Venom’s 10 Most Ridiculous Hosts in Marvel History

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Out of all the members of the symbiote family, Venom is the most highly coveted. Debuting by bonding to Spider-Man set the tone for Venom becoming Marvel’s most wanted alien. In the time since, Venom has bonded with a never-ending array of hosts under the Marvel banner, most recently claiming Mary Jane Watson as Venom’s all-new host.

Some are already starting to question the pairing of Venom and Mary Jane Watson, calling them an odd couple of sorts, but truth be told, the symbiote has had far stranger hosts. When an alien costume like Venom’s is so highly sought after and wanted by multiple potential contenders, there are naturally going to be some oddball choices that fans wouldn’t expect. Outside of popular no-brainers like Eddie or Dylan Brock, Venom’s additional anchors have been nothing less than ridiculous.

10

Mysterio

Symbiote Spider-Man #5 by Peter David, Greg Land, Jay Leisten, Frank D’Armata, and Joe Sabino

Before Peter first learned from the Fantastic Four that he was wearing a living alien for an outfit, he battled Mysterio in a skirmish over the shapeshifting suit. The skirmish sees Mysterio acquire the Venom symbiote for himself, orchestrating a devastating rampage through the city while Black Cat and Spidey struggle to stop him. It isn’t until they are caught in the wreckage of a burning car that the symbiote is scared away from Mysterio and back to its rightful owner.

Mysterio didn’t have the symbiote for long, but it leaves one to wonder what a full run with Venom would look like for one of the strongest Sinister Six members. Mysterio himself is a shapeshifter, so imagine how much of an upgrade he’d get if Quentin Beck were to use those abilities with a Venomized boost. The possibilities are endless.

9

Aunt May

Julian Totino’s Variant Cover for Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #4

Rather than taking place inside an actual comic book issue, Aunt May’s Venom form debuts on a variant cover. Still, Julian Totino’s variant cover art is too haunting to ignore. Most importantly, it brings to mind an interesting What If? scenario, because: what if Venom didcorrupt Aunt May? Aunt May has always been an unlimited beacon of hope for Peter Parker who teaches him how to be a beacon of hope for others as Spider-Man. Does that beacon still exist in a Venom form?

Depicting Aunt May as Venom isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds on paper, as Marvel has introduced several versions of Aunt May with superpowers already. Giving her a Venomized power upgade isn’t far off from the creativity that previous teams have already brought to the table for May through the Spider-Verse.

8

The Purple Man

Venom: Separation Anxiety #1 by David Michelinie, Gerardo Sandoval, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Travis Lanham

Jessica Jones’ worst nightmare has a reputation in the Marvel Universe as the most dangerous man in the world merely for his power to control people into doing everything he pleases. Zebediah Killgrave becomes infinitely scarier and far more of a threat once he becomes Venom. When a fight between Eddie Brock and Rhino shatters the Purple Man’s soundproof cell, Killgrave becomes exposed to Venom’s symbiote.

This is a rare instance where Venom not only receives a new host, but Venom is seduced away to Killgrave, as the Purple Man uses his powers to steal away the symbiote. Having the prowess of Venom only makes the Purple Man all the more dangerous, but the power he already wields forces the symbiote to swear an undying allegiance to his every whim.

7

The Human Torch

Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man #24 by Fred Van Lente, Cory Hamscher, Guru-eFX, and Dave Sharpe

Venom’s most famous host, Eddie Brock, may not respect the Human Torch, but Venom certainly does, considering the symbiote allows Johnny Storm to attach himself to it. The story portrays a never-before-seen secret adventure where, after Peter drops off his black suit at the Baxter Building upon learning that it’s alive, the Human Torch steals it for himself, simply because he’s convinced that he would look pretty sweet in the color black.

He’s actually not wrong, until he accidentally burns his suit away. After all, fire is Venom’s true weakness, scaring the symbiote away, eventually leading it to find Eddie Brock. Given the nature of the Human Torch’s flame powers, his time with Venom was destined to be short-lived, but just imagine how powerful Johnny Storm would be if he could’ve remained a flaming Venom.

6

Drax the Destroyer

Guardians of the Galaxy #22 by Brian Michael Bendis, David López, Valerio Schiti, Jason Keith, and Cory Petit

For all intents and purposes, Drax the Destroyer makes a strong case for being the ultimate Venom host. When Venom makes its way from Guardian to Guardian, the symbiote settles on Drax, deciding that the Destroyer is the most suitable force to carry out its mission. Historically, the Venom symbiote has been attracted to naturally strong host contenders. The symbiote’s power charges the person wearing it, no matter how strong they already are. The symbiote knows that attaching itself to a host that’s already strong in some way will make them even stronger. This scenario with Drax is no different.

