Spider-Man’s iconic red and blue costume has been a staple of Marvel Comics for generations. Its bright and colorful aesthetic emphasizes the Wall-Crawler’s happy-go-lucky attitude and kind nature. Still, over the years, Spider-Man has outfitted himself with an assortment of other costumes that feature cool designs and often include advanced gadgets. Still, in the long run, these suits rarely play any significant role in the development of the Wall-Crawler’s character or lore. However, on August 28th, 1984, amid one of the greatest comic book crossovers of all time, Spider-Man received a costume that forever changed not only his life, but the entirety of the Marvel Universe.
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In 1984, Marvel Comics was undergoing its most ambitious crossover at the time, called Secret Wars. The story saw the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man, along with an assortment of their greatest adversaries, kidnapped and forced by the omnipotent being the Beyonder to fight each other for his amusement on a patchwork planet called Battleworld. What follows is a battle of cosmic proportions with countless twists and turns. Yet in a storyline featuring numerous iconic fights and interactions among some of the biggest names in Marvel, the most significant event, with the greatest long-term repercussions, was Spider-Man getting a new outfit.
Spider-Man’s Black Costume with the Dark Secret
Secret Wars #8 saw Spider-Man and the other heroes fight valiantly against Doctor Doom’s forces on Battleworld, with the Wall-Crawler’s suit unsurprisingly getting torn up. When Spider-Man tried to use a machine that he believed would repair his clothing, he instead found himself receiving his iconic black costume. This black-and-white suit quickly enveloped Spider-Man, and the hero would go on to wear it throughout the rest of Secret Wars and even when he got back to Earth. Of course, the black costume came with its own secret which, at the time, blew the minds of both Spider-Man and readers: it was alive.
It’s common knowledge now that the black costume Spider-Man picked up during Secret Wars was an amorphous and sentient alien called a Symbiote that latches onto hosts to survive. The appropriately named “Alien Costume Saga” had Spider-Man using this suit and discovering that it granted him increased strength, speed, and agility. However, where TV and film adaptations would have the suit corrupt Spider-Man and make him more vicious, in the comics its influence was far more subtle and much creepier. In behavior that can be seen as a metaphor for addiction and blackouts, the Symbiote would take control of Spider-Man’s body while he slept to go on adventures, leaving his human host with no recollection of his nightly escapades.
When Spider-Man realized that his costume was alive and could corrupt his mind, he decided that they should part ways. Yet even when the Fantastic Four helped the Web-Head get the Symbiote off of him, the alien didn’t take no for an answer and forcefully latched itself back onto him. Spider-Man finally and iconically tore it off amidst the loud ringing of church bells that weakened the alien creature. The “Alien Costume Saga” was a gripping tale in which Spider-Man battled a parasitic alien for control of his own body and mind. Of course, Spider-Man’s liberation would inadvertently bring forth one of Marvel’s most fearsome and beloved characters four years later.
The Costume that Introduced Spider-Man’s Greatest Villain
When the Symbiote seemingly died after being ripped from Spider-Man, both he and the readers thought that it would never return. However, four years later, the milestone issue of Amazing Spider-Man #300 not only saw the Symbiote’s return, but the debut of the iconic villain Venom. Overcome with its hatred for Spider-Man having abandoned it, the Symbiote merged with ex-reporter Eddie Brock, a man who lost his job and his fiancé because the Web-Head inadvertently discredited his breakout story. With the combined fury of two of Spider-Man’s biggest haters, Venom was a villain of near-unparalleled power and spite who dedicated himself to making the Web-Head and everyone the hero loves to suffer.
Venom was the ultimate dark mirror of Spider-Man, possessing far more potent versions of his powers along with the terrifying fact that they knew the hero’s secret identity. And although the Symbiote got its start with Spider-Man, it’s the relationship with Eddie Brock that made it truly stand out. Writers began leaning far more into the Symbiote’s corrupting and sometimes straight-up addictive nature, with it nourishing Eddie’s hatred for Spider-Man to the point that he became completely obsessed with destroying the Wall-Crawler. The physical and psychological torment Venom inflicted on Spider-Man and his loved ones, like Mary Jane, made Venom an incredibly menacing villain. Yet despite making Spider-Man’s life a living hell, what truly makes Venom such a fascinating character is his development.
