SPOIER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Amazing Spider-Man: Venom Inc. Omega #1 by Mike Costa, Dan Slott, Ryan Stegman and Gerardo Sandoval. On sale now!
We've reached the end of the six-issue crossover "Venom Inc," which saw the return of Venom, the birth of a new Anti-Venom and the rise and fall of a new symbiote menace: Maniac. When Lee Price manages to tear the symbiote away from Mania, he uses its mind-controlling abilities to conquer the criminal underworld. He would have succeeded, too, if not for the intervention of that meddling crew of Spider-Man, Venom, Flash Thomson, Mania and Black Cat. Ultimately, not even the gargantuan form Price amassed in the end, could stave off his defeat. After the climactic battle, the members of the unlikely superhero team went their separate ways.
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In the end, Spider-Man went off to keep fighting for the innocent, the new Anti-Venom decided he'd be the mediator between Venom and Spider-Man the next time they encountered each other, Mania went back to Philly, Black Cat is now back to her life of crime and Venom... well, Venom has decided it's time he became a real superhero and not the lethal protector he once was. Ultimately, while this was a fun crossover event, its ending made one thing clear: The Venom symbiote really isn't what it used to be.
When Venom first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #300 (by David Michelinie, Todd McFarlane, Bob McLeod and Bob Sharen), he was filled with nothing but hatred for Spider-Man. Eddie Brock felt his life had been ruined by the wall-crawler, and the symbiote was still hurting from Peter's recent rejection. The villains' motives allowed for the perfect character-defining relationship to occur, one that would emphasize the qualities that made Spider-Man unique among superheroes.
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Where Venom was driven by pure anger and vengeance, Spider-Man was driven by compassion. That was just one among a number of qualities that helped to define what it was Venom meant to Spider-Man from a narrative perspective. He's the result of great power without any of the responsibility or restraint, he's the dark side that Spider-Man fights against and quite famously rejected when he tore the black suit off using a church bell.
Being that dark reflection of Spider-Man, Venom grew to immense levels of popularity throughout the '90s and appeared in Spider-Man's comics quite often. Back then, he still served his purpose as a great villain, challenging Spider-Man in every way a person can be challenged. This was particularly true in the crossover event "Maximum Carnage," in which Venom actually fought alongside the web-head. Both their similarities and differences became blindingly clear as they argued with one another while battling Carnage's twisted family.
By that time, Venom had already been going in a different direction and his path, had taken him quite far away from Spidey. The pair had struck a deal: So long as Venom didn't commit any crimes, Spider-Man would leave him alone. To ensure that, Brock moved to San Francisco. This, of course, was done because of his popularity as a character. He was given his own miniseries with "Venom: Lethal Protector" (written by Michelinie, with art by Mark Bailey, Ron Lim and Sam DeLarosa) which would expand on the symbiote and introduce the Life Foundation symbiotes. This where Venom began to lose his significance as a character, and the symbiote became more a gimmick than a worthy narrative device.
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During the '90s, the symbiotes were still quite exciting. The variations in costumes and abilities were still interesting to see, but there came a point where it had just been overdone. "Venom: Lethal Protector" led to "Venom: Separation Anxiety" and then "Planet of the Symbiotes." It began a trend that doesn't seem to have stopped. Venom and the symbiotes were no longer dark reflections of their hosts, but alien monsters that writers don't seem to know what to do with other than have them invade a place somehow.
If you need a clearer picture, just look back at Venom outside of the comics, through the various cartoons and video games that featured the character throughout the last two decades.
The classic Spider-Man: The Animated Series that ran from 1994 to 1998 clearly understood Venom's purpose as a character, even if they failed to allow him to reach his full potential. Then there was the video game, Spider-Man, released in 2000, featuring a story that revolved around Venom, Carnage and a symbiote invasion. Then there was the video game Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, released in 2008, once again featuring a story that treated the symbiotes and Venom himself as more of an alien infection, transmogrifying various characters but adding nothing new to them as characters. The same occurred in Ultimate Spider-Man, in the episode "Venom" in which the titular creature almost aimlessly jumped from host to host. This seems to have stemmed from a desire to appease audience curiosities. After all, it was once exciting to wonder what would happen if certain characters were possessed by the symbiote. Comics that did feature those instances seemed to fail at grasping the whole concept of the symbiote, focusing more on how it made people look more monstrous.
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It isn't all bad. For example, "Rebirth" in Amazing Spider-Man #654 (written by Dan Slott, illustrated by Paulo Siquiera and more) introduced Agent Venom, who seemed to bring the symbiote back to its roots as a narrative device, aiding in our exploration of Flash Thompson as a character, struggling to resist the symbiote's compulsion to commit monstrous acts.
Eddie Brock is now Venom once again, but so far, that doesn't appear to be a good thing. Just take a look at has been done with the symbiote in "Venom Inc," in which Spider-Man himself doesn't even seem to acknowledge the impact the symbiote has had on him over the years.
Keep in mind how desperately Spidey fought to tear himself away from the symbiote in Web of Spider-Man #1 (written by Louise Simonson, artwork by Greg LaRocque, Jim Mooney and Greg Roussos). It had corrupted him, tried to devour him and it continued to haunt him. The overall look continued to represent something dark within himself, which is why it meant so much when he donned a cloth variant of the suit in "Back in Black" to represent his willingness to embrace that darker side, however briefly.
Spidey is partially reunited with the symbiote in "Venom Inc." and it compels him to act in anger, threatening his friends and allies. The symbiote is removed soon afterwards, but the experience seems to have had no impact on Spidey, who virtually brushes off the whole experience despite the long and brutal history he's had with symbiotes. It should have been a significant moment, but it wasn't. In fact, his every interaction with Venom should have been treated with as though they were massively significant, but they weren't. Spidey simply allows Venom to leave after a lame quip and a few words.
"Venom Inc" has been the most definitive piece of evidence that Venom and the symbiotes no longer carry any meaning in Spider-Man's world. He is simply another superhuman with a gimmick.