When Venom Breaks Bad: 10 Times Marvel Villains Got Their Own Symbiotes

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While Venom first debuted in Marvel lore as a villain, he’s undergone a shift over the years from outright villain to anti-hero, and this is due in large part to hosts like Eddie Brock influencing him. That said, not every Venom host ends up choosing to change their ways the way Eddie has. In fact, the symbiote has merged with plenty of Marvel’s darkest villains and enhanced their threat level significantly.

Venom can be used for good, but more often than not, those who become hosts to symbiotes utilize the power for sinister purposes. From Spider-Man villains like Rhino and Mysterio to true tyrants like Doctor Doom, countless villains have obtained their own symbiotes to carry out evil plots against heroes. Now, here are 10 of the most frightening forms taken by Marvel villains who bonded with Venom or various other symbiotes.

10

Mysterio’s Iconic Suit Got a Venomized Upgrade

Symbiote Spider-Man #4 by Peter David and Greg Land

Mysterio‘s greatest asset may be his ability to confuse foes by conjuring illusions, but his experience with being a Venom host showed that there’s no harm in granting him brute strength as a bonus. With Venom hitching a ride on him, Mysterio’s costume became overrun with black, and Venom’s white eyes shone beneath his signature helmet.

Despite this design’s visual appeal, however, it had one caveat that has resulted in Mysterio being ranked so low on this list. As cool as Mysterio and Venom’s team-up was in theory, Mysterio himself didn’t bond with the symbiote. Instead, Venom had only taken over his costume before leaving him be, denying this Spider-Man villain a full transformation like other criminals in the Marvel Universe.

9

Hela’s Venomized Form Made Her Scarier Than Ever

The Mighty Thor #23 Variant Cover by Clayton Crain

Letting the Asgardian Goddess of Death take possession of a symbiote sounds like a recipe for disaster on paper, and it certainly looks to be as troublesome as it sounds based on her nightmarish design. Hela’s fusion with Venom transformed her iconic headdress into a part of her head, with her entire body becoming covered in similar spikes in addition to claws that could strike just as hard.

This Venomized deity never appeared in a comic beyond Clayton Crain’s wild variant cover art, but this work does an excellent job of showcasing just how dangerous Hela would be if she truly had access to a symbiote. She’s already capable of killing even Asgardians, so bonding with Venom would make her unstoppable.

Venom #28 by Donny Cates and Juan Gedeon

Scorpion might be underrated as far as Spider-Man villains go, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be menacing when he wants to be. For instance, his experience with a symbiote turned him into a more horrific creature than many of Peter Parker’s other adversaries put together. He exposed himself as the true identity of the mysterious Virus, and upon removing his mask, he unveiled an unexpected symbiote transformation that would give any hero chills.

Venom entered the picture when MacDonald Gargan merged with the Scorpion symbiote from Earth-1051, giving him a green symbiote form that equipped him with pincers and a mandible. Scorpion’s similarity to the arachnid he derived his villainous title from reached a new extreme thanks to Venom.

7

Killmonger Resurrected Thanks to His Symbiote

Black Panther #17 by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Daniel Acuña

Killmonger’s Venom transformation had a key distinction that made it more unique than most others within the Marvel Universe, even among fellow villains. He’d been dead at the time, and bonding with Venom brought this Black Panther adversary back to life. Emperor N’Jadaka had merged with a symbiote that resembled Venom, then used its power to resurrect Killmonger to take the throne as a Venomized Black Panther.

The symbiote design for Killmonger integrated elements from Black Panther’s traditional costume, such as his cat-like ears and claws, with a regal look that would fit a king. There have been plenty of frightening forms taken by Venom over the years, but it can’t be denied that using a symbiote to revive a corpse is seriously dark.

6

Dracula Evolved Into a Venomized Vampire

Venom #32 Variant Cover by Stephen Mooney

Let’s face it: vampires are scary even without the influence of a symbiote enhancing their fear factor. Dracula has solidified himself as no exception to this, as he and his fellow vampires have wreaked their fair share of havoc throughout the Marvel Universe. Venom bonding with Dracula only increased the terror, as seen in cover art by Stephen Mooney that redefined this vampire as a symbiote host.

