Although Miles Mayhem, Sly Rax, Count van Rani, and Doctor X did their part to help repel Unicron’s attack on Earth, they were able to escape the auspices of the United States government when several Maximals overran their position and killed their G.I. Joe handlers. The quartet fled to the remote city of Port Louis, where, dissatisfied with the new status quo on Earth, they sought to rebuild the Iron Ring. This time, however, their insurgency became a populist grassroots organization dedicated to rejecting any and all alien influences on Earthen society—and found a groundswell of support after tapping into the resentful demographic who had previously been whipped into an anti-Cybertronian frenzy through the rhetoric of one “Megan Guiglione”. Last I investigated the history of this universe, the new Iron Ring had already found financial support from the reborn Cobra, but, in response, G.I. Joe had assigned its operatives Flash, Beach Head and Grunt to work with Little Cybertron officer Strongarm and Solstar Order representative Q'b as part of a coordinated effort to track down the leadership. I wish them well on their investigation!
As for the second part of your question… in this particular universe, I understand that V.E.N.O.M. stood for “Vehicular Espionage Network of Mayhem"—an apt name, as Mr. Manheim’s egotism goes hand in hand with his theatrical predisposition.
