The Venom symbiote was a symbiote spawned at some point during the reign of the dark elder god Knull.[18][19] Becoming an outcast of its species,[18] the symbiote was discovered by Kree explorers, who bonded it to a soldier named Tel-Kar in order to use its disguising abilities to infiltrate the Skrull armada. However, Tel-Kar was forced to separate from it and after parting ways,[20] it would later bond to an unnamed alien, who used it to commit genocide against his own species.[21] Still desiring to protect its hosts instead as opposed to dominating them,[22] it was imprisoned by its brethren,[23] with this prison being incorporated into the makeup for Battleworld by the Beyonder.[24] Being discovered by Spider-Man during the Secret Wars, it bonded to him and assimilated his powers into its own genome.[25] Unfortunately, it was later discarded by Spider-Man when he learned it was alive and sentient.[26] When Eddie Brock, a journalist who had his career ruined unwittingly due to the actions of Spider-Man, came to Our Lady of Saints Church to commit suicide, the symbiote sensed his anger and bonded to him, forming the super villain Venom.[27] Over time the symbiote's bloodlust and hunger worsened until it became too much for Eddie to stomach, leading to them parting ways.[28]
After a brief stint with mobster Angelo Fortunato, the Venom symbiote sought out Mac Gargan and bonded to him. With Gargan, the symbiote's bloodlust grew even worse,[29] eventually turning him into a sadistic cannibal.[30] Stripped from Gargan after the downfall of the Dark Avengers,[31] the Venom symbiote was taken by the US Army and eventually bonded to Corporal Flash Thompson, turning him into Agent Venom.[32] Purportedly lobotomized by chemical suppressants,[33] the symbiote sought to seize control of Flash and rampage until Agent Venom joined the Guardians of the Galaxy.[34] Compelled to return to Klyntar by the symbiote hive-mind,[35] the Venom symbiote was temporarily cleansed of its corruption and joined the Agents of the Cosmos until Flash returned to Earth.[36] Forcibly separated from Flash,[37] the symbiote briefly bonded to the cruel former Army Ranger Lee Price - worsening its corruption - before reuniting with Eddie Brock.[38]
Venom was eventually cured from its corruption after being exposed to a serum.[39] Giving birth to a new spawn, Sleeper, Venom's peaceful existence was thrown into chaos following the resurgence of the Knull, leading to them briefly parting ways when it was revealed the symbiote had been altering Eddie's memories all along. When Knull attacked Earth, Eddie defeated him and became the new God of the Symbiotes,[40] eventually passing the symbiote and mantle of "Venom" onto his recently-discovered son Dylan.[18] However, after Dylan discovered Venom and Eddie's past history as a villain, the symbiote deemed itself unworthy and a burden that would only make things worse. After being discovered hiding in Peter Parker's closet, Parker reminded it of all its personal growth and all the good that it had done. With its sense of purpose renewed, the symbiote rebonded to Peter to confront Eddie and Dylan as the Venom War began.[41] When Eddie got fatally injured by Flexo,[42] the symbiote separated from Peter and rebonded to both Eddie and Dylan simultaneously.[42] Eddie gave Venom back to Dylan while trying to cure the Zombiotes, but after defeating Meridius, a poisoned Venom left Dylan,[43] and bonded to a dying Mary Jane Watson to save both of their lives.[44]
