Anti-Venom is a fictional
antihero
An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actions ...
appearing in
Comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
s published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
. It first appeared in ''
The Amazing Spider-Man
''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bim ...
'' #569 (August 2008), and was created by
Dan Slott
Dan Slott (born July 3, 1967) is an American comic book writer, known for his work on Marvel Comics books such as ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', as well as '' She-Hulk'', ''Silver Surfer'', ''The Superior Spider-Man'', '' Tony Stark: Iron Man'', ''Th ...
and
John Romita Jr.
John Salvatore Romita (; born August 17, 1956), known professionally as John Romita Jr., is an American comics artist best known for his extensive work for Marvel Comics from the 1970s to the 2010s. He is the son of artist John Romita Sr.
Early ...
The creature belongs to a race of amorphous
extraterrestrial parasites
Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted structurally to this way of lif ...
known as the
Symbiotes and is regarded as
Venom
Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...
's symbiotic brother. His physical features include white "skin", a black face, and spider symbol across his chest.
Hosts
Eddie Brock
The 2008 story ''"
New Ways to Die
"New Ways to Die" is a 2008, six-issue Spider-Man story arc written by Dan Slott with art by John Romita, Jr. and published by Marvel Comics. The arc first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #568-#573.
Plot summary
The Thunderbolts led by Norm ...
"'' features the first appearance of Anti-Venom.
Eddie Brock
Edward Charles Allan "Eddie" Brock is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane, making a cameo appearance in ''Web of Spider-Man'' #18 (Se ...
gets a job at a soup kitchen under
Martin Li. Brock is unknowingly cured of his cancer by
Martin Li, who possesses the Lightforce abilities, and Brock believes it to be a miracle.
After Brock is attacked by
Mac Gargan
MacDonald "Mac" Gargan is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an adversary of the superhero Spider-Man. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, he first appeared in ''The ...
(the Venom symbiote's current host), the Venom symbiote attempts to reunite with Brock, at which point Brock's skin becomes
caustic
Caustic most commonly refers to:
* Causticity, a property of various corrosive substances
** Sodium hydroxide, sometimes called ''caustic soda''
** Potassium hydroxide, sometimes called ''caustic potash''
** Calcium oxide, sometimes called ''caus ...
to the Venom symbiote. Brock is enveloped in a new white “Anti-Venom” symbiote when remnants of the Venom symbiote in his body merge with special
antibodies
An antibody (Ab), also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig), is a large, Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique molecule of the ...
(produced by his
white blood cells
White blood cells, also called leukocytes or leucocytes, are the cells of the immune system that are involved in protecting the body against both infectious disease and foreign invaders. All white blood cells are produced and derived from mult ...
) due to Li's Lightforce energy.
Eddie later sacrificed his Anti-Venom symbiote to cure people from the
Spider-Queen's spider-virus during the ''
Spider-Island
"Spider-Island" is a 2011 comic book storyline starting in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and crossing over into other comic books published by Marvel Comics, most of which were limited series or one-shots specifically for this storyline. The main ...
'' event.
Second host
During the "
AXIS
An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis
* Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...
" storyline, a new version of Anti-Venom is seen in the crowd of new heroes attending a "self help" style seminar being held by
Roderick Kingsley
Roderick Kingsley is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Originally created by Roger Stern and Mike Zeck for ''Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man'' #43 (June 1980), the character was later b ...
(aka the original
Hobgoblin
A hobgoblin is a household spirit, typically appearing in folklore, once considered helpful, but which since the spread of Christianity has often been considered mischievous. Shakespeare identifies the character of Puck in his ''A Midsummer Nigh ...
). All the new heroes have been given heroic personas by Kingsley that already exist, but are no longer used. It is not shown whether the new Anti-Venom is indeed a symbiote or just a man in a suit designed to look like the original Anti-Venom symbiote. However, the speech bubble used for the character is stylized in a way to suggest a distortion of the character's voice similar to the way Eddie Brock spoke when bonded with the Anti-Venom symbiote.
Eugene "Flash" Thompson
In the comic "Venom Inc.", Venom got captured by The Life Foundation and was experimented on. The Life Foundation accidentally poured malic acid on Venom which caused a chemical reaction in his body turning him into Anti-Venom. Anti-Venom got new abilities including the ability to faze through any solid object. He used it to escape the Life Foundation and bond with one of the scientists who happens to be Flash Thompson. Flash decides to use the symbiote for good and becomes "Agent Venom".
