Few characters in the Marvel universe possess as intricate a family constellation as the Venom symbiote. With its unparalleled capacity for reproduction and the ensuing evolution of its lineage, the family of Venom has expanded dramatically since its introduction. Yet, this extensive network of codices, cloning, and asexual reproduction can be unraveled with some clarity.
Venom symbiotes are able to reproduce approximately seven times through entities known as “seeds.”Typically, Klyntar individuals spread their genetic material unintentionally, often under a rapid maturation timeline. Unlike human parents, symbiotes do not raise their young, likely due to their interconnected existence through the Spectral Hive-Mind. Additionally, Venom has frequently undergone experimentation, resulting in a variety of obscure descendants known as “offshoots.” Each host of Venom contributes genetically to the family tree, complicating matters even further. To simplify this convoluted lineage, we present a comprehensive breakdown of the symbiote’s family connections.
Anti-All
Relationship to Venom: Cosmic Progenitor
To truly understand Venom’s family lineage, we must begin at the very start. Before Knull’s emergence, the dark force known as the Anti-All originated from the Third Cosmos of the Multiverse. As an entity birthed from the Below-Place, the Anti-All represented the very primal concepts of darkness, destruction, chaos, and emptiness within existence.
This entity engaged in an interminable conflict with the Lifebringer One, who was the creation of the One Above All and the first champion of reality. Through the intervention of Doctor Strange and the time-hopping Defenders, the Anti-All was fragmented into numerous shards, scattered throughout the Multiverse and reincarnated as entities of living void.
The Living Abyss
Relationship to Venom: Cosmic Progenitor
As time passed, the dispersed fragments of the Anti-All continued to exist through the births and deaths of subsequent Cosmos. One shard found itself in the Primordial Void, a dimension existing beyond the confines of linear time and space. Here, it evolved into a new darkness, referred to as The Living Abyss.
Also recognized as the Anti-Life, the Living Abyss is conceived not as a distinct being but instead as a living representation of darkness. Sharing a visual resemblance to symbiotes, the creatures birthed from the Living Abyss typically exhibit the recognizable white eyes and toothy grins. In a relentless pursuit to extinguish all light from the Multiverse, the Elder God Knull manipulated this living essence, leading to the genesis of the symbiote race.
Fuck
Relationship to Venom: Creator
All symbiotes can trace their origins back to Knull, who once inhabited the void of nothingness between the Sixth and Seventh Cosmos. Awakened by the Celestial’s reckless creations, Knull was crowned King in Black—a role he ultimately rejected.
Over the ensuing eons, Knull meticulously forged weapons from the Living Abyss to wage his war against the Multiverse. His first creation, the All-Black Necrosword, was fashioned within the cosmic fires of a deceased Celestial’s cranium. From a multitude of proto-symbiotes, Knull finally assembled his ultimate weapons for multiversal hegemony.
Venom
Relationship to Venom: Self
It is impossible to discuss Venom’s family tree without prominently featuring the Venom symbiote itself. Venom is recognized as the 998th descendant within its lineage. Long before encountering Spider-Man, Venom had traversed the cosmos as a weapon in Knull’s arsenal, with its earliest memories rooted in a spawning cave on Klyntar, albeit with most recollections prior to meeting Spidey erased by the Kree military.
Following numerous host bonds, Venom has advanced beyond most symbiotes, benefiting from the species’ natural proclivity to grow stronger with each generation. As a result, Venom stands as one of the more formidable symbiotes of its kind, having undergone various exploitative experiments. This evolutionary progression equips it with unique capabilities and resilience among its peers.
Eddie Brock
Relationship to Venom: Host & Co-Parent
Eddie Brock is among the most significant hosts Venom has ever had. Their bond formed through mutual struggles and hardships at a pivotal moment in their lives, which transformed them both in profound ways. Their intimate association has resulted in stronger genetic intertwining than any previous symbiotic relationship.
After gaining the King in Black title, Eddie sacrificed his human form and adopted a symbiotic hybrid body. This transformation deepened his connection not just to Venom but to a wider array of symbiotic entities. Unfortunately, the duo eventually separated, leading Eddie to form a new bond with Carnage for survival.
Anne Weying
Relationship to Venom: Host & Co-Parent
Prior to the advent of Venom, Anne Weying enjoyed a loving and stable relationship with Eddie Brock. That sense of normalcy shattered as Eddie’s fixation with his hatred of Spider-Man overtook him, cascading into chaos that ultimately harmed Anne gravely.
In a desperate act to save her life, Venom bonded with Anne, transforming her into She-Venom and imbuing her with part of Venom’s genetic codex. As fate would have it, Anne later separated from Eddie, yet she astonishingly became pregnant, resulting in the birth of Dylan Brock, the offspring conceived among Anne, Eddie, and Venom’s residual genetic materials.
