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Venom, or the Venom Symbiote, is a fictional extraterrestrial life form appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, usually those featuring Spider-Man. The creature is a Symbiote, a sentient alien, with a gooey, almost liquid-like form that requires a host, usually human, to bond with for its survival, as with real world symbiotes, and to whom it endows enhanced powers. When the Venom Symbiote bonds with a human, that new dual-life form refers to itself as Venom.
The Symbiote's first known host was Spider-Man, who eventually separated himself from the creature when he discovered its true nature. The Symbiote went on to merge with other hosts, most notably Eddie Brock, its second and most infamous host, with whom it first became Venom and one of Spider-Man's archenemies.[1]
Comics journalist and historian Mike Conroy writes of the character: "What started out as a replacement costume for Spider-Man turned into one of the Marvel web-slinger's greatest nightmares."[2][3] Venom was ranked as the 22nd Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time in IGN's list of the top 100 comic villains,[4] and 33rd on Empire's 50 Greatest Comic Book Characters.[5]
The original idea of a new costume for Spider-Man that would later become the character Venom was conceived of by a Marvel Comics reader from Norridge, Illinois named Randy Schueller.[6] Marvel purchased the idea for $220.00 after the editor-in-chief at the time, Jim Shooter, sent Schueller a letter acknowledging Marvel's desire to acquire the idea from him. Schueller's design was then modified by Mike Zeck, becoming the Symbiote costume.[7] David Michelinie would later write the backstory of Eddie Brock as the alien's new host that became the popular villain Venom.
Spider-Man first encountered the Venom Symbiote in Secret Wars #8, in which he unwittingly merged with it.[8]After Spider-Man rejected it, the Symbiote merged with Eddie Brock, its most well-known host, in The Amazing Spider-Man #300 (May 1988). Its next host was Mac Gargan, the villain formerly known as Scorpion. Originally, the Symbiote was portrayed as a mute and lonely creature craving the company of a host. More recently, it has been shown as increasingly abusive of its hosts, and having the power of speech. The Venom Symbiote has no known name, as "Venom" is essentially the moniker Eddie Brock adopted due to his history with Spider-Man on Earth. According to S.H.I.E.L.D., it is considered one of the greatest threats to humanity, alongside Magneto,Doctor Doom, and Red Skull.[9]
The creature that would become Venom was born to a race of extraterrestrialsymbiotes, which lived by possessing the bodies of other life-forms. The parasites would endow their victims with enhanced physical abilities, at the cost of fatally draining them of adrenaline.
According to the Planet of the Symbiotes storyline, the Venom Symbiote was deemed insane by its own race after it was discovered that it desired to commit to its host rather than use it up. The Symbiote was then imprisoned on Battleworld to ensure it didn't pollute the species' gene pool.
The Venom Symbiote bonds to Spider-Man in Secret Wars #8). Text by Jim Shooter. Pencils by Mike Zeck.
