Eddie Brock

Venom (Eddie Brock)
File:EddieBrock.jpg Eddie Brock turning into Venom as seen in The Amazing Spider-Man #300 (December 1988). Art by Todd McFarlane.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	(As Brock) Web of Spider-Man #18 (September 1986); (as Venom) The Amazing Spider-Man #299 (May 1988); (as Anti-venom) The Amazing Spider-Man #569 (May 2008)
Created by	David Michelinie Todd McFarlane
In-story information
Alter ego	Edward Allan Charles Brock
Team affiliations	Sinister Six Daily Globe Daily Bugle The New York Times
Notable aliases	Venom, The Lethal Protector, Anti-Venom
Abilities	Alien symbiote

Eddie Brock is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer David Michelinie and artist Todd McFarlane, the character first appeared in Web of Spider-Man #18 (September 1986); Brock became one of Spider-Man's deadliest foes, and later an anti-hero, as the first Venom. The character later takes on a super hero identity of Anti-Venom.

Publication history

Creation and conception

Writer David Michelinie and artist Todd McFarlane are generally credited with the character's creation, based on a number of plot ideas and concepts from various other creators, though the degree to which McFarlane should be credited with co-creating the character has been a source of dispute in the comic book industry.

The question of who created the character of Venom became an issue of contention in 1993 when Michelinie wrote to the comic book industry magazine Wizard, which had referred to Michelinie in issue #17 as "co-creator" of Venom. In his letter, printed in issue #21 (May 1993), Michelinie wrote that he was the character's sole creator, while saying also he believed that without McFarlane the character would not have attained the popularity it did.

Writer Peter David corroborated Michelinie's view in his "But I Digress" column in the June 4, 1993 Comics Buyer's Guide, in which he stated that Michelinie discussed the ideas behind the character with him at the time of its creation. At that time, David was the writer on The Spectacular Spider-Man and wrote the "Sin Eater" storyline from which Eddie Brock's backstory would be derived, well before McFarlane was assigned to the art duties on Amazing. Because artists who design the costumes or appearances of major characters and/or illustrate their first appearances are generally credited as co-creators, Venom represents a complex situation, because the costume from which Venom's appearance is derived was not designed by McFarlane.

Erik Larsen responded to Michelinie's letter with one of his own that was printed in Wizard #23 (July 1993), in which he dismissed Michelinie's contributions to the character, arguing that Michelinie merely "swiped" the preexisting symbiote and its powers to place it on a character whose motivations were poorly conceived, one-dimensional, unbelievable, and clichéd. Larsen also argued that it was McFarlane's rendition of the character that made it commercial.

File:AmazingSpider-Man346.jpg

Erik Larsen, who followed Todd McFarlane as artist on Amazing Spider-Man, added Venom's tongue as well as the drool to the character's appearance.

The preexisting elements that dealt with the symbiote costume itself - to which Michelinie did not contribute - have also been noted. For example, editor Jim Shooter came up with the idea of switching Spider-Man to a black-and-white costume, possibly influenced by the intended costume design for the new Spider-Woman. Artists Mike Zeck and Rick Leonardi, as well as others, designed the black-and-white costume. Writer/artist John Byrne asserts on his website that the idea for a costume made of self-healing biological material was one he originated when he was the artist on Iron Fist to explain how that character's costume was constantly being torn and then apparently repaired by the next issue, explaining that he ended up not using the idea on that title, but that Roger Stern later asked him if he could use the idea for Spider-Man's alien costume. Stern in turn plotted the issue in which the costume first appeared but then left the title. It was writer Tom DeFalco and artist Ron Frenz who had established that the costume was a sentient alien being and also that it was vulnerable to high sonic energy during their run on The Amazing Spider-Man that preceded Michelinie's. Regardless, Peter David's position is that Michelinie is the sole creator, since the idea of creating a separate character using the alien symbiote was Michelinie's, as was Eddie Brock's backstory, and that without the idea to create such a character, the character would not have existed.