For years, the Symbiote and Eddie were a toxic pairing, with the alien suit encouraging Eddie’s worst traits to make him a monster fueled only by revenge. However, over many years, Eddie began to rethink his obsession with Spider-Man and to look inward rather than blame others for his problems. The Symbiote did its best to keep Eddie a villain, as its host relapsed into villainy numerous times. However, Eddie’s will to reform eventually proved so strong that it even rubbed off on the Symbiote. Together, the pair became the Lethal Protector of New York City, saving innocents and eating bad guys. Venom is now one of the most captivating anti-heroes in Marvel Comics because of his constant struggle to let go of the addictive nature of hatred.
The Venom Symbiote Forever Changed Marvel Comics
Of all the alien races that inhabit the Marvel Universe, none is as iconic as the Symbiotes. What started as an all-black redesign of Spider-Man slowly evolved into a species with a complex lore spanning billions of years. And where once there was only the Venom Symbiote, now there are countless other Symbiotes who, along with their hosts, who have become icons in their own right. Now, the Symbiote race is an integral part of the Marvel Universe and has played important roles in many of its groundbreaking storylines. And when you look at the Symbiotes as a concept, it’s not hard to see why.
From the get-go, the narrative potential of Symbiotes like the Venom Symbiote was obvious. It could latch onto different hosts and grant them a slew of abilities, such as superhuman strength, agility, wall-crawling, webbing, razor-sharp teeth and claws, and shapeshifting. Marvel Comics loves giving their characters power-ups, and the symbiotes provided the perfect system in which anyone could transform into a bloodthirsty monster. Marvel has taken full advantage of this concept by having countless people become hosts of these extraterrestrial parasites. Some of the most notable Venom hosts have included Spider-Man, Eddie Brock, Flash Thompson, and even Mary Jane Watson. On top of the power-ups, the relationships between host and Symbiote are often very engaging and complex, as the two entities try to work as one to survive.
For such an iconic character like the Venom Symbiote, it was only natural that Marvel would expand on its origins and introduce numerous other members of its species. The most notable of these additions was the Venom Symbiote’s own offspring, Carnage. After bonding with the notorious serial killer Cletus Kasady, the pair became one of the vilest and most sadistic supervillains ever seen in comics. Soon enough, more Symbiotes debuted with their own fascinating personalities and relationships with their hosts, including Scream, Toxin, Riot, Sleeper, Comeback, Grendel, and Anti-Venom. Marvel would even introduce the god of Symbiotes, Knull. No other alien species in Marvel has produced so many memorable and menacing characters that range from well-meaning anti-heroes to gods of pure destruction.
Despite all the cool designs, power-ups, and new characters introduced, what really made the Symbiotes stand out was what they represent. From the start, there were clear allusions to the Symbiote being an allegory for addiction, as it would take control of Spider-Man’s body. The addiction metaphor only increased when the Venom Symbiote latched onto other people like Eddie and made them stronger yet dependent while also exacerbating their worst qualities. The Symbiotes have also been likened to toxic relationships, with them refusing to let go of their hosts as they slowly corrupted even the most good-hearted of people. Whether they stand for addiction, toxic relationships, or the corruptive nature of power, the Symbiotes have offered some of the darkest and most nuanced allegories ever seen in Marvel.
When superheroes receive new costumes, it’s oftentimes just a ploy to sell more comics or toys. However, Marvel took what was initially an all-black redesign of the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and transformed it into a living entity that would pave the way for countless beloved characters and gripping stories. Practically every Marvel character at some point or another has found themselves in possession of a Symbiote, and they either must resist the corruptive urge or its power or fully embrace it. And for the benevolent Symbiotes, when they team up with like-minded individuals, they become some of the greatest heroes Marvel has ever seen. Whether as heroes or villains, the Venom Symbiote and the rest of its kind will always hold a significant place in the Marvel Universe.
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