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Clockwise from the top: Venom, Scream, Carnage, Sleeper, Phage, Agony, Toxin, Lasher

The Symbiotes, also known as the Synoptic or the Symbian, are an alien species that usually exist in an amorphous state unless bonded to a host. Originally created to serve as parasitic and corruptive agents of Knull, Thor would sever their bond to their master and humanity would introduce them to positive concepts like love and honor, allowing them to rebel against Knull and develop on their own. The symbiotes that chose to rebel and attain true symbiotic bonds with their hosts would rebrand themselves as the Klyntar (their word for cage) and serve as protectors of the cosmos. The other symbiotes, known as the Symbiote Imperium or the Hive, would form their own empire and continue being parasitic, giving the species as a whole a bad reputation throughout the universe. Regardless of morality, they feed on their hosts' emotions, organic chemicals like adrenaline and phenethylamine (or just vital fluids in general), and flesh.

See here for a list of people who have hosted various Symbiotes.


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     In General 
  • Aliens Are Bastards: The Symbiotes who are corrupted take complete control of their hosts and often drain them of their vitality before consuming them, while those who do not — like the Venom symbiote — get imprisoned for not doing so.
  • Always Chaotic Evil: The corrupted symbiotes are bloodthirsty, arrogant and want to spread chaos and death throughout the universe in service to their creator. With the only known exception born among them being the Venom symbiote, who despite developing the same qualities as them thanks to its experiences on Earth later on before being cured, genuinely wants to help its hosts instead of killing them which causes it to become an outcast within its kind. Knull on the other hand detests this distinction and views the Klyntar as being the ones truly corrupted by the Light's concepts, like love.
  • Creepy Good: The Symbiotes as a whole do not have a culture of their own or a understanding of emotions without getting it first from their hosts. However, despite their off-putting natures, the Klyntar genuinely want to help people along with their hosts thanks to being introduced to concepts like love and honor by humanity.
  • Heroes With Bad Publicity: The Klyntar are feared and hated by the public due to their corrupted brethren's blood lust, habit of taking complete control of their hosts' bodies and then with draining them of their vitality but they are a noble race who genuinely want to help others no matter what the public thinks of them.
  • Humanoid Abomination: As of Venom: Space Knight it's revealed that if connected to the Hive-Mind symbiotes, both non-corrupted and corrupted, are able to take on a humanoid form even without a host. Thankfully, the non-corrupted symbiotes want to protect people instead of killing them.
  • Innocent Aliens: The Symbiotes who are not corrupted are generally friendly, nice, and kind to those not of their own kind; wanting to work together with their hosts instead of controlling them. They will protect their hosts, heal them from any injuries they sustain, and end up caring about them and loving them.
  • Ominous Obsidian Ooze: The Symbiotes were parasitic entities created by Knull from what he called the "living abyss", which appears as amorphous black ooze.
  • My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Despite being created to snuff out the light of life from existence for Knull, some symbiotes want to instead form a true symbiotic bond with their host and protect life. These symbiotes would go on to form the Klyntar branch and developed a way for corrupted symbiotes, like the Venom symbiote, to be purified and join them.
  • Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Nearly every symbiote is named after a violent or dangerous word like Venom, Carnage, Riot... definitely gets the point across that they're a dangerous bunch.
  • Shapeshifter Longevity: Symbiotes are shapeshifters able to mimic things like clothing, mold their bodies into weapons, and can even alter the physical appearance of their hosts. Also, various sources indicate that they either possess very long lifespans or are literally immortal: in Venom: The End, the Venom symbiote is still an untold Time Abyss after the death of every other living thing in the universe; back in the main Marvel continuity, symbiote Monster Progenitor All-Black was created billions of years ago and also had the power to bestow immortality upon its host.
  • Starfish Aliens: In their natural form, they're blobs of goo that can bond to others and grant superpowers, in exchange for feeding off the host's hormones.
  • Strong as They Need to Be: Any given symbiote and/or their host's power can vary wildly by story. Sometimes Spider-Man or Daredevil will be able to give them a really tough fight. Other times, they can exchange blows with the Juggernaut or even gain Story-Breaker Power by possessing high-tier characters like Thor.
  • Truly Single Parent: Symbiotes reproduce asexually; Venom alone is the source of almost all the symbiotes currently on Earth.

Kings in Black

    In general 
  • Foil: To the Ivory Kings, also known as the Beyonders. While they work outside the multiverse, empowering beings via their Concordance Engines, the Onyx Kings work within using symbiotes.
  • In It for Life: Once you're chosen as a King in Black, there's no real option to refuse, regardless of what's done with that power.
  • Non-Linear Character: A fully-empowered King in Black can move up and down the timeline to wherever there's a free Symbiote.
  • The Sacred Darkness: This is the true purpose of the King in Black. A dark, yet essential part of the multiverse.

    Knull 

Knull

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/knull.png
God of the Symbiotes

First Appearance: Thor: God of Thunder #6 (March, 2013)

A malevolent and ancient deity who created the symbiotes, Knull seeks to destroy the gods and corrupt their creations in order to return the universe to the primordial void.


    Eddie Brock 

Eddie Brock

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/king_in_black_eddie_brock.jpg

First Appearance: Web of Spider-Man #18; The Amazing Spider-Man #299 (as Venom); The Amazing Spider-Man #569 (as Anti-Venom); Venom Vol. 2, #17 (as Toxin II)

The former host of the Venom symbiote, who succeeded Knull as the King in Black.


    Meridius 

Meridus

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kinginblackmeridius.jpg
Look at him. Eddie Brock. How I hate him...

First Appearance: Venom (Vol. 5) #1 (November, 2021)

A future King in Black with a grudge against Eddie Brock.


    Tyro 

Tryo

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kinginblacktyro_8.jpg

First Appearance: Venom (Vol. 5) #5 (February, 2022)

A subservient and craven King in Black from the future whose avatar manifests as a green symbiote.


  • Amnesia Missed a Spot: Despite the damage Chasm did to his memory, he does vaguely recall some of what happened in Limbo, including the bit about how time goes in different ways there.
  • Beneath the Mask: He does partially remember Dylan, but keeps away from him because of the pain of the memories.
  • Despair Event Horizon: Crossed it some time ago and became convinced the only way to "win" was to try and learn everything from Meridius, who openly despises him.
  • Go Mad from the Isolation: Cut off from any true human contact, in addition to the Trauma Conga Line that caused him to become Tyro in the first place, Tyro was already going peculiar, but spending an unknown amount of time looking into the timestream causes him to finally snap altogether and become Meridius.
  • The Nth Doctor: The fourth of Eddie's future incarnations, following on from Wilde.

    Wilde 

Wilde

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kinginblackwilde.png

First Appearance: Venom (Vol. 5) #5 (February, 2022)

A sarcastic King in Black from the future whose avatar manifests as an eyeless blue symbiote with dreadlocks.


  • Future Me Scares Me: He loates Tyro due to knowing that sooner or later he'll become the snivelling sycophant towards Meridius.
  • Meaningful Name: Named after Oscar Wilde on account of his witticisms.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: Crosses the Despair Event Horizon and turns into Tyro after realizing his advice to try dimension hopping instead of time-travel set Eddie on the path of even more misery.
  • The Nth Doctor: The third of Eddie's future selves, following on from Bedlam. All that's left of him now is sarcasm hiding his intense self-loathing.

    Bedlam 

Bedlam

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/venom_vol_5_5_616_comics_comics_elite_and_comic_kingdom_creative_exclusive_virgin_variant.jpg

First Appearance: Venom (Vol. 5) #1 (November, 2021)

A bloodthirsty King in Black from the future whose avatar manifests as a colossal red-and-black symbiote.


    Finnegan 

Finnegan

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kinginblackfinnegan.jpg

First Appearance: Venom (Vol. 5) #5 (February, 2022)

A purportedly neurotic and delusional King in Black from the future whose avatar manifests as a grey symbiote.


  • Nervous Wreck: How he initially comes across. He turns out to be Eddie in the middle of a panicking breakdown.
  • The Nth Doctor: The first of Eddie's future selves, desperately scrambling to warn his past self about what's about to happen before Bedlam can get there.
  • You Can't Fight Fate: Try as he does, nothing Finnegan does prevents the events he's already witnessed from occurring to him.

    Eventuality 

Eventuality

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/edward_brock_earth_616_from_venom_vol_5_18_001.jpg

First Appearance: Venom (Vol. 5) #1 (November, 2021)

"I'm Eddie Brock. But i'm so much more than that."

A King in Black from further into the future than Meridius.


  • And Then What?: Dryly notes he'll sit out the end of the eighth multiverse and see the birth of the ninth, and has no idea what he'll do then; either become a cautionary example for the next King in Black, or get a Porsche. "Either way, I plan to enjoy my retirement."
  • Body Motifs: Hands. He first appears in the form of a free-floating hand, and his appearance to Eddie is him literally and metaphorically lending him a hand when no-one else would.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: Identifies as a black magician compared to the Beyonders' white, but takes the time to note this doesn't necessarily make him a villain any more than their being the Ivory Kings makes them good.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: Appears as an end of issue glimpse when Meridius outlines what he is. He doesn't make a full bodied appearance (such as it is), until issue #18.
  • Future Me Scares Me: Meridius is terrified of becoming this guy, and everything he does is an attempt to stop that happening.
  • Good Is Not Nice: While not malevolent, or even rude or unkind, he is quite blunt in telling Eddie what the score is as King in Black, brushing off Eddie's protests with "Knull said the same." There's a job that needs doing, Eddie's got it, so he might as well get with the damn program and do it.
  • Meaningful Name: As he explains to Eddie, events in the timeline are now fixed so that no matter what happens (Eddie lives, Eddie dies, Eddie loses his powers) he will still come into existence.
  • The Nth Doctor: The absolute last of Eddie's future selves, and the inevitable end result for all of them.
  • Screw You, Elves!: Not expressed directly, but his disdain towards the Beyonders when Eddie realizes they're the King in Black's light counterpart makes it clear how he feels about them.
    Eddie: Kings in White. My God...
    Eventuality: Yes. They really think they are.
  • Zero-Approval Gambit: When pondering what he might do in the Ninth Cosmos, the Eventuality remarks that he might take up an antagonistic role to forge whoever gets picked as his successor as the King in Black, essentially filling the role that Knull did for Eddie.