Anti-Venom
Relationship to Venom: “Twin Sibling”
The Anti-Venom symbiote represents a unique variation on conventional family dynamics. During a period of estrangement from Eddie Brock, fragments of the Venom symbiote remained within Eddie’s body. These remnants diverged from the codices typically left behind from symbiotic bonds.
While battling cancer, Eddie inadvertently triggered a fusion between the traces of Venom and his white blood cells during volunteer work at the FEAST Center. This led to the formation of Anti-Venom, a hybrid symbiote rooted within Eddie that shares similar properties. Future iterations of Anti-Venom are regarded as artificial replicas rather than true kin.
Mania
Relationship to Venom: Clone
Contrary to Anti-Venom, which was birthed from remnants of Venom, Mania is an outright clone. Developed by the Ararat Corporation with the initial intent to eliminate the Venom symbiote, Mania underwent significant turmoil after its host, Lee Price, commandeered it for nefarious purposes.
Following a tumultuous experience with Meridius, Mania was subjected to experiments resulting in the K-44 anti-symbiote formula and subsequent creation of the Zombiotes. Price’s relentless greed and brutality heavily influenced Mania, culminating in his and Mania’s eventual demise at the hands of Carnage.
Venom III
Relationship to Venom: Hybrid Clone
During Carnage’s frenzied attempts to resurrect Knull, Eddie Brock joined forces with Spider-Man and the Maker to devise a machine aimed at collecting and obliterating codices from previous symbiote hosts. However, the Maker had ulterior motives; he intended to hoard the codices for himself.
As the machine malfunctioned, the collected codices fused into a singular symbiote, leading to the creation of a remarkably powerful entity known as Legion. This amalgamation boasted genetic imprints from Venom, Carnage, Mania, Tyrannosaurus, and the Foundation Symbiotes. Once Eddie and Venom rejoined, Venom absorbed Venom III back into its essence.
Dylan Brock
Relationship to Venom: Child
Although Dylan is biologically the son of Eddie Brock and Anne Weying, he represents a unique combination of genetics from Eddie and Venom, with Anne serving primarily as the carrier. The nature of Anne’s pregnancy remains somewhat of a mystery; upon the appearance of the fetus, remnants of Venom’s codex embedded within Anne’s DNA effectively transformed Dylan into a human-symbiote hybrid.
If given the opportunity to fully harness his abilities, Dylan would possess power rivaling Knull’s. His exclusive genetic makeup grants him a latent connection to the Symbiote Hive-Mind, allowing him some control over it. Due to Eddie Brock’s actions during his tenure as King in Black, however, he can only access his powers when bonded with another symbiote.
Carnage
Relationship to Venom: Child
Carnage stands as the first child born of Venom, making him the 999th member of the symbiote lineage. Ordinarily, one would expect Carnage to fall in line with the behaviors of typical symbiotes; however, like Anti-Venom, he is classified as a genetic hybrid of Venom and the host, Cletus Kasady.
Young symbiotes typically seek immediate bonding with the nearest life form; however, complications arise during the internal brood stages. While Carnage shows amplified strength when hosts bind, he retains the capacity for independent movement and combat. Throughout Carnage’s endeavors, multiple corrupt offshoots were released, but for simplicity’s sake, they won’t be included in Venom’s direct family tree.
The Life Foundation Spawns
Relationship to Venom: Children
Anticipating a societal breakdown, the Life Foundation sought to create a series of super-soldiers capable of enforcing a new order for the elite. After having captured Venom, they unceremoniously extracted five of his “seeds.” This led to the formation of Scream, Lasher, Phage, Agony, and Riot.
Among the quintet, Scream is frequently recognized as the de facto leader. Despite theoretically having equal potential to Carnage, the Life Foundation symbiotes lack the same degree of independent narrative interest. Lasher, Phage, Agony, and Riot often must merge into a single beings to maintain their existence.
Silence
Relationship to Venom: Clone of Child
In the aftermath of the original Scream symbiote’s demise, Doctor Steven from Alchemax’s astrobiology division was assigned to produce a backup of the symbiote. By utilizing samples taken from Scream’s last host, Andi Benton, along with bio-samples of the Anti-Venom Serum, Doctor Steven successfully created the Silence symbiote.
While Silence shares the same physical traits as Scream, it boasts a distinctive red and white color pattern. In many respects, Silence behaves as the biological antithesis of its symbiotic predecessors. Although it retains the capacity to use its “hair”for attacks, Silence primarily leverages its Anti-Venom abilities to cleanse and liberate symbiotes from Knull’s Hive-Mind during his invasion, establishing itself as a valuable ally.
