This
article is about the Marvel Comics fictional alien Symbiote and its
succession of human hosts. For the most well known Venom hosts, see Eddie Brock and Mac Gargan. For the DC Comics drug, see Venom (DC Comics)
Spider-Man, The Black Suit, Symbiote, Alien Costume
Abilities
Grants the host all the powers of its first known
host, Spider-Man. Greatly enhances physical attributes of its current
host. Superhuman strength, ability to change form, and ability of the
Symbiote to fight and defend itself when either the host or it is in
danger.
Limited shapeshifting, undetectable by Spider-Man's "spider-sense". It can also turn its host invisible through camouflage
Venom, or the Venom Symbiote, is a Symbiote, an extraterrestrial life form in the Marvel Comicsuniverse.
The creature is a sentient alien with a gooey, almost 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 supervillain, that
new dual-life form itself is also often called Venom. Its second host Eddie Brock, after bonding with the Symbiote to become the first Venom, is one of Spider-Man'sarchenemies.[1]
Spider-Man 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 reign as the villain known as Venom.
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]
Venom has become one of Spider-Man's most enduring and popular foes.
Indeed, he has become so popular that he is seen as Spider-Man's
arch-nemesis, in terms of his popularity.[3][4] Venom was ranked as the 22nd Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time in IGN's list of the top 100 comic villains,[5] 33rd on Empire's 50 Greatest Comic Book Characters,[6] and was ranked as the 98th Greatest Comic Book Character Ever in Wizard magazine's 200 Greatest Comic Book Characters of all Time list.[7]
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 #298 (May 1988). Its next host became 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 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 greatest threats to humanity, alongside Magneto, Doctor Doom, and Red Skull.[9]
Contrary to popular belief, the idea for the Venom Symbiote was not
originally thought up by artists Mike Zeck and Todd McFarlane or writer
Dave Micheline, but by a Marvel Comics reader from Norridge, Illinois
named Randy Schueller.[10]
Marvel bought the idea for $220.00 and the current editor in chief at
the time, Jim Shooter, sent Schueller a letter acknowledging Marvel's
desire to purchase the idea from him. Schueller's design was then
modified by Mike Zeck, becoming the Venom symbiote.[11]
The creature that would become Venom was born to a race of extraterrestrial parasites,
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.
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. To Spider-Man's surprise, the costume can mimic
street clothes and provides a seemingly inexhaustible and stronger
supply of webbing.[12]
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 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.[13]
The Symbiote escapes 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. 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 willpower to
reject the Symbiote, leaving both the alien and Spider-Man weakened.
The Symbiote, using its remaining strength, carries an unconscious
Spider-Man to safety from the bells before it slithers away.[14]
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.
The first and most famous Venom, Eddie Brock, was a reporter for the Daily Globe before it came to light that he had fabricated 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, costing him his
job and then his wife. 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, bringing his body to a higher performance.[15]
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 a
full-length Venom story in issue #300. The name Venom originally
applied to Brock, over the Symbiote. Over the years, as the Symbiote
itself gained more intelligence and moved to additional human hosts,
the name began to apply to the Symbiote as well as its hosts. Brock
fought Spider-Man as Venom 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.
Eddie and the Symbiote both shared, at times, a desire to protect
innocent people from all harm, even if it meant working side-by-side
with the hated Spider-Man.
The Venom Symbiote approached MacDonald "Mac" Gargan, formerly known as Scorpion,[16] 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.[17]
Even with these additional powers he was still swiftly defeated by
Spider-Man (Spider Man later notes this is because Mac Gargan does not
hate Spider Man as much as Eddie Brock had), as the Avengers dealt with the rest of the Twelve.[18] Gargan later became a member of a sub-group of the Thunderbolts,[19] which was drafted[20]
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.[21]
When in the Venom persona, Gargan retained very little of his original
personality and was controlled almost completely by the Symbiote. When
the Symbiote was dormant in his body, he expressed nausea and fear of
the organism.[22]
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.
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 Black Spider-Man, a
member of the Dark Avengers, while unveiling the team.[23] 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.[24]
On December 9, 2010, Marvel Comics announced a new "black ops" Venom that's 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.[25] On January 28, 2011, the identity of "black ops" Venom was revealed to be Flash Thompson.[26][27]
Ann Weying first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #375. She is Eddie Brock's ex-wife, a successful lawyer.