In an interview with Tom DeFalco, McFarlane claims that Michelinie did indeed come up with the idea of Venom and the character's basic design ("a big guy in the black costume"). However, he contends that it was he (McFarlane) who gave Venom his monster-like features. He claims; "I just wanted to make him kooky and creepy, and not just some guy in a black suit."

This dispute arose at a time when artists such as McFarlane and Larsen were enjoying a great deal of popularity and clout with readers, and capitalizing on their popularity by publishing creator-owned books with their new company, Image Comics, and it is possible that this issue was a subtext of the greater debate over the importance of writers versus artists that was being waged in the industry at the time. Prior to McFarlane's departure from Marvel, the company stated that Venom was a creation of McFarlane's, and Michelinie shared credit as co-creator. Regardless of the issues surrounding his creation, Venom was created under a work for hire contract and Marvel owns all rights to the character.

Publication

Venom's existence was first indicated in Web of Spider-Man #18 (Sept. 1986), when he shoved Peter Parker in front of a subway train without Parker's spider-sense warning him, though only Brock's hand was seen on-panel. The next indication of Venom's existence was in Web of Spider-Man #24 (March 1987), when Parker had climbed out of a high story window to change into Spider-Man, but found a black arm coming through the window and grabbing him, again without being warned by his spider-sense. He then made his first, albeit a partial, appearance on the final page of The Amazing Spider-Man #298 (April 1988).

The character would remain unseen and inactive until Amazing Spider-Man editor Jim Salicrup required a villain for that book's 300th issue, and Michelinie suggested a villain consisting of the alien symbiote grafted onto the body of a human female. Salicrup accepted the suggestion, but changed the character to a male. Michelinie then devised the Eddie Brock identity. Michelinie contends that the plots for issues #298-299, as well as the visual descriptions of the character, were written and bought by Salicrup before McFarlane was ever assigned to the book.

Throughout most of his career in print, Brock's sole motivation for hating Spider-Man was because the webslinger's capture of the villain Sin Eater exposed the man who had previously confessed to Brock to being responsible for the Sin Eater's crimes as a compulsive confessor, thus destroying Brock's credibility and reputation as a journalist, with the symbiote being attracted to Brock's hatred. In 2003, writer Paul Jenkins, in the second volume of Spectacular Spider-Man, revealed Brock had cancer and the symbiote was attracted to him not only because of his hatred for Spiderman, but also because Brock's cancer released adrenaline, which the symbiote fed off of. In the same comic, there were many victims (who were cancer patients) who suffered identical injuries - Venom sucked out their energy from the adrenal gland. The new storyline, which is now accepted to be canon, maintains that the symbiote's feeding off the cancer kept Brock alive and that his hatred of Spider-Man, though originally stemming from the Sin-Eater hoax, was augmented by the fear that Spider-Man would accept the symbiote back, leaving him to be taken by the cancer. This idea, however, seems to have been ignored in later stories.

Fictional character biography

As a child, Edward Allan Charles Brock is raised in a Roman Catholic household in San Francisco. His father is cold and unloving towards him because he blames Eddie for his wife's death during childbirth. Eddie constantly attempts to obtain his father's approval, though even after excelling in school, he only receives half-hearted encouragements. Though exceptional in athletics, Brock switches his major in college to journalism after reading an article on the Watergate scandal. Upon graduating, he moves to New York City and as a member of the Associated Press, he obtains a job as a journalist for the Daily Globe. He proves himself to be highly talented, though even this does not get his father's approval. He eventually marries Anne Weying, who is attracted by his wit and gentility.

