What comics do I read for Flash Thompson in Iraq?
I love Agent Venom, don't get me wrong, but I want to read the comics where Flash is in Iraq, and his time after that, when he's lost his legs but doesn't have the symbiote yet. Which ones do I get? Thanks!
Why is Venom portrayed as a bad guy, even though he is an anti-hero?
Venom status as a villain, anti-hero or hero is factor of two things.The motivation of the SumbioteThe control or mental state of the host.Let me demonstrate with a quick run down of the hosts.Peter ParkerThe symbiote initial bonds with Peter in a non-hostile manner. Peter resists relinquishing control to the symbiote and ultimately rejects it and forces it off himself.Peter and the Symbiote are hero, the symbiote pushes Peter to more morally grey choices. Rejection angers the symbiote. Hero leaning slightly Anti-villain.Eddie BrockEddie Brock was a man who was very angry at Peter Parker and already disgraced as a photographer. The symbiote also angry with Peter bonded with him and together they formed a powerful monstrous villain. For a long time both Eddie and the Symbiote where fixated on Peter Parker. Their actions were solely villainous. Later Eddie find some peace with the symbiote and they avoided Spider-man and spent some time protecting the homeless becoming more of an anti-villain. Not really doing good, but doing bad things to worse people.Marc GarganFormerly the villain scorpion, Gargan purchased the symbiote when Eddie sold it when he learnt he was dying of cancer. Gargan is a scummy as they come and was mostly a villain. Later during Civil War he was recruited to serve on the Thunderbolts under the control of the government and could vaguely beconsidered a anti-hero. He also posed as an avenger during the Dark Avengers run.Flash ThompsonWounded as a soldier in Iraq the recovering Flash was recruited to a secret government program trying to weaponize the Venom symbiote. Using a variety of control mechanisms Flash was able to wear the symbiote as Agent Venom without it fully bonding to him. He eventually struck a partnership with the symbiote and took it into space as a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Flash and symbiote functioned successfully as a soldier and hero.So those are the major incarnations of Venom (there’s a couple I did mention). And his pretty much 50/50 as a villain or anti-hero. Venom is a versatile concept that can be used to tell a lot of different types of stories.