More than any other colourful loon in Spidey’s rogues gallery, Venom is the result of Peter Parker’s screw ups. The oily, writhing black substance, the symbiote, grafted itself to Spider-Man’s costume during Secret Wars, enhancing his already considerably impressive superpowers in addition to giving him a cool makeover.
After rejecting the parasitic symbiote, it attached itself to Eddie Brock, a disgruntled journalist whose hatred of the wall crawler was unparalleled. Together they were Venom, a stronger, more demonic version of our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man. Venom, who is not exactly a big picture kind of villain, vowed to make Peter Parker’s life a living hell.
- A FANBOY CREATED THE IDEA OF VENOM
Venom’s creation is due in part to a fan letter sent to Marvel’s then editor-in-chief James Shooter.
In the ’80s, Marvel ran a competition for aspiring artists and writers. Twenty-two year old Randy Schueller sent a letter with an idea that Reed Richards, leader of the Fantastic Four, could create a new jet black costume made out of Unstable Molecules– the very material of the Fantastic Four’s costumes– for Spider-Man.
The costume would increase Spider-Man’s abilities by 25 percent, an oddly specific number. Nonetheless, the description bares a striking resemblance to the iconic black Spider-Man outfit, barring the giant white spider symbol emblazoned on his chest (Schueller opted for red, and classic Ditko underarm webbing).
Schueller heard back from James Shooter a month later, with $220 enclosed for the idea and an opportunity to write the script if all went to plan. Evidently there were some hiccups and bumps, as Schueller decidedly did not get to write the script.
A year later, Secret Wars was released, the storyline that introduced the symbiote, and the rest is history.
2. THE SYMBIOTE’S AGGRESSION IS A RETCON
In the animated ’90s Spider-Man show and Spider-Man 3, Peter Parker rejects the alien costume, because though it increases his powers, the cost of it is that it amplifies his darker, more aggressive side.
The original run of the comic books suggest different, altogether creepier reasoning. In a twist, it was revealed that the symbiote was a living entity that sought to permanently bond to its host Peter Parker.
There was no explicit suggestion that Parker was getting more aggressive, despite the decidedly goth-y look. There was only the threat of the oozing life form consuming Peter like a snack. With the help of Reed Richards, Peter eventually rids himself of the symbiote.
Though he continues to wear a black version of his traditional suit for a few years until, at the urging of his wife MJ, he goes back to the good old red and blue.
3. VENOM WAS ORIGINALLY MEANT TO BE FEMALE
Longtime Spider-Man writer David Michelinie originally wanted Venom to be a woman– a pregnant woman. Her origin story was arguably equally as tragic as Eddie Brock’s.
It goes like this: a taxi driver, distracted by Spider-Man, would accidentally kill her husband. She’d then go into labour on the street, losing her baby. After leaving the hospital, the rejected symbiote would bond to this grief-stricken mother. Thus, Venom would be born.
One could be forgiven for assuming that this story idea was thrown in the garbage because it was far too dark and miserable for an all-ages comic. However, instead, it was because Jim Salicrup, a Marvel editor at the time, thought that a woman wouldn’t be a credible enough threat to Spider-Man.
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