Venom & Family: Marvel's Coolest Symbiotes

by Brendan Reid – on Nov 29, 2016 in Comics, Comic News, Lists

The symbiotes in the Marvel Comic Universe have garnered a bad reputation for themselves,
but that was never their intention. Known as the Klyntar, the symbiotes are actually a
peaceful alien collective that seeks to bond with ideal specimens in order to create heroes
and warriors, all in the name of helping others.

RELATED: Venom's Hosts: A History

This plan usually goes south, as the symbiotes are greatly affected by the mental conditions
of their hosts. When they bond with someone unstable, the Klyntar become corrupt by the
negativity of their host, and together they create a monster of terrifying potential. In honor of
the visual and narrative awesomeness that the Klyntar provide, as well as Venom’s return to
the comic book stands, here are the top 15 symbiotes of all time.

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15
ANTI-VENOM

The mutated symbiote Anti-Venom appeared to Eddie Brock when he was at his lowest.
Wasting away from cancer and working in a soup kitchen, Brock’s fortunes were turned when
he received a pat on the shoulder from the powerful and enigmatic Mr. Negative. This
awakened the remnants of the Venom symbiote in his bloodstream, which attached itself to
his white blood cells, and cured him of his cancer.

The greater significance of this would become apparent when Mac Gargan, the current
holder of Venom, attacked the soup kitchen looking for Spider-Man. The Venom symbiote on
Gargan attempted to re-bond with Brock, but the new symbiote in his blood repelled the
invasion and burst free, enveloping him in a whole new persona: Anti-Venom. Anti-Venom
has the ability to cleanse bodies of their symbiotes and radiation, and almost de-powers
Spider-Man in their first encounter. While he is monstrous in appearance, Anti-Venom
performs several heroic deeds, including taking down the criminal organization of Mr.
Negative (who gave him his new powers in the first place) and curing New York of the
terrifying Spider-Virus.

14
MARCUS, THE CENTAUR WEREWOLF SYMBIOTE WARRIOR WITH
DIABETES

Marcus is one of Deadpool’s more absurd adversaries (which is really saying something),
and one who certainly lives up to his name. Marcus is a centaur from ancient Greece, who
was subsequently bitten by a werewolf and infected with a symbiote. He was then hired by
Dracula alongside Frankenstein’s Monster, N’kantu the Living Mummy and Xzax (thus
forming a new Frightful Four), to hunt down Deadpool and Dracula’s bride-to-be. It doesn’t get
much stranger than that, folks. The symbiote bonded to Marcus gives him extra strength and
agility, as well as a host of weapons that can be summoned from his body at will.

Despite his ferocious arsenal, Marcus was still no match Deadpool. His key weakness lay in
the fact that he has diabetes, and must regulate his blood sugar every few hours. He became
woozy during a brawl with Deadpool, who was kind enough to let him balance things out
before flattening him with a steamroller.

13
DREADFACE

Dreadface is a part of the psychotic strain of symbiotes, who drive all those they come into
contact with into a murderous rage. The Fantastic Four were the first to encounter it in
“Fantastic Four "#360, aka, "At The Mercy Of Dreadface!” The symbiote was contained on the
ship of Devos The Devastator, who had likely captured it in his efforts to rid the Universe of
war-waging lifeforms.

When the ship crashed in the jungle during a dispute between the Fantastic Four and Devos,
Dreadface escaped, and possessed the first creature it came into contact with: a gorilla. The
Gorilla attacked Ben Grimm, and when they touched one another, the symbiote transferred
itself to Ben. The Human Torch was able to dislodge the creature from his friend, but at the
cost of it possessing him instead. The battle was ended when The Thing convinced the
flaming symbiote to fly into a stream of jetfuel, resulting in an explosion that spared Johnny
Storm but seemingly fried the alien for good.

