Venom
The Venom Symbiote | Main hosts of Venom (Eddie Brock | Flash Thompson) | Other hosts of Venom | Alternate Incarnations of Venom | Supporting Characters | Rogues Gallery
Symbiotes in General
Symbiotes | Hosts to other Symbiotes
Other Symbiotes
Carnage (Character) (Cletus Kasady) | Toxin (Character) | Scream (Character)
Comics Characters Pages
Carnage Characters Page | Toxin Characters Page | Scream Characters Page
A list of all the humans who have bonded to the Venom symbiote and its clone, the Mania symbiote, and taken on a Venom (or related) codename. Current identities are in bold.
Symbiote Spider-Man
Alter Ego: Peter Benjamin Parker
First Appearance: Amazing Fantasy #15; The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1, #252 (with symbiote)
The symbiote's original — retconned to be second — human host, and the one it longs for the most. Peter Parker was among the superheroes chosen by an entity called the Beyonder to participate in a battle between good and evil on an artificial planet called Battleworld. His costume was damaged in the course of a fight, and after learning Thor had found a machine that could repair costumes, Peter sought it out himself. He found a device that deposited a small black ball into his hand, which spread to cover his body in a jet-black and white costume inspired by his admiration of the one worn by the second Spider-Woman.
Peter quickly discovered the "Black Suit" could respond to his thoughts and whims: shapeshifting to resemble any clothing he imagined, creating its own webbing, and sliding away from his mouth so he could eat and drink without taking off his mask. Impressed, Peter took the Black Suit with him when he was returned to Earth. Despite its advantages, the Black Suit's autonomy began to unnerve Peter, who was becoming increasingly exhausted: the Black Suit was taking over his body while he slept and using it to fight crime out of a misguided attempt to please him. Wanting answers, Peter visited the Fantastic Four and asked Reed Richards to analyze it. Richards revealed to Peter that the Black Suit was not a costume, but a sentient extraterrestrial symbiote that was attempting to permanently bond with him. Horrified and disgusted, Peter had the Fantastic Four remove the creature, discovering it was vulnerable to intense sonics and heat, and returned to his classic red-and-blue outfit. The symbiote did not take Peter's rejection well and eventually escaped captivity, disguising itself as Peter's original costume and attempting to force itself on him during a fight with the Vulturions. In his struggle to remove it, Peter retreated to the bell-tower of an abandoned church and rung the bell, weakening the symbiote, which seemingly sacrificed itself to save him.
He has, on occasion, worn the suit again or at least a black costume — however, this is always temporary, and Peter now has a general dislike of anything symbiote-related.
Symbiote Deadpool / Venompool
Alter Ego: Wade Winston Wilson
First Appearance: New Mutants #98; Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars #3 (with symbiote)
In a half-joking retcon to the original events of the Secret Wars saganote , Deadpool was among the heroes and villains abducted by the Beyonder and taken to Battleworld. When his costume was shredded, Deadpool noticed Thor had acquired a new one and asked where he'd gotten it. Finding a strange machine, Deadpool activated it and a small black orb spread all over his body, turning his costume black and white. Initially revelling in his new costume's powers, Deadpool quickly realized that it was not only alive but sentient, and returned it to the machine out of fear that exposure to his fractured psyche would drive it insane. Exiting the room just as a certain other hero whose costume had been damaged and who had received directions from Thor entered, Deadpool advised Spider-Man to remember that "black is slimming".
After Spider-Man forced the symbiote off of him using a church bell, the creature went into hiding, gradually regaining its strength with the help of a friendly janitor. the symbiote eventually re-bonded to Wade, who accepted its presence and used it to help people, before it attempted to kill the unconscious Spider-Man, but Deadpool refused to let it. The symbiote left him and returned to Our Lady of Saints church, just in time to meet a certain suicidal reporter.
Venom I / Anti-Venom I / Toxin II
Alter Ego: Edward "Eddie" Charles Allan Brock
First Appearance: Web of Spider-Man #18; The Amazing Spider-Man #299 (as Venom); The Amazing Spider-Man #569 (as Anti-Venom); Venom Vol. 2, #17 (as Toxin II)
- "It's not about control, or following orders like a soldier. It's about us. We. We are Venom!"
Eddie Brock bonded with the dark alien symbiote after it was discarded by Spider-Man, becoming the first Venom. Later, Brock became Anti-Venom, but the symbiote was lost during the events of Spider-Island. Brock has also been forcibly bonded to the Toxin Symbiote by the Crime-Master, but has reluctantly given it up to stop Carnage. Recently he has re-bonded with Venom.
