Venom

Venom

The opposite to Corneria
Class:	U
Radius:	8,529 skm (5,299.67 mi.)
Albedo:	0.52
Gravity:	1.43
Escape Velocity:	14.84 skm/s (9.22 mi/s)
Equilibrium Temperature:	188 Kelvin (-85.15 Celsius, -121.27 Fahrenheit)
Atmosphere:	43% N2 + 36% CO2 + 12% CH4
Hydrographics:	0%
Biomass:	0 Quads

Venom, the first and largest planet of the Lylat System and the furthest away from Corneria, is an uninhabitable world of death and destruction. Venom served as the home world of the mad scientist Andross during the Lylat Wars.

Overview

A harsh world on the periphery of the system, Venom is a cruel planet anathema to life. The atmosphere is practically unbreathable, being filled with smog and filtering the light from Lylat and Solar, making the planet dark and grimy even in the daytime. The surface is barren and broken by rough cliffs and chasms, while a vast green, acidic ocean kills off any attempt at life. Andross was exiled to this planet for crimes he committed on Corneria.

History

Before the Lylat Wars, this planet was largely unexplored. When Andross was first sent to live on this world, few suspected what havoc he would set upon the Lylat System. Five years later, Andross started the Lylat Wars by launching a massive invasion from Venom, and proceeded to nearly conquer the entire system. However, Star Fox thwarted his every attempt at interplanetary domination, and by the end of the war was leading the counter-charge that would defeat him.

After the Lylat Wars Venom was mostly left alone, with none wanting to touch the planet. It could at times have been a refuge to the Venomian Army. The Anglars come from the toxic green seas of Venom.

Easy Route

This planet can be reached from two routes. The easy path following Bolse and the harder one being after Area 6.

The first and somewhat simpler one, is after Star Fox causes Bolse to go into meltdown and head in the direction of Venom, following this the team immediately approaches the planet surface from the 'right' side it seems. It is basically another ordinary level, as the team fly across the desolate, lifeless geography of Venom. But just seconds after the faction arrive, they are ambushed by an onslaught of enemies. They end up fighting more and more enemies constantly as they got closer and closer to Andross.

Eventually, after their share of rising stalagmites (courtesy of Andross) and flying columns, the team arrives at a very ominous stone temple with a long hallway. Fleeting into the pathway, the 2nd to last battle begins as Fox battles Golemech, an enormous stone golem. It seems as Golemech is trying to get away from his fate as he springs his own traps, pillars which come out of the walls and proves to be a nuisance to Fox. After wearing the monster down, he turns out to be nothing more than a machine. As soon as he is defeated, Fox reaches the end of the seemingly endless hallway and is met with a stretch of field with an entrance to the interior of the planet.

"I'll go it alone from here" says Fox as he ignores his team's cries, and flies straight into the tunnel. The tunnel here is just a straight stretch, barely wide enough for an Arwing, but Fox makes it well. There are many laser beams and hatches in the structure which Andross conveniently opens for Fox. Doing a loop here would be suicide of course. After enough anxiety, Fox throttles into the core of the planet, meeting what he has flown millions of miles for, as through the midst of the sinister green fog comes Andross at last, ready to get rid of the Fox who has caused many setbacks in his plot with his own hands. An intense battle ensues as the Arwing holds it's own as it is smashed with meteors, slapped and regurgitated. Fox manages to destroy both of Andross' hands and attacks the next weak point, his eyes. Once he does enough damage, the head then explodes to reveal a mechanical skull with a very frightening cackle, managing to fly straight into the Arwing a couple of times, but the skull was no match for a couple of Smart Bombs. The machine plunges into the fog, exploding in an immense blast, bigger than any before in the journey, and unfortunately making the situation a lot more ugly for our hero.