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12
KROBAA

Krobaa was a short-lived but intriguing symbiote that appeared for one issue of “Venom:
Seed Of Darkness.” He was drawn to Earth by interdimensional experimenter Dr. Nigel
Donlevy, who he promptly bonded with, and then used to go on a destructive rampage. A tip
about the situation got the attention of Eddie Brock, who had yet to encounter his Venom
symbiote. Still looking for the story that would make his career, Brock rushed to the scene,
and was promptly attacked by the monstrous Krobaa.

At this point, Eddie realized that Krobaa was susceptible to bright lights, and began to flash
at him with his camera. The symbiote disengaged from its host, and returned to its peaceful
Klyntar self, horrified by what bonding to a human had done to him. Krobaa then offered a
powerful observation on the human condition, lamenting that our greatness is buried deep
beneath sorrowful and wounded souls, before dissipating into a cloud of yellow smoke.
Perhaps this is why Earth symbiotes always seem to become so monstrous?

11
KARL MALUS
Karl Malus acquired his symbiotic powers in one of the most unfortunate ways possible.
Malus was a scientist obsessed with the subject of superhuman abilities, and experimented
on many subjects, manipulating their powers in a multitude of ways. He created villains such
as The Hornet, Goliath and Armadillo, as well as the second Ms. Marvel, and has been a
constant thorn is Captain America’s side.

Dr. Malus was recruited to join the Frightful Four by Wizard, and was forced to bond with the
Carnage symbiote. They attempted to control him and failed, and the symbiote was blasted
off of Malus and onto the Wizard, who then proceeded to eat Malus and expel his remains.
Amazingly, he survived this process, and emerged as a human/symbiote hybrid, and was free
to continue his experimentation on human subjects. Now obsessed with hybridism, he
created many animal human hybrids, and with his symbiotic powers was even able to
capture Captain America and turn him into a second Cap-Wolf! (Don't worry, a cure was
eventually found.)

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10
PAYBACK
Payback was first introduced in the “True Believers” comic series, which followed the
adventures of the True Believers, a group of top-secret operatives dedicated to unraveling
conspiracies and crimes in the superhero community. They are led by Payback, who is
actually Mavis Trent, a S.H.I.E.L.D. data analyst. She uses her expertise to keep the True
Believers’ missions a secret, and is a force to be reckoned with due to the unique symbiote
she is bonded with.

Unlike most symbiotes in the Marvel Universe, which feed on adrenaline and rage, Trent’s
symbiote feeds on states of pure bliss. It is most powerful when she is feeling good, and it
provides her with these feelings as well. Its appearance is drastically different from other
symbiotes, too, giving her an iridescent shimmer instead of the usual tendrils and frightful
jaw line. She has all the super powers granted by symbiotes, but her uniqueness shows that
the Klyntar may have many more surprises in store for the heroes who bond with them.

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9
ZZZXX
ZZZXX is a curious and unconventional symbiote, one that does not care for the wellbeing of
its host at all, as most Klyntar do. Instead, it feeds on them by eating their brains. ZZZXX was
imprisoned on a Shi’ar prison planet until the psychopathic Vulcan freed him. Vulcan gave
him a Shi’ar host to embody, and made him a part of his elite bodyguard.

The first mission that Vulcan sent ZZZXX on was to kill his brother Havok and the
Starjammers. He failed this task miserably, and in the battle attempted to bond with
prominent Starjammer Raza Longknife, but failed at that too. Raza rejected ZZZXX with the
help of his medi-bots, and successfully  hurled him into The Fault, the cancerous Universe
that houses the massive and horrifying antithesis of Professor X. It is currently unknown how
the two have reacted to one another, but if they survived, a monstrosity quite unlike anything
could be laying in wait, plotting its revenge.

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8
SCORN
Scorn is a spawn of the Carnage symbiote, which found its home on the prosthetic arm of
Tanis Nieves, who was the psychiatrist assigned to council Shriek. When she realized the
terrifying hunger of the symbiote growing on her arm, she cast of her prosthetic and it was
claimed by her patient.