In Secret Wars #8 (December 1984), Spider-Man damages his costume in combat on Battleworld and is directed to a facility which can provide a new one to him. Before having the chance to recover a new suit, Spider-Man stumbles into the prison module the Symbiote has been trapped in. He then activates the machine which releases the Symbiote in the form of a black liquid. Spider-Man's "spider-sense" initially tingles, and then stops upon Spider-Man's first contact with the liquid; it covers his body and, reacting to Spider-Man's thoughts about the costume worn by the second Spider-Woman, forms a new costume and symbol. To Spider-Man's surprise, the costume can mimic street clothes and provides a seemingly inexhaustible and stronger supply of webbing.[10]
Once back on Earth, Spider-Man enjoys the costume's convenience and style until he starts becoming lethargic and witnesses its eerie ability to move on its own. After having a nightmare, involving a power struggle between the monstrous costume and his original costume, Pete finally decides to have the black costume analyzed by Reed Richards. He then learns the costume is a sentient alien Symbiote that wishes to fuse permanently with him and often controls his body while he sleeps resulting in his lethargy. With the aid of Mister Fantastic and the Human Torch, Spider-Man discovers the Symbiote is vulnerable to sound and flame, and he uses sonic waves to remove it and flames to scare it into a containment module.[11] The Symbiote escapes[12] and finds its way to Peter Parker's closet and disguises itself as a spare red and blue costume. It then attempts to forcibly bond itself to Spider-Man and prevents him from physically removing it or seeking Mr. Fantastic. In a desperate attempt to rid himself of the symbiote Spider-Man crashes himself into a church belltower. As the bells ring to sound the hour, Spider-Man fights through willpower to reject the Symbiote, leaving both the alien and Spider-Man weakened. In an act of sympathy, the Symbiote uses its remaining strength to carry an unconscious Spider-Man to safety from the bells before it slithers away.[13]Spider-Man believed the Symbiote to be dead, yet alternately began wearing a home-made version of the black suit in conjunction with his original. Spider-Man's rejection of the Symbiote would later leave it murderously embittered towards him, a trait it would share with future hosts.[volume & issue needed]
Eddie Brock premieres as the first Venom in the final panel of The Amazing Spider-Man #299
The first Venom, Eddie Brock, is a reporter for theDaily Globe before it comes to light that he has fabricated a story revealing the identity of the Sin-Eater. Shortly after the story was published, Spider-Man catches the real Sin-Eater, disgracing Brock as a news reporter and costing him his job and then his wife. Now writing for cheap gossip magazines, Brock centers his frustration on utter loathing of Spider-Man, which only escalates when it is revealed that Brock has cancer. In response to this news, Brock begins working out, bringing his body to levels of amazing athletic performance.[14][15] Still unable to cope with his misfortune, Brock contemplates suicide and goes to a church to pray for forgiveness. Meanwhile, the Symbiote, having recovered and needing another human host in order to survive, finds itself psychically attracted to Brock for both his increased adrenaline and mutual hatred for Spider-Man.
In The Amazing Spider-Man #298, they formed into the first version of the dark, villainous creature known as Venom. Venom first appeared at the end of issue #299, which led into the first Venom story in issue #300. The name Venom originally applied to Brock, rather than the Symbiote—which Brock refers to as his "Other". Over the years, as the Symbiote gained more intelligence and moved to additional human hosts, the name began to apply to the Symbiote as well as its hosts. As Venom, Brock fights Spider-Man many times, winning on several occasions. Venom repeatedly tries to kill Peter Parker/Spider-Man—both when the latter was in and out of costume. Thus Parker is forced to abandon his "black costume," which the Symbiote had been mimicking, after Venom confronts Parker's wife Mary Jane.[16]
Venom escapes from the supervillain prison, The Vault, to torment Spider-Man and his family.[17][18] The Symbiote is finally rendered comatose after being subdued by Styx's plague virus, and Eddie Brock is subsequently placed in Ryker's Island Prison.[19] When the Symbiote recovers and returns to free Brock, it leaves a spawn to bond with Brock's psychotic serial-killer cellmate Cletus Kasady, who becomes Carnage.[20] Meanwhile, Venom and Spider-Man fight on a deserted island, and Spider-Man strands Venom there after faking his own death.[21] Soon after, however, Spider-Man brings Venom back to New York in order to stop Carnage's killing spree.[22] After being incarcerated once again, Venom is used to create five new Symbiotes, which are all paired with human hosts.[23]
As well as helping Eddie Brock to seek continued revenge against Spider-Man, the Symbiote also aids Brock in a sporadic career as a vigilante. He and the Symbiote occasionally share a desire to protect innocent people from harm, even if it means working side-by-side with the hated Spider-Man. This is especially true when Venom combats the entity he believes to be his spawn, Carnage. When Spider-Man helps Venom save Brock's ex-wife Ann Weying, the two form a temporary truce, though this falls apart after Weying's suicide.[24][25]
The symbiote is temporarily stolen by U.S. Senator Steward Ward, who hopes to better understand his own alien infection by researching the symbiote before it returns to Brock.[26] Now, however, it dominates its host, Brock, rather than vice versa.[27] Eventually, Eddie Brock and the Symbiote go their separate ways as the Symbiote grows tired of having a diseased host and Eddie rejects its growing bloodlust, leading him to sell the Symbiote at a super villain auction.
