Why Venom Actually HATES Spider-Man in Marvel’s Universe
Spider-Man’s enemy Venom has a long history of hating the webslinger in the Marvel Universe, which is why so many fans were disappointed when Spider-Man didn’t appear in the Venom movie starring Tom Hardy. New fans of Venom, however, may not know why Eddie Brock and the symbiote hate Spider-Man so much.
With so many retcons and re-tellings of Venom’s origin, the precise reasons for Venom’s hatred have changed quite a bit over the years. With this in mind, let’s examine Venom’s history from the point of view of both the alien symbiote and its human host Eddie Brock, and hopefully get a better understanding of exactly why Venom wants to eat Spider-Man’s brain so badly.
Unlike the Venom film, Venom’s comic book origins begin in Marvel’s original Secret Wars storyline from the 1980s. In the story, the cosmic being Beyonder teleports Spider-Man and other Marvel superheroes to an artificial “Battleworld” where they battle supervillains for the Beyonder’s study. During the fight, Spider-Man’s suit is shredded and his web shooters dismantled. Needing a repair, Spidey discovers a machine he thinks will fix his costume and gets covered by a skintight black sheath he assumes is an alien fabric with the ability to shapeshift into different types of clothes and produce its own webbing.
Later retellings and retcons of the story reveal the black substance is a living symbiotic being from a race of creatures called the Klyntar. Where the symbiotes of the Venom movie seem bent on world conquest, the Klyntar of the comic book were characterized as a benevolent race in some stories – seeking to bond with “worthy” hosts and help them become noble warriors. Other stories, however, expose a darker origin, stating the Klyntar were created as parasitic warriors by the alien god Knull who wanted to use them to conquer other worlds before the symbiotes rebelled and imprisoned Knull.
Regardless of their exact roots, the Klyntar can be corrupted if bonded with unworthy hosts – which is what happens to the Venom symbiote, who initially joins with a genocidal alien that uses it to kill its people. Imprisoned, the symbiote is transported to the Beyonder’s Battleworld where it bonds briefly with the insane antihero Deadpool (which likely drove the symbiote even crazier) before finally joining with Spider-Man.
The symbiote serves Spider-Man faithfully, even boosting his strength at times, but when Spider-Man discovers his suit is alive and wants to bond with him permanently, he rejects it. In a classic scene later depicted in Spider-Man 3 (2007), Spider-Man goes to a church bell tower and uses the intense sound of the bells to tear the symbiote off of his body. Despite the rejection, the symbiote continues feeling loyalty and love for Spider-Man, and uses its waning strength to drag Spider-Man to safety before apparently dying from the sonic attack.
Venom’s next main host, Eddie Brock, first develops his hatred of Spider-Man during Spider-Man’s Sin-Eater storyline, where Spider-Man discovers the masked gunman Sin-Eater who killed his friend, police captain Jean DeWolff, is actually fellow police officer Stan Carter. While Brock doesn’t appear in the original comic book story, it’s later revealed that Brock (who in the comics is a reporter like in the Venom film) wrote a series of articles claiming another man, Emil Gregg, was the Sin-Eater. When Spider-Man exposes the real Sin-Eater, Brock’s journalistic career is ruined and he begins blaming Spider-Man for ruining his life.
Future stories, however, add new details to Brock’s motivation, revealing that losing his job was only one of the things that pushed Eddie Brock over the edge. Brock originally became a reporter to gain the approval of his distant father, who disowns him after Eddie loses his career. As in the Venom movie, Anne Weying (who in the comics is Eddie’s wife and not fiancé) divorces Eddie, leaving him alone. In an even crueler twist of fate, Brock reveals he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and had been writing his Sin-Eater articles partly as a way to cope with his fear of dying. When Spider-Man catches the real killer, Brock’s final bit of self-worth shatters.
Furious and suicidal, Brock chooses to focus all of his hatred on Spider-Man and goes to the same church where Spider-Man rejected the Venom symbiote. Attracted to Brock’s anger – as well as the adrenaline produced by his cancer which can sustain symbiotes – the still-living symbiote attaches itself to Brock, transforming them into Venom. The bonding halts Brock’s cancer and grants Venom Spider-Man-like powers. However, the symbiote’s corrupted nature also warps Brock’s mind. Likewise, Brock’s hatred of Spider-Man fuels the symbiote’s own mixed emotions toward the wall crawler.
In The Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 2 #5, however, it’s revealed much of Eddie’s hatred is actually motivated by fear. Since he realizes the symbiote functions as his life support system – and that the symbiote prefers Spider-Man as a host over him – he needs to keep the symbiote focused on hating Spider-Man. To stop hating Spider-Man could mean the symbiote might leave him – which would cause Brock’s cancer to return.
Brock is eventually cured of his cancer by the criminal Mr. Negative and ends up bonding with different Marvel symbiotes, becoming Anti-Venom, Toxin, and – inevitably – Venom once more. As he no longer needs to hate Spider-Man to keep his cancer under control (and because many of his current adventures don’t involve Spider-Man), Venom has established multiple truces with Spider-Man – and even used his symbiote to save Spider-Man’s life in The Amazing Spider-Man #800. Remarkably, for a villain who saw killing Spider-Man as their main reason for existing, Venom has now evolved into an independent anti-hero capable of functioning without his main antagonist.
In the Ultimate Spider-Man comic book (set in a separate continuity than the main Marvel Universe) fans see a different version of Venom. In this storyline, Eddie Brock Jr. is a childhood friend of Peter Parker, whose parents had worked with Brock’s own scientist parents on a cancer-treating substance called “The Suit.” Peter accidentally bonds with “The Suit,” which becomes his black costume. When Peter attempts to destroy the dangerous substance, Eddie, feeling betrayed, bonds with the substance himself and becomes the Ultimate Universe’s Venom. The idea of Eddie being Peter’s surrogate brother (and becoming a dark reflection of Spider-Man) was so popular it was referenced in animated series like The Spectacular Spider-Man, although they have no such relationship in the main Marvel timeline.
With Tom Holland’s Spider-Man now able to join Venom's universe, it remains to be seen how Peter Parker and Eddie Brock’s relationship will take shape in future Venom movies. While Venom’s current movie origin establishes him as a character independent of Spider-Man, filmmakers will undoubtedly want to draw from Venom’s classic hatred of Spider-Man for future stories. With Venom 2 set to begin filming soon, fans may soon hear how the rivalry between the wall crawler and Venom will play out on the big screen.