When it comes to Spider-Man, he has numerous allies to call upon for help. There are some heroes who are closer to him than others, but there's also the curious case of Venom. Right now, the symbiote is playing nice in Absolute Carnage, though that's always subject to change at the drop of a hat.
Seen as the ultimate antihero, Venom is a firm fan-favorite for the ability to walk a fine line between good and evil (and the fact that the 2018 live-action film proved to be immune to Rotten Tomatoes' score). The blurring of boundaries, though, has resulted in the alien doing some rather despicable things and that's what we're here to investigate.
Eating Brains
Considering Venom is an alien on a new planet, you'd imagine its gastronomic choices to be slightly different from ours. Maybe it likes ice cream with a rich Napolitano pasta sauce, or even the dreaded pineapple on pizza? But Venom's tastes are a little stranger (and grosser) than that.
In fact, the symbiote loved nothing more than to snack on human brains. Contrary to popular belief, must people do possess the organ (even if they don't fully use it) and this put them at risk of Venom's sharp teeth. Fortunately, it outgrew this phase and replaced this lust for brains with a chocolate addicition.
Bonding With Mac Gargan
Venom and Eddie Brock have a tumultuous on-again, off-again relationship. When they're apart, they seem to be angrier than when they're together. Venom, in particular, doesn't take it too well and bonds with the wrong people in an attempt to get over Eddie.
At one point, Venom approached Mac Gargan, aka Scorpion, and offered its services. Of course, Gargan didn't say no and bonded with the symbiote, using its powers for his own nefarious purposes. While he didn't exactly go mad and hunt down Spidey (like Brock did), he lost himself to the symbiote and became a cannibal. In another parallel universe, this is the origin story for Leatherface.
Ending Earth-2301's Version Of Uncle Ben
Comic books are complex things. Not only are the reboots endless, but there's also the problem of multiverses. With so many Earths, it's a little hard to keep track of what's happening where, when and how. In the case of Earth-2301, more commonly known as Marvel's Mangaverse, things took another dramatic turn in the Spider-Man-Venom dynamic.
In this universe, Uncle Ben wasn't a helpless old man who was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nope, in this version, he was a sensei and Peter Parker was the last member of the Spider Clan. Ben's demise came at the hands of Venom, who served as muscle for the Kingpin. Gasp!
Turning Spider-Man's Allies Against Him
As mentioned above, Venom likes to blur lines. Whether as a hero or villain, no one knows if they can truly trust the symbiote. In the case of Spider-Man, he found out the hard way (more than once) that this drooling creature needs to be watched at all times.
The Maximum Carnage storyline brought together Marvel's heroes to put a stop to Carnage and his twisted family. When the chips were down, a suggestion was made to do whatever's necessary to bring down the foes, including crossing certain lines. Spidey refused, so Venom turned the others against him. What a great teammate, right?
Allowing Lee Price To Use It
Look, Venom has bonded with some questionable individuals. Some of the people haven't been the nicest or most pleasant around, but Lee Price takes the cake. This is the guy who set his apartment ablaze and took his own parents' lives, blaming a poor mutant for the dastardly act.
As expected, he didn't use the symbiote for good when he had the chance. He abused it to enrich himself and other shameful purposes. In fact, Venom tried its best to abandon its host, but Price overpowered the alien and kept it around. Venom itself must've breathed a sigh of relief when this relationship ended.
Breaking Black Cat's Nose
When Venom first bonded with Eddie Brock, it terrorized Spider-Man and his friends. The symbiote didn't pull back any punches or words, as it did everything in its power to cause damage to Peter Parker and those closest to him, including Felicia Hardy, aka Black Cat.
Not only did Venom break her nose in a savage fight, but it also broke her heart by revealing that her crush, Spidey, was married to Mary Jane. The beating was bad enough; however, the symbiote proved its malice by taking things one step too far and snitching, while also shattering Black Cat's emotions.
Terrorizing MJ
When it comes to conflict, it's best to keep family out of it. After all, the issues need to be resolved between the respective parties -- not other people, right? Venom thinks otherwise, though, as the symbiote prefers to involve family and loved ones, and to make it as personal as possible.
As Venom turned the screws on Spider-Man and tried to make Peter Parker pay for all his sins, it decided one of the best ways to attract his attention was by terrorizing Mary Jane. Of course, it caught Spidey's attention, but it also left MJ scarred by what Venom did to her.
Trying To End Spider-Man
If you think the relationship between Venom and Eddie Brock is complicated, it has nothing on the one between the symbiote and Peter Parker. After Parker rejected the symbiote (even after it gave him the coolest superhero suit in the world), it bonded with Brock and let the hate for Parker flow.
Since then, it has tried over and over again to squish the Web-Head and put a stop to his crime-fighting activities for good. While the relationship between everyone has been more cordial (and perhaps even friendlier) in recent years, you never know when Venom will switch over and hunt down Parker again.
Ditching Angelo Fortunato In Mid-Air
There have been some odd moments in Venom's history. One of the strangest was when Don Fortunato bought the symbiote for his son Angelo. The reason was simple: he wanted to make a man out of his boy. Even so, Eddie Brock warned that there were consequences and risks.
Well, Angelo used the symbiote to exact some petty revenge on the people he felt had wronged him in life. When he retreated after a fight with Spider-Man, however, Venom decided to let him go in mid-air because it deemed him a coward. Naturally, that was the end of Angelo as he became a pavement omelet.
Creating Carnage
Are parents responsible for how their offspring turn out? It's an interesting conundrum. Thinking of what Carnage became, you can't help but blame Venom for its little one. Especially one that gives the Joker a run for his money in the homicidal psychopath department.
This symbiote is easily the worst of the lot and doesn't seem to display any form of empathy for others. Right now, its current plan is to revive the symbiote god Knull and cause absolute havoc. It's such a dreadful, spiteful creature that deserves to be locked in a rocket ship and sent straight into the sun.