In Ann Weying's first appearance, she is a brunette with glasses. In
later appearances, she loses the glasses and goes blond. Weying assists
Spider-Man by sharing some of Eddie's history with him. Later, she
follows Spider-Man to the amusement park where Venom had Peter's (fake)
parents. She confronts her insane ex-husband, and manages to convince
Eddie to give up his vendetta. Later, 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 then lashes out against the men who had hurt her with such violence
that Eddie became afraid for her (and of her) and compels the Symbiote
back to him. Ann retched upon seeing the pile of bodies she had left
behind. She screamed, "That thing made me do that!" Eddie replied, "It
can't make you do anything you don't really want to do." Later the
police incarcerate Ann on a false charge (unrelated to Ann's rampage
above) in order to trap Venom. Ann uses her one phone call to warn
Eddie and make him promise not to come. He promises that Eddie Brock
wouldn't come to save her and instead sent his Other (the Symbiote)
through the phone lines to her. After it bonds with her, she is able to
escape custody.
Sometime later, Ann spots Spider-Man web slinging in an older black
costume at a time when his regular red and blue suit had been stolen.[28]
Ann, still reeling from the experience of bonding with the Symbiote
months earlier and unable to deal with the return of Eddie Brock into
her life - coupled with Brock's transformation into Venom directly in
front of her as he ran off to kill Spider-Man - sent her over the edge,
and she leapt from her high rise apartment to her death. Her death is
later confirmed when her tombstone is shown.[29]
In the 2003 Venom series, Patricia Robertson was a communications specialist for the U.S. Army stationed at a radar installation in Canada near the Arctic Circle.
She had joined the Army in order to "prove herself", but got more than
she bargained for. During a routine supply run to an outpost owned by
the Ararat Corporation, she stumbled upon a grisly scene: everyone at
the installation was dead except for one lone scientist locked in the
freezer. She brought the survivor back to base for medical attention,
then people began dying there as well. It was revealed that the Ararat
Corporation was run by an alien colony of miniature spider robots that
infiltrated the American government. These creatures were partially led
by an entity named Bob.
These creatures had cloned Venom in order to fulfill their
objective: extermination of the human race. The clone would burn out
its hosts' life, unlike the real Venom (traits which seem to be a
throwback to the invading Symbiotes seen in Planet of the Symbiotes). Bob had the clone released and it caused the slaughter of the outpost.
The Venom clone hitched a ride on the survivor back to base, despite
the best efforts of Robertson and her new ally. The mysterious Suit was made of the same robots as Bob, which was revealed to have been unwittingly brought to Earth by Reed Richards and made into a special agent by Nick Fury.
It is unclear if the Suit's loyalties lie with Nick Fury or Bob, if
either. Meanwhile, the genetically altered Symbiote killed all of
Patricia's friends and coworkers. While Robertson was unconscious, the
Suit cybernetically
altered her, shaving her head, attaching a metal pipe in it, and
placing a control collar on her so that in case the Symbiote clone
bonded with her, she could control it. Meanwhile, Ararat Co. and the
spider-robots nuked Voici, Canada leaving the Symbiote with few options. After the Suit sabotaged its Symbiote's favored host, Wolverine, it was forced to jump to the last surviving potential host, Robertson.
One of Bob's agents, disguised as the Suit,
told Robertson that she had to kill the real Venom or the Symbiotes
would destroy all of humanity. Attempting to get to Venom, she freed
him from S.H.I.E.L.D.
custody. Their first fight was broken up by the real Suit, and the
electrocuted Venom retreated. The Suit chided Robertson for coming to
New York because there were many people in the city and all of the
population could be in danger if the Symbiote clone jumped hosts.
Meanwhile, Bob remotely deactivated Patricia's control collar so
that nothing restrained the Symbiote but Patricia's willpower.
Robertson continued trying to kill Venom, beating up Spider-Man when he got in the way. She was captured by the Fantastic Four,
who used her as bait to lure Venom into a trap. Unfortunately,
Spider-Man's interference and the strength and craftiness of Venom
caused the trap to fail. Fighting again, Venom absorbed Robertson's
Symbiote clone, as Bob hoped, and increased in size and decided to
carry out the Ararat Corporation's goals. Patricia's fate is uncertain,
and the entire plot has gone unresolved.
