Savage Six continues, but will Flash Thompson be able to hold onto his humanity?  Should you care?  Read on and find out.

The official description from Marvel:

Toxin vs. Venom! Flash Thompson’s Last Stand! The Crime-Master Triumphant! – It’s the Savage Six Finale the comics world will be talking about!

CRIME MASTER’S IDENTITY IS REVEALED – and Flash Thompson and Betty Brant’s lives will never be the same!

Despite the official description, this is not the conclusion to Savage Six, this is the penultimate issue.  Now that that’s out of the way, this issue was brutal, violent and worth every single penny.  It brought Venom and Flash to new heights and new lows, as we delved further into the soul of this newly appointed Avenger.

Rick Remender and Cullen Bunn do a masterful job bringing this game to its next level.  Venom is no longer the hunted, he is the hunter.  His family and loved ones are in danger, and now our hero must do what he’s trained to do and trust me when I say it’s not always pretty.  The dialogue  in this issue is solid, giving reason to every brutal decision and understanding to every act Flash takes.  Kudos to both writers for delivering a script that escalates the stakes and offers a shocking identity reveal in the process.

Lan Medina and Robert Atkins handle the art, and they nail the chaotic look of a symbiote host, and the crazy visual world established by Tony Moore.  With each panel full of detail, I’m honestly left wanting more.  It was very disappointing to reach the end of this book and realize this was not the ending of the arc because these two would be perfect for it.

Overall Venom has progressed nicely, forming a unique cast of characters and a brutal but dynamic world that is firing on all cylinders.  Recommended.

4/5