Warning! Spoilers for Venom #23 below!

Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman’s Venom arc has been chalked full of great character work, some bloody good violence, and plenty of jaw-dropping surprises. What’s about to come next for the Eddie Brock and his symbiote? Meet Venom Beyond.

Venom has been a big hit for Marvel because the series hasn’t been afraid to push the boundaries of convention - which is sort of Cates’ thing at this point. The first arc rewrote and further explored the history of the symbiotes and introduced the menacing villain Knull the Symbiote God. The second arc brought in his son Dylan along for the ride and explored Eddie’s relationship with his son and his symbiote. Absolute Carnage was a bloody fun affair. His Venom Island arc just had a pretty with a pretty big cliffhanger.

In an interview with SyFy.com, Cates outlined his future plans for the series. In Venom #23, his symbiote and the Carnage symbiote were seemingly destroyed after Captain America dropped a nuke on Venom Island. While that would indicate the symbiotes are gone, that doesn’t mean the end is coming for Venom. In previews for Venom #26, a new Venom has emerged. This version looks like Iron Man 2020 with some notable aesthetic differences that give the suit a more venomous vibe. Venom’s illuminated logo plus some new paint on the suit look really cool.

Cates talked with SyFy and explained that Venom Island told the story of Venom’s past, while Venom Beyond will take a look at the character’s future.

Cates didn’t discuss his and Stegman’s plans beyond the small tease, but it’s pretty apparent the future of Venom is going to be something we’ve never seen before. The Venom/Iron Man combination is a great look for him - assuming it’s Eddie underneath the suit - but there are a ton of questions that the image brings up. Is this Eddie’s attempt to be a hero without the symbiote? Is the symbiote OK? Is it even Eddie? Is the suit bonded with a symbiote? Those are all questions we’ll learn as the story progresses. For now, we can marvel in the fact Venom isn’t about to let up any time soon.

This is a spoiler for Venom #23. Eddie makes it off the island with help from the Avengers but he leaves without the symbiote, which stays on the island. As he leaves, Eddie looks back in horror to see that the Avengers have dropped a nuke on the island. Where we are right now, is that it’s all over. The symbiote and the Carnage symbiote have been wiped off the face of the earth. It’s all over…

… With Venom Island, we’re looking back at his history, revisiting certain things from Venom’s past. With “Venom Beyond,” all I will say is that we will be looking into the future.

Next: To Save VENOM, Eddie Brock Just Cut Off His [SPOILER]