Top 10 Powers Venom Has That Spider-Man Doesn't

While Peter Parker may be tied down to the same old boring human form, face, and costume, Venom can look like pretty much whatever he needs to in order to blend in. Sometimes that’s as simple as changing colour to match the scenery and sneak up on opponents. But it can be so much more. Venom can also duplicate any outfit its wearer can imagine, making costume changes a breeze and offering awesome fashion sense on any budget.

Hang on, I thought this was supposed to be a list of things Spider-Man can’t do. Aren’t webs part of his schtick? Well, yes, but unlike the version in the Sam Raimi movies, comic book Spider-Man actually can’t produce his own webbing as a power. He has to rely on mechanical web shooters firing an expensive-to-make artificial compound. And that means he can run out. You know who doesn’t have that problem? Venom! The symbiote can goop out as much webbing as its owner needs, giving it a big boost against the ever cash-strapped Spider-Man. That’s one power his wallet must miss since he gave the symbiote up.

The Venom symbiote survives by synching up physically and emotionally with its users. That means the Venom symbiote has the power to draw out hatred, anger and malice in its hosts and actually use them to make itself stronger. And who does Venom hate more than anyone else? You guessed it, our old friend the Wall-Crawler. That means Venom is at his strongest when he’s with a host like Eddie Brock who hates Peter just as much. Venom may not be the only villain who hates Spidey, but he’s definitely the only one who can use that hatred as a superpower.

#7: Being in Two Places At Once

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Hate synchronization isn’t the only power Venom gets from its symbiotic nature, either. Being 2 separate organisms also lets him bring a whole new meaning to “teamwork.” Specifically, Venom and its host can split apart for a limited time to do the work of 2 people at once. The symbiote can’t survive on its own forever, but while it lasts, the 2 can look out for each other, fight double the enemies or just take some time to play a 2 player video game. If 2 heads are better than one, Venom’s better than Spider-Man.

Way back when Spider-Man first donned the alien costume, he discovered something unsettling. Criminals would show up in jail claiming they’d been arrested by an eerily silent Spidey -- but Peter had no memory of bringing them in. Turns out, the costume had been using Pete’s body to fight crime while he slept -- using some excessively brutal tactics. While that might have been a deal-breaker for Peter, it’s a huge bonus for the suit’s less scrupulous hosts. They do their dark deeds while catching their dark zee’s, or just sit back and enjoy the ride while the suit improves their reactions and guides their movements.

The Venom Symbiote is used to surviving in the vacuum of space, which makes it weak to things that aren’t found there. Sound, for example. But it also means things people on earth need to live -- like air, and warmth -- are pretty much optional to Venom. The symbiote can provide its host with everything they need to survive in any environment. Underwater? Outer space? No problem. The recent series, Venom Space Knight even had him soaring through the void as a full-time cosmic cop.

In many incarnations, Venom sustains himself by devouring people whole -- or even worse -- in pieces. But he doesn’t technically have to eat them. He can just use the symbiote to suck the life force straight out of their bodies in a weirdly vampiric way to bolster his own strength. It may sound less gruesome, but don’t get too comfortable. This feeding process doesn’t look like it’s much fun for the victims, either.

Being a shape-shifting blob of alien goo means Venom doesn’t have to stick to the boring old 2 arms and 2 legs normal humans are stuck with. So while Spider-Man struggles to juggle all his responsibilities, Venom can just grow a couple new limbs if he’s feeling short-handed. And if the symbiote’s host is missing limbs -- like Flash Thompson who lost his legs -- Venom can fill in with no trouble. The only problem is, when the host takes the symbiote off, the new limbs go with it.

On top of all these abilities, Venom also boasts Spider-Man’s strength, agility, and wall-crawling. But hang on. Where did a blob of alien goo get all those spider tricks? Well, the Venom symbiote’s most dangerous power is its genetic memory. It picks up knowledge, even superhuman abilities from each host it bonds with. That means Venom’s strength is a combination of power copied from everyone who’s used the symbiote before. And as it swaps to new hosts, it only gets stronger. But since the symbiote has such a deep hatred for Spider-Man, it loves to show off his powers the most. Maybe we’d better be thankful it didn’t become the Hulk’s nemesis instead.

The powers on this list make Venom a formidable villain to be sure. But the biggest power Venom has -- at least in terms of making money for Marvel -- has to be spawning new symbiotes. That’s right, the Venom symbiote can have babies. This makes Venom a massive threat to the world -- the only thing worse than one evil alien monster is more of them, after all. But it also creates fun and lucrative new characters for Marvel to work with. The best known is Carnage, of course, and more recently, Sleeper, who may be the most deadly symbiote of all!