Bonding with the symbiote

File:Venom origin in church.jpg

Eddie Brock bonding with the symbiote

After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Brock decides to take his mind off it by burying himself in his work. He investigates the serial killer nicknamed Sin-Eater, and surprisingly finds someone actually confessing to the murders. Once the case is finally closed, it is revealed that the real killer was already caught by Spider-Man, and that Brock had been interviewing a compulsive confessor. Brock is fired from his job in disgrace, and his father practically disowns him. With no decent publishers willing to hire him, he is forced to work for sleazy tabloid magazines. Brock blames Spider-Man for his downfall and, ironically, despises his fellow journalist Peter Parker due to Parker's success, unaware that Spider-Man and Parker are the same person. Now with his fear of the cancer growing, Brock resumes his passion for athletics through weight training to reduce stress. Though his body grows to near-Olympic standards, his anger and depression remain, causing Anne to divorce him. With both his professional and personal life shattered, Brock contemplates suicide and goes to a church where he prays to God for forgiveness, unaware the symbiote Spider-Man has discarded is waiting for him.

Attracted by the adrenaline caused by his cancer and Brock's matching resentment towards Spider-Man, the symbiote bonds with Brock, feeding off both Brock's cancer and keeping him alive. Brock now possesses powers similar to those of Spider-Man, though he learns that the symbiote thinks of him as a second rate host compared to Spider-Man. Brock's hatred for Spider-Man twists the symbiote's own emotions and drives it even more insane. Brock, knowing that the symbiote could potentially go back to Spider-Man, leaving him to die, and also blaming Spider-Man for his misfortune, becomes determined to torment and kill Spider-Man and his family. The symbiote imparts him with the knowledge of Spider-Man's secret identity, and Brock names himself "Venom" for he claims he's poison to Peter Parker and Spider-Man.

Venom

Brock, now bonded with the symbiote, pushed Peter Parker in front of a moving subway without activating his spider-sense. Venom next confronted Mary Jane Watson-Parker, and then battled Spider-Man for the first time. He was convicted and incarcerated in the Vault, but in time escaped from the Vault by mimicking a fallen guard. He traveled to New York, preventing the holdup of a truck stop on the way there; Venom confronted the Black Cat, and battled Spider-Man in a meat-packing plant. He then encountered Peter Parker as Eddie Brock at Parker's Aunt May's house. Spider-Man defeated Venom by tempting the costume to reattach itself to him.

Later, Venom escaped from the Vault again during the massive "Acts of Vengeance" breakout, but was returned by Quasar. Venom engineered a failed prison break from the Vault, and killed a warden. He eventually faked a suicide at the Vault by coating himself with a layer of synthetic skin generated by the symbiote, and escaped the Vault from its morgue. He then saved a baby while battling Spider-Man.

Progeny

After being rendered unconscious by the plague-inducing villain called Styx, the symbiote is removed, and Brock is incarcerated to await trial. The symbiote finds Brock, enabling him to escape from jail, though the symbiote reproduces at the same time. The offspring quickly bonds to Brock's cell mate, Cletus Kasady, creating Carnage. Soon after, Venom trapped Spider-Man in a cryogenics chamber. Venom abducts Spider-Man, and transports him to a remote island where Spider-Man fakes his own death to convince Venom that his vendetta was over. Venom, content with the outcome, resigns himself to life on the island. Once Spider-Man becomes unable to defeat Carnage, he enlists Venom's help to defeat Carnage and other supervillains. His willingness to kill the villains causes a deep rift with many of his allies, who only wish to subdue them.

Venom soon makes peace with Spider-Man after Anne Weying is rescued by him, so he moves back to San Francisco, where he acts as the protector of an underground society descended from survivors of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Sometime later, he is taken prisoner by the Life Foundation, and is forcefully made to spawn five more symbiotes. With the help of Spider-Man, he escapes the prison, managing to incapacitate the other symbiotes. He is later involved in conflicts with corrupt businessmen and a group of extraterrestrial mercenaries known as 'Stalkers', who kidnap various members of the society, including two romantic interests of Brock. After rescuing them, Ben Reilly finds Venom, separating the symbiote from Brock after an intense battle. After defecting from the Foundation, the symbiotes forcefully birthed from Venom seek his help to keep themselves from becoming like Carnage, but he refuses to help. Their leader, Scream eventually goes insane and kills the other four, who eventually reform into Hybrid. Scream eventually enters a normal state of mind, and seeks to help Venom.

