History Characters / Venom

* Characters/MarvelComicsVillainousOrganizations Villainous Organizations]] [[note]]The Jury, Life Foundation, The Redeemers, Savage Six[[/note]]

* [[Characters/VenomHosts Hosts of Venom]]

** Characters/{{Carnage}}

** ComicBook/{{Carnage}}

* [[Characters/VenomTheSymbiote The Symbiote]]

[[WMG:[[center: [- [[Characters/VenomHosts Hosts of Venom]] | [[Characters/AlternateIncarnationsOfVenom Alternate Incarnations of Venom Characters Page]] | [[Characters/VenomRoguesGallery Venom Villains]] | [[Characters/{{Carnage}} Carnage Characters Page]]]] -]]]

This is the CharacterSheet for the Earth-616 incarnation of ComicBook/{{Venom}} and the various characters that have hosted the symbiote or prominently appeared in his stories/series. ComicBook/{{Carnage}}'s section got so big it had to be moved. For alternate universe incarnations of Venom, see [[Characters/AlternateIncarnationsOfVenom here]].
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[[foldercontrol]]

! The Venom Symbiote

[[folder:The Venom Symbiote]]

[[quoteright:265:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/venom_symbiote_8067.png]]

-> '''Debut:''' ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' Vol. 1 #252

A member of a species of interstellar parasites, the symbiote that later became known as Venom was imprisoned by the other members of its species due to its desire to aid its hosts instead of dominating them. This would be great and all, but for the minor detail that it isn't big on giving its hosts any kind of ''choice'' in the matter. An unknown amount of time later, the symbiote's prison was later incorporated into the make up of Battleworld by an entity called the Beyonder. Spider-Man, one of the heroes chosen by the Beyonder to fight in [[ComicBook/SecretWars1984 an epic battle of good versus evil]], accidentally freed the symbiote while looking for a machine to repair his damaged costume. Taking on the appearance of a jet-black costume with stylized white spider emblems on its chest and back, the "black suit" proved an invaluable asset to Peter, so he brought it with him when he returned to Earth. Desiring to deepen its bond with him, the symbiote began taking over his body as he slept, leaving him more exhausted when he woke up than he had been when he went to bed, and removed it.
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Some time afterwards, it bonded to disgraced reporter Eddie Brock, sensing his hatred of Spider-Man and becoming corrupted by Brock, the two twisting each other's emotions until only their hatred of Spider-Man renamed. Rechristening themselves Venom, they would become a threat to both Peter Parker and Spider-Man, using their knowledge of Spider-Man's identity to torment him. Eventually, Eddie, the symbiote and Peter would come to an uneasy truce to leave each other alone, and the symbiote would get up to... a lot afterwards.
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The symbiote has been bonded to others over the years, some of whom have taken the Venom identity and fulfilled various roles. Angelo Fortunato bought it at an auction and used it mostly for shits and giggles, ComicBook/MacGargan returned it to its supervillain roots, Flash Thompson was the first straight-up heroic version of Venom, and Lee Price used it to better his position in organised crime.