Drax as Venom showcases his newfound power not only by taking out the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy, but by highlighting his new shared shapeshifting abilities, making Drax even more of a powerhouse. As a result, Drax ranks among Venom’s strongest hosts and becomes one of Marvel’s strongest Venoms.

5

Kingpin

100th Anniversary Special – Spider-Man #1 by Sean Ryan, In-Hyuk Lee, and Clayton Cowles

Wilson Fisk is one of the strongest humans to exist in the Marvel Universe. He has pushed opponents like Spider-Man to the limit on more than one occasion, and fusing him with Venom makes Kingpin even stronger. However, this isn’t just any version of Venom, as Kingpin used his wealth and resources to have a techno-symbiote suit created to contain Venom. This means that while the Venom symbiote is enough to make Kingpin stronger on its own merits, the suit strengthens the symbiote by proxy.

Like many hosts who acquire the Venom alien, each host seems to develop unique powers that were never seen with more popularized hosts like Eddie or Peter. Kingpin uses his control over NYC tech to further empower Venom. He can phase through and out of billboard projectiles, quickly find people with its GPS functions, and burst vehicles with the snap of his fingers.

4

Vision

Spider-Man / Deadpool #32 by Robbie Thompson, Scott Hepburn, Ian Herring, and Joe Sabino

The Avengers #14’s variant cover by InHyuk Lee features a Venom-inspired redesign for Vision, but there’s no need to imaginean amalgamation of the two entities when such a Venom / Vision hybrid exists thanks to Spider-Man / Deadpool. The series is set in a distant future where elderly versions of Wade Wilson and Peter Parker escape to help fend off doppelgängers of Deadpool. This future features a new Fantastic Four led by Valeria Richards as the new Doctor Doom. By her side is a Reed Richards transformed into the Thing.

There’s also a new Daredevil called the Last Devil who sports the Iron Fist – and Venom Vision. Half of his body is lathered in the symbiote, allowing him to use a giant arm claw for a weapon and spew flaming venom out his mouth. He also spews discernible code as language that only Val can understand. He’s only seen in glimpses, but he sports unique powers.

3

The Sentry

Contest of Champions #10 by Al Ewing, Rhoald Marcellius, Andrew Crossley, and Joe Sabino

The Void is the dark alter ego of Sentry, who himself was formerly the superhero alter ego to Bob Reynolds. During a Contest of Champions competition, an attempt to destroy versions of the Void and Venom instead inexplicably fuses them together. This creates an army of Symbioids, all-powerful Venom clones that sport the powers of the Void, including being virtually invulnerable, flying, and shooting blasts of energy. This gives readers an all-powerful host for Venom that is nearly God-tier in its power and potential to be even stronger.

The Venom symbiote substance that was created from the Symbioids is proven to be even more powerful when Stick uses his powers to merge with the Symbioids, allowing him to revive the Sentry. Nothing screams God-tier quite like bringing the dead back to life.

2

Hawkeye

Civil War #2 by Charles Soule, Leinil Francis Yu, Gerry Alanguilan, Sunny Gho, and Joe Sabino

Not much is known about how Clint Barton came into possession of the Venom symbiote, but he acquires it following the death of its previous owner, Mac Gargen. As such, he uses his powers as a soldier for Steve Rogers’ Team Cap, or Blue, as referred to in the Warzone of the Superhuman Civil War. Hawkeye becomes all the more lethal and efficient upon becoming Venom. His most notable act during this storyline is using his pinpoint accuracy, heightened by the Venom symbiote, to chuck Daredevil’s billy club through Wilson Fisk’s head.

Clint was always deceptively brutal with surprising wins over different members of the Marvel Universe, but his deadliest identity arrives as Venom. In addition to making Clint more monstrous, it increases skills that he already had while adding new skills to his arsenal.

1

John Walker

Dark Avengers #185 by Jeff Parker, Neil Edwards, Terry Pallot, Chris Sotomayor, and Joe Caramagna

John Walker is best remembered as U.S. Agent. There was an instance where he put the shield down in favor of Venom’s symbiote. As a member of the Mighty Avengers, he lost his arm and leg while fighting Frank Simpson – Captain America’s darkest replacement – over Odin’s spear. He settled on becoming a warden, escorting the Dark Avengers to the Raft prison, which would soon be intercepted by an unplanned crash into an alternate dimension.

Thanks to the science of June Covington, otherwise known as Toxie Doxie, who worked out of a genetics lab with a controllable version of Hank Pym, she experimented on this world’s Venom symbiote. By neutralizing its consciousness and emphasizing its restorative properties, she uses it to restore Walker’s limbs. The symbiote’s genes become so distorted that Walker is merely healed instead of becoming Venom.

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