VENOM
(of the pre-current Multiverse reality)

Real Name: Edward Brock

Identity/Class: Native of a reality in the Multiverse that existed prior to the Big Bang (extratemporal/extradimensional/alternate reality);
    His reality shared several features with the current Earth-92131, albeit with several differences (see comments);
    Human mutate

Occupation: Supervillain;
    former Daily Bugle reporter

Group Membership: Former Daily Bugle (J. Jonah Jameson, Jeanie, Peter Parker, Joe "Robbie" Robertson, others)

Affiliations: Marty Ash, Billy Connors, Dr. Curt Connors, Margaret Connors, Doctor Octopus (Otto Octavius), Jeanie (Daily Bugle employee), Jeanie (Herald employee), Chuck Philips, Joe "Robbie" Robertson;
    formerly J. Jonah Jameson, Mr. King

Enemies: J. Jonah Jameson, Mr. King, Shocker, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), the Tarantula Spider-Slayer, Mary Jane Watson

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: "Buddy," "Eddie," "Ol' Fang Face," "Pal," "Punk"

Base of Operations: New York City, New York, USA

First Appearance: (Eddie Brock) Spider-Man Adventures I#1 (December, 1994);
    (as Venom) Spider-Man Adventures I#9 (August, 1995)

Powers/Abilities: Eddie Brock was bonded to an alien symbiote creature that provided him with a variety of superhuman powers including an unspecified degree of superhuman strength, durability and agility, sufficient at least to trade blows with the superhumanly strong and agile Spider-Man. He could project portions of the symbiote outward in the form of webbing and the symbiote could alter its appearance to match nearly any form Brock could imagine, including completely camouflaging himself to the point of being nearly invisible to the naked eye. Due to the symbiote's previous bond with Spider-Man, Venom had access to all of the knowledge the symbiote had acquired during its bond with Spider-Man, including Spider-Man's secret identity and his loved ones. The previous bond also rendered Venom's actions undetectable by Spider-Man's danger-warning Spider-Sense ability. Despite all its strengths, the symbiote was especially vulnerable to fire and sonics.

In his own right, Brock was a capable news writer and photographer, although he often did not properly and fully research his information before turning in articles and he often made assumptions of what was happening in his photographs without fully checking to see if his assumptions were correct.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 6'3")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 260 lbs.)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Reddish-blonde

History: (Spider-Man Adventures I#1) - After two subway workers were attacked by a reptilian creature, secretly a mutated Dr. Curt Connors, Daily Bugle newspaper publisher J. Jonah Jameson worked on a news story regarding the Lizard creature and assigned Eddie Brock to write the story. The next morning, as Peter Parker was attempting to sell Jameson photos of Spider-Man in action, Brock barged into Jameson's office with leads on the Lizard story including a list of scientists with experience in reptilian research. When Brock mentioned Dr. Curt Connors at Empire State University, Parker remarked that Connors was one of his teachers and Jameson decided to make Parker the point of contact on the story instead of Brock due to Parker's familiarity with Connors. Brock attempted to protest but Jameson quickly told him to shut up and Brock then watched as Daily Bugle secretary Jeanie interrupted the conversation to tell Parker he had a phone call from his aunt. Later that evening, Brock decided to investigate Dr. Connors' home himself in an effort to keep Parker from getting the inside track on Connors. Peering into the Connors brownstone via a window, Brock spotted the heroic Spider-Man, who in turn spotted Brock. Before Spider-Man could react, however, the Lizard attacked and Brock watched the battle from outside, worried that the Lizard might kill Spider-Man and Connors' family. The Lizard soon kidnapped Connors' family and burst through the door, hitting Brock with the opening door in the process. Stunned, Brock was moments later approached by the arriving police, who had been called to the scene and saw Brock prowling around outside. Insisting he had done nothing wrong, Brock asked the police to contact his boss J. Jonah Jameson, whom he hoped would explain why Brock was there. A short time later, after Spider-Man had managed to transform the Lizard back into Dr. Curt Connors and J. Jonah Jameson had been summoned to corroborate Brock's story, Eddie Brock was still attempting to explain himself to the police when Spider-Man appeared with Dr. Connors and his family, who claimed they had been downstairs the whole time. An annoyed Jameson told Brock to stop yapping and informed the police that Brock was harmless and could be released into Jameson's custody to straighten everything out back at the Daily Bugle. The police agreed and as Jameson and Brock departed the scene, Jameson commented that the mail room was looking for help and Brock whined.

