Warning: Contains potential spoilers for Venom #18!An early encounter between Venom and Spider-Man foreshadowed a recent King in Black twist. During a fight between the two, Spider-Man tricks the Venom symbiote, enticing it to leave Eddie Brock and return to him. Spider-Man’s ploy works, and the symbiote seemingly shorts itself out in the process. Recently, in Venom #18, the relationship between Spider-Man and the symbiote was redefined, and this fight foreshadowed this development.
Venom’s journey from Spider-Man villain to anti-hero to the King in Black has been a long one. After Spider-Man rejected the symbiote costume, it bonded with a despondent Eddie Brock, making him Venom; he sought revenge against the Wall Crawler, blaming Spider-Man for his fall from grace. However, Venom proved popular with fans, and over the years became an anti-hero. Recently, it was revealed the symbiotes serve a figure called the King in Black. Also known as Knull, the King in Black came to Earth, seeking to conquer it, but was turned back by Venom and the heroes of Earth. In the wake of Knull’s defeat, Venom ascended to the role of King in Black and has been attempting to steer the symbiotes in a more benevolent direction. In Venom #18, it was revealed that Spider-Man was destined to be the King in Black–and a fight 34 years earlier proves it.
Spider-Man, Not Venom, Was Destined to be the King in Black
In 1989’s Amazing Spider-Man #317, written by David Micheline and drawn by Todd McFarlane, Venom returns and is hellbent on revenge against Spider-Man. He has managed to stay a step ahead of Spider-Man, and when the two meet for the final fight, Venom almost defeats him. Spider-Man then strips his outfit off, and invites the Venom symbiote to re-bond with him. Almost instantly, the symbiote oozes off Eddie and attempts to bond with Peter. However, the symbiote is unable to completely pull itself off Eddie, and the pain of it all causes both of them to pass out. Spider-Man comes to first, and notices that both Eddie and the symbiote are knocked out. Venom is taken back into custody.
As stated earlier, the recently released Venom #18 completely redefined the relationship between the Venom symbiote, the King in Black and Spider-Man. The issue revealed the cosmic purpose of the Kings in Black–they are the opposites of the Beyonders, and try to save the world from within; because of this, they are often viewed as villains. It was also revealed that Spider-Man was “born” to be the King in Black, but life had other ideas–and instead the role went to Eddie Brock. Spider-Man may have taken Eddie’s life from him years ago, but Eddie took the title of King in Black from Spider-Man, flipping the script even further on their relationship.
This revelation also provides new context for what happened in Amazing Spider-Man #317. Peter offered himself up to the symbiote–and it jumped at the offer. Fans may have thought at the time that this was simply because it was once bonded to Spider-Man, but recent events change all of this. Now fans know the symbiote was trying to return to Spider-Man because it was his destiny to be the King in Black–not Venom‘s—and the fight foreshadowed this twist years ago.
Venom #18 is available now from Marvel Comics.
