Tom Hardy’s return in Venom: Let There Be Carnage places the titular character as the protagonist against the Carnage symbiote. While this heroic turn has worked, Venom is still considered to be an archenemy of Spider-Man. The symbiote was introduced as an antagonist and his persona continues to be seen as such due to his inherently malicious traits.
Since Eddie Brock is synonymous with Venom, his beef with Peter Parker and Spider-Man also needs to be taken into consideration. Even with the likes of Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus, there are plenty of reasons to see Venom as the ultimate Spider-Man big bad and it’s worth taking a deeper look over why that is.
8 He Knows Peter's Inner Thoughts & Secrets
Venom is unique for the fact that he was essentially a part of Peter for some time. Bonding with the symbiote gave it access to his inner thoughts, meaning Venom has twisted Peter’s insecurities to target him on a personal level.
Most of Spider-Man’s villains take a long time before they know who Peter Parker is, but Venom knew Peter’s mannerisms right from the start. While Doctor Octopus hijacked Peter’s body in The Superior Spider-Man, Venom existed in the latter’s mind simultaneously and was privy to his thoughts and feelings.
7 He Serves As A Dark Reflection Of Spider-Man
Although part of Marvel, the viciousness of Venom makes him perfect for DC Comics, which doesn’t shy away from showing brutality. Venom is essentially what an evil version of Spider-Man would look like who has no qualms about crossing lines.
This aspect offers fans an insight into both the personalities of Spider-Man and Venom himself, making the characters two sides of the same coin. Venom’s similar powers to Spider-Man also display how dangerous the superhero would be if he didn’t hold back.
6 The Character's Introduction Is An Iconic Part Of Spider-Man's History
The introduction of the Venom villain was reserved for Spider-Man’s 300th comic book issue as a way of astounding readers. The symbiote debuted in 1984’s The Amazing Spider-Man #252, and Venom’s full appearance was hyped up for years until 1988’s The Amazing Spider-Man #300.
The issue was dedicated to depicting how Eddie Brock bonded with the symbiote, as Peter reacted with horror that the villain came as a result of him disposing of it. Spider-Man 3’s scene of Peter repelling the symbiote in the church was an homage to the same thing that happened in the comics as a reference to the iconic moment of Venom's "birth."
5 The Symbiote's Role In Discrediting Spider-Man
Sony’s Spider-Man Universe has so far not included Spider-Man himself and 2018’s Venom left out the key detail of the symbiote’s beef with the superhero. He’s reached very petty levels to antagonize Spider-Man in the comics, though, including taking on his persona to discredit him.
Dark Avengers #1 featured the Venom symbiote taking on Mac Gargan to join Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers. He was identified as the Amazing Spider-Man himself because of his identical appearance, with Venom’s heinous acts all getting falsely pinpointed toward the superhero. It was after he was forcibly removed from Gargan that Venom stopped the charade.
4 He's A Truly Terrifying Villain
Spider-Man’s villains aren’t traditionally of the scary variety, with even the Green Goblin coming across as unhinged rather than terrifying. Venom is an exception, as one look at the giant tongue rolling out of the claw-like teeth accompanying his piercing eyes are a sight to behold.
Even the 2018 superhero spin-off Venom movie (where Venom was the hero) featured the character looking like the stuff of nightmares. Not to mention the fact that his cannibalistic nature means he will devour victims any chance he gets. During times where Venom plays a straight-up villain, Spider-Man has few other baddies who can strike fear through their appearance alone.
3 Eddie Brock's Role As Peter's Rival
Eddie Brock is the de facto host of Venom and just about every adaptation of the villain has Brock in this role. Brock is also made out to be a rival to Peter Parker and Spider-Man. His backstory in The Amazing Spider-Man #300 revealed that he lost his career as a journalist after Spider-Man caught the real Sin-Eater killer, exposing Brock’s claim of Emil Gregg to be false.
Brock developed a hatred for Spider-Man and Venom preyed upon this empower himself against the superhero. In other depictions like Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, Eddie is a straight-up rival to Peter in terms of clashing in their careers and pursuing the same love interests. No other villains have this level of deep-seated, personal resentment toward both Peter and Spider-Man.
2 The Unpredictable Personality Of The Symbiote
There have been multiple hosts to the symbiote and comic book fans will know about Venom that his personality varies based on the person he’s possessing. His unpredictable nature is something that Spider-Man can’t really plan against, which leaves him susceptible to Venom’s attacks.
While the likes of Green Goblin and Doc Ock can be assessed through their strategic patterns, Venom changes his style whenever he has a new body. When possessing Spider-Man, he slowly corrupted the wallcrawler, while his possession of Mac made him cannibalistic. Eddie Brock’s Venom is calculating and ruthless and the Venom Malekith forced to take over him had extreme magical powers.
1 The Character's Ability To Fulfill The Roles Of Anti-Hero & Villain Simultaneously
Venom has taken on the role of an anti-hero in recent stories due to his popularity. What’s interesting about this turn is that the character is still a villain by heart because his instinct remains in thriving through other people’s misery.
Venom’s heroic exploits are largely self-serving, with even the Tom Hardy version only harming criminals in order to eat them. Spider-Man hasn’t been happy to team up with Venom when he’s forced to, and the characters usually end up clashing verbally or even in brawls whenever they disagree.
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September 30, 2021 at 02:00AM