She-Venom
Alter Ego: Anne Weying
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #375; Venom: Sinner Takes All #2 (as She-Venom)
A lawyer and Eddie's ex-wife, Anne was given the Venom symbiote by her ex-husband after being fatally shot by the new Sin-Eater, briefly turning her into the murderously psychotic She-Venom. In a later story, Anne merged with the symbiote again, Eddie having sent it to her through a telephone line to break her out of the prison she was being held in under false charges, leading to a misadventure involving the Scarlet Spider and a criminal gang. Traumatized by being forced to transform into She-Venom again, and by Eddie becoming Venom directly in front of her after the symbiote returned to him, Anne became agoraphobic, and convinced the symbiote was out to get her. She subsequently committed suicide by jumping from her high rise apartment after seeing Spider-Man wearing his black suit, and the visiting Eddie turn into Venom to get rid of him. Eddie placed the blame for this squarely on Peter, and called off their shaky truce they had established.
- Alternate Self: 1602: Witch Hunter Angela #2 features appearances by Anne Weying and Edwin Brocc.
- Ax-Crazy: Clearly had very little control as She-Venom, though Eddie (who nearly threw up at the sight of what she did to two thugs) tells her the symbiote can't make a person do something they don't already want to.
- Boobs-and-Butt Pose: Is frequently drawn in this position as She-Venom, emphasizing her Impossible Hourglass Figure.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: "—before I eat your brains!!!", paraphrased from her ex-husband.
- Butter Face: Two thugs remark on how attractive her body is, despite her face being monstrous.Junior: Huh? Wuzzat, Big Brown?
Big Brown: I dunno, Junior - but it sure as heck is female!!
Junior: Hoo-ha!! We can put a sack over her ugly head after we stomp her into submission!
Reviewer
: Yes. Yes, exactly. Because the first thing that comes to mind when I see a female Venom is, "Shit, I wish I could rape that thing!" - Combat Tentacles: And unlike most other Venoms, Ann's weren't just for show.
- Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: Ann and Joe Robertson are kidnapped in the novel Venom's Wrath. When the day is saved, she dismisses Venom's involvement in her rescue.Ann: The New York Police Department and Spider-Man rescued me. As far as I'm concerned, my ex-husband had nothing to do with it.
- Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon: "I'm going to rip your own guts out and stuff them down your own throats!!
- Dark Action Girl: When bonded to the symbiote she thought nothing of ripping apart those tho threatened her.
- Damsel in Distress: Kidnapped or otherwise put in danger a lot.
- Destination Defenestration: Her method of suicide.
- Distaff Counterpart: To Eddie Brock, her ex-husband.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Ann receiving the symbiote through the telephone is depicted very suggestively◊. The symbiote making a "once you go black"-ish comment beforehand ("She'll want us back because she's had a taste?") doesn't help.
- Driven to Suicide: The trauma of being repeatedly confronted with her ex-husband and his monstrous alter-ego drove her to take her own life.
- Embarrassing Nickname: "Mrs. Venom" and "The Bride of Venom".
- Evil Me Scares Me: Ann hated being She-Venom mostly due to being afraid of what she could end up doing. Part of the reason why she killed herself was because she believed the symbiote (which she claimed to be able to hear) might one day come back and attempt a permanent bonding. She might have been on to something, as the three times it bonded to Ann, the symbiote only left her because it was forced to.
- Femme Fatalons: The symbiote gives her long, thin talons.
- Grave-Marking Scene: While visiting her grave Eddie was attacked and temporarily separated from the symbiote by Senator Ward.
- Happier Home Movie: A wedding photo is used for the cover of Along Came a Spider #4.
- Hello, Attorney!: Ann was a lawyer, and a very successful and attractive one.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: The tiny girl to Eddie's huge guy, except when She-Venom.
- I Have Your Wife: While it was ostensibly implied that the reason why Eddie and Ann broke up was because of Eddie's increasingly deranged obsession with Spider-Man, a story in Spider-Man Family #2 indicated that the real reason for the divorce was Ann nearly being murdered by Corrupt Corporate Executives that Eddie had been trying to expose.
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Eddie tries this, but it fails.
- I'm a Humanitarian: Might have eaten her two victims, but it's left unclear.
- Interrupted Cooldown Hug: Ann breaks up a fight between Spider-Man and Venom. As things settle, the latter is attacked by Silver Sable and the Wildpack.
- Kick the Morality Pet: Along with establishing that her and Eddie's relationship was founded on lies, Dark Origin also felt it pertinent to include a scene where Eddie tries to save his own skin by desperately offering a knocked out Ann to the gang members who had attacked them. Most writers have since treated it as Canon Discontinuity.
- Most Common Superpower: The symbiote definitely emphasized her figure.
- Mr. Exposition: Introduced to provide details on Eddie's early life.
- Mystical Pregnancy: In Venom Vol. 4 #12 it's revealed that after Anne's first transformation into She-Venom, during which both she and Eddie had simultaneously bonded to the Venom symbiote, she became pregnant and gave birth to a son she named Dylan.
- Mythology Gag: She was the defense attorney of Curt Connors, according to the viral marketing for The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
- My God, What Have I Done?: While She-Venom, she ripped apart a pair of thugs, and was left distraught by the incident.
