In October, Sony will try bringing Venom back to the big screen once again. Of course, the first time was when Topher Grace played Eddie Brock and the lack of interest by Sam Raimi ended up finishing his run on the Spider-Man movie franchise. Now that Spider-Man is rebooted under Marvel's direction, Sony is trying to build its own Spider-verse without the Wall Crawler, and what better way to start than by bringing Venom back to the big screen and trying to do it the right way this time? Early word has it that this storyline will be based on the Lethal Protector storyline, which was one of the better, more formative ones surrounding the Eddie Brock character.

However, as fans of Marvel Comics know well, Eddie Brock was not the only man to host Venom living inside him. He wasn't the first, he most likely won't be the last, and he wasn't even the best. There have been numerous people to host Venom, and that doesn't even include the "relatives" of the symbiote such as Carnage. Some of these hosts were terrible and made fans of the character wish for the days of Eddie Brock, wishing that the new character would just go away. However, there were others that were so cool that it looked like Eddie never needed to step back into the world of symbiote hosting ever again.

15 BETTER: MAC GARGAN

Mac Gargan was always a reliable supervillain as The Scorpion. However, what he was reliable at was getting arrested every time Spider-Man showed up. Mac was the third person that Venom connected with after Spider-Man cast him out. Still angry at the rejection, it decided that someone like Mac hated Spider-Man enough to help it eliminate Parker once and for all.

During Norman Osborne's rule during Dark Reign, Mac joined the Dark Avengers as Venom and while he tried to control it, the symbiote was too powerful and became dangerous, with Mac losing more and more control. This Venom, for a time, was one of the most bloodthirsty versions until the U.S. Government was able to get it off him and contain it to study.

14 NO GOOD: ANGELO FORTUNATO

Angelo Fortunato took on the Venom persona but was one of the least deserving to ever possess the symbiote. Unlike Eddie Brock and Mac Gargan, who Venom sought out to bond with, Fortunato's dad purchased the symbiote from Eddie Brock after he developed a renewed sense of faith and wanted to make something of his life. Thus, Don Fortunato won it in an auction and gave it to his son to make a man out of him.

This led to Angelo trying to help Venom achieve its greatest goal -- eliminating Spider-Man. However, Angelo screwed up and ended up targeting an imposter, causing Spider-Man to finally cut loose on the symbiote. Angelo ran away after this fight and Venom, showing disgust of the cowardice, detached from the man in mid-air, sending him to his demise. This incident sent Eddie Brock into a deep, dark depression, as he blamed himself.

13 BETTER: VENOMSAURAS REX

So, this is a case where the being wearing the symbiote isn't the toughest or most iconic hero or villain to become Venom. Nope, this is a total win because of how cool the actual creature is that hosts Venom. In the Old Man Logan storyline, there was a Venom that showed up for just a short time but left an impression that has lasted.

This creature was basically a Venom-saurus Rex. Yes, in the future when only a few heroes are left alive, Venom attached itself to a Tyrannosaurus Rex. The dinosaur was originally from the Savage Land and reappeared years later in Old Man Hawkeye where its origin revealed that the symbiote used the powers of Jamie Maddrox to replicate itself, and that is where this awesome creation originated.

12 NO GOOD: ANNE WEYING

Anne Weying was the first female Venom and was very much a tragic story. Weying was the ex-wife of Eddie Brock and a successful lawyer. Interestingly, the first time that Venom took over Anne was when the Sin-Eater wounded her and it saved her life by attaching itself. However, in an act of vengeance, it slaughtered the men trying to hurt her. While she seemed sick by its actions, Eddie let her know that the symbiote could only make a person do something they actually wanted to do.

The knowledge of what she felt like as Venom never left her mind. When she saw Eddie Brock turn into Venom later and try to take out Spider-Man, who was also wearing in a black costume, Anne's mind finally snapped. She lept from her high rise apartment -- a tragic end to prove how dangerous bonding with Venom really is.

