Venom is a problem in the Marvel Universe and has been a tough opponent for those who have crossed his path. His strengths and abilities are unique and unparalleled. There are many heroes who would not want to face off against such a monster but perhaps, anime heroes are a different story.
There are many anime heroes who could match up well against Venom and hold their own. Unlike Western superheroes, the heroes in anime can be overpowered while others may have very little strength and abilities. That being said, here are five heroes who would destroy Venom and five heroes who would regret their decision to face him head-on.
10 CAN DEFEAT: Gon Freecss
Gon has the potential to be one of the greatest heroes in anime history. The problem is the word "potential," since at Gon's current level, Venom would take advantage of his risky decision making and lack of combat experience.
Gon is still learning and has risked even his Nen abilities to defeat the enemies in front of him. Gon won’t be able to fight Venom head-to-head without risking his life. He is usually in need of help from Killua’s intelligence to get him through tough situations. In the future, he could possibly take out Venom but the way he is now? That would be a no.
9 CAN'T DEFEAT: Monkey D. Luffy
Luffy has shown his growth through One Piece by, among other things, defeating a Yonko Commander in battle. That being said, Venom and Luffy would have an entertaining fight.
Venom's razor-sharp teeth could cause trouble for Luffy, such as Arlong gave him problems. In terms of strength, Luffy has the edge and his resistance to poisons may be able to give him the advantage over Venom. His Gear 4th transformation can knock villains like Doflamningo across the distance of a whole country.
8 CAN DEFEAT: Edward Elric
Ed has proven himself to be quite a dangerous opponent. He is extremely intelligent and has superb skills in alchemy, however, his lack of speed and strength could cause him serious injury against Venom’s power and speed.
Ed is usually accompanied by his brother Alphonse and can make up for his older brother’s mistakes. Additionally, Ed can be emotional and he has almost died from his recklessness, only being saved by his former enemies and dumb luck. Without these, he would barely last a minute against Venom.
7 CAN'T DEFEAT: Naruto Uzumaki
Naruto has now become the Hokage and is even recognized as the strongest ninja of his time so it goes without saying that his powers exceed that of Venom's. He’s not only physically strong, but his healing ability is on another level. Naruto was able to save Might Guy after he used the Eight Gates of Death. The user of the Jutsu must die, yet because of Naruto, Guy is still alive.
Venom may lose in almost every category when it comes to abilities. Much like Venom himself having a host, Naruto isn’t alone either and has the help of the Kyubi. Now that he has tamed the beast inside him, Naruto is superbly strong and would give Venom a seriously difficult time.
6 CAN DEFEAT: Kirito
Kirito is a skilled swordsman and can use dual swords to defeat tough enemies. However, he hasn’t gone up against a monster with the same power as Venom. He has faced enemies that he was expected to defeat. He has superior speed and quickness, but his physical strength can be questionable.
Venom’s ability to regenerate could give Kirito trouble and since Kirito usually has friends by his side it can be easy for Venom to transfer hosts and become someone Kirito would have a hard time fighting against emotionally. Kirito has too many question marks that need to be answered to eke out even the barest win against the Symbiote.
5 CAN'T DEFEAT: Shanks
As one of the four emperors of the sea, Yonko Shanks has had his fair share of battles and even sparred with the world’s strongest swordsmen Mihawk countless of times. Shanks was able to stop a war from spiraling out of control all by himself. It should be noted that in that war, the strongest characters in the One Piece world were about to clash and yet, they all stopped thanks to Shanks.
It's fair to say that as strong as Venom is, he wouldn’t be able to take down Shanks, who has excellent Haki and swordsmen skills. Shanks can do all of this with only one arm, to the point where he earned the respect of every pirate and marine who's heard of his name.
4 CAN DEFEAT: Tsunayoshi Sawada
While he's a master at wielding flames in combat, Tsuna’s flames may not be able to reach Venom as he has issues with fighting at times. He usually depends heavily on the advice of his mentor Reborn in order to conjure up the will to fight off his enemies.
When Tsuna fights, he relies on his flames heavily and usually tries to fight in close combat. Venom’s quickness and agility plays to the fighting style of Tsuna, and he could take advantage of close combat by using his poison.
3 CAN'T DEFEAT: Goku
Goku is virtually a god at this point. He has so many forms and levels that Venom may not be able to keep up with his transformations. Goku can fight against a God-like Beerus and even use Ultra Instinct that even had the gods sweating bullets.
Venom is strong, but there are levels between a monster and a god. Goku can fight toe to toe with guys like Jiren, who showed himself to be clearly the top fighter at the Tournament of Power. Simply put, Goku might be too much for Venom to handle in a very Biblical sense.
2 CAN DEFEAT: Gohan
Gohan has shown more potential as a fighter when he was younger than he has as he’s grown to mature. He has been caught off guard by weaker opponents before and lost. But thanks to his father's constant desire for him to have a life without fighting, Gohan was never really able to reach his full potential.
That being said, Venom would be able to defeat Gohan with slight difficulty. Gohan is still powerful and can show his strength from time to time, however, it’s clear that he isn’t at his peak. That, and he can be overconfident, which could lead to his demise.
1 CAN'T DEFEAT: Saitama
Venom is Venom, but Saitama is Saitama. The one-punch hero is possibly the strongest character ever created, considering the premise of his entire story is to find someone who can even make him exert some effort because he can defeat literally everything or everyone in a single punch. Venom has many powers, but sometimes, undeniable power is all it takes to defeat anyone.
Saitama is a hero who goes unnoticed beside the ones who actually have seen him up close and personal. Saitama doesn’t need any overpowered abilities and healing prowess; he's simply strong. So strong, in fact, that the strongest characters themselves feel the need to train again and again until they can reach his level.