- Nightmare Sequence: Has one where she bites off and eats Eddie's entire head in Rune vs. Venom.
- Pipe Pain: On Quintana, Rune, Ben Reilly... to quote The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe:Minor Irritant: Man, Ann sure hits people with pipes a lot.
- Progressively Prettier: Was rather "mousy" in her first appearance, but like most "Plain Jane" comic characters she got hotter over time.
- Race Lift: Was black in early editions of Dark Origin. They realized the Series Continuity Error in time for later printings.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Was fond of dishing them out while disemboweling people.
- Shapeshifter Guilt Trip: Rune's symbiote messes with Eddie by pretending to be her in Rune vs. Venom.
- Spell My Name With An S: Her name was originally spelled as "Ann" during the 1990s, before being supplanted by the spelling "Anne".
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: At the time Eddie killed rather bloodlessly. Ann, on the other hand, painted the room with her victims.
- Touch of the Monster: On the cover of Sinner Takes All #5
- Volumetric Mouth: She-Venom's mouth could stretch to a ludicrous degree. While this is true for almost every symbiote character, in Ann's case it was really◊ apparent.
Venom II
Alter Ego: Angelo Fortunato
First Appearance: Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #7
- "Man, I'm 5'9, a hundred and ten pounds and the only girls that even talk to me are the ones my dad rents every birthday and Christmas. Exactly what am I throwing away here?"
The "second" Venom. Angelo was the timid son of Don Vincente Fortunato, a Maggia don who purchased the Venom symbiote from Eddie Brock thinking it would get his son to man up. Despite quickly mastering the symbiote's powers, Fortunato's fight with Spider-Man turned into a Curb-Stomp Battle not in his favour when he murdered an otherwise innocent impostor dressed as Spider-Man. Angelo fled despite the symbiote urging him to keep fighting, causing it to deem him an unworthy host and abandon him in mid-leap to fall to his death.
- Abusive Parents: It wasn't just his peers who bullied him.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: One of his reasons for wanting to become Venom was his belief in this.
- And Show It to You: How he killed the Spidey impersonator.
- Auction of Evil: Where he and his father acquired the symbiote.
- Big Bad Wannabe: When Eddie took him aside and tried to warn him about the dangers of the symbiote, Angelo blew him off and gave him this little gem as his reason for desiring its power:Angelo: Besides, have you seen how many websites this thing has out there? You seen how many chicks are writing fan fiction about him? Becoming Venom puts me in the Magneto or Doctor Doom class after eighteen years of getting the crap kicked out of me.
- Dirty Coward: When Spider-Man got serious in their fight, Angelo fled.
- Disney Villain Death: The symbiote ditches him in mid-jump and he falls to his death.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: He was bullied and ridiculed his whole life, and abused by his father, who bought the symbiote in the hopes of getting his son to toughen up. During his fight with Spider-Man, Angelo ends up killing a cosplayer dressed like the web-slinger, to which Spidey decides to stop holding back and give him a verbal beatdown, rebuking Angelo's crappy past and pointing out he himself was a bully magnet, but didn't become a killer.Spider-Man: You weren't bullied any more than I was, Angelo. You weren't punched or kicked or spat upon any more than me. You were given great powers and you used them to kill people, you little freak.
- Ironic Name: His name means "fortunate angel".
- The Mafia: Angelo was the son of Maggia don Vincente Fortunato.
- Milking the Giant Cow: "I killed him for you, dad. You hear me? Angelo Fortunado just killed Spider-Man!"
- No-Sell: Surprisingly, a fiery explosion didn't even faze him.
- Overly-Long Tongue: Averted, making him the first host since Peter Parker to not have one in his monstrous form.
- Possession Implies Mastery: Learns to use the symbiote's powers in record time.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
- After Angelo kills a cosplayer dressed as Spider-Man, the web-slinger decides to stop pulling his punches and gives him a verbal beatdown to match.Spider-Man: You weren't bullied any more than I was, Angelo. You weren't punched or kicked or spat upon any more than me. You were given great powers and you used them to kill people, you little freak. So like I said, no more chances.
- When Angelo flees from Spider-Man's beatdown, the symbiote decides it's had enough of him and ditches him mid-jump:Symbiote: Sigh. You know your problem, Angelo...? You just don't have enough Venom!
Angelo: Jeezus! Where are you going!
Symbiote: To find someone else, what does it look like? You're even more pathetic than Eddie Brock ended up.
- After Angelo kills a cosplayer dressed as Spider-Man, the web-slinger decides to stop pulling his punches and gives him a verbal beatdown to match.
- Royal "We": Averted, like Gargan and Flash.
- Sinister Schnoz: It was rather bulbous.
- Super Loser: As Spider-Man said of Mac Gargan, a loser with a symbiote is a still a loser.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Had all of Venom's power, but was nowhere near as competent a fighter as Eddie had been.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Appeared and died in the space of two issues.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Wanted his father's approval and thought he could earn it by becoming Venom. It worked. Too bad Angelo wasn't alive to hear the praise.
