Eddie Brock
- For other uses of the term, see Venom (disambiguation).
| Venom | |
|---|---|
| File:Venomlethal1.jpg Venom Art by Mark Bagley (1993) | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Amazing Spider-Man #252 (alien symbiote) Amazing Spider-Man #298 (as Venom) |
| Created by | David Michelinie Todd McFarlane (contested, see below) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Eddie Brock |
| Abilities | A human host linked to an alien symbiote whose previous link with Spider-Man created the equivalents of his abilities. In addition, the being can produce its webbing, change its appearance and cannot be detected by Spider-Man's spider-sense. |
Venom is a Marvel Comics supervillain and anti-hero commonly thought of as an arch-enemy of Spider-Man. Created by writer David Michelinie and artist Todd McFarlane, he first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #298 (March 1988). He is a result of symbiosis between an alien life form and a human. Although the name Venom can refer to both the alien symbiote and the character, it is most commonly referring to the alien bonded with a human host. The human that has been associated with the symbiote the longest is Eddie Brock, a reporter who held a personal grudge against both Spider-Man and Peter Parker. After many years as Venom, Brock recently parted with the symbiote, which then possessed a gangster's son and later Mac Gargan, another long time Spider-Man foe.
Character history
The Black Suit
At one point during the Secret Wars on an alien planet, Spider-Man damaged his costume. He was directed to a facility where he could find a new costume, but he unwittingly activated the wrong machine, freeing from imprisonment a sentient alien symbiote. As Spider-Man touched the black blob he had released, it flowed over his body and formed a new costume that responded to his thoughts, was able to mimic street clothes and seemed to provide an inexhaustible supply of webbing.
Once back on Earth, Spider-Man learned the true nature of the costume, and discovered that the symbiote desired to fuse permanently with him, enveloping him at night as he slept, using his unconscious body to go out and fight crime, due to the fact that the alien required doses of adrenaline. With the aid of Mister Fantastic, Spider-Man removed the costume by using sonic waves, to which it was vulnerable, but it broke free from the Fantastic Four's custody, and attempted to forcibly bond itself to Spider-Man in a church tower. The clanging of the church bells, coupled with Spidey's forced rejection of the symbiote, weakened the alien, and it slithered away.
Reporter Eddie Brock formed a hatred for Spider-Man after the wall-crawler debunked his most famous news story, the Sin-Eater case, by capturing the real perpetrator, ruining his reporting career and humiliating Brock.
This 'origin' story has since been retconned in order to add depth to the characters involved. It is revealed that Brock was diagnosed with cancer before the Sin-Eater case, and was told he had little more than 3 months to live. It is this, not the Sin-Eater situation, which finally drove Eddie to decide to kill himself.
The Birth of Venom
In his desperate state, Eddie was discovered by the alien costume and the alien, attracted to Brock's intense anger and hatred, bonded with Eddie. Because of the symbiote's previous connection with Peter Parker, Brock was now aware of Spider-Man's secret identity. This increased Brock's hatred for both Parker and Spider-Man, leading Venom to become one of Spider-Man's most dangerous enemies.
The alien symbiote was revealed to be in love with Peter Parker. In Amazing Spider-Man # 317, Spider-Man defeated the symbiote by appealing to it directly, removing his costume and offering his body for symbiosis. Though Brock believed both he and the symbiote hated Spider-Man equally, it tried to leave Brock and remerge with Spider-Man. Venom was rendered unconscious by the symbiote's attempt to break its bond with Brock and merge again with Parker. He was remanded to The Vault, a prison for superpowered criminals, where he remained until he managed to escape by faking death and murdering one of the guards. This murder would cause the creation of one of Venom's most determined group of enemies; The Jury.
The symbiote's motivations were also later retconned. It was originally implied that the symbiote sought Eddie because they both had a hatred of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, but the revised canon is that the form of cancer with which Eddie was inflicted came with an enhanced production of adrenaline—exactly what the symbiote feeds, thus making some type of cure that heals him of his disease.