Main Symbiotes

    Venom 

Venom

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/venom_symbiote_8067.png

Hosts: Tel-Kar, Unnamed alien warrior; Numerous unnamed aliens; Wade Wilson;note  Peter Parker; Reed Richards; Sue Storm; Jen Walters; Franklin Richards; Leonard Elkhart; Eddie Brock; Anne Weying; Angelo Fortunato; Mac Gargan; Carol Danvers; Cal Henricksen; Flash Thompson; Unnamed gorilla; Thaddeus Ross; Groot; Rocket Raccoon; Arthur Douglas; Mercurio; Lee Price; Malekith; Bruce Banner; Dylan Brock

First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #252 (January, 1984) note ; Amazing Spider-Man #299 (December, 1987) note 


See Venom

    Carnage 

Carnage

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/carnagesymbi_8327.jpg

Hosts: Cletus Kasady, John Jameson, Ben Reilly, Norrin Radd, most of the populace of Doverton, Colorado, Logan, Ben Grimm, Clint Barton, Steve Rogers, Tanis Nieves, Karl Malus, Bentley Wittman, Carla Unger, Norman Osborn, Normie Osborn

First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #345 (January, 1991)


See Carnage

    Agony 

Agony

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/6379911_qwadf.png

Hosts: Leslie Gesneria, James Murphy, Lasher (German Shepherd), Wade Wilson, Tess, Gemma Shin

First Appearance: Venom: Lethal Protector #4 (March, 1993)

One of five symbiotes forcibly spawned from the Venom symbiote, Agony is pink and purple, and possesses the unique abilities of spitting a powerful acid and absorbing chemical compounds such as Spider-Man's webbing.

Agony's first host was Leslie Gesneria, a mercenary selected by the Life Foundation to serve as a superpowered bodyguard. 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 mercenaries 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 Leslie 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.

After Carnage slaughtered the members of Mercury Team, Agony and its surviving siblings bonded to Deadpool as Hybrid to seek revenge and were passed on to the team's German Shepherd. Corrupted by Knull in the leadup to Absolute Carnage, they separated and took over a dysfunctional suburban family — with Agony bonding to the mother, Tess. Eventually bonding to the Maker as Hybrid, the Agony symbiote and its three siblings were seemingly killed by Sleeper and Hawkeye.


  • Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Leslie was a villainess. James is The Big Guy. Tess was a suburban mother. Gemma is a more direct Dark Action Girl.
  • Elemental Absorption: Along with being able to regurgitate chemicals, Leslie could also absorb them.
  • Heel–Face Revolving Door: While Agony and its siblings are usually benevolent, being bonded to the Life Foundation hosts and later being brainwashed by Knull brought them into super villainy.
  • Hollywood Acid: Leslie's breath was highly corrosive.
  • Legacy Character: Was bonded to Leslie Gesneria initially, and later to a soldier named James Murphy. In Absolute Carnage: Seperation Anxiety it bonds to Tess, the mother of a dysfunctional suburban family on the verge of a messy divorce.
  • Prehensile Hair: Like Scream, Agony's hair was a mass of tendrils when bonded to Leslie; though unlike Scream, she never used it as a weapon.
  • Purple Is Powerful: The Agony symbiote is purple.
  • Signature Move: 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.
  • Super Spit: Leslie's acid breath.
  • Super-Strength: James's and Deadpool's main power granted to him by the symbiote.
  • Two Girls to a Team: She and Scream were the only female members of their squad.

    Lasher 

Lasher

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lasher.png

Hosts: Ramon Hernandez, Marcus Simms, Lasher (German Shepherd), Wade Wilson, Sadie

First Appearance: Venom: Lethal Protector #4 (March, 1993)

One of five symbiotes forcibly spawned from the Venom symbiote, Lasher is green and prefers to use Combat Tentacles as its weapons.

Lasher's first host was Ramon Hernandez, a mercenary selected by the Life Foundation to serve as a superpowered bodyguard. 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 mercenaries 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 German Shepherd 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.

After Carnage slaughtered the members of Mercury Team, Lasher and its surviving siblings bonded to Deadpool as Hybrid to seek revenge and were passed on to the team's German Shepherd. Corrupted by Knull in the leadup to Absolute Carnage, they separated and took over a dysfunctional suburban family — with Lasher bonding to the daughter, Sadie. Eventually bonding to the Maker as Hybrid, the Lasher symbiote and its three siblings were seemingly killed by Sleeper and Hawkeye.


  • Angry Guard Dog: The symbiote's second host was a catatonic military German Shepherd.
  • Combat Tentacles: As his name suggests, his main means of attack were whip-like tentacles.
  • Heel–Face Revolving Door: While Lasher and its siblings are usually benevolent, being bonded to the Life Foundation hosts and later being brainwashed by Knull brought them into super villainy.
  • Legacy Character: Was bonded to Ramon Hernandez initially, a military dog and later to a little girl.
  • Tentacle Rope: If he didn't whip his enemies with his tentacles, Ramon would ensnare them.

    Phage 

Phage

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3403901_phage_venom_separation_anxiety1.jpg

Hosts: Carl Mach, Rico Axelson, Lasher (German Shepherd), Wade Wilson, Billy, Mitch, Buck Cashman

First Appearance: Venom: Lethal Protector #4 (March, 1993)

One of five symbiotes forcibly spawned from the Venom symbiote, Phage is yellow and black, and prefers to use blades as its weapons.

Phage's first host was Carl Mach, a mercenary selected by the Life Foundation to serve as a superpowered bodyguard. 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 mercenaries 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.

After Carnage slaughtered the members of Mercury Team, Phage and its surviving siblings bonded to Deadpool as Hybrid to seek revenge and were passed on to the team's German Shepherd. Corrupted by Knull in the leadup to Absolute Carnage, they separated and took over a dysfunctional suburban family — with Phage bonding to the son, Billy. Eventually bonding to the Maker as Hybrid, the Phage symbiote and its three siblings were seemingly killed by Sleeper and Hawkeye.


  • Villainous Glutton: Phage embraces this as its calling in Extreme Carnage, impulsively ripping Buck's throat out and starting to eat him alive when affected by Carnage's summons and making frequent Eating the Enemy threats towards Andi Benton when fighting her in its tie-in.

    Riot 

Riot

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/662311_riot_998.jpg

Hosts: Trevor Cole, Howard Ogden, Lasher (German Shepherd), Wade Wilson, Sadie and Billy's Father

First Appearance: Venom: Lethal Protector #4 (March, 1993)

One of five symbiotes forcibly spawned from the Venom symbiote, Riot is grey and black, and focuses on hammers and maces as its weapons.

Riot's first host was Trevor Cole, a mercenary selected by the Life Foundation to serve as a superpowered bodyguard. 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 mercenaries 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.

After Carnage slaughtered the members of Mercury Team, Riot and its surviving siblings bonded to Deadpool as Hybrid to seek revenge and were passed on to the team's German Shepherd. Corrupted by Knull in the leadup to Absolute Carnage, they separated and took over a dysfunctional suburban family — with Riot bonding to the unnamed father. Eventually bonding to the Maker as Hybrid, the Riot symbiote and its three siblings were seemingly killed by Sleeper and Hawkeye.


    Scream 

Scream

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/newscream_1334.jpg

Hosts: Donna Diego, Patricia Robertson, Andrea Benton

First Appearance: Venom: Lethal Protector #4 (March, 1993)


See Scream

    Hybrid 

Hybrid

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/symbiohybrid_3048.png

Hosts: Scott Washington; Deadpool (Wade Wilson); German Shepherd; Maker (Ultimate Reed Richards)

First Appearance: Venom: Along Came A Spider #2

"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!"

The Hybrid symbiote is the merged form of the Agony, Lasher, Phage, and Riot symbiotes. Originally red in color, it has also appeared as an amalgam of its constituent symbiotes.

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 Deadpool, turning him into a new 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". Corrupted by Knull in the leadup to Absolute Carnage, the Hybrid symbiote seperated and took over a dysfunctional suburban family. The Agony, Lasher, Phage, and Riot symbiotes eventually recombined to bond to the Maker, but the Hybrid symbiote was killed by Sleeper and Hawkeye.


  • Adaptational Villainy: Is a bad guy not even hinted at having a human host in Marvel: Avengers Alliance. Although its 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.
  • all lowercase letters: How the symbiotes spoke.
  • Berserk Button: 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 Thou Shalt Not Kill policy and force Scott to murder them.
    Symbiotes: guardsmen. pain. torture. evil. revenge!
  • Face–Heel Turn: Was brainwashed by Knull into serving Carnage.
  • Lovecraftian Superpower: Like the other symbiotes.

    Venom II / Mania / Maniac 

Venom II / Mania / Maniac

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mania_symbiote.png

Hosts: Alfonse Poina, Dr. Loughridge, Ivan, Harold Saunders, Michael Malone, Daniel Jackson, Jerome Delacroix, Orrie, Clem, Nan, Yooper, James "Logan" Howlett, Patricia Robertson, Edward Brock, Mac Gargan, Flash Thompson, Andrea Benton, Lee Price, 8-Ball, Mac Gargan, Percy & Barton Grimes, Joseph, Killer Shrike, Norton Fester, Felicia Hardy, Peter Parker, Cletus Kasady

First Appearance: Venom Vol 1 #1

A clone of the Venom symbiote created by the Ararat Corporation from its severed tongue. It was much more bloodthirsty than its originator and would go on to slaughter many people — draining its hosts of their vitality. It was eventually bonded to Patricia Robertson before fusing with the Venom symbiote, later being bonded with Andi Benton and then Lee Price.


