This article is specifically about the character of Venom in the Spider-Man animated series that began airing in the year 1994.
Venom is an alien symbiote.
Biography[]
Background[]
The Symbiote has existed for centuries, it states that it was a piece of the lifeforce at the dawn of time. It has seen entire civilizations rise and fall, learned secrets with one goal, to survive. [3] It is unstated how the symbiote came to be contained within Earth's moon, but there bonded to a rock of the fictional substance Promethium X that the symbiote was for so long.
The Alien Suit (Parts 1, 2, and 3)[]
During a mission to the moon, John Jameson stumbled upon Promethium X within a crater. A unfamiliar substance John Jameson extracted the rock and there by not only was the first Human to discover it but also freed a portion of the symbiote which remained on the sample. As the moon's localized surface destabilized John fled aboard a lunar lander and returned to the orbiting space shuttle piloted by Paul Stevens. Aboard the sample containing the symbiote underwent some testing which showed it had atomic potential more potent than plutonium and was not of lunar origin. Back on Earth as the shuttle began it's landing procedure the symbiote escaped the sample container. The symbiote moved through the shuttle and into the cockpit where it attempted to bond with Paul Stevens but was unable to succeed. The symbiote continued to attempt to make contact with Paul Steven's skin but the space suit was preventing such from being achieved. The symbiote then attempted to bond with John Jameson yet now in atmosphere sound traveled more easily. The screams of the Paul and the reverberation of the shuttle's near impact caused the symbiote to withdraw down to the feet of both where it huddled beneath the controls. It's world turned on it's side and shook as the shuttle crashed upon the Washington Bridge and rested upon it's side. It stayed hidden as a large brutish creature, the Rhino, broke into the shuttle and took the Promethium X sample. It stayed hidden as Rhino and Spider-Man fought. Unaware of the threat of the shuttle toppling into the river below it stayed only to be heard by Spider-Man as it moved to another hiding spot.
Spider-Man entered the shuttle again to see what the noise was and then the shuttle fell. As water flooded the shuttle the symbiote slipped onto Spider-Man. It didn't do much of anything, just tagging along as Spider-Man got out of the River. Even when handled by Spider-Man it just let it self be pulled and smeared while clinging to the suit. It's around when Spider-Man, now back to being Peter Parker learns that the media has gotten his rescue of the astronauts all wrong- blaming him for stealing the Promethium X when it was Rhino who took it. J.J. Jameson, father of the astronaut John, even puts a bounty of one million dollars for the capture of Spider-Man. As Peter Parker goes to bed angry the Symbiote moves in on the sleeping Parker and bonds with him. As it does so it's host has a nightmare in which the Spider-Man suit and black oozy Symbiote fight for possession of Parker like giant Kaiju in New York's city scape. As Parker has this nightmare the Symbiote takes Parker's body out for a swing, learning how to produce webbing and in general adjusting to it's new environment.
Hanging up side down from a web Parker awakens to see the reflection upon the glass like window of a skyscraper- seeing the black suit like form the Symbiote had taken. Soon Parker finds himself on the run and the symbiote shooting webbing on it's own while enhancing Parker's strength. Together the two evade capture, the symbiote reacting to Parker's desire for something less conspicuous by becoming a Police Uniform to aid in that evasion, but with Parker still unaware of the other consciousness being with him. Though to the Symbiote- getting a little pet as Parker says "I'll keep you." seems to be an acknowledgement. Parker even starts making requests regarding appearance of which the Symbiote obliges. When Flash Thompson tries to intimidate Parker the Symbiote gives him the gumption to stand up to him which actually shakes Thompson a little as he backs off but, the change scares Felicia whose interest in Parker had prompted Thompson to do what he did to.
Back at Parker's home the Symbiote, in the form of Parker's casual attire, lingers as Parker and Aunt May converse. When Aunt May likens the new black suited Spider-Man to a cornered animal it's hurt and that pain transfers to Parker who leaves abruptly in a rude manner to go to his room away from Aunt May. As Parker closes the door the sound of the Spider-Tracker is heard- the tracker placed on Rhino- the one who took the Promethium X. The Symbiote wants to get at Rhino just as much as Parker, though for it's own reasons- the rock is rather special too it. Along with Parker it confronts Rhino and demands answers, demands to know where the Promethium X is. As the fight continues the Symbiote gets impatient, it 'rewrites the rules', is tired of not having it's way' and 'is tired of trying to be the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man'. It almost brings Parker to kill Rhino but, Parker recalls how he's been acting around those he cares for- around Felicia and Aunt May. Feeling this emotion, the Symbiote stops- it let's Parker handle this and thus leaves Rhino alive.
