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Paul writes...
1) Eddie's transformation into Venom in season 1 felt a bit sudden; he had been shown to be a warm and friendly person in other episodes, like "Interactions", when he's trying to calm Max Dillon down at the hospital. It seemed a bit strange that he would go after Aunt May in "Nature vs. Nurture" not long after checking up on her at the hospital in "Intervention". Would you say that Eddie was just masking his anger with a 'nice side' all along, and that the theft of the symbiote in "Persona", him getting told to "shove off" by Peter in "Intervention" and Spidey trying to kill the symbiote at the end of "Intervention" brought out his nasty side? It's just that Eddie going from liking Gwen and Aunt May to trying to hurt them seemed like a bit of a leap. It made me wonder if it's more a case of the symbiote having him in its thrall (giving him the 'love' that he can't get from anyone else, since his parents are dead and he didn't have a replacement father figure like Peter's Uncle Ben) than Eddie really despising Peter enough to hurt people that both he and Peter like.
2) When Gwen thought that Peter had lied to her about going to the Fall Formal in "Catalysts", Eddie looked pretty mad that Peter had upset her. Did Eddie harbour feelings for Gwen at any point in time, or were they always just friends?
3) At the end of "Identity Crisis", Eddie claimed that he was Venom. Did Gwen find out about this claim? If so, did she believe him?
4) Why did Doc Ock's motivation go from wanting to kill Spiderman (in "Reaction" and "Group Therapy") to wanting to conquer the world ("Shear Strength") to wanting to rule the criminal underworld ("Accomplices" and "Gangland")? Is it a case of the formerly weak-willed Otto Octavius wanting to make up for lost time by demonstrating his power to as many people as possible and making his name known and feared far and wide?
Greg responds...
1. Well, let's start with the notion that I don't agree with the premise of your question. I think if you watch carefully, Eddie's descent (or whatever you want to call it) is laid out with many, many clues planted along the way as to his true character and his many issues. Which is not to say, it MUST work for you. If it didn't, it didn't. But that doesn't mean I have to agree with you. But, yes, generally you're last sentence is correct. The influence of the symbiote is paramount.
2. I'll leave that to your interpretation.
3. Yes, she found out. As to whether she believed it, I'll leave that to your interpretation.
4. His motive never changed. In "Reaction", Spider-Man was incorrectly perceived as an immediate threat. In "Group Therapy", he was perceived as an obstacle that must be taken out of the way. But Ock's megalomaniacal motivations are established pretty much from moment one in "Reaction". He had a big plan in the first arc of Season Two, which was thwarted. After that, he simply is asserting his place in the world of crime, collecting fees for super-villain services, etc. I'm sure he has more BIG PLANS in the future, but not every hour of every day is filled with that. But again, your last sentence makes sense to me.