The Venom Symbiote approached MacDonald "Mac" Gargan, formerly known as Scorpion,[28] and offered him new abilities. Gargan bonded with the creature, which would later give him an extra edge as part of Norman Osborn's Sinister Twelve.[29]As the Avengers dealt with the rest of the Twelve, Spider-Man swiftly defeated Gargan, even with these additional powers, which Spider-Man suggests is attributed to the fact that Mac Gargan does not hate Spider-Man as much as Eddie Brock did.[30] Gargan later became a member of a sub-group of the Thunderbolts,[31]which was drafted[32] by the Avengers to hunt down the members of the fugitive New Avengers. It was then revealed that he had been outfitted with electrical implants by the government to keep the Symbiote in check.[33] When in the Venom persona, Gargan retained very little of his original personality and was controlled almost completely by the Symbiote, which drove him to cannibalism. When the Symbiote was dormant in his body, he expressed nausea and fear of the organism.[34] During a fight with "Anti-Venom" (Eddie Brock), he and his Symbiote were separated, and the Venom Symbiote was nearly destroyed. Blobs of it still existed in his bloodstream, however, so Osborn injected Gargan with a vaccine for Anti-Venom's healing powers, which restored the Symbiote by causing the remaining pieces of it to expand rapidly. Gargan dons a Scorpion battle armor over the Symbiote while it heals, causing him to become what Spider-Man calls "Ven-orpion" although when the Symbiote is fully restored it shatters the armor.[volume & issue needed]
After ingesting a chemical given to him by Norman Osborn, Venom transforms into a more human appearance similar to the Black-Suited Spider-Man. Osborn introduces him as The Amazing Spider-Man, a member of theDark Avengers, while unveiling the team.[35] After the Siege of Asgard, Gargan and most of the Dark Avengers were taken into custody. While being held on the Raft, the Venom Symbiote was forcefully removed from him, ending his career as Venom.[36]
On December 9, 2010, Marvel Comics announced a new "black ops" Venom owned by the government. The new Venom will be featured in a new series called Venom in March 2011. The birth of the new Venom can be seen in The Amazing Spider-Man #654.1 in February 2011.[37] On January 28, 2011, the identity of "black ops" Venom was revealed to be Flash Thompson.[38][39] Flash is hired by the government to be a special agent wearing the Venom symbiote. Flash is only allowed to wear the suit for up to 48 hours, or risk a permanent bonding with the symbiote. The Government is also equipped with a "kill switch" designed to take Flash out if he loses control. Along with the alien, Flash is equipped with a "Multi-Gun" designed to change into any type of gun Flash needs. Flash has battled Jack-o-Lantern, fought to stop Anti-Vibranium, and fought Kraven the Hunter in the Savage Land.[40]
Other Hosts[]
Ann Weying
Ann Weying, the bride of Venom
[]
Ann Weying first appears in The Amazing Spider-Man #375. She is Brock's ex-wife and a successful lawyer. Weying assists Spider-Man by sharing some of Brock's history. Later, she follows Spider-Man to the amusement park where Venom had Peter's (fake) parents. She confronts Brock and manages to convince him to end his feud. After Sin-Eater shoots Ann as part of a crusade against social injustice, Ann becomes She-Venom when the Venom Symbiote temporarily bonds with her to save her life. She-Venom lashes out against the men who had hurt her, and Brock becomes afraid for her (and of her) and compels the symbiote to return to him. Ann is left distraught at her actions while bonded. Later Ann is arrested on a false charge as part of a trap for Venom. She manages to warn Brock who sends the symbiote to her, allowing her to become She-Venom and escape custody. Some time later, Ann, traumatized by her experiences with Venom and the symbiote, commits suicide after seeing Spider-Man pass by her window in a black costume, believing it is Brock returning for her.[26]
Patricia Robertson[]
The story follows U.S. Army communication specialist Patricia Robertson. During a supply run to an Ararat Corporation owned outpost she discovers everyone at the installation dead except for one scientist. It is revealed that the Ararat Corporation is run by an alien colony of miniature spider robots led by an entity named Bob, that have infiltrated the American government. The Ararat Corporation has cloned Venom to facilitate the extermination of humanity, but the clone ravages its hosts. The clone is responsible for the death of the outpost crew.