Alone, back at the reflective glass Parker's guilt over what he almost did leads to him asking why he almost did it. The Symbiote shows it's self in a reflection to answer visually. The symbiote and Parker then go directly to J.J after evading capture again during an an attempt that revealed the suit's weakness to sound and fire. Bothered by another sign of undesired behavior Parker goes to Connors for answers about the suit and learns it's a symbiote. Connors tells Parker that the symbiote is bonding with his DNA and will in time replace his DNA with it's own. Parker and the Symbiote leave to focus on clearing Spider-Man of the theft charges rather than allow Connors to separate them. After this Parker begins to address the Symbiote and uses it's abilities to find evidence to clear Spider-Man of the theft charge. Parker, as Spider-Man reveals to J.J. that Brock lied about who took the Promethium X and withheld evidence proving it was the Rhino. J.J. goes to his son, John, and gets confirmation. Upon such he fires Brock again. The Symbiote and Parker even take the Promethium X away from Kingpin whom Rhino had been working for. Things seem to be sorting themselves out, until John is abducted by Shocker, under a plan formed with Kingpin, in an attempt to to lure Spider-Man and take the Promethium X from him. Again in a fight the Symbiote starts to take hold of the situation as Shocker cuts in to double cross on the exchange deal of the rock for John. When Brock intervenes in the fight the symbiote influenced Parker tells Brock that he'll be desert as the suit cocoons brock and then tells Shocker that he's the main course. With Shocker at their mercy Parker refuses to kill. The symbiote pushes Shocker off a bell tower in an attempt to have it's way only for Parker to save Shocker. Disgusted at this act Parker uses the bell tower to shock the Symbiote off him, to be free of it's influence. The Symbiote tries to rejoin with Parker but it's advances are rejected and thus the symbiote leaves him only to bond with Brock as Parker, lacking a suit of any kind to conceal his identity, leaves unaware of the new host.
Joined with Brock the now named Venom causes psychological terror towards Peter Parker. Fueled in part by Brock's resentment and it's own feelings regarding Parker. Eventually Venom is blasted back into space, and Brock put into an asylum.
Venom Returns and Carnage[]
In space, the Symbiote is found by Dormammu and returned to Earth as that extra-dimensional beings servant. It joins again with Brock to steal a device from Stark Enterprises that can free Dormammu. Venom is defeated by War Machine and Spider-Man. Dormammu then sends another Symbiote out, this one joins with an insane inmate of Brocks- and becomes Carnage who assists Venom in the mission. Until- Carnage tries to kill Spider-Man. Venom doesn't want Spider-Man dead, Venom wants to have Spider-Man as a host and intervenes.
Venom refuses to keep working for Dormammu, refuses to collect life force for Dormammu and thus Dormammu turns on him through Carnage. Carnage adbucts Ashley, a woman Brock is in love with, and Venom sacrifices themselves to save her.
Character Conception[]
In bringing Venom into the animated series the production team faced a challenge in deciding what the story should be. Len Wein wrote the initial draft for the story which was rejected. In the comics Spider-Man had gotten the 'alien suit' which was actually a symbiotic lifeform during the Secret Wars storyline. As there wasn't enough build up to such a plot in the animated series the production team took a different approach by having the Symbiote brought to Earth by John Jameson and another astronaut Paul Stevens aboard a space shuttle amid events that give the alien (Venom) a more foreboding entrance. This change was then followed up with another regarding Venom's story, rather than Flash Thompson (who had appeared in previous episodes as a rival to Peter for Felicia Hardy's affection) being bonded with Venom after Parker it is instead Brock, a workplace rival who previously worked at the Bugle in the animated series only to loose that job and his second due to events surrounding Spider-Man, who Venom bonds with. Thus instead of Flash Thompson's bullying being a motive taken on by Venom it's Brock's own hatred of Spider-Man that fuels the aggression between Venom and Spider-Man. This worked well as Brock was at the time of the animated series airing the most recognizable host of Venom.
Source Citations[]
- Spider-Man (1994) S1E8 "The Alien Suit (Part 1)"
- Spider-Man (1994) S1E9 "The Alien Suit (Part 2)"
- Spider-Man (1994) S1E10 "The Alien Suit (Part 3)"
- Spider-Man (1994) S3E11 "Venom Returns"
- Spider-Man (1994) S3E12 "Carnage"