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Venom, or the Venom Symbiote, is the name given to the first symbiote life form to appear in the fictional Marvel Universe. The creature is a sentient alien with a liquid-like form. It requires a host, usually human, to bond around for its survival. In return the Venom creature gives its host enhanced powers. In effect, when the Venom Symbiote bonds with a human to form a super-villain, that new dual-life form itself is also often called Venom. The symbiote, with or without a host, is an arch-enemy of Spider-Man, who was the first host it merged with before its evil motives were clear. After Spider-Man rejected it, the symbiote went on to merge with other hosts and so began its popular reign as the villain known as Venom. The Venom Symbiote first appeared in Secret Wars vol.1, #8 where Spider-Man first encountered it and unwittingly merged together. [1] After Spider-Man rejected it the Symbiote merged with Eddie Brock, its most well-known host, in The Amazing Spider-Man #300 (April 1988). Its current host is Mac Gargan, the villain formerly known as Scorpion. Originally, the Venom 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 powers of speech. Also the Venom Symbiote itself has no known name, as Venom is essentially the moniker it has adopted since its history with Spider-Man on Earth.
According to S.H.I.E.L.D., it is considered one of the the greatest threats to humanity, alongside Magneto, Doctor Doom and Red Skull.[2] The Venom symbiote also appears in the film Spider-Man 3 first merging to Spider-Man's suit and then to Eddie Brock.
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Fictional character biography
Pre-Venom
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For more information, see Symbiote.
The creature that would ultimately become Venom was born to a race of extra-terrestrial parasites, which lived by possessing the bodies of other lifeforms. 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.
Main hosts
Spider-Man
In Secret Wars #8 (December 1984), Spider-Man damages his costume in combat 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. 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. To Spider-Man's surprise, the costume can mimic street clothes and provides a seemingly inexhaustible and stronger supply of webbing.[3] Once back on Earth, Spider-Man learns the costume is a sentient alien symbiote that wishes to fuse permanently with him and often controls his body while he sleeps. With the aid of Mr. 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.[4] The symbiote escapes and finds its way to Peter Parker's closet and disguising itself as a spare red and blue costume it then attempts to forcibly bond itself to Spider-Man. Later the Vulturions attack and Spider-Man forces himself into a church belltower. As the bells ring to sound the hour, Spider-Man fights through will power to reject the symbiote, leaving both the alien and Spider-Man weaken. The symbiote, using its remaining strength, carries an unconscious Spider-Man to safety from the bells before it slithers away.[5] Spider-Man's rejection of the symbiote would later leave it extremely bitter toward Spider-Man, a trait it would share with its future hosts. After this the Black Cat would regard the black costume as sexier on Spider-Man. In response to losing the symbiote she would make Spider-Man a cloth version of the suit. Spider-Man would switch back and forth between the two suits for some time until Eddie Brock and the symbiote first formed into the villain Venom and came to kill Spider-Man. By this time, Spider-Man had married Mary Jane Watson-Parker, and Venom scared her horribly. She asked him to stop wearing the black costume, and he returned to his original costume.
Eddie Brock
Eddie Brock was a reporter for the Daily Globe before he wrote a story revealing the identity of the Sin-Eater. Shortly after the story was published Spider-Man caught the real Sin-Eater, and Brock was disgraced as a news reporter, losing his job and then his wife to the disgrace. Now writing for cheap gossip magazines Brock centers the frustration of his life on utter loathing of Spider-Man, which only escalates when it is revealed he has cancer. In response Brock begins working out and bringing his body to a higher performance[6]. Meanwhile, the Symbiote needing another human host in order to survive finds itself psychically attracted to Brock for both his increased andreline and mutual hatred for Spider-Man. Together they formed into the first of the dark, villainous creatures know as Venom. This name originally applied to Brock, over the Symbiote. But over the years as the Symbiote itself lent toward more intelligence and moved to additional human hosts the name began to apply to the Symbiote as well as its hosts. Brock as Venom fought Spider-Man many times, and came close to winning on several occasions. As well as helping Eddie to seek continued revenge against Spider-Man, the symbiote also allowed him to indulge in a sporadic career as a vigilante.
Other hosts
Anne Weying Brock
The Venom symbiote joined with Eddie's ex-wife, Anne Brock, on two occasions. The first bonding occurred when Anne was seriously wounded after being shot by the second Sin-Eater. With her condition rapidly deteriorating, Eddie Brock insisted the symbiote bond with Anne in order to save her. Under the influence of the symbiote, Anne impulsively murdered a pair of thugs and instantly regretted the action. The second time she bonded with the symbiote occurred when police used her as bait to lure Eddie Brock into a trap. Anne was once again joined with the symbiote after Eddie transferred it through a telephone line, giving her the ability to escape. These instances proved traumatic for Anne, leading her to later commit suicide.