- You Have Failed Me: The symbiote scornfully ditches him for not having "enough venom".
Venom III / "Sinister" Spider-Man III
Alter Ego: MacDonald "Mac" Gargan
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #19; Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #10 (as Venom III); Dark Avengers #1 (as Spider-Man III)
- "I ain't dumb, right. I know Osborn's gone too far this time. Ain't no way in the world we don't get our butts kicked but good for this. So I figure I oughta enjoy myself until, you know, the inevitable."
After ditching Angelo, the symbiote directly approaches Gargan, already an established Super Villain called the Scorpion, offering him its power in exchange for murdering Spider-Man. Gargan eagerly agrees, and becomes the third incarnation of Venom, working alongside Norman Osborn for most of his tenure. The symbiote caused him to become erratic and unstable, increasing his bloodlust thanks to the symbiote, which resulted in him becoming a cannibal.
Following Osborn being made the head of SHIELD, Gargan is given a drug that reverts the symbiote to the appearance it had when Peter Parker wore it, and joins the Dark Avengers, where he gleefully impersonates Spider-Man. After losing the symbiote, Gargan reverted to the Scorpion identity, but has found himself tangled up in many symbiote incidents since.
"Agent" Venom IV / "Agent" Anti-Venom II
Alter Ego: Colonel Eugene "Flash" Thompson
First Appearance: Amazing Fantasy #15; The Amazing Spider-Man #654 (as Venom IV); Amazing Spider-Man: Venom Inc. Alpha #1 (as Agent Anti-Venom)
- "That suit's good now. Or it can be. I know—I helped make it that way."
"Flash" was a jock at Peter's high school, and thus "Puny Parker" often was the target of his abuse. However, once he became Spider-Man, Peter began standing up to Flash. Ironically, Flash was always a big fan of the wall-crawler. After college, the two went their separate ways, with Flash joining the army. His time there mellowed him out considerably. So much so, that by the time he saw Peter again, the two realized they had more in common than they thought, and soon even became friends. They even ended up teaching at their old high school together. Peter taught science, while Flash taught gym.
Enlisting in the army during the Iraq War, Flash is grievously wounded in action, losing his legs while saving his comrades. Lauded as a hero for his sacrifice, he is given an offer by the military: he can "rent" the Venom symbiote, which was subdued by drugs, for 48-hour periods (never long enough for the symbiote to establish control) for use in important missions, regaining the use of his legs in the process. Thompson agrees and subsequently becomes the new Venom, marking the character's transition to fully-fledged hero.
Superior Venom
Alter Ego: Doctor Otto Gunther Octavius in the body of Peter Benjamin Parker
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #697; Superior Spider-Man #23 (as Superior Venom)
- "We... are... the SUPERIOR VENOM!"
When Agent Venom returned to New York City to hunt down the supposedly resurrected Crime Master and his minions, the Superior Spider-Man intervened and helped him. Otto would then insist on helping Flash, in actuality wanting to destroy the Venom symbiote. Instead, it bonded to him and he relished its power, dubbing himself the Superior Venom.
Venom V / Maniac
Alter Ego: Lee Price
First Appearance: Venom Vol. 3 #1
Lee Price was born in Queens to abusive parents. Eventually, he would set fire to his home, killing his parents along with some others, getting away with it thanks to the presence of a mutant neighbour who possessed fire powers. He would then join the Army Rangers, where he was injured in a mine explosion that killed several members of his squad and cost him two fingers on his left hand. Discharged, unable to get his benefits and desperate for employment, he does some light criminal work for Black Cat before the Venom symbiote bonds with him when he is ambushed. The symbiote is ecstatic, thinking Lee to be an honourable soldier like Flash Thompson, but Lee revealing his true nature to the symbiote and imposing his will on it, all while using it to further his own position within the criminal underworld while secretly also operating as Venom.
He eventually loses the symbiote when he is attacked by the authorities and Spider-Man. Wanting it back, he arranged for his lawyer to have him acquitted for his crimes and then ambushes Andi Benton, stealing the Mania symbiote and rechristening himself Maniac. Using the symbiote to control others, he begins a crime organisation and comes into conflict with Spider-Man, Venom, Anti-Venom and Black Cat.
- Abusive Parents: Price states that his father was a violent man who beat both him and his mother, and abandoned him after her death. It's later revealed that he murdered both his parents to stop them from beating him.
- Anime Hair: In his initial appearance he has slicked-back spiky black hair with a couple of strands that dangle alongside his face, giving him a striking resemblance to Zack Fair from Final Fantasy VII.
- Badass Long Coat: He's a former soldier and host to to the Venom symbiote, which he's subdued with his will alone; and usually wears a brown trench coat, which accentuates his sinister appearance. As Maniac, he shifts the Mania symbiote into a black and white trench coat.
- Big Bad: Lee Price returns as the main antagonist of the Venom Inc. crossover, where he steals the Mania symbiote from Andi Benton and renames himself Maniac.
