Alternative versions of Venom

As a 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.

Contest of Champions

An alternate version of Eddie Brock appears as Venom in the 2015 Contest of Champions miniseries as one of the Grandmaster's champions. This version killed Spider-Man and wears his costume as a cape, but Eddie hears Peter Parker's voice in his head. He is eventually killed by Punisher 2099 with a disintegration gun in the same place where Sentry and Stick were seemingly killed. The symbiote fuses with the Sentry and Void's remains and become Symbioids. When Stick reveals his survival, he merges their energies to resurrect the Sentry.

House of M

In House of M an actor portrays Venom.

Ultimate Marvel

Eddie Brock first appeared in Ultimate Spider-Man #17. He was a writer for the Daily Globe and was at Justin Hammer's press conference. His face is not shown; only his hands and arms appear.^[1]

The Ultimate Marvel incarnation of Venom is vastly different from the mainstream incarnation: Eddie Brock Jr. is Peter Parker's childhood friend (along with a college student who is a lab assistant for Curtis Connors) and the symbiote is not extraterrestrial but is the second stage of a genetically created "suit" designed by Richard Parker (Peter's father) and Eddie Brock Sr. (Eddie's father) as a cure for cancer meant to bond to the user and protect them from internal and external harm. The suit is tailored for a specific DNA, and the person to whom it belongs can control the suit more easily. If, however, someone uses a suit designed for somebody else, they are constantly damaged by the suit which requires nourishment, gained by feeding on organic flesh, to function. If bonded to an incompatible host the Venom suit begins consuming them almost immediately, forcing them to feed to sustain it or die themselves. When taking a host, the organic matter that comprises the suit completely envelops the host, regardless of resistance, temporarily blinding it, before encasing itself in a hard, purple casing, similar to a pupa, as it bonds further with the host. When the host emerges, the suit then shifts its appearance and function to assist its host, such as creating eyes for it to see through, or tries to take it over, inducing a homicidal rage and attempting to feed itself if bonded with an incompatible host. When bonded with a host and forcibly removed, the Venom suit leaves trace amounts of itself in their bloodstream, which attracts other samples of Venom to itself, and can overload Peter's spider-sense. In the video game Ultimate Spider-Man, absorbing the trace amounts in Peter's blood allowed Eddie to take complete control of the suit, gaining a greater ability to talk and a spider symbol on his chest.

Venom's only known weakness is electricity, and larger amounts of the suit will need more electricity to kill, as varying amounts of the suit will be stunned or vaporized by electric shocks. This was first seen in Ultimate Spider-Man #38, when an electric wire got tangled around Venom's foot. An electrocution from live power-lines vaporised the smaller amount on Peter, while a similar amount disabled Eddie. Note in the video game Ultimate Spider-Man, when Electro electrocutes Venom during a cutscene, the suit is not affected by the shock like the live power-line did in the "Venom" arc. The suit can take the Shocker's vibro-shocks, and can protect its host from a bullet, who feels nothing more than a relaxing vibration.^[2]