Angelo Fortunato
Angelo was the youngest son of Don Fortunato, a prominent Mafia capo of New York's criminal underworld. Due to his frail physique and shy attitude, Angelo was frequently bullied and humiliated by his father. Tiring of his son's weakness, the Don brings Angelo to a supervillain auction, where he purchases the Venom symbiote from Eddie Brock for $100 million. Eddie warns of the dangers inherent in the symbiote to which the boy answers that he had nothing to lose in a life of non-stop ridicule. Like Spider-Man, Angelo becomes the only other Venom host not to have a protruding tongue. Once bonded with the symbiote, Angelo learns the secret identity of Spider-Man, and plans to destroy him to prove himself worthy of his father. Angelo attacks Peter Parker during a high school reunion, injuring many bystanders in the process. They engage in a ferocious battle which brings them out into the streets of New York. Learning how to use the symbiote's mimetic abilities faster than anticipated Angelo takes the advantage in the fight. However, when Angelo kills an innocent civilian he mistakes for Spider-Man, the superhero stops holding back and beats Angelo into submission. In defeat Angelo's old cowardly ways show through and he flees while the symbiote berates him for his cowardice. Irritated by the boy's lack of resolve, the symbiote ruthlessly abandons Angelo in mid-leap, letting him fall to his death. Ironically, Angelo's name translates from Italian into "Lucky Angel".
Video games
- Angelo Fortunato appears in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance as a Marvel Knights skin for Venom.
- In the Game Boy Advance version of Spider-Man 3, Eddie Brock dies in a similar manner to Fortunato, having the symbiote abandon him in midfall.
Mac Gargan
The Venom symbiote approached Macdonald "Mac" Gargan, formerly known as Scorpion, [7], who was considered a low-level villain, offering him new abilities. Gargan bonded with the creature, which would later give him an extra edge as part of Norman Osborn's Sinister Twelve[8]. Even with these additional powers he was still swiftly defeated by Spider-Man, as the Avengers dealt with the rest of the Twelve[9]. Gargan later became a member of a sub-group of the Thunderbolts[10], which was drafted[11] by the Avengers to hunt down the members of the fugitive Secret Avengers. It was then revealed that he had been outfitted with electrical implants by the government to keep the symbiote in check[12] When in the Venom persona Gargan retained very little of his original personality and was controlled almost completely by the symbiote, and when the symbiote was dormant in his body he expressed nausea and fear of the organism. [13]
Abilities
Though it requires a living host in order to survive, the Venom symbiote has been shown on some occasions to be able to fend for itself with its own set of unique powers. The symbiote is telepathic and does not require physical contact to influence the minds of others. In Planet Of The Symbiotes, the creature, after being rejected by its host, emits a psychic scream which drives nearby humans to states of extreme depression. Later, with the assistance of Eddie Brock, it emits an even more powerful variant of that power which results in the mass suicide of an invasive force of symbiotes. The symbiote can also blend with any background, using an optic-camoflauge type of effect. Venom is immune to the Penance Stare, an ability used by Ghost Rider Daniel Ketch. Though the symbiote has rejected its species habit of consuming its hosts, it still requires certain chemicals found in living brain tissue (most likely phenethylamine) in order to survive. When starved of these chemicals, the symbiote develops a mutable exoskeleton, allowing it to form its own solid body which it uses to hunt and kill prey without the assistance of a host. [14]
Change in appearance
The Venom Symbiote gives each of its hosts a slightly different appearance in their Venom forms, though each is relatively similar. Initially when Venom first formed with Eddie Brock the creature was portrayed as black, considerably taller and much more muscular than Spider-Man. Over the years however, the general design of Venom has altered, even with the same host. Its eyes resembled those of the Spider-Man suit but larger and more "evil" in apperance. Its trademark was a wide grin which displayed all of his teeth. In his most famous incarnation he developed a long tongue, he also started being drawn as blue or blue-black as opposed to the original black. His eyes became more menacing and "alien" like, while his size increased to that which would be extremely difficult for Brock to obtain through even his most rigorous weight lifting. Also the spider symbol on its chest has been known to change appearance, which the symbol of the back and front connected or not. John Romita Jr's design had Venom much leaner with abnormally long fingers. Mike Deodato's recent design of the Mac Gargan Venom has normal-human eyes within large white patches resembling Venom's traditional Spider-Man like eyes.