(Spider-Man Adventures I#3 (fb) - BTS) - Eddie Brock arranged an interview with Dr. Otto Octavius, an Oscorp technician who had recently prevented a nuclear meltdown during an attack from the savage Scorpion, hoping the interview would give him a chance to prove himself to J. Jonah Jameson.

(Spider-Man Adventures I#3) - While Peter Parker covered a Hardy Foundation fundraiser, Eddie Brock drove towards Oscorp to interview Octavius with a camera, figuring he didn't Parker to photograph his story. Along the way, Brock witnessed the giant robotic Black Widow Spider-Slayer fly by carrying what appeared to be Spider-Man. Determined to get some photographs of the events, Brock followed the Spider-Slayer and snapped a few photos from his moving car before deciding to get back to the Daily Bugle to submit the photos for the next day's edition. Upon exiting the Bugle, Brock was met by his friends Chuck Philips and Marty Ash, who worked for WBLZ-TV news, and Brock bragged about the photos he had taken before rushing off, unaware Chuck and Marty decided to drive over to Oscorp to check out Brock's claims. The next morning, Brock visited J. Jonah Jameson's offices and bragged about his photos, gloating about his writing and how he should receive a Pulitzer Prize. Jameson responded by angrily berating Brock and revealing that Chuck and Marty at WBLZ-TV had exposed the "Spider-Man" in Brock's photos as a teenager dressed in a Spider-Man costume, thereby proving Brock's Spider-Man photos to be phony. Brock tried to explain himself but Jameson, tired of Brock and his shenanigans, fired Brock on the spot.

(Spider-Man Adventures I#4) - Eddie Brock went in for an interview with the Herald newspaper, whose head Mr. King was a bit hesitant to hire Brock due to his firing by J. Jonah Jameson. Claiming that he was not trouble and that Spider-Man had framed him, Brock assured Mr. King that all he needed was a chance to prove himself. King reluctantly agreed to hire Brock on the condition that Brock did not cause any trouble. Unfortunately, a Tarantula Spider-Slayer immediately attacked Brock at the Herald and the employees all rushed for safety. When Brock ran outside, he was picked up by Spider-Man but Brock ordered Spider-Man to leave. Spider-Man tried to explain that he was merely trying to save Brock's life but the Tarantula Slayer attacked Spider-Man, who forced the robot's leg into an electrical outlet, short-circuiting it as Mr. King fired Brock before he could even start working.

(Spider-Man Adventures I#8) - After hearing about the discovery of the new isotope Prometheum X on a space mission, Eddie Brock drove, hoping he could be one of the first to break the story. He unfortunately got stuck in a traffic jam on the George Washington Bridge and depressingly asked himself how he was supposed to find a job if he couldn't get to the news. When the space shuttle carrying the isotope went out of control and motorists were urged to abandon their vehicles for their own safety, Brock pulled out a camera and refused to pass up an opportunity to get the shuttle's crash impact on film. Hoping he might get his old job back at the Daily Bugle, Brock began taking photos, unaware of Peter Parker running right past his car. The shuttle soon crash-landed onto the bridge and Brock got out of his car to get a closer look. Nearing the shuttle just in time to see Spider-Man battling the Rhino, Brock admitted his suspicions that Spider-Man was somehow involved in the crash and thought to himself how Jameson would love to hear the news of Spider-Man's involvement. Brock continued taking photos until Spider-Man went over the side of the bridge with the shuttle. When J. Jonah Jameson arrived on the scene to check on his son, astronaut John Jameson, Jonah overheard John muttering about Spider-Man and Brock chimed in that he had photos of Spider-Man taking something from the shuttle. Jonah immediately grabbed Brock's camera in hopes of using Brock's photos to rid himself of Spider-Man.

