The Complex History of Venom
“We are Venom!”
Over the years, Spider-Man has developed a notable rogues’ gallery of villains, but few can boast that they can threaten him on a personal level. The most prominent example is the Green Goblin, but an example just as prominent is that of Venom. This alien blob has a complicated history when it comes to morality. One minute, he’ll be trying to play hero. The next minute, he’ll want to eat someone!
I’m RJ Writing Ink, and with the final Venom film on the horizon, now is the perfect time to learn about the history behind one of Spider-Man’s greatest frenemies. No, that was not a typo, and you’ll see why.
Venom: Origin Story
Several people have taken the name Venom over the years, but the actual Venom is the Symbiote itself. Its species was created eons ago by Knull, an eldritch god of darkness who made them to serve as his army to conquer everything. Eventually, though, the Symbiotes turned on their master and sealed him away in their adoptive homeworld. After that, they traveled the stars. Some tried to make up for their dark origins, while others just wanted to find hosts to feed on. Then there was Venom himself (he’s agender with masculine pronouns).
Venom’s desire to live in symbiosis with a host led his people to deem him crazy and imprison him in a lab. A lab that an entity called the Beyonder proceeded to use as part of his artificial planet called Battleworld. That place served as the setting for Marvel’s first company crossover, Secret Wars. However, that’s a story for another day. What matters is that Spider-Man stumbled upon Venom’s prison, and, thinking the machine made costumes, set it free.
Venom Goes Full Yandere
Now bonded to Spider-Man, it looked like Venom found its perfect partner. The Symbiote not only made Spidey stronger, but even gave him an infinite supply of webbing. It seemed like a good deal! However, then the Symbiote started to get…clingy.
The alien would start taking Spider-Man out fighting crime while he slept. When the fatigue started to become noticeable, Spidey went to the Fantastic Four for answers. Mr. Fantastic realized his “suit” was alive. As a result, the Symbiote went full yandere and tried to permanently bond with the hero. Thankfully, they managed to get it off and contain it.
Then it escaped, tried again, and Spidey had to risk his life using church bells ringing at point blank. That led to the alien sacrificing itself to save Peter, and while it seemed to have died, it just went dormant. Until it could find its next host.
Poor Eddie! Now He is Venom!
Meet Eddie Brock, a news reporter trying to get his big break. Ry He thought that he managed to do so when he published an interview with a man that claimed to be an infamous serial killer. Unfortunately for Eddie, that man turned out to be a fraud when Spider-Man caught the real one. After that, Eddie’s left fell apart: he lost his job, his wife left him, his dad divorced him, and he was diagnosed with cancer. He seriously considered killing himself, leading him to go pray for forgiveness at a church. The same church the Venom Symbiote laid dormant in. Sensing his strong emotions and hatred for Spider-Man, the alien chose Brock as his new host. The Symbiote’s already unstable nature, already influenced by its time with Spider-Man, got even worse thanks to Brock’s hatred for the hero. Thus, the Venom most people know was born. A being made up of a twisted sense of justice, hatred, and bloodlust.
Venom would soon develop a love-hate relationship with his former host. Venom proved one of the hero’s worst enemies by giving Brock many of Spider-Man’s skills and an immunity to his Spider-Sense. But as monstrous as he could be, Spidey’s positive influence did leave an impact on Venom. Combined with Eddie’s belief that he was genuinely wronged, and Venom would come to skirt the line between villain and anti-hero. Though where he would fall tended to be influenced by who was his host. At one point after Eddie gave him up, Venom took Mac Gargan, the Scorpion, as his host. That led to him giving in to his darker instincts, killing and even eating people.
One way or another, though, Venom would find his way back to Eddie Brock. And they would need each other. After centuries of imprisonment, Knull had begun to stir, and he was ready to finish what he started: conquering everything.
But that’s a story for another day.
Venom is One of the Biggest Anti-Heroes There is
Venom is indeed a complicated character in the Marvel Universe. Over the years, he’s been everything from villain, anti-hero, and hero, never staying on one end of the spectrum. He’s become one of the most prominent members of the Spider-Man mythos. And while his alignment can change depending on who’s writing him, one thing is for sure: don’t get on his bad side unless you can handle him. Bad things happen to those who get on his bad side and can’t handle him!