Other versions
- See also: Alternate versions of Eddie Brock
- In the the alternate future of the Earth X limited series, beginning with issue one, May "Mayday" Parker, Peter Parkers daughter merges with the Venom symbiote after the death of her mother Mary Jane Watson; however, May can completely control and communicate with the symbiote.
- In "Spider-Girl", the Venom symbiote attempts to re-bond with Peter Parker but is forcefully bonded instead to Spider-Girl's friend Normie Osborn III, the grandson of the original Green Goblin[15]. It takes control of Normie, but when it also attempts to absorb Spider-Girl, their combined force of will defeats the creature. Instead of destroying it, Normie keeps the symbiote and allows it to bond with him, purging the symbiote of its violent and aggressive emotions[16] . In Spider-Girl #100, Normie transfers the symbiote to a critically injured Spider-Girl so it can heal and save her. The symbiote later sacrifices itself to save Spider-Girl's life by confronting a sonic-weapon armed Hobgoblin[17] .
- In Kaare Andrews' Spider-Man: Reign, set 35 years from current comics continuity, Venom/Eddie Brock has been posing as 'Edward', the aide to the Mayor of New York. 'Edward' has been manipulating the city ever since Spider-Man's disappearance in preparation for his eventual return; in the process, he had re-enlisted the Sinister Six, replicated his symbiote thousands of times (chalking it up to being 'lonely'), and built a security system named 'WEBB' which prevents New York citizens from escaping from the city, trapping them. Upon meeting him, Venom is quick to berate Spider-Man for abandoning him all those years ago with a genuine sense of bitterness and sorrow, leaving the wallcrawler at a loss for words. Defeated, the Sinister Six, Spidey and Venom have their final battle, in which Sandman gives Spider-Man a detonator to make all the Sinners explode. Spidey presses the button, most likely killing Venom and putting an end to his 'Reign' once and for all.
- In What The--?! #20, Pork Grind, likely a pig version of Venom is introduced as an enemy of Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham.
- In Spider-Man Fairy Tales #3, Venom is a Japanese demon who seeks to corrupt the young priest Izumi (the Peter Parker character) by making him give in to his anger.
What If...
- See also: What If (comics)
...The alien costume had possessed Spider-Man
In this one-shot, after obtaining the symbiote costume, Spider-Man waits too long before visiting Mr. Fantastic who would free him from the symbiote's control. The suit takes control of Spider-Man and as it constantly feeds on him, Spider-Man ages at an accelerated rate. Within days Spider-Man dies of old age. Desperate to survive, the symbiote bonds with a weakened Hulk. Thor confronts Venom-Hulk and defeats him leading the symbiote to take over Thor. The heroes employ Black Bolt's incredibly powerful voice to create enough sonic damage to critically injure the symbiote. Thor is freed, and the heroes prepare to transport the alien to another dimension. Black Cat takes matter into her own hands and kills the alien, angry at the death of Spider-Man. [18]
...Venom had possessed The Punisher
In this one-shot issue, after the symbiote leaves Spider-Man it joins with the Punisher instead of Eddie Brock. Castle uses the symbiote's abilities to further his war on crime; he used the suit's shape-shifting nature to create glider-wings and even firearms. The symbiote causes the Punisher's war to become more brutal and unrestrained than ever before as he set about confronting and murdering many super criminals. The symbiote eventually influences him to confront and beat Spider-Man. With his new powers, Punisher decides to take out Tombstone and even the Kingpin. At the climax of a confrontation with Spider-Man, Daredevil and Moon Knight, from which the Punisher emerges victorious, a blast from Spidey's borrowed sonic blaster allows Punisher to overcome and tame the symbiote. Frank makes it clear that if he ever loses control to the symbiote, he would not hesitate to kill himself to prevent the loss of an innocent life. The symbiote then recedes from Punisher's face and manifests his trademark Skull insignia upon his chest. Castle tells the assembled heroes that he is in control now.[19]
...The Marvel Super-Heroes had remained on Battleworld?
In this one-shot issue, the Marvel Super-Heroes and Villains left alive from the Secret Wars after Galactus' and the Beyonder's fatal battle find themselves trapped on Battleworld. Deciding to make the best of things they all settle down and build new lives and families. Twenty-five years later Spider-Man and the Venom Symbiote are a single entity. With Reed Richards dead there was no way to free Spider-Man from the symbiote and thus he was forced to accept this new way of life. Over time he becomes cold, calculating and emotionally distant from the rest of the group. The body of Peter Parker is now nothing more than a skeleton with the symbiote acting as his skin, much to the dismay of the other super-heroes and their children.