Fox, remembering what Peppy Hare told him in Meteo, follows his instincts with fox like reflexes and decides to maneuver his tail out of the core and turns up his G-Diffuser up to maximum drive, as the blast expands. He gets very close to his death as the wall of fire gradually engulfs the Arwing... the deafening sound of the engines increase in volume as he bolts through the passage. Fox, with a hefty dose of adrenaline surging his veins and his own life flashing before his eyes barely makes it as he reaches the surface and soars up into the hazy atmosphere to rendezvous with his companions, as the dome erupts instantaneously.

After the intermission, Great Fox and co. head back home to Corneria after a long tiring journey, during this the credits show. Upon reaching their home planet they are then rewarded by General Pepper and offered a meaty rank in the Cornerian Army, but of course, Fox being the brash rebel he is, turns Pepper down and leaves and the final scene comes up as it shows the quartet chasing after the Great Fox on what seems to be the surface of... Venom. Slippy slowly falls behind, but they get there eventually and it shows the Great Fox and our memorable pals flying into the sunset, the proud music ends as maniacal laughter sounds when an image of Andross appears across the sun... undoubtedly meaning that Andross still stalks the system.

Hard Route

After penetrating the last line of defense in the space defense zone Area 6, Star Fox arrived on Venom, at the very doorstep of Andross' subterranean lair. Before Fox was able to charge into the planet, the whole team was immediately confronted by Star Wolf, in a last ditch effort to prevent Fox from entering the planet.

But unlike the other battles, Star Wolf were flaunting their brand-new, state-of-the-art Wolfen II starfighters with their money from Andross. The sheer power of Wolfen II made the Arwing look obsolete. After a lengthy and brutal battle, the good guy's prevailing piloting skills and valuable teamwork win the day, and Fox McCloud was able to plunge deep into the heart of the planet at last to confront Andross.

The shaft leading into the planet is similar to the Easy Route path, except the channel here is less linear and ends up branching out into multiple paths, along which some have certain power ups which were essential for survival after the engagement with Star Wolf. The shaft here also has more girth. Andross talks to Fox through the comlink, telling Fox how vain his efforts are and that he will feel true pain. Eventually at the end of the corridor Fox emerges into the foggy core of the planet once again, the first part is the same as the Easy route battle.

As soon as the finishing blow strikes Andross, he wallows in pain as the background turns black and when he explodes. Only then Fox discovers his true and final form, which can be summed up as Andross announces "Only I have the brains to rule Lylat".

The ultimate clash begins as Fox enters all-range mode. The lining of the planet core can be seen here. Andross starts off by launching his eyes at Fox, and end up seeking him and firing lasers. Fox had some trouble hunting them down, but he made it eventually. After that he headed for Andross to finish it all. The brain's outer core seemed to be impervious to Lasers, as Fox quickly found out. But as with every other boss of the game, there was a weak spot. And Andross had one too. Fox targeted the cerebellum at the back of his brain, but this proved to be an arduous task as the malicious brain teleported right behind Fox and surprised him. The maniacal scientist had only a few ways to attack, including swallowing the Arwing in a writhing mass of tentacles or by leaving behind rocky debris in his wake. He could also smash into Fox as well, doing major damage.

With some genius tactics, Fox maneuvered his way to firing upon on the weak spot and Andross was finished. In his dying breath, Andross shouted "If I go down, I'm taking you with me!", causing an immense cataclysm swallowing up Fox as everything faded to white.

"Don't ever give up my son", spoke a mysterious voice, confirmed by Fox's surprised response, "Father?!" Fox was lucky enough to have survived the initial blast but the self-destruction of Andross' base had begun. The scenario is basically the same as the other route. The last stretch of the mission begins as Fox and his father James McCloud can be seen sprinting back to the entrance shaft like never before, as the chain reaction expands outward. Fox once again put his G-Diffuser up to max thrust to keep up with his father as he guided him through the labyrinth of tunnels, a fiery death awaits him if he happens to take the wrong turn. As the fire trails right behind Fox's Arwing, James mentions to him several things including "Never give up. Trust your instincts" and "This way, Fox". As the two make it to the exit of the shaft, Fox's father, showing undeniable pride toward his son, tells Fox "You've become so strong, Fox."

