Venom's Life Gets Weird

After Eddie Brock ripped the Venom symbiote away, it joined Angelo Fortunato, Mac Gargan, and briefly partnered with Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel. The symbiote finds a real partner only when the US government grafts it onto Flash Thompson, Spider-Man’s old high school bully.

Getting the alien costume moved Flash’s story past his teenage years. Flash grew up, joined the armed forces, and even made a real friend with Peter Parker. Then, he lost his legs in the Iraq War, earning a Medal of Honor.

In Flash, the armed forces put a decorated soldier with the sedated symbiote as a solo black ops unit. As Agent Venom, Flash gets his legs back and another chance to serve his country.

Rick Remender wrote Agent Venom, making him a surprise comic book hit. This put the character at the center of big crossover action. The "Circle of Four" story shows Flash Thompson and the symbiote joining forces with X-23, Ghost Rider, and the Red Hulk.

Venom and allies fight the demonic Blackheart, Mephisto's son, and his portal to hell on Earth. Flash passes the symbiote to the Red Hulk. The Red Hulk also takes the Ghost Rider’s Spirit of Vengeance. This creates a mashup superhero. The Hulk/Venom/Ghost Rider proves an intimidating force Blackheart cannot handle.

The Marvel Universe takes time to accept Venom as a hero, especially Spider-Man. Agent Venom's actions eventually show more than Venom's rage. The duo joins Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

Flash Thompson earns Captain America's trust faster than most heroes. Steve Rogers invites Agent Venom onto his secret Secret Avengers roster.

With the squad, Flash and the symbiote faced advanced robots and an entire town of Carnages. Flash also found a short romance with Valkyrie during this time.

Following terrifying events, including the death of Eddie Brock, Agent Venom leaves New York. Flash Thompson and his gooey alien partner pack up. They move to Philadelphia for a new start. Venom used to stalk the alleys of the City That Never Sleeps."Lethal Protector," he is now the less-lethal protector of the City of Brotherly Love.Flash Thompson is now the less-lethal protector of the City of Brotherly Love.

Flash starts a part-time job teaching gym. Agent Venom gets a full-time sidekick, Andrea Benton. Benton turns part of the Venom symbiote into an alien suit, naming herself Mania.

A long-term rivalry with the Crime Master brings Venom back to the Big Apple.

Back in New York City, Flash Thompson and his symbiote meet a different Spider-Man—a Superior Spider-Man.Superior Spider-ManOtto Octavius occupies Peter Parker's mind when Agent Venom returns. The symbiote discovers this when it is forcibly paired with the former Doc Ock.

This creates the Superior Venom, a serious threat with high destructive power. A man known for wielding tentacles is perfect for operating a symbiote's oozing tendrils. The Avengers roster, including Flash Thompson, takes on this task.Captain America asks Agent Venom to join the Guardians of the Galaxy, leaning into their alien origin as an Avengers envoy.The Avengers subdue the Superior Venom.

The situation peaks with a slapstick moment. The symbiote jumps from Groot to Rocket to Drax, creating scary combinations and more tension between Flash and his new teammates.

Captain America asks Agent Venom to use their alien origins and join the Guardians of the Galaxy as an Avengers envoy.

Flash Thompson struggles to control his symbiote's aggressive impulses while in space. This causes trouble for the Guardians several times.

The situation ends in a slapstick moment. The symbiote jumps from Groot to Rocket to Drax, creating terrifying combinations and more tension between Flash and his new teammates.

Agent Venom’s time with the Guardians takes him to the Planet of the Symbiotes. There, important details about the Venom symbiote and its species are added to the backstory. The species name becomes Klyntar. The Venom symbiote is also shown to have been corrupted away from its homeworld.

Reintegrated into the Klyntar hive mind, the symbiote loses its bloodlust and rage. This makes Flash's job controlling the alien costume much simpler. The improved Agent Venom leaves the Guardians but stays in space to become a Space Knight and an official member of the Agents of the Cosmos.