Robertson finds an ally in the Suit, a mysterious individual made of the same miniature robots as Bob, revealed to have been accidentally brought to Earth by Reed Richards. The suit modifies Robertson while she is unconscious to allow her to control the clone if it bonds with her. The Suit sabotages Wolverine, the clones favored host, forcing it to bond with Robertson. One of Bob's agents convinces Robertston to kill the real Venom to save humanity, causing her to free the incarcerated Venom. She and Venom fight, but Venom escapes. Bob remotely deactivates the technology allowing Robertson to control the clone forcing her to rely on willpower. Later, Robertson and Venom again fight, and Venom absorbs the clone. Venom decides to carry out the clone's mission given to it by the Ararat corporation. The series did not continue and the plot remained unresolved as of 2012.
Angelo Fortunato first appeared in Marvel Knights Spider-Man #7 and was killed in issue #8. Angelo is the son of Don Fortunato, a prominent Mafia capo. His frail physique and shy attitude leave Angelo frequently bullied and humiliated by his father. Don attends a supervillain auction and purchases the Venom symbiote from Brock for $100 million. Brock warns Angelo of the symbiote, but Angelo rebuffs that he has nothing to lose.[9] After bonding with the symbiote, Angelo discovers the secret identity of Spider-Man, and attempts to kill him to prove his worth. Spider-Man ultimately defeats Angelo and when he tries to escape, the symbiote abandons Angelo for his cowardice while he is leaping between buildings, leaving him to fall to his death.[41]
Though it requires a living host in order to survive, the Venom Symbiote has been shown to be adept at fending for itself independent of a host. The Symbiote is capable of shapeshifting abilities, including the ability to form spikes or expand its size,[42] as well as mimic the appearance of other humanoids after it has obtained a host. The organism can additionally use its shape-shifting abilities to conceal itself by altering its coloration or by becoming completely invisible. It also contains a small "dimensional aperture," allowing its hosts to carry items without adding mass to the costume. The Symbiote also exhibits telepathic abilities, primarily when it needs to communicate with its host.[citation needed]
Because of its contact with Spider-Man, the Symbiote grants all of its subsequent hosts that hero's powers and cannot be detected by his spider-sense. As Spider-Man's fighting style is partly dependent on his spider-sense, his effectiveness was somewhat hampered when he battled Eddie Brock.[14]
The Venom Symbiote considerably enhances the strength of whoever has bonded with it, dependent on the bond of the relationship it has with its wearer. This allows its wearer to move at superhuman speeds and lift substantial amounts of weight, in addition to granting its host increased dexterity and agility. Retaining its memory from the time it was bonded with Spider-man, Venom is also capable of producing a limitless supply of webbing similar to Spider-man's own variety.[citation needed]
Venom exhibits some immunities to the supernatural powers of others such as the Penance Stare of Ghost Rideror Spider-Man's extrasensory spider-sense. Some incarnations of the Venom Symbiote have shown it able to replicate itself. This ability is shown in Spider-Man: Reign, when Venom recreates his own Symbiote to combat his loneliness. This ability is also used by Venom in Spider-Man: Web of Shadows when he discovers the ability to copy his Symbiote and uses it to take over Manhattan.[citation needed]
The Venom Symbiote is vulnerable to fire and sonic waves, causing it great pain and exhaustion if it sustains enough exposure. It can sense and track all of its offspring symbiotes exceptCarnage—which learned how to block this ability shortly after bonding with Cletus Kasady and confronting Venom/Eddie Brock for the first time.[22]
As a fictional character, Venom has appeared in a number of media, from comic books to films and television series. Each version of the work typically establishes its own continuity, and sometimes introduces parallel universes, to the point where distinct differences in the portrayal of the character can be identified. This article details various versions of Venom depicted in works including Marvel Comics' Ultimate universe and What If issues.