...The Other
This one-shot issue presents a different approach to the events of Spider-Man: The Other, where Peter Parker dies and is resurrected with greater spider powers. Instead, Peter rejects the chance to rise again in a new form and leaves his body and spirit separated. This leaves his body open to a complete take over by the Venom Symbiote. The suit quickly abandons its latest host, Mac Gargan, as soon as it senses Peter's vulnerable state and rushes to once again unite with its first host. After cocooning Peter's body, the symbiote fully bonds with Peter, turning him into a violent monster called Poison. Poison longs for a companion to join them in their new life and choses Mary Jane. After dispatching the Avengers who rush to her aid, Watson offers herself willingly to prevent any further harm to the people protecting her. She promises Poison that she will give her body but not her soul and make Poison's life miserable as possible. This dissuades Poison and he flees. Instead he unearths the grave of Gwen Stacy. The last images reveal Poison watching over a new cocoon like his own, but crimson colored, bursts forth.[20]
Ultimate Spider-Man
- See also: Ultimate Venom
The Venom suit (and Eddie Brock) are greatly altered in the Ultimate Marvel Universe. The symbiote is not extra-terrestrial nor is it shown to be sentient in any way. Instead it is a genetically created "suit" designed by Eddie Brock and Peter Parker's biological fathers as a cure for cancer. It is meant to bond to the user and protect them from internal and external harm, but instead ways a great psychotic pressure on the user. Peter is able to control the "suit" to a greater extent then anyone before because of his powers. But when it bonds to Eddie it takes complete control of him, turning him into a life-form that appears just like the mainstream Venom.
Mangaverse
- See also: Marvel Mangaverse
In the Marvel Mangaverse continuity, Venom is the name of a human man, a former member of Spider-Man's clan. Venom's costume is black, and his spider symbol is white, and also much larger than Spider-Man's. Venom is responsible for the murder of Peter's Uncle Ben, Venom's own father in the Mangaverse, at the command of New York's Kingpin of Crime. Peter defeats him and spares his life. Venom later usurps Kingpin for control over New York's ninja criminal gangs. Separately, the Venom Symbiote appears as a black liquid that is released from a cursed amulet. The symbiote draws energy from the amulet's wearer, which can be fatal after prolonged exposure. The wearer's strength and agility are increased, and his or her ability to control their own violent urges is reduced. When Peter Parker becomes possessed by the evil amulet, removing it leaves him near death. Venom captures the amulet and choses to sacrifice his own life force to it to save Peter, repaying the debt he owes for Peter sparring his life. This act revitalizes Peter, but leaves Venom nothing but a skeleton. The amulet, containing Venom's life force, is used to heal the cripple Kingpin. In the Legend of the Spider-Clan one-shot story "Elemental Evil", Venom inexplicably reappears in the mountain-top home of the Spider-Clan, alive and whole, his skin now a dark blue. He also gained new powers, including a pair of vicious jaws and a long drooling tongue, bringing him closer in appearance to his Earth-616 counter-part. Despite their history Peter agrees that the Venom will teach the ways of the Spider-clan to Peter and the use of his powers. Venom and the rest of the Spider-Clan aid in training Peter to become more powerful, tapping into the mystical side of his spider abilities. In the end, Peter discovers that the group is run by Peter's biological mother who ordered the death of Aunt May to rid him of emotional attachments. As a result, Peter refuses to take his place as leader, rejecting the clan. Venom is awarded with rulership over the Spider-Clan. No reason is given for Venom's resurrection or his new powers, but when asked about it, Venom only said "I was lucky."