11 BETTER: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

Captain America sent Flash Thompson into space to serve as a liaison to the Guardians of the Galaxy as Agent Venom. However, once Venom hit outer space, things got very bad for Thompson. The symbiote chose not to use the Agent Venom armor anymore and then the hive mind reached out to it to try to reconnect. This caused Venom to lash out in confused anger.

At this point, it started to take over different members of the Guardians of the Galaxy, from Groot to Drax to Rocket, as it tried to take over their ship. What makes this so cool is that the story went to Venom's home planet and ended up revealing what the symbiotes are -- peaceful creatures that are only evil when they attach to someone who is already unstable. Venom quenched its thirst for vengeance in this storyline -- at least temporarily.

10 NO GOOD: CONRAD MARCUS

Moving over to the Ultimate Marvel Universe, the second Venom after Eddie Brock was a biochemist named Dr. Conrad Marcus. Using the original Ultimate Universe ideas of making things more realistic, Venom was not an alien but a genetically created symbiote that Richard Parker and Edward Brock Senior used to create the Venom suit.

Marcus got the suit and set out to eliminate Spider-Man, but he thought that Jefferson Davis was the masked hero. While Marcus was targeting Davis, Miles Morales showed up to save his father and try to beat the new threat to his family. While Miles was able to save his dad, the attack by Marcus cost him his mother's life before the villain fell in defeat shortly after that -- making this a Venom that destroyed Miles' life and then flamed out.

9 BETTER: OTTO OCTAVIUS

One of the greatest Spider-Man stories in recent years occurred when Dr. Octopus transferred his mind into the body of Peter Parker right before his own body expired, creating the Superior Spider-Man. Using his immense intellect and an inventiveness that Peter never dreamed of, Superior Spider-Man was better than the amazing one in almost every way... at least in his own mind.

When Flash Thompson came to Peter for help, not knowing that it was Otto, the Superior Spider-Man forcibly removed the symbiote and it attached to him, making him the Superior Venom. As is the case with Venom, it soon took over, despite Otto's superior brainpower. It took the combined effort of the Avengers, Flash Thompson and the subconscious of Peter Parker to rid him of the symbiote.

8 NO GOOD: KRON STONE

Heading to the world of 2099, Kron Stone was the older half-brother of Miguel O'Hara -- Spider-Man 2099 -- although he did not know this fact. In the future, the symbiote is still alive. although slightly altered. When Stone was left fatally injured in a sewer, a black ball bonded with him and Venom 2099 was born.

Venom had changed in the years leading up to 2099, now able to shoot acidic blood. In this world, Venom was not an anti-hero or someone who wanted vengeance. Stone was simply a bully who used his new powers to try to torment and torture people like Miguel before Spider-Man 2099 defeated him. Eventually, after defeat, the symbiote left Kron, merged with the Sub-Mariner, and was never seen again.

7 BETTER: SPIDER-GWEN

Spider-Gwen makes everything better, as most fans should learn when they watch Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse this year. In Spider-Gwen #25, it was time for her to battle Venom -- or at least the Earth-65 version of Venom. This time, Venom was the side effect of the evil Matt Murdoch curing Harry Osborn of the Lizard disease.

Gwen was able to send her isotopes into Harry after he turned into the Lizard and it created the symbiote, which eventually bonded with Spider-Gwen. Soon, Gwenom realized that Matt Murdoch helped her do this on purpose to make her look like a villain once again. However, the story concluded with Spider-Gwen taking complete control of the symbiote and eventually taking responsibility and paying the price for all the damage she caused due to her powers.

6 NO GOOD: LEE PRICE

In Venom #150, the symbiote separated itself from Flash Thompson and merged with a homeless person in an attempt to find a new host. The host he found was Lee Price, a former Army Ranger who was in an accident that killed much of his squad and cost him two fingers. When his benefits never came through as a disabled veteran, he fell on hard times. That made him a perfect host for Venom.