Maximum Carnage
The 1993 Spider-Man event Maximum Carnage saw Venom team up with his arch-enemy Spider-Man as well as a host of other heroes, including Captain America, Black Cat, Nightwatch, Cloak and Dagger, Iron Fist, Deathlok, Morbius and Firestar to defeat the powerful foe and child of Venom, Carnage. Carnage and a team of powerful supervillains overtook New York City, but together, the heroes were able to successfully subdue them and defeat Carnage.
The Overreach Committee
Venom was eventually brought to justice and put on trial, his symbiote held in check with a chemical inhibitor that prevented it from manifesting. During the trial, Carnage, who had been brought in as a witness also with a chemical inhibitor, managed to overcome the restriction and began a rampage. Venom, who had also overcome his inhibitor, along with Spider-Man and Daredevil, overcame Carnage.
Venom was spared jail when the Overreach Committee implanted a bomb inside Brock's chest to obtain his loyalty as one of their agents. After facing many threats for the committee, Brock misinterpreted an order to intimidate J. Jonah Jameson as instructions to kill him, leading to a confrontation with Spider-Man which he ultimately lost. The symbiote removed the explosive from Brock's chest before Brock tried to publicly reveal the secrets of the Committee, but an overdose of the chemical inhibitor was administered, forcefully separating Brock from the symbiote.
Venom Returns
The symbiote again regenerated, seeking out Brock to become Venom once more. As Venom, they absorbed Cletus Kassady's symbiote and joined the Sinister Six but eventually turned on, and tried to kill their teammates, crippling both Sandman and Electro before making peace with Spider-Man. The peace was short-lived however. Venom's hatred was for the web-slinger was renewed when Brock's wife, who had briefly united with the symbiote and who had become terrified of it as a result, committed suicide. Venom lost his chance for revenge when the powerful human/alien hybrid known as Senator Ward forcefully removed the symbiote from Brock once again.
Venom vs. Carnage
Though Venom and Carnage had faced as adversaries before, it was made all the more personal when Carnage gave birth, producing the Toxin symbiote. Hating his child, Carnage attempted to kill the newborn Toxin until he was faced with opposition from Venom. In hope of protecting Toxin and creating an ally, Venom faced off against Carnage to a stand-still until Venom realized that Toxin's new host was dedicated to a life of virtue. Realizing that Toxin was easily as strong as Venom and Carnage yet still growing, Venom formed a truce with Carnage (this truce with Carnage seems contradictory to all previous incarnations of Venom's character) to destroy Toxin but he found aid in Spider-Man. Together, Spider-Man and Toxin were able to drive off Carnage and Venom.
Clone of the Symbiote
A clone of the Venom symbiote then appeared, created from a severed sample of the symbiote scavenged by the government from an earlier battle. This clone—created by a covert alien race lurking in secrecy within the government—actually burned out its hosts (traits which seem to be a throwback to the rest of the symbiote species seen in the "Planet of the Symbiotes" storyline), killing them, unlike the original symbiote. The only two to survive it for a significant period were Communications Specialist Patricia Robertson (U.S. Army, stationed near the Arctic circle) thanks to technology, and the X-Man Wolverine, thanks to his healing factor. Robertson was later fully overcome by the symbiote, but Brock, having since recombined with his symbiote, absorbed the clone. Filled with its intelligence and the alien design it had been created for, Brock professed he would carry that design out himself, but did not get the chance when he discovered that he had cancer, and he could not survive without a permanent merge with the symbiote. In the end, Spider-Man convinces the symbiote to go through with this "permanent merge."
Personality
Despite his lethal tendencies towards even petty criminals and homicidal hatred of Spider-Man early on, Venom remains curiously protective of those he considers "innocent". He believes himself to be a hero, and Spider-Man a villain that wrecked his life. He will avoid killing bystanders in his quest for vengeance and spends much of his free time saving people from criminals. However, he is mildly insane, and as such his definition of "innocent" and "necessary casualties" fluctuates according to circumstance. Although Venom often saves people when he can, Spider-Man refuses to see Venom as anything but a homicidal maniac, not much better than Carnage. In fact, Spider-Man has twice broken his promises to Venom: after helping to defeat Carnage, Spider-Man promises to let Venom go free, but calls on Mister Fantastic to imprison him instead (Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #363). In Amazing Spider-Man #375, Venom swears not to go after Spider-Man anymore, and Spider-Man, finally recognizing Venom as a hero, agrees not to go after Venom. Despite this, in Venom: Lethal Protector #1, Spider-Man hunts down Venom as soon as he learns his whereabouts. Venom never forgets how Spider-Man broke his word "at earliest convenience," later on during the Maximum Carnage storyline (Web of Spider-Man #102).