Powers and abilities
Anyone possessed by the Anti-Venom symbiote possesses superhuman strength, durability, and stamina, an accelerated and fast healing factor, genetic memory, detection of its Symbiote offspring, wall-crawling, web-generating abilities, spider-senses, immunity to
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
's spider-senses, and camouflage.
Unlike the other Symbiotes, the original Anti-Venom symbiote used by Eddie Brock is immune to fire, heat, and sound-based attacks. In addition, the Anti-Venom symbiote can produce antibodies that can "cure" a person afflicted by things like radioactivity, parasites, diseases, and drugs. The new Anti-Venom symbiote used by Flash Thompson has the ability to heal physical injuries as well. Due to its failed attempt at curing Spider-Man's radiation-based powers, the Anti-Venom symbiote causes Spider-Man's powers to cancel out when they are too close of each other.
However, Anti-Venom does possess a few weaknesses of its own. It is vulnerable to high concentrations of
Norman Osborn
Norman Osborn is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July 1964) as the first ...
's super-venom via
Freak
A freak is a person who is physically deformed or transformed due to an extraordinary medical condition or body modification. This definition was first attested with this meaning in the 1880s as a shorter form of the phrase " freak of nature ...
's DNA. Additionally since Martin Li's Lightforce touch created the symbiote,
Mister Negative
Mister Negative is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an enemy of Spider-Man, the Punisher, and Cloak & Dagger. The character was created by Dan Slott and Phil Jime ...
's
Darkforce
The Darkforce is a fictional concept appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Description
Darkforce is a powerful, extra-dimensional energy that can be manipulated in slightly different ways by a handful of beings that are ...
touch can interfere or halt Anti-Venom's healing abilities. Also as seen during the Spider-Island event, overusing his healing powers can cause Anti-Venom's powers to weaken.
Other versions
In ''
What If? Peter Parker became Kraven the Hunter'' where Peter Parker killed
Kraven the Hunter
Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Kravinoff; Russian: Сергей Кравинов) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' issue #15 (August 1964) as an adversary to ...
and replaced Kraven as the new hunter,
Madame Web
Madame Web (Cassandra Webb) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #210, published November 1980, and was created by writer Denny O'Neil and artist J ...
hired Anti-Venom,
Spider-Woman
Spider-Woman is the code name of several fictional Character (arts), characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first and original version is Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), Jessica Drew (later impersonated by Veranke), the second ve ...
and Mac Gargan to stop Peter. Despite being successful in mortally injuring him, they were all defeated.
In other media
Television
* The Anti-Venom symbiote appears in ''
Ultimate Spider-Man
''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate ...
'', voiced by
Matt Lanter
Matthew MacKendree Lanter (born April 1, 1983) is an American actor and model. He began his modeling career in 2004. The same year, he acted in the film '' Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius'' and the television series '' Point Pleasant''. He went ...
.
This version is created from a sample of the
Venom
Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...
symbiote, with
Harry Osborn
Harold Theopolis "Harry" Osborn is a Character (arts), fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the character first ...
as its host. In its self-titled episode, the Anti-Venom symbiote is created by
Doctor Octopus
Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius), also known as Doc Ock for short, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appeared in ''Th ...
and
Michael Morbius as a candidate for the former's
Hydra-backed
Sinister Six
Sinister commonly refers to:
* Evil
* Ominous
Sinister may also refer to:
Left side
* Sinister, Latin for the direction "left"
* Sinister, in heraldry, is the bearer's true left side (viewers' right side) of an escutcheon or coat of arms; see de ...
. Anti-Venom nearly kills Agent Venom, only to be stopped by Spider-Man and Iron Patriot, leaving Anti-Venom inactive and Harry in a coma. In the three-part episode "The Symbiote Saga", Anti-Venom awakens when the
Carnage symbiote attacks New York and neutralizes the latter's various hosts. However, it is almost consumed by Carnage's "heart" until Spider-Man's identity is revealed to Harry. Anti-Venom re-bonds with Harry and sacrifices itself to cure New York of Carnage's infestation, but its abilities are later claimed by the
Carnage Queen.