Brock soon abandons the symbiote after having doubts as to the nobility of his cause, and its telepathically projected grief attracts other members of its species. They create a portal to their home world, allowing them to invade New York and take over its inhabitants. Brock eventually becomes Venom once again, working with Spider-Man and Ben Reilly to defeat the symbiotes. He manages to create a "psychic scream" designed to incapacitate them, though it ends up killing all of them.

On Trial

Brock is captured in his sewer hideout and put on trial, with Matt Murdock acting in his defense, and his symbiote held in check with a chemical inhibitor. Carnage is called as a witness, but he overcomes his own inhibitor and attacks. Venom, Spider-Man, and Daredevil team up and subdue Carnage. However, before the trial can continue, Venom is unexpectedly taken into custody by a secret government organization who offered him amnesty if he joined them as an agent. Though Venom at first relished his new found immunities, he left after being abandoned during a dangerous mission. This would lead to Eddie Brock being given selective amnesia from a head wound and later being separated from the symbiote, which is presumed killed by the government Overreach Committee.

The symbiote in fact survives and tracks down the amnesiac Brock, turning him into Venom again (it is worth mentioning that after this point the symbiote seems to often dominate Brock, losing all morals and even saying I instead of we). Venom then infiltrates Ravencroft prison, slaughters the guards, and temporarily absorbs the Carnage symbiote. He joins the Sinister Six, but turns on the other members after they mock him, crippling Sandman and Electro before making peace with Spider-Man.

Like all prior agreements with Spider-Man, this peace is short-lived, as Venom's hatred for Spider-Man is renewed when Anne Weying, driven over the edge by fear of her husband, committed suicide after seeing Spider-Man in his black suit. Venom loses his chance for revenge when the powerful human/alien hybrid Senator Ward forcefully removes the symbiote from Brock once more.

The Carnage symbiote gives birth to the Toxin symbiote. Carnage attempts to kill the newborn Toxin, but Venom opposes him until he realizes that Toxin's policeman host would not ally with him. Venom calls a truce with Carnage in order to destroy Toxin, who is aided by Spider-Man. Spider-Man and Toxin drive Carnage and Venom away.

An alien race, secretly operating within the United States government, clones the Venom symbiote. Venom absorbs the clone, gains its knowledge, and decides to carry out the aliens' orders. Before he does, however, Brock knows that he will die if he does not permanently bond with the symbiote. The Symbiote rejects Brock, not desiring to be bonded with a diseased body anymore. Ultimately, Spider-Man tricks the symbiote into permanently merging with Brock.

Separation

A dying Eddie Brock, separated from the symbiote

After bonding once more with the symbiote, Brock has a religious awakening and decides against permanently merging with the symbiote. Brock instead chooses to sell the symbiote to crime-lord Don Fortunato, intending to donate the $100 million received to charity before dying. Angelo Fortunato, the Don's son, becomes the second Venom for a brief period of time. However, Angelo begins killing innocent people in his quest for glory and later proves to be a weak host for the Symbiote, being humiliated in a battle with Spider-Man. The symbiote abandons Angelo mid-leap, and the subsequent fall kills him. Upon hearing about this, Brock feels responsible and attempts to commit suicide by slitting his wrists, but survives.

The symbiote then becomes attached to Mac Gargan, better known as the Scorpion at the time. When Peter Parker unmasks himself publicly as Spider-Man, Brock is among the millions of witnesses. He is shown in the hospital, rapidly succumbing physically to his cancer and experiencing hallucinations of the symbiote, representing his dark side. He spots Mary Jane Watson Parker watching over a comatose Aunt May, who has been seriously wounded by a bullet. Brock has no idea what to do, but his dark side then persuades him to kill Aunt May.

