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What began in Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman's seminal Venom #1 back in 2018 is finally coming to a close in the pages of Venom War, the current Marvel event comic masterminded by writer Al Ewing - and a story that sees Eddie Brock, his son Dylan, and others fight over who gets to bond with the iconic symbiote. Once the Venom War is over, we've learned, Ewing will be providing an all-new host for the sensational symbiote in the pages of All-New Venom, a new comic book series that's a joint effort between himself and artist Carlos Gómez. But here's the catch: Venom's new host is a mystery to the Marvel U, and it's up to Dylan Brock to do some detectiving and figure it out.

Fortunately for Dylan, Ewing's already revealed a list of suspects, all characters that Marvel readers will know from decades of adventures. Speaking to Polygon, Ewing listed the suspects as (in no particular order):

• Rick Jones, former sidekick to the Hulk and Captain America (at different times, obviously)
• Madame Masque, longtime Iron Man villain
• Robbie Robertson, Spider-Man supporting character and editor of the Daily Bugle
• Luke Cage, one-time Power Man and former Avenger

There's a lot of potentially exciting stuff to unpack from that list, not least of which is the fact that beloved Daily Bugle employee Robertson might be getting a chance to go from supporting cast to superhero. But perhaps the most interesting name on this list is the last one: former Power Man, current NYC mayor, and Iron Fist's best pal, Luke Cage.

Related: Al Ewing signs on to write Absolute Green Lantern series

Cage becoming a Venom host would be a very strange new direction for the character, and not just because it would make press conferences that much more tense (could you imagine the Post getting ahold of that?). Technically, we've seen Cage don the symbiote before, in the 2008 video game Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, but with admittedly less heroic results than what Ewing and Marvel are teasing here. 

And yet, knowing the very little that we do about the series, we can't help but wonder if Venom's new yellow highlights are a reference to Cage's long history sporting the color. As to the possibility that it's Power Man behind the teeth and tongue, Ewing brings up a very reasonable potential explanation.

"[Cage] doesn’t have to answer questions that he would if he went out on the streets in his mayor outfit and did what he used to do for the community," said the writer. "Maybe a symbiote is the perfect cover for him. Again, who can say? I’m merely saying words."

Well Al, what we'd prefer is answers, but words will work. For the time being.

All-new Venom #1 hits comic book shelves in December. Check out the character's new design below.

Get ready for what's next with our guide to upcoming comics, how to buy comics at a comic shop, and our guide to Free Comic Book Day 2025.