Venom is like an evil Spider-Man, sharing his powers and look, but he's more complex: he's Spider-Man's dark mirror, born from Peter Parker's rejection and fueled by his own host's bitterness (like Eddie Brock's), becoming an anti-hero or villain defined by primal instincts and a twisted sense of justice, not just simple evil. He's often seen as Spider-Man's greatest failure, a monstrous version embodying darker impulses.
Since his debut however, Venom has evolved into an antiheroic figure, slowly distancing himself from his initial goal to ruin Spider-Man's life to try and do good instead, even putting aside his differences with and helping Spider-Man at times.
He started off as a villain, assuming we're talking about Eddie Brock. Later he became an antihero after losing his grudge with Spiderman for ruining his reputation. Since he was a villain to Spiderman from the start and venom was created with powers to harm Spiderman, he can still be viewed as a main adversary.
Venom isn't even an anti hero anymore he's a straight up good guy and has been for over a decade. He hasn't been a villain in 616 outside of Mac Gargan for almost 30 years now.
Story appearances
He hates Spiderman because he thinks he is the cause of all the bad luck in his life. Venom is bigger and stronger then Spiderman. His webbing is much stronger then that of of Spiderman. His weakness is Super Sonic noises such as the ringing of church bells.
A mercenary soldier, he played an important role in the series Deadpool; T-Ray served to remind Wade Wilson, also known as Deadpool, what a failure he was. He is Deadpool's archenemy for many issues and almost everything that happened to Deadpool was a part of an elaborate plan orchestrated by him.
He is the first live action Spider-Man villain to be Pure Evil followed by MCU Mysterio. He is the only villain in the Raimiverse to be Pure Evil. His novelization version does not qualify as Pure Evil due to being brainwashed by the symbiote.
As a result, Carnage is far more violent, powerful, and deadly than Venom. Kasady and the symbiote would then be the main antagonist in "Maximum Carnage" and Kasady would continually be the most recurring character to use the Carnage symbiote in many publications.
The Venom symbiote, while often bonded to Brock, fights many opponents, including his eventual ally Spider-Man, the Avengers, and its relatives, the Life Foundation symbiotes. While bonded to Brock, the Venom symbiote faces off with its violent spawn, Carnage, and the God of Symbiotes, Knull.
Peter Parker first bonded with Venom in SECRET WARS (1984) #8, where he mistook the symbiote for a way to repair his tattered costume after his fight against an army of super villains on Battleworld.
Despite his hatred of Spider-Man, Venom has a twisted sense of morality, avoiding harming anyone he deems to be innocent and even performing heroic deeds.
Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin: A scientist and the CEO of Oscorp from an alternate reality who tested an unstable strength enhancer on himself. He developed an insane split personality as a result and uses advanced Oscorp armor and equipment.
He has endured as one of Spider-Man's most prominent villains. He later evolved into an antihero, slowly distancing himself from his initial goal to ruin Spider-Man's life to instead do good, even occasionally allying with Spider-Man.
Venom is obsessed with Peter Parker because he was the original host.
Knull, the dark god of the symbiotes, is the creator of the first symbiote, Venom, and he waged a brutal war against the celestial beings, using his power to shroud the universe in darkness.
He is constantly trying to sacrifice himself to save Eddie and when they do briefly break up in the 2nd film, Venom is so distraught that he goes on a bender (at a freaking gay bar!). Aside from the “urge to merge” of it all, Venom themself is a nonbinary queer icon.
The Norman version of the Green Goblin is usually regarded as Spider-Man's archenemy.
After Peter learned about the identity of his Uncle Ben's true killer, Sandman, the symbiote was drawn by Peter's vengeance and saw the opportunity to bond with him. The symbiote stealthily bonded with Peter as he was in bed, changing his suit from a friendly red and blue to an aggressive black color.
Morbius' "I Am Venom" Line References In-Universe Events
This scene not only proves that Venom and Morbius take place in the same universe but also references Eddie Brock and Venom's actions in San Francisco, which have made them fugitives by the end of Let There Be Carnage.
While Deadpool used to toy with the most powerful villains for fun, Death Grip is the one villain who truly scares him, as he has found something worth living for.
To Logan's eyes, Wade takes nothing seriously, believes in nothing, and goes thru life thinking he's a fictional being. To Logan, Wade is a like a cracked fun house mirror version of himself in some ways. It's not a true or correct assessment, but its understandable that Wolverine would see Deadpool that way.
It was a commercial success, grossing $1.338 billion worldwide and becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 2024, the highest-grossing R-rated film ever, and the 20th-highest-grossing film ever at the time of its release.