Brock orders a dress-up costume of Spider-Man's black costume and sets out to kill her, first murdering a nurse for getting in his way. At the last minute, he has a change of heart, finding he cannot murder someone as innocent as Aunt May. When Peter Parker comes to visit Aunt May, he finds Eddie at the window, who has sliced his own wrists several times in a desperate attempt to get rid of Venom. Eddie tells Peter that while he's done terrible things, he's not a terrible person, and asks for his forgiveness before jumping out the window. Peter breaks his fall by catching him with two strands of webbing. Awakening chained to his bed, Brock decides to take better control of himself in the short time he has left. He tells his dark side that he accepts its presence, as long as it recognizes that from that moment on, he is in control.

Anti-Venom

Eddie Brock's first appearance as Anti-Venom

While praying at a church, Brock is discovered by philanthropist Martin Li, who is secretly the super-villain Mister Negative. After Matt Murdock proves in a court of law that Brock was not responsible for his actions while bonded to the symbiote and has the charges dropped, Li gets Brock a job in his soup kitchen. A touch from Mr. Negative completely cures Eddie's cancer and the remnants of the Venom symbiote within his body bond to his white-blood-cells. Upon being assaulted by Mac Gargan, the Venom symbiote attempts to leave Gargan to bond with Brock again. However, Brock's skin is caustic to his former symbiote, and as a white substance seeps out of his pores covering his body, Brock becomes Anti-Venom (also known as White-Venom). He engages Venom in a fight, and after receiving some help from Spider-Man, cures Gargan from the symbiote, but also feels some remnants of the symbiote inside Peter's blood and begins "curing" him as well, but also ends up sucking the radiation from Spider-Man's blood, something that may depower him.

Later, Thunderbolts guards arrive to take the disabled Gargan to the ship while Songbird and Radioactive Man battle Spider-Man and Anti-Venom. During the battle, Anti-Venom almost cures Radioactive Man of his powers, but is saved by Songbird. After the fight, Anti-Venom sneaks on the Thunderbolts ship and steals back Peter Parker's camera, looted by Norman Osborn in a bid to reverse engineer the tracing system allowing the camera to zero on Spider-Man's chest. He is able to help Peter escape Osborn's tracer, and forewarn him about his next move, in a show of friendship and good-will. It also appears he no longer knows Spider-man's identity, remarking that he wasted a lot of time being angry at Peter Parker, when Spider-man has been taking his "own" pictures.

Anti-Venom then leads Spider-Man to Oscorp and the two split up. Brock disguises himself as Spider-Man to distract the other Thunderbolts while Spider-Man goes after Osborn. After webbing Songbird and Radioactive Man to a wall, Anti-Venom faces Gargan, who is now wearing a new Scorpion battle-suit to protect his recovering symbiote. After a grueling battle, Gargan, as Scorpion, hits Anti-Venom with his stinger and injects a poisonous formula that seemingly destroys Brock's suit. Gargan advances to kill Brock but is met with resistance by his Venom symbiote. The symbiote gains strength and breaks though Gargan's battlesuit, refusing to let Gargan kill Brock. Gargan explains that the suit still loves Brock too much and gives up, but he promises Brock that he will get past this problem and someday finish him off, to which Brock replies: "Not if I kill you first." Unbeknownst to Gargan, Brock's Anti-Venom suit reforms. Now a fugitive for helping Spider-Man and fighting the Thunderbolts, Brock is back on the streets, planning to continue his former vigilante antihero career with seemingly increased religious emphasis as The Anti-Venom.

After curing a girl of a heroin addiction, Eddie finds himself fighting Mister Negative's Inner Demons (who are using the same "cure" Mac Gargan had used to try to kill him with). Upon defeating them, Brock is the first person to find out that Martin Li is Mister Negative. Discovering the man he idolized is also a supervillain causes a breakdown for Eddie, both making him question his faith and lament that no one will believe the truth he knows, because he is a monster.

