In Defense of Venom

So I have a confession to make: I'm a big Venom mark. Specifically, the original Eddie Brock Venom. He is, for all intents and purposes, the character that got me into comics, and to this day, if I was to rank my favorite characters, he would probably remain on top.
Yes, as much as I love Wonder Woman, and even though I've devoted several essay-length blog posts to her, Venom might always be my number one.

So what's the big deal? After all, Venom has been widely popular since his introduction and remains one of Marvel's most iconic and famous characters.

But there are many who'd argue that's not a good thing. To them, Venom is little more than a two-dimensional, overexposed turd with no substance, no nuance, and only appeals to adolescent fanboys for the most shallow of reasons—saved only by the fact he's marginally better than his counterpart Carnage.

Further, that Venom is emblematic of everything that was wrong with 90's superhero comics. An icon of the childish XTREME age of deranged, murderous anti-heroes. Venom himself, not unlike the palette swap ninja of Mortal Kombat, spawned a half-dozen knock-off symbiotes and, like Wolverine or Punisher at the time, was shoe-horned into as many comics as possible because his presence on the cover guaranteed a boost in sales.

Even as an admitted mark for the character, I cannot and will not deny those criticisms have merit. Venom absolutely was overexposed throughout the 90's (and yes, I did collect every one of his mini-series that ran throughout, sorry not sorry).

And in terms of motivation, he is a very single-minded character which in effect limits the kind of stories that can be told with him.
In fact, I might argue that single-mindedness is a key aspect of his character and one of the things that made him stand out.

When I was a kid, before I really got into actual comics, I'd watched the Batman and X-Men animated series and other older shows like Superfriends. Most super-villains I was aware of were just criminals robbing banks, or guys with wacky schemes like the Joker or Riddler, or megalomaniacs like Dr. Doom and Lex Luthor who talked a big game about taking over the world, but never delivered.

At the time—me being eight or nine years old—I had never seen a villain like Venom. The only thing he wanted was Spider-Man dead. Nothing more. Not robbing people. No crazy plans. No world domination. Just a dead Spider-Man.
And if Spider-Man was dead—or believed to be—he'd be content to live out his days in peace, not a bother to anyone. Or he'd actively start helping people, because Brock was just as fanatical about protecting the innocent as he was murdering Spider-Man.
That was unique to me at the time. A villain so laser-focused on ending the hero with no other ambition or goal.

That aspect of the character did make him stand out back then, and I think it's something that has been lost.
A big appeal of those early Venom stories was the stalker/cat & mouse game he'd play. Because of the symbiote, Brock knew everything about Peter Parker and didn't trigger his Spider-Sense. He was far stronger than Spider-Man and could easily murder him, but he loved making him sweat—like showing up at Aunt May's house to help with the laundry. 

The early Venom tales were built on suspense, because Brock could strike at any time and Spider-Man couldn't out-muscle him. Nowadays, however, most creators default or jump straight to the "slobbering brute who smashes" element without the fun stalker stuff ... which is shallow and makes Venom out to be little more than a slimy Hulk.

Speaking of which, slight tangent and maybe this is just me, but I haven't been a fan of how Venom's look has evolved over the years.
I understand artists now are probably trying to emphasize the "alien" and "monstrous" aspects of the character, but for me, Venom—as jacked and muscular as he was—should also be sleek. For what it's worth, I always thought the "peak" Venom, looks-wise, was the way Mark Bagley drew him in the mid-90's. Jacked up and beefy, but you could also imagine this guy as fast and agile.
It suits him as the "anti-Spider-Man," in my opinion.

Anyway, although Venom's single-mindedness was part of his appeal, it also makes him a rather limited character. How many times can we see the cat & mouse stalker game before it becomes tedious? How many times can we watch Brock prattle on about how Spider-Man destroyed his life? And how many times can he fail at his goal before he just becomes a chump?
Venom, the Eddie Brock one anyway, is arguably best used sparingly, and his overexposure throughout the 90's likely did more to unmask that about him than anything else.

There was fun to be had putting him into conflict with other villains—because killing Spidey was for Venom and Venom alone and he would not abide anyone "stealing" that from him—which was another thing that made me a fan. I'm a sucker for wild card characters. Guys who hate other villains as much if not more than the heroes, and you never know if they're going to be helpful or not.

Anyway, I suspect that limitation was partially why creators eventually took the symbiote off Brock and bonded it to other characters like Mac Gargan and Flash Thompson. I know many who say Venom was never any good until Flash got the symbiote ... which would suggest "Venom" himself was never the problem, Eddie Brock was.

