Venom: The Hunted #3

History

The miniseries was part of Marvel's consecutive run of eighteen Venom limited series published monthly between 1993 and 1998, which functioned collectively as a de facto ongoing title with a resetting issue number for each arc. The lead story across all three issues was written by Larry Hama (best known for his G.I. Joe run) and drawn by Duncan Rouleau, with inking by John Stangeland; for issue #3, Peter Palmiotti also received an inking credit alongside Mark McKenna. The backup feature — 'Jury-Rigged Justice' — was written by Evan Skolnick and drawn by James Calafiore, continuing Skolnick's stewardship of the Hybrid character he had developed in the preceding Venom: Along Came a Spider miniseries. Tom Brevoort served as editor of the lead Venom strip, and Tom Smith colored both features throughout the run.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Issue title: 'Take the A Train' — the climactic action unfolds aboard a speeding New York City subway train, where Venom and Scream (Donna Diego) must battle the Xenophage while protecting civilian bystanders including a group of skateboarders.
• The Xenophage (nicknamed 'Phage' in Marvel reference sources) first appeared in Venom: The Hunted #1; its only comic appearances were across all three issues of this miniseries, making issue #3 its final appearance and death — killed when Venom uses a white phosphorus grenade against it.
• Scream (Donna Diego) appears throughout the series in her rehabilitated anti-hero role, protecting surviving symbiote hosts in the aftermath of the 'Planet of the Symbiotes' crossover; her alliance with Venom against the Xenophage here directly preceded her next appearance in Venom: Tooth and Claw.
• The three-part backup serial 'Jury-Rigged Justice,' written by Evan Skolnick and drawn by James Calafiore, concludes in this issue: Hybrid (Scott Washington) is freed from Jury captivity with help from the New Warriors (Justice, Turbo, Powerhouse), declines Justice's offer of team membership, and Max Taylor signals a re-evaluation of the Jury's practices.
• Lead feature creative team: writer Larry Hama, penciler Duncan Rouleau, inkers Mark McKenna and Peter Palmiotti, colorist Tom Smith, letterers Ken Lopez and Jim Novak.
• Backup feature creative team: writer Evan Skolnick, penciler James Calafiore, inkers Mark McKenna and Peter Palmiotti, colorist Tom Smith.
• The entire Venom: The Hunted #1–3 miniseries was later collected alongside Venom: Along Came a Spider #1–4 and New Warriors issues in The New Warriors Classic Omnibus Vol. 3, acknowledging the thematic continuity of the Hybrid backup serial across both miniseries.
• The Xenophage's introduction in this miniseries went essentially unnoticed in the broader Marvel canon for nearly 28 years until it was adapted as the primary antagonist in the 2024 Sony/Marvel film Venom: The Last Dance, at which point this three-issue series drew renewed reader interest.

Cast · 38 characters

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