Kingpin Becoming Venom Introduced the Most Creative Symbiote Power (& After 10 Years, We Need It Back)

In Marvel Comics, the Kingpin of Crime, Wilson Fisk, and Eddie Brock, the Lethal Protector better known as Venom, don’t have much in common, with their similarities as characters mostly stemming from their brutal tactics on the battlefield as well as their herculean levels of strength. But in a comic from a decade ago, the official pairing of Kingpin and Venom was finally and fully realized, introducing a unique symbiote power that needs to make a comeback, and soon.

Getting involved in the Venomverse on extremely rare occasions, (there are almost no instances of Kingpin being host to or influenced by a Klyntar in his long history in Marvel Comics), Kingpin’s “Venomized” appearances usually stem from variant covers and not much else.

Yet in an epic one-off story set in the year 2061 exactly 100 years after the debut of Marvel’s “First Family,” The Fantastic Four, 100th Anniversary Special: Spider-Man #1 gives fans a showdown between a future Kingpin and Spider-Man, with Wilson Fisk’s monstrous version of Venom revealing his ability to control any and all kinds of technology!

Venomized Kingpin Can Control Any Machine in a Dark Tech-Based Twist on the Venom Character

100th Anniversary Special: Spider-Man #1 – 2014 (Sean Ryan and In-Hyuk Lee)

Telling a future-set story where Cyclops is the President of the United States, the grandchildren of Reed Richards and Sue Storm act as part of the latest incarnation of The Fantastic Four, and where Spider-Man dons a never-before-seen “techno-symbiote” suit, this issue reveals how Kingpin was responsible for creating said symbiote that’s been “embedded with technology allowing the wearer to control nearly any machine on the planet.” Killing Eddie Brock to get it back, Kingpin bonds with this unique Klyntar, transforming into a hulking brute twice the size of Venom’s usual build while becoming infinitely more deadly in the process.

Thinking this techno-symbiote suit is “too much power for anyone,” Peter does his best to combat Kingpin’s new form, only to be tossed around like a rag doll. Pursued by Kingpin through pieces of technology such as a large electronic billboard that he pops out of like a digital ghost, Kingpin is next shown controlling “all vehicles plugged into a central hub” as well as “all the systems that control absolutely everything.” Also using dangerous electricity tendrils and even a hacked helicopter to attack Peter with, this version of Kingpin shows off powers that the original could only dream of.​​​​​​​

Kingpin’s “Techno-Symbiote” Can Travel Through Technology and Is a Hulking Beast of a Villain

Eventually taken down after Peter utilizes the old standby of a stick with fire on the end of it, Venomized Kingpin was a short-lived iteration of this iconic symbiote whose unique tech-based abilities brought something creatively fresh to a character who often feels a bit overused and stale. It’s not improbable that fans could see this Venom x Kingpin combo in Marvel Comics again, as the company’s sprawling Venomverse holds every combination of symbiote and host imaginable, but as it stands now, a Klyntar-imbued Wilson Fisk was a one-and-done villain who showed just how deadly an upgraded symbiote can be.

100th Anniversary Special: Spider-Man #1 is available from Marvel Comics.