  • Aborted Arc: The whole "If the Venom Clone fuses with the original Venom the symbiote will become an Omnicidal Maniac and take over the planet" plot, which was crucial to the miniseries, was discarded... although it could help account for the symbiote's increased bloodlust.
  • Badass Longcoat: 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.
  • Body Surf: 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 named Yooper to a swarm of cockroaches to Wolverine to Patricia — killing all but the last two. It next reappeared bonded to Andi as Mania.
  • Creepy Cockroach: 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.
  • Dead Person Impersonation: 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.
  • Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: The clone has a perchance for sadistic jokes, and enjoyed taunting and tormenting its prey.
  • Explosive Breeder: 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 The Thing, taking over and impersonating the members of an Arctic military installation while killing them one by one.
  • Fusion Dance: It merged with the original Venom symbiote in Venom Vol 1. #18, and in Venom: Space Knight #13.
  • Horrifying the Horror: As abhorrently sadistic and evil as the Mania symbiote was, Andrea Benton under the control of the Hell Mark terrified it.
  • Horror Hunger: The symbiote clone drained its hosts dry and parasitized everyone it came across.
  • Hulking Out: The symbiote is often massive and bulky, particularly when enraged. This is likely why Haze Mancer classifies it as a War-Brute.
  • I'm a Humanitarian: 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.
  • Life Drinker: In its initial appearance it drained its hosts of their vitality until they died, seemingly out of pure sadism.
  • Magic Enhancement: 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 Ax-Crazy monster. The Hell Mark sensed Andrea's anger issues and transferred from the symbiote to her.
  • Modified Clone: 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.
  • Omnicidal Maniac: The symbiote clone was programmed by Bob to want to Kill All Humans.
  • Possession Burnout: The symbiote clone quickly drained its hosts dry, killing them within a few hours of bonding to them, until it bonded to Patricia.
  • Puppeteer Parasite: 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.
  • Put on a Bus: The symbiote clone disappeared for nine years and nothing came of the "if it merges with the original symbiote humanity will die" plot point.
  • Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: 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 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.
  • Skeleton Motif: Throughout Venom (Vol. 1), the symbiote clone's spider-emblem was drawn with resembling bones.
  • Stalker without a Crush: 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.
  • Tongue Trauma: The clone was grown from the original Venom symbiote's tongue, which was cut off by the Human Torch while Venom was trying to kiss the Thing to death.
  • Voice Changeling: 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.
  • Wolverine Claws: When the symbiote clone was bonded to Wolverine, it made full use of his Adamantium-coated claws.

    Anti-Venom 

Anti-Venom

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anti_venom.jpg

Hosts: Eddie Brock

First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #569

When Eddie Brock's cancer was cured by Martin Li's lightforce powers, the remnants of the Venom symbiote in Eddie's body were fused to his white blood cells to create a mindless symbiote that had all of the Venom symbiote's abilities, in addition to healing and a poisonous touch to symbiotes and Spider-Man.


  • Costume Copycat: The original Anti-Venom was essentially a color-inverted version of Mac Gargan's Venom form.
  • Healing Hands: It could produce Lightforce-infused antibodies that could cleanse and cure almost anything.
  • Kryptonite Factor: 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.
  • Magic Enhancement: 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.
  • Modified Clone: 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 Healing Hands, and had none of the weaknesses.
  • Story-Breaker Power: 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.
  • The Symbiote: 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.
  • Touch of Death: 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.

    Anti-Venom II 

Anti-Venom II

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anti_venom_ii.png

Hosts: Flash Thompson

First Appearance: 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. As a result, the portion of the symbiote that was bonded to Flash Thompson was transformed into a second Anti-Venom symbiote.


  • Bio-Armor: It takes on the form of military body armour, a color-inverted iteration of Flash Thompson's Agent Venom form.
  • Costume Copycat: The form it takes when bonded to Flash is a color-inverted version of Agent Venom.
  • Healing Hands: 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.
  • The Immune: 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.
  • Legacy Character: The first Anti-Venom symbiote was effectively killed to create a cure for the Spider-Virus during Spider-Island. 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.
  • Modified Clone: 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.
  • Touch of Death: The second Anti-Venom symbiote was also able to destroy Poisons with a touch.

    Anti-Venom III 

Anti-Venom III

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anti_venom_iii_klyntar_earth_616_eugene_thompson_earth_616_and_doctor_steven_earth_616_from_extreme.jpg

Hosts: Flash Thompson

First Appearance: Venom (Vol. 4) #33 (February, 2021)

While within the symbiote hive-mind, Flash Thompson was able to gain control of a symbiote-dragon in the real world and pilot it with the appearence of his former symbiote; later using it to resuscitate his physical body.


  • Ambiguous Situation: In Extreme Carnage the way Flash talks to Tony Stark about the Extrembiote implies this symbiote has a mind of its own unlike previous Anti-Venoms. This is confirmed in Savage Avengers Volume 2 #2, where the symbiote goes beserk and turns into the form of Eddie's Anti-Venom form when getting sent back into the Hyborian Age.
  • Bio-Armor: While bonded to Flash it mostly spends its time appearing as a color-inverted version of his Agent Venom form, which was derived from military body armor.
  • Breath Weapon: In its full dragon form, it's capable of breathing fire powerful enough to hurt an Elder God.
  • Draconic Abomination: Its true form is one of Knull's symbiote dragons, wyvern-like beasts formed from living abyss to devour gods, and Flash himself notes that it's a similar existence to Set.
  • Hulking Out: In Savage Avengers, the symbiote transforms into a monstrous form identical to Eddie Brock's appearance as Anti-Venom when it goes berserk.
  • Were Dragon: Being a symbiote dragon, Flash can use that form to fight foes with, whether partially or fully manifested.

    Sleeper 

Sleeper

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sleeper.png

Hosts: Eddie Brock, M'lanz, Tel-Kar, Hank Hensley

First Appearance: Venom (Vol. 1) #165

The seventh spawn of Venom, birthed when Eddie Brock returned to being Venom after years apart. Raised at Alchemax's astrobiology lab, it bonded to Eddie to save the Venom symbiote from Tel-Kar, who it took over and lobotomized. Returning to Earth to help Eddie fight Dark Carnage, it has taken on the form of a cat and watches over Dylan Brock.


  • Body Surf: 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.
  • But Now I Must Go: Ultimately leaves with Tel-Kar's ship (and his brain-dead body) to explore the universe on its own, though it returns in Absolute Carnage.
  • Cats Are Magic: Sleeper disguises itself as a cat following its return in Absolute Carnage, though it retains its chemokinetic powers and can assume its humanoid form at-will.
  • Chameleon Camouflage: 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.
  • Chemistry Can Do Anything: The Sleeper symbiote can produce liquid and aerosol chemicals with a broad array of effects, such as Knockout Gas, More than Mind Control, and hallucinations.
  • Cool Mask: The symbiote's face has respirator-like organs on its cheeks.
  • Jet Pack: Can also use its chemokinesis powers to make an organic jetpack for traversing space.
  • More Teeth than the Osmond Family: It can manifest a wide maw full of fangs when its angry.
  • Pay Evil unto Evil: It feels that lobotomizing Tel-Kar and using his braindead body as a meat-puppet is a fitting punishment for what he did to Venom.
  • Puppeteer Parasite: In the final issue of Venom: First Host, the Sleeper symbiote bonds to Tel-Kar and lobotomizes him as punishment for what he did to Venom, intending to use his body to explore the cosmos.
  • Smug Super: The Sleeper symbiote is more than a little full of itself.
    Eddie: Its... 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 with great taste in music.
    Eddie: Yes, you're a very gifted child.
  • Telepathy: The Sleeper symbiote's chemical manipulation abilities enable it to interject its thoughts into anyone.
  • True Sight: It can see things that are invisible to the naked eye and even cloaked from sensory technology.

    Toxin 

Toxin

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/607f70734ca5535cb48778feef71277c.JPG

Hosts: Patrick Mulligan, Eddie Brock, Jubulile van Scotter, Bren Waters

First Appearance: Venom Vs. Carnage #2


See Toxin

    Scorn 

Scorn

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scorn_9041.jpg

Hosts: Tanis Nieves, Frances Barrison

First Appearance: Carnage #4 (June, 2011)

When the Carnage symbiote was taken back to Earth from its orbit after the prison break in the Raft, Michael Hall used the symbiote to create hybrid prostheses consisting of both technology and the symbiote itself. Eventually, the Carnage symbiote managed to escape its containment cell and bonded to Tanis Nieves, leaving its offspring within her prosthesis after it used her to rescue Cletus Kasady. Tanis initially refused to bond to this new symbiote, which was briefly later taken from her by Shriek, but eventually acquiesced to bond with it.


  • Arm Cannon: Can fuse her arms to guns to give herself these.
  • Children Are Innocent: Implied with the symbiote, as it left Shriek because she frightened it, and it actually asked Tanis's permission to return to her.
  • Chrome Champion: The symbiote has a silver-colored right arm and constantly shifting metallic silver markings.
  • Gadgeteer Genius: Due to the symbiote being able to interface with technology.
  • Genetic Memory: The Scorn symbiote instinctively dislikes Spider-Man, despite having had no extended interaction with him.
  • Good Colors, Evil Colors: The symbiote was initially red-orange, but became purple and silver after bonding with Tanis.
  • No Mouth: The Scorn symbiote has yet to manifest its species' trademark More Teeth than the Osmond Family while bonded to Tanis.
  • Non-Standard Character Design: Looks quite different from the other symbiotes, due to the smaller eyes, and not yet displaying fangs or Lovecraftian Superpowers.
  • Purple Is Powerful: The Scorn symbiote is purple, and even stronger than its "father" Carnage.
  • Spock Speak: While building the anti-symbiote sonic weapon, the symbiote speaks in a sophisticated manner that comes across as a Machine Monotone bordering on Robo Speak.
  • Technopath: Because it spawned from Tanis' symbiote prosthetic, the Scorn symbiote doesn't distinguish between itself and technology, allowing it to merge with anything composed of metal.
  • Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth: When Tanis rejected the symbiote it joined with Shriek, but it soon left her and returned to Tanis because Shriek terrified it.
  • Tron Lines: The symbiote has silvery vein-like markings on it.