- Big "SHUT UP!": When the Venom symbiote gushes about how much it's looking forward to making the world a better place with him, Price snaps at it to shut up and then dominates it with his will.
- Character Death: Price was killed by Cletus Kasady, who ripped the Mania symbiote out of him while impersonating Eddie Brock.
- Composite Character: Costa has stated that Price takes aspects from all previous hosts of Venom. So far he's exhibited a similar appearance to Brock's Venom form, Flash's military background, and Gargan's villainous role.
- The Corrupter: The symbiote was searching for a worthy host to replace Flash Thompson... but it picked the wrong person. It was initially excited to bond to another soldier, but upon discovering how callous and cruel Price was it came to intensely dislike him. Price, however, revels in the power it gives him and is slowly turning the symbiote from a heroic Agent of the Cosmos back into a "slathering, fanged monster". In issue 4, Price notes that the symbiote is becoming less eloquent and more vicious as its corruption worsens. Using the Mania symbiote, it's gotten worse — he can now possess other people.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Despite Gargan having outfitted his Scorpion suit with sonic and flame weapons, once Price transforms into Venom the only thing that saves Mac from being eaten is Spider-Man's timely intervention.
- Depending on the Artist: How old he looks fluctuates. As originally drawn by Gerardo Sandoval, he seems to be in his mid-early twenties, which fits with the dialogue, such as Black Cat calling him "kid". However, some later artists took to drawing him older, older than her, in fact, most notably in his final appearance.
- Establishing Character Moment: His very first scene sets him up as a stoic man with no moral qualms about killing people. He even creeps out longtime super-villain and former Venom host Mac Gargan by barely saying anything. His response to being asked if he's killed anyone is about as casual as it gets.Gargan: You ever kill anybody?
Price: Yeah. Why? We gonna have to kill someone for this job? - Evil Counterpart: As a soldier who was unable to serve as a result of losing a limb, Price serves as one to Flash Thompson — thus far being a thoroughly unlikable psychopathic Jerkass.
- Evil Versus Evil: Price bonding to the Venom symbiote leads to him being targeted by the Scorpion.
- Fingore: Price lost the ring and pinky fingers of his left hand in an explosion, which saw him discharged from the military. He wears a glove on his left hand to hide this, but bonding with the symbiote evidently healed him, as both of his hands look normal on the final page of his first issue.
- Flat "What": His response when FBI Agent Bagman, rather than ask him to be a mole in Black Cat's syndicate, tells him to reveal Spider-Man's civilian identity.
- From Camouflage to Criminal: He was a member of the Army Rangers who lost part of his hand in a mine explosion, and turned to crime to make ends meet when his disability cheques failed to come in.
- Hate Sink: Dear God. There's almost no likeable or redeeming qualities from him. Even Mac Gargan, the previous villainous host of Venom, is creeped out by him.
- He Knows Too Much: Casually murders his best friend since kindergarten because he knows Tony can't keep a secret.
- Hulking Out: After Agent Anti-Venom, Venom, Mania, and Spider-Man defeat and depower his Inklings, Lee Price reabsorbs the distributed parts of the Mania symbiote and transforms into his monstrous Venom form, roaring that the symbiote only belongs to him. In the following issue he grows even bigger.
- I Never Told You My Name: The symbiote causes Lee to slip up and call Gargan Black Cat's "pet Scorpion," causing Gargan to become suspicious since he'd never mentioned his supervillain codename.
- I'm a Humanitarian: As Venom, Price tries to bite off Mac Gargan's head and later attempts to eat him like an oyster.
- Immune to Mind Control: Thanks to his military training, Price has been conditioned to be resistant to psychic incursions, including the symbiote's.
- Ineffectual Loner: Price adamantly insists that friends and allies are a liability, even as his plans come crashing down around him.
- Legacy Character: Lee Price is the Venom symbiote's fifth main host, and second outright villainous host after Mac Gargan. He's also the Mania symbiote's sixteenth host.
- Love Is a Weakness: When the symbiote reveals that Lee wasn't always so callous and once had friends and comrades in the army, he sneers that all that taught him was that friends are a weakness.
- Make My Monster Grow: In the final issue of Venom Inc., Price reabsorbs the scattered pieces of the Mania symbiote and grows into a fifty-foot tall Venom.
- Mind Rape: He forces the symbiote to view his memories of his traumatic childhood in order to shut it up when it berates him for using its powers to kill wantonly. When it finally separates from him, the symbiote returns the favour by doing to Lee what it did to Flash on its first host's homeworld.
- Missing Mom: His mother was killed in an accident involving a pyrokinetic mutant child when he was a boy.
- Mistaken Identity: Not knowing the symbiote changed hosts, Spider-Man initially mistakes Price-as-Venom for Flash Thompson.
- More than Mind Control: As Maniac, he can control people by infecting them with a portion of the symbiote, somewhat similarly to Carnage's former ability.