Venom 2099
Venom 2099 (Kron Stone), is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics supervillain created by Peter David. Similar to many other characters in the Marvel 2099 imprint, Venom 2099, was a futuristic re-imagining of an established Marvel character. Kron Stone, in the year 2099, half-brother to that era's Spider-Man, bonded with the symbiote to become the Venom of 2099. The symbiote was described as having mutated over the years, and displayed new abilities in this timeline, including acidic blood and saliva. It was revealed that the symbiote bonded with Kron on a molecular level giving Kron an amorphous physiology that allowed his body to take on the properties of the symbiote itself. Later, after the symbiote was separated from Kron, it merged with Roman the Sub-mariner who fled to the ocean (Spider-Man 2099 #44). Venom 2099 first made an appearance as Kron Stone in The Punisher 2099 #1-5. His past was revealed in Spider-Man 2099 issues #15-20. He was then featured as Venom in Spider-Man 2099 issues #35-40 Kron Stone is the older half-brother of Miguel O'Hara, (they share the same father, Tyler Stone). Kron has always been a bully and takes enjoyment out of other people's pain. The relationship between the two is so conflicted that Miguel tries to kill his brother. In his introduction, Stone gives the orders to have Jake Gallows family killed. Gallows finds Stone and fatally wounds him with a knife and dumps his body into the sewer. Following the altercation Kron lies dying in the sewer, his body brushed up against a black ball. The ball then bonds with him and forms a new Venom. With this new power Stone seeks to emotionally torture his half-brother by hurting those close to him, going so far as to kill Miguel's former love Dana. The future's Spider-Man and Venom fight, and Spider-Man 2099 is the victor after he has the town turn on sonics through all of the speakers, thus neutralizing Venom. They then bring him back to the lab for study.
Venom in other media
In the original comic book storyline, merging with the symbiote did not cause Peter Parker to undergo any changes, either mental or physical, beyond making him frequently tired as it took his sleeping body out web-slinging. Beginning with the 1990s Spider-Man animated series, however, virtually all modern re-imaginings of the story have presented the symbiote as enhancing Peter's powers, while at the same time drawing out the dark side of his nature, which is what ultimately convinces him that he must separate himself from it. These story threads can be seen in the Spider-Man 3 motion picture as well as the Ultimate series and the Mangaverse comic book series, noted above. All appearances of Venom in other media have been the Eddie Brock version.
Spider-Man: The Animated Series
The Venom symbiote makes a few appearances in the 90s Spider-Man cartoon (as well as being heavily emphasized in the show's intro). Spider-Man first finds it in the three-part "The Alien Costume" arc, where it is introduced in the first part, bonds with Spider-Man for the majority of the second, and finally runs loose as Venom in the third before being defeated. Venom would return in the third season's "Venom Returns" and "Carnage", the latter of which finds him sacrificing himself to stop Carnage and winding up trapped in an alternate dimension. (All five of these episodes were released on a single-disc DVD release as "The Venom Saga".)
Spider-Man Unlimited
Venom has also appeared in the later television series, Spider-Man Unlimited. Throughout this series, Venom is seen working together with Carnage in an effort to perpetuate the spread of an alien hive mind throughout the series' Counter-Earth. Within this series, both Venom and Carnage have mutated into new, more powerful forms, prompting Spider-Man to create his new suit. These forms feature spikes, a longer torso, and a somewhat skeletal appearance. They also have an elastic stretching power instead of webs. Venom was voiced by Brian Drummond.
Film
While the film rights to Spider-Man have been the property of Sony Pictures Entertainment the rights to Venom were once owned by New Line Cinema who originally planned the film, Venom, written by David S. Goyer. Venom would have been portrayed as an anti-hero, and Carnage would have been the villain. The script was not produced and the film rights to the Venom character ultimately reverted to Sony.[21] A Daily Bugle photographer named "Eddie" (played by R.C. Everbeck) was mentioned in the first Spider-Man film, and is credited in the film's as "Eddie Brock."[22] Eddie Brock would turn up again, this time merging with the film version of the symbiote, in Spider-Man 3 (this time portrayed by Topher Grace). After the success of Spider-Man 3, Spider-Man film producer Avi Arad confirmed in an interview that a "Venom" spin-off film is in works, that will focus solely on the character's origins and storyline. [1] Any details on how the script will portray the character are unknown.