    Raze 

Raze

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dixonraze.jpg

Hosts: Claire Dixon, Jubulile van Scotter

First Appearance: Carnage Vol 2 #10 (September, 2016)

The Raze symbiote was spawned by Carnage as part of a ritual involving the Darkhold and bonded with former FBI special agent Claire Dixon, leaving her a puppet of Carnage's will. It was eventually taken from Claire by Jubulile van Scotter, who used it to augment her own symbiote to fight Chthon.


  • Bio-Armor: The Raze symbiote is a greenish-black emulating Claire Dixon's body armor.
  • Modified Clone: The Raze symbiote was an offshoot of the Carnage symbiote augmented by the Darkhold.
  • Psychic Link: As a result of being an offshoot of the Carnage symbiote, the Raze symbiote shares a mental connection to it that leaves it enslaved to Carnage's will and unable to refuse his commands.

Other Symbiotes

    All-Black the Necrosword 

All-Black the Necrosword

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7279722_rco010_1571865093.jpg

Hosts: Knull, Gorr, Thor Odinson (Present), Thor Odinson (Future), Galactus (Future), Ego (Future), Loki Laufeyson (Future), Dylan Brock

First Appearance: Thor: God of Thunder #2

The first symbiote, All-Black was created by the dark elder god Knull, who used it in an attempted genocide against the other gods. It was taken by Gorr, who unwittingly used it to follow in Knull's footsteps. Tossed into a black hole by King Thor after Gorr's death, All-Black lay dormant for millennia until King Thor retrieved it to fight Galactus. All-Black secretly transferred to Galactus, turning him into the Butcher of Worlds; and ultimately bonded to Ego the Living Planet, turning him into Ego the Necroworld. King Loki forced Ego to surrender it to him, intending to use it to kill Thor once and for all, but resurrected Gorr in the process. Merging with the symbiote, Gorr attempted to use it to consume the universe, but All-Black was destroyed by King Thor. Recreated in the present by Knull, All-Black was bound to Dylan Brock by Eddie, letting him harness his dormant King in Black-like powers and transform into Codex for brief periods.


  • BFS:
    • In Silver Surfer: Black it's drawn as a massive red-and-black sword that dwarfs the 6'4" Silver Surfer in size.
    • When wielded by Gorr it's large but not disproportionately so until the climax of its final confrontation with King Thor. There Gorr has it assume its "true form" as "Annihilablade the Planet Cleaver", a massive floating double bladed cleaver pictured in this profile.
  • Black Cloak: While bonded to Gorr, All-Black's most-common form aside from a Blade Below the Shoulder is a tattered black cloak.
  • Black Swords Are Better: A sword that can turn a normal mortal into a nigh-invincible god killer? All-Black is more powerful than most divine swords.
  • Body Surf: All-Black was originally bonded to its creator, Knull, before transferring to Gorr. When Thor defeated Gorr, it bonded to him before being taken by Old Thor. It later jumped to Old Galactus — transforming him into Black Galactus, the Butcher of Worlds. When Black Galactus was eaten by Ego the Living World, All-Black bonded to him in order to turn him into Ego the Necroworld. It is eventually falls into the possession of King Loki, who took it from Ego, who will go on to become the All-Butcher.
  • Combat Tentacles: Like lesser symbiotes, All-Black can form tendrils which it can use to attack and restrain opponents.
  • The Corruption: All-Black is implied to have manipulated the already misotheistic Gorr into following in its creator's deicidal footsteps. It was for this reason Old Thor purged it from Thor the Avenger and tossed it into a black hole to keep Young Thor from bonding to it.
  • Creating Life: All-Black can manifest beasts called "Black Berserkers" from its substance.
  • Eldritch Abomination: All-Black is a parasitic entity made of living darkness, capable of shapeshifting into countless forms and killing immortals. Even getting thrown into a black hole fails to destroy it since it simply assimilates the singularity.
  • Evil Weapon: All-Black is a malevolent, sadistic weapon created to kill gods. When bonded to Thor, it laughed at its former host before killing him.
  • Expy: Of a different magical sword, also black, also sentient, and also ancient and unspeakably evil. For bonus points, thanks to a guest appearance in Conan the Barbarian, Elric and Stormbringer are in fact a peripheral part of the Marvel Universe. Makes you wonder, don't it?
  • Hungry Weapon: All-Black feeds on the blood of the gods it kills to grow in power.
  • Immortal Breaker: All-Black was created specifically to slay gods and cosmic entities, and is capable of killing that which should be unkillable. It's implied that even lesser symbiotes are capable of this in the right hands.
  • Living Shadow: All-Black was manifested from the shadow of the dark elder god Knull.
  • Living Weapon: Its a prototype symbiote manifested from the "living abyss" by Knull, most often taking on the shape of a sword, and is able to create monsters called Black Berserkers.
  • Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Aside from its own name, those who wield it tend to earn the title of Butcher for whatever they target.
  • Omnicidal Maniac: It desires nothing less than to kill all the gods and return the universe to the void, which it puppeteers its hosts to achieve.
  • Planet Eater: While bonded to Black Galactus and Ego the Necroworld, it used them to feast on entire planets. It also rips Ego apart after bonding to Loki.
  • Red and Black and Evil All Over: In Silver Surfer: Black, All-Black is colored black-and-red as opposed to being black as in Thor: God of Thunder or red as in Venom.
  • Shapeshifter Weapon: All-Black's original and most common form is a sword, but its able to shape itself into tendrils, chains, hooks, claws, armor, a cloak, and anything else its wielder can imagine.
  • Soul Jar: King Thor revealed that it absorbed Gorr's consciousness into itself — effectively granting his wish of a universe without gods — until eons later King Loki called him forth to finish what he'd started.
  • Super-Empowering: Gorr was a mere mortal before All-Black bonded to him and effectively turned him into a lesser version of its creator Knull.
  • Super Prototype: It was the first symbiote created by Knull, and displays powers its lesser brethren have not been shown to be capable of.
  • The Symbiote: Venom (Vol. 4) #4 reveals that All-Black the Necrosword was a prototype symbiote created by Knull, an ancient and malevolent God of Darkness. All-Black was manifested from Knull's own shadow and forged in the cosmic power of a decapitated Celestial, and it's the Genetic Memory of the heat of its forge's fires and the clanging of the hammer that give the Klyntar their instinctive fear and vulnerability to fire and noise.
  • Your Soul Is Mine!: The Valkyrie tie-in to King in Black reveals that its tempering in the head of the Celestial it beheaded created a metaphysical link between it and the Celestial's body. Every soul it kills is absorbed into a twisted kind of afterlife that formed in the corpse, serving as a battery of sorts for its power.

    Big Mother 

Big Mother

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/big_mother_klyntar_earth_616.png

First Appearance: Captain Marvel (Vol. 4) #20

Billions of years in the past, the dark god Knull created a horde of symbiote dragons from the living abyss and dispatched them to wreak havoc across the cosmos. Manifested from Knull's divine blood, one symbiote dragon was red in color and took to accompanying one of its siblings in their interstellar feast.

In the sixth century, the two symbiote dragons made their way to Earth and began terrorizing the Danes of Denmark; the black symbiote dragon coming to be known as "Grendel" and the red symbiote dragon as "Grendel's Mother". Defeated by Thor, the red symbiote dragon lay dorment for centuries before being summoned by Merlin Demonspawn, adopting a feminine humanoid form. Awed by the splendor of the modern world, she became a pro-wrestler under the gimmick "Big Mother", but came to hate humanity once more after learning that Thor was revered as a hero and the story of her defeat had been twisted into an epic poem.