Angelo Fortunato was a fictionalMarvel Comicssupervillain, being the second to take on the mantle of Venom. He first appeared in Marvel Knights: Spider-Man
#7 and was killed an issue later. With the exception of Spider-Man
himself, he is the only wearer of the Venom Symbiote to not have a
protruding tongue.
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 attended a supervillain auction, where he
purchased the Venom Symbiote from Eddie Brock
for $100 million. Though Eddie warned of the dangers inherent in the
Symbiote, the boy answered that he had nothing to lose as his life had
been one 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
discovered the secret identity of Spider-Man,
whom he planned to destroy to prove himself worthy to his father.
Angelo attacked Peter Parker during a high school reunion, injuring
many bystanders in the process. They engaged in a ferocious battle
which brought them out into the streets of New York. Learning how to
use the Symbiote's mimetic abilities faster than anticipated, Angelo
took the advantage in the fight. However, when Angelo killed an
innocent civilian he mistook for Spider-Man, the superhero stopped
holding back and beat Angelo into submission.
Angelo attempted to escape, all the while with the Symbiote berating
him for his cowardice. Irritated by the boy's lack of resolve, the
Symbiote ruthlessly abandoned Angelo in mid-leap, letting him fall.
Spider-Man attempted to save him, only to find out he had run out of
web fluid. Angelo was killed by the subsequent fall.
During the siege of Asgard, Spider-Man fought Mac Gargan in the streets of Broxton, Oklahoma. Ms. Marvel
came to help Spidey and ripped Gargan out of the Symbiote. The Symbiote
proceeded to take control of Carol Danvers until Spidey was able to
feed her enough power to break free of the Symbiote.
In Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four #2, it was revealed that, shortly after Spider-Man initially removed the Venom Symbiote, it escaped and attempted to bond with Franklin Richards. In that course, it bonded temporarily with Reed Richards, Susan Richards, and She-Hulk.
It eventually bonded with Franklin, but with Spider-Man's help, the
Fantastic Four was able to separate the Symbiote from Franklin.
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, even without a host,
has shown shapeshifting abilities like forming spikes and expanding its
size.[30]
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-camouflage type of effect, and shapeshift to resemble ordinary
clothing. Venom is immune to the Penance Stare, an ability used by Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze and Daniel Ketch.[citation needed] The Symbiote also augments the strength of its hosts.
The Symbiote originally rejected its species' habit of consuming its
hosts, but in some interpretations it still required certain chemicals
(human adrenaline) in order to survive. When starved of these
chemicals, the Symbiote developed a mutable exoskeleton, allowing it to
form its own solid body which it used to hunt and kill prey without the
assistance of a host. However, because of Brock's, and later Gargan's,
influence on its personality the Symbiote has developed a taste for
blood, which both its hosts were forced to sate by physically devouring
their victims. Later, the suit's evolution progressed and as shown in
the 2003 Venom comic book series, its clone could spontaneously
jump from host to host and after every departure said hosts would be
left dead.
Because of its contact with Spider-Man, the Symbiote grants all of
its subsequent hosts the 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, allowing the less experienced Brock to keep up with him.
However, the Symbiote is vulnerable to loud noises, such as the ringing
of church bells.
Some interpretations of the Venom Symbiote has been shown to have the ability 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 Venom discovers the ability to copy his Symbiote and uses it to
take over Manhattan. Such an ability has not been demonstrated in the
main 616 universe.
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 appearance. Its trademark
was a wide grin which displayed all of his teeth- in the first
appearances of Venom, the teeth were large, but human. Venom's
appearance was subsequently changed to sport a mouth filled with fangs
after his first escape from prison.
In his most famous incarnation, drawn by Mark Bagley,
he developed a long tongue, and 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, with the symbol on the back and front
connected or not. John Romita Jr.'s design had Venom much leaner with abnormally long fingers, while 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. The Gargan Venom has also been drawn as purple, much like the
Venom in Ultimate Spider-Man. Venom's appearance is now recently the same as the black-suited Spider-Man, and in the Dark Reign, Sinister Spider-Man, and Siege arcs his Venom form is drawn similarly to Eddie Brock's version of Venom.
