Venom: Let There Be Carnage gives us Carnage, venom’s greatest foe. But did he come way too soon? There are so many timeless classic that will never see the light of day any more.
Dead Meat
Venom never started out as a hero. He was never meant to become a guardian angel. Venom came into existence for a singular purpose – exact revenge on Peter Parker for rejecting him. This story arc shows just how hopelessly out-matched Spider-Man is against the might of Venom. Venom stalks Aunt May, turns Black Cat against Spider-Man, and breaks Peter physically and mentally in ways he could not have imagined. Because Carnage has already entered the scene, Venom and Spider-Man might officially never meet despite Sony and Disney’s agreement.
Absolute Carnage
Carnage became venom’s greatest foe after the story line – Maximum Carnage. It established the deranged psychopath as a force and freak of nature. The fans believed nothing could top the chaos and destruction of Maximum Carnage. And then came Absolute Carnage. Carnage manages to establish a link with Knull, the God of Symbiotes, The link allows him to unlock his full potential. Carnage goes on a rampage, killing every one who ever bonded with a symbiote. Knull’s entry into the Venom-Verse seems unlikely since Venom did not have enough time to create a backstory for the villain.
Project Rebirth 2.0
There were so many chances for Sony to branch out the Venom-Verse. They went straight for Carnage. Venom 2’s plot direction means a major Venom story arc – Project rebirth 2.0, will never hit the big screens. Project Rebirth was led by Abraham Erskine, who gave us the first Super Soldier – captain America. project Rebirth 2.0 intended to create super soldiers by using symbiotes. It would have been a good way to explore the history of symbiotes before Venom came into the picture. Nick Fury personally oversaw the project so there could have been a chance for Samuel L Jackson to show up in the Venom movies.
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New Ways To Die
New Ways To Die is a rather new story arc. But it had implications that were far reaching, forever changing how we saw Eddie Brock as a hero. Spider-Man is forced to face not one but two enemies – the Dark Avengers and Mister Negative. Mac Gargan aka the Scorpion was the newest host to the Venom symbiote. But when the symbiote encountered Eddie, it tried to go back to him. Mister negative was using his powers to heal Eddie at the time. The ensuing reaction activated the last vestiges of the Venom symbiote still within Eddie’s body. They came together to form a whole new symbiote – Anti-Venom. New Ways to Die requires Mister Negative, a whole new super-villain. Since Sony will most likely focus on Carnage, the possibility for us getting to see anti-Venom are very slim.
Planet Of The Symbiotes
Planet Of The Symbiotes was released in 1995. So it came way before Carnage rampaged into our lives as a Venom villain. Carnage was still a villain in his nascent stage, having made his first appearance only in 1992. Planet Of The Symbiotes is a rare glimpse of Marvel trying to explore the history of the symbiotes as a race. When Eddie Brock rejects the Venom symbiote a second time, the latter screams out in pain. This invites other symbiotes to Earth who then start attacking and killing humans. Venom 2 could have explored the history of the symbiotes. But since carnage is already in the picture, we may never know where venom hails from.
Separation Anxiety
A highly underrated storyline, Separation Anxiety sees Eddie Brock lose a fight to the Scarlet Spider. Brock is captured and the symbiote is forcibly removed from his body. The Government then starts experimenting on the symbiote, trying to understand and replicate it for their own uses. That’s when the five venom Off Springs – Phage, Lasher, Scream, Agony, and Riot break Brock out of prison and make him re-bond with Venom. Separation Anxiety is a story that explores Venom and Brock as two separate entities.
The Bride Of Venom
The Bride Of Venom is perhaps the weirdest story in the entire Venom saga. Peter Parker’s parents return from the dead (but they are actually androids). Venom kidnaps the Parkers and brings them to a carnival. A fight ensures. The story is great for mainly two reasons. The fights between Spider-Man and Venom are exceptionally ultra-violent. Anne Weying also appears in the arc, hence the name. The story also showcases venom’s twisted sense of morality and justice. It was what led to Venom opting to become an anti-hero. He moves to San Francisco, leading to the Lethal Protector story arc. That is the same arc that inspired the first Venom movie.
The Hunger
The Hunger was kind of a redemption arc for Venom. The story lines that preceded The Hunger turned him into a joke. There was an issue where Venom is taken out by a zippo lighter. The Hunger showed just how dependent Brock was on the Symbiote. Eddie was dying, his body having being diagnosed with terminal cancer. The symbiote was the only thing keeping him alive. The Hunger turns Eddie into a monster of Lovecraftian proportions as the symbiote tries to re-unite with Peter Parker. The Venom-Verse focusing on Carnage means it will never explore this story line.
Dark Origin
Venom: Dark Origin told a tale of Venom before he became Spider-Man’s nemesis. The best retelling of the tale of Venom before he endorsed a path to villainy, Dark Origins has its ups and downs. We would go so far as to say this is the true origin story of Venom. It showed how and why venom became so violent and Machiavellian in his ways. His moral compass was never pointed towards the north from the very beginning.
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Spider-Island
Granted this is a Spider-Man story, but it was Venom who saved the day and ended up being the hero. All the people of New York end up gaining the powers of Spider-Man. But unlike Peter Parker, not all of them know the burden of the quote “With great power comes great responsibility.” Spider-Island was the perfect redemption arc for Venom for the new generation of readers. a version of the arc could have been made possible using symbiotes raining all over New York, gaining the same powers and abilities as Venom. Carnage did come too soon. Spider-Island will most likely remain a dream.