Still, Venom teams up with Spider-Man on several occasions, most notably to battle the symbiote's homicidal offspring, Carnage. Venom occasionally works alongside other anti-heroes and superheroes, such as The Punisher, Wolverine, the Black Cat, Silver Sable, Morbius, Scream, Cloak, Vengeance, and Ghost Rider.
Although the symbiote tries to bond with a desirable host completely as it did with Spider-Man and has with Eddie Brock in the past, Venom most commonly refers to himself as "We, stating "We are Venom", showing that they are still individual parts that make up the whole.
Family and Relationships
Eddie's mother (Jamie) died in childbirth and his father (Carl) was a neglectful, angry man (Venom: Lethal Protector #1). It is mentioned in Nova (vol. 3) #6–7 that he had a younger sister, Mary Brock (she is hurt in some way as an excuse for Venom and Nova to battle), but her character is never expanded.
His "other's" family is deathly dysfunctional. After Carnage is born, Venom assumes the rest of his "children" (the Life Foundation symbiotes Scream/Donna, Lasher/Ramon, Riot/Trevor, Rampage/Carl, and Agony/Leslie) will turn out the same way, and thus should be destroyed. Ironically, the Life Foundation symbiotes are afraid of becoming like Venom. This is why the Life Foundation symbiotes kidnap him instead of killing him during the events of "Venom: Separation Anxiety". They wanted to know how to control their symbiotes so they could use them for good. Eddie might have been able to help them, but because of this bias towards his offspring, he refused. The Life Foundation symbiotes never had a chance; Scream went insane and killed the others.
When Scream later reformed, she aided Venom a couple of times, such as when they fought the xenophages together. The remains of the other four symbiotes merged to form Hybrid who has not had any contact with Venom but considers him a threat.
Venom had hoped to make his grandson Toxin into an ally, and thus protected him from Carnage after he was born. However, Toxin turns on Venom and allies himself with Spider-Man (Venom vs. Carnage #3–4).
Eddie had a pretty friendly relationship with his ex-wife, Ann Weying, all things considered. For a while, he dated Beck and Elizabeth (women living in the San Francisco undercity he protects) with Beck being the more serious relationship. He has also been seen making passes at the Black Cat, Mary Jane Watson-Parker (during "Maximum Carnage"), and Patricia Robertson, the host of the Venom-clone.
Venom II
Following the revelation of his cancer, Brock then proceeded through a religious awakening and decided against permanently merging with the symbiote, instead choosing to sell the symbiote to the crimelord Don Fortunato, intending to donate the $100 million received to charity before dying. Angelo Fortunato, the Don's son, became the second Venom for a brief period of time (technically, the Venom clone and its hosts were not really Venom). However, Angelo proved to be a cowardly and pathetic host for Venom, being humiliated in a battle with Spider-Man. It left Angelo during a leap, and the subsequent fall killed Fortunato. Upon hearing that Angelo had died after the symbiote abandoned him, Brock slit his wrists in an alley and was seen waiting to die. However he survived the suicide attempt and is currently in hospital. It is only a matter of time before the symbiote gets homesick.
Venom III
After Angelo's death, the symbiote bonded with Mac Gargan, the Scorpion, and became part of the new Sinister Twelve. While he was swiftly defeated by Spider-Man, as the Avengers, Fantastic Four and Daredevil dealt with the rest of the Twelve, he is still the third Venom. Recently, Venom III was seen on a wanted list of the Thunderbolts (issue #103) and is on the loose once again, and he reappears in Beyond! as well. It is confirmed that Venom III will be seen during Civil War in issue #5 and thereafter.
