Venom has been paying dividends for Marvel for a long time now. He was introduced decades ago as an amalgamation of a lethal alien symbiote, and a disgraced Bugle reporter who hated Spider-Man. Together, they went from raging supervillain to lethal anti-hero in the pages of the Venom comic book.
Along the way, more symbiotes were introduced into the story that helped expand on their mythology. Over the last few years, new revelations have come to light regarding just what the symbiotes are, and where they came from. Here are ten of the most powerful symbiotes in the Marvel universe, ranked by their abilities and sheer might.
10 Payback Was An Energy-Based Symbiote Variant Rather Than An Organic One
The character known as Payback has an interesting symbiote story to tell, particularly because her symbiote isn’t of the same Klyntar species as Venom, Carnage and their offspring. Believed to be a cousin species to the Klyntar, this symbiote was energy-based in nature, rather than organic, which granted its host Mavis Trent some nifty abilities.
In addition to the complimentary superhuman strength, speed, durability, and agility, Payback could fly and produce electromagnetic manipulation in the form of microwaves and electromagnetic pulses. When doused in water, the Payback symbiote would produce an electrical discharge, as well.
9 Venomsaurus Rex Was A Symbiote That Bonded With A Savage Land Dinosaur
Never underestimate a writer’s willingness to court dinosaurs for the sake of a really great scene, which is precisely what happened during the Old Man Hawkeye storyline. Besides taking place in a ravaged future similar to what fans glimpsed in the Old Man Logan books, this story attempted to one-up its predecessor in a big way.
It was the first example of a symbiote ever bonding with a Tyrannosaurus Rex, which came straight out of the Savage Land. If Jurassic Park taught us anything, it’s to run when a T-Rex shows up on the scene. This goes quadruple (even quintuple) for a creature with a Venom symbiote bonded to its biology.
8 Anti-Venom Was A Mindless Symbiote Suit Created By Accident Within Eddie Brock
Eddie Brock gained an entirely new type of symbiote by pure accident when his body became infected with cancer. At the time, Martin Li (the good version of Mr. Negative) tried to cure his cancer, but a chain of events inadvertently caused remnants of the Venom symbiote to bond with Brock’s white blood cells.
The result was a symbiote with no consciousness of its own, effectively making it a benign biological costume where Eddie Brock was in full control. It possessed the same strengths as its Venom predecessor, including some upgrades such as immunity to sonic and fire attacks which were previously major threats.
7 Scream Was A Symbiote Bonded To An Unstable Mind
Donna Diego was a mentally disturbed woman who eventually became involved with the Life Foundation, and later became a host for one of Venom’s child symbiotes. She became the villain known as Scream, the leader of a group of symbiotes who performed tasks for the Foundation and ran afoul of Spider-Man and Venom.
She was defeated by Venom after killing her symbiote brethren in a fit of insanity, but she attempted to mend her ways following the incident. It didn’t last long, however. Eddie Brock led Diego to a trap and murdered her with a heated dagger in order to put her down once and for all. Her powers were similar to other Venom symbiotes, with a few notable exceptions, such as her ability to extend her hair into tendrils for attack purposes.
6 Sleeper Was A Powerful Symbiote That Followed In Venom’s Anti-Hero Footsteps
The Sleeper symbiote was very different in comparison to others birthed of the Venom alien. This particular symbiote was much different in appearance and did not take on some of the characteristics of the Venom symbiote, such as the trademark embellished white eyes.
It was also a smug, yet loyal symbiote who protected its hosts, even if it was prone to brutality from time to time. It was especially protective over Eddie Brock, his son Dylan, and others. It also possesses far greater camouflage techniques, such as bending ambient light. Chemokinesis is a big win for this symbiote, giving Sleeper the ability to tranquilize and manipulate individuals with a series of chemicals and pheromones.
5 Venom Was Created When A Symbiote Bonded With Eddie Brock, Becoming The Original
Venom was the original symbiote in the Marvel comics, at least in terms of first appearances. Chronologically, others had come before, but Venom was the character that set the ball rolling, and made the character a Marvel mainstay. It bonded to Eddie Brock, a disgraced reporter with a hatred of Spider-Man that the symbiote shared, after being rejected by the superhero.
The two became one and set off to become a lethal protector anti-hero who wasn’t afraid to kill and maim its villains. The two would share a turbulent relationship over the years, but as Venom, they were idealistically parallel. Venom would go on to save the Earth from a host of dangerous threats while thinning the ranks of the criminal underbelly in every city he visited.
4 Carnage Is A Symbiote Spawn Of Venom, Merged To A Serial Killer
Carnage became Venom’s number one nemesis after he decided to form a truce with Spider-Man. The symbiote creature was the offspring of the Venom alien, who bonded with notorious serial killer Cletus Kasady to become one of the most horrible supervillains in the Marvel universe.
This new symbiote was far more lethal than Venom, with greater strength and abilities. Though Venom would triumph multiple times over his “child,” he was essentially outmatched the entire time. Only through sheer force of will, a few differing abilities, and a hatred of everything Carnage stood for allowed Venom to triumph. Carnage was capable of using the symbiote to create both sharp and blunt weapons out of its limbs, as well as crazier powers such as traversing data and phone lines to attack people on the other side.
3 Toxin Was A Symbiote Child Of Venom That Bonded With A New York Police Officer
The Carnage symbiote gave birth to offspring that would later be known as Toxin, a name given to it by none other than Venom. Though the anti-hero’s hatred of Carnage was unparalleled, it decided to train the Toxin symbiote to act as a force for good. Eventually, it bonded with a New York City cop named Patrick Mulligan, who went on to become a superhero.
His powers were quite similar to Carnage and Venom, but he was more powerful than both. In the hands of a supervillain, there’s no telling what kind of devastation would have occurred. It’s quite possible that Patrick’s inherent goodness and family-man demeanor unintentionally suppressed the symbiote’s powers, to keep from going too far.
2 The Grendel Symbiote Dragon Was One Of The Most Powerful In The Marvel Universe
This particular symbiote was created by the Klyntar God known as Knull. As a symbiote dragon, it’s considered far more powerful than a standard symbiote such as Venom, and capable of killing deity-like beings. Standard symbiote weaknesses to fire and sonic weaponry are not as threatening, and they could in fact breathe fire and project energy blasts.
They’re as fast as the Silver Surfer, and tough as nails. Like many symbiote dragons, the Grendel could merge with others to create a super-large entity in various shapes, such as the Chiyou replicant that went up against Aero, Sword Master, and the Black Knight.
1 Knull Was The Original God Of The Symbiotes And Could Control Them
For years, it was believed that the alien symbiotes were a bestial race born of primordial origins, but the arrival of Knull changed all that. It changed everything fans knew about the symbiotes by providing a full-fledged backstory. Knull was the one responsible for creating them – a being of immense God-like power who existed during the time of Oblivion.
Knull wields a sword forged from the undead corpse of a Celestial, and his strength is far beyond most. He inadvertently created the symbiotes and found he could use them as a parasite war force. As their creator, he is able to dominate symbiotes and those born of their biology, such as Eddie Brock’s son Dylan. He’s easily one of the most destructive symbiote forces in the entire galaxy and one of the most powerful supervillains in the Marvel universe.
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