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* AcquiredPoisonImmunity: According to Eddie and later Flash, the symbiote has become StrongerWithAge and increasingly resilient to flames and sonics, especially the former. Just ''how'' resilient it's become [[DependingOnTheWriter depends on the writer]].
* AddictionPowered: An unconventional example, as the symbiote is addicted to rage and hatred, which it [[EmotionEater feeds off of]].
* AliensSpeakingEnglish: Justified in that all its hosts were English-speaking humans and it picked up the language over time. How ''eloquent'' it is depends on the writer.
* AllWebbedUp: The symbiote produces organic webbing from its biomass, and Peter has exploited this to weaken it.
* {{Angrish}}: After being tricked into returning to Eddie at the end of ''The Hunger'', the symbiote yells something that is transcribed with what looks like a Y, a period, and four backwards Ls.
* AnimalThemedSuperbeing: Venom is a spider-based anti-hero, justified in that the symbiote's first and favorite host was Franchise/SpiderMan. Considering its third host was called The Scorpion, this trope was doubled, in a way.
* ArchEnemy: The symbiote, regardless of its host, was formerly one of ComicBook/SpiderMan's most infamous and dangerous enemies.
* AxCrazy: It's first host was hell-bent on genocide so it adopted that personality. As its corruption worsened it became increasingly rage-filled and homicidal, even abandoning the twisted morality it had while bonded to Eddie. However, it can still be tamed by the right host -- unlike it's offspring Carnage, who enjoys bloody murder and is extremely bloodthirst.
* BelatedBackstory: Why the symbiote was in that container on Battleworld was revealed in the 1995 ''Planet of the Symbiotes'', released eleven years after ''ComicBook/{{Secret Wars|1984}}''. More details about its pre-Earth past have since been revealed in the 2008 ''Venom: Dark Origin'', 2016 ''ComicBook/VenomSpaceKnight'', and 2018 ''Poison X'' series.
* BioArmor: The Venom symbiote and others of its species act as living costumes or suits of armor for its hosts. The 1996 ''The Hunger'' miniseries showed it is capable of forming an exoskeleton resembling that of a [[Franchise/{{Alien}} Xenomorph]]. Bonus points for it resembling body armor when bonded to Flash, and Agent Venom's "Mark III" concept art even has "H.R. Giger-y bioarmor" as a design note and CallBack to ''The Hunger''.
* BlankWhiteEyes: The symbiote has large white eyespots originally in the shape of Spider-Man's lenses, though after bonding to Eddie Brock they became distorted. When bonded to Mac Gargan, his own eyes were visible within the symbiote's, although tinted green, yellow, or red with HellishPupils. When under control Venom IV's eyes are black lenses rimmed with white, although after his Guardians of the Galaxy makeover they became small white eyes, and are now glowing yellow with a white outline.
* BlatantLies: Reassures Flash Thompson it prefers him to Eddie Brock... immediately before abandoning him to rebond with Eddie, proclaiming "Home, sweet symbiosis!" Flash [[AintTooProudToBeg had to plead with it]], lie that he was desperate to have it back, and remind it that Eddie would constantly fight its control to get it to return to him.
* BlobMonster: What the symbiote amounts to sans-host, although it can manifest a head, eyes, mouth, and occasionally very rudimentary arms. [[spoiler:After its purification, it gains the ability to take on a humanoid form without a host. Though it can only stay like that for half an hour at a time (but with practice it could stay in humanoid form longer), and it prefers being bonded to Flash anyway.]]
* BloodbathVillainOrigin: The symbiote's supposed first host used it to commit a GenocideFromTheInside, leaving it corrupted and addicted to rage and violence.
* BodyPocket: The symbiote is capable of creating pouches in its body that its hosts can use to store objects.
* BodySurf: It makes its way back to Eddie by doing this in ''Separation Anxiety'', and also jumps from Groot to Rocket to Drax when stuck with the ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: At the beginning of Volume 4, Venom is brain-jacked by the Symbiote God, causing it to alternate between being sane and bloodthirsy psychotic rambling that makes Carnage seem sane.
* BrownNote: Killed the invading symbiotes in ''Planet of the Symbiotes'' and several of the Venom/Carnage fusions in ''Minimum Carnage'' with a [[PsychicAssistedSuicide psychic scream]].
* BrutalHonesty: The symbiote cares nothing for tact when it criticizes someone.
* CategoryTraitor: The Venom symbiote was deemed this by the symbiote that took over Rune in ''Venom vs. Rune''.
--> '''Rune's Symbiote:''' (to Ann Weying) How we gorged on the life-blood of your puny civilization... accepting our birthright as [[UltimateLifeform the most perfect predators in the universe]]... and even your vaunted champions were helpless against our race. Your world was ours by right of conquest... until the traitor calling themself [sic] Venom... betrayed his people... and murdered our entire race... save for us. This host body protected us from Venom's attack. Isn't that lucky? Now Venom will suffer for his betrayal... writhing in agonizing pain, the memory of your painful death still burning in his brain.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: The symbiote was exiled from its planet for refusing to kill its hosts, which deemed it a freak amongst its species. That's right, Venom was the ''one'' exception to an AlwaysChaoticEvil race. Of course, this characterization doesn't make a good villain, and was promptly forgotten by every writer on the planet, as prior to its return to the Klyntar Homeworld it was usually presented as a [[ToServeMan man-eating]] parasitic monstrosity. Arguably justified as it's experiences on Earth are explicitly mentioned to have driven it insane.
* ChestInsignia: A large white spider, usually with a matching symbol on its back. Originally thought to have been a result of the symbiote imitating Spider-Woman II's costume, [[spoiler:but it was present even with its original host]].
* TheChosenOne: A dark example. ComicBook/{{Mephisto}} selected the symbiote as one of his potential replacements for the Descent and bestowed a Hell Mark on it.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Its favorite hosts are Spider-Man, Eddie Brock and Flash in that order, and if the opportunity to rebond with either of them presents itself the symbiote will happily screw over its current host to do so.
* CivilizationDestroyer: The symbiote's supposed first host used it to slaughter his civilization and reduce his homeworld to a barren wasteland.
* ClingyCostume: It does ''not'' like letting go of a host, and in fact the reason it hates Spider-Man so much is because of how close they came to being permanently bonded before he rejected it and forced them apart.
* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: The symbiote can bestow superpowers on mundane hosts, mainly patterned after Spider-Man's due to its absorption of his DNA, and can also drastically boost the powers of superpowered hosts. A deconstruction, as it shows exactly what happens when your clothes have that kind of power...
* CombatTentacles: The symbiote can project pseudopodia and tendrils to attack and restrain prey, although Venom usually uses them in the guise of [[AllWebbedUp webbing]]. Superior Venom takes this to a new level by having the symbiote turn Otto's robotic spider legs into segmented tentacles resembling the ones he'd worn as Dr. Octopus.
* TheComicallySerious: In its attempts at coaching[=/=]cheerleading Angelo in ''Marvel Knights''.
* ContagiousHeroism: Being bonded to a heroic host helped undo some of the symbiote's corruption.
* TheCorruptible: The symbiote started out benevolent, but exposure to evil hosts filled it with hatred and bloodlust. Even after it's cleansed, Flash worries that his bad temper will adversely affect it. Bonding to Mercurio for a short amount of time is enough to send it into a downward spiral back into the bloodthirsty monster it once was. After recovering from bonding to Mercurio it later rebonded to Eddie but the chemicals in his system from working with the FBI started to drive it mad resulting in Eddie working with Alchemax for a cure. After being cured, both Knull and Malekith would attempt to brainwash it to use it for their purposes.
* CostumeEvolution: The symbiote has changed its appearance with each host, and sometimes [[DependingOnTheArtist while bonded to the same host]].
* CurbStompBattle:
** During one of its "[[PuppeteerParasite nighttime patrols]]" with Peter, it came across the Sandman posing as a dock worker in ''Spider-Man Family'' #1 and picked a fight with him. When Baker overwhelmed Spider-Man with his shapeshifting powers and tried to crush him under some shipping containers, the symbiote separated from Peter and returned the favor with its {{Lovecraftian superpower}}s before tearing him apart from the inside out.
** A similar story in the 2018 ''Amazing Spider-Man'' Annual had the symbiote thrash Hammerhead, who it only spares at the insistence of a bystander that it had befriended. Hammerhead is left so pissed off, unnerved and embarrassed that he tells his mooks to LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain.
* CreateYourOwnVillain: All the symbiote originally wanted was to [[HeroicHost help]] Spider-Man. It was only when Peter rejected it on the grounds that it was alive and trying to [[FusionDance permanently bond with him]] that it became embittered and angry.
* ADarkerMe: Depending on the writer, the symbiote has this effect on its hosts whenever it's not outright [[PuppeteerParasite controlling them]].
* DarkAndTroubledPast: As revealed in ''Venom: Space Knight'', Venom was born with the intent of becoming an Agent of the Cosmos, a noble warrior dedicated to maintaining peace across the universe. However, its first host used it to carry out a genocide against his homeworld, reducing it to a barren wasteland and corrupting the symbiote into a bloodthirsty predator. It was also captured and weaponized at some point by an alien arms-dealer named Haze Mancer. Despite this, it retained its desire to protect and empower its hosts, eventually leading to the other corrupted symbiotes viewing it as an aberration and imprisoning it.
* DarkIsNotEvil: After being purged of its hatred and corruption, the symbiote is benevolent, but still has a menacing appearance when not bonded to Flash.
* DeadpanSnarker: When allowed to speak for itself, the symbiote often displays [[{{Pun}} biting wit and a venomous tongue]].
* DealWithTheDevil: The symbiote made a deal with Mephisto to obtain demonic powers via the Hell Mark, though it later admitted this was a mistake.
* DeclarationOfProtection: When it [[WhatTheHellHero is berating Flash for his poor treatment of it]], it mentions all it wants is to protect him.
* DemBones: In a ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' story that showed what could have happened if everyone had remained on Battleworld, Spider-Man and the symbiote's minds eventually became one, and Spidey's body has been reduced to nothing more than a skeleton they use as a base for their humanoid form.
* DemonicPossession: After [[ComicBook/GhostRider Zarathos]] was separated from Alejandra and captured by Blackheart, the symbiote seized control of Flash intending to absorb the Spirit of Vengeance and gain demonic powers. Later, Daimon Hellstrom possessed the symbiote with a powerful demon to turn it into one of his Monsters of Evil, but Venom used the Hell Mark to suppress it. While the symbiote and the demon initially [[VillainTeamUp got along]], the symbiote realized the demon was slowly pulling a GrandTheftMe on it and shunted the Hell Mark and demon onto its long-assimilated clone, which it puked up and bonded to Andi, turning her into Mania.
* DependingOnTheArtist: In the early 2000's, the symbiote's spider symbol was drawn to look like [[http://www.chasingamazingblog.com/wp-content/uploads/Hunger_03-738x1024.jpg a bony protrusion]], or something similar. It was the same with its clone from the Patricia Robertson[=/=]She-Venom II series. Some of the portrayals of it in the mid-2010's give it an "H. R. Giger-y" look similar to the Xenomorphs from the ''Alien'' franchise, even when it's completely amorphous.
* TheDreaded: Despite its weaknesses being more-or-less common knowledge and often being a force for good, SHIELD considers the Venom symbiote to be a top-level threat to humanity, on par with ComicBook/DoctorDoom, ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, and the ComicBook/RedSkull. Symbiotes in general are this throughout the galaxy, as a drunk Kree who'd never been to Earth before recognizes it as a corrupted klyntar and wets himself before being eaten.
* EatingTheEnemy: When bonded to Deadpool, Mac Gargan, and Flash Thompson, the symbiote tended to deal with threats by eating them. Even robots and deific beings like Asgardians, Frost Giants, and [[EldritchAbomination Old Ones]] (albeit glamoured as fairies) are on the menu.
* EmotionEater: In some storylines the symbiote feeds off its host's negative emotions, and amplifies them as well. This becomes a problem when the symbiote is purged of its rage and bloodlust, since there's nothing stopping Flash's own hotheadedness from causing it to relapse.
* EnlightenmentSuperpowers: By letting go - or rather, being forcibly purged - of its bloodlust, the symbiote becomes exponentially more powerful.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: After finally getting its wish to rebond to its first host granted in ''Superior Spider-Man'' #24, the ''symbiote'' [[{{Irony}} is the one disgusted by "Spider-Man" and tries to leave him]] to return to Flash, [[ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine only for Otto to force it to stay bonded to him]].
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: [[NoNameGiven Technically has no name]], so it is variously referred to as the "Black Suit", "TheSymbiote", or simply "Venom". Thus far, the only confirmed member of its species (discounting ''possible'' symbiotes like Krobaa and [[http://www.comicvine.com/dreadface/4005-11889/ Dreadface]]) to have been given a real name, and not just a nickname, is [[Characters/XMenVillains Gabriel Summers's]] minion [[AVillainNamedZrg Zzxz]].
** Eddie has recently taken to calling it "His Other"
* EvilCostumeSwitch: Has been used as one for Spider-Man in most media following the 1994 Animated Series.
* TheExile: The 1995 "Planet of the Symbiotes" arc revealed that the symbiote was the sole member of its species to refuse to kill its hosts, and as a result was imprisoned until Spider-Man accidentally released it.
* EvilParentsWantGoodKids: Zig-zagged. On one hand, Carnage is viewed as far too depraved even by Venom's standards, but on the other, grandchild Toxin turning out too ''heroic'' also displeased the symbiote, to put it mildly. [[spoiler:Post-cleansing, the symbiote has voiced concern over how its past children have turned into monsters and explicitly wants to make sure that its latest, youngest spawn turns out ''good''.]]
* ExpressiveMask: Due to said "mask" being the symbiote's face.
* FalseSoulmate: The symbiote believes it's meant to be with Peter, who wants ''nothing'' to do with it.
--> '''Spider-Man:''' He doesn't have to be dead. You could save him if you wanted to. It's not too late, even now.
--> '''Symbiote:''' Do not want Brock. Never did. Only '''you'''.
* FakeMemories: [[spoiler: ''Venom'' vol 4 #11 reveals that its been routinely feeding Eddie false memories of other family members and possibly even him having cancer so that they never would leave each other again, seeing as there's something big coming their way]].
* FangsAreEvil: Even with no host, the symbiote often manifests a [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily huge maw full of fangs]]. This is seemingly a universal trait of corrupted (and even some non-corrupted) Klyntar, to the point where the Toxin symbiote sneers that Venom let the puny humans defang it.
* FantasticDrug: The effect the symbiote has on its host has been compared to a highly addictive drug, one that just happens to be sentient and carnivorous.
* FateWorseThanDeath: How it regarded the prospect of returning to Eddie in ''The Spectacular Spider-Man: The Hunger''. Shortly afterwards, it and Eddie parted ways, although it's tried to rebond with him twice after his cancer was cured.
--> '''Symbiote:''' To combine with the flesh of Eddie Brock is to accept his cancer; an eternity of disease and suffering.
* FightOffTheKryptonite: While the symbiote is always weak to fire and sonics, ''how'' weak it is to them varies, as it once cowered at the sight of a lighter, but tanked an explosion while bonded to Mac Gargan, and likewise tanked being blasted by Jack O'Lantern's broomstick glider's WeaponizedExhaust, flamethrowers, and even {{hellfire}} when bonded to Flash.
* FireForgedFriends: The symbiote and its fourth host, Flash Thompson, have gone through many trials and tribulations together, and over time developed a begrudging respect for each other that became genuinely sincere after it was cleansed. Even after returning to Eddie it inwardly admits it misses him, and a still-corrupted version of the symbiote in ''Secret Wars: Spider-Island'' was proud to call Flash its friend.
* FoodChainOfEvil:
** The symbiotes are the preferred prey of the [[http://www.comicvine.com/xenophage/4005-42567/ Xenophages]], who find ones that have been bonded to their host for a long time (like Venom) to be particularly delectable. Them aside, feral symbiotes seem to be [[TheDreaded feared]] as one of the galaxy's alpha predators, if Zzxz and the symbiotes that attacked S.W.O.R.D is any indication.
** One of the worlds they conquered was eaten by ComicBook/{{Galactus}}. Due to their GeneticMemory and HiveMind, the entire species is now innately terrified of him, to the point that the mere sight of the ComicBook/SilverSurfer caused the Carnage symbiote to experience a FreakOut, one that was severe enough to briefly traumatize Cletus, who the symbiote left out of fright.
** The Poisons are a species of crystalline aliens with the ability to "consume" klyntar symbiotes, erasing their individuality. During ''ComicBook/{{Venomverse}}'' the Poisons exclusively target incarnations of Venom.
* FromCamouflageToCriminal: The symbiote was bred to be an Agent of the Cosmos, a noble soldier keeping peace across the Cosmos. Instead, it was corrupted into a bloodthirsty predator and has bonded to several career criminals and warlords.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: A meta example, seeing as how the symbiote started out as a new costume for Spider-Man and was initially unpopular with fans, so it was retconned into an alien parasite that later became one of Spider-Man's most dangerous and popular enemies.
* GeneticMemory: Possesses a weakened version of the non-corrupted symbiotes' HiveMind in the form of inheriting genetic memories of its prior hosts and the symbiote species' prior conquests.
* GlasgowGrin: Its mouth is disturbingly wide and lacks cheeks.
* GoodCounterpart: The Venom symbiote has one in the form of the Anti-Venom symbiote, which was formed when Martin Li accidentally fused the remnants of the Venom symbiote in Eddie's blood to his white blood cells. Unlike the Venom symbiote, the Anti-Venom symbiote had no will of its own, and was even immune to the symbiotes' traditional weaknesses.
* GoMadFromTheRevelation:
** ''Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars'' #3 half-jokingly reveals that the true origin of the symbiote's corruption wasn't Peter rejecting it or Eddie Brock's hatred after all... but a couple of minutes spent bonded to Deadpool immediately before being found by Spider-Man for the first time. The two following events simply sent it on a downward spiral.
** When it was touched by a minion of [[EldritchAbomination Oberoth'M'Gozz]] in the ''Thunderbolts'' Annual, the symbiote became temporarily inert after screaming unintelligibly, with Flash noting that he's never heard it make a noise like the one it'd just emitted.
* HadToBeSharp: The symbiote expresses this sentiment in ''Venom: Dark Origins'', framing itself as the means by which weak, defenceless hosts can become apex predators.
* HandicappedBadass: The US Army used a drug - possibly the same one Norman Osborn gave Mac Gargan - to suppress the symbiote, greatly limiting its ability to influence Flash. However, the drug's effects only lasts for 48 hours and the symbiote is still able to take over Flash when he gets angry. When Flash joined the Avengers, Hank [=McCoy=] created a perfected version that chemically lobotomized it, although its effects were still temporary.
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: It was initially benevolent, but Deadpool's psychosis, Peter's rejection, and Eddie's hatred sent it down a dark path. Having been [[HeelFaceBrainwashing forcefully purged of its bloodlust]], it was restored to its original benevolent state. Bonding to Mercurio seemingly causes it to succumb to corruption once more, though it admits being good was fun while it lasted. The next issue reveals that it [[HeelFaceMole was mostly an act]], but it rapidly succumbs to bloodlust and hatred soon afterwards. It later began to recover only for it and Flash to be forcefully separated resulting in it needing to find a new host. Unfortunately it choose Lee Price because of his similarities to Flash but instead of the good man the symbiote expects Lee to be, Lee turns out to be a sociopath, who than uses it to launch his super villain career. Eddie later reclaims it and they return to being anti-heroes but the symbiote becomes sick thanks to chemicals put in Eddie's system by the FBI which starts to drive it mad. Eddie is able to cure it however, leaving it as a Face for the time being.
* HeroicSacrifice: During their falling out, Peter succumbed to the bells before the symbiote did. He would have died had it not used the last of its strength to drag him to safety before seemingly dying from its own injuries.
%%* HulkSpeak:
* HungryMenace: When corrupted, the symbiote is a ravenous blob of teeth and tentacles with a taste for flesh that it tries to influence its hosts into satiating. It only gets worse until the Klyntar hive mind purges its corruption.
--> '''Mini-Marvels Symbiote:''' Sure, you're fine with my super-strength, but everyone gets all bent out of shape when I get the munchies!
* IconicLogo: The stylized white spider emblem on its chest and back, though each host other than Peter, Eddie, and Mania - who share the same design - has a unique variation.
* IfICantHaveYou: Its relationship to Peter and Eddie can be boiled down to this, as whenever it's not trying to kill them it jumps at the first opportunity to rebond with them.
* IrrationalHatred: The symbiote hates Spider-Man because he didn't want to be its host after finding out it was alive, and because of the corruptive effect Eddie Brock and Mac Gargan have had on it.
* ItHasBeenAnHonor: The symbiote says something to this extent to Flash when it returns to its homeworld. The alternate universe symbiote seen in ''Secret Wars: Spider-Island'' says as much when separating from Flash to bond to the Spider-Queen, retorting that Flash wasn't just another host, but its friend.
* KillItWithFire: Its second biggest weakness is fire, although it appears to have built up something of a resistance.
* KillerGorilla: After being accidentally separated from Flash by Scorn in ''Carnage U.S.A.'', the symbiote makes its way back to him by possessing a gorilla, which it even gives the ChestInsignia.
* KillerRabbit: One of the memories it shows Eddie Brock in ''Dark Origin'' portrays the symbiote bonding to a group of dying baby rodent-like aliens on a DeathWorld in order to protect them.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia:
** Dr. Strange's memory wipe purged the symbiote's knowledge of Spider-Man's secret identity, but not its desire to be re-bonded to him.
** The symbiote's cleansing [[spoiler:erased all of its memories of its prior hosts except for Flash and its original host]].
* LivingWeapon: When the army confiscated the symbiote from Mac Gargan, they had the bright idea of using it as a combat suit by keeping it chemically lobotomized. The first few subjects succumbed to its bloodlust and were terminated, with Flash being the first to successfully control it.
* LoudOfWar: Its biggest weakness is high-frequency sounds.
* LovecraftianSuperpower: While the symbiote has consistently been capable of forming CombatTentacles, some of the more visceral portrayals of it make it resemble something straight out of the Cthulhu Mythos: an amorphous black mass of writhing tendrils, spikes, and slobbering fanged mouths, ravenously devouring everything in its path.
* MagicEnhancement:
** Remnants of the Venom symbiote in Eddie's body were altered and fused with his leukocytes by Martin Li's Lightforce powers to become the Anti-Venom symbiote. The Anti-Venom symbiote could produce Lightforce-infused antibodies capable of curing any malady under the Sun, and was immune to traditional symbiote weaknesses -- only being vulnerable to Mister Negative's Darkforce powers and a super-venom made specifically to kill it by Norman Osborn; though it did not possess a mind or will of its own.
** The ''Grim Hunt'' and ''Venom'' Volume 2 arcs imply that the symbiote's bonding to Spider-Man connected it to the Web of Life, the supernatural force that empowers all spider-themed superheroes and villains. However, a FAQ in ''ComicBook/SpiderVerse'' officially jossed this, stating that the symbiotes' DNA is incompatible with the Web of Life.[[note]]That incarnations of Venom and Carnage are later seen in the Web of Life calls this into question, as the IRL reason is that Marvel had to draw the character inclusion line ''somewhere''.[[/note]]
** During the ''Circle of Four'' arc, the symbiote attempted to absorb [[ComicBook/GhostRider Zarathos]] and bargained with Mephisto to receive demonic powers via the Hell Mark, but neither panned out as well as it would have liked.
* MaternallyChallenged: Six of the Venom symbiote's offspring were corrupted, and for much of its existence the Venomsymbiote wanted to kill them -- especially its eldest child, Carnage.