Despite trying to lead a reformed life, Anti-Venom is confronted by Frank Castle, the Punisher, who remembers Eddie from his days as the original Venom and refuses to believe Eddie is anything other than a murderous criminal, forcing a confrontation between himself and Anti-Venom.

Other versions

See also: Alternate versions of Venom

The multiverse established by the publishers has allowed writers to introduce variations of Eddie Brock. These have included depictions with or without the symbiote suit and differences in personality and portrayal of the character, ranging from the What If...? comic series, possible futures such as Spider-Man: Reign, and depictions in alternate dimensions such as Marvel Zombies. He Appears in MC2 having his son named Christian Nathaniel Alexander Brock. An actor plays as him as Venom in House of M.

In 2005, a young Brock was introduced in the Ultimate Marvel series as Eddie Brock Jr., Peter Parker's childhood friend with a desire to continue the work by his and Peter's fathers on a protoplasmic suit designed as a medical tool to cure cancer. After Spider-Man destroys the original sample and Brock learns his secret identity, he uses a second sample upon himself. However the suit dominates him and turns him into the continuity's Venom, forcing him to require constant sustenance and blaming Peter for his fate. This version of Brock has since appeared in later story arcs of the comic and related media, appearing as a major antagonist in the Ultimate Spider-Man video game.

Character

The Venom symbiote and Eddie Brock bond together up to a certain point. They share many views, but each has their own say as Venom, leading to Venom referring to himself as "We" instead of singular pronouns. The symbiote, having once bonded with Spider-Man, holds a grudge against him for its rejection, feelings Brock's own animosity have amplified into hatred. Along with Brock's own personal hatred, Venom is constantly out to kill and torture Spider-Man, though he is often able to put this anger aside and form truces with Spider-Man. Before Brock's religious reawakening, Brock shows himself to be prone to extremely violent mood swings whenever separated from the symbiote, expressing a great deal of guilt until rejoined with it.

In contrast, as Anti-Venom Brock's personality is in complete control and referring to himself in the singular tense rather than plural, though with the added compulsion to "cleanse evil" by ridding the world of any traces of the Venom symbiote. He additionally lacks animosity towards Spider-Man, addressing him as a "friend" and tries to help him by destroying the symbiote remnants in his body, whereas he had once sworn to kill him, although this also threatens to remove the radiation in Spider-Man's blood.

Brock has little interest in wealth, money, or power. He often fights against crime, though in contrast to Spider-Man, he is fine with murdering the criminals, reasoning that if dead they cannot harm anyone else. However he is more concerned about protecting the victims of crime, an element of his personality used against him as some enemies know he will let them escape in order to rescue an innocent. Brock shows remorse for innocents harmed by his actions, going to great lengths more than once to attempt and save them.

Brock's father didn't provide him with the affection he desired, so he is totally devoted to his wife Anne, even after their divorce. He tries to rekindle their relationship up until her suicide, which leaves him devastated. At one point, he tries to start a new relationship, but cuts it off because it is "too dangerous" to romantically commit himself. Upon his entry into hospital life, Brock becomes depressed while trying to fend off his murderous side. After murdering a nurse and almost attacking Peter Parker's aunt, he becomes overwhelmed by remorse and is able to take control.