  • Bloody Murder: Scream: Curse of Carnage reveals that — unlike all of the other symbiote-dragons shown thus far, she's made of Knull's own divine blood.
  • Breath Weapon: Scream: Curse of Carnage shows she's capable of breathing both fire and a torrent of blue energy that Scream describes as freezing and burning at the same time.
  • Curiosity Causes Conversion: She's shocked and bedazzled by the modern world, which enables fast-talking agent Mordecai Boggs to sign her up as a wrestling champion.
  • Draconic Abomination: Like the Grendel and other symbiote dragons, she was originally a wyvern-like monster — though she was made of Knull's blood. At some point she adopted a more feminine four-legged draconic form, and took on a humanoid form as well.
  • In Love with Your Carnage: A maternal example towards Scream, who she compares to her younger self and spends the first arc attempting to pry away from Andi Benton.
  • Jagged Mouth: Big Mother is usually portrayed with a large maw lined with black fangs that blend into her jaws.
  • Losing Your Head: Scream lynches her using a construction crane at the end of the first arc of Scream: Curse of Carnage, and Big Mother accidentally decapitates herself trying to break free. The Scream symbiote warns Andi this won't be enough to kill her and that she'll eventually return to target them again; and her "corpse" is last seen being taken into the custody of the FBI's Anti-Symbiote Task Force.
  • Monster Is a Mommy: She is referred to as Grendel's Mother in the epic Beowulf — though Scream: Curse of Carnage shows she's more akin to its sibling. She also creates a horde of "children" by fusing corpses to sea-life using offshoot symbiotes.
  • Monstrous Humanoid: Her humanoid form resembles a red-skinned gigeresque woman with large breasts, hair-like tentacles, clawed fingers and toes, a bone-white face resembling a human mask, glowing yellow eyes, and a Jagged Mouth.
  • My Beloved Smother: She repeatedly tries to "adopt" Scream as her daughter in the first arc of Scream: Curse of Carnage, repeatedly seperating the red-and-yellow symbiote from Andi Benton and even eating Andi in an attempt to force it to accept her.
  • Nasal Trauma: After she eats Andi Benton, the Scream symbiote forces its way up her nose and down her throat to retrieve its host.
  • Non-Mammal Mammaries: Big Mother sports massive breasts even in her four-legged dragon form — despite being a symbiote rather than a mammalian life form.
  • Noodle Incident: While she recaps some of her backstory in Scream: Curse of Carnage, she deliberately refuses to reveal what happened to her after she was vanquished by Thor — leaving how she got sealed in the "floating underground prison" that Merlin freed her from or took on her more feminine draconic form unknown.
  • Not Quite Dead:
    • Thor bashed her over the head with Mjolnir and she fell into the ocean, but somehow managed to reconstitute herself.
    • Scream lynches and decapitates her at the end of the first arc of Scream: Curse of Carnage, though the Scream symbiote notes that she's not dead and will eventually come after them again.
  • Retcon: She was originally described as an ogress who fought Beowulf and was the mother of the dark elf Grendell before being retconned into a symbiote who was defeated by Thor in Scream: Curse of Carnage.
  • Sizeshifter: Big Mother can grow from being roughly twice the height of a human to being big enough to easily swallow a person whole.
  • Sealed Evil in a Can: According to Merlin Demonspawn, she was vanquished using Excalibur and sealed away in a floating underground prison that somehow made its way from Scandinavia to San Francisco. Scream: Curse of Carnage retcons this to an extent.
  • To Serve Man: When first summoned by Merlin Demonspawn, he offers her a sacrifice of 100 virgins (a Take That! against comic and Star Trek fans), though Marlo Chandler talked her out of eating anyone. To prevent the Scream symbiote from rebonding to Andi a second time, Big Mother grows to a massive height and eats her alive.
  • Wrestling Monster: Enamored by the modern world, Grendel's Mother becomes a pro-wrestler under the stage name "Big Mother" at the end of Captain Marvel (Vol. 4) #21, declaring her intent to (literally) eat her opponents alive. Scream: Curse of Carnage reveals this didn't last long, as finding out that Thor was revered as a superhero rekindled her hatred of life.

    Black Berserkers 

    Carnage II 

Carnage II

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cletus_kasady_earth_616_and_carnage_ii_klyntar_earth_616_from_webspinners___tales_of_spider_man_vol_1_14_001.png

Hosts: Cletus Kasady

First Appearance: Webspinners: Tales of Spider-Man #14


See Carnage

    Carnage III 

Carnage III

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cletus_kasady_earth_616_and_carnage_iii_klyntar_earth_616_from_venomized_vol_1_3_001.png

Hosts: Cletus Kasady; Poison Carnage

First Appearance: Venomized #2


See Carnage

    Carnage IV 

Carnage IV

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/carnage_king_in_black_mary_jane_header.jpg

Hosts: Mary Jane Watson (Earth-65)

First Appearance: King in Black: Gwenom vs. Carnage #1


See Carnage

    Dark Carnage 

Dark Carnage

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dark_carnage_symbiote.png

Hosts: Cletus Kasady; Numerous homeless people and animals; Numerous unnamed Ravencroft patients; Norman Osborn; Miles Morales; J. Jonah Jameson; Unnamed raccoon; Eddie Brock

First Appearance: Venom (Vol. 4) #7


See Carnage

    Exolon 

Exolon

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/exolon.png

First Appearance: Annihilation: Conquest - Wraith #1

Billions of years ago, the primordial god of the abyss Knull began experimenting with his power to manipulate the living abyss to create parasitic entities called symbiotes; discarding the specimens he deemed failures in the Exoteric Latitude.


  • Flawed Prototype: Web of Venom: Wraith reveals that the Exolon were among Knull's earliest experiments with creating life out of the living abyss, but he deemed them flawed and discarded them in the Exoteric Latitude. Among their flaws are that they can evidently only bond to dying hosts, and drive them insane by numbing them to every sensation except pain.
    Knull: Ah, I see. The Exoteric Latitude. I believe I remember this now. I used it as a dumping ground for my failed experiments. I'm sorry, child. You have spent your life thinking you were cursed… I'm afraid it wasn't anything so dramatic… You were born from my trash.
  • Power of the Void: Exolon hosts can induce them to swarm by exposing their souls, striking terror into the hearts of other mortal beings.
  • Soul Eating: They're stated to devour the souls of their hosts, making them all-but immune to pain and capable of healing from almost any injury, but driving them insane. Only those with particularly strong wills can retain their sense of self. They can also devour other souls, such as when Zak-Del used his Exolon to consume the soul of the Kree Supreme Intelligence, which had been infected and enslaved by the Phalanx.

    Extrembiote 

Extrembiote

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/extreme_carnage_alpha_1_extrembiote.jpg
Dragon Carnage 

First Appearance: King in Black #2 (December, 2020)

An Extremis-augmented symbiote-dragon merged with one of Iron Man's Model 70 suits, dubbed an "Extremebiote" by Tony Stark.


  • Cyborg: It's a symbiote-dragon that was infected with the Extremis nanovirus and fused to one of Iron Man's Model 70 suits.
  • Draconic Abomination: It's one of Knull's symbiote-dragons, mutated by Extremis nanites and eventually hijacked by Carnage.
  • Evil Is Not a Toy: In King in Black, Iron Man assumed he'd severed Knull's control over it and could use it to save Eddie Brock only for the Extremis-altered symbiote to kill Eddie instead. In Extreme Carnage, Flash Thompson warns Iron Man against assuming he can control it the way he can his other suits. Tony doesn't listen, which leads to Carnage hijacking the Extrembiote and badly injuring him.
  • Grand Theft Me: At the end of Extreme Carnage, Cletus Kasady assimilates it into the Carnage symbiote, transforming it into a black-and-red four-legged symbiote-dragon.
  • You Don't Look Like You: In the King in Black: Iron Man/Doctor Doom tie-in, it's drawn looking very differently compared to how it looks in the main series.

    Flexo 

Flexo, the Rubber Man

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/flexo_symbiote_earth_616_from_mystic_comics_vol_1_1_001.jpg

First Appearance: Mystic Comics #1 (Jan, 1940)

A robot made by the brothers Joel and Joshua Williams out of a special rubber they devised. Controlled by a special remote, Flexo fought crime in the 1940s.

However, there was more to the story of the Rubber Man than the Willaimses said. Such as just where they got the rubber from. In truth, Flexo was devised from symbiote matter Joel and Joshua had found in a meteorite, kept loosely under their control since they were the ones who fed him.


  • Arc Welding: His first appearance predated symbiotes and so he was completely unrelated to them at first. Come 2023 it was noticed that his origin and abilities were a little too similar to symbiotes, so he was made into one.
  • Beware the Silly Ones: A goofy-looking Golden Age robot like something out of a cartoon... as of 2023's retcons, he's also a symbiote, with all that this implies.
  • The Bus Came Back: Disappeared after Mystic Comics #4 in June 1940, Flexo didn't reappear until 2012, in Marvel Zombies Invasion.
  • Human Popsicle: After messing up a mission to assassinate Hitler, thanks to Eddie making a mistake while time traveling, he was put into stasis until 2023, when Dylan broke an important pipeline attacking Norman Osborn.
  • Immune to Bullets: Originally, because he was made of rubber. Now, it's because he's a symbiote.
  • Imported Alien Phlebotinum: Discovered as "living rubber" in a meteorite, some scientists build a robot out of the substance.
  • Just Think of the Potential!: Josh's attitude towards Flexo. Joel was a little more concerned about what he'd do without them keeping him in check. However, he turned out mostly heroic in the end.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Super-strong, super-fast, and he could fly.
  • Nightmare Face: Can assume the conventional symbiote fang-filled Volumetric Mouth, which is arguably made creepier by it's Glowing Eyes of Doom with beady pupil dots in a highly detailed artstyle.
  • Red Is Heroic: Flexo is mostly bright red. However, upset him and it very quickly turns to Red Is Violent. Just ask Dr. Murdo.
  • The Quiet One: Flexo doesn't speak very often, giving the impression he's either incapable or just lacks the intelligence to talk back. When he does speak, it's in very simple sentences.
  • To Serve Man: Flexo is shown looming over Dr. Murdo with his fanged maw gaping, strongly implying that it ate him, though Joel and Joshua Williams awkwardly lie that it non-fatally incapacitated the mad scientist and his henchmen.
  • Walking Shirtless Scene: As a robot, he doesn't wear clothes. His redesign in 2012 gives him pants, presumably so he can carry stuff in his pockets, but no shirt.

    Grendel 

Grendel

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/grendel_symbiote.jpg

First Appearance: Venom Vol 4 #1

A powerful symbiote dragon created by Knull, the Grendel and its ilk swept across the cosmos devouring gods and annihilating civilizations. Remote-piloted by Knull, the Grendel attacked Earth alongside a red symbiote dragon (later known as Grendel's Mother or Big Mother) and was defeated by Thor, severing the dark god's connection to his creations.

Imprisoned in a glacier, the Grendel was discovered by S.H.I.E.L.D. in the 1960s and used to create a team of symbiote-augmented supersoldiers. When this backfired, the Grendel and its offshoots were locked away, with some samples of its living abyss being appropriated by the Weapon V program. Decades later, Knull awakened and indwelled the Grendel again, sending it on a rampage. It was defeated by Venom, who - with the help of Tyrannosaurus, one of its offshoots — trapped it in a blast furnace and tried to immolate it. A surviving piece was stolen by a cult worshipping Knull, which bonded it to the corpse of Cletus Kasady, reanimating him as Dark Carnage. Seeking to restore the Grendel symbiote's deific power, Dark Carnage began hunting everyone who had ever bonded to a symbiote before going on a rampage across Manhattan.