Hybrid
Relationship to Venom: Children
The siblings from the Life Foundation share a bond that ensures their tight-knit cooperation. Often treated as tools by Alchemax, they struggle to venture away from each other’s presence. In numerous scenarios where they have been left without hosts, they band together to form a symbiotic amalgam. Known as Hybrid, this entity merges Agony, Lasher, Phage, and Riot, first joining forces to tackle their sibling Scream, who had killed Hybrid’s original hosts.
Notably, Hybrid is classified as a symbiote amalgam rather than a simple hybrid. Unlike hybrids formed through genetic fusions between symbiotes and non-symbiotic life forms, a “symbiote amalgam” results from the combination of different symbiotes into a singular being. Although each constituent maintains a degree of its individuality, the amalgam typically functions as a cohesive life form, rarely called upon except in dire circumstances.
Madness
Relationship to Venom: Children
Madness is a unique composite of all five Life Foundation siblings and shares a genetic link with their nephew, Toxin. Formed out of necessity in a conflict against Alchemax CEO Liz Allan, who had fused with both a Carnage offshoot and an Anti-Venom offshoot, Madness emerged as a formidable entity composed of six symbiotes.
While engaged in battle, Madness exerted control over a singular human host, effectively dominating the man’s psyche. Eventually separating, the Life Foundation symbiotes found themselves serving Silver Sable, albeit none were quite as complex as their creation, Madness.
Sleeper
Relationship to Venom: Child
Sleeper is heralded as Venom’s seventh and ostensibly final child, an existence birthed under unusual circumstances. Initially, both Venom and Eddie believed that the Life Foundation symbiotes signaled the conclusion of Venom’s progeny. However, Doctor Steven posited that Sleeper’s genetic material developed in reaction to Grendel’s awakening.
Exhibiting exceptional powers compared to its counterparts, Sleeper initially remained under Alchemax supervision before breaking free upon reaching maturity. In addition to the usual symbiotic powers, Sleeper can synthesize various liquids and gases, ranging from acids to psychedelics to tranquilizers, proving to be a significant asset in combat.
Sliver
Relationship to Venom: Child
In a further testament to Venom’s fertile lineage, Sliver emerged as yet another progeny. Venom, in collaboration with Dylan Brock, inadvertently left a spawn at an Alchemax facility upon escaping its clutches. Later, Black Widow was assigned to investigate the site and soon bonded with this new creation.
The symbiote Sliver and Black Widow quickly forged a powerful alliance as she trained it, embracing its strengths. Given its young age, the full extent of Sliver’s abilities remains uncertain, although its capacity to absorb memories may enable rapid enhancement of its skill set.
Toxin
Relationship to Venom: Grandchild
Toxin is the first offspring of Carnage and thus claims the title of the 1000th symbiote in this intricate lineage. Initially, both Venom and Carnage feared that Toxin could surpass either, although it has yet to exhibit the same potential. Bonded to a police officer named Pat Mulligan soon after its birth, Toxin benefited from Pat’s inherently good nature, mitigating Carnage’s corruptive effects.
Following a heroic period, Mulligan’s demise left Toxin with no choice but to bond with Eddie Brock for survival, during which time it grew more violent, feeding on Eddie’s vengeful inclinations. By fluke survival alongside its sibling Raze, Toxin ultimately connected with a teenager named Bren Waters, but they were later seen being escorted by Alchemax.
Scorn
Relationship to Venom: Grandchild
In an unusual turn of fate, a scientist named Michael Hall managed to capture a dying Cletus Kasady with the intent to extract Carnage from his body. This endeavor was successful, allowing him to combine some of Carnage’s essence with advanced prosthetics. Those enhancements eventually reached Doctor Tanis Nieves.
Following the subsequent return of the full Carnage symbiote, latent portions within Nieves’s prosthetic arm awakened, leading her to sever the arm in a bid to rid herself of the symbiotic influence. As a result, the symbiote Scorn emerged, developing a body of its own that could merge with machinery and weaponry. A notable ability includes Scorn’s competency to delve into cyberspace, expressing its potential to manipulate data and code.
Raze
Relationship to Venom: Grandchild
Unlike Venom, whose offspring are cultivated with greater care, Carnage’s parenting style has proven to be more neglectful. It is speculated that Carnage has exhausted his spawn production, with Raze emerging through a plot to exploit the Darkhold and summon Chthon.
Unfortunately, Raze’s existence was cut short; it disappeared after only six issues, essentially utilized as a pawn in Carnage’s ploys. Post-summoning, it was absorbed by a Carnage offshoot, merging back into a non-distinct entity.
The family dynamics of the Venom symbiote are undeniably intricate. Emerging from a sentient mass of darkness and forged by a god-like entity, the Klyntar species exhibits remarkable fertility, often unaware that they have spawned until later encounters. Comprising an assortment of clones, hybrids, amalgams, and offshoots, the symbiotic family tree can be complex and often bewildering. Though Venom seems to have reached the limits of its family expansion, history suggests that the Lethal Protector remains inclined to break norms further.
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