Warning! This article contains spoilers for Venom #26 Venom’ upgrade. In fact, this power-up is one that could have come in handy in the MCU. Or, at the very least, it would have turned the ‘interrogation scene’ in The Avengers from one filled with action/comedy to one of sheer terror.

2012’s The Avengers introduced movie-goers to the titular team in groundbreaking fashion, and even with so many heroes sharing the spotlight, the film still took the time to highlight each one - including Black Widow. During her intro, Natasha was tied to a chair, and was being interrogated in a warehouse. It’s quickly revealed that this was all a ploy to actually get information out of her interrogator without him even realizing it, though it was cut short by a phone call from Agent Coulson, at which point Black Widow promptly broke free and rendered each of her captors unconscious.

This scene proves that Black Widow is a highly intelligent and extremely deadly super-spy, while also giving her a few key comedic moments to shine as well. And now, that scene is given a deadly (and horrifying) twist in an all-new comic featuring Black Widow with her new Venomized upgrade.

Black Widow Uses Her ‘Venom’ Symbiote For Horrific Interrogation

In a preview for Venom #26 by Torunn Grønbekk and Julius Ohta, Black Widow is tied to a chair, being interrogated by someone she wishes to steal information from herself. However, rather than coming up with some clever zingers and then kicking his butt, Black Widow instead sends her symbiote over to the interrogator.

The Klyntar then proceeds to consume the man’s brain, thereby gaining his thoughts, which it then es directly to Black Widow. Natasha leaves the man’s twisted corpse in the warehouse to continue her mission with the information her symbiote gained from his unwilling mind.

Black Widow’s Venom Upgrade Makes Her An Even Deadlier Spy Than In The MCU

The layout of this entire scene was incredibly reminiscent of the one from the first Avengers film, which - if done deliberately - is actually the perfect way to really drive-home how useful (and horrific) Black Widow’s ‘Venom’ upgrade really is. The movie showed how Black Widow needed to get herself caught by a target, and then use tactics to ensure they gave away more information than they realized, all the while feeding them just enough information to stay alive. It’s a high-stakes game of mental chess, one with a very real possibility of death (however, unlikely that may seem for someone as skilled as Black Widow). However, with the symbiote, Black Widow can essentially the contents of her captor’s brain and it directly into her own, conveniently killing them in the process. Way less risk, way more reward (as there’s no chance of secret or deception), and virtually untraceable.

Making Black Widow’s latest form of reverse-interrogation look almost identical to how she’d normally conduct such an operation (as shown in the MCU) is the perfect way to highlight just how much of an upgrade she’s gained, and it’s all thanks to her new ‘Venom’ powers.

Venom #26 by Marvel Comics is available October 11, 2023.