While Cletus Kasady was killed by Venom, he was successful in freeing Knull when Venom absorbed the Grendel symbiote into his own. This backfired, as while bonded to Cletus the Grendel symbiote's offshoot had been imprinted with the persona of the original Carnage symbiote, which attempted to take over Eddie.


  • Achilles' Heel: Electricity. While it is nigh-invulnerable to traditional symbiote weaknesses, it is highly vulnerable to what Knull calls the Light, which ranges from metaphysical forces like the Power Cosmic to things as mundane as high voltages of electricity. As such, the Grendel and its ilk have been easily incapacitated by the Asgardian god Thor's divine lightning as well as Spider-Totem Miles Morales' bioelectric Venom Strike.
  • The Assimilator: Knull absorbed the Sym-Soldiers' symbiotes into it, and tried to do the same to the Venom and Tyrannosaurus symbiotes in order to restore it and make it powerful enough to free him from his prison. Carnage's goal was to absorb as many codexes and symbiotes as he can in order to restore it and reconnect it to the Hive Mind to free Knull — which he succeeded to do after absorbing the Venom symbiote.
  • Asteroids Monster: Its living abyss can be used to infect lesser beings, giving rise to the Sym-Soldiers, Weapon V's Sym-Suits, and to Dark Carnage's minions.
  • Black Speech: Like the other primordial symbiotes, it speaks in an eldritch language that causes agony to mere mortals who hear it.
  • Captured Super-Entity: The Grendel symbiote-dragon was sealed away in a glacier by Thor when it visited Earth. At some point, the US government discovered it and managed to take pieces for a Vietnam War symbiote super-soldier program. After the Sym-Soldier Program was deemed a failure by S.H.I.E.L.D., Weapon Plus took over and rebranded it as Weapon V.
  • Draconic Abomination: It and its ilk are enormous wyvern-shaped monsters formed from living abyss, are powerful enough to devour most gods and conquer entire worlds, and can fly through the vacuum of space at hypersonic speeds.
  • Evil Is Bigger: The Grendel towers over Venom in both its draconic form and when manifesting Knull's avatar, with the latter standing roughly thirteen feet tall in comparison to his approximate seven.
  • Mistaken Identity: The symbiote dragon more-or-less shares its name with the hulking one-armed dark elf "Grendell" from previous Thor comics. King in Black #1 clarifies that the Danes called it "Grendel" under the false assumption that it was the dark elf shapeshifted into the form of a dragon.
  • No-Sell: Recognizing it as a symbiote, the US army bombards it with sonic weapons and incendiary missiles, which do absolutely nothing to it.
  • Not Quite Dead:
    • Thor and Big Mother assumed it was dead after its battle with the former, though it mearly lay dormant for several hundred years.
    • Eddie assumed he and Tyrannosaurus had killed it using the blast furnace, but a tiny piece survived and bonded to Cletus Kasady.
    • Eddie assumed that he had defeated the threat of the Grendel and Carnage after killing Cletus Kasady, only for Cletus and the original Carnage symbiote to reveal that it had committed a Grand Theft Me on the Grendel symbiote's remnants to become more powerful than ever.
  • Red and Black and Evil All Over: Under the control of Knull and bonded to a human host, it and its offshoots are black with red spirals for eyespots.
  • Remote Body: The Grendel symbiote served as one for Knull during the Rex arc, who is sealed away at the core of Klyntar.
  • Sibling Team: Scream: Curse of Carnage reveals it had a "sister" in the form of a red symbiote-dragon manifested from Knull's blood, who travelled with it to Earth and came to be known by the Danes as "Grendel's Mother" and in modern times as "Big Mother".
  • Spell My Name with a "The": Commonly referred to as "the" Grendel, presumably to help differentiate it from the figure in Beowulf it was confused for.
  • To Serve Man: Its introduced devouring a group of Danish warriors shortly before receiving a Curb-Stomp Battle at the hands and hammer of Thor.

    Jubulile van Scotter's Symbiote 

Jubulile van Scotter's Symbiote

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jubulile_van_scotter_earth_616_from_carnage_vol_2_16_001.jpg

Hosts: Jubulile van Scotter

First Appearance: Carnage Vol 2 #6 (May, 2016)

An offshoot of the Darkhold-augmented Carnage symbiote bonded with the South African teenager Jubulile van Scotter, this symbiote established a psychic link between her and Cletus Kasady that enabled her to help the Anti-Symbiote Task Force track him. When the eldritch god Chthon was summoned by Carnage, Jubilile absorbed the Toxin and Raze symbiotes to augment her own before banishing the dark god back to his interdimensional prison; though her symbiote seemingly perished in the process.


  • Light 'em Up: After her symbiote manifests, one of its powers is firing beams of light energy.
  • No Name Given: The symbiote doesn't actually have a name, and Jubulile never gave it one.
  • Psychic Link: As a result of having been bonded to the Carnage symbiote's Darkhold-corrupted spawn, she can sense Cletus's emotions and presence, view his memories, and shares his pain when he's hurt.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: After she's infected by the Darkhold-altered spawn of Carnage symbiote, her eyes turn solid red when she taps into its power.
  • Super Mode: When empowered by the Darkhold, her symbiote takes on the form of an angelic knight.
  • The Symbiote: Jubulile is infected with a Darkhold-augmented spawn of the Carnage symbiote, which she amalgamates Hybrid-style with the Toxin and Raze symbiotes to create a pink flight-capable symbiote. When further empowered by the Darkhold, it transforms into a white angelic knight, but disperses into wisps of pink and gold smoke after Chthon is vanquished, leaving the Toxin symbiote's status up in the air.

    Killmonger's Symbiote 

Killmonger Symbiote

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/killmonger_symbiote.jpg

Hosts: Emperor N'Jadaka; Changamire; Erik Killmonger

First Appearance: Black Panther (Vol. 7) #2

At some point, the Klyntar established a colony in the Matrix of Mamadou; coming into conflict with the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda as it spread across that galaxy. Thought to have been wiped out, a single symbiote survived and bided its time.

When N'Jadaka, the greatest warrior in the Empire, was betrayed and sent into an ambush, the symbiote bonded to him and gave him the power to slaughter the Between that were trying to kill him. N'Jadaka and his symbiote returned to the Empire's throneworld, Bast, and committed regicide; usurping the throne and becoming the new emperor. After N'Jadaka was killed by an insurrection led by T'Challa, his symbiote preserved his consciousness within itself and travelled to Earth, resurrecting the body of T'Challa's nemesis Erik Killmonger to serve as its new host.


  • Animal Motifs: It has a black leopard motif, sporting subtle rosette spots and a feline muzzle.
  • Big Bad: The symbiote, controlled by N'Jadaka's codex, is the main villain of Black Panther: The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda.
  • Enemy Mine: Killmonger and the symbiote initially fight for control of their shared body, but agree to a truce for the sake of killing T'Challa and conquering Wakanda Prime. At least until Bast tricks them into having a falling-out, buying T'Challa time to stab Killmonger with a divine spear — seemingly re-killing him and slaying the symbiote.
  • Jagged Mouth: It is frequently drawn with black fangs that blend into the rest of its face.
  • Physical God: It drained a significant portion of Bast's divine power into itself, seemingly killing her and usurping her place as the Panther God.
  • Right Hand Versus Left Hand: The symbiote wasn't counting on Erik Killmonger's soul being put back in his body when resurrected. While Emperor N'Jadaka and Killmonger present a united front in the presence of their troops, surreptitiously they are fighting for control of their shared body.
  • Soul Jar: When its host was killed it took his soul and consciousness into itself, attempting to transfer them into the resurrected body of Erik Killmonger. Unfortunately, Killmonger's original soul was brought back as well, leading to them struggling for control of their body.

    Madness 

Madness

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/madness_symbiote.jpg

Hosts: Corwin Jones

First Appearance: Cult of Carnage: Misery #2 (June, 2023)

A gestalt symbiote formed from Alchemax's Scream, Agony, Phage, Riot, Lasher, and Toxin symbiote strains.


  • Hybrid Monster: Formed from Alchemax's Scream, Agony, Phage, Riot, Lasher, and Toxin symbiote strains, combined via a new suit of Guardsman armor that combines all six symbiotes. Keeping control of the gestalt symbiote proves difficult, and when Corwin Jones tries to add the Carnage and Anti-Venom symbiotes to the mix it backfires badly.
  • Mind Hive: In contrast to the Silence and Misery symbiotes, all of the six different symbiote voices are in the gestalt Madness symbiote, and unlike the Hybrid symbiote they have no intention of working together with their host so keeping them under control is no easy task. By the end of the series they're the ones controlling Jones, rather than vice versa.
  • Modified Clone: The Madness symbiote is an amalgamation of Alchemax's copies of the Scream, Agony, Phage, Riot, Lasher, and Toxin symbiotes, with their heads jutting from Corwin Jones' body as a reference to Venom's mutated form from Venom: The Madness.
  • Mythology Gag: Corwin's appearance as Madness is evocative Venom's mutated form from Venom: The Madness, where he bonded to a sentient mercury virus that mutated the Venom symbiote—causing it to sprout extra heads—while wreaking havoc on Eddie's sanity. Likewise, bonding to six symbiotes—who unlike the Hybrid symbiote or Misery symbiote have zero intention of playing nice—doesn't go well for Corwin.
  • Multiple Head Case: In a reference to Venom's mercury virus-enhanced form, the Madness symbiote has multiple heads. Corwin's own head—mostly covered by the amalgamated symbiotes—is the main one, but he also has the Phage symbiote's head extended from the left side of his back, the Toxin symbiote's head on his left shoulder, the Lasher symbiote's head on his right shoulder, the Agony symbiote's head extended from the left side of his back, the Scream symbiote's head jutting from the right side of his chest, and the Riot symbiote's head in place of his right hand.
  • An Offer You Can't Refuse: The Madness symbiote uses the fact that Corwin Jones has a daughter who he cares deeply about to blackmail him into doing what they want.
  • Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth: Liz deliberately sends the Misery symbiote to amalgamate into the Madness symbiote, adding the Carnage and Anti-Venom symbiotes' consciousnesses into the mix on top of Scream, Agony, Phage, Riot, Lasher, and Toxin's. This—combined with Anti-Venom's general incompatability with other symbiotes, completely overloads Corwin Jones and causes him to have a Freak Out.

