The homicidal embodiment of pure hatred and blinding rage, Venom is an amalgamation of two wildly disparate beings, each obsessed with Spider-Man. One half is Eddie Brock, an unethical former journalist whose meteoric career was cut short when Spider-Man revealed a story he had written to be false. The other is the alien symbiote that posed for a time as Spider-Man’s black costume, attempting all the while to graft itself to the wall-crawler permanently.
Coincidentally arriving at the church where the creature had gone to ground, the devastated Brock’s intense emotions attracted the empathic symbiote, which Spider-Man had rebuffed repeatedly and nearly destroyed. Brock gave himself fully to the alien, their mutual fixation fanned into an overwhelming animosity by the union. There is no more Eddie Brock, no more symbiote: There is only Venom.
Armed with the alien’s intimate knowledge of Spider-Man, Venom embarked on a campaign of terror against Peter Parker, often tormenting the hero's friends and loved ones to cause him personal distress. On numerous occasions, Venom has targeted Mary Jane Watson, using her pain as a means to unsettle Spider-Man.
Utterly insane and totally without remorse, Venom is the antithesis of his adversary. Spider-Man understands that with great power, there must also come great responsibility. Driven entirely by a single base emotion, Venom comprehends only its all-consuming desire for revenge.
Venom possesses all of Spider-Man's powers and even greater strength. He can disguise himself to look like any person he can imagine, and is invisible to the wall-crawler's protective Spider-Sense. But Venom is vulnerable to fire, and loud noise can shred the symbiote right off Brock's back. First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #299 (1988)
Character bio by Marvel Characters Inc.