* MindRape:
** When Danny Ketch first used his Penance Stare against Venom, it worked for a few seconds, but then the symbiote's presence somehow disrupted it, causing an explosion that briefly incapacitated Danny. The next time he tried it, Danny made sure to use his Hellfire to force the symbiote to retract first, leaving Eddie defenseless.
** When Johnny Blaze tried to use his Penance Stare (which was repeatedly [[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/11114/111144301/4654386-punisher3.jpg implied]] to be weaker than Danny's) on Agent Venom during his [[LetsYouAndHimFight challenge]] to see if the Thunderbolts could beat the unleashed symbiote, Venom was completely unfazed and laughed it off whereas Blaze was left unconscious from the memories of its past hosts and all the monstrous acts it had committed.
* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: After bonding with Eddie the symbiote consistently manifests a wide mouth of fangs even when not bonded to a host. Spider-Man practically said this word-for-word in one story. A few appearances show that it can look [[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/1/15659/3434278-venom-separation_anxiety%232-escape_route.jpg just]] [[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/1/15659/3434284-venom-separation_anxiety%234-here.jpg as]] [[http://symbiote.fr/images/comics/venom-symbiotes0109.jpg creepy]] without them.
* MySuitIsAlsoSuper: The reason Peter kept it and brought it to Earth is because of its versatility and the fact it augmented his abilities. One of the Spider-Man novels describes it as feeling light as silk but as durable as armor.
* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: After being cleansed, the symbiote is capable of hearing the voice of the cosmos and taking on humanoid form without a host for short periods of time.
* NighInvulnerability: Aside from intense heat, sonic vibrations, and being eaten by other symbiotes and Xenophages, symbiotes are almost indestructible. Their hosts are less-so, but that's what the HealingFactor is for.
* NoBiologicalSex: Has no sexual characteristics or gender identity. The default third-person pronoun for the symbiote is "it", though a number of characters refer to the symbiote using male pronouns. In addition, Spider-Man has [[DeadpanSnarker joked]] that Venom's obsession and jealously makes it come off as a psychotic ex-girlfriend, much to the entity's annoyance.
* NoSell:
** Due to their unique heritages, [[ComicBook/SheHulk Lyra]] and Senator Ward are apparently completely immune to the symbiote, and everything it can throw at them. The latter was able to handle it like it was nothing more than a blob of silly putty.
** When [[ComicBook/GhostRider Johnny Blaze]] tried to take it out with the Penance Stare, the symbiote not only proved immune but is so saturated in evil that it [[HeroicRROD causes him to burn out]].
** A group of Skrulls who attempt to take the symbiote from Flash and have it bond to one of them discover, just a little too late, that it prefers Flash.
%%** ComicBook/TrueBelievers member Mavis Trent ("Payback") is bonded to a highly evolved symbiote (it is akin to an {{Energy Being|s}}, and prefers positive emotions to negative ones) which has largely [[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/1/15776/600650-payback6.jpg overcome]] the intense heat and sound weaknesses.
* NotGoodWithRejection: The symbiote's reaction to Peter rejecting it was to break free of the ComicBook/FantasticFour's containment and disguise itself as his original costume in order to rebond with him. Subsequently it alternates between [[IfICantHaveYou trying to kill past hosts who've spurned it]] and [[PuppeteerParasite forcing itself on them]] if the opportunity presents itself.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: ''Venom'' Vol. 2 #41 reveals it's not nearly as brain-dead as Flash likes to think it is.
* OffingTheOffspring: Instinctually hates Carnage (its spawn), and Toxin (its... grand-spawn). The ''Venom[=/=]Carnage'' miniseries states this is the norm, and that a symbiote having anything other than an antagonistic relationship with its offspring would be weird.
--> '''Venom:''' Love? Between father and child? [[YourNormalIsOurTaboo That's creepy... perverse... unsymbiote]].
* OminousObsidianOoze: In all of the Venom Symbiote's incarnations, it is a shapeshifting blob of black gunk that can bond with a host and give them superhuman powers (usually at great cost).
* OutsideGenreFoe: Of all of Spidey's rogues gallery, who are mostly science and technology-related but still more-or-less Earth based, the Venom symbiote stands out by being an alien lifeform.
* OverlyLongTongue: Beginning with Erik Larsen's run, the symbiote is often portrayed with a prehensile serpentine tongue.
* {{Panacea}}: With the exception of a few drugs and poisons tailored to suppress it, symbiotes render their hosts immune to any terrestrial disease ([[ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} except]] [[http://i.imgur.com/xzVKG6i.jpg diabetes]]) and can even keep terminal illnesses like cancer in remission for prolonged periods of time or outright cure them. The Anti-Venom symbiote takes this UpToEleven by producing antibodies for every malady the human body can be afflicted with and then some.
* PapaWolf: Not usually, as it's spent a long time trying to [[OffingTheOffspring kill its spawn]], ''but'' [[spoiler:the symbiote is this towards it's youngest child, perhaps as a result of it being spawned after the symbiote's cleansing. During and after the symbiote's pregnancy with it, it went out of its way to protect it from attacks it could withstand -- putting Eddie in danger in the process -- and taking raising it with Eddie ''very'' seriously]]. It also shares this protectiveness to Dylan as well, considering that it corners Carl in his mind while disguised as Eddie, [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech gives him a verbal dressing down]] and [[TranquilFury coldly threatens to kill him if he goes near Dylan or Eddie again]].
* ParentalFavoritism: In contrast to the symbiote's usual hostile approach to their children, its attitude [[spoiler:towards its youngest spawn is a complete 180. The fact that the symbiote's biggest fear is having its youngest spawn turn out like its older siblings puts this quite aptly]].
* ParentsAsPeople: Portrayed particularly well with [[spoiler:its latest spawn. The symbiote's fears about having another baby after its previous offspring were corrupted into monsters, it going out of its way to protect the infant while pregnant, and wanting to raise the infant right with Eddie definitely play into this trope]].
* PickyPeopleEater: When bonded to Eddie, the symbiote developed a taste for brains, which was explained as it needing chemicals found in brains to survive but it would limit it's victims based on Eddie's morality and later would willingly substitute brains for chocolate. After abandoning Eddie, it's become ''[[HorrorHunger much]]'' less picky about who and what it eats.
* PowerCopying: The Venom symbiote bestows its hosts with powers similar to those of Spider-Man, but amplified. With Mac, it once manifested a scorpion tail, and with the ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan it turned his waldo spider legs into biomechanical CombatTentacles.
* PowerNullifier: The symbiote set off Peter's SpiderSense [[{{Foreshadowing}} when it first bonded to him]], but it spent so long bonded to him that once it bonded to Eddie it no longer registered as a threat. Though there have been one or two instances of Spider-Man sensing Venom, either due to continuity errors, or to imply that Venom can "turn off" the nullification ability.
* ProdigalHero: The symbiote was imprisoned by its brethren for not being evil. With some irony, years later it arrived on the symbiote homeworld as a bloodthirsty monster, and was promptly purged of its hatred.
* ProjectileWebbing: After bonding to Spider-Man, the symbiote learned how to convert its constituent matter into webbing, which it uses both for [[BuildingSwing transportation]] and restraining enemies. This "organic webbing" is both thicker and stronger than Spider-Man's own, but overusing it weakens the symbiote.
* PuppeteerParasite:
** While bonded to Peter, the symbiote would take his body out for crime-fighting joy-rides while he was sleeping. After [[TeachHimAnger bonding to Eddie]] the symbiote developed a habit of usurping control of its subsequent hosts Mac Gargan and Flash and going on feeding frenzies.
** It also did this to Peter, [[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk the Hulk]], and [[Comicbook/TheMightyThor even Thor]] in a ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' story. (In that AlternateUniverse, it was not a symbiote at all, but a true parasite.)
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: If given the opportunity to speak for itself, the symbiote is fond of dishing out scathing remarks and criticisms to both its opponents and unsatisfactory hosts.
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: During Flash's tenure as a member of Red Hulk's Thunderbolts, the white parts of the symbiote became red, making it [[MythologyGag look similar]] to the [[http://41.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lx0yxmplTx1qc63ooo1_1280.jpg original concept for the symbiote]] [[DevelopmentGag created by Randy Schueller]].
* RedemptionFailure: Zig-Zagged. The symbiote's cleansing by the Agents of the Cosmos is undone when it bonds to Mercurio, causing it to relapse back into its evil state. While it later comes to its senses, ''wanting'' to be good but struggling to suppress its violent urges, bonding to Lee Price and being tricked by Spider-Man causes it to almost completely revert back to its bloodthirsty, villainous self when it returns to Eddie Brock. It still wants to do good, but will now kill anyone that would in any way threaten to undo its bond with Eddie. It's later on shown to still have a healthy sense of self-awareness and ability to feel remorse, however, and after being cured by Alchemax it shows enough restraint ''not'' to murder Spider-Woman when she assaults it and Eddie in their own apartment, opting to try and convince her to leave them peacefully instead. As shown in ''Poison-X'', the Symbiote is occasionally more reasonable than Eddie himself.
* ReformedButNotTamed:
** The symbiote actually prefers Flash Thompson as a host, or so it said just before ditching him for Eddie - it ''did'' return to him, though - but that doesn't stop it from taking him over and eating people when it gets mad.
** After reuniting with Eddie, the symbiote ''wants'' to be heroic, but its re-corruption is interfering with this and conflicting with Eddie's insistence that they not relapse into "Lethal Protector" mode.
* TheReptilians: With its gaping mouth, pointy teeth, and flailing tongue, Venom's face invokes this trope and [[ReptilesAreAbhorrent plays it for all its worth]].
* RevengeBeforeReason: The symbiote is ''very'' spiteful, especially towards old hosts who've spurned it, and is obsessed with either killing or rebonding to Spider-Man and Eddie.
* RoyalWe: The symbiote likes to be acknowledged by its host and often takes offence if they don't use first person plural pronouns. A sign of it beginning to influence its host is them using the first-person plural in reference to themselves, though some hosts have averted this trend.
* SanitySlippage: ''ComicBook/VenomSpaceKnight'', ''Venom'' Vol. 3, and the rebranded ''Venom'' Vol. 1 show the symbiote slowly succumbing to rage and bloodlust again after being cleansed by the Klyntar Hive Mind, almost-completely reverting back to the predatory monster it once was despite Flash and Eddie's best attempts to restore and preserve its sanity. It later on starts getting better again, but still isn't completely freed from it's bloodlust.
* SerialKillerKiller: When it goes off on its own in ''Venom: The Hunger'', the symbiote initially sustains itself by feeding only on "deserving" victims like a {{Domestic Abuse}}r and gang members. The rift that had grown between it and Eddie causes it to be a lot less choosy in the similar ''Spectacular Spider-Man'' storyline ''also'' titled ''The Hunger''.
* ShapeshifterWeapon: The Venom symbiote was first shown possessing this power during Eddie Brock's fight with Nova, though it was rarely used and most writers acted like it was unique to Carnage. When bonded to Mac Gargan it once formed a scorpion-like tail to emulate his former identity; and when bonded to Flash it frequently formed weapons like [[BladeBelowTheShoulder blade-arms]] and [[EpicFlail tentacle-flail]]s.
* ShipperOnDeck: During the final group battle against Lee Price, the Symbiote tells Eddie that Black Cat is "very capable". Eddie actually agrees, but reminds the Symbiote she probably hasn't forgotten or forgiven that they beat her half-to-death when they first met.
* ShootingSuperman: The symbiote can absorb gunfire and even send it right back, but high-caliber weapons can still penetrate it.
* SkeletonMotif: In more visceral depictions of the symbiote, the spider-emblem's legs are drawn as resembling bones, giving it the semblance of a ribcage.
* StarfishAlien: The exact nature of its species varies DependingOnTheWriter, but as a symbiotic shapeshifting blob from outer space, it definitely qualifies. This is especially the case in ''Venom: The Hunger'', where the forms the symbiote takes while running around on its own ran the gamut from a "serpentine monster" to "thing with a bunch of faces" to "[[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/1/15659/4166039-venom-the_hunger%232.jpg a spider-like monster]]".
* StrongerWithAge: According to Flash, the symbiote is magnitudes more powerful than it was when it first bonded to Spider-Man, and Klaw deduces that the more hosts a symbiote bonds to the stronger it becomes.[[note]]He was referring to the Carnage symbiote, but the logic still applies to Venom.[[/note]]
* SuperPoweredEvilSide: The symbiote functioned as one for Mac Gargan (initially) and Flash Thompson, taking over them if they got angry and being more than happy to chow down on whoever had the misfortune of pissing them off. Retcons have it functioning as one for Peter too, making him more aggressive and callous the more it bonds with him.
* SweetTooth: It didn't mind eating chocolate in place of brains... for a while.
--> '''Eddie''' (dumping out a sack of candy bars): I feel the Other salivate with anticipation.
* TheSymbiote: The Venom symbiote is arguably the TropeNamer and certainly the TropeCodifier, being an amorphous alien organism that functions as a living costume for its host.
* TheresNoPlaceLikeHome: Stories like ''Hunger'' and one from ''Spider-Man Family'' posit that the only thing the symbiote may want more than Peter is to return to its pre-pariah life on its planet of origin. [[spoiler:It gets that wish in ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' #23.]]
* TimeAbyss: Venom is indicated by ''Venom: Dark Origin'' #4 and ''Venom'' Vol. 4 #4 to have been created by Knull himself on Gorr's homeworld after his loss of All-Black, making it billions of years old at the very least.
** Taken even further in ''Venom: The End'', where he ends up outliving almost all other living things in the universe, before eventually dying in a HeroicSacrifice at the ripe old age of 1.5 trillion years old.
* ToServeMan: In its corrupted state, symbiote is a ravenous predator not above influencing or forcing its host to [[ImAHumanitarian commit cannibalism]]. The 1996 ''The Hunger'' miniseries explained that the symbiote needs phenethylamine for its own health - which can be found most abundantly in two sources: [[BrainFood human brains]] and chocolate. The 2003 ''Spectacular Spider-Man'' arc -- also titled ''The Hunger'' -- and other story lines going back to the "Planet of the Symbiotes" arc state that the symbiote drains its host of adrenaline, but these seem to have been forgotten following the symbiote's separation from Eddie.
* TooSpicyForYogSothoth:
** While it was being held in the [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Baxter Building]], the symbiote tried to coerce [[GooGooGodlike Franklin Richards]] into releasing it. When Franklin got close, the symbiote sensed how powerful he was, immediately backed off, and started cowering.
** Dirt Nap is a mutant who can copy a person's appearance and powers by swallowing them whole, and storing them in his body. Venom and Scream's symbiotes didn't agree with him, and... [[VomitIndiscretionShot well...]]
** When the symbiote first met [[ComicBook/ScarletSpider Ben Reilly]], it tried to leave the unconscious Eddie for him, sensing his [[CloningBlues similarities]] to Peter. It found the state of mind Ben was in at the time distasteful, and quickly returned to Eddie.
** The symbiote tried to eat Eddie in ''Venom: The Hunger'', but spat him out because Eddie had slathered himself in things like bug spray and cleaning chemicals in anticipation of this happening.
* TookALevelInBadass: In conjunction with TookALevelInJerkass: the symbiote was once the ''least'' evil member of the corrupted faction of its species, and was content with "playing superhero" as a shape shifting costume. Three hosts later, the symbiote is considered a top-tier threat by SHIELD, will seize total control of its host's body unless chemically suppressed, can tank explosions and fire-blasts, and has shown that it is not afraid of abandoning unsatisfactory hosts and surviving prolonged periods on its own.[[note]]An experience which nearly killed its purportedly more powerful progeny, the Carnage symbiote.[[/note]] Even before Eddie full-on rejected it and started its period of host jumping, it grew enough to be able to take Spider-Man in a 1-on-1 fight ''without a host''.
* TrulySingleParent: Symbiotes reproduce asexually, and Venom "gave birth" to [[AxCrazy Carnage]], [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Agony, Phage, Riot, Lasher, Scream]], Sleeper and technically [[GoodCostumeSwitch Anti-Venom]] and [[CloningBlues Mania]].
--> '''Toxin:''' If you're my father, Carnage--who's my mother?
--> '''Carnage:''' That ain't quite how the biology pans out, buster.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: A lot of people, including Spider-Man, have assumed that the symbiote is borderline harmless on its own. They usually learn the hard way that it is capable of putting up a fight even without a host.
* UnexplainedRecovery:
** It seemingly died after coming into contact with [[TouchOfDeath Styx]], but then reappeared to break Eddie (and, inadvertently, Cletus Kasady) out of prison.
** The symbiote disintegrates after being given a fatal overdose in ''Venom: Finale'', but resurfaces without explanation some time later. After a failed attempt at [[http://symbiote.fr/images/comics/spiderman-v20913.jpg returning to Peter]], it finds and forces itself on Eddie.
* UnwantedFalseFaith: The symbiote lashing out at Kraven for mentioning Spider-Man's name awed him into revering it as a dark predatory deity, the Spider's Black Spirit.
* UpgradeVsPrototypeFight:
** The Carnage symbiote is more resistant to attacks that affect Venom, is even stronger than him and Spider-Man combined, and has abilities the Venom symbiote doesn't. However, since Kasady is an utter bastard next to Brock's AntiHero (and pretty often there's other heroes like Spider-Man there to help 'soften up' Carnage), Venom most often comes out on top. This is played with during the ''Minimum Carnage'' arc, where Flash is forced to emulate Carnage in order to defeat him.
** The symbiote itself can be considered the "Upgrade" to Spider-Man; Venom bestows on hosts all of Peter's innate super-powers with some improvements such as increased strength and not being reliant on web-shooters -- not to mention its own innate powers like CombatTentacles and ShapeshifterWeapon. It's also not detectable by Peter's Spidey-sense, giving it a distinct edge against that specific fighter.
* UsedToBeASweetKid: All it initially wanted was [[IJustWantToBeLoved to be bonded with Peter]] and -- in the words of Killer Thrill -- "[play] superhero". Unfortunately, Deadpool's psychosis, Peter's rejection, and Eddie's hatred brought out the worst in it and it didn't look back until its corruption was purged.
* VampiricDraining: The symbiote leaves Eddie in ''Venom: The Hunger'' and ''The Spectacular Spider-Man: The Hunger'', and survives on its own by sucking phenethylamine (in the former) and a specific type of adrenaline (in the latter) out of people. A detective investigating the attacks in the latter even assumed they were the work of some kind of weird vampire.
* TheVoiceless: In its debut, it was mute. Beginning in the 2000's, however, it developed the ability to speak without using a host. It had an [[{{all lowercase letters}} all lowercase]] internal monologue in 1994's ''Separation Anxiety'', however.
--> '''Symbiote:''' must find eddie. others pursue us. men with fire to hurt me. eddie will help. with eddie we are venom. we are strong. [[ItIsDehumanizing these]] stand in my way. they are nothing. they can die.
* VoiceOfTheLegion: Beginning in the 2000's, the symbiote talks using distorted black speech bubbles with white print.
* VolumetricMouth: DependingOnTheArtist, the symbiote is often drawn with a far larger mouth than any human could possess.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Can form tentacles and pseudopods, transform into clothing, transform the host and [[ChameleonCamouflage turn invisible by blending in with the background]]. It can also transform its host's limbs into wings to enable gliding, or into bladed or blunt weaponry -- though it does not do this as frequently as its progeny.
* WeaksauceWeakness: Extreme noise and intense heat, the former more so than the latter.
* WeakToFire: Its weakness towards fire was greatly [[{{Flanderization}} Flanderized]] in the nineties; in one instance, Spider-Man was able to fend Venom off with a lighter. Yes, the villain who once bested the ''[[PlayingWithFire Human Torch]]'' was frightened off by a tiny little flame. However, in the ''Siege'' arc, tossing Mac Gargan into an explosion does nothing more than [[HulkingOut piss him off]].
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The symbiote claims to be pregnant with a child it actually cares for in ''The Spectacular Spider-Man: The Hunger''. The baby has not been brought up since, presumably due to either being miscarried, being intended as {{foreshadowing}} for what later became Toxin, or because the symbiote was just lying about it in an attempt to engender sympathy from Spider-Man. That said, when fighting Toxin, both symbiotes proclaim they intend to be the only one alive for an event they refer to as "the Spawning".
* WhatTheHellHero:
** The symbiote has frequently berated Spider-Man for rejecting it when it only wanted to help him and make him stronger. Although given how the symbiote took Peter's body on nightly joyrides, Peter has his reasons.
** In ''Venom'' Vol. 2 #41, it accuses Flash of rejecting its help when he confronts it, and outright attacks him for keeping it chemically suppressed in ''Superior Spider-Man'' #25.
** In ''Venom'' #151, when Eddie tells the symbiote they need to trust each other, the symbiote reveals it knows Eddie was the one behind Spider-Man's betrayal in ''Venom'' Vol. 3 #6 and chews him out for it.
* WholeCostumeReference: In-universe, the symbiote's appearance was based on the black-and-white Spider-Woman costume worn by Julia Carpenter, which Peter had been admiring.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: The sight of a cheap lighter and a campfire once caused the symbiote to quiver in terror, much to the derision of the Sinister Six during Eddie Brock's brief tenure as a member.
--> '''Sandman:''' Will you look at the big, bad supervillain... afraid of a little fire! Whatta sissy! Let me give you a hand, tough guy! And to think... I useta have nightmares about you!
--> '''Venom:''' DO NOT MOCK OUR PAIN!
--> '''Electro:''' I've got to admit it is a pretty silly weakness for an alleged super-criminal to have.[[note]]Says the guy who has been beaten by water.[[/note]]
* {{Yandere}}: Both before its purification and after its re-corruption, the symbiote can't stand the idea of any of its favorite hosts -- namely Peter Parker and Eddie Brock -- not wanting to be with it, and jumps at almost any opportunity to rebond with them when it isn't trying to kill them for rejecting it, and is more-than willing to kill ''anyone'' who even tangentially threatens to undermine its bond.
* YouCanTalk: The symbiote developed the ability to speak even without a host, starting with SssssnakeTalk-laden YouNoTakeCandle and becoming more articulate over time, although when doped up by Flash it reverts back to its early manner of speaking.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: The symbiote pulls this on Eddie (to try to return to Peter), Angelo (leaving him to die), Mac (to try to return to Eddie, and possess ComicBook/CarolDanvers), and Flash (to try to return to Eddie ''again'', and later to try to bond to Kaine). Finally, the symbiote jumps at the chance to bond with [=SpOck=] after being separated from Flash, becoming the [[http://images.wikia.com/marveldatabase/images/f/f4/Superior_Spider-Man_Vol_1_25_Textless.jpg Superior Venom]]. It's {{Double Subver|sion}}ted in the last case, as the symbiote realizes that Spider-Man isn't the same as he used to be and tries to return to Flash only to have [=SpOck=] [[{{Irony}} force it to stay bonded to him]].
* YouNoTakeCandle: When the symbiote figures out how to speak, its grammar isn't exactly the best although it later learns how to speak articulately. ''Venom'' Vol. 3 portrays the symbiote lapsing back into this as its corruption worsens.
[[/folder]]