Other versions of Venom
Ultimate Venom
In the Ultimate Marvel Universe, Eddie Brock Jr. is Peter Parker's closest childhood friend, and another nephew of Aunt May. Instead of a sentient alien, the Venom symbiote is a genetically engineered protoplasmic "suit" designed by Richard Parker and Edward Brock, Sr. Parker intended it to be used for medical purposes in his quest to cure cancer, but Brock Sr. was more interested in the military applications of the Suit. After the deaths of both men, Eddie continues the research, using two samples from a suit he found in his father's refrigerator. One of the samples bonds with Peter.
Peter warns Eddie of the dangers of the suit after its enhanced metabolism and aggression nearly drives him to kill. Eddie, angry with Peter for destroying the suit, uses a second sample to become Venom. The suit consumes Eddie and drives him insane, forcing him to feed on other people in order to survive. In the recent Ultimate Spider-Man video game, Eddie gains full control of the Venom suit after he absorbs the remnants of the first sample in Peter's blood. In doing so, he develops the familiar white spider symbol on his chest.
In Ultimate Spider-Man, Venom is much more physically powerful than Spider-Man, although he is not as fast or agile. He cannot create organic webbing, instead using extruded tentacles to swing from building to building. In the Ultimate Spider-Man video game, he quickly leaps from building to building, jumping several hundred feet in a single bound. Ultimate Venom, unlike the regular Venom, not only activates Peter Parker's spider-sense but overloads it to the point that Peter is in such pain that he sometimes cannot move. This stops when Venom reabsorbs the traces of the Venom suit still in Parker's blood into himself. Unlike the mainstream Venom, Ultimate Venom is not specifically vulnerable to sonics or fire, nor is he particularly concerned about killing innocent bystanders.
Earth X
In the alternate future known as Earth X, May "Mayday" Parker merged with the Venom symbiote after the death of her mother Mary Jane Watson. However, May can completely control the symbiote, and actually communicates with it. The symbiote was even altered due to the merge with May, assuming a black-and-red version of Spider-Man's costume, complete with vein-like web designs. Despite the fact that May uses the symbiote for good, her father, Peter Parker, doesn't approve of the merger.
MC2
Main article: Normie Osborn
The Venom symbiote appears within the MC2 Universe in "Spider-Girl." First, the symbiote attempts to re-bond with Peter Parker. Later, the symbiote appears again when it is forcefully bonded to Spider-Girl's friend Norman "Normie" Osborn III (the grandson of the original Green Goblin). Changed by Normie's innocent personality, the symbiote becomes benevolent, and Normie willingly transfers it to a critically injured Spider-Girl so the symbiote can heal and save her. When Spider-Girl with the symbiote attack Hobgoblin, the villain attacks with a supersonic weapon. The symbiote sacrifices itself to save Spider-Girl's life.
2099
In Spider-Man 2099, the symbiote resurfaced from the sewers of New York and bonds with the half-brother of Miguel O'Hara (Spider-Man 2099) to form Venom 2099. The symbiote was eventually isolated before a riot unleashed it and it joined with Namor the Sub-Mariner.
Marvel Mangaverse
In the Marvel Mangaverse continuity, Venom is a human renegade. A member of Spider-Man's ninja clan, he is also Spider-Man's older cousin. The distinctive black and white design is here the result of a full-body tattoo or body paint. Venom's skin is pale and colorless, a side-effect from when he was poisoned with spider venom as a child. Venom was 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 defeated him and could have slain him, but Peter chose to spare his life. Venom went on to apparently murder the Kingpin (who later was revealed to have survived, barely) and take over New York's ninja criminal gangs for himself.
The 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 was possessed by the evil amulet, removing it nearly caused him to die, as the amulet took all of his life force along with it. Venom captured the amulet and chose to sacrifice his own life force to it in order to save Peter, repaying the debt he owed when Peter spared his life. This act revitalized Peter, but Venom was left as nothing but a skeleton. The amulet, said to contain Venom's life force, eventually wound up in the hands of a crippled Kingpin, who used its power to fully heal himself. It is possible that the spirit of Venom may exist within the amulet, and he may yet return.
What If...Venom Possessed The Punisher?
In this one-shot, after the symbiote left Spider-Man it joined with The Punisher (Frank Castle) instead of Eddie Brock. Castle used the symbiote's abilities to further his war on crime; he utilized the suit's shape-shifting nature to create glider-wings and even firearms.