The Venom suit was introduced when Peter Parker reunited with his childhood friend Eddie Brock to continue their fathers' research into a protoplasmic cure for cancer. After finding that Bolivar Trask had tried to weaponize his father's research, Peter attempted to steal a sample to conduct his own research on, but spilled it by accident.^[3] The original Spider-Man (Peter Parker) was able to control the suit to a greater extent than anyone because of his powers and because the suit was designed for his father. Feeding off Spider-Man's own thoughts, the suit enhanced his strength, generated its own webbing, and made him completely bulletproof. But when Spider-Man was chasing down an armed robber, the suit attempted to take over him, growing a fanged maw. After fighting for control, Spider-Man electrocuted the suit before returning to destroy the sample. Enraged, Eddie ignored Peter's warnings and used a second sample of the Venom suit on himself. Eddie, wearing the Venom suit, initially resembled a bulkier version of Spider-Man but the suit grew a fanged mouth, claws, tentacles and spinal ridges. Eddie hunted down Peter, intending to force him to take the suit back but was electrocuted by downed power lines and retreated.^[4] The suit eventually separated itself from Eddie and forcibly bonded itself with Peter, turning him into Venom. The Ultimates arrived and were able to separate Peter from the suit. Eddie later approached Peter and demanded that he retrieve the suit for him but was rebuffed. During a confrontation between Peter, Eddie and Gwen Stacy, Gwen transformed into Carnage. Contact with Carnage caused trace amounts of the suit within Eddie's body to multiply, transforming him into Venom, at which point the two symbiotes began to fight. After a brief battle the Venom symbiote absorbed all traces of the Carnage symbiote, leaving Gwen an ordinary human, and causing Venom to change into a new form even larger than before, with small glowing red eyes. Venom retreated from battle, and was later captured by the Beetle and taken to Latveria.^[5]

Venom appeared with his trademark white spider symbol in Ultimates 3.^[6] He attacks Tony Stark's mansion, demanding to find "the woman" (later revealed to be Scarlet Witch). The Ultimates fight him until Thor strikes him with lightning, turning him into a puddle of organic matter. He is revealed to be an android created by Ultron as a pawn in his master plan.^[7]

Conrad Markus was an employee at OsCorp that helped Norman Osborn create spider "42" that eventually gives Miles Morales powers.^[8] After becoming an employee of the Roxxon Corporation, Markus becomes the new Venom. When investigative reporter Betty Brant incorrectly assumes that the new Spider-Man (Miles Morales) is Jefferson Davis (Miles's father), Venom kills Betty before she can out Jefferson.^[9] Afterwards, Venom destroys the abandoned Oscorp building and later appears at Miles's apartment to confront Jefferson due to his believing him to be the new Spider-Man. During the ensuing battle between Venom and Spider-Man, Jefferson is injured and taken to a hospital. Venom appears there, leading to another battle with Spider-Man and the police that accidentally kills both Miles mother Rio, and Markus.^[10]

Ultimate Venom in other media

In The Spectacular Spider-Man, Eddie Brock was heavily inspired by the Ultimate Venom while he shared a strong resemblance to the Mainstream Venom.

MC2

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.^[11] 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.^[12] 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^[13]

It is later revealed that, while still bonded to Eddie Brock, some of the Symbiote's genetic material had been taken by Norman Osborn and combined with a clone of May to make a Spider-Girl/Symbiote hybrid.^[14] After being "absorbed" into the aged Peter Parker, the original Green Goblin-Norman Osborn- takes over Peter's mind, but, in an attempt to become invincible, Osborn combines with the Hybrid, Spider-Man and accidentally Spider-Girl, when she dives in to save her father. After Osborn makes Spider-Man view his worst moments, Spider-Girl's memory overrides Osborn's power, and Spider-Girl convinces the Hybrid to fight Osborn together, and so force everyone out of Peter's body, with Osborn destroyed. The Hybrid then goes to live with the real Spider-Girl's family, with her baby brother, Mary Jane, and Peter.

Marvel Age

In the Marvel Age mini-series Spider-Man and Power Pack #3-4, a fashion designer down on his luck manages to acquire the Venom symbiote after it is blasted off of Eddie Brock by Spider-Man, and, thinking its morphic qualities are just something built into the suit and not a living biological function, clones it three times as a new women's dress line. At the debut fashion show for the line, Peter Parker is photographing with Mary Jane Watson wearing one of the dresses, unaware of its true nature.

