WARNING! Spoilers for All-New Venom #4

Most of Venom's powers are enviable, but Marvel just revealed a surprising new downside to his abilities that paints him and other symbiotes in a much more heartbreaking light. For all of their strengths, they have one critical weakness that sets them apart from other beings, and it provides a long-awaited explanation for why they are so dependent on attaching themselves to hosts.

In the preview for All-New Venom #4 by Al Ewing and Carlos Gómez, Flash Thompson speaks with Toxin after the symbiote has been detached from his former host. Toxin pleads with Flash to let the symbiotes' jailers kill them off, claiming that death would be a kinder fate than the loneliness they feel without a host.

Toxin tells Flash, "You're a host creature - naturally self-contained. You don't need other people like we do. No being in the universe knows solitude like a symbiote." As powerful as symbiotes are, their reliance on hosts means that they experience loneliness much more acutely and painfully.

It's True: Venom and Other Symbiotes Feel Loneliness More Than Other Beings

Despite Symbiotes' Impressive Powers, They Have a Devastating Drawback

Symbiotes like Venom are known for being incredibly strong, boasting commendable abilities that range from extreme shape-shifting to a healing factor, in addition to immense strength. With that being said, Toxin has now shed light on one downside to being a symbiote. As evidenced by their name, the creatures are symbiotic, which means they require a relationship with a host in order to sustain themselves. Venom tends to latch onto humans like Eddie Brock as his host, and every symbiote aims to bond with organisms to unlock their full potential. Now, it seems that symbiotes who fail at this undergo a pain on par with death.

Symbiotes are at their weakest when they lack a host, as seen with Toxin being reduced to a gooey state now that he doesn't have access to Bren. The revelation of how negatively symbiotes are affected by solitude is a newer development that recontextualizes their desire for hosts. Toxin begging to be starved or executed shows how agonizing it is for a symbiote to be without a host. Teaming up with host creatures is about more than just power for symbiotes; it's about feeling less alone. Thus, it's easier to understand why Venom and the rest of Marvel's symbiotes would settle for hosts aside from their usual allies.

Venom's Most Tragic Power Confirms Why He Always Seeks a Host

Without Eddie or Dylan Brock, Venom Needs a Host to Combat Loneliness

Anyone can empathize with the feeling of being lonely, and symbiotes experience that emotion tenfold, which explains many of their shocking choices of hosts. Carnage, for instance, has mysterious new host, and it seems he's also done so to feel less alone. Venom and his fellow symbiotes will bond with anyone to strengthen themselves, but loneliness is another motivator behind their actions.

All-New Venom #4 is available on March 12th, 2025 from Marvel Comics!