Venom's longest ongoing series will soon come to an end and yes, we're pretty bummed out over the news, too. To make matters even more troubling for Flash Thompson fans, an upcoming story arc in SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN called "Darkest Hours" will pit Flash against Superior Spider-Man for the very first time. Naturally, many are wondering what the future has in store for Flash Thompson. Will he overcome this more brutal and relentless version of Spider-Man -- the man he admires -- or will his time with the symbiote finally come to an end? And if so, what does that mean for the symbiote?

When Tony 'G-Man' Guerrero interviewed Dan Slott at this year's NYCC, the writer said, "There is no VENOM monthly book to go back to! Anything can happen to Flash and/or the symbiote." Well, today the Marvel solicitations for January were posted and the cover for SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #25 immediately caught our attention. Will we soon see.... Superior Venom?!

• Otto Octavius, the Superior Spider-Man, in a life-or-death struggle against the original Superior Venom!

• Plus: With one last goblin on his side, the Goblin King’s court is now complete!

• Guest starring: The Avengers!

Yeah, let's take a minute to let that all sink in, shall we? Covers can often be misleading, but based on the solicit for #26, it's clear something big will occur. "That thing that happened at the end of #25... That thing that raised all of those questions... You don’t have to wait any longer. You’ll get your answers THIS ISSUE! Honest." The cover certainly implies Otto will wear the symbiote, but for how long?

It wouldn't be surprising if Flash wins their first encounter due to his physical edge, but a second fight with a man like Ock? He's sure to come prepared and take advantage of the symbiote's transparent weaknesses. In the past, the symbiote has left its host to reunite with Parker, but at the moment -- and please correct this if it is incorrect -- it seems like the symbiote's memories were apparently wiped after that whole deal with the devil ordeal. But, could part of the symbiote still have a craving to be with Parker again? Upon seeing how "Supeiror" Spider-Man is, will it slither over to him when Flash is losing? If so, will it be able to notice that he is not who he seems to be? And, in turn, will this make the Venom symbiote pull away? Then knowing the symbiote is aware of his true identity, could Otto destroy the classic symbiote once and for all? That would be shocking, sure, but it wouldn't leave any real questions that need to be answered in the next issue. So, what's more possible in that scenario is Otto does indeed become the new host and with another mind in the mix, things could be messy, leaving Otto in an uncertain direction. The biggest fight in this story arc could wind up being a mental one, after all. Parker has taken control of the symbiote thanks to his incredible willpower... but could Otto accomplish the same or will the symbiote take the wheel?

Or, could Ock view this as another means of power to add to his growing arsenal and then keep it stored away for use when needed? Once Flash is left helpless and defeated, could Ock contain the symbiote, leaving us wondering what he'll do with it? Yes, the symbiote has weaknesses which can be exploited -- weaknesses he knows about and we'll likely see utilized in this story -- but it's still a tool which gives its user some great powers. Bulletproof, boosted durability, shape shifting, tendrils... surely these extra abilities must be slightly tempting for a hero who's always trying to be more and more effective.

Another fun thing to speculate is whether Flash will notice Spider-Man is totally out of character and something is awry. Flash has idolized the wall-crawler for so long that maybe -- just maybe -- he could have an epiphany and realize the man under the mask isn't who he used to be. Then, even if he's left without the alien, there's still story potential for the character as he hopes to investigate what's wrong with his favorite hero.

Lastly, maybe this story could conclude with a third party being a big factor. If the symbiote slides onto Ock and is jolted by his mind, perhaps it could then find a new host -- someone we're not even considering? And, in turn, said new host would know all about Spider-Man. It's far-fetched, sure, but why not have some fun while speculating, right? There's about a 0.01% chance Cardiac would become the new host, but you can't blame a man for dreaming.

Covers have mislead us countless times before, but the chances of Superior Spider-Man wearing the symbiote -- no matter how long it may be -- certainly seems probable. From there, it's all about why he's wearing it and what'll happen next. You've read just a few of our theories, but what do you think will happen in "Darkest Hours?" Share your theories below!

I like the possibilities this is stiring

Flash Thompson better not die.... He is my favorite Venom and my brother loves Venom. I honestly thought this was a great series, so hopefully it comes back.

Flash Venom is still on the Thunderbolts... It seems he wins against his encounter with SpOck

Smythe perhaps?

It's SpOck....Tentacles,Webs...the thing screams PeterPus.

let venom kill "superior" spiderman.. pretty please?

dead

I thought when it said original venom it meant Eddie Brock not Peter Parker bc i didnt think Peter Parker called himself Venom ever.