    Miles Morales's Symbiote 

Miles Morales's Symbiote

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/miles_morales_earth_1610_and_miles_morales_symbiote_earth_616_from_absolute_carnage_miles_morales_vol_1_3_001.png

Hosts: Miles Morales, J. Jonah Jameson

First Appearance: Absolute Carnage #2, Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales #1


See Carnage

    Misery 

Misery

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/misery_symbiote.jpg

Hosts: Grace, Liz Allan

First Appearance: Cult of Carnage: Misery #1 (May, 2023)

A hybrid symbiote screated from strands of the Carnage and Anti-Venom symbiotes.


  • Blood Knight: Owing to it partially being comprised out of the Carnage symbiote, Dr. Steven notes that the Misery symbiote is extermely bloodthirsty and the only reason it's not having a negative affect on Liz Allan and Grace is that their inherent aggression lets them control it.
  • Healing Factor: Due to the Carnage symbiote and the Anti-Venom symbiote constantly striving to destroy one another and regenerating, the Misery symbiote enables its host to recover from injuries as severe as being torn in half and spattering into a wall at terminal velocity.
  • Jagged Mouth: Like Anti-Venom, Misery's maw is lined with black fangs that blend into the rest of its face.
  • Modified Clone: The Misery symbiote is a merger of the Carnage symbiote and the Anti-Venom symbiote, granting it the weaponization powers of the former and the healing factor of the latter.

    Mister E 

Mister E

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mister_e_earth_616_from_symbiote_spider_man_king_in_black_vol_1_1_0001.jpg

Hosts: Louis Tuttle, Alistair Smythe

First Appearance: Marvel Spotlight (Vol. 2) #9

A proto-symbiote created by Knull in the distant past, who seeks to conquer Earth and be worshiped as a god.


  • Arc Villain: For Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black, forcing a ragtag team of heroes to work against him. The retcons to its backstory are an Arc Welding prologue to the reveal that the Enigma Force is really a God of Light spontaneously generated by the universe to defend against Knull.
  • Assimilation Plot: In its debut appearance it tried to turn the sun into a "dark star" — intent on turning humanity into an army of "shadow slaves" in order to conquer the universe - before seemingly being killed by Captain Universe.
  • Bad Future: Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black #1 ambiguously retcons the "Shadow Realm" that Mister E originated from into a possible future timeline where Knull succeeds in conquering the cosmos.
  • The Bus Came Back: After his only appearance in 1980, he returns for Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black, forty years later.
  • Icy Blue Eyes: Its eyes are described as being the chilling blue of deep space.
  • Living Shadow: Even before it was retconned into being a symbiote, Mister E's body was said to be comprised of "shadow stuff".
  • Long-Lost Relative: Calls the not-yet-named Venom symbiote its brother, which only weirds-out Spider-Man.
  • Punny Name: Its name is a pun on "mystery" - lampshaded by Spider-Man when they cross paths in Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black #1.
  • Retcon: Mister E was retconned into being a Child of Knull in Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black #1, having previously been stated to be an alien from the "Shadowverse".
  • Rogues' Gallery Transplant: Introduced as an enemy of Captain Universe, it returns for King in Black to face Spider-Man and his at-the-time symbiote.
  • Sealed Evil in a Can: Gets trapped at the Collector's collection near the end of Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black, though it promptly breaks out after Knull restores its full power.

    Payback 

Payback

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/payback_0.jpg

Hosts: Mavis Trent

First Appearance: True Believers #1

A symbiotic entity formerly bonded to Mavis Trent's father, a being similar to the Klyntar, though supposedly a more evolved 'cousin' species known as 'Variants' who fed upon bliss from its host without harming them.


  • Energy Being: This symbiote is stated to be a "variant" composed of electromagnetic energy, feeding off its hosts' positive emotions rather than their negative ones. While it was originally stated to be a "cousin" of Venom's species, its unknown if that's the case under the present lore — though Payback's inclusion on the "Every Symbiote Ever" cover indicates that it is.
  • Game Face: While it usually coats Mavis like a second skin, making her look like a purple-and-magenta naked version of herself, it can manifest a monstrous form with glowing yellow eyes and tusk-like fangs.
  • Shock and Awe: It can use its electromagnetic abilities to manipulate electricity.

    Plague 

Plague

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/plague_klyntar_earth_616.png

Hosts: Cortland Kasady

First Appearance: King in Black: Planet of the Symbiotes #1 (January, 2021)

During the King in Black event, Knull reanimated Cletus Kasady's ancestor Cortland Kasady by fusing him with a symbiote that can drain the life force from bodies.


  • Animate Dead: The Plague symbiote has reanimated Cortland Kasady's long-dead corpse in much the same way the Dark Carnage symbiote reanimated Cletus' corpse.
  • Life Drinker: The Plague symbiote is capable of draining the life force from its victims — represented by a black mist that gets sucked out of their mouths.
  • Mummy: The Plague symbiote covers Cortland's body like wrapped bandages, giving him a strong resemblance to Egyptian mummies.
  • Purple Is Powerful: The Plague symbiote is primarily purple, with white Glowing Eyelights of Undeath and a Throat Light, and it possesses powers that other symbiotes have never been shown to have before.

    Rascal 

Rascal

Hosts: Normie Osborn; Norman Osborn

First Appearance: Free Comic Book Day 2022: Spider-Man/Venom #1


    Serpent 

Serpent

Hosts: Darkoth; Thor Odinson; Donald Blake

First Appearance: Venom (Vol. 5) #13 (November, 2022)

A nascent offspring of Bedlam who inherited many of its progenitor's powers, making it a "Prince in Black". Following Thor's battles with Bedlam's Child and Meridius, the living abyss comprising their bodies merged with the Promethium of Hellnir and seeped into Donald Blake's torture chamber, bonding to him.


  • Ambiguous Situation: It's unclear if the symbiote possesses a mind of its own, having previously been the physical body of Bedlam's Child and indwelled by Meridius.
  • Brutish Character, Brutish Weapon: Bedlam's Child uses the Promethium coating Darkoth's bones to create a demonic doppelganger of Mjolnir called "Hellnir", which is even more powerful than its template and able to fire bolts of hellfire.
  • Magic Enhancement: The Serpent is comprised of the living abyss of a King in Black merged with the demonic metal Promethium, making it far more deadly than an ordinary symbiote. Worse, its host has the power of Jormungand.
  • Mental Time Travel: Like its progenitor, it is capable of projecting its consciousness through time and indwelling other symbiotes, which it uses to escape its battle with Thor, "Eddie Brock", and Loki.
  • More Teeth than the Osmond Family: As it bonds to Donald Blake, the Serpent symbiote turns his mouth into a gaping maw lined with fangs.
  • Omnicidal Maniac: Bedlam's Child is too young to think in words, but like its "father" it is filled with insatiable bloodlust and the desire to kill everything other than itself.
  • Scaled Up: The symbiote covers Donald Blake's skin in scale-like markings as it bonds to him, fitting for one who possesses the power of the Midgard Serpent.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When Thor and Loki exploit the standard symbiote weakenesses to fire and sonics, Bedlam's Child — too young and inexperienced to have developed a resistance — time-jumps to get away.

    Silence 

Silence

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/silence_klyntar_earth_616_and_andrea_benton_earth_616_from_extreme_carnage_lasher_vol_1_1_001.jpg

Hosts: Andrea Benton

First Appearance: Extreme Carnage: Phage

Following the death of the Scream symbiote, Dr. Steven harvested samples obtained from the skin and blood of its host, Andi Benton. When his efforts to revitalize the Scream symbiote proved unsuccessful, Dr. Steven spliced its remains with a sample of Anti-Venom, creating a new symbiote.


  • All Your Powers Combined: Silence possesses Scream's hair-tendrils and Anti-Venom's cleansing powers, allowing it to easily restrain its opponents and — so long as they are symbiotes — decimate them with a single touch.
  • Modified Clone: Like Flash Thompson's initial Anti-Venom symbiote, it is comprised of a piece of Scream's biomass mutated by exposure to Anti-Venom serum.
  • White and Red and Eerie All Over: The Silence symbiote is effectively the reanimated remains of the Scream symbiote mutated by Anti-Venom serum, and is predominantly white with blood-red sections on its arms, legs, torso, and hair-tendrils. It describes itself as "the absence of Scream" and seems to enjoy creepily shushing people.

    Symbiote Dragons 

Symbiote Dragons

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/symbiote_dragons_earth_616.png

First Appearance: Venom Vol 4 #1 (May, 2018)

At some point early into his crusade against the Light brought into the universe by the Celestials, Knull learned he could manifest massive wyvern-like monsters out of the living abyss he commanded. Powerful enough to kill most gods, these symbiote dragons were used as everything from mounts to weapons of mass destruction capable of annihilating entire civilizations; and their constituent living abyss could be used to smother entire planets or infect gods and mortals alike, turning them into soldiers for Knull's army.


  • Asteroids Monster: Even if slain, the living abyss comprising their bodies is capable of bonding to other beings and infecting them.
  • Draconic Abomination: The symbiote-dragons are wyvern-like monsters manifested from living abyss by Knull, and are capable of spawning symbiotes as offshoots — though these symbiotes are still leagues more powerful than most-other symbiotes.
  • God-Eating: The symbiote-dragons were dispatched to slaughter and devour the gods of the planets Knull sought to conquer.
  • Super Prototype: The symbiote-dragons were among Knull's earliest creations, and also among his most-powerful. They are capable of shredding through Dr. Strange's strongest spells, and are strong enough to kill and devour most gods.

