The launch of Marvel's Secret Wars kicked off decades of stories, but none would prove to be more influential than the arrival of Venom, the first symbiote, originally introduced as a simple alien Spider-Suit. Today, the Marvel Multiverse is caught in a brutal civil war between father and son over control of the symbiote hivemind. As the fledgling Venom War begins, symbiotes are gathering to play their part in picking the rightful new King in Black.

The symbiote half of Venom, the Lethal Protector is only one of dozens of known symbiotes that span the Multiverse. Born as an experiment of the elder God of Symbiotes, Knull, the Klyntar have spread far across space and time, growing with each new host and transcending their original purpose as Knull’s tools of conquest. Between methods of familial spawning, experimental replication, and temporal fracturing, it’s become difficult to keep track of every new Marvel symbiote that crops up in the comics. To best organize the ever-growing list of the symbiotic alien species, here is every named alien symbiote in Marvel's main universe, ranked from the easiest to kill, to the most god-level in power.

To help keep this list concise, only symbiotes from Earth-616 will be counted. Eddie Brock’s temporal offshoots will also be included, as they act as independent unique characters with or without Eddie’s body inside. Certain symbiotes, while brimming with potential, have had to be lowered on the list because, unfortunately, potential doesn't always equal power. Additionally, Knull will be excluded because, despite being the creator of the symbiotes, he is not a symbiote himself.

40 Muzzle

First Appearance: Marvel's Voices: Pride #1 (2023)

Muzzle Hacket is the product of an experimental process designed to create a human-symbiote hybrid. While little is known about the young vigilante, Muzzle does involuntarily display some of the classic physical characteristics that bonded Klyntar are known for. However, Muzzle’s understanding of his own potential is severely limited; he, nor his family, knew what a symbiote was before Spider-Man had mentioned the likeness in ing.

While he could be a fun character, Muzzle is seemingly held back by his human physiology, depriving him of the amorphous body-swapping abilities most other symbiotes are capable of.

39 Void Knight

First Appearance: Silver Surfer: Black #2 (2019)

Void Knight is one of Knull’s first prototypes. Displaced in time and thrown back into the infant days of the Seventh Cosmos, the Silver Surfer crossed paths with Knull before the first true symbiote had ever been created. Void Knight was designed to assimilate the Surfer into Knull’s early hive, but, while successful at dominating the cosmic entity, it was nearly instantly vaporized by Ego the Living Planet.

Capturing a cosmic Herald is certainly a powerful feat. But even if Void Knight had the potential to be one of Knull’s greatest weapons, his quick destruction took away that chance before it ever began.

38 Finnegan

First Appearance: Venom #5 (2022)

Finnegan is one of the seven temporal offshoots of Eddie Brock, gathered by Meridius outside of space and time. This version of the King in Black is both mentally and physically beaten down by the trauma of Eddie’s life in both his past and his future.

Unlike his fellow time-displaced selves, Finnegan feels trapped in his symbiote form and is only focused on the terror he knows he will become next. While he may be a King in Black, this version of Eddie refuses to fight, wanting nothing more than to die so as to save his son from himself.

37 Krobaa

First Appearance: Venom: Seed of Darkness #1 (1997)

While Krobaa has never technically been named a member of the Klyntar, it does possess all the same characteristics of the species. Capable of symbiotically bonding with host organisms and feeding off of (and into) its host’s emotions, Krobaa also possesses one particularly heightened symbiote ability.

Like many symbiotes, Krobaa is a talented empath that is directly affected by the mental nature of its hosts. However, after arriving on Earth, the alien’s mind was so overwhelmed with humanity’s propensity toward fear and anger that it took its own life to avoid spreading humankind’s madness to the rest of the universe.

36 Sliver

First Appearance: Venom #23 (2023)

One of Marvel’s newest symbiotes, Sliver is the supposed spawn of either Venom or Toxin. Shortly after its spawning, the Sliver symbiote bonded with Black Widow and the two currently operate under the alias “Widow.” While bonded with Natasha, Sliver has already undergone intense training, growing its tactical skills under the tutelage of its new host and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s strongest agents.

The juvenile has a lot of potential, especially if it continues its bond and training with Natasha Romanoff, however, it is far too young to stand against most of its more developed brethren.

35 Dreadface

First Appearance: Fantastic Four #359 (1991)

Another symbiotic alien species not technically referred to as a Klyntar, Dreadface claims to be from an empire that travels the stars seeking out strong warriors to bond with to aid in the species’s plans of domination. Like the standard symbiote, Dreadface is capable of amplifying its host’s natural strengths and possesses a noticeable weakness to fire.

Comparatively, Dreadface has no additional unique traits that would allow it to stand apart from other of its species, however it did show an aptitude for rapid bonding with multiple hosts within a short period of time.

34 Mister E

First Appearance: Marvel Spotlight #9 (1980)

Mister E is another of Knull’s early experiments. Despite its overwhelming ambitious arrogance, Mister E’s powers are about standard for the Klyntar, albeit at a much weaker level. However, the proto-symbiote seems to have a stronger connection to the Void that the original symbiotes were forged from, as it has the ability to shed its physical form and merge into shadows.

Mister E can also produce drone-like offshoots that can forcibly “bond” with multiple lifeforms, giving it control over every infected person. Mister E’s ego eventually became its downfall, leading to its death at the hands of Black Knight.

33 Raze

First Appearance: Carnage #10 (2016)

Raze was one of Carnage’s spawns who, unfortunately, lived an incredibly short life. In order to enact a ritual that would summon Chthon, Raze was created to singularly help fulfill Carnage’s goals. Outside the immoral tenacity and terrifying visage that is to be expected of a Carnage-spawn, Raze was never shown to possess any unique traits or abilities.

Raze was seemingly destroyed at the end of Carnage’s plot to bond with Chthon, when another member of the Anti-Symbiote Task Force, an agency Raze’s host was originally assigned to, absorbed Raze and used its power to help stop Chthon’s return.

32 Rascal

First Appearance: Free Comic Book Day 2022: Spider-Man/Venom #1 (2022)

An offshoot of Bedlam, one of Eddie Brock’s temporally displaced selves, Rascal was left in the care of Kang in the far future. After being sent back to the modern day, Rascal was fused with a sample of the Carnage symbiote before its connection to the Symbiote Hive-Mind was destroyed by Dylan Brock.

Now bonded to Normie Osborn, Rascal is a young, emotional, creature that Normie describes as puppy-like. Because of its young age and disconnect from the Hive-Mind's wealth of experience, Rascal is still far too inexperienced to be considered powerful, despite its obvious potential.

31 Riot

First Appearance: Venom: Lethal Protector #4 (1993)

Riot is one of the five symbiotes forcibly spawned from Venom by the Life Foundation and is arguably the weakest of the group. Unlike its siblings, Riot does not possess any unique abilities or powers that separate it from the average symbiote.

While Riot is a hulking beast who definitely prefers to smash around with blunt weaponry, that’s about all he is capable of. Considering his siblings’ individual mutated properties, Riot unfortunately falls short by comparison.