The symbiote however, caused The Punisher's war to become incredibly brutal and unrestrained even resulting in it influencing Punisher to view Spider-Man as a criminal and attempt to attack him. At the climax of a confrontation with Spider-Man, Daredevil and Moon Knight, Punisher overcomes and forces the symbiote to submit to his will, making it clear that if he ever lost 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 a symbol on its chest area similar to the Punisher's trademark skull insignia. Castle tells the assembled heroes that he is in control now.
What If...The symbiote possessed Spider-Man?
In this one-shot, after obtaining the symbiote costume, Spider-Man waited too long before visiting Mister Fantastic to have the alien removed. The suit took control of Spider-Man and escaped, but by constantly feeding on him, Spider-Man was aged at an accelerated rate, being reduced to old age in a matter of days. Desperate to survive, the symbiote bonded with a weakened Hulk. Various heroes struggled with the decision to kill the Hulk while killing the symbiote but decided that it was in the best interest of the Earth. However, when Thor confronted Venom-Hulk and defeated him, the symbiote took over Thor. Reluctant to kill Thor, the heroes used one final plan, employing Black Bolt's incredibly powerful voice to create enough sonic damage to critically injure the symbiote.
Thor was freed, and the heroes prepared to transport the alien to another dimension when Black Cat, using a gun created for her by the Kingpin in exchange for lifelong servitude, killed the alien, angry at its murder of Spider-Man.
Powers and abilities
The various Venoms possess abilities parallel to those of Spider-Man, based on the symbiote's time bonded with the wall-crawler: superhuman strength, agility, superhuman reflexes, and the ability to adhere to walls.
In Venom, these Spider-Man-like abilities are greatly enhanced, making Venom incredibly strong and fast, superior to Spider-Man's abilities. The symbiote is capable of enhancing the strength of its host to varying degrees. Due to Eddie Brock's natural physical strength from weight-training, his strength as Venom is greatly increased, far in excess of Spider-Man's, though his full strength often fluctuates. Venom has demonstrated strength slightly greater than Spider-Man's to being capable of trading blows with high-powered individuals such as Juggernaut.
Venom's body is highly resistant to physical injury, capable of withstanding assaults from high-caliber bullets as well as powerful attacks from super powered individuals. Venom is also capable of surviving in harmful areas for long periods of time such as underwater or in toxic gases, the symbiote filtering breathable air to the host. Additionally, the symbiote is capable of healing injuries in the host at a faster rate than normal human healing allows. The symbiote is also capable of healing injuries and illness that current human medical care cannot such as cancer.
The symbiote contains a small 'dimensional aperture', similar to a pocket, that allows the host to carry items upon his/her person without adding mass to the costume. This was only used by Peter Parker, who carried his camera in the suit's aperture. When the symbiote was separated from Parker, the aperture emptied and the camera returned to Earth.
The symbiote possesses some limited psychic ability. It is capable of obtaining and retaining information from its hosts and even other people and symbiotes simply by touch. This ability allowed Eddie Brock to know the secret identity of Spider-Man when the symbiote bonded with him. It can however be forced to forget information if the symbiote is inflicted with heavy trauma. The symbiote is also capable of psychically detecting its offspring; however this ability can be blocked.
Due to Spider-Man being a host to the symbiote, Venom, and as a result his offspring, are immune to Spider-Man's spider-sense. As such, Venom is capable of attacking Spider-Man without alerting him, making Venom a deadly foe.
The symbiote is capable of mimicking the appearance of any form of clothing, camouflaging with its surroundings, and even mimicking other people.
The suit can also shoot webbing similar to that of Spider-Man, albeit from the back of the host's hand instead of the wrist, but as this is made from the symbiote itself, overuse weakens it. However, the symbiote is still capable of producing vast amounts of this webbing before it is forced to stop.
The symbiote is weak against sonics and fire. Furthermore, it does have an upper limit as to how much webbing it can produce. In Amazing Spider-Man #300, Spider-Man defeated Venom by forcing the symbiote to continually fire off its webbing, after correctly deducing that it uses its own substance to create it.