The subsequent rampage that Shreik went on with the original Carnage terrified the newly
born symbiote, and it disengaged itself from her to return to Tanis. Tanis fully embraced the
symbiote this time, and due to the fact that it was bonded to a prosthetic arm that belonged
to her, the two become very powerful. Together they were able to stop Shriek, and eventually
joined the Mercury Team to hunt down Carnage. The most fascinating thing about Scorn is
that it originally bonded with a mechanical component, and does not distinguish itself from
robotics. This allows Tanis to form sympathetic bonds with technology and communicate
with all manner of machines.

7
LIFE FOUNDATION FOUR (AGONY, LASHER, RIOT, PHAGE)
The Life Foundation was certain the Cold War would end in mutually assured destruction. In
response to this, they created a paradisiacal fallout shelter for wealthy clients, and spawned
five clones from the Venom symbiote to act as a police force. These became known as
Agony, Lasher, Riot, Phage and Scream.

After several battles with Spider-Man and Eddie Brock, the hosts for Lasher, Riot, Phage and
Agony found themselves murdered by Scream. The un-bonded Klyntar were imprisoned in
The Vault, a prison for superhuman criminals. After escaping this prison, the four frightened
symbiotes came together to form Hybrid, and sought to do good. They would eventually find
themselves broken apart once more and merged with The Mercury team, who were tasked
with hunting down Carnage. Carnage ambushed the team and dismembered them, along
with an unsuspecting Deadpool. The four symbiotes then bonded with the remains of
Deadpool, resurrecting him, and manage to defeat Carnage. Deadpool then offered the
symbiotes to their final host, the Mercury Team’s dog, whose inherently good nature must
have suited the Life Foundation symbiotes wonderfully.

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6
SCREAM
Making her first appearance in "Venom: Lethal Protector" #4, Scream was the fifth member
of the Life Foundation symbiote team, and is as unstable as she is ruthless. She was
originally Donna Diego, and was chosen out of the Life Foundation security team to don the
moniker of Scream. She decided to test her newfound powers at a local shopping mall,
which naturally caught the attention of Spiderman. He followed her back to the Life
Foundation lab, and ended up teaming with Venom to subdue her.

Eventually, Scream and the Life Foundation had a falling out, and she went rogue with her
symbiote brothers. They attempted to recruit Venom to help them control their symbiotes,
but he refused. Perhaps due to her symbiote, Donna Diego had a schizophrenic meltdown,
and murdered all her siblings, convinced that anyone else who harbored a symbiote was evil.
Scream later attempted to redeem herself, and fought alongside Venom to defeat several
villains, such as the monstrous Xenophage and the mutants Dirtnap and Chimera. She would
eventually find her demise at the hands of Eddie Brock, who decided to murder the remaining
symbiotes after he could no longer be one himself.

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5
HYBRID
Hybrid is the final element of the Life Foundation symbiote saga. Hybrid’s host was Scott
Washington, who was a guard at The Vault where Lasher, Riot, Phage and Agony were being
held after their original hosts were killed. Upon their escape, they melded together and
bonded briefly with Scott, who discovered they were simply frightened and in pain, and
undeserving of the experiments being done to them. He decided to break them out of the
prison, and lost his job as a result.

Scott returned to his home, and after a scuffle with a criminal on a basketball court, found
himself paralyzed from the waist down. The Hybrid symbiote, feeling bad for Scott, bonded
with him once more, and gave him back the use of his legs. Scott then sought revenge on the
one who wronged him, much to the chagrin of Hybrid, who did not want to become a killing
machine. Scott was convinced of their purpose, and used his symbiotic powers for good,
performing many heroic deeds. He was eventually put down by Eddie Brock, and the
components of Hybrid then jumped from The Mercury team to Deadpool, before finally
settling on a friendly pooch.

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4
MANIA

Often referred to as The Daughter Of Venom, Mania is actually a clone of the original Venom
Symbiote. Mania came to be when Flash Thompson, working as a teacher in Philadelphia,
hurled part of his Venom symbiote at a student, who was being attacked by Jack O’Lantern.
Contrary to his expectations, the symbiote bonded with the student fully-formed, and created
a whole new Klyntar/human bond: Mania.