- Morton's Fork: After cornering Price in Tony's apartment, Agent Bagman offers him an ultimatum: work as a mole for the FBI, or kill him and risk being blown up by a high-explosive RPG. Both choices ruin Price's plans of anonymity, but Bagman points out that even if he survives the RPG, Black Cat would become suspicious and he would be targeted by every law enforcement agency and superhero on the planet.
- Neck Snap: He casually breaks the neck of his childhood friend Tony, on account of him being unable to keep secrets.
- Not So Stoic: Beneath his mask of stoicism and anger is a lonely, abused child who doesn't want to be alone.
- Partial Transformation: As Maniac, rather than take on a monstrous appearance like he did as Venom, Price forms the symbiote into a trench coat and gloves, and it only covers his face — leaving his mouth and occasionally his eyes visible behind its eyespots and jaws.
- Perpetual Frowner: He almost-constantly sports a serious expression, to the extent that it creeps even the likes of Mac Gargan out. The only time he was shown smiling is as a child, when witnessing the powers of a pyrokinetic mutant, or in the rare occasions he breaks into a menacing grin.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Price is cunning and scheming by nature, seeking to exploit every opportunity to advance his position while not drawing attention to himself. As a result, he eschews standard super-villain schemes and tries to avoid unnecessary collateral damage, not because he's a good person but because it's impractical and counterproductive.
- Replacement Goldfish: After being taken from Flash Thompson and upon its escape, the Venom symbiote was looking for any suitable host. Once it catches a glimpse of Lee's life as a soldier, it assumes him to be like the heroic Flash Thompson and immediately tries to bond with him... only to realise the differences between the two.
- Revenge: His goal in Venom Inc. is to take revenge on Venom, Spider-Man, and Black Cat for ruining him and getting him arrested at the end of Venom Vol. 3.
- Revisiting the Roots: Mike Costa mentions that he's harkening back to the original Venom as depicted by David Michelinie, Todd McFarlane, and Erik Larsen.
- Self-Made Orphan: The symbiote reveals he killed his own parents, though Lee protests that he did so to stop them from hurting him anymore.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Price had a rough life growing up, which he joined the Army Rangers to escape. He was injured in combat when a mine blew up next to his squad, and was discharged. Mac Gargan pegs him as having P.T.S.D., but gives him No Sympathy.
- Slasher Smile: Lee breaks out into a menacing grin when the symbiote lets slip about its sanguinary past, and when telling Patrick Healy to hang up the phone.
- Sociopathic Soldier: Like Flash Thompson, Lee Price is a soldier, specifically a former Army Ranger... but he completely lacks Flash's moral compass. As a result of his messed up childhood and possible PTSD from serving overseas, Price is cold and ruthless to an extent that unsettles even hardened criminals like Mac Gargan. His first action upon bonding to the Venom symbiote is to tell it to shut up and then use it to slaughter both Tombstone's and Black Cat's groups of thugs, the latter of whom he was working for.
- The Starscream: Once his plans to remain anonymous and keep his possession of the symbiote secret are FUBAR'd, Price decides to turn Adams over to the FBI so that Black Cat can be put away for good, and then take over her organization.
- The Stoic: Price rarely shows emotion, lecturing the outraged Venom symbiote that it's the people who stay calm who are the victors. Even Mac Gargan is creeped out by how emotionless he appears.
- Tattooed Crook: As revealed in the 2019 Free Comic Book Day Venom/Spider-Man issue, while imprisoned in Ryker's Island he manifests the weakened Mania symbiote as a tattoo of Venom's chest insignia.
- Villain Protagonist: Price is a stoic psychopath who gives the Venom symbiote a taste of its own medicine by dominating it with his will and using it to commit crimes. Costa has drawn comparisons with his intentions for Price and Walter White from Breaking Bad: an ordinary if unscrupulous man in a desperate situation who stumbles across something that grants him the power to change his circumstances for the better, but is corrupted by that power into something even worse than he started out as.
- Volumetric Mouth: When Venom'd up and about to eat the Scorpion like an oyster, Price's mouth opens to an enormous extent.
- War Is Hell: He expresses this view to Gargan, telling him he never wants to serve another tour of duty again.
Alter Ego: Dylan Brock
First Appearance: Venom Vol. 4 #7; Venom Vol. 4 #35 (LGY #200) (as Venom VI); Venom Vol. 5 #12 (as Codex)
The son of Eddie Brock and Anne Weying, Dylan was conceived when Anne bonded with the Venom Symbiote as She-Venom, impregnating her to create a weapon against the mad god Knull. Anne gave Dylan to Eddie's estranged father Carl with the intent of retrieving him, but would commit suicide upon seeing Spider-Man wearing his fabric black costume. Carl would abuse Dylan until Eddie suddenly arrived, the boy believing Eddie to be his "older brother". Eddie would take Dylan away from Carl, intending to keep his heritage a secret, but that proved futile as Knull's servants managed to bring about the dark god's return. Dylan learned about his lineage as he used his unique powers to help his father fight off the mad god, eventually culminating in these powers being stripped from Dylan and Knull's defeat.