(Spider-Man Adventures I#9) - Eddie Brock met with J. Jonah Jameson at the Daily Bugle, where Jameson went over Brock's photos of Spider-Man entering the space shuttle. Happy to have potentially  incriminating photos of Spider-Man, Jameson rehired Brock but the two were interrupted by the arrival of Spider-Man in a sleek new black costume. When Spider-Man mentioned he had nothing to hide from the "second-rate muckrakers," Brock exclaimed that photos didn't lie and Spider-Man responded by grabbing and accusing Brock of both lying and trying to frame him. Brock insisted he knew what he had seen but Spider-Man announced that Rhino had stolen the Prometheum X from the shuttle not himself. Spider-Man then said he went into the shuttle to rescue John Jameson from the crash but before Jameson could reply, an angry Spider-Man smashed Jameson's desk as a shocked Brock and Jameson watched. As Spider-Man then departed, Brock remarked that Spider-Man had went insane and it was good they had Brock pictures to prove Spider-Man was a thief.

(Spider-Man Adventures I#9/Spider-Man Adventures I#10 (fb)/Adventures of Spider-Man I#11 (fb)) - Later, after John Jameson confirmed Spider-Man's story about his rescue, Jameson confronted Brock in his office and accused Brock of lying, much as Spider-Man had done. When Jonah asked about the Rhino, Brock admitted the Rhino had been at the shuttle but remarked that he thought Jameson would be happy to see Spider-Man exposed as a thief. Announcing that he could not employee liars at the Bugle and that newsmen had a responsibility to report the truth, Jameson fired Brock again and Brock quietly left the Bugle, blaming Spider-Man for costing him his job and vowing to make Spider-Man pay. Returning home to an eviction notice, Brock was confronted by the supercriminal Shocker, who revealed that he had been employed to acquire Brock's photos of Spider-Man. Having overheard the scuffle from inside Brock's apartment, where he was also searching for the photos, Spider-Man appeared, much to Brock's disgust, and warned Shocker to leave a piece of Brock for him. Shoving Brock aside, the Shocker attacked Spider-Man and Brock fled in the ensuing melee. Brock later followed J. Jonah Jameson, suspecting Jameson to be working with Spider-Man against him. Tracking Jameson to New York's Cloisters, Brock witnessed a hostage exchange between Spider-Man and the Shocker, in which Shocker exchanged the kidnapped John Jameson for Prometheum X. Feeling as if Spider-Man and Jameson being together was proof of his suspicions, Brock then followed Spider-Man up in a bell tower where Spider-Man and Shocker were fighting. Emerging from a wooden door in time to accidentally distract Shocker, Brock was webbed up by Spider-Man to deal with later and lowered back down into the stairway. Shortly after, Spider-Man nearly killed the Shocker and, realizing his alien costume costume was trying to take over his mind, Spider-Man rid himself of the alien symbiote using the bell's sonic vibrations, only to have the symbiote drip its way down onto Brock. Brock screamed as the symbiote bonded with him but he soon emerged from the bell tower rubble as Venom, obsessed with the destruction of Spider-Man.

(Spider-Man Adventures I#10/Adventures of Spider-Man I#11 (fb)) - Some time later, Brock was lifting weights and focusing on several newspaper clippings of Spider-Man, determined to get revenge on the hero, whom he felt had ruined his life. Going out into the night, Venom soon located Spider-Man battling Shocker and Rhino and after the two villains buried Spider-Man in rubble, Venom took down the two criminals and webbed them to the wall. When Spider-Man recovered, Brock appeared in his civilian clothes and helped Spider-Man to his feet, calling him "Petey." Stunned that Eddie Brock knew his secret identity, Spider-Man remained confused until Brock drew forth the symbiote and revealed his own identity as Venom, explaining how he had embraced the alien Spider-Man had rejected. Spider-Man then attempted to talk Brock into rejecting the symbiote but Venom reveled in his newfound power and knowledge. Promising he wouldn't finish Spider-Man off yet, Venom instead webbed Spider-Man up and proclaimed he still had big plans for the hero. Venom then gloated about how he now knew everything about Spider-Man yet Spider-Man knew very little about him before web-swinging away, promising to see Peter Parker later. Later, Venom found Spider-Man on a rooftop and climbed up the side of the building to taunt the hero, suggesting that perhaps he should ask J. Jonah Jameson, Mary Jane Watson or Spider-Man's Aunt May what they would do if they knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man. Spider-Man lashed out at Venom in response but Venom got the upper hand, webbing Spider-Man's arms and unmasking the hero while the public watched the fight stories beneath them. Venom then tossed Spider-Man's mask down the bystanders below, who were unable to see Spider-Man's identity. Venom then suggested he could keep Mary Jane company after Spider-Man's destruction and menacingly called Spider-Man "Tiger," Mary Jane's pet name for him, before tossing Spider-Man from the rooftop.