Spider-Man 3
Storyline
Venom makes an appearance in the third installment of the Spider-Man film franchise as one of the three villains that appear, but is only referred to as Venom once in the credits. The Venom symbiote in particular, is the primary villain in the film. In the film, the alien symbiote comes to Earth inside a meteorite which crashes near where Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson are enjoying a date. It clings to Peter's moped and eventually bonds with him later while he is sleeping in his Spider-Man suit. He awakes, hanging upside down, staring at his reflection in a skyscraper's windows (reminiscent of the animated series). He is surprised to see that he's wearing a "black" version of his red and blue costume, and moreover, this suit enhances his spider-powers. He takes a sample to Dr. Curt Connors who tells him that it is actually a "symbiote" that desperately needs a host to survive, and also warns Peter that he should not let it get on him. However, filled with rage and revengeful motives, Peter wears the black costume and defeats Flint Marko (The Sandman) with it, to avenge his Uncle Ben's death. However, he soon becomes unusually aggressive, and realizes the change only after yelling at his landlord Mr. Ditkovich (although Ditkovich, who had a tendency to bully Peter and pester him for rent, comes to respect Peter after this), and quickly locks the costume in a trunk. However, after Harry Osborn makes it appear that he's stolen Mary Jane, Peter puts the black costume on again to confront Harry and gets into a fight with him at his mansion. Peter mercilessly beats Harry, and then taunts him. When he turns away to leave, Harry throws a pumpkin-bomb at him. Peter dodges the attack and slings the bomb back at Harry, disfiguring him. After this, he runs into the new photographer Eddie Brock Jr. (Topher Grace), with whom he is competing for a staff job at the Daily Bugle. Brock brings in the fake "winning" photograph that shows Spider-Man, in his black suit, robbing a bank. But when Peter gets to know about this, he arrives at the Bugle to interrupt Brock's celebration and despite the latter's cowardly pleas, Peter effectively ends Brock's career by exposing the photo as a fake based on one of his own photos. Later, Dr. Connors calls to warn Peter that the symbiote "amplifies aggression" and other tendencies of its host in order to feed on excess adrenaline, but he ignores Connors' warnings and keeps on wearing the symbiote underneath his civil clothes. Peter then goes on a womanizing spree, and takes Brock's former girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, to a jazz club where Mary Jane works, much to Brock's shock. Peter takes advantage of this, and upstages Mary Jane when she tries to perform, with an improvised song and dance routine. He ends up accidentally hitting her in the course of a fight with the bouncers at a club. Again realizing what the suit is doing to him, he goes to the bell tower of a church, and attempts to remove the suit, which has now bonded to him. At the same time, Brock has visited the church to repent and ask for the death of Peter Parker, who has utterly ruined him. At first, The symbiote is too strong for Peter too remove, but during the struggle, Peter slams into the church bell, causing it to ring. The ringing of the bell weakens the parasite and Peter is able to rip it off. The noise springs Brock's curiosity as he enters the bell tower and witnesses Peter fighting with the symbiote. The symbiote pieces fall on Brock, and bonds with him to form Venom. With the symbiote giving him vast knowledge about Peter, Brock goes on a search for Marko, whom Peter nearly killed beforehand. Finding him in a dark alley, he offers Marko to help him kill Spider-Man. Thinking that Spider-Man won't stop until he is dead, Marko agrees. Venom then proceeds to kidnap Mary Jane and uses her to lure Peter in. Venom and the Sandman gank Peter shortly after he arrives and are nearly successful in killing him. But they are thwarted when Harry Osborn as the New Goblin comes to help Spider-Man defeat them. While Harry is busy fighting the Sandman, Peter is left to confront Venom. Able to dodge Peter's spider sense, Venom grabs him from behind and entangles him in his web. After receiving a harsh beating, Spider-Man tries to convince Brock to take off the suit by telling him what the suit will eventually do to him. Brock refuses to take it off and coldly says that he likes being evil. Harry comes to rescue Spider-Man, but Venom snatches Harry's glider, while Harry crashes into a group of hanging pipes, causing them to crash to the ground. Noticing Venom's reaction to the clanging pipes, Spider-Man realizes that Venom cannot stand high frequencies. Venom attempts to impale Spider-Man with Harry's glider, but Harry sacrifices himself and is fatally wounded, like his father. Peter frees himself and uses the clanging of metal pipes to separate Brock from the symbiote. Spider-Man throws one of Osborn's pumpkin bombs at the symbiote, but at the last moment, Brock desperately attempts to rebond with it and is caught in the explosion along with the symbiote.