Returning to school but restless after his adventures with his father, Dylan was almost killed trying to stop a crime. However, the Venom symbiote bonded to him and saved his life, the two becoming the new Venom in the process. With Eddie now God of the Symbiotes, he has given his son and the symbiote his blessing to keep act as the new Venom.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: In Venom Vol. 4 #6, Eddie thinks to himself that he'd rather have a rematch with Knull than sit through Dylan's barrage of countless questions. As for the sibling part, he's Eddie's adoptive brother and biological son.
- Anti Anti Christ: Played with; he has unprecedented control over symbiotes while immune to being bonded with them and is slowly being corrupted by Knull yet, at the same time, he's just as willing to side with Eddie against Knull and his forces.
- Audience Surrogate: The questions and comments he barrages Eddie with in Venom Vol. 4 #6 echo many that Venom fans have asked over the years.
- The Beastmaster: His nature as a human codex seems to give him the ability to control symbiotes. He instinctively mind-controls Sleeper to turn him into an Angry Guard Dog, and later manages to splatter Norman Osborn's portion of the Grendel symbiote with a hand gesture.
- Big Brother Bully: In Web of Venom: The Good Son, Dylan tells Liz Allan that he sees Normie Osborn as a little brother, though he begins tormenting and threatening Normie — who he'd previously been good friends with.
- Big Brother Worship: Dylan might snark at Eddie's expense, but Dylan clearly idolizes him for being the only family member he really has as well as being a badass.
- Chest Insignia: In his first appearance as Venom, Dylan sports a dragon emblem evocative of Knull's and Dark Carnage's. In Venom (2021), however, he goes back to the classic spider-emblem. In the fourth issue, it changes so that the bottom of the spider emblem resembles the straight-tailed version of Knull's dragon emblem, with two downward-pointed legs.
- Chained by Fashion: As Venom, Dylan sports chains on his arms. When Eddie asks why, Dylan says that webs are played out and that his favorite comicbook character wears chains, so he thinks they're cool.
- Child by Rape: Dylan was conceived when Anne's Venom symbiote codex from her transformation into She-Venom bonded to a fetus,note Anne was traumatized by suddenly becoming pregnant without having had sex, which presumably contributed to her fear of the symbiote and decision to kill herself.
- The Corruptible: In Web of Venom: The Good Son, Dylan succumbs to Knull's influence and swears fealty to the King in Black, bonding to a piece of the Carnage symbiote and attacking Normie Osborn.
- Didn't Think This Through: On one hand, Dylan's plan to free the symbiotes to attack The Maker was pretty ingenious. On the other, he didn't expect the symbiotes to all bond to the guy he sicced them on. Cue Dylan and Normie running for their lives.
- Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: When The Maker wants to stick Normie in a machine to extract his codex, Dylan jumps in front and tells him off, saying that Spider-Man and Venom won't like it if he did what they told him not to do. This kid stood up to one of the most evil characters in the Marvel Universe and lived to tell of it (albeit with the threat of Eddie looming over him).
- Discard and Draw: Dylan lost his original powers, which were basically being a human-symbiote hybrid with the power to control symbiotes similarly to Knull. In their place, he is now bonded to the Venom symbiote.
- Exactly What I Aimed At: Pulls this on The Maker of all people when he points a gun at The Maker, only to reveal that he was actually aiming at the glass containers containing the Knull-infested Hybrid symbiotes, freeing them and siccing them on The Maker.
- Eye Color Change: When cornered by Hybrid in Venom Vol. 4 #18, Dylan's eyes turn solid black as his symbiote powers activate for the first time. As he gets even more angry, the tell-tale red swirl of Knull can be seen in them, suggesting that he is a direct conduit to Knull's powers.
- Family Relationship Switcheroo: Dylan was initially led to believe that Carl Brock was his father and Eddie was his half-brother, only to later learn that Carl is actually his grandpa and Eddie is his dad.
- Grin of Audacity: Sports one when he breaks the Knull-boosted Hybrid symbiote free to attack The Maker.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Ever since Dylan's initial appearance, Donny Cates has hinted that Dylan isn't entirely human. Absolute Carnage #2 reveals that he is Anne Weying's Venom codex incarnated as a human, making him a human-symbiote hybrid.
- Heroes Love Dogs: Subverted. When he learns that he can control Sleeper, he instinctively turns him into a savage wolf. After this, he admits he isn't much of a dog person, and Sleeper decides to take the form of a cat instead.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: Downplayed. Thanks to his abusive father, Dylan is no stranger to things that are Harmful to Minors. Even still, his bright blue eyes emphasize his youthful naivete and optimism in contrast to Eddie's world-weariness.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Just like Eddie, Dylan can be abrasive, snarky, and often speaks without thinking, asking Eddie to kill Carl without really meaning it. He also refers to Spider-Man as a "menace", taking after his father's animosity for him. But Dylan has a good heart and stands up for Normie against The Maker.