! Venom's Spawn

!! Carnage

->See [[Characters/{{Carnage}} his character page here]].

!!Life Foundation Symbiotes / Hybrid / Mercury Team

[[folder:Life Foundation]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/absolute_carnage_scream_1_2_3_interlocking_covers_by_mark_bagley_e1565841733312.jpg]]

--> '''Spider-Man:''' Oh, man! Five enemies with the power of Venom and Carnage? Maybe I should've stayed in New York...

The Life Foundation believed that the conclusion of the Cold War would bring about a nuclear holocaust that would result in the mutually assured destruction of modern civilization. To that end, they constructed a large fall-out shelter and provide a place for their wealthy clients to live comfortably. In order to protect their future Utopian society, they created five symbiotes (Scream, Agony, Lasher, Phage, and Riot) forcibly spawned from the Venom symbiote.
----
* AbandonedWarehouse: Their hideout in ''Separation Anxiety''.
* BackFromTheDead: The symbiotes were seemingly aged to dust and the hosts killed in an explosion, but they returned through unknown means.
* FusionDance: After their hosts were killed by Scream, the Agony, Lasher, Phage, and Riot symbiotes merged into Hybrid.
* HiredGuns: The hosts were mercenaries before being bonded to their symbiotes.
* JaggedMouth: The exceptions being Lasher, who had NoMouth, and Riot, who had normal teeth instead that looked like an extension of his face.
* LovecraftianSuperpower: They're symbiotes, so this is a given.
* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: Four of the five, though two of those had {{Jagged Mouth}}s.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mercury Team]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mercuryteam_769.jpg]]

After the semi-successful implementation of Agent Venom, the Unites States Army formed PROJECT: LIQUID, an initiative intended to use Venom, Toxin, Hybrid, Scorn, and Anti-Venom as weapons to combat symbiote-related threats like Carnage. With Flash Thompson AWOL, Eddie Brock depowered, Scott Washington "[[KilledOffForReal unwilling to cooperate]]", and Patrick Mulligan "[[KilledOffscreen missing]]", the army formed Mercury Team as a subdivision of PROJECT: LIQUID, bonding four special ops soldiers from different military branches to the catatonic Lasher, Phage, Riot, and Agony symbiotes, which had separated after Hybrid was murdered by Eddie. Each member uses their respective symbiote for a specific purpose, and are used as a deterrent in black ops missions and symbiote-related scenarios. The team was sent to fight Carnage when the villain tried to take over Doverton, Colorado. Some time later, Carnage took his revenge by hunting down the Mercury Team and butchering them. The symbiotes were taken by Deadpool, who used them to gain an upper hand against Cletus.
----
* BackForTheDead: The team is wiped out by Carnage in ''Deadpool vs. Carnage'' #3, with the dog being the SoleSurvivor.
* {{Expy}}: Might have been inspired by the [[Characters/IncredibleHulkVillains Gamma Corps]], soldiers turned into Gamma Mutants [[StartXToStopX to combat]] Gamma Mutants.
* MilitarySuperhero: They're soldiers equipped with nerfed symbiotes.
* WreckedWeapon: The symbiotes were put in a catatonic state by Scott's murder and were incapable of correctly bonding to a host, granting only one superpower each. Agony gives SuperStrength, Riot SuperSpeed, Phage telescopic vision, and Lasher control of the dog it is grafted to.
* TheWorldsExpertOnGettingKilled: An army unit created for the express purpose of dealing with symbiote-related threats. They are all killed in their second storyline by a symbiote-related threat.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Agony]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/6379911_qwadf.png]]
-> '''Hosts:''' Leslie Gesneria; James Murphy; Tess
-> '''Debut:''' ''Venom: Lethal Protector'' #4; ''Carnage, U.S.A.'' #2; ''Absolute Carnage: Separation Anxiety'' #1

A mercenary selected by the Life Foundation to be bonded to one of the five symbiotes forcibly spawned from the Venom symbiote, Leslie developed the ability to spit a powerful acid and absorb chemical compounds such as Spider-Man's webbing. Alongside Scream, Lasher, Phage, and Riot, she attacked Eddie Brock, but was defeated and seemingly killed by Venom with help from Spider-Man. Leslie and the other Life Foundation symbiotes returned, having somehow survived, and begged Eddie for training to control their symbiotes. Venom refused, believing them to be lost causes like Carnage, and his prediction eventually came true: Scream, driven insane by her schizophrenia, murdered Donna and the other hosts. The Agony symbiote was transported to the Vault and experimented on, eventually merging with its brethren to become the Hybrid symbiote. After Eddie Brock killed Scott Washington, Hybrid's host, the fused symbiote separated back into its components, which were collected by the US army. Agony was bonded to Lieutenant James Murphy, a Navy Seal and heavy munitions expert missing his left arm, as part of the Mercury Team, and was used to help apprehend its "brother" Carnage after he took over Doverton, Colorado.
----
* BareYourMidriff: Leslie tended to wear tube tops.
* TheBigGuy: James for the Mercury Team.
* TheCameo: Along with several other obscure characters, the original Agony appeared in a teaser for ''VideoGame/MarvelAvengersAlliance''.
* ChainsawGripBFG: James's rail gun.
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: Leslie was the DarkChick. James is TheBigGuy.
* DarkChick: Despite being a mercenary, Leslie was shown to rather emotional, and has [[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/1/15659/3402242-agony-venom-separation_anxiety%232-leslie_consoles_carl.jpg a scene]] where she acts like a TeamMom.
* DistaffCounterpart: James Murphy to Leslie Gesneria.
* ElementalAbsorption: Along with being able to regurgitate chemicals, Leslie could also absorb them.
* HandicappedBadass: James is missing his left arm and uses the symbiote as a prosthetic.
* HeelRealization: Leslie, [[HeelFaceDoorSlam right before her death]].
* HollywoodAcid: Leslie's breath was highly corrosive.
* LegacyCharacter: Was bonded to Leslie Gesneria initially, and later to James Murphy.
* MagneticWeapons: James' weapon of choice is a huge railgun.
* MostCommonSuperpower: Leslie was quite busty, and the symbiote accentuated her figure.
* PoisonousPerson: Leslie used the symbiote to spit highly corrosive acid.
* PrehensileHair: Like Scream, Agony's hair was a mass of tendrils when bonded to Leslie; though unlike Scream, she never used it as a weapon.
* PurpleIsPowerful: The Agony symbiote is purple.
* SignatureMove: The Life Foundation team could do basically the same things as Carnage (form weapons, tentacles, etc.) Leslie was the only member of the quintet with genuinely unique powers, being able to spew acid, and harmlessly absorb chemicals like Spider-Man's webbing.
* SuperSpit: Leslie's acid breath.
* SuperStrength: James's and Deadpool's main power granted to him by the symbiote.
* TragicVillain: Leslie, when she had the symbiote. Best shown in her VillainousBSOD that functioned as both a HeelRealization and FamousLastWords.
--> '''Leslie:''' Such a pretty smile... such a pretty face... such a pretty... [-me-]. What am I doing here in an abandoned factory in the middle of nowhere? I was going to do something with my life. Help people. What am I allowing this living costume to turn me into?
* TwoGirlsToATeam: She and Scream were the only female members of their squad.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Leslie literally had blue hair.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lasher]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lasher.png]]
-> '''Hosts:''' Ramon Hernandez; Marcus Simms and a German Shepherd; Sadie
-> '''Debut:''' ''Venom: Lethal Protector'' #4; ''Carnage, U.S.A.'' #2; ''Absolute Carnage: Separation Anxiety'' #1

A mercenary selected by the Life Foundation to be bonded to one of the five symbiotes forcibly spawned from the Venom symbiote, Ramon chose to employ his symbiote's CombatTentacles as his WeaponOfChoice. Alongside Scream, Agony, Phage, and Riot, he attacked Eddie Brock, but was defeated and seemingly killed by Venom with help from Spider-Man. Ramon and the other Life Foundation symbiotes returned, having somehow survived, and begged Eddie for training to control their symbiotes. Venom refused, believing them to be lost causes like Carnage, and his prediction eventually came true: Scream, driven insane by her schizophrenia, murdered Ramon and the other hosts. The Lasher symbiote was transported to the Vault and experimented on, eventually merging with its brethren to become the Hybrid symbiote. After Eddie Brock killed Scott Washington, Hybrid's host, the fused symbiote separated back into its components, which were collected by the US army. The Lasher symbiote was bonded to a war dog, attached to and controlled by Chief Petty Officer Marcus Simms, as part of the Mercury Team and was used to help apprehend its "brother" Carnage after he took over Doverton, Colorado.
----
* AmbiguousGender: The dog has been referred to as male and female.
* AngryGuardDog: The symbiote's second host was a catatonic military German Shepherd.
* CombatTentacles: Ramon usually had a half-dozen of these sprouting from his back.
* CoveredInGunge: Ramon's tentacles could secrete a heavy slime.
* DashingHispanic: Ramon was a villainous example.
* HandicappedBadass: The German Shepherd that serves as the symbiote's second host is in a coma, but that doesn't stop her from putting the run on the Doppelgänger. As of ''Deadpool vs. Carnage'', she's fully awake and active.
* HeroicDog: The German Shepherd, especially now that she's become the new Hybrid.
* JaggedMouth: In her first appearance, the Lasher Hound's mouth was lined by green fangs that blend into her snout.
* TheLeader: Marcus was the leader of the Mercury Team.
* LegacyCharacter: Was bonded to Ramon Hernandez initially, and later to a military dog.
* NoMouth: Unlike the others Ramon didn't manifest a mouth when bonded to the symbiote.
* TheSmartGuy: Ramon was the most levelheaded of the quintet, and tried to act as the voice of reason.
* SoleSurvivor: The dog was the sole survivor of [[spoiler:Carnage's massacre of Mercury Team]].
* StockAnimalDiet: After taking a chunk out of the Doppelgänger, Lasher settled down to finish off a half-eaten cow and was seen chomping down a huge bone.
* SuperSenses: The symbiote-augmented German Shepherd could scent any target in a five-hundred ''mile'' radius.
* TeamPet: The Lasher hound, even though it's the actual host of the symbiote.
* TentacleRope: If he didn't whip his enemies with his tentacles, Ramon would ensnare them.
* ThirdEye: The Lasher hound has an eye in the middle of her forehead.
* TooManyMouths: Marcus issues commands to the Lasher hound through a mouth on his forearm, created by the tendril "leash" that connects him to the dog.
* WhipItGood: As his name suggests, his main means of attack were whip-like CombatTentacles.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Phage]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3403901_phage_venom_separation_anxiety1.jpg]]
-> '''Hosts:''' Carl Mach; Rico Axelson; Billy
-> '''Debut:''' ''Venom: Lethal Protector'' #4; ''Carnage, U.S.A.'' #2; ''Absolute Carnage: Separation Anxiety'' #1

A mercenary selected by the Life Foundation to be bonded to one of the five symbiotes forcibly spawned by the Venom symbiote, Carl chose to employ his symbiote's ShapeshifterWeapon ability as his WeaponOfChoice, focusing on blades. The nominal leader of the group, Carl, alongside Scream, Agony, Lasher, and Riot, attacked Eddie Brock, but was defeated and seemingly killed by Venom with help from Spider-Man. Carl and the other Life Foundation symbiotes returned, having somehow survived, and begged Eddie for training to control their symbiotes. Venom refused, believing them to be lost causes like Carnage, and his prediction eventually came true: Scream, driven insane by her schizophrenia, murdered Carl and the other hosts. The Phage symbiote was transported to the Vault and experimented on, eventually merging with its brethren to become the Hybrid symbiote. After Eddie Brock killed Scott Washington, Hybrid's host, the fused symbiote separated back into its components, which were collected by the US army. The Phage symbiote was bonded to a Lieutenant Rico Axelson, a Navy Seal sniper, as part of the Mercury Team, and was used to help apprehend its "brother" Carnage after he took over Doverton, Colorado.
----
* AvengingTheVillain: It was implied that Carl had a crush on Leslie, and when all signs pointed to Eddie being her killer, Carl decided to stop negotiating, and start killing.
--> '''Carl:''' She's dead. He killed Leslie. Brock is a psychopath and he's got to die... TONIGHT!
* BladeBelowTheShoulder: Carl's WeaponOfChoice, contrasted with Lasher's primary weapon being tentacles.
* ConjoinedEyes: The symbiote's eyes were conjoined when bonded to Carl.
* DiedInYourArmsTonight: Eddie Brock's, to be precise.
* FriendlySniper: The symbiote's second host was Rico Axelson, a sniper in the army.
* InTheBack: How Scream killed Carl.
* LeaderWannabe: Carl thought he was the leader of the Life Foundation Symbiotes, but the real boss was Scream.
* LegacyCharacter: Was bonded to Carl Mach initially, and later to Rico Axelson.
* NoMouth: Rico follows the HeroicHost=NoMouth trend, making his pseudonym (which more or less means "devour") an IronicNickname.
* PuppeteerParasite: Like the other symbiotes, Howard's is brain-dead. This didn't stop it from instinctively shooting a civilian possessed by a piece of Carnage. Fortunately, the woman survived.
--> '''Howard:''' I didn't take the shot... I think my symbiote did. These things must hate each other.
* SuperSenses: Augmented Rico's and Deadpool's vision to the point they could hit a target from a mile away without a sniper rifle or scope.
* SpikesOfVillainy: Possessed Franchise/{{Batman}}-like serrations on his arms, back, and legs, when bonded to Carl and Deadpool.
* ThatMakesMeFeelAngry: "You're making me mad Brock! I'm losing control! You know what happens when a human and a symbiote lose control?"

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Riot]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/662311_riot_998.jpg]]
-> '''Hosts:''' Trevor Cole; Howard Ogden; Sadie and Billy's Father
-> '''Debut:''' ''Venom: Lethal Protector'' #4; ''Carnage, U.S.A.'' #2; ''Absolute Carnage: Separation Anxiety'' #1

A mercenary selected by the Life Foundation to be bonded to one of the five symbiotes forcibly spawned by the Venom symbiote, Trevor Cole chose to employ his symbiote's ShapeshifterWeapon ability as his WeaponOfChoice, focusing on hammers and maces. The most savage member of the group, Trevor, alongside Scream, Agony, Lasher, and Phage, attacked Eddie Brock, but was defeated and seemingly killed by Venom with help from Spider-Man. Carl and the other Life Foundation symbiotes returned, having somehow survived, and begged Eddie for training to control their symbiotes. Venom refused, believing them to be lost causes like Carnage, and his prediction eventually came true: Scream, driven insane by her schizophrenia, murdered Carl and the other hosts. The Riot symbiote was transported to the Vault and experimented on, eventually merging with its brethren to become the Hybrid symbiote. After Eddie Brock killed Scott Washington, Hybrid's host, the fused symbiote separated back into its components, which were collected by the US army. The Riot symbiote was bonded to Petty Officer Howard Ogden, a Marine Corps. reconnaissance expert, as part of the Mercury Team, and was used to help apprehend its "brother" Carnage after he took over Doverton, Colorado.
----
* AxCrazy: Trevor was almost as bad as Carnage.
* TheBrute: Trevor was the most brutal and savage of the Life Foundation Symbiotes.
* CarryABigStick[=/=]DropTheHammer: Trevor's main means of offence was morphing his hands into hammers and mace heads.
* CeilingCling: Howard's symbiote-augmented legs allow him to stick to surfaces.
* DependingOnTheArtist: The first Riot's coloration was inconsistent, alternating between gray, blue, and brown. On the cover of ''[[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/7/7b/Deadpool_vs._Carnage_Vol_1_4.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/340?cb=20160430141615 Deadpool vs. Carnage #4]]'' the symbiote is black. ''Film/Venom2018'''s version of Riot is colored gray; and, given how obscure he was [[AscendedExtra prior to the film]], [[AudienceColoringAdaptation this will likely finalize the overall character's coloration.]]
* GoodOldFisticuffs: Unlike the others, Riot doesn't manifest weapons in the ''Separation Anxiety'' game.
* GunsAkimbo: Howard's preferred method of attack.
* HandicappedBadass: Like Flash Thompson, Howard is missing his legs and uses the symbiote as a prosthetic.
* InNameOnly: The name Riot came from an entirely unrelated toyline-exclusive character.
* KnifeNut: Howard's weapon of choice is a knife.
* PaletteSwap: The first Riot was Venom with an [[DependingOnTheArtist alternating]] color scheme and no ChestInsignia.
* TheQuietOne: Howard is explicitly described as such.
* SuperSpeed: Howard and Deadpool use the symbiote to run faster than a person could blink.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Scream]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/newscream_1334.jpg]]

-> '''Hosts:''' Donna Diego; Patricia Robertson; Andrea Benton
-> '''Debut:''' ''Venom: Lethal Protector'' #4; ''Absolute Carnage: Scream'' #1; ''Absolute Carnage: Scream'' #3

--> ''"I can hear it! I've always been able to hear mine. Even before I was united with it. The voices! The voices told me they were coming. Told me to be quiet about them. Told me what I had to do!"''

A security guard working for the Life Foundation, Donna Diego was selected to be bonded to one of the five symbiotes forcibly spawned from the Venom symbiote. The de-facto leader of the group, Donna, alongside Agony, Lasher, Phage, and Riot, attacked Eddie Brock, but were defeated and seemingly killed by Venom and Spider-Man. Donna and the other Life Foundation symbiotes returned, having somehow survived, and begged Eddie for training to control their symbiotes. Venom refused, believing them to be lost causes like Carnage, and his prediction eventually came true: Donna had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, which was made worse by her symbiote's bloodlust, and ultimately suffered a psychotic breakdown, killing the other symbiotes' hosts before going into hiding. When the Xenophage attacked, Donna resurfaced, having regained her sanity and control over her symbiote, and helped Venom defeat it. Afterward, she discovered the creature's ship, the tracker of which brought her an alternate dimension where Venom and Franchise/{{Wolverine}} were in the middle of battling supervillains Chimera and Dirtnap. Scream aided the two in defeating the villains, freeing those Dirtnap had previously absorbed in the process, and she and Venom left on amicable enough terms. Some time later, however, Eddie, on a crusade against the symbiotes, lured her into a trap that disabled her symbiote, allowing him to stab her in the head with a heated dagger, killing both her and her symbiote.

