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Never has Spider-Man faced a more
vicious mass of mayhem than the super-brute known as Venom, a man whose intense
hatred for the wall-crawler is matched only by the alien symbiote to which he's
bonded!
Real name: Eddie Brock
Occupation: Criminal
vigilante, former journalist
Group affiliation: None, formerly the
Sinister Six
Base of operations: Mobile
First appearance:
Secret Wars #8 (alien costume, 1984), Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1)
#299 (Eddie Brock, 1988)
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 260 lbs.
Eye color: Blue
Hair color:
Reddish-blond
Powers: Venom possesses all of Spider-Man's powers and
even greater strength. He can disguise himself to look like any person he can
imagine, and is invisible to the wall-crawler's protective Spider-Sense. But
Venom is vulnerable to fire, and loud noise can shred the symbiote right off
Brock's back.
Weapons: None
History: Venom is an
amalgamation of two beings: Eddie Brock, a human whose career as a reporter for
the Daily Globe came to an abrupt end when Spider-Man unwittingly exposed
a story he had written as false; and the alien symbiote that posed for a time as
Spider-Man's black costume, until the wall-crawler realized it was alive and
rejected it. Losing his job drove Brock to consider killing himself. Praying to
be forgiven for his suicidal thoughts, Brock's expression of fierce emotion
attracted the empathic symbiote. This chance meeting enabled man and alien to
combine their separate hatreds for Spider-Man into one overwhelming animosity
when they merged to form Venom.
 Spider-Man had rejected the
symbiote, but Brock accepted it completely. Extraterrestrial entity and human
being became virtually indistinguishable: Venom often refers to itself as "we."
With the symbiote came all of Spider-Man's powers, as well as several new
abilities. But most damaging, Brock now knew the web-slinger's secret identity.
Armed with this knowledge, Venom set out to destroy the man it believed had
ruined the lives of both the symbiote and Brock.
Too many innocent individuals have
fallen victim to Venom's bloodthirsty obsession -- none closer to Brock than his
ex-wife, Ann Weying. Since accidentally merging with the symbiote, Ann had been
terrified of the world outside her apartment. When Brock arrived at her doorstep
seeking reconciliation, a confluence of bizarre circumstances resulted in
tragedy. Already fearful of an unwanted reunion with the symbiote, Ann fell into
a hysterical fit as Spider-Man swung by her window wearing his black costume.
Brock's subsequent transformation into Venom pushed her over the edge, causing
her to commit suicide. Brock, not understanding he was to blame for his
ex-wife's death, swore to eradicate everything Spider-Man held dear.
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