Venom (comics)

Venom, or the Venom Symbiote, is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Spider-Man. Venom was originally depicted as a supervillain when he made his full first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #300 (May 1988), but the character has since evolved into the role of an antihero. Venom is a symbiote, a sentient alien, with a gooey, almost liquid-like form. As with real world symbiotes, it requires a host, usually human, to bond with for its survival. After bonding, the symbiote endows its enhanced powers upon the host. When the Venom Symbiote bonds with a human, that new dual-life form refers to itself as "Venom."

The Venom Symbiote's first known host was Spider-Man, who eventually separated himself from the creature when he discovered its true nature. The Symbiote went on to merge with other hosts, most notably Eddie Brock, its second and most infamous host, with whom it first became Venom and one of Spider-Man's archenemies. According to S.H.I.E.L.D., it is considered one of the greatest threats to humanity, alongside Magneto, Doctor Doom, and Red Skull.

Marvel Comics

Marvel Worldwide Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American publisher of comic books and related media. In 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Worldwide's parent company.

Marvel started in 1939 as Timely Publications, and by the early 1950s had generally become known as Atlas Comics. Marvel's modern incarnation dates from 1961, the year that the company launched The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and many others.

Marvel counts among its characters such well-known properties as Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, Wolverine, Thor, Hulk and Ant-Man, such teams as the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Fantastic Four, the Inhumans and the X-Men, and antagonists such as Doctor Doom, The Enchantress, Green Goblin, Ultron, Doctor Octopus, Thanos, Magneto and Loki. Most of Marvel's fictional characters operate in a single reality known as the Marvel Universe, with locations that mirror real-life cities. Characters such as Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, Daredevil and Dr. Strange are based in New York City, whereas the X-Men have historically been based in Salem Center, New York and Hulk's stories often have been set in the American Southwest.

Venom

Venom is a form of toxin secreted by an animal for the purpose of causing harm to another. Venom is injected into victims by means of a bite, sting or other sharp body feature, which differentiates it from poison (that is absorbed, consumed or inhaled).

The potency of different venoms varies; lethal venoms are often characterised by the median lethal dose (LD₅₀, LD50, or LD-50), expressed in terms of mass fraction (e.g., milligrams of toxin per kilogram of body mass), that will kill 50% of the target of a specified type (e.g., laboratory mice).

Utilization of venom across a large number of species demonstrates an example of convergent evolution and a homoplastic trait. It is difficult to conclude exactly how this trait came to be so intensely widespread and diversified. The multigene families that encode the toxins of venomous animals are actively selected on, creating more diverse toxins with specific functions. Venoms adapt to their environment and victims and accordingly evolve to become maximally efficient on a predator’s particular prey (particularly the precise ion channels within the prey). Consequently, venoms become specialized to an animal’s standard diet.

The Amazing Spider-Man

The Amazing Spider-Man (abbreviated as ASM) is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously, with a brief interruption in 1995, until its relaunch with a new numbering order in 1999. In 2003 the series reverted to the numbering order of the first volume. The title has occasionally been published biweekly, and was published three times a month from 2008 to 2010. A film named after the comic was released July 3, 2012.

After DC Comics' relaunch of Action Comics and Detective Comics with new #1 issues in 2011, it had been the highest-numbered American comic still in circulation until it was cancelled. The title ended its 50-year run as a continuously published comic with issue #700 in December 2012. It was replaced by The Superior Spider-Man as part of the Marvel NOW! relaunch of Marvel's comic lines.
The title was relaunched in April 2014, starting fresh from issue #1, after the "Goblin Nation" story arc published in The Superior Spider-Man and Superior Spider-Man Team-Up. In late 2015, The Amazing Spider-Man would be relaunched again with a new volume with issue #1 following the 2015 Secret Wars event.

Flash Thompson

Corporal Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a star high school football player who mercilessly bullies classmate Peter Parker but greatly admires Spider-Man, an irony in which the superhero takes some gratification. After graduation, he joins the United States Army and is haunted by his combat experiences, leading to alcoholism. After losing both of his legs in the Iraq War, he was bound to the Venom Symbiote as Agent Venom, a superhero and the first to control the organism. In "the Ultimate Spiderman", he integrated new armor using pieces of the Beetle's armor, taken in a fight, via the venom symbiote.

The character has appeared in several other media adaptations, usually in his earlier bullying incarnation, portrayed by Joe Manganiello in the 2002 film Spider-Man, by Chris Zylka in the 2012 film The Amazing Spider-Man, and in the third season of "The Ultimate Spiderman" animated series.

Publication history