(Spider-Man Adventures I#10/Adventures of Spider-Man I#11 (fb)/Adventures of Spider-Man I#12 (fb)) - Later, Venom was web-swinging through the city in search of Spider-Man and when he found him, he swung in to kick the hero but Spider-Man dove out of the way. Spider-Man then swung off and Venom followed, unaware Spider-Man was leading him into a trap. Chasing Spider-Man through a museum and onto the roof of a train, Venom continued to pursue Spider-Man as the train neared Woodbridge Military Base, where a space probe was to be launched. Spider-Man managed to avoid Venom's attacks until he leaped off the train and onto the space probe launch pad. The two continued their fight, with Venom first pinning Spider-Man down and Spider-Man responding by shooting webbing into Venom's eyes. As the probe launched, the sonics generated disrupted Venom's symbiote and the symbiote was forced to separate from Eddie Brock. Spider-Man then webbed the separated symbiote to the rocket as it launched into space then pulled the unconscious Eddie Brock to safety. Setting Brock into a military jeep, Spider-Man felt accomplished at having defeated his as-then-most-dangerous foe and wondered about the possibilities that Venom wasn't the worst thing out there.

(Adventures of Spider-Man I#11 (fb) - BTS) - Eddie Brock was sent to prison.

(Adventures of Spider-Man I#2 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, Spider-Man created a cardboard cutout of Venom and his other foes to train against.

(Adventures of Spider-Man I#2 - BTS) - Spider-Man trained in his home against the Venom cardboard cutout, placing the cutout at the top of the stairs to block his way.

(Adventures of Spider-Man I#11) - Months later, after the villainous Doctor Octopus retrieved the Venom symbiote from space and began running tests on it, Doc Ock found that the symbiote desired to re-bond itself to Eddie Brock. As Doc Ock sought to locate Brock, Brock himself was still in prison, longing to re-bond to the symbiote also and only vaguely recalling the events that had occurred once he had become Venom. Brock thought the symbiote lost forever, only to be surprised when Doctor Octopus freed him from prison. Once inside Doc Ock's Skycar, a still-shocked Brock asked why Doc Ock had freed him and Doctor Octopus commented that he needed Brock's help with a "project" that he would explain after they departed the scene. Before they could return to Doctor Octopus' central complex, however, Spider-Man jumped onto the Skycar and Doctor Octopus set his Skycar on auto pilot to deal with the hero as Brock remained confused as to why he was there and how Spider-Man was involved. When the Skycar ultimately crashed into the 59th Street Bridge, Doctor Octopus wrenched his shoulder and Brock was surprised to have survived the crash. During the crash, the container housing the Venom symbiote was knocked to the floor and it came open, allowing the symbiote to bond once more with Brock. Emerging from the Skycar, Venom grabbed Spider-Man by the back of the head and announced that Spider-Man would not survive this encounter.

