Eddie Brock wasn’t the first to use the alien powers of a symbiote. Prepare to meet Kintaro! Your Major Spoilers review of Kid Venom: Origins #1 from Marvel Comics awaits!

KID VENOM: ORIGINS #1

Writer: Taigami
Artist: Taigami
Colorist: Guru-eFx
Letterer: VCs Clayton Cowles
Editor: Danny Khazem
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: January 3, 2024

Previously in Kid Venom: Origins: Carnage’s journey through time and space during Death of the Venomverse led him to a plethora of symbiote-wearers throughout the multiverse, including a samurai who used the power of a Klyntarian more than a thousand years ago in Heian-period Japan.

BATTLING ROGUE ONI

In the year 977, there lived a very powerful boy on Mount Ashigara. His name was Kintaro, and when demonic oni threatened the countryside, he would fight them personally, That task was made a bit easier by the fact that those oni were (at least in this issue) actually Klyntarian symbiotes like Venom. Oh, and Kintaro is also the host of a similar symbiote, called Clinter, and seems to be the only one that keeps his sanity while in symbiote form. Not only that, Kintaro has compassion for those whom the symbiote attacks, even when they seem to be monsters themselves. When a bear oni attacks a small village, Kintaro and Clinter stand against it, revealing that Clinter has a different diet than the usual Venoms… It only eats other symbiotes.

A JAPANES FOLK TALE

As the issue ends, not only has the village been saved, since Kintaro ate the bear “oni”, the innocent bear has been freed to return home to its family, with Kintaro able to communicate with it thanks to their shared alien hybrid status. It’s a happy ending for nearly everyone and one that honestly feels like the Japanese folklore that creator Taigami grew up with. The art is likewise a successful merging of comic book style, manga, and historical illustrations, making for an unforgettable visual experience. I especially enjoy how Kintaro and the bear are clearly modeled on Venom and Carnage, respectively, but that it’s merely a visual reference and thus lacks the horrifying murderous aspects of that battle. This issue also ends with a cliffhanger for the first issue of a Kid Venom ongoing that starts this April, and I’m pretty excited to see where it might go from here.

BOTTOM LINE: UNIQUE AND AMAZING

With its merging of American and Japanese narrative conceits, Kid Venom: Origins #1 is the kind of thing that could have easily gone awry, but instead, we get an updated take on a traditional Eastern folk tale, beautifully drawn and lovingly brought to life, earning a very well-deserved 5 out of 5 stars overall. If you’ve been looking for something new and different in your comic reading, I recommend you give this one a look.

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