I am highly interested in Doc Ock taking on the symbiote. I like the character mashup

@freeballer: he can kill superior. Peter is the chosen one (dramatic music)

Brock is currently wearing the Toxin symbiote, but I suppose it's possible Slott could find a way to make it happen.

@degraaf: You are correct, Peter never referred to himself as Venom. I think by the referral of the "original Superior Venom", I think it's stating that this is a completely new character under the symbiote as it stated Ock has to face them.

Brock would make sense, it seems to me that Slott is trying to bring Spider-man back to the beginning. So when Peter comes back he's left with what he was before "Big Time". So bringing the original Venom in would be awesome.

Definitely picking this arc up.

@danhimself: When did this happen and how? If you don't mind explaining.

I just hope that spOck gets all over confident just to have the tar knocked outta him. Something akin to the Scarlet encounter.

I think it's just one of those covers...

ummm...Superior Spider-man #13....his execution was scheduled and Jameson asked that Spider-man be there in case anything went wrong so SpOck rigged the whole place up so that when Smythe did try to escape he was countered everywhere he went....eventually to Jameson ordered Spider-man to kill him so he did...Smythe had a copy of his consciousness that operated his body to attack Spider-man and he even tried to place his consciousness into Peter's body but SpOck had that helmet upgrade to his suit that blocked him...the body/robot only had a few minutes of power and shut down after that

@danhimself: Thanks! And an extra thanks for the scans.

I support tgis series but another new venom im not happy bout flash bought so much to the character

Why does Superior Venom look like a horribly deformed hunchback?

He's still on the cover of Thunderbolts. Period. End of story.

In January? He's not -- only Ghost Rider is.

/story continues

I love this. I wonder how SpOck will react to the symbiote. He has all of Petes' memories, so he must know how powerful the suit makes him.

I hope he takes it on and thinks he can control it. I hope it isn't just a new enemy.

Maybe Venom'll be the one to figure it out.

isn't he on the alternative covers? they may not mean much though

Edit - this one

Lets just go for a HUGE CURVE BALL...Give to Felicia Hardy!

@chaos_burn: Oh man, I haven't seen that one! I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Neat.

that image definetly points to SpOck being the superior Venom, leading to a mental battle between otto the symbi. Either way hoping at the end of the arc Flash retains the symbi so they can continue on another solo series, let's not over react.

@deranged_midget: Original Venom is Brock. I don't know if you follow the Venom series but Brock as a Toxin has promised to keep an eye on Flash. Flash goes to New York and Brock could follow him only to be caught in an encounter with Ock, Flash and venom.

Ramos

@k4tzm4n:

If Otto gets the symbiote I will rage. Hard. Seriously Flash Thompson has been the best Venom bar none, and I am already upset seeing his ongoing go away. I am somewhat intrigued by the idea of Eddie getting it back ("original Venom" and all that), but Eddie has Toxin. Calling it now: Eddie and Flash swap, Eddie becomes Venom once again and Flash becomes Toxin. I think I'd be ok with that, because it's the character of Flash that makes him awesome, not the symbiote. I'm not going to look too into this though, because Dan Slott loves to piss people off let's be realistic. There are plenty of times the cover is misleading to the story, hell there was Amazing Spider-Man 688 that showed him being eaten by the Lizard.

And unless Slott completely lowballs Flash, I look forward to him manhandling Otto in similar fashion Kaine did.

Ock hasn't had Peter's memories since Superior 9 or 10.

I know who the original Venom is, but this refer to the original Superior Venom.

Carlie Cooper as Venom.

@chaos_burn:

@k4tzm4n@sparty_dbq

Of course, what you need to remember to is that this new Thunderbolts series could be taking place before the events of Superior Spider-Man. The new Ghost Rider series stars a senior in highschool getting the powers (which is annoying after them doing the same thing with Nova basically) and Ghost Rider (Johnny Storm) is in the new volume of Thunderbolts. I don't think we can take Venom or GR being in Thunderbolts as proof they aren't changing hosts at all. Then again, we know that Scarlet Spider is going to be the New Warriors series coming out, so its possible nothing will change and this is all a big fake out.

Personally, I will be legitimately upset if Thompson isn't the host for Venom any longer as that was one of my favorite series since it started. I am already dropping (or rather not picking up) several titles, including Thunderbolts BUT if its the only way I can get Flash Thompson as Agent Venom then I will pick it up.

