Venom. Venom was one of Spider-Man's most unpredictable and dangerous villains for years, but despite being a villain, Venom was never a monster. Over the decades, Venom has proven that he truly is a hero, even if he looks like a monster.

It's hard to blame Spider-Man for being wary of Venom at first. Spider-Man's first encounter with the Venom symbiotetook place in The Amazing Spider-Man #252 by Tom DeFalco and Roger Stern. Needing a new suit so that he could continue fighting on Battleworld, Spider-Man discovers a fancy black suit, which he mistakes for a high-tech bit of equipment.

Unfortunately, the suit wasn't just a bit of fancy equipment. Peter eventually realized that this new black suit was a living alien symbiote, and it affected his body and personality. Horrified by this revelation, he got rid of the suit as soon as possible, and that's when things really took a turn, leading to one of the most iconic and beloved Marvel characters of all time.

After Spider-Man, the Venom Symbiote Simply Found a Dangerous New Host

The Amazing Spider-Man #252 by Tom DeFalco, Roger Stern, Ron Frenz, Brett Breeding, Glynis Wein, and Joe Rosen

After being rejected by Spider-Man, the symbiote continued to lurk in the rafters of the church that Spider-Man had abandoned it in. By sheer coincidence, Eddie Brock had made his way to that very same church. He intended to take his own life due to his career and marriage being ruined due to the actions of Spider-Man, at least from his point of view. This burning hatred inside of Eddie attracted the symbiote. The symbiote immediately bonded with Eddie and created one of Spider-Man's most fearsome villains.

Their unholy union gave rise to Venom, a name chosen due to Eddie being forced to produce venomous gossip articles after Spider-Man ruined his reporting career. The two of them together proved to be immensely powerful, especially due to the symbiote's intimate knowledge of Peter Parker's life, such as his secret identity, where he lived, and who his immediate family was. Venom used all of this knowledge to torture Spider-Man, but the twisted thing about Venom is that even at this point, though he was definitely a villain, he still wasn't a monster.

Venom Attacked Spider-Man Numerous Times, Making Him a Major Villain

But He Only Wanted Spider-Man

What made Venom an anomaly compared to Spider-Man's other villains was that Venom really didn't care about anything except killing Spider-Man. Venom had no grand goals to take over New York City or the world. He wasn't looking for money or glory. The only thing Venom wanted was Spider-Man dead. That's all he cared about, but he wasn't willing to let innocents die for it. Venom threatened Mary Jane and Aunt May, but he never actually followed through on these threats. He never hurt them and would even stop fighting Spider-Man to save innocent people.

It's been said that Venom would toss a school bus full of children out of his way and storm through a congregation of nuns just to save a cat from a tree.

Venom did have some twisted sense of morality; he wasn't just a belligerent maniac who wanted to destroy everything and everyone. That said, Venom's morality is certainly twisted. It's been said that Venom would toss a school bus full of children out of his way and storm through a congregation of nuns just to save a cat from a tree. Venom certainly wanted to do good, but his sanity wasn't all the way there to let him. Once he was able to let go of his hatred of Spider-Man, he started to prove that he wasn't a monster, at least in of his morality.

Wanting a fresh start away from his history with Spider-Man, Venom ended up moving to San Francisco in 1992's Venom: Lethal Protector #1 by David Michelinie and Mark Bagley, where he really tried his hand at his own brand of vigilantism. He was trying to make the city a better place, which had mixed results due to his horrific appearance. This series was the start of Venom's change to heroism, and it was a good first few steps: he mostly stopped muggings and foiled the plots of evil CEOs. It was a great first attempt to show that he really was a good guy. But Venom's biggest heroic moment would come much later in his career.

Venom Proved Himself a Hero by Saving the Marvel Universe

Venom: Lethal Protector #1 by David Michelinie, Mark Bagley, Sam de la Rosa, Al Milgrom, Marie Javins, and Richard Starkings

One of the darkest events in Marvel history was when Knull, the King in Black, arrived on Earth to try and wipe out all light in the universe. This catastrophic situation meant that every hero available immediately responded. The Avengers and everyone else appeared to try and repel Knull's invasion, and they all failed. Even Iron Man taking over a Celestial wasn't enough to slow Knull down. When it seemed like all hope was lost, it wasn't the Avengers or Spider-Man who stepped up to save the world - it was Venom.

Empowered by the Enigma Force, Venom became the literal avatar of all light in the universe. With that cosmic power, he was able to strike Knull down and save the world from being consumed by Knull's symbiote army. This moment permanently cemented Eddie Brock and Venom as true Marvel heroes. It was a great moment and one of the biggest on Venom's path of redemption, but that's the funny thing about Venom: he was always a hero, at least in his own mind.

Venom Never Believed He Was a True Marvel Comics Villain

Venom Never Saw Himself as Evil

That's what was so dangerous about Venom: he always believed himself to be a hero. Venom truly felt that Spider-Man was a monster who needed to be killed for the good of the world. After all, Spider-Man had indirectly ruined Eddie Brock's life, and the Venom symbiote was furious at being abandoned by Spider-Man. It makes perfect sense that Venom would view Spider-Man as the villain, which is also why his pivot to being a true hero is so believable, because Venom was already a hero in his own mind.

Over time, even Spider-Man had to it that Venom has truly become a hero. While the two still aren't fond of one another, they have worked together several times, and Spider-Man knows that Venom isn't the monster that he originally thought he was. While Venom certainly goes about heroics in a different way than Spider-Man, he's every bit of the hero that Spider-Man is. While Venom will always have his monstrous appearance, deep down, he's a true hero.

The Amazing Spider-Man #252 and Venom: Lethal Protector #1 are both available now from Marvel Comics!