In Other Media[]
Television[]
Venom appears in Spider-Man, voiced by Hank Azaria.He appears in "Alien Costume: Part Two", after Spider-Man rejects the symbiote. He was defeated at the end of "The Alien Costume: Part Three". Venom's last appearance was in Season Three, where he teams up with Spider-Man and Iron Man against Carnage, Dormammu, and Baron Mordo.
Venom as he appears in Spider-Man: The Animated Series standing before Dr. Ashley Kafka.
Venom appears in The Spectacular Spider-Man, where he is voiced byBen Diskin. In "The Uncertainly Principle", the symbiote arrives on Earth by stowing away on the space shuttle. After being rejected by Spider-Man, it bonds with Eddie Brock in "Intervention", and is ultimately defeated in "Nature vs. Nurture". Venom reappeared in Season Two episodes "First Steps", "Growing Pains", and "Identity Crisis", where he attempts to expose Spider-Man's secret identity, but his plans are foiled.
Venom appears in the Disney XD animated series Ultimate Spider-Man,[43] beginning in the fourth episode, "Venom", in which he was voiced by Matt Lanter. Norman Osborn and Doctor Octopus create the symbiote from a sample of Spider-Man's blood. After it escapes from its creators, it temporarily fuses with a number of characters, including Flash Thompson, Nova, Power Man, Iron Fist, Spider-Man, and ultimately, Harry Osborn,[44] with whom it remains attached for some time. In "Venomous," the Venom symbiote takes control of Harry, but Spider-Man and the other heroes are able to free him.
Eddie Brock/Venom appears as the main antagonist in the 2007 feature film Spider-Man 3, played by Topher Grace. In the film, the symbiote, after being rejected by Peter Parker, joins with Eddie Brock after Brock, a rival freelance photographer, is exposed by Parker to have used a fake photograph, which ruins him publicly. Venom seeks an alliance with Sandman to kill Spider-Man, but is thwarted in his plans, and killed by one of the New Goblin's pumpkin bombs.
In July 2007, Avi Arad revealed a spin-off was in the planning stages.[46] In September 2008, Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese signed on to write,[47] while Gary Ross will direct.[48]Varietyreported that Venom will become an anti-hero, and Marvel Entertainment will produce the film.[49] In March 2012, Chronicle director Josh Trank negotiated with Sony about his interest in directing the film.[50]
Venom is a playable character and boss character in a number of video games across several platforms.
His first appearance was in the Game Boy side-scroller The Amazing Spider-Man released in 1990, as the game's primary villain.
Venom appears as a boss multiple times throughout Spider-Man: The Video Game (1991) and is also the final boss of the game where the player must defeat various clones of Venom.
Ultimate Venom is a playable character in Ultimate Spider-Man (2005) with Eddie Brock Jr. voiced by Daniel Capallaro and Venom voiced by Arthur Burghardt.
He is also the final boss in Spider-Man 3 in a condensed version of the movie, voiced by Topher Grace.
Venom serves as the main antagonist of Spider-Man: Web of Shadows. During this game part of his Symbiote leaves him, and bonds with Spider-Man. He later starts making replicas of the Symbiote, in an invasion of New York City.
Venom is included in the downloadable "Villains Pack" expansion for the Xbox 360 version of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (2006) voiced by Steven Blum. Venom has his Classic, Marvel Knights,Thunderbolts, and Ultimate looks as alternate skins. The Symbiote costume also available as alternate attire for Spider-Man.
Two versions of the black suit appear as an optional costume in The Amazing Spider-Man, based on its appearance in the Spider-Man 3 film, and a modified version of Spider-Man's costume from The Amazing Spider-Man film. Backstory for the game also reveals that the game version of Scorpion is based on a "black goo" recovered from space.[52][53]