(Adventures of Spider-Man I#12) - Venom continued gloating about his plans to kill Spider-Man but their weight soon began to topple the crashed Skycar. Before it could fall, however, Spider-Man kicked Venom in the face and Venom responded by further attacking Spider-Man, eventually causing the Skycar to fall from the Bridge. As the Skycar fell, Venom announced that if he perished in the fall, he would be happy to take Spider-Man with him. Venom emerged from the river first, carrying Doctor Octopus with him, and the two swam to safety. Once on dry land, Venom immediately began looking for Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus suggested they not worry about Spider-Man, offering instead to ally with Venom. Venom at first declined the offer, feeling he had everything he needed to destroy Spider-Man himself, but Doc Ock claimed that Venom owed him for his returned existence. Reluctantly agreeing to partner with Doctor Octopus, Venom swung away, with Doc Ock in tow, towards Doctor Octopus' secret headquarters. Upon arrival, Doctor Octopus revealed his plan to hijack America's entire nuclear arsenal and put the world at his mercy and Venom acknowledged Doc Ock's ambition but refused to help until Spider-Man was destroyed. After the two agreed to destroy Spider-Man first, Doctor Octopus suggested they compare information to better have the upper hand against the wall-crawler but Venom deliberately chose not to reveal Spider-Man's secret identity to Doctor Octopus, wishing to hold an advantage over his villainous partner. Sharing some of his other knowledge, Venom decided to attack Spider-Man at his own home and when Spider-Man, more determined than ever to stop Venom, arrived at his home to rest, a camouflaged Venom punched Spider-Man out of a tree. Bragging about the symbiote's shape-changing abilities, Venom was subsequently punched by Spider-Man, who demanded to know what Venom wanted and how he was reunited with the symbiote. Venom replied that he wished to make Spider-Man suffer and asked if it really mattered how he reunited with the symbiote, prompting a dodging Spider-Man to remark that it didn't really matter. When Spider-Man then asked why Venom had chose to attack there of all places, Venom replied that the knowledge provided by the symbiote from its time previously bonded to Spider-Man gave him knowledge not only of Spider-Man's secret identity but also of the hero's loved ones. Spider-Man threatened to tear Venom apart if he attacked his aunt but Venom replied that terrorizing an old woman would be distasteful but terrorizing a young woman would be exhilarating. Spider-Man quickly realized Venom was referring to Mary Jane Watson and Venom admitted Mary Jane was already being dealt with by Doctor Octopus as Venom kept Spider-Man distracted. Spider-Man soon heard Mary Jane scream and Venom took advantage of Spider-Man's distraction to get an attack in. He then grappled the hero in an effort to make Spider-Man suffer by keeping him from saving the woman he loved but Spider-Man responded by forcing Venom backward through the wall of Mary Jane's aunt's home. Doc Ock then tossed Mary Jane to Venom, only to be knocked out by Spider-Man, who in turn was dazed by a punch from Venom. Stumbling back to his feet, Spider-Man grabbed and lit a match, setting off the smoke alarm, the sonics of which disrupted Venom's symbiote. Spider-Man then took advantage of Venom's pained state to land a punch that knocked Venom back outside. Doc Ock then attempted to renew the fight but his arms were webbed up by Spider-Man, who turned to find Venom gone. Spider-Man assured Mary Jane she was now safe with Doctor Octopus taken into custody and he promised to track down Venom as soon as possible.

Comments: Created by Nel Yomtov and Alex Saviuk.

While the current Multiverse uses the Core Continuum Designation system to identify each Earth/reality, we do not know what system was used in the previous Multiverse(s). However, in an infinite Multiverse, there would be a reality that mirrors it in the current Multiverse. Therefore, the Venom in this profile is from a pre-current Multiverse reality that shared some similarities to the current Multiverse's Earth-92131.

For further clarification, reality-92131 is the main reality seen in the X-Men: The Animated Series, Spider-Man: The Animated Series cartoons, as well as both volumes of the X-Men '92 comic book. All three volumes of the X-Men Adventures comic book, the Spider-Man Adventures comic book, Adventures of the X-Men comic book and Adventures of Spider-Man comic books started out adapting cartoon episodes but had several significant variations before eventually straying from the cartoon completely. Therefore, the main reality seen in these comic books would not actually BE reality-92131 but rather (judging from the final issue of Adventures of the X-Men) a reality existing in and prior to the current Multiverse that shared many features with the current Multiverse's reality-92131. 