In the audience is the Power Pack in their civilian identities, invited by Peter as a thank you for their help in the previous two issues. When the symbiotes hear Peter's name, their genetic memory recognizes it and they turn Mary Jane and the other three models into She-Venoms, and attack. The Power Pack join Spider-Man in the battle, during which Spider-Man briefly corners the designer and gets the truth out of him about the clones. The symbiote clones are sheared from their unwilling hosts, three by a sonic boom produced by Julie Power/Lightspeed's superhuman speed, the other by an energy burst from Katie Power/Energizer. The battle is then won when Jack Power/Mass Master uses the music booth to blast them all with high audio, crippling them long enough to be captured. During the battle, however, one symbiote clone manages to briefly make contact with Katie Power's alien-born costume, causing it to become "infected" by the Venom symbiote's evil and vengeful desires (the kids' costumes in this continuity are semi-biological themselves, a concept later reinforced during a later mini-series when one is seen to repair damage to itself on its own). This causes Katie's costume to take on a Venom-like appearance, with the only differences being it is obviously smaller and Katie's energy burst symbol takes the place of the spider symbol's main body, the spider legs remaining.

The Kymellian costume-turned-symbiote completely takes control of the little girl at night, using her to team with the Sinister Six to capture Spider-Man, and then turn on the other members of Power Pack, Katie's own siblings, to take revenge on them for their part in the symbiote clones' defeat. In the final battle, Julie Power manages to find and free Spider-Man, and together they manage to get Electro to blast all the villains, including himself, with a large electrical discharge powerful enough to render them all unconscious and again shear the costume-turned-symbiote off of Katie, the discharge purging Katie's costume of the "infection" in the process, restoring it to normal.

Marvel Zombies

In the Marvel Zombies mini-series, Venom briefly appears as one of the many zombified villains. He fights the zombie Spider-Man, who quickly kills him, because the Symbiote has started to die, being unable to absorb adrenaline from Eddie Brock's zombified body. He died very early at the hands of the zombie Spider-Man himself before Zombie Spider-Man goes on. Like his Earth 616 counterpart, he has cancer and the Symbiote doesn't want to be with him. Unlike his Earth 616 counterpart, his cancer is not cured and he is instead destroyed. Before he died, Brock managed to sputter out that he and the symbiote are dying, to which the zombie Spider-Man states that Venom is breaking his cold, dead heart.

Venom 2099

Venom 2099

Spider-Man Unlimited

In the animated series and second issue of the comic series Spider-Man Unlimited, Venom and Carnage appear as re-occurring villains, stowing away on John Jameson's shuttle on its way to Counter-Earth and in subsequent appearances attempting to infect the citizens of Counter-Earth with symbiotes and serving a hive-mind called the Synoptic. The Spider-Man Unlimited incarnation of Venom only has the white spider on his chest, oddly isn't shown casting webs, and is capable of reducing his body to a liquid-like state. In the eleventh episode, Eddie Brock is revealed to be dependent on the Venom symbiote for survival, and after he is separated from it a second time, the Synoptic unleashes the symbiote spores on Counter-Earth.

Spider-Man: Reign

In Kaare Andrews' Spider-Man: Reign, set 35 years from current comics continuity, Venom has been posing as "Edward Saks", 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 while allegedly protecting them from the outside world. 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, describing himself as a responsibility that Spider-Man neglected, 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.

Old Man Logan

In "Old Man Logan", the symbiote appears to be following Logan and Hawkeye, having bonded to a Savage Land tyrannosaurus rex. It is stopped by Black Bolt.^[15] Another symbiote is seen in the story and also appeared to be looking over Logan and Hawkeye on a hill. Whether this is a different piece of the Venom symbiote or another symbiote is unclear yet.

Mini-Marvels

Venom appears in Mini-Marvels as Eddie Brock. This incarnation of Venom is a friend/foe of Spider-Man. He aspires be the best Newspaper dealer in the world, but the symbiote always ruins his chances.

Spider-Man: India

In the final issue of the mini-series Spider-Man: India, Venom appears as an exiled interdimensional demon. It is later explained, that Venom was trapped in an ancient amulet now used by tycoon Nalin Oberoi. Pavitr Prabhakar is briefly possessed by the entity, but is rejected, and the amulet sucks in Oberoi, but in the final page, Venom is the only demon left.