Powers and abilities

Main article: Symbiote (comics)

The symbiote consists of alien material made of tough, flexible fibers of organic polymers which have the ability to mimic any type of clothing whatsoever. The symbiote provides Eddie Brock with various abilities similar to Spider-Man, its former host, including superhuman strength, speed, agility, and reflexes, and the ability to adhere to most surfaces with his hands and feet. It is able to project a web-like substance from any part of its surface. It does inherit the spider-sense, and in an as yet unexplained manner it allows him to dampen Spider-Man's own senses. In addition, the alien could also neutralize Peter's spider-sense, which left Peter vulnerable to Venom's attacks. Due to Eddie Brock's muscular physique and natural physical strength from weight training, his strength as Venom is superior to Spider-Man's tenfold. Venom's webbing is very similar to that of Spider-Man, albeit from the back of the host's hand instead of the wrist. The webbing is created from the symbiote itself, so it is much stronger. This also creates an upper limit for the webbing, as overuse can significantly weaken the symbiote, as evidenced by the manner of Venom's defeat in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 1) #300. It can also create tentacles and tendrils to grab enemies in addition to producing the standard webbing. Venom also has claws on his fingers which can be used as weapons to stab or cut open his foes.

Venom's body is highly resistant to physical injury, and it can help its host survive in hostile environments by filtering air. It can also heal any injury or illness Brock suffers much more quickly than human medical care, and allowed him to survive indefinitely with terminal cancer. The symbiote is very susceptible to high-pitched sonic frequencies, other intense noise, and fire. The Venom symbiote contains a small 'dimensional aperture', allowing Brock to carry items without adding mass to the costume, and it is able to transform to mimic any human or become camouflaged with its surroundings. The symbiote shares all of its knowledge with Brock through their symbiotic relationship, and the creature projects its own desires into Brock's mind. It is also capable of psychically detecting its offspring; however, this ability can be blocked.

The symbiote cannot be detected by Spider-Man's spider-senses, due to its former bond with the hero. As a result, Brock proved able to keep up with the more experienced Spider-Man in combat, while also being able to stalk Peter Parker without his realizing it. The above attributes were conferred upon Brock by the symbiote; without it, most of his attributes are normal.

After divesting himself of the symbiote, Eddie Brock's lingering symbiote cells are charged with the mystical energies of Mister Negative. The cells bond with Eddie's leukocytes, forming a new symbiote, the Anti-Venom. As the chalk-white Anti-Venom, Brock has all the abilities and powers of Venom, plus the ability to "cleanse" human bodies of foreign influences, such as symbiotes, certain people's super powers, sickness, and drugs. He also lacks the main weaknesses of the symbiote race, as extreme heat and sonic waves no longer have any effect on him (the Anti-Venom shows an extremely high resistence to heat when the Radioactive Man forces him to stay exposed to a nuclear bomb explosion heat). Anti-Venom also cuts out all of Spider-Man's powers if they get too close to each other.

Eddie Brock is a college graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism.

In other media

Eddie Brock has appeared in several Spider-Man cartoon series. His first appearance was in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, voiced by Hank Azaria. After being fired due to Spider-Man, Brock joins with the Venom symbiote and attempts to torment Spider-Man's personal life. He eventually helps Spider-Man and Iron Man defeat Dormammu, but ends up being sucked into a portal, while saving Ashley Kafka from Carnage. He appears in the sequel series, Spider-Man Unlimited, voiced by Brian Drummond. By this time, the symbiote has merged completely with Eddie Brock, and he attempts to conquer Counter-Earth alongside Carnage with an invasion of symbiotes. Eddie Brock's most recent appearance is in The Spectacular Spider-Man, voiced by Benjamin Diskin. He is initially close friends with Peter Parker before joining with the symbiote.

Eddie Brock appears as Venom in the 2007 feature film Spider-Man 3, played by Topher Grace. In July 2007, Avi Arad revealed a Venom spin-off of the series was in the works. In September 2008, Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese signed on to write the draft. Stan Lee will appear in the movie.

Eddie Brock has appeared in numerous video games, most often as a boss character. He appears as a main character in Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage, Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety, and Ultimate Spider-Man. He is also a selectable character in fighting games Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, and Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects. His most recent appearances as a boss character have been in Spider-Man: Friend or Foe, the Spider-Man 3 video game, and Spider-Man: Web of Shadows.

External links

• Eddie Brock at Marvel.com