WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Venom, in theaters now.


When Eddie Brock tries to put a stop to the cruel experiments performed by Carlton Drake  and the Life Foundation in Sony's Venom, he soon finds himself surrounded by alien symbiotes, including the one bonds to him. Although they may appear slightly different in director Ruben Fleischer's film, many of those amorphous extraterrestrial characters were adapted from the comics, specifically Marvel's 1993 miniseries Venom: Lethal Protector, in which Venom was forced to spawn six offspring.

The film may have changed some key details, but it follows a similar enough pass that it still makes sense to highlight each symbiote appearance, and compare the alien to its comic book counterpart. Some of them were pretty notable in Venom, while others may have been a little more difficult to spot. If you missed one don't you worry: That's what we're here for.

Riot

Played by Riz Ahmed, Carlton Drake sees the symbiotes as the next step in human evolution. Mankind is on the verge of collapse, and Drake is determined to ensure its survival by reaching into space and bringing back a symbiote for everyone. Alhough it wasn't his plan, he bonds to the rogue symbiote, Riot, who uses Drake to try to beat Venom into submission.

RELATED: Why Riot, Not Carnage, Was Chosen As Venom’s Big Villain

Riot first appeared in Venom: Lethal Protector #4, written by David Michelinie, and illustrated by Ron Lim, Sam De La Rosa, Al Milgrom and Marie Javins, alongside Venom's other offspring. There, the gray symbiote didn't bond to Carlton Drake, but rather one of the Life Foundation's security guards, Trevor Cole. As Riot, Cole would create blunt weapons in battle, due to Cole's aggression. The only similarities between the film adaptation and the comic book depiction of Riot are superficial. Otherwise, they're pretty much two different characters.

She-Venom

13 She Venom

Anne Weying (Michelle Williams) initially appears in Venom as Brock's fiancee and an attorney affiliated with the Life Foundation -- that is, until Brock secretly uses confidential documents emailed to uncover the company's the seedy underbelly. His betrayal costs Anne her job. Despite her best efforts to move on with her life, she finds herself embroiled in the struggle against the Life Foundation. Venom uses that to his advantage to reattach himself to Brock by briefly turning Anne into She-Venom.

RELATED: How Sony's Venom Sets Up a Symbiote-Filled Sequel

The film was actually quite faithful to the comics in its adaptation of Anne. Like she is in the film, Anne was a lawyer who had a relationship with Eddie Brock, except that in the comics she was his ex-wife. A while after Eddie became Venom, he encounters serial killer Sin-Eater, who shoots Anne. To save her life, the symbiote bonds with her, turning her into She-Venom in 1995's Venom: Sinner Takes All #2. The notable difference between the film and comics when it comes to Anne and her relationship to Eddie is how it ultimately ends. To say that the film was optimistic in that regard is something of an understatement.

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Agony

agony

OK, so Agony as a humanoid creature doesn't appear in Venom, but the symbiote does, as the unnamed blue extraterrestrial that Drake tries to bond to Isaac and one other vagrant before using it to execute Dr. Skirth (Jenny Slate) for her betrayal. The symbiote bears some resemblance to the Klyntar in the comics known as Agony.

RELATED: What Venom's Final Scene Really Tells Us About Eddie Brock & the Symbiote

Agony first appeared in Venom: Lethal Protector #4, like the other Life Foundation symbiotes. The original host was security guard named Leslie Gesneria, and as Agony, she possessed a couple of abilities unique among the five symbiotes. She could spit acid and absorb different chemicals to be used in a variety of ways. Obviously, we see none of that in the film, and because the symbiote seemingly perished along with Dr. Skirth, it's unlikely we'll see Agony return for a sequel.

Phage

Phage-Venom-Lethal-Protector

Only the Phage symbiote seems to appear in the film. We see it early on, when Drake and Dr. Skirth experiment with live test subjects. They unleash the yellow-and-black Phage symbiote onto a rabbit, which is quickly consumed by the alien suit from the inside. The suit is seen completely destroyed later on, alongside a deceased vagrant, after being bombarded by intense sounds.

RELATED: Who's in Venom's Mid-Credits Scene, and What His Presence Means

In the comics, Phage bonded with a security officer named Carl Mach. Along with the standard set of enhancements and abilities available to all symbiote hosts, Phage could form powerful weapons with his suit, much like the ones Carlton Drake uses as Riot. We don't get to see that in Venom because, as we've mentioned, it seemingly perished after Drake's experiments gave it too many incompatible hosts. Like Agony, it seems highly unlikely we'll see this symbiote again.

Venom

Venom red blue light

How can we list the film's symbiotes and not mention the star? Venom, of course, makes an explosive entrance after nearly two whole acts exploring a very human Eddie Brock, and a fight and chase sequence filled with teases The two have a complicated relationship, as one would expect. They don't agree with each other, but they need each other to survive the ordeal they've found themselves in.

RELATED: Director Ruben Fleischer Talks "Ultimate" Inspiration For Venom

The film draws story elements from the Venom of Marvel Comics' primary continuity, well as the Ultimate Universe, in order to recreate a dualistic creature that has no connections to Spider-Man. In the comics, Eddie was a struggling journalist who lost everything after making a mistake while chasing a story. He blamed Spider-Man for his downfall, and that hate was what drew the symbiote. Eventually, they give up on their search for revenge and move to San Francisco to become its lethal protector. There are more than a few similarities between the comics and the film adaptation, although they don't always appear in the way you'd expect. Whether that actually works is up to you to decide.


In theaters nationwide, director Ruben Fleischer’s Venom stars Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Scott Haze, Reid Scott, Jenny Slate, Woody Harrelson, Sope Aluko, Scott Deckert, Marcella Bragio and Michelle Lee.