Years later, the Scream symbiote was resurrected by Knull and -- still bonded to Donna's skeleton and having imprinted her consciousness into itself -- began rampaging. Separated from Donna's corpse by Patricia Robertson, it bonded to her and succumbed to Knull's control, attacking Andi Benton. After Patricia sacrificed herself protecting Andi from Carnage, the Scream symbiote bonded to her.
----

* AdaptationalVillainy: Tries to attack [[EatsBabies a daycare]] in ''VideoGame/MarvelAvengersAlliance'', which also [[AdaptationalBadass gave]] her a MakeMeWannaShout attack.
* AdaptationalWimp: In the video game ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venom/Spider-Man:_Separation_Anxiety Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety]]'', her attack pattern is quite predictable compared to other Symbiotes, and thus she is arguably the easiest Symbiote boss to defeat.
* AlliterativeName: Donna Diego turned out to be the case when her surname was revealed.
* AllThereInTheManual: The name Scream came from an action figure and the tie-in comic to ''[[Ride/TheAmazingAdventuresOfSpiderMan The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man]]'', while Diego is from ''Civil War: Battle Damage Report''. Both became 100% canon when she came BackForTheDead.
* TheAtoner: Tried to make up for murdering her teammates by helping those still bonded to symbiotes in the aftermath of ''Planet of the Symbiotes''.
* AxCrazy: Her schizophrenia led her to murder the other Life Foundation symbiotes' hosts.
* BackForTheDead: After a hiatus of 15 years she was brought back solely to be killed by Eddie Brock.
* BackFromTheDead: 7 years after dying at the hands of Eddie, the Scream symbiote was resurrected by her "grandfather" Knull during the events of ''Absolute Carnage''.
* BigGood: Decided to be this for any symbiote-bonded people still around after ''Planet of the Symbiotes''. The only two she found ([[AerithAndBob Zeena and George]]) were eaten by the Xenophage.
* BigOMG: When the china cabinet in her apartment turned out to be the Xenophage.
* BodySurf: In ''Absolute Carnage: Scream'' #1 it's revealed that the Scream symbiote imprinted Donna's psyche into itself, akin to what the Tyrannosaurus symbiote did to Rex Strickland, though this is abandoned by ''Scream: Curse of Carnage''.
* BreakoutCharacter: Was originally just one of the Life Foundation symbiotes but was easily the most popular. She was brought back for ''Absolute Carnage'', completely separate from her siblings, and would get an ongoing spinning out of the event. Not bad for a character who debuted with no name!
* BreakoutVillain: The only one of the Life Foundation symbiotes to appear in a main ''Spider-Man'' title, she was also included in the Universal Studios ride, and a game based on the 1990s animated series (despite never appearing in it).
* DarkActionGirl: The most proactive of the Life Foundation team.
* EnemyMine: Scream teamed up with Venom against the Xenophage, Chimera, and Dirtnap.
* EvilRedhead: More as Donna than Scream, who is mostly yellow.
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Donna got shorter hair to go with her newfound sanity post-''Separation Anxiety''.
* HearingVoices: Even before acquiring a symbiote, Donna suffered from schizophrenia. When her madness is revealed, Lasher outright wonders how she managed to pass the Life Foundation's psychological evaluations.
* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Turned kind of good, vanished, and was brought back to be killed by Eddie.
* HeelFaceTurn: By ''The Hunger'' and ''Tooth & Claw'', though she [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse disappeared at the end of those miniseries]], so any heroics she went on to perform are left to the imagination.
* HunterOfHisOwnKind: During a psychotic break, Donna became convinced symbiotes and all those who associated with them were evil, and it was her duty to slay them, resulting in her killing her "siblings" and very nearly Venom.
* IronicNickname: Referenced in ''VideoGame/MarvelAvengersAlliance'':
--> '''Spider-Man:''' You know what's weird? She calls herself Scream even though symbiotes don't like sonic weapons.
* KarmicDeath: Eddie killed Donna for the same reason she killed her teammates, and in almost the exact same way.
* KnifeNut: Donna created a knife specifically designed to exterminate symbiotes. Ironically, it only succeeded in killing the hosts.
* MeanwhileBackAtThe: Didn't really become involved in the plot of the ''Tooth & Claw'' until the third and final issue. Until then, she spent the story stuck in the Xenophage's abandoned ship with a pair of teenage skateboarders. [[http://www.4thletter.net/gavok/venom/football.jpg It was uncomfortable]].
* MostCommonSuperpower: Donna was quite busty, and the symbiote accentuated her figure. Both Patricia and Andi Benton continued this trend.
* MsFanservice: [[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/1/15659/3403932-scream-venom-separation_anxiety%231-incognito.jpg Yeah]], appears to have been designed with this in mind.
* MulticoloredHair: The Scream symbiote has red and yellow "hair" -- [[PrehensileHair actually tendrils emulating the appearance of hair]].
* NotSoDifferent:
--> '''Scream:''' (while killing Riot and Lasher) It had to be. We were corrupted by them! I had to kill Leslie... Carl... before their others took over. They want to spawn... to multiply... I can't let that happen.
--> '''Eddie:''' (while killing Hybrid) Scott's been using Hybrid to suppress crime in his neighborhood. Done a fair job. But the demon will turn. Will become another spore. When the time comes it will spawn. I helped spread this alien plague. But I know now. And I know the cure.
* PowerBornOfMadness: Donna's psychosis enabled her to create a "Sonic Knife" that she used to kill the other Life Foundation symbiotes.
* PrehensileHair: As Scream her hair was a mass of tendrils.
* RapunzelHair: In human (at first) and symbiote form, Donna possesses very long hair..
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: The only female member of the Sinister Syndicate in Universal's ''The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man''.
* SoleSurvivor: Of the original Life Foundation hosts, until Eddie killed her.
* SwallowedWhole: By Dirtnap, but she turned out to be indigestible.
* TenLittleMurderVictims: The premise of ''Separation Anxiety'': A depowered Eddie and a reporter are held captive in an AbandonedWarehouse by the Life Foundation symbiotes, and someone starts killing them off one by one...
* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: Like Venom she couldn't be properly digested by Dirtnap, so he eventually puked her back up.
* TwoGirlsToATeam: Scream had this dynamic with Agony during their time with the Life Foundation, being the only symbiotes to take female hosts.
* VibroWeapon: The Sonic Knife, presumably.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hybrid]]

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/symbiohybrid_3048.png]]

-> '''Hosts:''' Scott Washington; Deadpool (Wade Wilson); German Shepherd; Maker (Ultimate Reed Richards)
-> '''Debut:''' ''New Warriors'' #6; ''Venom: Along Came A Spider'' #2 (as Hybrid); ''Deadpool vs. Carnage'' #3; ''Deadpool vs. Carnage'' #4

--> ''"He was there. Dreads, he calls himself. He was there, that day two months ago, when Eazy X gangsters forced me, my brother Derek, and our friend Dwight Simms off a basketball court... and I'll bet he was there that same night, when Eazy X bang-boys kicked our door in and shot me and Derek down in cold blood... killing my little brother... paralyzing me from the waist down... and getting away with it! Yeah, he was there all right... and now he's here. Well, so am I Dreads... and you're not getting away from Hybrid this time!"''

Scott Washington became Guardsman Number 6 at the Vault, a high-tech prison for supervillains, in order to earn enough money to move his family out of the gang-ruled ghetto they called home. Scott trained with the superhero Justice, in prison for murdering his abusive father, developing a sense of empathy for the prisoners in the process. When the symbiote invasion occurred, Scott was asked to oversee experiments on four of the five Life Foundation symbiotes, Agony, Lasher, Riot, and Phage. He agreed due to the pay bonus he would receive, but when the Venom symbiote unleashed a psychic scream that killed off almost every other member of its species, the four tortured aliens merged together, escaped containment and briefly latched onto Scott. Touched by their suffering, Scott helped the "Hybrid" symbiote escape captivity at the cost of his job, and returned to the ghetto. Having been blacklisted by the government, he was only able to find work as a security guard, and worked to keep his younger brother Derek out of the Eazy X Gang. This backfired when one of the gang members broke into their house, killed Derek, and crippled Scott. Sensing his suffering, the Hybrid symbiote bonded to him, but Scott was no longer the sympathetic individual he had once been and sought to use them to attain revenge. The Hybrid symbiote eventually managed to persuade Scott to let go of his anger, and he devoted himself to becoming a more positive hero. However, some time later Scott was confronted by Eddie Brock, who was on a crusade against the symbiotes. Despite protesting that he wasn't evil, Scott was killed and the Hybrid symbiote separated back into Agony, Lasher, Riot, and Phage.

After the Mercury Team is wiped out by Carnage, their surviving symbiotes bond to the dismembered ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}, turning him into a new [[FrankensteinsMonster Frankenstein-ian]] version of Hybrid. After using the symbiotes to defeat Carnage and Shriek, Deadpool gives them to the war dog that is bonded to the Lasher symbiote, and instructs it to take the aliens back to "the governmental bigwigs who know how to take care of 'em".
----
* AdaptationalVillainy: Is a bad guy not even hinted at having a human host in ''Videogame/MarvelAvengersAlliance''. Although it's later subverted as it turns out he's being controlled by a serum created by the Green Goblin and even warns Anti-Venom about said serum and of Goblin's plans. He's later on made available for recruitment as a Hero.
* AllLowercaseLetters: How the symbiotes spoke.
* AngryBlackMan: He wants revenge for the murder of his brother and it's the ''symbiotes'' who have to restrain ''him''.
* AntiHero: As much as Scott wanted to be a SociopathicHero, the symbiotes wouldn't let him, so he settled for being TheCowl.
* BackForTheDead: After a 16-year hiatus was brought back to be killed by Eddie Brock.
* BadassCape: He has one made of CombatTentacles.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: The reason the Hybrid symbiote bonded to him.
* BerserkButton: The symbiotes were whipped into a frenzy by the sight of the Jury (which was composed of several former Vault Guardsmen), and decided to disregard their ThouShaltNotKill policy and force Scott to murder them.
--> '''Symbiotes:''' guardsmen. pain. torture. evil. revenge!
* BigBrotherInstinct: He viewed it as his duty to keep his little brother Derek on the straight and narrow.
* CoolMask: His looks a lot like Wolverine's.
* {{Expy}}: As Hybrid he is one of ComicBook/{{Spawn}}.
* FusionDance: His symbiote is a merger of four of the five Life Foundation symbiotes.
* GuiltByAssociationGag: An overzealous ally of the Jury wanted to hold him accountable for everything that occurred during ''Planet of the Symbiotes''.
* HandicappedBadass: Was confined to a wheelchair after being beaten by a thug.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: Scott's tale was told through backup stories featured in ''The Hunted'' and ''Along Came a Spider''.
* IWorkAlone: Scott was offered the chance to join the ComicBook/NewWarriors, but turned it down in favor of being a solo act. He also turned down joining Mercury Team for this reason, but the military appropriated the symbiotes after his death.
* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: The symbiotes use this argument to keep Scott from committing murder.
* LetOffByTheDetective: He helped the newly formed Hybrid symbiote escape and didn't tell his colleagues, which cost him his job.
* LovecraftianSuperpower: Like the other symbiotes.
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: The reason he agreed to oversee the experiments on Life Foundation symbiotes was because the bonus it offered would help him get his family out of the ghetto.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: After experiencing the pain and suffering the Life Foundation symbiotes endured, much of which was at the hands of the experimentation he oversaw, Scott tries to defend them and loses his job.
* PoweredArmor: He wore a suit of green armor derived from Iron Man's as a Guardsman at the Vault.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: When his brother was murdered and he was crippled, Scott went from being a NiceGuy to an AngryBlackMan bent on vengeance. The Hybrid symbiote was quite put off by this, and tried to act as his voice of reason, a stark contrast to [[PuppeteerParasite the]] [[AxCrazy other]] [[ImAHumanitarian symbiotes]].
* ThouShaltNotKill: The symbiote enforced this policy on Scott, as when he tried to kill a gang member it left him until he was endangered.
--> '''Symbiotes:''' cannot allow murder Scott. we are permanently bonded with you Scott. but we are not Venom. we are not Carnage. we will not kill.
* TrackingChip: By inserting a part of the symbiote's biomass into someone, Scott could track their location.
* TwoferTokenMinority: A black paraplegic.
* YouAreNumberSix: As a Guardsman his designation actually was Number 6.

[[/folder]]

!! Mania/Maniac
[[folder:The Mania/Maniac Symbiote]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mania_symbiote.png]]

-> '''Hosts:''' Patricia Robertson; Andrea Benton; Lee Price; Cletus Kasady
->'''Debut:''' ''Venom'' Vol 1 1

A clone of the Venom symbiote created from its severed tongue. It is much more bloodthirsty than its originator and would go on to slaughter many. It was bonded to Patricia Robertson before fusing with the Venom symbiote, later being bonded with Andi Benton and then Lee Price.

----
* AbortedArc: The whole "If the Venom Clone fuses with the original Venom the symbiote will become an OmnicidalManiac and take over the planet" plot, which was crucial to the miniseries, was discarded... although it could help account for the symbiote's [[ImAHumanitarian increased]] [[HorrorHunger bloodlust]].
* BadassLongcoat: When bonded to Lee Price as Maniac, it ''was'' the badass longcoat -- taking on the form of a black trench coat with the spider emblem's legs lining the lapels. It could also bulk up to replicate his Venom form, and grow even larger.
* BodySurf: Over the course of the "Shiver" and "Run" arcs of ''Venom'' Vol. 1, the symbiote clone jumped from a sled dog to Saunders to Colonel Malone to Jackson to Delacroix to Perry back to the sled dog to a crow to Orrie to Clem to Nan to an old man to a swarm of cockroaches to Franchise/{{Wolverine}} to Patricia -- killing all but the last two. It next reappeared bonded to Andi as Mania.
* CloningBlues: It was [[AsteroidsMonster grown from a chunk of the original Venom symbiote's tongue]], and was programmed to want to reunite with its progenitor.
--> '''Patricia:''' Who... are you?
--> '''Venom Clone:''' I don't know. I used to know what I was. But now... Now I am... something else.
* CreepyCockroach: Bob had Vicky and Frankie drop a nuke on the town of Voici, Northwest Territories, in an attempt to deprive the clone of anything it could use as a host. The clone one-upped everyone by bonding to a swarm of cockroaches living in an abandoned cellar.
* DeadPersonImpersonation: One of the clone's favourite tactics was impersonating people to lure in prey. It used Colonel Malone's corpse as a puppet to trick the Suit.
* EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor: The clone has a perchance for sadistic jokes, and enjoyed taunting and tormenting its prey.
* ExplosiveBreeder: Bob engineered it to be this once it merged with the original Venom symbiote, intending to use it to exterminate all life on Earth. For unknown reasons, this didn't happen.
* {{Expy}}: For the duration of the "Shiver" arc, it was one to [[Film/TheThing1982 The Thing]], taking over and impersonating the members of an Arctic military installation while killing them one by one.
* FusionDance: It merged with the original Venom symbiote in ''Venom'' Vol 1. #18, and in ''Venom: Space Knight'' #13.
* HorrifyingTheHorror: As abhorrently sadistic and evil as the Mania symbiote was, Andrea Benton under the control of the Hell Mark terrified it.
* HorrorHunger: The symbiote clone drained its hosts dry and parasitized everyone it came across.
* HulkingOut: The symbiote is often massive and bulky, particularly when enraged. This is likely why Haze Mancer classifies it as a War-Brute.
* ImAHumanitarian: Like its progenitor, it possesses an appetite for human flesh, which it quips about when visiting Nan's diner as Clem and fighting Wolverine.
* JerkAss: The clone was a dick who would do things like offer people head starts, then immediately trip them when they started running.
* LifeDrinker: In its initial appearance it drained its hosts of their vitality until they died, seemingly out of pure sadism.
* MagicEnhancement: The Venom symbiote passed the Hell Mark onto its clone, giving it the ability to control and summon demons, and conjure hellfire... at the cost of slowly corrupting it into an AxCrazy monster. The Hell Mark sensed Andrea's anger issues and transferred from the symbiote to her.
* ModifiedClone: The Mania symbiote was altered by Bob in order to induce the original Venom symbiote to uncontrollably reproduce, creating a horde of symbiotes that would wipe out all life on Earth. For unknown reasons this didn't occur, though the Mania symbiote did for a time possess the demonic Hell Mark and temporarily developed the ability to control others using offshoots of itself.
* OmnicidalManiac: The symbiote clone was programmed by Bob to want to KillAllHumans.
* PossessionBurnout: The symbiote clone quickly drained its hosts dry, killing them within a few hours of bonding to them, until it bonded to Patricia.
* PuppeteerParasite: The symbiote clone took complete control of its hosts unless they were wearing a special cybernetic control collar. It didn't have this effect on Andi at first, but after being corrupted by the Hell Mark it resumed doing so.
* PutOnABus: The symbiote clone disappeared [[TheBusCameBack for nine years]] and [[AbortedArc nothing came of the "if it merges with the original symbiote humanity will die" plot point]].
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Presented with the choice of Eric Moody, a prison inmate who killed six people -- four of them fellow inmates, and a psychotic elderly man named Poina, the symbiote clone took over Poina, revealed that Moody had killed the four men in revenge for [[PrisonRape raping him]] and to cover up that he had some form of venereal disease -- implied to be HIV... and then gleefully told him it was going to happen again while pouncing on him.
* {{Sadist}}: Frankie and Vic note that the symbiote doesn't kill to feed but because it enjoys doing so, taking its time hunting down and toying with its prey.
* SkeletonMotif: Throughout ''Venom'' Vol. 1, the symbiote clone's spider-emblem was drawn with resembling bones.
* StalkerWithoutACrush: The clone wanted to be bonded to Patricia Robertson -- even though with Wolverine it had a host it could feed off for eternity, and Frankie and Vic were wearing special suits and control collars intended to irresistibly compel it to bond with them -- not because it needed her, but because it wanted to make her suffer more than it already had.
* TongueTrauma: The clone was grown from the original Venom symbiote's tongue, which was cut off by the Human Torch while Venom was trying [[KissOfDeath to kiss the Thing to death]].
* VoiceChangeling: The clone did this to send out a fake distress signal, luring Patricia into the Ararat base so it could take over her sled dog.
* WolverineClaws: When the symbiote clone was bonded to Wolverine, it made full use of his Adamantium-coated claws.