Characteristics
The symbiote in the film is less like a liquid than in other incarnations. It moves as if composed of many small strands or tendrils (with more of a "crawling", spider-like motion than a liquid which oozes). Initially, the symbiote bonds with Peter as he sleeps in his costume. He is able to remove the mask as though it is made of material. However, he somehow brings a sample of the "crawling" symbiote to Dr. Connors, and it is not shown how he obtains it. All other times the symbiote is shown until Peter tries to remove it, it appears simply as being a costume, and never mimics Parker's street clothing, as it does in all other media, although Peter insists on wearing dark clothing. When he ultimately does remove it, it does not leave his original costume behind for the symbiote has become part of that suit. Afterwards, when it bonds with Eddie Brock Jr., that same Spider-Man suit has been transferred onto Eddie. After it bonds with Eddie it gets altered, changing the looks of the mask, the design, and the spider-symbol to most likely fit Brock's personality and/or because of the tearing it endured when Peter ripped it apart. Unlike in the comics, the black symbiote costume worn by Peter is essentially a black version of his normal costume with the same fabric texture, web patterns and logos, but with an altered spider-symbol on his chest and back. When it bonds with Eddie, it retains the same fabric texture and web pattern, only the web pattern is more jagged and disorganized. The most notable change is the larger wraparound spider logo which is on both Peter's black costume and Venom in the comic book. However, in the film, the logo is a lighter grey than the costume, and not white like the comics. As in the comics, the costume gains eyes and a mouth when he bonds with Brock, and far more commonly appears as the living symbiote (such as retracting to reveal Brock's face and the appearance of the suit clinging on to his body). As with past incarnations, Venom is vulnerable to sound (though the film does not make completely clear whether it is the frequency or amplitude of sound that is damaging). However, unlike in most other media, Peter removes the suit before learning of this vulnerability, and only figures it out in hindsight, by remembering the church bells. Like most incarnations of Venom in the comic series, he seems to be immune to Spider-Man's spider sense, and able to take him by surprise (though this is not directly stated in the film, it is mentioned in the official novelization). In the films, Spider-Man's webbing is produced by his body, not artificial web-shooters. One main difference in Venom that Raimi implemented was to change the color of his webbing from white to black and give him a disorganized webbing pattern. He is also less muscular, though his face is similar to Todd McFarlane's original design. His signature tongue is also not an addition in the design of the symbiote costume (though it is seen briefly, it does not hang out of his mouth.) Eddie Brock is never referred to as "Venom" in the film, but only during the credits, though in the official novelization of the film he states: "I'm poison to you now, Spider-Man. I am your... Venom". He also refers to himself several times in the singular form (I), much like he does in his original appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man issue 300. It was not till later on in the comic that he started to refer to himself in plural form (we). A message he writes in webbing says "stop us if you can", but "us" most likely refers to he and Sandman. He does refer to Spider-Man as "Spider" though, a nickname used by the comic book version, as well as mocking Spider-Man's comic book catch-phrase "My Spider-Sense is tingling" while thretening Mary Jane. He even mocks Peter's nickname "Tiger."
Video game appearances
- Venom is the final boss of The Amazing Spider-Man game that was only available for the Game Boy platform.
- Venom appears in the Super Nintendo game Spider-Man (based on the cartoon of the same name) as the game's final boss.
- Venom appears as a boss multiple times in the Spider-Man: The Video Game arcade game.
- Venom appears multiple times as boss in The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin. On the highest difficulty level Venom appears in every level.
- Venom was a boss in the Japanese only Super Nintendo game Spider-Man: Lethal Foes. He also assisted the player in the final battle against Carnage.
- Venom appears as a boss in both the SNES and the Sega Genesis games based off the animated series.
- Venom is a playable character in the Sega Genesis/SNES game Maximum Carnage and its sequel Separation Anxiety.
- Venom is a boss in the 2000 PlayStation, Dreamcast, PC, and Nintendo 64 game Spider-Man. He later appears as an ally in cut scenes.
- Venom appears in the GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox,Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable game Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects.
- Venom is a playable hero in the fighting game Marvel vs. Capcom and its sequel Marvel vs. Capcom 2.
- The Ultimate version of Venom also appears in Ultimate Spider-Man, available on GameCube, PC, Xbox, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS; he is both the final boss and a playable character.
- Venom appears as the final boss in the Spider-Man 3 video game.
- Venom is one of the playable characters added in the downloadable villain set for the Xbox 360 version of Marvel Ultimate Alliance
- Venom also appears as one of the unlockable sidekicks in the game "Spider-Man: Friend or Foe".
- Venom might apear in EA's Chicaco's new Marvel Fighting Game, but the future is still unclear for the game itself.