Flash returns to Earth, and he finally gives up the goo.

After his space trip, the FBI confronts Flash Thompson, seeking to repossess his alien suit for the US government. When Agent Venom refuses to cooperate, the FBI uses anti-symbiote technology, forcing their separation.

The symbiote goes feral without Flash, something it regrets later when it regains control. This shame stops it from seeking Flash again. Instead, Venom bonds with a man dying in an alley to save him, but that man is Lee Price, an aggressive villain.

Price uses his strong will to control the symbiote, forcing it back to its angry state. Then, Venom gets a chance to start over and escape its least-popular host ever.

To fix the mistakes that made Lee Price Venom, the FBI recruits Eddie Brock, the top expert on the alien costume, for their anti-symbiote team. With Spider-Man, the team separates Price from the symbiote. Brock then rips it loose and re-bonds before custody can take it.

Brock tries hard to use the symbiote for heroic acts, still fighting its constant bloodlust. Things get worse when the Venom symbiote gets pregnant again. The Klyntar it births this time, Sleeper, is less scary than its first offspring, Carnage.

The mystery of the first Venom host clears when the Kree warrior Tel-Kar arrives on Earth. The reunion is not happy. Tel-Kar uses the symbiote's new offspring as leverage, forcing Venom to leave Eddie Brock and re-bond with him. He then leaves for space to destroy Skrulls.

Brock and Sleeper team up to hunt Tel-Kar and get Venom back. Sleeper bonds with, enslaves, and then eats the hostile Kree. Years later, Sleeper returns to Brock’s life as a symbiote kitten—a talking, super-powered pet for Brock’s child, Dylan.

Comic writer Donny Cates reveals the Planet of the Symbiotes is a massive prison filled with countless symbiotes. Knull, the God of Symbiotes, resides there.

Knull made the first symbiote by forging All-Black the Necrosword, the infamous weapon ofGorr the God ButcherGorr is one of Thor’s greatest enemies.

This presents a big problem for Eddie Brock and his symbiote pal when Knull wakes up and heads to Earth looking for lost Klyntar.

Knull, God of Symbiotes, escapes Klyntar and comes to Earth as a symbiote dragon. The fight between Venom and Knull teaches Eddie Brock much about his alien costume, including its flight ability. Afterward, Venom gains the power to grow wings whenever it wants.

The fight with Knull creates a weird, super-powered buddy cop pairing between Venom and Miles Morales. Morales’s mother died from a version of the symbiote in his home universe, making their partnership morally tricky at first.

Eventually, the duo wins against Knull, which builds mutual respect and a reluctant friendship.

Miles Morales is not the only Spider-Man teaming up with the upgraded Venom. Eddie Brock and Peter Parker always have serious tension, but Brock and his symbiote join the fight when the Red Goblin appears—an ugly mix of the Carnage symbiote and Norman Osborn that the wallcrawler cannot handle alone.

Spider-Man asks Venom to guard his family from the Red Goblin. This works when Osborn seeks Mary Jane Watson. Brock and the symbiote risk everything protecting MJ, getting hurt but holding off the combined villain long enough for Spidey to plan the Red Goblin's defeat.

Flash Thompson, the former symbiote host, dies during the final fight.

Eddie Brock faces quick trouble. He learns about his son Dylan and the long history of symbiotes in the military all at once, right as Knull returns. In another fight with the God of Symbiotes, the Venom symbiote seems to sacrifice itself, trapping Knull’s avatar inside a blast furnace. This leaves Brock with a suit that works but has no mind.

Later, the Venom symbiote wakes up. It and Brock keep protecting the innocent. They join the Savage Avengers during the War of the Realms.

As of 2019, Venom remains popular enough to be the main character in a big crossover featuring its original spawn.Absolute CarnageThis is probably the most standard conflict the character has faced in this long, strange decade.