Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics, Spider-Man, Venom | Tagged: carnage, Death Spiral, eddie brock, mary jane watson, Paul Rabin, peter parker, Torment

Paul Rabin, Mary Jane & Peter Parker… The Final Chapter? (Spoilers)

Paul Rabin, Mary Jane Watson and Peter Parker, Spider-Man... The Final Chapter? Venom #256 Spoilers hit the internet...

The word is out. The spoilers are on Reddit, X and probably on 4chan at this rate, courtesy of Penguin Random House shipping Marvel Comics even earlier than usual. Venom #256 goes big on Paul Rabin next Wednesday, and you know what that means? Of course you do, a recap! And a big spoiler warning before it all kicks off. Please keep such warnings, if you share elsewhere… Going back to the beginning of the previous volume of Amazing Spider-Man, when Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr introduced Paul Rabin, the man who would be Jonathan Carroll to Peter Parker's Clark Kent… and then far worse!

In 1987, thanks to Stan Lee's newspaper strip, Peter Parker got married to Mary Jane Watson. Then, twenty years later in 2007, thanks to Mephisto and Joe Quesada, he wasn't anymore and never was. And for the almost-twenty years since, there has been a significant vocal share of the readership still angry about that. The Zeb Wells/John Romita Jr Amazing Spider-Man #1 relaunch in 2022 came after Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson had moved back in together, trying to give it a go again.

But in the new relaunch, they had been split up, and had been for some time. Mary Jane was now living with someone called Paul Rabin, and they had kids, somehow. Even if those kids were clearly older than the time Peter and Mary Jane had been split up.

It turns out that a battle with his own supernatural father, Paul Rabin had been trapped with Mary Jane Watson in another dimension where time travelled differently, and Peter Parker was doing whatever he had to do, to try and rescue them after burning every bridge he had as Spider-Man. 

They may have been apart for four days, but Mary Jane Watson had been away with Paul Rabin for four years. And Mary Jane Watson had spent four years moving without Peter, now living with Paul, and their two children.

It had just been too long. Even if it turned out that the children were mystical creations who didn't actually exist. But that seemed to drive Paul and Mary Jane closer together.

It is fair to say that Peter Parker did not deal with this too well. But to be fair no one did. Especially the readers.

Paul Rabin's inherited expertise with sigil magic also helped to formulate Mary Jane Watson's superhero identity as Jackpot. He became her man in the chair while she patrolled the streets, going through the same things that Peter Parker had done as Spider-Man. Oh and had suddenly adopted a man bun.

Even if the Venom symbiote didn't think there was much in it. That was quite a reunion, as once Mary Jane Watson had been tortured by the symbiote. Still, it was a different time.

Because by then, Paul Rabin and Mary Jane Watson were looking to become parents again. At least foster ones, for now… and they may have their hands full… with Dylan Brock. son of Venom. Then it was revealed that Mary Jane was the new host of Venom, Dylan Brock's symbiotic parent.

So Venom was keeping Dylan Brock close all this time. But it seems Mary Jane didn't consider telling Paul Rabin that she was the nem Venom, the main reason why Dylan Brock was with them. Then we got another Amazing Spider-Man relaunch by Joe Kelly, Pepe Larraz and John Romita for 2025, which seemed to drop stories with Mary Jane Watson and Paul Rabin, understandable given the abuse some folk give them for even acknowledging Paul Rabin's very existence. To be fair, Marvel was doing some of this on purpose.

So the All-New Venom series took those characters on, with Mary Jane, still secretly the new host for Venom, with Dylan Brock who seemed to take on the very aspect of the fanbase, and threw all the abuse a teenager can at Paul Rabin, his new foster parent.

And it seemed that Mary Jane and Paul Rabin had their own relationship problems in that regard.

But just as Mary Jane and Paul Rabin returned to Amazing Spider-Man #8, still with Dylan Brock. And still with Dylan Brock being abusive towards Paul Rabin, All-New Venom headed towards an ending for Paul and Mary Jane.

Because it seems that the Princess Diana phrase about three people being in a relationship was never truer, even if Mary Jane wasn't owning up to the whole Venom thing yet.

Polyamory, this was not. And so soon enough, it was not anything.

Would this make the fanbase ease off on Paul Rabin? Not a bit of it. Even if they were split up, they were still together looking after Dylan. Peter Parker was then out of it for some time, and when he returned… Venom basically broke the fourth wall.

And as Paul Rabin, still looking after an even less appreciative Dylan Brock, tried to take steps to move on, it all fell apart there as well.

Sans home dimension, sand girlfriend, sans apartment building. But still with Dylan Brock. And Dylan Brock still being Dylan Brock.

And then last week, even The Punisher and Power Girl had a go at him in Superman/Spider-Man in "Blind Date" from Gail Simone and Belen Ortega.

With The Punisher commenting from the peanut gallery outside…

Ponytail Boy indeed. I bet Gail Simone feels really bad now. Because one week after this issue, Venom #256 happens, next Wednesday. Now, at ComicsPRO, Marvel SVP David Gabriel said to retailers, "One thing I want to point out, we've got Death Spiral happening in Amazing Spider-Man and Venom, a little crossover right now. We're not saying what's happening in this, but if you start reading Death Spiral, you know there's a character Torment who is killing people in the Marvel universe. This might be an important issue to see an important death in the Marvel universe. I said too much, but Venom #256, there it is, and that's Torment, and that's Eddie Brock's son. But that may or may not be the person who's gonna get killed."

And so it was in the solicitations.

 Venom #256 by Al Ewing, Carlos Gomez  
DEATH SPIRAL PART SIX! The serial killer Torment is following the path of the Death Spiral…and it's led straight to Dylan Brock! Now the son of Venom is alone, injured and on the run…and Venom's other child might be his only hope. But will Carnage choose to help Dylan…or kill him all over again? Because SOMEONE'S got to die..

And then the end of Amazing Spider-Man #25, we saw Torment come to find Dylan Brock.

And in this week's Venom #256, he makes his move on Dylan,

And, just after the big spoiler warning, we get to find out what happened next…

Because, for Paul Rabin, who has stuck with Mary Jane Watson, and with Dylan Brock, through thick and thin, through manbun, topknot and ponytail, who has been the man in the chair, and the third wheel between Mary Jane and Venom, even foster parent to the son of the symbiote he never even knew he was sleeping with….

Torment murders Paul Rabin. Who wasn't even on his list of people to murder.

And even as Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson/Venom arrive… it's just too late.

So does everyone feel guilty now? Well, do you? Do you? Do you? Has Marvel fridged Paul Rabin to give Mary Jane Watson some revenge motivation? What do you think, Gail, do you feel guilty now? Venom #256 by Al Ewing, Carlos Gomez is published this Wednesday, the 1st of April, from Marvel Comics. And no, this is not an April Fool…

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