Warning! This article contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Spider’s Shadow #5
It’s no secret that Spider-Man and Venom go way back in terms of Marvel comics continuity. Since the beginning, Spider-Man and Venom have been connected in more ways than one, from the literal sense of the word to long-lasting frenemies. When at odds, Spider-Man usually comes out on top, using some of the physical weaknesses Venom is known for including fire and sonic vibrations. In one of Spider-Man’s latest adventures, the wall-crawler admits that he knows another weakness Venom is plagued by, one which lies within the symbiote’s deepest desires.
In Spider-Man: Spider’s Shadow #5 by Chip Zdarsky, Pasqual Ferry, and Matt Hollingsworth, Peter Parker is enduring a terrifying What If…? story of his own making. This limited edition Spidey saga asks the question: what if Spider-Man never got rid of the Venom symbiote? The answer is one that would make the Punisher proud. Spider-Man uses the power of the symbiote to take down his enemies permanently. Once Parker comes to terms with what he has done with the awesome yet corrupting power of the Klyntar, he finally expels the symbiote from his body, with disastrous consequences.
After Spider-Man gets rid of the symbiote, the creature has a similar reaction as the original in that it becomes bitter and angry from the rejection. The symbiote possessed Reed Richards and uses Mr. Fantastic to create an army of symbiotes who then take over the minds and bodies of some of Earth’s Mightiest. While the backlash is extreme, all the symbiote really wanted was Spider-Man back, something Peter uses to his advantage. Johnny Storm AKA the Human Torch uses an image inducer to look like Peter and lures the symbiote onto him using its twisted weakness. The Human Torch then ignites, his flames incinerating the Venom symbiote once and for all.
While the Venom symbiote’s longing for Spider-Man becomes his demise within this alternate universe, the same is true in the main 616 universe as well. The origin of Spider-Man’s conflict with Venom lies in the symbiote’s anger towards Spider-Man for throwing it away. Matched with the professional disdain Eddie Brock had for the web-slinger and Venom was born as was the widely popular conflict with Spider-Man. Even though Venom was born from jealousy and hatred, the merging of Eddie Brock and Venom was a match made in heaven, together taking down a self-proclaimed immortal god of darkness after years of anti-heroism.
In the current state of Marvel Comics, it is hard to imagine Venom leaving Brock for Spider-Man as the symbiote has grown from the primal state of raw emotion into a complex character in its own right with a legitimate emotional attachment to Eddie. However, lurking deep within itself there is still that original desire to return to the first and most powerful host, Spider-Man. If Spidey tapped into Venom’s desires as he did in Spider-Man: Spider’s Shadow then he could defeat him in a similar fashion, uncovering a twisted weakness that can be used to take down Venom.