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.
Venom appears in several of the Spider-Man cartoon series. In Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Eddie Brock is voiced by Hank Azaria. The Symbiote comes from a planet from which John Jameson
brings a rock known as Prometheum X which when he takes it, the
Symbiote escapes to the shuttle and creates havoc in the shuttle. John
forces the shuttle to land at the Hudson from which Rhino
steals the Phemetheum X while the Symbiote manages to stick on
Spider-Man's suit. It temporarily bonds with Spider-Man when he was
asleep, giving him enhanced powers, but also amplifying his aggression.
After almost killing the Shocker
by throwing him off the top of the bell tower, Spider-Man rejects the
Symbiote, but it bonds with Eddie Brock, who was trapped by Spider-Man
earlier in the episode. Transforming into Venom, he attempts to opt
Spider-Man's secret identity to the media by taking off his mask and
hanging him with his webbing, and almost kills Aunt May
while making a tree fall near his house. Spider-Man tricks Venom into
following him to the shuttle launch and removes the Symbiote using the
loud noise and ties the Symbiote to the shuttle. Venom returns, now
teaming up with Carnage, Dormammu, and Baron Mordo, to get a portal device. He battles Spider-Man and War Machine,
and turns on Carnage. At the end of the episode, both Venom and Carnage
are sucked into the portal device, though Venom saves Ashley from being
sucked in as well. He appears in flashbacks in a number of episodes
both as Eddie Brock and as Venom. An android version of Venom was seen
along with robotic versions of Carnage, Rhino, Doctor Octopus, and the Lizard
in the episode "The Haunting of Mary-Jane". The android displays
Venom's superhuman symbiotic strength, easily lifting Spider-Man and
hurling him away. The Venom android was also capable of breathing fire.
Venom (and the Venom Symbiote) also appears in clips in the opening
montage of the series.
In the short-lived series Spider-Man Unlimited, Venom, voiced by Brian Drummond,
returns with enhanced powers, allied with Carnage. They appear as
reoccurring villains, serving a hive-mind called the Synoptic and
trying to conquer Counter-Earth with an invasion of Symbiotes.
Venom also appears in The Spectacular Spider-Man, voiced by Ben Diskin. In this series Eddie Brock is a close friend of Peter, who works alongside him as an assistant at Empire State University for Dr. Curt Connors.
The Symbiote was to be studied by Connors after it was discovered on
John Jameson's shuttle, but bonded with Spider-Man in a fight with Black Cat,
causing the lab to lose a grant and Eddie to lose his job. Spider-Man
attempts to destroy it after discovering its negative influence, but
Eddie (who is already angry with Peter and Spider-Man for various
reasons) frees the alien and bonds with it, becoming Venom. At the end
of the season one finale, the Symbiote is tricked into leaving Eddie
and Spider-Man buries the alien
in cement. In the second season, Eddie follows Peter and eventually
frees the Symbiote. He then attempts to expose Spider-Man's identity,
but again fails when the alien rejects him and escapes. Afterward,
Eddie is hauled off to a psychiatric facility, vowing that the Symbiote
will return and that they will destroy Spider-Man.
