Spider-Man's Upcoming Black Costume May be a New Symbiote

CBR

Venomized May Have Explained the Return of Spider-Man's Black Costume

By Tim Adams

Published Apr 14, 2018

The reason why Peter Parker will once again wear a black costume in Amazing Spider-Man may come down to his new symbiote in Marvel's Venomized event.

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Venomized #1 by Cullen Bunn, Iban Coello, Matt Yackey and Joe Caramagna, on sale now.

Change seems to be a constant in the life of Peter Parker. In the pages of Amazing Spider-Man, the web-slinger went from billionaire tech genius to disgraced science editor at his former employer, the Daily Bugle. As for Peter's alter ego Spider-Man, the hero has to contend with the return of Norman Osborn and his new deadly persona, the Red Goblin.

Another upcoming change will come behind the scenes when writer Dan Slott steps down from his 10-year run on Amazing Spider-Man, with writer Nick Spencer and artist Ryan Ottley relaunching the series in June as part of Marvel's "Fresh Start."

Spider-Man's new beginning will also include the return of his black costume. Not much is known at the moment regarding why Spider-Man has decided to go back to black, but Venomized #2 suggests the suit could be another Klyntar symbiote -- similar to the one worn by the antihero Venom.

These Symbiotes Are... Different

The Poisons' first objective when they arrive on Earth is to infect the superhuman population with symbiotes, so they can then feast on them and steal their powers. Spider-Man was one of the first heroes to be bonded with a symbiote, but when he tried to remove it using the sound of a clock belltower, he was unsuccessful. Somehow, the Poisons have altered Spider-Man's symbiote to remove one of its known weaknesses.

Of course, this is news to Venom, who fought the Poisons in last year's Venomverse miniseries, and his "Poison-X" crossover with X-Men Blue. It isn't made clear if every Klyntar was altered, or if it's just the one bonded to Spider-Man. Regardless, Venom suggests they let the experts over at Alchemax run some tests to find out.

Will Spider-Man's Black Suit Really Be Another Symbiote?

Try as he might, but Alchemax's Dr. Steve can't seem to get the symbiote to leave Spider-Man's body. Peter hasn't had the best experience with symbiotes, considering his last one joined with Venom as the two tried to end his life. However, Venom isn't the same bloodthirsty villain he used to be. Eddie Brock and his symbiote have a special connection, which is why Eddie will always defend the aliens as being more than a mere succubus.

The most logical reason for the wallcrawler to go back to wearing a black suit in Amazing Spider-Man has to be symbiote-related. For example, Venomized wouldn't go through the trouble of dedicating precious page space to Spidey's symbiote dilemma if it wasn't important. It's possible once Venomized concludes that Spider-Man will have changed his mind when it comes to forming a new alien partnership.

Fans would expect the black costume surprise to come in Amazing Spider-Man, but having its origin begin in Venomized could be a way to keep readers on their toes while also displaying how events in one Marvel series can affect another. And if we're right about the Spider-Man black costume being a symbiote, then Venomized will go down as being a key event in Spider-Man's history.