“Legend tells us one thing, history another. But every now and then, we find something that belongs to both.” Nick Fury may have been talking about the Tesseract in Thor, but that quote seems fitting with this video going around of something that seems to resemble Marvel’s popular villain known as Venom.
Is it possible this is an alien symbiote that crashed on Earth and was discovered by whoever took this video? Well, Kevin Garnett would have you believe it is, but I wouldn’t count on it. However, it did lead me to take a brief look at the history of Marvel’s symbiote villain/anti-hero.
The Symbiote
The alien symbiote that created Venom actually first bonded with Peter Parker, better known at Spider-Man. This was the source of Spidey’s memorable black suit. The symbiote enhanced Spider-Man’s powers, but after some time he learned it was also controlling him, making him give into urges to hurt those he was fighting. He quickly decided he needed to get rid of the suit.
Eddie Brock
After being separated from Spider-Man, the symbiote landed on Eddie Brock, a disgraced journalist with a grudge against the web-slinger. This was the birth of the iconic villain and the iteration of the character most Marvel fans are familiar with.
Bonded to Brock, Venom would have dozens of battles with Spidey. However, thanks to Brock’s conscience, he wasn’t a true villain. Instead, this Venom had an urge to protect the innocent. He even went on to have his own comic series titled “Venom: Lethal Protector.”
The symbiote would later leave Brock and bond with others, but eventually it would find its way back, bringing the original Venom to multiple new comic series, including the recent “Absolute Carnage” story.
Carnage
Unfortunately for Spider-Man and the rest of the Marvel Universe, the Venom symbiote spawned a new creature. This second-generation symbiote got away from Venom and bonded with serial killer Cletus Kasady, creating another iconic villain known as Carnage.
Venom actually teamed up with Spider-Man for the first time to stop his menacing offspring. Though, as is normally the case with Marvel character, Carnage wasn’t gone for too long. In fact, the symbiote has created several other Marvel villains over the years, but non quite as dangerous as Carnage.
Mac Gargan
After splitting from Brock (and after a very brief stint with the son of a crime boss) the symbiote bonded to Mac Gargan, who had previously given Spidey fits as the villainous Scorpion. Gargan was bonded with Venom through some of Marvel’s most memorable stories, including “Civil War” and “Dark Reign.”
During the latter, Gargan impersonated Spider-Man and was a member of Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers, which he led as the Iron Patriot. Gargan was eventually taken into custody after the “Siege” story arc and the symbiote was removed from him.
If you’re a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the name “Mac Gargan” may sound familiar. He was seen in Spider-Man: Homecoming, notably in the post-credits scene threatening Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes.
Flash Thompson
Yes, that Flash Thompson. Peter’s “friend” from Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home eventually bonds with the Venom symbiote. Well, at least the comic book version of the character does.
Thompson dons the symbiote suit and works for the government under the name Agent Venom. He was only allowed to bond with the symbiote for a short period of time, to prevent permanently bonding.
Today, Venom is one of the most popular Marvel heroes around. In fact, the third season of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Maximum Venom is set to debut Sunday, April 19 on DisneyXD. Hasbro also recently revealed a line of “Spider-Man: Maximum Venom” toys at Toy Fair 2020.
This is just a brief history of the very popular character. There are plenty of other note-worthy stories and characters who have bonded with the symbiote. The best way to learn more about the character is to simply check out Marvel Comics and pick up some of Venom’s greatest stories. That way, you can be ready just in case the Venom symbiote really has come to Earth.