Venom Symbiote Evolves in Major Way Due to Spider-Man

As Spider-Man, Peter Parker has been an inspiration to many people. His example has pushed many villains, like Black Cat, to try and be better. Now it seems that his self-sacrificing personality may have rubbed off on the Venom symbiote.

The revelation that Spider-Man inspired his former symbiotic “other” came in All-New Venom #6. Written by Al Ewing with art by Carlos Gomez, the issue detailed just how Mary Jane Watson became bonded to the Venom symbiote. This was presumed to have happened during the recent Venom War event. However, while that did set the stage for the bonding, it did not actually occur until immediately afterward.

In an interview with Robbie Robertson and her boyfriend, Paul Rabin, Mary Jane explained how Paul’s power gauntlet failed. His technology was meant to give MJ superpowers based on the spin of a wheel. She tried to use this to fight crime as the hero Jackpot, but unfortunately her effectiveness was limited given the random nature of the gauntlet. Additionally, there was one combination that would bring about instant death.

The symbiote attempted to save Mary Jane during Venom War, with part of it interacting with the gauntlet to “make it work better.” While it was successful for a time, the gauntlet’s failure was causing Mary Jane intense pain. To make matters worse, the death combination came up as she was trying to reset her powers while the symbiote tried to retrieve its lost piece.

Venom sacrificed itself to save Mary Jane Watson

Thinking quickly, the Venom symbiote asked itself one question: “What Would Spider-Man do?” Even ignoring his relationship with Mary Jane Watson, the symbiote knew Peter Parker would do whatever it took to save a life. Even at the cost of his own.

To that end, the symbiote initiated a bond with Mary Jane Watson at the molecular level. The good news is this did save her life. The bad news is it left the two of them weakened and dependent on one another for survival. However, this still marked a major evolution for the symbiote, which rarely acted altruistically without direction from a host.

To Mary Jane’s embarrassment, she did have to admit that the Venom symbiote had changed for the better. Robbie Robertson shared in this assessment, noting that he had encountered Venom many times before but the symbiote seemed to be acting like a real hero now — all thanks to the example of Spider-Man.

Unfortunately, this does little to solve the awkwardness of Venom and Mary Jane being bonded given all their animosity toward one another. It also destroyed Mary Jane’s working and romantic relationships with Paul. Beyond it being apparent that he nearly killed her with his faulty technology, it was also made clear that, when push comes to shove, Mary Jane doesn’t trust him to help her.

All-New Venom #6 is now available at comic shops everywhere.