Earth X

In the alternative future of the Earth X limited series, beginning with issue one, May "Mayday" Parker, Peter Parker's 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.

Marvel Fairy Tales

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.

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 chooses to sacrifice his own life to force it to save Peter, repaying the debt he owes for Peter sparing 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 crippled 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 counterpart. Despite their history, Peter agrees that Venom will teach the ways of the Spider-Clan and the use of his powers to Peter. 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."

Secret Wars 2015

During the Secret Wars, various versions of the character are featured:

• In 1602: Witch Hunter Angela, Edwin Brocc lives in the outskirts of York and an apprentice to the town's printer. When Angela found out he enchanted the town's beauty to marry him, he transformed into a venomous monster but was subdued in the fight.
• In Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, Venom escapes from his prison and threatens to kill Spider-Man and his family. Spider-Man, with the help of Mary Jane killed him inside a burning building.
• In Civil War, Clint Barton uses the Venom identity.
• In Spider-Island, Agent Venom (Flash Thompson) works to bring down the Spider Queen.
• In Spider-Verse, Venom works for Norman Osborn and was instructed to follow Spider-Gwen from a distance until the real Peter Parker showed himself thus taking the opportunity to capture Parker. He was defeated by Spider-Gwen after being lured to a recording studio.
• In Hail Hydra, Eddie Brock is Venom and a Hydra enforcer, leading a team of symbiote infected women, known as his Vipers.

Spider-Verse

Appearing in The Anarchic Spider-Man, Variable Engagement Neuro-sensitive Organic Mesh also known as V.E.N.O.M is created by Oscorp and is worn by the Thunderbolt Department, the police and fire department of President Osborn.^[16]

What If...

...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. The costume explains that it is sorry for Spider-Man's death, but is draining the gamma radiation from Bruce Banner as repentance. Thor in disbelief defeats him, leading the symbiote to take over Thor. Banner however is shown cured of being The Hulk. 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 matters into her own hands and kills the alien because of anger at the death of Spider-Man.^[17]

...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 used its webbing as bullets.

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 Spider-man's borrowed sonic blaster allows Punisher to overcome and tame the symbiote by convincing it that his war on crime means more to him than anything, even his own life, and would sooner commit suicide and kill them both if he did not have complete control over it.

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 before making his escape.^[18]

...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.^[19]

...Spider-Man had rejected the Spider?

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 takeover 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 chooses 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 as miserable as possible. This seems to leave Poison heartbroken 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, as it bursts forth showing a hand similar to Carnage's.^[20]

...Iron Man: Demon in an Armor

In this one shot, which happens to take place in Earth-90211, Spider-Man has the Venom symbiote costume. Wade Wilson, as Deadpool, is hired by Galactus to kill the Beyonder for merging MODOK to Galactus's rear end in exchange for the Community Cube. He was given a weapon called the Recton Expungifier, the only weapon that could kill the Beyonder. When Deadpool tracked down his target to a night club, he was enticed into the Beyonder's partying lifestyle, getting Jheri curls in the process. While hanging out with the Beyonder in a flying limousine, Spider-Man broke into the car and demanded the symbiote costume be removed from himself. Beyonder's driver shoots Spider-Man out of the limousine and the symbiote leaves Spider-Man and merges with Deadpool, creating 'Venompool.' However, after years of partying, Beyonder grew tired and threw Venompool to the world, snapping him out of the Beyonder's magic. Venompool attempted to resume his contract and kill the Beyonder, but he accidentally pawned the Recton Expungifier. He decides to get himself clean by kidnapping and selling a drunken Tony Stark to A.I.M. Unfortunately, he can't join any major superhero teams, like the Avengers, Defenders and Fantastic Four because of his newly acquired Jheri curls.

In What The--?!

#20, Pork Grind, a pig version of Venom is introduced as an enemy of Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham.

References