In some incarnations, the symbiote (and, by extension, Venom) requires a certain chemical (most likely phenethylamine) to stay sane and healthy. In the comic, they say that this chemical is only found abundantly in two sources: chocolate and human brain tissue. Thus, in these incarnations, Venom is forced to steal/purchase large amounts of chocolate, or become an unwilling cannibal who devours the brains of those he kills.
Appearances in other media
Television
- Spider-Man: The Animated Series
Like the comics' version of Venom, the version in this '90s cartoon is a former reporter named Eddie Brock who becomes bonded to an alien symbiote that was once attached to Spider-Man. Despite the fact that he is a popular character, Venom was only featured in a handful of episodes. Both Brock and Venom were voiced by Hank Azaria.- Character appearances:
- "Night of the Lizard" (as Brock)
- "The Spider Slayer" (as Brock)
- "Return of the Spider Slayers" (as Brock)
- "The Alien Costume, Part One" (as the symbiote)
- "The Alien Costume, Part Two" (as the symbiote)
- "The Alien Costume, Part Three" (as Venom)
- "Venom Returns" (as Venom)
- "Carnage" (as Venom)
- Character appearances:
- 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, Venom also displays powers markedly similar to that of Carnage. It is unknown how he and Carnage got out of limbo since the events of "Carnage", but it may have happened after the series finale of Spider-Man: The Animated Series and before the premiere of Spider-Man Unlimited in which the saga was never bridged.
Film
- Defunct Film
Venom's first appearance in a motion picture was originally to be as the star of Venom, written by David Goyer (who wrote Batman Begins and the Blade trilogy) and produced by New Line Pictures. 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.[1]
- Spider-Man (2002)
In the 2002 film Spider-Man, it is mentioned that a Daily Bugle photographer named "Eddie" hasn't been able to get a good photo of Spider-Man. Presumably this is Eddie Brock (which the DVD's "Weaving the Web" pop-up factoids feature confirms). In the novelization of the film Eddie actually has a cameo and is mentioned by his full name, with J. Jonah Jameson unwittingly making an ironic allusion to Venom by screaming "Next time, get a decent suit!". Brock was set to be played by R.C. Everbeck; a cameo role was filmed, but was subsequently cut from the film during production.
- Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Venom has been confirmed to appear in the third film in the Spider-Man series as both the symbiote and Edward "Eddie" Brock, Jr., with Eddie being played by Topher Grace. The symbiote will first coat Spider-Man's costume, giving it a new, black appearance and slightly different spider symbol. Eventually, however, Spider-Man will reject the suit, ripping it off himself within an active bell tower and it will subsequently bond with Brock. There was also a scene from an exclusive trailer released at Comic Con where Edward sat alone in a church saying, teary-eyed, "I want you to kill Peter Parker." The character's name, "Edward Brock, Jr." is taken from the ultimate continuity version mentioned above.
Video games
- Spider-Man (Game Boy Color)
- The Amazing Spider-Man (Game Boy)
- Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage (Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES))
- The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin (Sega Genesis, Sega CD)
- Spider-Man and Venom: Separation Anxiety (SNES, PC)
- Spider-Man (PC, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Dreamcast)
- Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes (Dreamcast, PlayStation, Arcade)
- Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, XBox, Arcade)
- Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro (PlayStation)
- Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects (Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2, XBox, GameCube)
- Ultimate Spider-Man (Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, Gamecube, Playstation 2, PC, XBox, Mobile)
- Spider-Man arcade game (Arcade)
Controversy over creator credit
Some controversy surrounds the creation of the Venom character. Although David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane are thought of as the creators, controversy exists due to the concepts of the character, such as Spider-Man's black costume, existing long before McFarlane's involvement. Additionally, the Venom character did appear in comics, albeit heavily concealed, before McFarlane contributed his design elements. Michelinie argues that McFarlane's design elements were minor compared to the background and personality of Venom which McFarlane had no part in developing.
List of symbiote hosts
Venom's Hosts
- Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
- Eddie Brock
- Ann Weying (Eddie's ex-wife; deceased)
- In the Venom: Sinner Take All back-up story "Symbiote", a mad scientist once attempted to steal the symbiote (believing it could make him immortal) only to be torn into (still living) shreds by the symbiote before it returned to Eddie Brock.