References
Until 2003, Venom never had his own "Ongoing" Series. However, from 1993 to 1997 Venom had 17 mini-series that were steadily released back to back from month to month. This run should have been one series where each mini-series would have been considered a story arc. Together, these mini-series comprised a total of 60 issues, 1 Flashback, and a 1995 Annual. Venom Mini-Series
| Sub-title | Year | Issues | Series # | Story |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lethal Protector | 1993 Feb-Jul | 6 | 1-6 | Venom moves to San Francisco |
| Funeral Pyre | 1993 Aug-Oct | 3 | 7-9 | vs. Punisher |
| The Madness | 1993 Nov-Jan | 3 | 10-12 | vs. Juggernaut |
| The Enemy Within | 1994 Feb-April | 3 | 13-15 | vs. Hobgoblin/Demogoblin |
| The Mace | 1994 May-July | 3 | 16-18 | vs. Mace |
| Nights of Vengeance | 1994 Aug-Nov | 4 | 19-22 | Team-up with Vengeance against the Stalkers |
| Separation Anxiety | 1994 Dec-Mar | 4 | 23-26 | Split apart from his other by the Scarlet Spider (Spider-Man 53), Eddie faces the Symbiotes returning from Lethal Protector |
| Carnage Unleashed | 1995 Apr-July | 4 | 27-30 | vs. Carnage |
| Sinners Take All | 1995 Aug-Dec | 5 | 31-35 | vs. Sin Eater/Bride of Venom |
| Along Came a Spider | 1996 Jan-Apr | 4 | 36-39 | vs. Ben Reilly / Back-up story: Origin of the Hybrid |
| The Hunted | 1996 May-July | 3 | 40-42 | vs. the Hybrid |
| The Hunger | 1996 Aug-Nov | 4 | 43-46 | Brock splits with symbiote |
| Tooth & Claw | 1996 Dec-Feb | 3 | 47-49 | vs. Wolverine |
| On Trial | 1997 Mar-May | 3 | 50-52 | Trial of Venom |
| License to Kill | 1997 Jun-Aug | 3 | 53-55 | Works for the Government |
| Sign of the Boss | 1997 Sep-Oct | 2 | 56-57 | vs. Ghost Rider |
| Finale | 1997 Nov-Jan | 3 | 58-60 | Venom Finale |
| Seeds of Darkness | 1997 July | 1 | -1 | Flashback Month |
| Venom Annual | 1995 | 1 | 1 | Planet of the Symbiotes, Part 3 |
| Venom (Part of the tsunami imprint) | 2003-2004 | 18 | A clone of Venom attacks an Alaskan base and then fights the real Venom and Spider-man. |
- ^ "Venom: The Sordid History of Spider-Man's Black Costume"; marvel.com; November 29, 2006
- ^ Mark Millar (w), Terry Dodson (p), Rachel Dodson (i). ""Venomous"" Marvel Knights: Spider-Man, #7 December 2004 Marvel Comics
- ^ Jim Shooter (w), Mike Zeck (p), John Beatty (i). ""Secret Wars"" Marvel Super Heroes, #8 December, 1984 Marvel Comics
- ^ Tom DeFalco (w), Ron Frenz (p), Josef Rubinstein (i). ""The Sinister Secret of Spider-Man's New Costume"" The Amazing Spider-Man, #258 November, 1984 Marvel Comics
- ^ Louise Simonson (w), Greg La Rocque (p), Jim Mooney (i). ""Til Death Us Do Part"" Web Of Spider-Man, #1 April, 1985 Marvel Comics
- ^ http://www.marvel.com/universe/Venom
- ^ Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #9
- ^ Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #10
- ^ Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #11
- ^ Civil War #4
- ^ Civil War: Choosing Sides #1
- ^ Heroes for Hire vol. 2 #2
- ^ Thunderbolts #112
- ^ Venom: The hunger #2
- ^ Tom DeFalco (w), Ron Frenz (p), Sal Buscema (i). ""You Only Hurt. .."" Spider-Girl, #82 March,2005 Marvel Comics
- ^ Tom DeFalco (w), Ron Frenz (p), Sal Buscema (i). ""I, Hero"" Spider-Girl, #84 May,2005 Marvel Comics
- ^ Tom DeFalco (w), Ron Frenz, Pat Olliffe (p), Sal Buscema, Scott Koblish (i). ""If death be my destiny"" Spider-Girl, #100 September,2006 Marvel Comics
- ^ Danny Fingeroth (w), Mark Bagley (p), Keith Williams (i). ""What if the Alien costume had possessed Spider-Man?"" |What If vol. 2, #4 October,1989 Marvel Comics
- ^ Kurt Busiek (w), Luke McDonnell (p), Luke McDonnell (i). ""What if Venom had possessed The Punisher?"" |What If vol. 2, #44 December,1992 Marvel Comics
- ^ Peter David (w), Khoi Pam (p), Khoi Pam (i). ""What if. ..The Other?"" What If, November,2006 Marvel Comics
- ^ David Goyer Interview
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0263472/
External links
- History of the alien costume on Marvel.com
- "The Dark Side of Spider-man" at SKB
- Parts 1 and 2