Lee became hired muscle for Mac Gargan, a former Venom himself, and when he almost lost his life, the symbiote came to the rescue, saved him, and the two merged. Lee overpowered Venom and used it to massacre everyone around him. Price, who was a tragic figure at the start, but ended up truly lost over time. Interestingly, Venom never seemed to want to share a body with him at all.

5 BETTER: DEADPOOL

In 2016, Marvel created the Back in Black series and had Deadpool claim that -- way back before Eddie Brock was Venom, the symbiote actually came to him first. Remember how Peter Parker first gained access to the symbiote in Secret Wars when his costume was destroyed? Well, Deadpool has a story to tell about Deadpool's Secret Wars.

Basically, after Peter Parker used the church bell to rid himself of Venom, the symbiote then crawled around and tried to find love and acceptance and what it found was Deadpool. Then, the Merc with a Mouth explains that during Secret Wars, he actually found the symbiote first but didn't want it and left it there for Spider-Man to discover. At the end of the day, this was a very funny Deadpool story full of great revisionist history.

4 NO GOOD: CAROL DANVERS

During Siege, Carol Danvers was working in the Secret Avengers and Mac Gargon was Venom, working as part of Norman Osborn's Dark Avengers team. Things were getting nasty in Asgard as Venom was on a rampage, eating lots of Asgardians. That is when Spider-Man showed up and began to battle Venom. When Ms. Marvel showed up, she used her powers to actually rip the symbiote off of Gargan.

This was a good way to stop the symbiote from eating any more poor Asgardians, but it also opened up Ms. Marvel for the symbiote to bond with her and she became She-Venom. The problem is that it could have been cool but it was over in just a matter of pages with Carol never exhibiting any control whatsoever on the symbiote.

3 BETTER: RED HULK

Possibly the coolest bonding in the history of symbiotes came when Venom bonded with the Red Hulk. This happened in the Circle of Four storyline and resulted in something much cooler than just a Venomized Red Hulk. Sure, the entire story makes no sense and there are tons of reasons why this couldn't actually work, but it was too awesome not to try.

Flash Thompson went AWOL and Red Hulk was sent to bring him in. At the same time, Ghost Rider was hunting down Blackheart, who wanted to release Hell on Earth. Flash agreed to let Red Hulk use the symbiote and he then bonded with the Spirit of Vengeance as well. What resulted was a Red Hulk with a flaming skull yelling "We Are Vengeance" -- maybe the greatest Venom moment in the history of the world.

2 NO GOOD: PETER PARKER

The first person that ever bonded with Venom (unless you believe Deadpool) was Peter Parker, the Amazing Spider-Man. This all happened during Secret Wars when heroes and villains from Earth were abducted and taken to Battleworld to fight for the amusement of The Beyonder. When Spider-Man had his costume destroyed, he found what he thought was a nice alternative in a black costume he could control with his mind.

Of course, the problem was that he wasn't controlling the costume, as he learned later, and it was actually taking control of him. He finally fought to rid himself of the symbiote, releasing a very angry and vengeful Venom on the world -- and all the destruction that occurred at the hands of the symbiote is all laid at the feet of Spider-Man himself.

1 BETTER: FLASH THOMPSON

Flash Thompson was mentioned many times in this article and that is because, at the end of the day, Agent Venom was a much better Venom than anything that Eddie Brock could pull off. It was also one of the best character arcs in Marvel Comics history. Flash went from a bully in high school who tormented Peter Parker to a war hero to a disabled veteran in a wheelchair.

That last fact made Flash turning into Agent Venom and making the symbiote a hero one of the greatest arcs for both Flash and Venom, as the symbiote loved finally getting to play the role of a hero and protector. When seeing how a war veteran like Lee Price was corrupted by the alien, seeing Flash Thompson become a great hero was a fantastic story of retribution.