Who the @#$% is Venom?

Okay, Train just filled me in that someone beat me to the punch of explaining who Venom was, but since I'd already typed this damn thing up I'm still going to post it....

This involves a bit more explanation than a comment rally can accommodate, so this is going to get its own post.

There are really 2 main origins and back stories for Venom (I’m not counting any 2099 or alternate universe/what if?/earth X type stuff).

One takes place in the traditional Marvel Comics universe and is actually a little convoluted and hard to explain. The other takes place in what’s known as the “Ultimate” universe. The Ultimate universe was Marvel’s attempt at resetting continuity. Spider-man is over 40 years old and there’s a lot of history that can be something of a turn off to new readers. The Ultimate universe is a re-imagining of Spider-man. The basic character and powers and such are all there, but everything else is re-told and changed. It’s actually a more enjoyable read than the regular Spider-man books.

The original back story isn’t filmable really, and wouldn’t work with what’s been established in the first 2 movies. The Ultimate back story however actually would work pretty well.

Anyway…here’s the original Venom origin story…

In the Mid 80’s there was a huge Marvel crossover event called “Secret Wars”. The basic story of it was that all of the hero’s and villains on Earth were transported to an alien planet where they were pitted against each other in an all out war.

While on this Alien planet, Spider-man came across this black substance that swarmed onto his body and formed itself into an all black costume, with a giant spider logo on the chest. The costume had special powers like creating its own webbing (in the comics Spider-mans webbing isn’t organic, it’s actually a fluid he created and he has shooters that attach to his wrists), and it could morph into clothing merely through Peter Parker’s thoughts.

Once back on Earth, Spider-man adopted this outfit as his new permanent costume. However over time, Peter started noticing weird things happening. He’d go to sleep and wake up in different places, finding out that he had done things in his sleep (Think Ed Norton in Fight Club…while he’s asleep Tyler takes over and does whatever he wants).

Eventually, Peter tries to take the costume off, but it won’t budge. He goes over to see if Mister Fantastic can help, and he determines that the costume is actually an alien symbiote. Mister Fantastic manages to get the thing off of him (resulting in the Human torch giving Spiderman a temporary costume that’s been a fan favorite for years). The blob escapes and tries to re-bond with Peter, but Spidey fights it off.

Meanwhile, there’s a reporter for the Daily Globe named Eddie Brock (he’s name checked in the first Spider-man movie). In a nutshell, Brock is working on a big crime story that Spider-man reveals to be nothing but a big hoax. The Daily Globe fires Eddie Brock, and he comes in contact with the Symbiote. They bond and Venom is born. Shenanigans ensue.

Fans went nuts for Venom and he started popping up in just about every comic Marvel put out. He’s even had a crap load of mini-series and had evolved into more of a vigilante than a villain. This turned the character off to a lot of fans and writers, and he’s basically disappeared over the last 5 years or so.

However, over in “Ultimate Spider-man” land, we have a little bit cooler Venom story….

Eddie Brock is actually a childhood friend of Peter Parker (Btw in the Ultimate universe Peter Parker is still in high school, which is basically where the character was for most of the 60’s in the main universe). The symbiote isn’t an alien. It’s actually a “genetically engineered protoplasmic” suit that was designed by both of their fathers. Parkers dad wanted to use it for medical purposes (if I recall it was to be used as a cure for cancer), and Brock’s dad wanted to sell it to the military as a form of the “super soldier” program (The super soldier program is the program Steve Rogers was in during World War II that lead to him becoming Captain America).

Anyway, the project failed, and both of their fathers are now dead, but there are two suits still left behind. I think one was made with Parker DNA and the other with Brock. The Parker one bonded with Peter and the “Black Costume” was born. It increased his strength and responded to his thoughts, but it began to drive him a little nuts, and nearly made him kill someone. Peter saw the danger in the suits and was going to destroy both samples. Eddie Brock didn’t want to destroy either suit so he bonded with one and become Venom. He immediately went crazy and the only way to keep his sanity is to either feed off of other people or the suit begins to consume Eddie himself.