The Spider-Man Adventures comic series began as adaptations of the Spider-Man cartoon series airing at the time but the adaptations were loose and some events differed from the cartoon's Earth-92131 events, such as Spider-Man first encountering Otto Octavius at Oscorp during the Scorpion's attack in Spider-Man Adventures I#2 (unlike Earth-92131, where Peter met Octavius as a child at a science camp) and several characters resembling their Earth-616 counterparts instead of their Earth-92131 counterparts. An example of this would be Aunt May who, on Earth-92131 is an older woman with blonde hair, but in the pre-current multiverse Spider-Man Adventures comic, she first resembles her Earth-616 counterpart (i.e. MUCH more elderly looking, white hair, etc. though she did eventually go blonde in the comic too!). Additionally, when Spider-Man Adventures ended and was relaunched as Adventures of Spider-Man, the series stopped adapting cartoon episodes altogether and began telling original stories set in the pre-current multiverse reality, similar to the X-Men Adventures and Adventures of the X-Men comics (though events seen in Spider-Man Adventures that adapted the cartoon episodes were still referenced in Adventures of Spider-Man). Interestingly enough, there are a few small things in this pre-current Multiverse reality that line up with Earth-616 and not Earth-92131, such as Spider-Man first meeting the Fantastic Four when he tried to join them (i.e. the story in Amazing Spider-Man I#1) and Spider-Man teaming up with the Fantastic Four and Avengers in an intergalactic war (Secret Wars). In the case of Venom, his origin mirrors that seen on Earth-92131 but he never teamed up with Doctor Octopus against Spider-Man in that reality.

The length of Eddie Brock's hair seems to fluctuate quite a bit during his appearances. When he first appeared, he had a full Billy Ray Cyrus-style mullet with business up front and party in the back, he was later mostly seen with Eddie Brock's trademark buzzcut hairdo and by his last appearance, his hair was drawn as somewhere in between those two styles. Hey kids, friends don't let friends get mullets. Trust me, it's not pretty...

All characters in this profile are from the prior Multiverse reality mirroring Earth-92131 unless otherwise noted.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The pre-current Multiverse Venom should be distinguished from:

• Venom (Edward Brock) - his Earth-616 counterpart - Web of Spider-Man I#18
• Venom (Edward Brock) - the very-similar-to-this-reality Earth-92131 counterpart of this Venom - Spider-Man cartoon episode, "Night of the Lizard"
  
• or any other "Venom" characters or counterparts
  

Chuck Philips & Marty Ash

Appearances:
Spider-Man Adventures I#1 (December, 1994) - Nel Yomtov (writer), Alex Saviuk (art), Eric Fein (editor)
Spider-Man Adventures I#3 (February, 1995) - Nel Yomtov (writer), Alex Saviuk (breakdowns), Don Hudson, Al Milgrom (finishes), Eric Fein (editor)
Spider-Man Adventures I#4 (March, 1995) - Nel Yomtov (writer), Alex Saviuk (breakdowns), Don Hudson (finishes), Eric Fein (editor)
Spider-Man Adventures I#8 (July, 1995) - Nel Yomtov (writer), Alex Saviuk (pencils), Rob Stull (inks), Sarra Mossoff (editor)
Spider-Man Adventures I#9 (August, 1995) - Nel Yomtov (writer), Alex Saviuk (pencils), Rob Stull (inks), Sarra Mossoff (editor)
Spider-Man Adventures I#10 (September, 1995) - Nel Yomtov (writer), Alex Saviuk (pencils), Rob Stull (inks), Sarra Mossoff (editor)
Adventures of Spider-Man I#2 (May, 1996) - Nel Yomtov (writer), Alex Saviuk (pencils), Rob Stull (inks), Sarra Mossoff, Mark Powers (editors)
Adventures of Spider-Man I#11 (February, 1997) - Glenn Greenberg (writer), Alex Saviuk (pencils), Rob Stull (inks), Mark Bernardo (editor)
Adventures of Spider-Man I#12 (March, 1997) - Glenn Greenberg (writer), Alex Saviuk (pencils), Rob Stull, Al Milgrom (inks), Mark Bernardo (editor)

First posted: 02/12/2022
Last updated: 02/12/2022

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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