- Angelo Fortunato (deceased)
- The Scorpion (Mac Gargan) (currently the symbiote wearer)
Alternate Universes
- May Parker (Venom) (Earth/Universe/Paradise X)
- The Punisher (Frank Castle) (What If... vol. 2 #44)
- Thor and the Hulk (What If... vol. 2 #4)
- Norman "Normie" Osborn III, grandson of the Green Goblin (MC2)
- May Parker, briefly, a couple of times (MC2)
Wildstorm Universe
- Bonded with Pike in the Backlash and Spider-Man crossover
2099
- Kron Stone, the half-brother of Miguel O'Hara
- Namor the Sub-Mariner
Ultimate Universe
- Ultimate Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
- Eddie Brock Sr.
- Eddie Brock Jr.
Venom's Clone's Hosts
- several of the staff of Christmastown, an arctic military installation and next to all of the staff of the arctic lab that created the clone
- several residents of Voici, a town in Canada's Northwestern Territories
- a husky
- a raven
- Wolverine (James "Logan" Howlett)
- Patricia Robertson, U.S. Army Communications Specialist
Bibliography
Solo series and one-shots
- Spider-Man: The Trial of Venom one-shot (1992)
- Venom: Lethal Protector #1-6 (February–July, 1993)
- Venom: Funeral Pyre #1–3 (August–October, 1993)
- Venom: The Madness #1–3 (November, 1993–January, 1994)
- Venom: The Enemy Within #1–3 (February–March, 1994)
- Hulk vs. Venom one-shot (April, 1994)
- Venom: The Mace #1–3 (May–July, 1994)
- Venom: Nights of Vengeance #1–4 (August–November, 1994)
- Venom: Separation Anxiety #1–4 (December, 1994–March, 1995)
- Venom: Carnage Unleashed #1–4 (April–July, 1995)
- Venom: Sinner Takes All #1–5 (August–December, 1995)
- Venom Super Special one-shot (August, 1995)
- Rune vs. Venom one-shot (December, 1995)
- Venom: Along Came a Spider #1–4 (January–April, 1996)
- Venom: The Hunted #1–3 (May–July, 1996)
- Venom: The Hunger #1–4 (August–November, 1996)
- Venom: Tooth and Claw #1–3 (December, 1996–February 1997)
- Venom: On Trial #1–3 (March–May, 1997)
- Venom: License to Kill #1–3 (June–August, 1997)
- Venom: Seed of Darkness #1 one-shot (July 1997)
- Venom: Sign of the Boss #1–2 (September–October 1997)
- Venom: Finale #1–3 (November, 1997–January, 1998)
- Spider-Man: Venom Agenda one-shot (January, 1998)
- Venom #1–18 (June, 2003–November, 2004)
- Venom vs. Carnage #1–4 (August–December, 2004)
Reprints
- Venom: The Return one-shot (1990; reprints Amazing Spider-Man (1963 series) 330, 347, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #25)
- Venom: Deathtrap: The Vault graphic novel (March, 1993; reprints Avengers: Deathtrap: The Vault)
- Venom: Shiver trade paperback (2004; reprints Venom #1–5)
- Venom: Run trade paperback (2004; reprints Venom #6–13)
- Venom: Twist trade paperback (2005; reprints Venom #13–18)
- Venom vs. Carnage trade paperback (2005; reprints Venom vs. Carnage #1–4)
Appearances in novels and short stories
- Spider-Man: The Venom Factor by Diane Duane, October 1994
- "An Evening in the Bronx with Venom" by Keith R. A. DeCandido and John Gregory Betancourt, in The Ultimate Spider-Man, ed. Stan Lee, December 1994
- Spider-Man: The Lizard Sanction by Diane Duane, October 1995
- "The Deviant Ones" by Glenn Greenberg, in The Ultimate Super-Villains, ed. Stan Lee, August 1996
- Spider-Man: The Octopus Agenda by Diane Duane, October 1996
- Spider-Man: Venom's Wrath by Keith R. A. DeCandido and Jose R. Nieto, October 1998
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