* The Anti-Venom symbiote appears in the ''
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
'' episode "Vengeance of Venom". This version is created when
Groot
Groot () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in ''Tales to Astonish'' #13 (Nov. 1960). An extraterrestrial, sentien ...
is hit with a sonic device used by
May Parker
Maybelle "May" Parker-Jameson (née Reilly), commonly known as Aunt May, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. Making her first full appeara ...
based on
Max Modell
Max Modell is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Publication history
Max Modell first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #648 and was created by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos.
Fictional charact ...
's suggestion to access the alien's pollination abilities and hybridize it with symbiote power to cure the Klyntar invasion force's hosts.
Video games
* The Eddie Brock incarnation of Anti-Venom appears in ''
Spider-Man: Edge of Time'', voiced by
Steve Blum
Steven Jay Blum (; born April 29, 1960) is an American voice actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, his most well-known roles include Spike Spiegel from the anime series '' Cowboy Bebop'', Garazeb Orrelios from the animated series ''St ...
.
This version is brainwashed by
Alchemax
Alchemax is a fictional megacorporation appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually depicted as part of the 2099 universe.
Publication history
The Earth-928 version of Alchemax first appeared in ''Spider-Man 2099'' #1 an ...
scientist Walker Sloan into serving the latter and nearly kills Spider-Man until
Spider-Man 2099
Spider-Man 2099 is a Character (arts), fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Peter David and Rick Leonardi in 1992 for the Marvel 2099 comic book line, and is a fut ...
rescues his predecessor and travels to the past to remove Sloan's implants. Freed from Sloan's control, Anti-Venom attacks him, only to accidentally push himself, Sloan, and
Doctor Octopus
Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius), also known as Doc Ock for short, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appeared in ''Th ...
into Sloan's time portal, fusing them into the monstrous Atrocity. Spider-Man later defeats Atrocity while helping Spider-Man 2099 save the timeline.
* The Eddie Brock incarnation of Anti-Venom appears as a playable character in ''
Spider-Man Unlimited
''Spider-Man Unlimited'' is an American animated series by Saban Entertainment which features the Marvel comic book superhero Spider-Man, intended as a loose sequel series to the previous '' Spider-Man: The Animated Series'', which ran from 199 ...
''.
* The Eddie Brock incarnation of Anti-Venom appears as a playable character in the Facebook game ''
Marvel: Avengers Alliance''.
* The Anti-Venom symbiote appears as an alternate costume for Eddie Brock / Venom in ''
Marvel: Future Fight''.
* Several variations of the Anti-Venom costume appear in ''
Marvel vs Capcom Infinite
is a fighting video game developed and published by Capcom. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Marvel vs. Capcom'' series of crossover games. Like previous installments, players control characters from both the Marvel Comics and Capcom univers ...
''.
* The Anti-Venom symbiote appears as an alternate costume for Eddie Brock / Venom in ''
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3''.
* The Eddie Brock incarnation of Anti-Venom appears as a playable character in ''
Marvel Strike Force
''Marvel Strike Force'' is a turn-based role-playing mobile game by FoxNext (later acquired by Scopely) for Android, iOS, and iPadOS platforms. The game was launched worldwide on March 28, 2018, and is primarily set in the Marvel Universe.
Pre ...
''.
* The Eddie Brock incarnation of Anti-Venom appears as a playable character in ''
Marvel Puzzle Quest
''Marvel Puzzle Quest'' is a video game released by D3 Publisher and Marvel Entertainment on October 3, 2013, and developed by Demiurge Studios. The fourth installment in the '' Puzzle Quest'' series, it is a free-to-play, match-three ''Bejeweled ...
''.
* The Eddie Brock incarnation of Anti-Venom appears as a playable character in ''
Marvel Contest of Champions
''Marvel Contest of Champions'' is a 2014 fighting video game developed and published by Kabam. It was released on December 10, 2014, for iOS and Android. The fighting game is primarily set in the Marvel Universe. The game is strongly based o ...
''.
Collected editions
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anti-Venom
Characters created by Dan Slott
Characters created by John Romita Jr.
Comics characters introduced in 2008
Fictional amorphous creatures
Fictional characters who can turn invisible
Fictional characters with healing abilities
Fictional parasites and parasitoids
Fictional soldiers
Marvel Comics aliens
Marvel Comics characters who are shapeshifters
Marvel Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds
Marvel Comics characters with accelerated healing
Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength
Marvel Comics superheroes
Marvel Comics male superheroes
Marvel Comics extraterrestrial superheroes
Spider-Man characters
Merged fictional characters