Venom's first appearance in a motion picture was originally planned for a titular film written by David S. Goyer and produced by New Line Cinema, in which Venom would have been portrayed as an antihero and Carnage as the antagonist. Goyer said in an interview the film rights to Venom ultimately reverted to Sony.[31] Venom appears in the 2007 feature film Spider-Man 3, played by Topher Grace. Eddie Brock is another freelance photographer working at the Daily Bugle
shortly before Spider-Man joins with the Symbiote and a rivalry ensues
between Peter and Eddie over a staff job. Eddie is in love with Gwen Stacy
though she only thinks of him as a friend. Eddie faces public
humiliation after creating a fake photo of Spider-Man robbing a bank
which would be exposed by Peter. As a result, Jameson angrily fires
Eddie for creating the fake picture, despite his dislike of Spider-Man,
as Eddie's photo destroyed the Daily Bugle's reputation. While
Spider-Man abandons the Symbiote in a church bell tower, Brock had been
in the church praying for Peter's death. He discovers Spider-Man's
identity and the Symbiote falls onto Brock, transforming him into
Venom. He uses his new-found powers to attempt to kill Peter as revenge
for his public humiliation. Stumbling across Sandman
in an alley, Venom suggests that they join forces to rid themselves of
Spider-Man once and for all, to which Sandman accepts. Venom then
kidnaps Peter's girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson,
and uses her as bait to lure Spider-Man into a trap. Venom engages
Spider-Man in combat alone before Sandman joins the battle and both
Venom and Sandman overpower Spider-Man and are almost successful in
killing him but are stopped by Harry Osborn
who eventually manages to defeat Sandman, leaving only Venom, who,
after giving Spider-Man a vicious beating, prepares to kill him before
Harry intervenes and is fatally wounded by Venom in the process. Peter
stops Venom by releasing Brock from the Symbiote by building a cage of
hollow metal poles around him, hitting them to create a makeshift sonic
weapon, and weakening the Symbiote. Peter then throws a bomb from
Harry's glider into the Symbiote to destroy it for good. Eddie, trying
to prevent its loss, jumps towards the bomb to knock it away just as it
detonates, killing himself and the Symbiote in the explosion. Unlike in
the comics, Brock is influenced by the Symbiote but appears to have
more control over it.
Avi Arad, producer and former Marvel Comics executive, plans to produce a Venom spin-off, although it is currently unknown if Topher Grace will reprise his role.[32] Regardless, Marvel is moving forward with the film, and the studio has signed the Seabiscuit director Gary Ross to direct it.[33] It is set to be written by Zombieland scribes Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.
Venom is a playable character and boss character in a number of video games. His first appearance was in the Game Boy side-scroller The Amazing Spider-Man released in 1990, as the game's primary villain. A sequel to this game entitled The Amazing Spider-Man 2 curiously lacked Venom, even though it was hot on the success of the Carnage storyline and featured Carnage as a main villain.
Venom's second appearance was in the Spider-Man: The Video Game
arcade game, released in 1991. Venom is featured prominently in the
game as the first major boss character and he is encountered several
more times throughout the game, including the final battle.
Venom is encountered several times in 2000's Spider-Man, in addition to the Venom Symbiote being unlocked as an alternate costume for Spider-Man. He is voiced by Daran Norris.
He appears in Spider-Man: Friend or Foe as one of the most powerful partners in the game, voiced by Quinton Flynn. This version is a mix of the mainstream and movie Venom.
Ultimate Venom is the main villain in Ultimate Spider-Man, and his playable appearance after completing the game is particularly famous for his GTA style gameplay and ability to eat civilians.
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.
The player battles Venom twice in his normal form, and a third time as
the final boss where Venom assumes his ultimate Symbiote form: an
enormous, multi-headed hydra-like creature. He dies at the end of the
game in all four of the endings. Venom is voiced by Keith Szarabajka.
He is also included in the downloadable expansion "Villains Pack" for the Xbox 360 version of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, voiced by Steve Blum.
The Symbiote costume is also available as an alternate attire for
Spider-Man. As per all the costumes in the game, it grants the wearer
certain skills. These skills are 'Max Health', which increases the
wearer's maximum health capacity; and 'Critical Web', which increases
the chance to score critical hits with web attacks. Aside from that, he
has special dialogue with Mysterio.
The Mac Gargan incarnation of Venom appears as a playable character with the Eddie Brock version as an alternate costume in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2,
voiced by Walter Bernet. He is one of the first villains taken by the
Fold. Later, using a sample of the nano-tech from Prison 42,
S.H.I.E.L.D. is able to cure him and Green Goblin, and they both join the team.[citation needed] Unlocking the character's alternate costume allows for the player to play as the Eddie Brock styled version of Venom.
Venom appears as a downloadable costume in the PS3 exclusive game LittleBigPlanet.[34]
In Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Ultimate Spider-Man is given a new version of the Venom suit by Madame Web,
who claims that he will need the suit's additional abilities to succeed
in his missions, and is kept in check by Madame Web's telepathy.
Until 2003, Venom never had his own ongoing series However, from 1993 to 1997 Venom had 17 limited series
that were steadily released back to back from month to month. This run
could have been one series where each miniseries would have been
considered a story arc. Together, these miniseries comprised a total of
60 issues, 1 Flashback, and a 1995 Super Special.