    Type-IV Battle Symbiote 

Type-IV Battle Symbiote

First Appearance: Venom vol. 5 #8 (2022)

A type of symbiote in service to Kang the Conqueror. Much more dangerous and aggressive than an Type-II


  • Angry Guard Dog: The one Eddie nearly runs into seems to be serving as one for Kang, standing guard outside his quarters.
  • Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Possesses four arms, and is a battle symbiote.
  • Spikes of Villainy: As Eddie notes, it's covered in spikes, in case the red wasn't a hint as to its general danger level.

    Tyrannosaurus 

Tyrannosaurus

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tyrannosaurus_symbiote.png

Hosts: Rex Strickland; James "Logan" Howlett; Edward "Eddie" Brock

First Appearance: Venom (Vol. 4) #1


    Void Knight 

Void Knight

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/void_knight_klyntar_earth_616.png

Hosts: Norrin Radd

First Appearance: Silver Surfer: Black #2

A powerful symbiote created by Knull to enslave the Silver Surfer, though it was quickly destroyed by Ego the Living Planet.


  • Horned Humanoid: Void Knight possessed a crescent-shaped pair of horns.
  • One-Shot Character: It is created and killed in the same issue, though its appearance was fairly memorable.
  • Super Prototype: King in Black #1 lists it separately from the regular symbiotes and indicates it was uncommonly powerful in comparison to its lesser brethren.

    Warstar 

Warstar

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/edward_brock_earth_616_and_warstar_symbiote_earth_616_from_venom_vol_5_9_001.jpg

First Appearance: Venom Vol. 5 #8

A Type-II Battle Symbiote in service to Kang the Conqueror in his endeavours to conquer all of time and space.


  • Do Not Call Me "Paul": Gets put out when Eddie refers to it as "buddy-boy", since it's a Warstar.
  • Just Testing You: The one Eddie mind-jumps into wonders about going against protocol by attacking first Kang's troops, then Kang himself, which is very much against protocol. Eddie manages to persuade it that it's all just a test.
  • Living Weapon: They were created by Tyro donating a few samples of symbiote matter to Kang, who then tinkered with them to suit his needs further.
  • One-Man Army: One Type-II Battle Symbiote is a match for a small platoon of Kang's finest troops.

    Weapon V Sym-Suits 

Weapon V Sym-Suits

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mars_team_earth_616_from_absolute_carnage_weapon_plus_vol_1_1_001.jpg

Hosts: Robert Urquhart, Ezra Sheppard, Matthew Johns, Bob Russell

First Appearance: Absolute Carnage: Weapon Plus

Virally lobotomized offshoots of the Grendel symbiote engineered by Dr. Andrew Breen from samples taken by the original Sym-Soldier Program, and used by Weapon V's Mars Team.


  • Bio-Armor: As a "perfected" version of what the Sym-Soldiers were supposed to be, Weapon V's operatives were equipped with samples of the Grendel symbiote that had been lobotomized and severed from the Hive-Mind to prevent them from influencing their hosts.
  • Painting the Medium: Their speech bubbles are cameo-patterned rather than black or red.
  • Spikes of Villainy: Their pauldrons, vambraces, and grieves were studded with spikes; befitting Mars Team's status as a pack of Sociopathic Soldiers.

    Widow 

Widow

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thunderbolts_vol_5_1_chew_virgin_variant.jpg

Hosts: Natasha Romanoff

First Appearance: Venom Vol. 5 #23 (July 2023)

A young symbiote spawned from Venom that bonded itself to Natasha Romanoff, the assassin better known as the Black Widow.


  • Ambiguous Situation: It's said to be the Venom symbiote's spawn, though it's unclear as to how that's possible given that the Venom symbiote was supposedly out of offspring and giving birth to Sleeper—noted to be an anomaly—nearly killed it.
  • Eat Brain for Memories: It enables its host to gain the memories of people through eating their brains.
  • Red and Black and Evil All Over: It copies its mistress's color scheme, but is more young and feral rather than evil.
  • The Worm That Walks: It invokes this by manifesting as a swarm of tiny spiders while not bonded to Natasha.

    ZZXZ 

ZZXZ

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zzxzsym_9193.jpg

Hosts: Unnamed Shi'ar soldier; Raza Longknife; Cassandra Nova; Cal'syee Neramani

First Appearance: X-Men: Kingbreaker #2

Oracle: ... Some kind of symbiote, we had never encountered anything like it. D'Ken wanted it studied, but after he died, it just remained locked away. My Lord... it is a monstrosity. It feeds on people. It consumes their brains...
Emperor Vulcan: Then if it wants a fresh meal, it will do as I tell it. What else?

ZZZXX, later known as ZZXZ, is a purportedly unique brain-eating member of the symbiote species that was discovered by the Shi'ar Empire. Imprisoned so that it could be studied, it was eventually recruited by Emperor Vulcan. Taking over Raza Longknife of the Starjammers for a time, ZZXZ was weaponzed to kill the Cancerverse incarnation of Charles Xavier, who had mutated into a giant eldritch brain-monster.


  • Back from the Dead: Marauders reveals that ZZXZ was ultimately captured, lobotomized, and converted into Bio-Armor by the Shi'ar Kin Crimson. Later in the series Cassandra Nova resurrects and bonds to it for a power-boost, later passing it on to Deathbird.
  • Blank White Eyes: Like its distant relations it has large white eyes.
  • Boxed Crook: One of the Shi'ar's most fearsome prisoners, until Emperor Vulcan decides to give it a job.
  • Brain Food: Like Venom, it has a taste for brains — which is weaponized to kill the Cancerverse incarnation of Charles Xavier, who had been mutated into a giant brain.
  • Captured Super-Entity: In Marauders, it's revealed that ZZXZ was captured by the Kin Crimson, who lobotomized it and converted it into their Wet Skin. Acknowledging ZZXZ's status as a mutant, Cassandra Nova vowed to avenge the symbiote and used her powers to cause Pr!z the Red's Wet Skin to eat the alien dragon from the inside-out. Cassandra later uses her powers to resurrect and heal the symbiote.
  • Combat Tentacles: It can project pseudopodia and tendrils to attack and restrain opponents.
  • The Dreaded: It is one of the five most dangerous entities captured by the Shi'ar Empire.
  • Heel–Face Turn: In its initial appearances it was an enemy of the Starjammers and X-Men, but after being resurrected by Cassandra Nova it joins forces with them.
  • More Teeth than the Osmond Family: Like most symbiotes, ZZXZ possesses a wide mouth full of sharp fangs.
  • Mutant: A handbook entry states it to be a unique mutant symbiote that devours brains rather than simply draining adrenaline, though the fact that non-mutant symbiotes like Venom also have a taste for brains calls this assertion into question.
  • Puppeteer Parasite: It took over the body of an unlucky Shi'ar soldier, who it took great pleasure in tormenting; and when he was killed it jumped to Raza Longknife during a fight with the Starjammers.
  • Rogues' Gallery Transplant: The symbiotes are much more common foes of Spider-Man than the X-Men. Appropriately he's finally restrained and captured by Nova who had a lot of rogues gallery overlap with Spider-Man in the past.
  • Spell My Name With An S: Its name has been spelled as "ZZXZ" and "ZZZXX".
  • The Symbiote: It is a member of the same species as Venom. Nova managed to capture and separate it from its host due to his experience with fighting Venom.
  • Trading Bars for Stripes: It was imprisoned by Shi'ar Emperor D'Ken, who intended to study it, but Gabriel Summers killed him and recruited Zzxz into his army.
  • Yandere: Zzxz really wanted Lilandra as its next host, but took over Raza of the Starjammers instead.
  • Uncanny Family Resemblance: It is a black symbiote with large white eyes, making it largely identical to its distant relative Venom.
  • A Villain Named "Z__rg": Its name is composed completely out of consonants from the end of the alphabet.

Non-Klyntar Symbiotes

    Captain Universe 

Captain Universe


    Dreadface 

Dreadface

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/deadface.jpg

Hosts: Unnamed gorilla, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm, Carrie Burke, Mr. Fishman, Deadly Doris, Chandra, Huntara, Franklin Richards

First Appearance: Fantastic Four #359

A symbiote warrior captured by Devos the Devastator, who intended to use it to find a way to exterminate its warlike species. Unwittingly freed by the Fantastic Four, it travelled to Earth and battled the Human Torch and the Thing. Thought deceased, it resurfaced and allied with a mobster; building a machine to make clones of itself to conquer the Earth before being defeated by the Franklin Richards of Earth-6311. Developing a fixation with claiming Psy-Lord as its host, it briefly succeeded in claiming him before being banished to the depths of space by his aunt Huntara.


    Krobaa 

Krobaa

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/522524_venom_darkness16_1.jpg

Hosts: Nigel Donlevy

First Appearance: Venom: Seed of Darkness #-1 (July, 1997)

Krobaa is an symbiotic alien explorer who travelled the cosmos until it was accidentally summoned to Earth by scientist Nigel Donlevy. Bonding to him, Krobaa was corrupted by the id of the human psyche and rampaged until it encountered journalist Eddie Brock. Restored to its senses by the flash of Eddie's camera, Krobaa committed suicide out of fear it would spread humanity's "seed of darkness" to the universe.


    The Void 

The Void

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_void_2.jpg

Hosts: Robert "Bob" Reynolds, Dr. Stephen Strange, Knull

First Appearance: The Sentry #1

A dark entity purported to be the Biblical Angel of Death, the Void indwelled Bob Reynolds when he consumed the serum that turned him into the Sentry, and began acting as an Enemy Without and Superpowered Evil Side.



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