This review will be of another set about another amorphous extraterrestrial parasitic villain or anti-hero from Marvel, Venom. .
This is the last DC/Marvel head sculpture we will be reviewing but there are more superhero set reviews coming, so stay tuned!
Perhaps I was wrong, could this be the blackest black box art ever and not Batman?
Okay, a little bit of foreword here. What you are about to see is very similar to the Carnage review because these two are very much a recolour of one another. Later on, we will do a quick comparison, just take note of the similarities. This is not to belittle the effort of the designer, or to say that the design is lazy because it is just a colour pallete swap. The truth is, Venom and Carnage look like a photocopy of one another because they are the same kind. And just in case you’ve been hiding under a rock in the last few decades, spoilers alert: Carnage is the off-spring of Venom.
So we unbox daddy Venom and we get several plastic bags with numbers, and an instruction booklet.
Wait, are we missing something?
Nope.
This is not a mistake. There is no sticker. Unlike Carnage which is red with black veins, Venom’s head is just black. Therefore, there is no need to apply any pattern anywhere.
Bag 1 forms the base and the lower and the lower jaw.
Looks familiar but different?
Immediately in the 1st bag, we already see some differences. There is Venom’s saliva which is represented well by the trans-neon green parts.
Some blue and neon-green colour combinations of some assemblies remind me of the Classic Space Insectoids.
Comparison time ! Above photo was taken from Carnage review (1st bag)
Now, let’s get into bag #2.
Now, we see pink parts too. A little bit too colourful for my taste, but then these are just internal sub-assemblies, so you won’t see them in the finished build.
Again, very similar to Carnage, just replace red with black and add more neon-green saliva.
Comparison time! Above photo was taken from Carnage review (2nd bag)
Finally onto the final bag. You can still see that the majority of the parts are black.
And here is the final result.
Another thing that sets the Venom head sculpture apart from Carnage is that it has an LONG tongue sticking out of its mouth. You’ll either love it or hate it. Personally, I really like to play the positioning of its tongue, by twisting it around, to make the most optimal twirling angle. I know it’s not supposed to be a “play feature” but it is kind of something you can fiddle with.
Now, it’s time to admire the full build in the following image gallery below.
So, here is the side by side comparison that I promised earlier.
Next to each other, they really look like a clone from one another. It also shares the same problem with Carnage on the eyebrows, which is only held by 2 studs on each side. As long as you’re aware which parts not to hold or press against, it becomes less annoying.
Given the choice if I need to buy just one between Venom and Carnage, I would easily pick Venom because it does not use any sticker, and the sticky tongue and oozing green saliva sells the character really well.
Mom: Remember to brush your teeth regularly son, or your teeth will look ugly and dirty like Venom!.
In summary, depending on whether you like Venom or Carnage more, you would think that the other design is a rip-off of the other one. I get it. As one of my colleagues had mentioned, if you have built a lot of Brickheadz before, you would know the feeling. As for me, I prefer Venom over Carnage. There is no need for stickers and the twirly tongue really sells this head sculpture more than anything. At £54.99 / $59.99 / 59.99€ with 565 pieces, the set appears to be above average. And for that, I am giving this a score of 4 out of 5.
Comment below and share what you think about this set review. Take your time. This is Akira signing off.
The set used for this review was sent to us by The LEGO Group for the purpose of an honest review. Provision of sets do not in any way influence or guarantee a positive review.