Here's the idea I was formulating while reading this:

I don't think Flash will lose the Symbiote in the end, but he'll lose it temporarily. I think it may be that SpOck gets the Symbiote for a few hours ("Darkest Hours"). During these few hours the insanity of the Symbiote drives SpOck further into this murky moral territory Slott's been bringing SuperiorSM through. However, maybe it's possible that the Symbiote reacts badly to SpOck and is the one that leaves him voluntarily.

Could it be that the Symbiote still remembers and thirsts for Parker, but when it latches to SpOck is deeply disturbed by the changes? Maybe the cohabitation of the Symbiote and the Host could communicate more of Parker's memories from the Symbiote to Ock. In this case, this arc could be the beginning of the end for Ock and the return of Peter! Of course, this may imply that all a human is is the sum of their memories which may be a little extreme an implication. Anyway I'm just sort of rambling. In any case, I don't think Flash will lose the Symbiote ultimately, but only temporarily.

Awesome...

Picking this arc up maybe the one after it since the solicits show what looks like Kingsley coming back again. But won't be back for the long haul, it's just not good enough without Peter.

@chaos_burn said:

@k4tzm4n said:

@sparty_dbq said:

He's still on the cover of Thunderbolts. Period. End of story.

In January? He's not -- only Ghost Rider is.

/story continues

isn't he on the alternative covers? they may not mean much though

Edit - this one

May pick this up Flash Venom and Johnny Blaze is awesome.

Everyone is wrong! Don't you see! The Symbiote is going to go onto Peter Parker! By that I mean Doc Ock's corpse! In One of the Spider-Man what ifs and in the Web Of Shadows video game the Symbiote was able to bring a corpse back to life if it bonded to the dead body. THINK ABOUT IT!

"Otto Octavius, the Superior Spider-Man, in a life-or-death struggle against the original Superior Venom!"

The ORIGINAL superior Venom? Who was the very first person to dawn the black suit? Peter Parker!

BOOM! /minds blow /drops the mic

@xxheavyrainxx:

great post

@teerack: truly epic prediction

I do hope Flash sticks around though, I love Flash Venom

I hope Stilt Man Gets it and defeats Sp0ck

MIND = BLOWN.

Oh crap, really? I haven't read the past few issues, but I thought he kept them since it's Pete's body.

I still want him to don the suit, at least once!

@phaedrusgr: Smythe is dead.

I'm curious to see what happens in this story. I'm really hoping Flash gets to keep the Venom suit because he is definitely my favorite Venom host. I have a number of ideas that could happen.

1. The Venom Symbiote brings Doc Ock's body back to life with Peter in it & then uses the symbiote to become the Superior Venom and proceeds to kick Superior Spider-Man's ass.
2. Ock fights Agent Venom, defeats him, takes Venom, messes with it making it more superior, uses it, rejects Ock goes back to Flash, and Flash with a Superior Venom suit kicks Spidey's ass.
3. Same thing as the previous one except Venom takes control of Flash.
4. Doesn't the symbiote have an inner demon or something? If it does, Venom and the inner demon fuse together find a host (Flash or maybe Ock's old body with Peter in the body) proceeds to hunt down Ock.
5. Eddie Brock comes back because he hears Venom and Spider-Man are killing each other. As Toxin, he tries to stop the fighting but the Venom symbiote goes back to Eddie, fuses with the Toxin symbiote make Eddie a stronger, more superior Venom by having the powers of Venom and Toxin.

There are my thoughts on what could happen. Now all we can do is wait for the Darkest Hours story to happen. The arc starts next month?

Goblins and symbiotes may be all the rage (they were in the 90's), but I'm just dying to know what Ock has in plan for all the Sinister Six team-mates he's been kidnapping all this time. How will they figure into all of this?

@teerack said:

That might actually be it...

Think about it. "Superior Spider-Man, in a life-or-death struggle against the original Superior Venom!"

That kinda makes it sound like Spidey-Ock is fighting whoever this Superior Venom is, not that he actually is Superior Venom.

And then this new venom has the arms...

Very interesting prediction. I'm thinking that's what will happen. I just hope Flash gets the symbiote back. I really was enjoying him as Venom. Cullen Bunn has been killing it on that series.

The last issue comes out next week...so disappointed it's ending.

Dudes I really want Flash to keep as Venom He's earned his spot in the marvel universe.

I may not be a fan of Superior Spider-Man's attitude, but really interested in how he will deal with Venom and the Green Goblin. In all fairness, I really hope he fails at stopping them miserably. Personally, he really needs to learn his lesson about being a hero.