They both escape out of the domed entrance as the explosion follows quickly after Fox. James' Arwing quickly disappears into the unknown as Fox races back to Great Fox and his friends. As his team proudly congratulate their leader, he is saddened that his father was gone again. The game ending is quite the same as the other route, except the gamer can relax knowing he had exterminated a great evil from the Lylat system and ensured an age of peace which should last at least a while. Instead of showing Andross laugh, it shows a "The End".

This is considered the true ending of Star Fox 64, given Star Fox Adventures.

Other Info

Venom appeared as a stage in Super Smash Bros. Melee. It is a stage that is unlocked after 50 to 200 VS matches. This is also Fox and Falco's home stage, but you face Falco and his teammates on this stage in All-Star Mode.

The battle takes place on the Great Fox. Unlike the Corneria stage, the fight is played on the front view of the ship. Players' characters can fight on either 4 wings of the ship, and somewhat on the tailpiece in the center of the stage. This tailpiece is also a hazard that makes it hard to go to the other side. The top two wings of the ship slope inwards while the bottom two wings slope outwards. Items tend to roll off the two bottom wings of the ship.

Once in a while an Arwing will appear and start firing at the ship then will fly off. Any character that gets hit by the shots will take damage. Also, when the ship flies into the cave, sometimes characters hits the walls of the caves when smacked upwards or towards the sides, which might save one from getting KO'd.

Fox and Falco also have easter egg taunts that cause Arwings to come and shoot the area.

Trivia

• In the Star Fox, Venom was a black and gray planet. In Star Fox 64, it appears green (although it has a mahogany surface).
• In Star Fox 2 Venom is green and grassy, and there are trees and mountains in the background. You can even see a mushroom growing in the immediate area. This may indicate that the planet has been terraformed.
• In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Venom is brown, rocky, and volcanic.
• Venom's hard mode contains a strong reference to the Second Death Star in Star Wars when flying out of Andross' lair after he is defeated.
• In the Game Manual to the original SNES game, Venom is listed as the First planet in the Lylat system.
• The relationship between Venom and Andross's evil is an interesting one. It was established in Star Fox 64 that Venom was barren, lifeless and deserted before Andross was banished there (making it a remarkably cruel punishment). It was later revealed in Star Fox Command that Andross and his experiments had good intentions, hoping to bring life to the unexplored and toxic world, a hope which had him labelled as a dangerous fanatic, implying a sort of taboo with regards to Venom itself. Moreover, it was not until several years spent on Venom that Andross's evil began to show and he invaded the Lylat system. This could mean that Venom has some evil or corrupting presence of it's own, a presence that either drives people away from the planet or drives them insane.
• Another example of this is Dash Bowman, who becomes emperor of Venom in two of the possible endings of Star Fox Command and even has plans to take over Lylat in at least one of them (it may be also implied in the Fox and Krystal ending). This is unprecedented as Dash seemed to be a good kid throughout the game and, like his grandfather, initially wanted to make Venom peaceful and life-bearing. Again this could be due to some unseen evil present within the planet.
• This is merely speculation of course, another possible explanation is that Andross, with his unusual psychic abilities, left a mental imprint of his own twisted personality on Venom during his time spent there rather than it having an evil of it's own. It was even said in Star Fox Adventures that "His [Andross] Life-Force is strong. His existence is like a virus. I can hear his breath in every corner of space. He will not only use the evil hearts of others. But he can also corrupt those that are good." This makes sense as Andross tends to create contingencies to ensure his legacy will live on long after he dies (such as his plan to revive himself in Adventures, and his creation of bio-weapons and of the Anglars in Command) and would again explain Dash's change of heart.
• It may also be just as likely that none of this is true and that Andross's entire family are just genetically predisposed to be evil.

Gallery

Venom in Star Fox 2

A screenshot of Venom's surface in Star Fox 2

A mushroom growing on Venom in Star Fox 2

References

NINTENDO POWER Star Fox 64: Official Nintendo Player's Guide. Redmond, WA, Nintendo of America. 1997.