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| Spectacular Spider-Man #3 (266) |
 WRITER: Paul Jenkins
PENCILLER: Humberto Ramos COVER BY: Humberto Ramos and Wayne Faucher INKER: Wayne Faucher STORY TITLE: The Hunger - Part 3 of 5 REVIEW: A series of assault in New York City has left seemingly unconnected victims in a strange coma. Each victim has somehow been drained of their adrenaline – the only clue to the identity and purpose of their mysterious attacker is a set of small puncture wounds just above the kidneys. While the NYPD investigates (i.e. Detective Neil Garrett), Spider-Man wrestles with feelings of remorse over the injury of his long-time friend, Flash Thompson. Flash's abduction at the hands of Spider-Man's archenemy, the Green Goblin, has rendered him brain dead. Even though Spider-Man knows he could have done nothing to prevent Flash's injuries, he blames himself. Shortly after a visit at the hospital, Spider-Man confronts the perpetrator of the assaults – the half-alien, half-human parasite known as Venom. However, Venom reveals that surprisingly, it has now rejected its human host, Eddie Brock. The creature has assimilated most of Brock's psyche and is merely using Brock until it can find another adrenaline supply. Spider-Man decides to reveal this information to the detective in charge of the investigation, Neil Garrett, hoping Garrett will supply enough information to allow him to bring Venom to justice. This is where this issue picks up. ACT 1: To draw Venom out of his hole, Garrett agrees to leak Eddie Brock's name to the press and his superiors, knowing that the couple days it will take for his superiors to agree on procedure will provide Spider-Man with a sufficient amount of time to track down Venom and take him down. Later that day, Brock is watching TV when he sees a newscast revealing that the police are looking for him in connection with the latest attacks. After destroying the TV, he leans out of his apartment window and implores the symbiote to come back. ACT 2: Forest Hills, Queens, the home of May Parker. Peter is helping Aunt May to paint a room, relating his recent confrontation with Venom. Squeamish, May tells Peter to stop talking about Venom and gives him some brief details about her plan for his friend, Flash Thompson. Meanwhile at Eddie Brock's apartment, the Venom symbiote returns and once again merges with Eddie. ACT 3: May's idea for Flash comes to fruition when the next day, Peter, his friends and neighbors, and herself, help Flash to move into the downstairs apartment of the building where Peter resides, thus becoming Peter's new downstairs neighbor. May thought it would be nice for Flash to have a friend nearby in the event he would need some help. Peter is more than happy to help Flash out and Liz-Allen Osborn is extremely happy and relieved that Peter has agreed to do this. The fact that Flash is in a semi-vegetative state and that he requires 24-hour nursing care, a nurse attendant named Helga is put to his disposal. Once Flash has been completely moved in and everything has been set up, one by one, friends and neighbors return to their homes, leaving Peter and Flash to spend some time together. ACT 4: A short time later, Peter has donned his Spider-Man costume and is web-slinging over the New York City skyscrapers, on the lookout for crimes in progress. Suddenly, without warning, Venom, who had been following him, attacks. The battle continues onto many rooftops until Spider-Man manages to trick Venom into crashing through the skylight of a nearby building. Our hero web-slings down to check on Venom but finds Brock, lying unconsciously. When the latter regains consciousness, he tells Spider-Man that the suit is now calling the shots and that he has no control over it anymore. As Brock proceeds to tell him that he's just stepped into a trap, the symbiote comes alive and envelops our hero. Having exhausted Brock's adrenaline, the suit now wants to rejoin with its original host: Spider-Man.
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