With Venom in tow, Dracula’s fangs grew much more pointy than the average vampire’s, and he also took on a more overtly monstrous form. With a hulking form and a disgustingly large mouth, this Dracula variant would put the original to shame if he ever became canon to Marvel lore beyond Mooney’s chilling art.

5

Rhino Became One of Venom’s Toughest Hosts

Death of the Venomverse #2 by Cullen Bunn and Gerardo Sandoval

Rhino is as sturdy as they come, standing out among Spider-Man’s rogues gallery due to his brawny form and immense physical strength. Once he added Venom to the equation, Rhino cemented himself as a devastating powerhouse. Rhino’s gray form, akin to his namesake, was traded for a gooey black exterior and gleaming green eyes that instilled fear on sight.

Venom can elevate the strength of hosts, so when a host is as powerful as Rhino, there’s no limit to how tough he can become. While this transformation existed in a world from the vast Venomverse and thus doesn’t have a place within the main Earth-616 continuity, it demonstrated that Rhino could easily become a horrifying threat if he were to form a bond with Venom in any universe.

4

Malekith’s Magic Ascended Venom to New Heights

War of the Realms #3 by Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman

Malekith is known for being one of Thor’s more dangerous villains, thanks in large part to the dark magic he wields. With Venom amping up his powers to an extraordinary degree, he became an even more dastardly foe, though this bond wasn’t formed as naturally as others. Malekith had to force it with his dark magic to get the symbiote to obey him, and once he had Venom’s powers, he used them to unlock shocking abilities.

Taking full advantage of his power-up, Malekith upgraded Venom to tap into forgotten powers such as the ability to possess many soldiers at once, in addition to creating the Svartalfvenom with help from All-Black. In addition to such skills, Venom gave Malekith a sickening redesign that turned the Dark Elf into spiky nightmare fuel.

3

Green Goblin Bonded With Carnage to Become Red Goblin

The Amazing Spider-Man #798 by Dan Slott and Stuart Immonen

Green Goblin can be wicked enough without help from another entity, but his alliance with Carnage brought out a twisted side to him that made him far more deadly than ever before. Carnage is known for being more fearsome than even the likes of Venom, and that was doubly true when he joined forces with Green Goblin to become the Red Goblin.

The Red Goblin took the classic goblin mask and integrated Carnage’s gruesome tendrils into its visage, with pronounced fangs and bright red skin that struck terror in the hearts of onlookers more than the usual green. Norman Osborn even traded his usual bombs for Carnage-Bombs, and with the symbiote’s bloodlust coursing through him, he was a foe worth fearing.

2

A Version of Thanos Became a Deadly Venom Host

Avengers #64 by Jason Aaron, Javier Garron

Seeing as Thanos famously wielded the iconic Infinity Stones, there aren’t many more valuable weapons he could possibly seek out to achieve greater power than he did in the classic comics. With that being said, as formidable as the Infinity Gauntlet can be, Venom can be an equally dangerous weapon if he bonds with the right host – or, from a different perspective, the wrong one.

Kid Thanos bonded with the Venom symbiote and earned a deadly power upgrade as a result. With the Black Skull’s symbiote fueling his actions, Kid Thanos – who already boasted powers that surpassed other Thanos variants – became one of the most violent Venom fusions yet. This Venomized Thanos took on an entire team of Avengers at once, proving how lethal he could be.

1

Doctor Doom Went on a Rampage with Venom

Venom: Lethal Protector II #5 by David Michelinie and Farid Karami

Doctor Doom is already a major powerhouse whose rule isn’t easily overthrown – as evidenced by his current domination over the Marvel Universe in the One World Under Doom event – but his Venomized transformation propelled him to even greater heights. When Doom stole Venom from Eddie Brock, he revealed a shocking proficiency with the symbiote’s abilities that rivaled even his most skilled hosts.

This variant of Venom was one of the scariest to date, combining the symbiote’s usual physique with Doom’s green hood and frightening mask. Doom’s Venom form also possessed a primal rage as the symbiosis elevated his evil instincts and drove him into a murderous rampage. From his creepy visage to his terrifying personality, Doctor Doom earned his status as the most twisted villain to take on the Venom symbiote.

“}]] Venom has bonded with many iconic Marvel villains.  Read More