[[/folder]]

!! Anti-Venom
[[folder:The Anti-Venom Symbiote]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anti_venom.jpg]]

-> '''Hosts:''' Eddie Brock
->'''Debut:''' ''Amazing Spider-Man'' Vol. 1 #569

A symbiote created when Eddie Brock's cancer was cured by Mr. Negative's powers, his magic enthusing with Brock's white blood cells and creating a symbiote that had all of the Venom symbiote's abilities, in addition to healing and a poisonous touch to symbiotes and Spider-Man.

----
* CostumeCopycat: The original Anti-Venom was essentially a color-inverted version of Mac Gargan's Venom form.
* HealingHands: It could produce Lightforce-infused antibodies that could cleanse and cure almost anything.
* KryptoniteFactor: While the Anti-Venom symbiote was immune to traditional symbiote weaknesses, Norman Osborn synthesized a "super-venom" that almost killed it by exposing Freak to a sample of Anti-Venom's antibodies. Additionally, the symbiote was vulnerable to Darkforce energy, which negated its Lightforce-derived healing powers.
* MagicEnhancement: The Anti-Venom symbiote was created when Eddie Brock was infused with Lightforce energy by Martin Li to cure his cancer, mystically-altering the remnants of the Venom symbiote and merging them to his leukocytes.
* ModifiedClone: The original Anti-Venom symbiote was formed from Eddie Brock's Venom codex -- trace remnants of symbiote matter left in former hosts -- being fused to his leukocytes by Martin Li's Lightforce powers. It possessed all the powers of a symbiote with the addition of HealingHands, and had none of the weaknesses.
* StoryBreakerPower: The original Anti-Venom had all the powers of a regular symbiote in addition to its healing powers, was capable of curing mutations and killing other symbiotes through touch alone, and had none of the weaknesses.
* TheSymbiote: Marvel has flip-flopped on whether Anti-Venom is a true symbiote or not, with the editorial proclamation being that it is comprised of the Venom symbiote's mystically-altered biomass but doesn't have a mind of its own.
* TouchOfDeath: The Anti-Venom symbiote is able to injure and potentially kill other symbiotes at a touch, with its touch being especially lethal to the Venom symbiote.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Second Anti-Venom Symbiote]]

-> '''Hosts:''' Flash Thompson
->'''Debut:''' ''Amazing Spider-Man: Venom Inc. Alpha'' #1

When the Venom symbiote attempted to bond to both Eddie Brock ''and'' Flash Thompson simultaneously, Spider-Man spilled a vat of anti-symbiote solution onto the three. The portion of the symbiote that was bonded to Flash Thompson, which did not contain its mind, was transformed into a second Anti-Venom symbiote.
----
* BioArmor: It takes on the form of military body armour, a color-inverted iteration of Flash Thompson's Agent Venom form.
* CostumeCopycat: The form it takes when bonded to Flash is a color-inverted version of Agent Venom.
* HealingHands: In addition to the original Anti-Venom's capabilities, the second Anti-Venom symbiote is able to use its biomass to rapidly heal wounds and even reattach limbs.
* TheImmune: The second Anti-Venom symbiote is so toxic to Poisons that the little infestor minions die on contact with it, making it and its host immune to their assimilation abilities. Unfortunately, as Anti-Venom learns the hard way, it is ''not'' immune to other powers that a Poison possesses, as Poison Thanos demonstrates more or less instantly with a giant energy blast.
* LegacyCharacter: The first Anti-Venom symbiote was effectively killed to create a cure for the Spider-Virus during ''ComicBook/SpiderIsland''. Alchemax scientist Dr. Steve acquired a sample of this and tried to use it to synthesize a cure for Eddie Brock's altered metabolism. When Spider-Man overturned a vat of this astrobiological serum in an attempt to kill the Venom symbiote -- which was trying to bond to both Eddie and Flash Thompson -- the part of the Venom symbiote bonded to Flash was transformed into a second Anti-Venom.
* ModifiedClone: The second Anti-Venom symbiote was formed when the part of the Venom symbiote bonded to Flash Thompson was saturated in an astrobiological serum derived from the original Anti-Venom symbiote.
* TouchOfDeath: The second Anti-Venom symbiote was also able to destroy Poisons with a touch.

[[/folder]]

!! Sleeper

[[folder:Sleeper Symbiote]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sleeper.png]]

-> '''Hosts:''' Eddie Brock; M'lanz; Tel-Kar
->'''Debut:''' ''Venom'' Vol. 1 #165

Another spawn of Venom, birthed when Eddie Brock returned to being Venom after years apart.
----
* BodySurf: When Tel-Kar punctures M'lanz's biohazard suit to expose her to the anti-Skrull plague, the Sleeper symbiote transfers from Eddie Brock to her.
* ButNowIMustGo: [[spoiler:Ultimately leaves with Tel-Kar's ship ([[EmptyShell and his brain-dead body]]) to explore the universe on its own]].
* ChameleonCamouflage: A usual symbiote power, but Sleeper is noted to be even better at it than Venom, able to shift fast enough that it seems to be teleporting. It can also secrete a pheromone that confuses the senses, making them even more undetectable.
* ChemistryCanDoAnything: The Sleeper symbiote can produce liquid and aerosol chemicals with a broad array of effects, such as KnockoutGas, MoreThanMindControl, and hallucinations.
* CoolMask: The symbiote's face has respirator-like organs on its cheeks.
* JetPack: Can also use its chemokinesis powers to make an organic jetpack for traversing space.
* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: It can manifest a wide maw full of fangs when it's angry.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: It feels that [[spoiler:lobotomizing Tel-Kar and using his braindead body as a meat-puppet]] is a fitting punishment for what he did to Venom.
* PuppeteerParasite: In the final issue of ''Venom: First Host'', the Sleeper symbiote [[spoiler:bonds to Tel-Kar and lobotomizes him as punishment for what he did to Venom, intending to use his body to explore the cosmos]].
* SmugSuper: The Sleeper symbiote is more than a little full of itself.
--> '''Eddie:''' It's... strange having another voice in my head. This one's... much more shrill.
-->'''Sleeper:''' ''Confident.'' I was born on Earth, nurtured by my parent, left in the care of a ''genius'' [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking with great taste in music.]]
-->'''Eddie:''' [[SarcasmMode Yes, you're a very gifted child.]]
* {{Telepathy}}: The Sleeper symbiote's chemical manipulation abilities enable it to interject its thoughts into anyone.
* TrueSight: It can see things that are invisible to the naked eye and even cloaked from sensory technology.

[[/folder]]

!Supporting Cast

These are characters who, while they may or may not host a symbiote, play prominent supporting roles in Venom's series.

!!The Brock family
A family largely based out of San Francisco, all of whom are related to Eddie Brock.
[[folder:Carl Brock]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/40e0d0b858bff2fe40052bcfcb0a90cc.jpg]]

-> '''Debut:''' ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #375

--> ''"What ever relationship between Edward Brock and myself is no longer applicable."''

* AbusiveParents: Carl blamed Eddie for his wife's death in childbirth and used it as a excuse to be physically abusive and neglectful towards Eddie, while just waiting for an excuse to disown him. He also outright denies the existence of his daughter Mary when Eddie brings her up, [[spoiler:and his younger son (or rather, grandson) approaches Eddie with a black eye and broken arm implied to have been inflicted by his father]]. Complicating matters somewhat is the fact that his denial, which takes place during ''ComicBook/DonnyCatesVenom'', [[spoiler:is completely valid, as [[RetCon Mary never existed, and was a hallucination made up by the Venom symbiote to keep Eddie close]]]].
* BenevolentBoss: Despite being callous and stoic, there were no indications he was cruel to his employees. The same maid has also been working for him since at least Eddie's early childhood.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Used his status and wealth to have Eddie cleared of charges of intoxication manslaughter so it wouldn't ruin his reputation and when his son wanted to instead plea guilty to atone for his accidental murder, Carl physically assaulted Eddie until he agreed to say he was innocent.
* DeathGlare: The look Carl gave Peter when he brought up Eddie scared even him.
* IHaveNoSon: When Eddie's career was ended in disgrace, Carl used that as an excuse to disown his son. ''ComicBook/DonnyCatesVenom'' has the Venom symbiote [[CallingTheOldManOut try speaking on Eddie's behalf]] [[YoureNotMyFather by disowning him]] for both his and Dylan's safety.
* MaternalDeathBlameTheChild: His beloved wife died giving birth to Eddie, who Carl reviled as a result.
* {{Retcon}}: ''Dark Origin'' changed him from a wealthy businessman to a middle-class suburbanite, and made him into a balding man with a moustache.
* RichesToRags: Donny Cates' ''Venom'' reveals that he was a successful businessman until Eddie accidentally killed a child driving home while drunk bankrupted him with hospital bills and paying the court off.
* TheStoic: He was pretty much emotionless until he met his wife Jamie, who he adored.
* {{Workaholic}}: In his first appearance, Carl is shown ignoring his son to focus on office work.

[[/folder]]
[[folder:Dylan Brock]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dylan_brock.jpg]]
->'''Debut:''' ''Venom'' Vol. 4 #7

Eddie's purported half-brother, later revealed to be his biological son. Eddie meets him while fleeing from The Maker's goons and is dragged away before they can be properly acquainted. Later on, Dylan manages to catch up to Eddie and decides that he'd rather be with Venom than their abusive father.
----
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: 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.
* AntiAntiChrist: 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.
* AudienceSurrogate: The questions and comments he barrages Eddie with in ''Venom'' Vol. 4 #6 echo many that Venom fans have asked over the years.
* TheBeastmaster: 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 AngryGuardDog, and later manages to splatter Norman Osborn's portion of the Grendel symbiote with a hand gesture.
* BigBrotherBully: In ''Web of Venom: The Good Son'', [[spoiler: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]].
* BigBrotherWorship: 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.
* ChildByRape: Dylan was [[MysticalPregnancy conceived]] when Anne's Venom symbiote codex from her transformation into She-Venom bonded to a fetus,[[note]]Although how she'd have a fetus in her womb without having had sex is a mystery unto itself.[[/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.
* TheCorruptible: In ''Web of Venom: The Good Son'', [[spoiler: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]].
* DidntThinkThisThrough: 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.
* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: When [[MadScientist 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).
* ExactlyWhatIAimedAt: 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.
* EyeColorChange: 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.
* FamilyRelationshipSwitcheroo: 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.
* GrinOfAudacity: Sports one when he breaks the Knull-boosted Hybrid symbiote free to attack The Maker.
* HalfHumanHybrid: Ever since Dylan's initial appearance, Donny Cates has hinted that Dylan isn't entirely human. [[spoiler:''Absolute Carnage'' #2 reveals that he is Anne Weying's Venom codex incarnated as a human, making him a human-symbiote hybrid.]]
* HeroesLoveDogs: 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.
* InnocentBlueEyes: Downplayed. Thanks to his abusive father, Dylan is no stranger to things that are HarmfulToMinors. Even still, his bright blue eyes emphasize his youthful naivete and optimism in contrast to Eddie's world-weariness.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: 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.
* TheKnightsWhoSaySquee: Once he properly introduces himself to Eddie, he's ecstatic that he's related to Venom.
* MagicalEyeStreamers: When his powers activate in ''Venom'' Vol. 4 #18, his eyes turn solid black with smokey black tendrils writhing in the outside corners.
* MissingMom: 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.
* MoralityPet: 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.
* MouthyKid: He can be foul-mouthed and snarky, rarely thinking before he speaks. But he's a sweet kid at heart who idolizes Eddie.
* RemoteBody: 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''.
* TheRunaway: 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.
* SelfMadeOrphan: Invoked when he asks Eddie to kill Carl Brock, [[AbusiveParents 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.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: 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.
* TagalongKid: He has no powers and mainly tags with Eddie since the alternative is being with their abusive father -- later revealed to be his grandfather.
* TearsOfFear: 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.
* TomatoInTheMirror: 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.
* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: In ''Venom #19'', he discovers that the Sleeper symbiote can't bond to him and recoils in pain when it tries.
* WhatTheHellHero:
** 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 MadScientist version of Reed Richards from another universe, so he isn't talking to a "hero".
* WhatWouldXDo: 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... '''[[EurekaMoment stupid.]]'''
* YouthfulFreckles: Has these running across his nose.
[[/folder]]

!!The Thompson Family
Flash's family, who he largely does not talk to due to his troubled relationship with his father.

[[folder:Harrison Thompson]]

-> '''Debut:''' ''Untold Tales of Spider-Man'' Vol. 1 #19

Flash's abusive, alcoholic father. He was a cop for the NYPD but is now retired, and Flash does not look fondly on his parenting, which instilled in him a need to impress his father. Flash also somewhat blames him for his bullying in his past.
----
* AbusiveParents: Physically and emotionally abusive for the most part, but he had "good days" when he'd act like a loving parent. This largely went away when he went sober after Flash joined the military.
* TheAlcoholic: His career took its toll and Harrison eventually turned to the bottle. Flash assumed the Thompsons have a disposition for alcoholism in general.
* InTheBlood: Was a violent bully to his son which Flash attributes his bullying attitude to.
* KilledOffForReal: Succumbed to cancer a little after Flash had started acting as Agent Venom.
* MyGreatestFailure: His last words lament how he treated Flash throughout his life.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Rosie Thompson]]

-> '''Debut:''' ''Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man'' Vol. 1 #1

Flash's mother.
----
* ParentsAsPeople: She worries about Flash and the effects that Harrison has had on him, but can't bring herself to leave Harrison, whom she still loves. All the chances she gives him have driven a rift between her and Flash.
* SecretKeeper: She's aware of Flash's life as Venom.

[[/folder]]

!!Flash's crew
During Flash's tenure as an Agent of the Cosmos, he found himself with an unlikely band of misfits.

[[folder:803]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/803ven.jpg]]

-> '''Debut:''' ''ComicBook/VenomSpaceKnight'' Vol. 1, #1

A servant and maintenance robot, 803 was the slave of a space pirate named Kio, who forced the hapless droid to do his malicious bidding. Centuries of mistreatment caused 803 to become suicidal, so he was quick to offer aid to Agent Venom when the Agent of the Cosmos infiltrated Kio's spaceship, convinced that Flash would destroy him afterward as a "reward" for his services. After killing Kio and his crew, and saving their captives, Flash instead took 803 on as a travelling companion, to the melancholic robot's immense disappointment.
----
* ArtificialLimbs: He builds Flash a pair of prosthetic limbs as a present, reducing his reliance on the symbiote for mobility.
* DeathSeeker: 803 continuously devises means of killing himself, necessitating Flash tell him not to. When torn in half by Pik Rollo, he is jubilant... only to be dismayed when this turns out to not be enough to do the job.
* GadgeteerGenius: He fashioned a pair of prosthetic legs, repaired himself after being ripped in half, and fixed Venom's ship after it was almost completely demolished.
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: He's jubilantly ripped in half by Pik Rollo, which enrages Venom. To 803's dismay, this isn't enough to kill him, so he repairs himself and fixes Venom's ship.
* SuicideAsComedy: 803's suicidal tendencies are played for laughs, with him devising dramatic manners of self-termination and being disappointed when told no by Flash.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hilla]]

->'''Debut:''' ''Venom: Space Knight'' Vol. 1, #6

* BloodKnight: Despite only being a child she delights in tearing her enemies to shreds with her fangs and claws.
* CuteBruiser: Despite only being a cub, she can hold her own in combat against foes as formidable as Myntril.
* SoleSurvivor: She is the last Ruu'lto after Mercurio's genocide.
* UrsineAliens: She's a miniature version of her mother.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Iqa]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/iqa_earth_616_from_venom_space_knight_vol_1_3_001.jpg]]
->'''Debut:''' ''ComicBook/VenomSpaceKnight'' Vol. 1, #3

--> ''"I must make a name for myself in order to rule my people. Also, you seem unstable and I find that attractive."''

* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: After Venom goes berserk and tries to pound Mercurio into a meat-stain, Iqa states she finds his rage-issues attractive.
* BloodKnight: She's a warrior-queen who enjoys combat.
* ClingyJealousGirl: She takes an immediate dislike to Pik Rollo, assuming the Ruu'lto is a romantic rival.
* ConvectionSchmonvection: She's capable of standing in and around lava without sustaining injury.
* FourthDateMarriage: After Flash saves her planet by shutting down Mercurio's machine, she kisses him and offers him a prized position in her husband stable. He turns her down, but she follows him off-world and is jealously possessive of him when meeting Pik Rollo for the first time.
* GorgeousGorgon: She and the other Wugin have snakes for hair.
* MoreDeadlyThanTheMale: The males of her species are weak and pathetic, so she finds Flash highly attractive.
* OfCourseImNotAVirgin: She has a husband stable, but her inquiries as to whether or not Flash and Tarna are mating - they were actually trying to kill each other - lead Pik Rollo to ask if she even knows what mating looks like, implying that she's not as experienced as her husband stable implies.
* RubberForeheadAliens: Aside from her red skin and serpentine hair, she looks like an attractive female human.
* WomenPreferStrongMen: She is the queen of an Amazonian society of Medusa-like aliens, but finds Flash Thompson irresistibly attractive due to his own strength, courage... and symbiote-enduced rage-issues.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Myntril]]

-> '''Debut:''' ''ComicBook/VenomSpaceKnight'' Vol. 1, #2

* BlackBeadEyes: He has six round solid-black eyes.
* HeroicHost: He is the host of a white Klyntar and an Agent of the Cosmos.
* KilledOffscreen: Cullen Bunn remarked that the Agents of the Cosmos had all been killed when asked if they were aware of the activities of symbiote poacher Haze Mancer.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He breaks up the fight between Venom and Tarna and explains why they were following Flash around, as well as providing some clarification about how being an Agent of the Cosmos works. He even lets Tarna go with Flash after she sides with him against the Agents of the Cosmos - though he warns her she'll have to face trial for her treason when she returns.
* TopHeavyGuy: He has a cephalothorax and long, bulky arms in comparison to his relatively short and scrawny legs.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pik Rollo]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pikrollo.jpg]]

->'''Debut:''' ''Venom: Space Knight'' Vol. 1, #3

-->''"I am not a pan-duh. I am a Ruu'lto. And I am not experiencing any sadness at the moment. I feel only rage."''

* ApologeticAttacker: She apologizes for attacking Venom, but says she has no choice but to kill him.
* BackToBackBadass: When confronted by an army of Bhiv robots, Pik and Venom stand back-to-back in preparation for a last stand.
* BadassAdorable: She resembles nothing less than a gigantic fluffy panda with a lemur tail, but she is a wanted criminal who enjoys drinking the blood of her enemies.
* BloodLust: Venom notes she occasionally drinks the blood of her enemies, but still finds her adorable.
* EnemyMine: She was sent by Mercurio to kill Venom, but they end up working together to escape the Bhiv King's gladiator arena, and when Venom promises to save her child she turns on her master.
* FakingTheDead: She pretends to have been killed by Venom in order to lure the Bhiv King into a false sense of security, then rips his head off from behind.
* MamaBear: She works for Mercurio because he's holding her child hostage. She sides with Venom when Flash promises to rescue her kid, and says that if he goes back on his promise she'll kill him.
* RecruitingTheCriminal: She and Venom arrange a tenuous alliance after she was sent to kill him.
* RoarBeforeBeating: When Venom starts gushing about how adorable she is, Pik backhands him, rips 803 in half, and roars while baring her fangs.
* SoleSurvivor: She and her child are the last remaining Ruu'lto after Mercurio enslaved them.
* UnstoppableRage: Despite her nonthreatening appearance - ignoring her fangs and claws - Pik is solely motivated by rage over Mercurio's genocide of her species and holding her child hostage.
* UrsineAliens: Pik looks like a gigantic bipedal [[PandaingToTheAudience panda]] with gorilla-like arms, huge claws, and a lemur-like tail. She takes offence to Venom calling her "Sad Panda", though.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tarna]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tarna.jpg]]

-> '''Debut:''' ''ComicBook/VenomSpaceKnight'' Vol. 1, #2

A hot-tempered Skrull Agent of the Cosmos bonded to a purple symbiote. She and her mentor, Myntril, followed Venom for some time before abducting his ship. Tarna immediately picked a fight with Agent Venom, having deemed him unworthy of being an Agent of the Cosmos, but was stopped by Tarna. After witnessing Flash's friendship with the symbiote, she was moved by the lengths he was willing to go to protect it, and ultimately defected to the Space Knights.
----
* BladeBelowTheShoulder: She morphs an arm into a hooked blade and slashes Venom across the chest, pissing him off.
* DrillSergeantNasty: She's supposed to be in charge of Venom's training in the ways of being a Guardian of the Cosmos, but Myntril doubts she'll fulfill her duty.
* DyingToBeReplaced: Flash assumes she intends to kill the Venom symbiote and take Flash back to the Planet of the Symbiotes to get a non-corrupted Klyntar after the Venom symbiote is re-corrupted by Mercurio. Tarna and her symbiote both state that they're wrong, but either don't bother to or aren't able to provide clarification before things escalate into a fight.
* FireForgedFriends: She initially disliked Flash, but after seeing his dedication to Venom even in the face of the symbiote's corruption, she begrudgingly comes to care for him and stands up for him against Myntrill.
* GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe: The form we first see her in is her GameFace. Underneath it she's a Skrull.
--> '''Tarna:''' This upsets you?
--> '''Flash:''' Skrulls and folks from Earth haven't always played well together.
* HeroicHost: She is the host of a purple Klyntar and an Agent of the Cosmos. She also proves to be more loyal to her friends than to her duty as an Agent, siding with Flash and Venom.
* LetsYouAndHimFight:
** She deliberately picks a fight with Venom, thinking he's not worthy of being a Guardian of the Cosmos.
** When she shows up to return the Venom symbiote to the Cosmos, her antagonistic attitude leads Flash to believe she intends to kill it. While she mentions he's misunderstanding, she doesn't bother clarifying and a fight breaks out instead.
* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: Unusually for a being bonded with a sane Klyntar, her mouth is lined with fangs.
* MorphicResonance: Her symbiote form retains her long black hair.
* PurpleIsPowerful: Her Klyntar is purple, and she was strong enough to make Venom mad enough to show his fangs.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Unlike the BlankWhiteEyes commonly associated with symbiotes, she has glowing red eyes.
* RoarBeforeBeating: While fighting Venom all she initially did was roar and snarl at him, leading him to think she was bonded to a feral Klyntar.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: After Myntril breaks up the fight between her and Venom, she complains to Tarna that Venom isn't worthy of being called a Guardian of the Cosmos, since he's a newbie and barely in-sync with his Klyntar.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: She impersonates Myntril to help Flash get into the arena where the Venom symbiote is being tried, and morphs her arms into rocky fists to fight the guards.

[[/folder]]

!!Government Personnel
Over the years, the Venom symbiote and its hosts have found themselves embroiled in the affairs of Earth's various governments, from the Project Rebirth program to SHIELD.

[[folder:General Brad Dodge]]

-> '''Debut:''' ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' Vol. 1, #654

--> ''"You ever let that alpha-jock brute anger sully ''my'' "Operation Venom" again, I will '''cut you''' off the team faster than a '''mohel.'''"''

A United States General and the head of Project Rebirth 2.0, Dodge is the person who selected Flash to become Agent Venom. Because of his own disability -- he was blinded at some point in his life -- he has a soft spot for Flash, but is also willing to prioritise the mission above all else.
----
* DontMakeMeDestroyYou: He's killed three prior applicants because they lost control of the symbiote, and threatens to do so to Flash if he goes AWOL. When Flash briefly loses control of the symbiote, he hesitates to pull the trigger and instead settles for yelling at Flash. When Thompson goes AWOL a second time, Dodge detonates the bomb, but by this point the symbiote had extracted it and tried to use it to kill Crime Master and Jack O'Lantern.
* HandicappedBadass: Despite being blind, can play squash very well, so the man's still got some skills.
* HeroicDog: Has a seeing eye dog that can detect when Flash has bonded with the Symbiote.
* OhCrap: When he sees Captain America has discovered Project Rebirth 2.0, he has the rest of the team DestroyTheEvidence and tries to lie to Cap's face.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He constantly hounds Flash about being bonded to the Symbiote for too long and will often remind Flash that he can detonate the both of them should he have to... and he's right to. Flash accidentally bonded to the symbiote only a few missions into his tenure as Agent Venom, and progressively did so more and more and lied to Dodge about it. The only reason he got away with it is because Dodge kept trusting him.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Once Flash goes AWOL, Dodge is never really mentioned again.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Captain Katherine "Kate" Clover]]

-> '''Debut:''' ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' Vol. 1, #654

-->''"I'm not babysitting you, Thompson. I'm monitoring the alien. '''That's''' my job. The first sign '''it's''' in control, I push this kill-switch, fry it, and leave you hanging in the wind. '''Literally''' without a leg to stand on. So when I say jump, you don't say ''"how high?"''... you shut the hell up and '''jump!'''"''

Flash's partner during his time as Agent Venom, Kate, like Dodge, is in charge of keeping him in-check and on-mission. Unlike Dodge, she also assists Flash in the field.
----
* GoodLookingPrivates: Then first thing Flash does when he meets her is hit on her.
* OutOfFocus: Dan Slott clearly set her up with something in mind, putting a large amount of focus on her and Flash's dynamic... and she was never given a large role by anyone ''but'' him.
* StraightMan: Her primary purpose seems to be to play this role to Flash's jokey side.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tyrannosaurus (Rex Strickland)]]
->'''Debut:''' ''Venom'' Vol. 4 1

* ArmorPiercingQuestion: Delivers a number to Eddie in their first meeting, particularly centered about how much he actually knows his symbiote, like if he even knows its true name.
* DeadAllAlong: ''Venom'' Vol. 4 #5 reveals that [[spoiler:the real Rex Strickland died during the Vietnam War, and was being impersonated by his former symbiote]].
* DeadpanSnarker: He chuckles at Eddie's inquiries and exclamations with wry sarcasm and laughter at how naive Eddie is.
* FusionDance: After it's revealed that [[spoiler: Rex is a symbiote impersonating its old host]] it fuses with Venom to increase their power.
* HeelFaceTurn: The Tyrannosaurus symbiote - moved by Rex's nobility and Logan's compassion - broke free from Knull's control and turned against its former master.
* HeroicSacrifice: In order to save Eddie, Tyrannosaurus [[spoiler:grabs Knull's avatar and drags it into a blast furnace, sacrificing itself to immolate its progenitor]].
* HumanityIsInfectious: He can feel Knull trying to corrupt him again but doesn't want to succumb to it since he finds the "light" of compassion too beautiful to give up.
* MySiblingWillLiveThroughMe: Or in Rex's case, [[spoiler:my host will live through me, as it's revealed that while the real Rex died during the Vietnam War his symbiote imprinted his memories and personality into itself so that it could impersonate him]].
* PiecesOfGod: Indirectly; he and his unit were all sampled from the symbiote dragon that Knull's consciousness is currently stuck in. He needs to reabsorb all of them to become capable of freeing himself from Klyntar.
* PunnyName: Rex Strickland was given the codename Tyrannosaurus... as in ''TyrannosaurusRex''.
* PrecursorHeroes: He is one of a team of symbiote-augmented supersoldiers who preceded Flash Thompson.
* ScaryBlackMan: He used to be a supersoldier and agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., knows more about symbiotes than anyone aside from Flash Thompson, and is able to put that knowledge to use to subdue Venom. While he's more a DeadpanSnarker, the knowledge he possesses intimidates Eddie Brock.
* SoleSurvivor: Of the Sym-Soldier Project, the other recruits having lost control of their symbiotes, been cryogenically frozen, and killed by the Symbiote God. [[spoiler:It turns out that Rex was killed by Nick Fury and impersonated by his symbiote, though after Knull reabsorbs the other Sym-Soldier symbiotes into Grendel he's the only one to retain his individuality.]]
* SuperSoldier: He was a member of a team of symbiote-augmented supersoldiers recruited by the Sym-Soldier Project -- the precursor to Project Rebirth 2.0 -- decades before Flash became Agent Venom.
* ToServeMan: Under the control of their berserk symbiotes, Rex and his comrades ate countless Việt Cộng and American soldiers.
[[/folder]]

!!Civilians

[[folder:Beck Underwood]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/beckvenom_1225.jpg]]

-> '''Debut:''' ''Venom: The Madness'' #1

--> ''"He has a reputation for extreme violence. But he seems so... earnest. Sigh, why is it the bigger their problems the more I want to save them?"''

A young lawyer, and ally and love interest for Eddie Brock during his time in San Francisco.
----
* DamselInDistress: Beck is kidnapped by the Juggernaut in ''The Madness'', Mace in ''The Mace'', and the Stalkers in ''Nights of Vengeance''. The Mace incident was, admittedly, due to a series of misunderstandings.
--> '''Beck:''' Listen to me! This guy doesn't deserve...
--> '''Venom:''' To live? I know.
--> '''Beck:''' Nooo! [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu &%# it, shut up, and listen!]]
* EasilyForgiven: Beck's response to nearly being raped and[=/=]or killed by the temporarily psychotic and bestial Venom in ''The Madness'' is LetsJustBeFriends.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: This is why Scarmore, Inc. hired the Juggernaut to eliminate her in ''The Madness''.
* HelloAttorney: Beck is a lawyer, just like Ann was. Maybe Eddie has a thing for them?
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: The Tiny Girl to Eddie's Huge Guy. [[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/1/11863/339060-30726-beck.jpg Especially when he's Venom]].
* ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies: To ensure Beck's safety, Eddie moves back to New York, and leaves her behind in San Francisco.
* LooksLikeSheIsEnjoyingIt: The other tenants' reaction to the sounds of Eddie and the Juggernaut fighting in Beck's apartment in ''The Madness''.
* LoveTriangle: One forms between her, Eddie, and a doctor named Elizabeth.
* MoralityChain: She tried to get Venom to consider non-violent solutions. It rarely worked.
* PuppeteerParasite: She's nearly taken over by the Stalkers in ''Nights of Vengeance''.
* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: Beck manages to talk down the Juggernaut... and then the mutated and crazed Venom attacks.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Jenna Cole]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jennacole_8385.jpg]]

-> '''Debut:''' ''The Amazing Spider-Man: Extra!'' #2

--> ''"Not gonna do bad things anymore, starting tomorrow... starting tomorrow... gonna be good... Eddie Brock... you're my hero."''

A teenaged heroin addict Eddie Brock befriended as Anti-Venom. Supposedly cured of her addiction, she helped him infiltrate and take down drug cartels, but was secretly getting high. She was captured by the Quintas cartel when the Punisher interrupted Eddie's shakedown, leading to them setting aside their differences to rescue her. She hasn't been seen since.
----
* BareYourMidriff: She wears a tank top, a miniskirt or short shorts, and tattered stockings, with her midriff exposed.
* TheConscience: As Anti-Venom, Eddie considers her to be the [[GoodAngelBadAngel good angel to his murderous impulses' - personified by hallucinations of the Venom symbiote - bad angel]].
* DarkSecret: Even after Eddie purged her, she kept shooting up.
* DrugsAreBad: Jenna was a heroin addict, and despite Anti-Venom's best efforts kept relapsing.
* EmbarrassingNickname: She's known on the streets as Jenna the Junkie. Anti-Venom nearly throttles a thug who insists on calling her that.
* FacialMarkings: She has a pair of horizontal black bars under her eyes.
* FreakOut: When she saw a berserk Anti-Venom she had a panic attack. Granted, she ''was'' high on drugs at the time.
* HookersAndBlow: When Jenna was abducted by the Quintas gang, she's next seen splayed next to drug lord Jorge Valdez alongside other scantily-clad women, high out of her mind on heroin.
* TheInformant: Eddie used her to track down and bust drug dens.
* TheIngenue: Eddie thinks of her as being this. She's not nearly as innocent as he thinks, as she's secretly doing drugs behind his back and didn't say to ''not'' kill the gangster who insulted her, just not to do it in front of her.
* ItIsDehumanizing: [[ComicBook/ThePunisher Frank Castle]] refers to her as an "it" when he's about to shoot through her to get to a Quintas thug.
--> '''Quintas Thug:''' Hold up, ''cabron''! You shoot me with that thing you gonna kill the girl too!
--> '''The Punisher:''' That's not a girl... it's a junkie.
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: She was [[MoralityChain the only thing]] keeping Eddie Brock from reverting back to his [[SociopathicHero Lethal Protector]] persona. When she was kidnapped, he snapped.
--> '''Jorge Valdez:''' Hear that, ''gringo''? She's my girl now. Wanted you to know before my men smoke your ass.
--> '''Anti-Venom:''' [[{{Angrish}} Hrrg...]]
--> '''Jorge Valdez:''' Adios, $%$#%$!
--> '''Anti-Venom:''' '''''[[RageBreakingPoint ARRGH... YAARRGH]]!!!''''' *rips the nearest thug in half*
* MyGirlIsNotASlut: Call her a junkie in Anti-Venom's presence at your own risk.
* ShamefulStrip: Is forced to take her top off by some hoods, possibly for titillation or to prove she wasn't wearing a wire.
* VagueAge: Jenna's age is never addressed, just that she's a teenager.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Hasn't been seen since the Anti-Venom[=/=]ComicBook/ThePunisher crossover ''New Ways to Live''.
* YouCanSeeThatRight: She thought Eddie's Anti-Venom form was a drug-induced hallucination when she first sees him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Katy Kiernan]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/katykiernan_9049.jpg]]

-> '''Debut:''' ''Venom'' Vol. 2, #23

--> ''"Listen... not that I'm anything less than fabulous... but why would you need my help? I write about bat-babies and Jesus figures appearing in oatmeal. And you look like you have connections."''