- The Knights Who Say "Squee!": Once he properly introduces himself to Eddie, he's ecstatic that he's related to Venom.
- Legacy Character: Becomes Venom at the end of Venom (Donny Cates), after being completely freed from Knull's influence. This is also due to Eddie's rapid aging after becoming the God of Symbiotes.
- Magical Eye Streamers: When his symbiote hybrid powers activate in Venom Vol. 4 #18, his eyes turn solid black with smokey black tendrils writhing in the outside corners.
- Missing Mom: It's eventually revealed that his mother is Anne Weying, who promised she'd return for him when leaving him at Carl Brock's house but later committed suicide.
- Morality Pet: After he and Eddie go on the run together, all of Eddie's actions are motivated by a desire to keep Dylan safe, happy, and healthy while trying to be a decent role model for him.
- Mouthy Kid: He can be foul-mouthed and snarky, rarely thinking before he speaks. But he's a sweet kid at heart who idolizes Eddie.
- Older Alter Ego: Wanting to look more intimidating, Dylan Brock made his Venom form even bigger than Eddie's — giving him the appearance of a muscular adult when transformed instead of a scrawny teenager.
- Remote Body: He discovers that he can mentally indwell symbiotes, something only Knull could ever do before, and uses it to inhabit Venom and turn them into a T. rex.
- The Runaway: He runs away from home in Venom Vol. 4 #6, intending to live with Eddie — who is quick to dissuade him, given that he's homeless, broke, traumatized by PTSD, and suffering from hallucinations of Knull.
- Self-Made Orphan:
- Invoked when he asks Eddie to kill Carl Brock, who beat him up and broke his arm in a fit of rage following Eddie's return, and has beaten him before. Ultimately, he doesn't really mean it and is revealed to actually be Eddie's son.
- Tries to do it himself in Vol. 5, thanks to Meridius's actions. Only a talking-too from Ms. Marvel stops him, and even then he still wants to attack Eddie.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Dylan's pretty much identical to how Eddie looked when he was a child. He's introduced as Eddie's half-brother, but issue #11 reveals he's actually Eddie's son.
- Tagalong Kid: He initially appears to have no powers and mainly tags with Eddie since the alternative is being with their abusive father — later revealed to be his grandfather.
- Tears of Fear: With Carnage-Norman beating down their door, Dylan and Normie drop all pretenses of childish bravado and sob in each other's arms while huddled in the corner.
- Tomato in the Mirror: He learns he isn't normal when Sleeper recoils in pain after trying to bond with him, Dylan's eyes turn pitch black and he ends up instinctively mind-controlling Sleeper into slobbering napalm all over the Maker for Hawkeye to ignite. He's subsequently terrified of what he's done and wonders what the hell he is.Sleeper: Dylan... what are you?
Dylan: [looking down at his hands in horror] I... I don't know. - Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth: In Venom #19, he discovers that the Sleeper symbiote can't bond to him and recoils in pain when it tries.
- Toxic Friend Influence: He sees Normie as a friend, but his idea of friendship involves things like bonding Normie to a symbiote and trying to get him to help Dylan kill his dad, as well as trying to murder his grandfather — who admittedly would have it coming.
- Trauma Conga Line: Venom vol. 5 seems to be an exercise in smashing Dylan to pieces. Things start off bad with Eddie being absent for long stretches playing superhero, and then Meridius gets involved. Dylan watches as his father is incinerated before his eyes, betrayed by someone his dad told him to go to for help, experimented on, attacked by a crazed evil future version of his father...
- Vague Age: The solicit for Venom Vol. 4 #15 states that Dylan is nine years old, but in Web of Venom: The Good Son he states he's a teenager and older than Normie Osborn. When Zac Thompson was asked on Twitter, he said that Dylan was around 12 and Normie around 9 — handwaving any issues by saying that time in Marvel is like a rubber band.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- When Eddie passes the Venom symbiote off as a service dog and says he has PTSD in order to keep a waiter at a fast food restaurant from getting too close, Dylan calls him out on going along with the waiter's assumption that he was a soldier.
- He also calls out The Maker for blasting Sleeper, one of the few unambiguously good symbiotes, who had just saved them from the Hybrid symbiotes. Of course, he doesn't know that The Maker is a Mad Scientist version of Reed Richards from another universe, so he isn't talking to a "hero".
- In Venom #35, when Eddie confronts him over getting into fights at school, Dylan snaps that he tried to tell Eddie but his father was too busy being the God of the Symbiotes.
- What Would X Do?: When cornered by The Maker, Dylan tries to do what Eddie would do... and that ends up being something really, really stupid.Dylan: Okay, okay, Dylan. Think. What would Eddie do? He would do... Eddie would do... something... stupid.
- Youthful Freckles: Has these running across his nose.
