| Anti-Venom | |
|---|---|
Eddie Brock as Anti-Venom, as depicted on the cover of Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Anti-Venom - New Ways to Live #1 (September 2009). Art by Mirco Pierfederici. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Amazing Spider-Man #569 (October 2008) |
| Created by | Dan Slott (writer) John Romita Jr. (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Various hosts |
| Species | Symbiote–Human white blood cells |
| Abilities |
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Anti-Venom is a fictional antihero appearing in Comic books published by Marvel Comics. It first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #569 (August 2008), and was created by Dan Slott and John Romita Jr. The creature belongs to a race of amorphous extraterrestrial parasites known as the Symbiotes and is regarded as Venom's symbiotic brother. His physical features include white "skin", a black face, and spider symbol across his chest.
The 2008 story New Ways to Die features the first appearance of Anti-Venom. Eddie Brock gets a job at a soup kitchen under Martin Li, who unknowingly cures Brock's cancer using his Lightforce abilities. After Brock is attacked by Mac Gargan (the Venom symbiote's current host), Venom attempts to reunite with Brock, at which point Brock's skin becomes caustic to the Venom symbiote. Brock is enveloped in a new white "Anti-Venom" symbiote when remnants of the Venom symbiote in his body merge with his antibodies, which were enhanced by Li's Lightforce energy. During the Spider-Island event, Brock sacrifices the Anti-Venom symbiote to cure the Spider-Queen's spider-virus.
During the "AXIS" storyline, a new version of Anti-Venom is seen in the crowd of new heroes attending a "self help" style seminar being held by Roderick Kingsley (aka the original Hobgoblin). All the new heroes have been given heroic personas by Kingsley that already exist, but are no longer used. It is not shown whether the new Anti-Venom is indeed a symbiote or just a man in a suit designed to look like the original Anti-Venom symbiote. However, the speech bubble used for the character is stylized in a way to suggest a distortion of the character's voice similar to the way Eddie Brock spoke when bonded with the Anti-Venom symbiote.
In the "Venom Inc." storyline, Venom is captured by the Life Foundation and was experimented on. The Life Foundation accidentally pour hydrochloric acid on Venom, giving him a white appearance and new abilities, including intangibility. Venom escapes the Life Foundation and bonds with Flash Thompson, who uses it to become "Agent Anti-Venom".
Anyone possessed by the Anti-Venom symbiote gains superhuman strength, durability, and stamina, as well as an accelerated healing factor, genetic memory, wall-crawling, web-generating abilities, spider-senses, and camouflage. The symbiote can also detect its offspring and provides immunity to Spider-Man's own spider-senses.
The original Anti-Venom symbiote is immune to heat and sound-based attacks, the traditional weaknesses of symbiotes. In addition, the Anti-Venom symbiote can produce antibodies that can "cure" a person afflicted by things like radioactivity, parasites, diseases, and drugs. The new Anti-Venom symbiote used by Flash Thompson has the ability to heal physical injuries as well.
In What If? Peter Parker became Kraven the Hunter, where Peter Parker killed Kraven the Hunter and replaced Kraven as the new hunter, Madame Web hired Anti-Venom, Spider-Woman and Mac Gargan to stop Peter. Despite mortally injuring him, they were all defeated.
| Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Anti-Venom - New Ways To Live | Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Anti-Venom - New Ways To Live #1–3, Extra #2 (Anti-Venom story) | March 2010 | 978-0785141617 |