A reporter working for the Daily Inquisitor, who serves as Agent Venom's eyes and ears in the criminal underworld of Philadelphia.
----
* DarkSecret: She has ties to J. Jonah Jameson... and ComicBook/TheKingpin.
* GoingForTheBigScoop: Agent Venom worries her involvement with him will cause her to be targeted.
* TheInformant: Agent Venom used her to get intel on the Department of Occult Armaments and later to track down Lord Ogre.
* IntrepidReporter: She actively helps Agent Venom in his investigations in order to get a better story out of it, though she takes offence when he accuses her of this being her sole motive for helping him.
* NervesOfSteel: After an understandable moment of panic upon being abducted and dragged into the Microverse, she quickly calms down and is unfazed by Carnage declaring he's going to eat her.
* OutOfFocus: She disappeared after the conclusion of ''Venom'' Vol. 2.
* {{Paparazzi}}: Agent Venom accuses her of being one, to which she takes offence.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. Steven]]

->'''Debut:''' ''Venom'' Vol. 1 #152

An Alchemax astro-biologist whom Liz Allan assigns to help Eddie Brock keep his symbiote under control.
----
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Thinks that Spider-Man (who was the mascot of the recently-bankrupted Parker Industries) had been hired by Alchemax as security when he turns up at his lab, only to be informed that it was because "[Spider-Man's] best friend and worst enemy were [[BodyHorror turning his lab into a Cronenberg film]]" right behind him.
* DeadpanSnarker: He frequently complains to Liz about the lack of funding his department receives and in general is rather sarcastic.
* GeekPhysiques: Dr. Steven is morbidly obese, but highly intelligent and specializes in astro-biology.
* GeniusCripple: He's confined to a wheelchair, but is the head of Alchemax's astro-biology department and whips up a short-term treatment for the symbiote's degeneration issues in only a few hours.
* {{Nerd}}: He has a blue Pikachu-{{expy}} bowl and eats sugary cereal in his lab in the middle of the night.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tana]]
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/6308239_venom_2016_158_005.jpg]]
->'''AKA:''' Julia Fontana
->'''Debut:''' ''Venom'' Vol. 1 #156
A Spanish animal biologist who was used as a test subject for Stegron's dinosaur serum, being transformed into a humanoid pterosaur. She was freed from Stegron's control by Venom, and was later attacked by Kraven the Hunter.
----
* HornedHumanoid: She has a ''Parasaurolophus''-like crest on her head.
* OnlySaneMan: When the other dinosaur people go after the rats sent by Kraven to distract them, only Tana is wary.
* PteroSoarer: She is a HalfHumanHybrid pterosaur.
* WasOnceAMan: She was once a Spanish animal biologist before being transformed by Stegron.
* WingedHumanoid: Tana is a ''pterosaur''-type hybrid, and has vestigial wings on her forearms that she can transform into full wings.

[[/folder]]

!!Others

[[folder:The Maker]]

->'''AKA:''' Reed Richards
->'''Debut:''' ''Ultimate Fantastic Four'' Vol. 1 #1

The Ultimate universe incarnation of Reed Richards, he is every bit the pragmatic, sociopathic MadScientist that the regular Reed fears he could become. Reed takes an interest in Eddie and his symbiote on behalf of an organisation known as Project Oversight.
----
For more on him, see ComicBook/TheMaker
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Suit]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thesuit_263.jpg]]

-> '''Debut:''' ''Venom'' Vol. 1, #2

--> '''Venom Clone:''' Why have you come for me?
--> '''The Suit:''' I have come to destroy you. I know what you are.
--> '''Venom Clone:''' Yeah... and we know all about you. You're no better than we are.
--> '''The Suit:''' That is arguable.
--> '''Venom Clone:''' Heh-heh... wanna argue?
--> '''The Suit:''' No.

Untold millennia ago, an alien entity informed a race of mechanical, self-replicating spider-like beings that humans were a violent and chaotic species that needed to be destroyed, lest they eventually spread throughout the cosmos. As they prepared to wipe out humanity, the spiders were delayed by horrific weather conditions, and during that time they realized that they had been duped, and that their benefactor had merely wanted the humans gone so that it could claim the Earth as its own. Most of the spiders left Earth, but a small cluster, still believing in their mission, stayed behind. Weakened, this group started slowly gathering physical and political power so that it could one day commit the genocide it was hired to.

In the present day, [[ComicBook/MisterFantastic Reed Richards]] discovered a swarm of the spiders during a space expedition. The spiders eventually created a humanoid form dubbed "The Suit". Making contact with ComicBook/NickFury, the Suit explained that the Venom symbiote, which he was briefly exposed to while it and Eddie Brock were in the custody of the Fantastic Four, was going to be used in a plot to cause chaos on a global scale. Learning that a clone of the Venom symbiote, made by the genocidal spiders to further their goals, was in the arctic, the Suit headed there to eliminate it.
----
* AncientAstronauts: [[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy The story of the Ark]]. Noah was the alien that hired the spiders, having decided to save select members of humanity for unknown reasons. The "flood" was an exaggeration of the bad weather that fortunately delayed the spiders' attempt to KillAllHumans, allowing them to realize that they were being manipulated.
* BadassBoast:
--> '''Spider-Man:''' [[SaveTheVillain I... won't let you... murder him]].
--> '''The Suit:''' I do not require your permission... nor do I, at this distance, require the phone. It is merely a conductor. [[IAmTheNoun I am the weapon]].
* BadassInANiceSuit: He wears a black business suit, hence the name.
* CannotTellAJoke:
--> '''Venom:''' Come to papa...
--> '''The Suit:''' Very well. But, as you can see--and to paraphrase--[[Music/JamesBrown papa now possesses an entirely brand-new bag]]. I believe my attempt at levity was successful. Ha. Ha.
* CoolShades: They're used to hide his lack of eyes, [[http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/1/15659/2049233-the_suit_origin.jpg and were Nick Fury's idea]].
* DramaticUnmask: While the Suit is fighting the Venom clone, his sunglasses are knocked off, revealing his eye sockets are completely empty.
* GoodCounterpart: To Bob, a member of the same race as him which intends to wipe out humanity.
* GoodIsNotNice: He does things like stick a bomb inside the unconscious Franchise/{{Wolverine}} in order prevent him from being taken over by the Venom clone, and knocks Patricia out so that he can perform an invasive and disfiguring surgery that will give her the implants necessary to control the clone.
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: He operates as a torso for a while after being diced by the clone-possessed Wolverine.
* ImmuneToBullets: Though high-caliber rounds can stun him.
* ImprobableWeaponUser: He channels electrical blasts through his cellphone. They can knock people out, or reduce them to smoldering skeletons.
* LanternJawOfJustice: Though due to the art style, he was far from the only one with an oversized mandible.
* MadeOfIndestructium: The spiders, which are more or less described as such by Reed Richards. He was unable to find a way to even dent them, and they emerge unscathed from being at ground zero of a nuclear warhead.
* TheMenInBlack: Obviously inspired by them, he comes off as very similar to [[Franchise/MenInBlack Agent K]].
* NoodleIncident: When the Suit reappears in New York, he's missing an arm and most of his head. The closest thing to an explanation that he offers is a [[MajorInjuryUnderreaction nonchalant]], "I was delayed".
* NoSell: The symbiote clone attempted to take over him but failed due to him neither being human or organic. It settled for tearing him apart instead.
* PullingThemselvesTogether: Whenever the Suit is dismembered or blown up, the spiders he contains piece him back together, good as new.
* ShockAndAwe: He's electrokinetic, but is usually only able to use his powers through his cellphone or something similar.
* SpellMyNameWithAThe: Because otherwise it would be even more awkward.
* TheStoic: The smirk he gives in the above image being one of the few exceptions to all-around cool demeanor.
* TimeAbyss: He's existed since pre-Biblical times.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: He supercharges himself in order to obliterate both Venoms, but the blast is contained by Invisible Woman. It's unknown if he survived the backfire, but seeing as how he has yet to reappear...
* TheWormThatWalks: He's full of innumerable robotic spiders, which exit and enter his body through his eye sockets.

[[/folder]]

[[center: [- [[Characters/VenomHosts Hosts of Venom]] | [[Characters/AlternateIncarnationsOfVenom Alternate Incarnations of Venom Characters Page]] | [[Characters/VenomRoguesGallery Venom Villains]] | [[Characters/{{Carnage}} Carnage Characters Page]]]] -]

* AlliterativeName: Turned out to be the case when her surname was revealed.

* BackFromTheDead: 7 years after dying at the hands of Eddie, she was revived by her "grandfather" Knull during the events of Absolute Carnage.

* BodySurf: In ''Absolute Carnage: Scream'' #1 it's revealed that the Scream symbiote imprinted Donna's psyche into itself, akin to what the Tyrannosaurus symbiote did to Rex Strickland.

* EnemyMine: Teamed up with Venom against the Xenophage, Chimera, and Dirtnap.

* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Got shorter hair to go with her newfound sanity post-''Separation Anxiety''.
* HearingVoices: Even before acquiring a symbiote. When her madness is revealed, Lasher outright wonders how she managed to pass the Life Foundation's psychological evaluations.

* HunterOfHisOwnKind: During a psychotic break, she became convinced symbiotes and all those who associated with them were evil, and it was her duty to slay them, resulting in her killing her "siblings" and very nearly Venom.

* KarmicDeath: Eddie killed her for the same reason she killed her teammates, and in almost the exact same way.
* KnifeNut: She created a knife specifically designed to exterminate symbiotes. Ironically, it only succeeded in killing the hosts.

* MostCommonSuperpower: Was quite busty, and the symbiote accentuated her figure.

* MulticoloredHair: Donna's red hair shows through her yellow symbiote, creating this effect.

* RapunzelHair: In human (at first) and symbiote form.

* SwallowedWhole: By Dirtnap, but she turned out to be...

* TwoGirlsToATeam: Scream had this dynamic with Agony.

[[center: [- [[Characters/SpiderManRoguesGallery Main Spidey villains page]] | [[Characters/VenomHosts Hosts of Venom]] | [[Characters/AlternateIncarnationsOfVenom Alternate Incarnations of Venom Characters Page]] | [[Characters/VenomRoguesGallery Venom Villains]] | [[Characters/{{Carnage}} Carnage Characters Page]]]] -]

** The symbiote has frequently berated Spider-Man for rejecting it when it only wanted to help him and make him stronger. VillainHasAPoint, Parker.

--> '''The Suit:''' Very well. But, as you can see--and to paraphrase--papa now possesses an entirely brand-new bag. I believe my attempt at levity was successful. Ha. Ha.

* {{Expy}}: Might have been inspired by the [[Characters/IncredibleHulk Gamma Corps]], soldiers turned into Gamma Mutants [[StartXToStopX to combat]] Gamma Mutants.

* OutsideGenreFoe: Of all of Spidey's rouges gallery, who are mostly science and technology-related but still more-or-less Earth based, the Venom symbiote stands out by being an alien lifeform.

* MissingMom: His mother is nowhere to be seen. It's eventually revealed that his mother is Anne Weying, who promised she'd return for him but later committed suicide.

* PapaWolf: Not usually, as it's spent a long time trying to [[OffingTheOffspring kill its spawn]], ''but'' [[spoiler:the symbiote is this towards it's youngest child, perhaps as a result of it being spawned after the symbiote's cleansing. During and after the symbiote's pregnancy with it, it went out of its way to protect it from attacks it could withstand -- putting Eddie in danger in the process -- and taking raising it with Eddie ''very'' seriously]].

* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: 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, [[spoiler:he's Eddie's adoptive brother ''and'' biological son]].

* TheBeastmaster: [[spoiler: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 AngryAttackDog, and later manages to splatter Norman Osborn's portion of the Grendel symbiote with a hand gesture]].

* ChildByRape: Dylan was [[MysticalPregnancy conceived]] [[spoiler:when Anne's Venom symbiote codex from her transformation into She-Venom bonded to a fetus,[[note]]Although how she'd have a fetus in her womb without having had sex is a mystery unto itself.[[/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]].

* DidntSeeThatComing: 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 [[spoiler:to all bond to the guy he sicced them on]]. Cue Dylan and Normie running for their lives.
* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: When [[MadScientist 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 Dylan's older brother looming over him).
* ExactlyWhatIAimedAt: Pulls this on The Maker of all people when [[spoiler: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]].
* EyeColorChange: When cornered by [[spoiler: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]].

* GrinOfAudacity: Sports one when he [[spoiler:breaks the Knull-boosted Hybrid symbiote]] free to attack The Maker.

* HeroesLoveDogs: Subverted. When he learns that [[spoiler: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.

* MissingMom: His mother is nowhere to be seen. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that his mother is Anne Weying, who promised she'd return for him but later committed suicide.]]

* MouthyKid: He can be foul-mouthed and snarky, rarely thinking before he speaks. But he's a sweet kid at heart who idolizes his older brother.

* SelfMadeOrphan: Invoked when he asks Eddie to kill Carl Brock, [[AbusiveParents 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 [[spoiler:is actually revealed to be Eddie's son.]]
* StrongFamilyResemblance: Dylan's pretty much identical to how Eddie looked when he was a child. He's introduced as Eddie's half-brother, [[spoiler:but issue #11 reveals he's actually Eddie's son]].

* TomatoInTheMirror: He learns he isn't normal when [[spoiler: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.

* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: In ''Venom #19'', he discovers that [[spoiler:the Sleeper symbiote can't bond to him and recoils in pain when it tries]].

** He also calls out The Maker for blasting Sleeper, one of the few unambiguously good symbiotes, who had just [[spoiler:saved them from the Hybrid symbiotes]]. Of course, he doesn't know that The Maker is a MadScientist version of Reed Richards from another universe, so he isn't talking to a "hero".

An Alchemax astro-biologist who Liz Allan assigns to help Eddie Brock keep his symbiote under control.

After Flash Thompson left the Guardians of the Galaxy and became an Agent of the Cosmos, he found himself with an unlikely band of misfits.

Eddie's half-brother [[spoiler: but revealed to be his biological son]]. Eddie meets him while fleeing from The Maker's goons and is dragged away before they can be properly acquainted. Later on, Dylan manages to catch up to Eddie and decides that he'd rather be with Venom than their abusive father.

* RemoteBody: 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.

* SelfMadeOrphan: Invoked when he asks Eddie to kill Carl Brock, [[AbusiveParents 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 [[spoiler: is actually revealed to be Eddie's son.]]

* TagalongKid: He has no powers and mainly tags with Eddie since the alternative is being with their abusive father later revealed to be his grandfather.

Eddie's half-brother. Eddie meets him while fleeing from The Maker's goons and is dragged away before they can be properly acquainted. Later on, Dylan manages to catch up to Eddie and decides that he'd rather be with Venom than their abusive father.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Just like his brother, Dylan can be abrasive, snarky, and often speaks without thinking, asking Eddie to kill their dad without really meaning it. He also refers to Spider-Man as a "menace", taking after his older brother's animosity for him. But Dylan has a good heart and stands up for Normie against The Maker.

* SelfMadeOrphan: Invoked when he asks Eddie to kill Carl Brock, [[AbusiveParents 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.

* TagalongKid: He has no powers and mainly tags with Eddie since the alternative is being with their abusive father.

* TimeAbyss: Venom was the first of the "modern" Klyntar, created by Knull himself in Gorr's homeworld after his defeat at the hands of the Celestials, as the first warrior of his Symbiote Imperium's army. At the very least, he's billions of years old. Given where and how he was created, the only symbiote older than Venom would be [[SuperPrototype All-Black]], which would make him the second symbiote/Klyntar ''ever''.

* TimeAbyss: Venom was the first of the "modern" Klyntar, created by Knull himself in Gorr's homeworld after his defeat at the hands of the Celestials, as the first warrior of his Symbiote Imperium's army. At the very least, he's billions of years old. Given where and how he was created, the only symbiote older than Venom would be [[SuperPrototype All-Black]], which would make him the second symbiote/Klyntar ''ever'', and after All-Black's death at the hands of Thor, Venom is now the oldest Klyntar alive.

* TimeAbyss: Venom was the first of the "modern" Klyntar, created by Knull himself in Gorr's homeworld after his defeat at the hands of the Celestials, as the first warrior of his Symbiote Imperium's army. At the very least, he's billions of years old.

* TimeAbyss: Venom was the first of the "modern" Klyntar, created by Knull himself after his defeat at the hands of the Celestials, as the first warrior of his Symbiote Imperium's army. At the very least, he's billions of years old.
** Taken even further in ''Venom: The End'', where he ends up outliving almost all other living things in the universe, before eventually dying in a HeroicSacrifice at the ripe old age of 1.4 trillion years old.