Some Villains Just Look Better In Black
The Venom solo movie is out, delivering on its promise of tendrils, quirky one-liners and all the symbiote goodness fans of the lethal protector could ask for. Who knows where the character will go from here (or if Sony’s non-Spidey verse will ever really gets of the ground) but given the alien suit’s tendency to switch from host to host when the mood takes it, we’re wondering if we could potentially see some of these other Venoms down the line.
#5: Kron Stone
Before the Sub-Mariner briefly became the Venom of 2099, the symbiote was under the control of this oddly named fellow. The half-brother of Miguel O’Hara, the Spider-Man of 2099, he was a pretty nasty customer even before bonding with the symbiote, which he came across in the sewers after being nearly killed in a run-in with his timeline’s version of The Punisher. By the time it met its latest host, the symbiote had mutated and developed a few new powers, including acidic saliva. But for all its new powers, the symbiote retained its weakness to sonic attacks, something that Spider-Man 2099 eventually used to defeat it.
#4: Doctor Octopus
During a time period when Dock Ock had transferred his mind into Peter Parker’s body, and subsequently vowed to live his life as a superior Spider-Man, Otto came across the Venom symbiote when it was being used by Flash Thompson. Ever the egotist, he figured that his superior intellect would be more than up to the task of controlling the symbiote, and he allowed it to bond with him. It turns out that, surprise surprise, Ock was completely wrong on that count, as the symbiote eventually escaped his control and went on a rampage. In the end, it took calling in The Avengers to clean up the mess.
#3: Lee Price
A small-time criminal who came upon the symbiote purely by chance, he’s since proven to be one of the most dangerous individuals to ever don the suit. A former US Army Ranger who received special training against psychic attacks, he’s one of the few individuals able to control the symbiote completely. And given that he’s got some serious violent tendencies, that’s actually pretty scary. After some time using the Venom symbiote to kickstart a career in organized crime, he was eventually separated from it when it returned to a former host. Since then, he’s used a portion of the symbiote to continue his criminal activities as Maniac.
#2: Mac Gargan
After years of antagonizing Spider-Man as the Scorpion, this longtime supervillain was approached by Norman Osborn, AKA the Green Goblin, with a heck of a proposition. Osborn had recently been made the head of a government task force and was in the process of assembling his own twisted iteration of The Avengers. As a member of the team, the former Scorpion used the symbiote and posed as Spider-Man. He’s without a doubt the most ruthless individual to ever possess the suit, which pushed him even further into violence and mayhem. Thankfully for just about everyone, he and the suit were separated by Carol Danvers.
#1: Eddie Brock
We know, the first character to take the name Venom has spent just as much time as a hero as a villain. But despite his later efforts to use the symbiote for good, his time as a villain is still a defining aspect of the character’s legacy. Picking up the symbiote after it was separated from Peter, this former Daily Bugle journalist became one of Spidey’s deadliest foes, their mutual hatred for the web-slinger turning them into one of the biggest threats he would ever need to overcome: a twisted, evil version of himself with killer pecs and more teeth than a shark. Suddenly Dock Ock doesn’t seem so bad.
Be sure to check out the link below to see our Origins video on Venom!
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