agent Venom because there is
a strong “redemption seeking” vibe from the character. Flash as a man has made
a number of mistakes and has a lot of mental demons that he’s battling. Using
an alien that preys on these does make for an interesting character. He’s a
brutal Avenger, battling a large group of his own superpowered enemies, and
even clashing with Eddie Brock when the former Venom host is bonded with a new
Symbiote. More on that another time. I hope to see more of him as time goes on,
but we’ll just have to wait and see. Next time, I’ll take a look at Fox’s new
show Gotham.
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| It's so Beautiful! <Sniff> Deadpool, are you crying? Yes, it's that beautiful! |
http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles-7/agent-venom-vs-carnage-1521492/
http://deadliestfiction.wikia.com/wiki/File:Agent_Venom_Monster.jpg
http://thedailybugle.wikia.com/wiki/Agent_Venom_%28Flash_Thompson%29
https://forums.marvelheroes.com/discussion/38642/agent-venom-or-venom/p7
http://deadliestfiction.wikia.com/wiki/File:Agent_Venom_GUNZ.png
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