When cast as Spider-Man's "dark reflection," most writers leave it at: "Spidey's good, Venom's bad. Peter's nice, Brock is a jerk." Spider-Man 3 toyed with the notion that Brock is what Peter would be had he not been raised by Uncle Ben, which is an interesting idea, but they didn't go any deeper with it than: "Peter is selfless, Brock is selfish."

But I do believe there is more to Venom/Eddie Brock than is given credit and which does make him an appropriate antithesis for Spider-Man.

Peter Parker is defined by guilt and responsibility. He's driven by his failure to prevent Uncle Ben's death, and we all know the "great power, great responsibility" thing. More than that, Peter feels responsible and guilty for everything else wrong in his life—Gwen Stacy's death, Aunt May's health, Mary Jane's unhappiness, and a hell of a lot more.

Eddie Brock, on the other hand, is all about revenge and projection. Everything wrong in Brock's life is, according to him, not his fault but Spider-Man's. The loss of his job and subsequent disgrace: Spider-Man's fault. His divorce: Spider-Man's fault. His becoming Venom and murdering people: Spider-Man's fault.
And rather than take responsibility for his actions, Brock instead lashes out violently, deluding himself that he's an avenger and protector of the innocent.

Consider what triggered Brock's undying hatred of Spider-Man: the loss of his job. I've found most critics of Venom point to that as a stupid, shallow motivation, and I've seen writers try to rectify it by retconning that Brock had cancer and bonding with the symbiote kept it from spreading and that played into his hating Spider-Man, etc.

But I would argue that Brock's arguably shallow motivation should not be seen as a bug, but a feature.
Yes, it is petty to swear eternal vengeance against someone because they cost you your job. Eddie Brock should be petty, and that pettiness should stand in contrast to the melodramatic holy war he wages on Spider-Man.

The important thing about Brock's failed journalism career isn't that it's the thing that made him hate Spider-Man. What's important is what it reveals about Brock and how he sees himself ... specifically, his delusions of grandeur.

In his head, he wasn't a mere tabloid journalist exploiting a crisis for his own fame and glory. He was a crusader for the truth and justice. Spider-Man didn't merely (and inadvertently) expose him as a fraud, he sabotaged his life and left his reputation in utter shambles.
And this grandiose view of himself carries on—and escalates—when he bonds with the symbiote. As Venom, he regards himself as a fallen monster. A noble demon who must avenge his downfall at the hands of the vile corrupter and destroyer of the innocent, Spider-Man.

Did I mention Eddie Brock is Catholic in the comics?

And the symbiote would feed into that. It really shouldn't be underestimated that the symbiote was a part of Peter Parker before it bonded with Brock and therefore knows everything about him. That goes beyond memories and information, but Peter's feelings. It would absorb all the guilt and self-loathing he carries with him and use it to fuel the wronged fury Brock already has.

In essence, Venom is Spider-Man's guilt complex in physical form. Peter Parker blames himself for everything, and Venom is a snarling beast screaming, "Yes, everything is your fault, and we're going to kill you for it!"

I think the problem with Brock is how writers approach him.
Most see no more than a brutish asshole with no real dimension and depict him as such. Others, hoping to inject some depth, try to make him into a tragic fool, deceived and victimized by the corrupting symbiote. Some embrace the 90's XTREME approach and present him as someone justified in his violence because it's "bad-ass."

Eddie Brock is not a good person, but he's not irredeemable either. In the comics, even before he became a full-fledged anti-hero, he had a sense of morality (however twisted) that made him act, given the right circumstances, heroic.

And that's why I believe Venom does deserve a spot among Marvel's better characters. Whether its villains who have the capacity for nobility if only they weren't so skewed, like Magneto and Dr. Doom, or heroes who must contend with their selfishness, immaturity, or violent tendencies, like Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Wolverine, the best Marvel characters—hero, villain, and in-between—have that duality to them.

And Venom has that, too. He's a petty, temperamental, fanatical monster with severe delusions of grandeur ... but also well-intentioned, protective, and fiercely loyal to those he deems worthy. He's done vile things in service to his childish vendetta, but also gladly thrown himself in harm's way for the sake of the innocent.

He's not merely be a grunting, immoral brute. But although he has admirable qualities, he is not an admirable character. He's a wild card and he's Spider-Man's fears on two legs ... and with sharp teeth.

He's Venom—good and bad, flaws and all.