The Mania symbiote was a Venom clone that had been re-bonded to its original source many
years ago. This clone had a violent temperament and upbringing, and was designed by the
Ararat Corporation to destroy all life on Earth. The clone was still dormant in Flash when he
inherited Venom, and found a way to exist on its own when it was expelled to become Mania.
To further complicate matters, the Mania symbiote also possesses the Hell-Mark that was
once embedded on Venom by Mephisto. The Hell-Mark attached itself to Mania when it was
purged from Venom, and gives Mania the ability to control demons along with her usual
symbiotic abilities.

3
TOXIN

Toxin is one of the most powerful of the symbiote spawns, and certainly one of the most
badass in appearance. He is a "son" of Carnage, who wanted nothing more than to destroy
his unwanted child. After Toxin was born, he was too weak to do so, and the young Klyntar
bonded with New York police officer Patrick Mulligan. When Carnage returned to destroy his
son, Toxin was rescued by Venom, who wanted to train Toxin as an ally.
Mulligan, however, had a deeper sense of morality than both Venom and Carnage, and
refused to give into the baser urges of the symbiote. The two elder symbiotes realized that
he would quickly become a threat, likely to join the side of Spider-Man, and decide to
eliminate him. This proved a task easier said than done, as Toxin was more powerful than
both his forbearers. With a little help from the Wall Crawler, he was able to fend them off.
Mulligan then resigned himself to a life with the symbiote, vowing to control it, but allowing it
to lawfully let loose for a few hours every night.

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2
CARNAGE

Carnage is a pure example of what happens when a Klyntar bonds with the worst of
humanity. Cletus Kasady is a homicidal maniac who revels in random acts of chaos, and has
murdered more people then he can count. He came into contact with the symbiote when he
shared a jail cell with Eddie Brock, who was freed by the Venom symbiote, and left behind a
seed, which became Venom's offspring. The new symbiote bonded with Kasady immediately,
and unleashed the menace of Carnage on the world.

Carnage’s murderous rampages were enough to make even Spider-Man fearful, and he has
been known to team up with his nemesis Venom to take down the more powerful symbiote.
Carnage has also worked with other villains such as Shriek, the Spider-Man Doppelganger
and Demogoblin, as well as Venom, whom he has a shaky relationship with, at best. He has
had multiple reincarnations and imaginings, but always retains his trademark insanity and
intensely horrific appearance. Carnage has provided readers with some of the best narrative
and artistic elements in the Spider-Man mythos, and remains a fan favorite villain to this day.

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1
VENOM

He's the one who started it all! The Venom symbiote originally bonded with Spider-Man, who
enjoyed his enhanced powers at first, but quickly came to realize the downsides. The
symbiote was draining him of his energy, and upon rejecting it in a famous scene within the
bell tower at the top of a church, the symbiote found its new host: Eddie Brock. Eddie would
become the first official Venom, one of Spider-Man’s most popular and enduring adversaries.
Brock had an irrational hatred for Spider-Man, who he was certain ruined his reporting career.
This loathing would fuel the symbiote and make him a force to be reckoned with in the
Marvel universe.

The Venom symbiote had many other hosts in its history, including Angelo Fortunato and
Mac Gargan, but its most famous modern host is Flash Thomson. An old bully of Peter
Parker, Flash would grow up to become an American war hero who lost his legs in battle.
Once Eddie Brock shed his Venom identity, the Klyntar was contained by the US government
and given to Flash Thomson, who was able to control the symbiote and become Agent
Venom. The deeds he undertook soon after made him the warrior that all Klyntar dream of
bonding with, and the most heroic host of any symbiote to date, acting not just as a Space
Knight, but also a Guardian of the Galaxy.

Which symbiote would you most like to bond with? Let us know in the comments!

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TAGS: Spider-Man, Venom, Carnage, Toxin

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