Within the newest Drawing Loopy Patterns, the place we highlight 5 recurring themes in comics, we look at 5 occasions that the Venom symbiote tried to re-bond with Spider-Man.

We’re arising on the fortieth anniversary of Spider-Man splitting from the symbiote that may later merge with Eddie Brock to grow to be Venom, and I assumed it could be fascinating to notice how that wasn’t the tip of Spider-Man’s connection to the symbiote!!

As I famous in a latest article, ever since Spider-Man gained his fancy new black costume throughout Secret Wars, Reed had been asking Spidey to let him look at it. In Superb Spider-Man #258 (by Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz and Joe Rubinstein), Spidey lastly took him up on his provide…

After his exams, Reed revealed the surprising reality, that the costume was truly an alien creature who was connected to Spider-Man as a symbiote. Spider-Man freaked out, attempting unsuccessfully to get the costume off of him, and as soon as once more, Reed needed to step in. With the sonic blaster, Reed separated the symbiote from Spider-Man and imprisoned the creature.

That, after all, was not the tip of it!

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The symbiote tried one final time earlier than changing into Venom

After escaping from the Baxter Constructing (later revealed to have been launched by Kristoff, the child who was filling in for Physician Doom as the top of Latveria on the time), the symbiote returned to Peter Parker’s condominium, and in Internet of Spider-Man #1 (by Louise Simonson, Greg LaRocque and Jim Mooney), it tried bonding with him once more by disguising itself as his common costume…

Spider-Man tried to get again to the Baxter Constructing, however the symbiote fought him the entire time, attempting to maintain him from attending to the place they could possibly be separated once more. Throughout all of this, they by accident bumped into a bunch of newly minted supervillains, the Vulturians (thugs with Vulture-inspired flying costumes), and so Spidey needed to battle them AND the costume on the identical time, however finally, he maneuvered the symbiote, one of many Vulturians, and himself right into a church bell tower. The symbiote hated sound, and the bells ringing drove it off Spider-Man, however the loud sounds have been additionally killing Spidey (he had let the villain get away, as he did not need some dumb criminal to die from the bell sounds), and so the symbiote sacrificed itself to save lots of Spider-Man’s life, dragging him out of the bell tower, because it seemingly died. This actually confirmed that it clearly cared for Spidey deeply.

The symbiote tried to desert Eddie for Peter

In fact, the symbiote didn’t truly die within the church. It simply cloaked itself (though that was later retconned, as properly, which I am going to get to sooner or later sooner or later – it is a actually loopy retcon, and tremendous pointless), and chilled there, dissatisfied that its gambit failed. Later, when disgraced Eddie Brock visited the church, indignant at Spider-Man for proving {that a} story he had executed was false by catching the true killer, the symbiote bonded with Eddie to kind a brand new being generally known as Venom. They tried to get revenge on Spider-Man, however in the long run, Spidey defeated them.

Venom returned, and in a battle with one another in Superb Spider-Man #317 (by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane), Spider-Man felt that he was dropping the battle, so he tried a determined gambit of his personal, and provided to bond with the symbiote.

It gladly ditched Eddie for Peter, however because it turned out, because it was nonetheless bonded with Eddie, it COULDN’T depart him at that time, and the telepathic suggestions from the try knocked each the symbiote, Peter, and Eddie out chilly.

The symbiote did not notice that Spider-Man wasn’t who he gave the impression to be when it tried to re-bond with him

Okay, so after years of being Venom, a dying Eddie Brock determined to promote the symbiote, as, once more, he was dying, so he could not use it anymore (his most cancers was later cured, as a result of, properly, you realize, comics). After a wealthy Maggia gangster purchased the symbiote for his son, the swimsuit determined it did not like its new host, and dropped him from the sky, killing him. The swimsuit then provided to bond with the outdated Spider-Man villain, the Scorpion (as I write this historical past down, boy, pairing the symbiote with Scorpion was by no means a very good thought), and so they grew to become the brand new Venom, The brand new Venom went to work with Norman Osborn in his Thunderbolts program of supervillains working for the federal government. Then, when Osborn was given management of S.H.I.E.L.D. (renaming it H.A.M.M.E.R.), Osborn fashioned a brand new staff of the Avengers utilizing villains disguised as superheroes, and so Venom grew to become the Spider-Man of the staff (Bullseye was Hawkeye, Moonstone was Ms. Marvel, and Daken was Wolverine).

Okay, Osborn finally went too far, and the federal government shut him down, and took the symbiote from the Scorpion. It was then given to Flash Thompson, who used the symbiote to work as a super-soldier, of types, mostly generally known as Agent Venom. Agent Venom grew to become a fairly notable hero, even becoming a member of the REAL Avengers (properly, the Secret model of the staff, at the very least), and the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Nonetheless, in Superior Spider-Man #22 (by Dan Slott, Christos Gage, Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba, and Edgar Delgado), Otto Octavius, who had taken management of Spider-Man’s physique, however had been compelled to make use of his villainy for GOOD as a result of remaining sense of accountability that Peter left behind in his physique (however, in his personal egotistical manner, determined to do a BETTER job than Peter, calling himself the SUPERIOR Spider-Man), determined to take down Venom, because the Superior Spider-Man was not precisely identified for his nuanced takes on issues. They battled, and in Superior Spider-Man #23, Otto was capable of separate Flash Thompson and the symbiote. This didn’t go properly, as Otto underestimated how a lot stronger the symbiote had grow to be through the years, and it broke out of the containment unit that Otto had constructed based mostly on the one which Reed used all the way in which again in Superb Spider-Man #258.

It then determined to bond with Spider-Man once more, though as soon as it did so, it grew to become, as an alternative, the SUPERIOR VENOM!

Nonetheless, the Superior Venom turned out to be a fairly damaging power, and shortly, the Avengers have been known as in, and so they even had their very own issues taking down the brand new Venom. The factor is that the symbiote actually wasn’t anticipating what it obtained from bonding with “Peter,” as Otto was not an awesome host, and so when Flash Thompson provided to let it come again to him, it was keen, however then it remembered that Flash had used chemical compounds to sedate it, and preserve it underneath management, and it determined to stay with Otto. By this level, Otto realized that he had misplaced management of the symbiote, and tried to free himself of it, however he was not robust sufficient mentally. Fortunately for him, a remnant of Peter Parker’s thoughts was nonetheless in his physique, and Peter risked the whole lot to assist Otto break away (Peter had beforehand revealed himself to Otto, and Otto had seemingly worn out the final vestige of Peter from his physique, however it seems that he failed). The symbiote returned to Eddie.

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Earlier than it returned to Eddie Brock, the symbiote tried to get again to Spider-Man

Finally, although, Flash and the symbiote have been separated. The symbiote was subsequent bonded with a former Military Ranger named Lee Value. Value had grown up in an abusive family, and his time within the army had additionally messed along with his head quite a bit, so when he grew to become the brand new Venom, he was a great deal darker than even the early days of Eddie Brock as Venom. He was no Carnage, however he was very a lot NOT a great man.

His time as Venom was very transient, as in Venom #6 (by Mike Costa, Gerardo Sandoval, and Dono Sánchez-Almara), Spider-Man teamed up with the federal government to take down the brand new Venom, and in that problem, Spider-Man provides himself as much as the symbiote once more, and since Lee Value was such a villain, even the symbiote was, like, “Yeah, nah, we would desire to be again with Spider-Man”…

In fact, sadly for the symbiote, like just about each time that Peter says, “Oh yeah, completely re-bond with me!,” it’s a trick, and he was simply attempting to get the symbiote off of Value in order that the federal government might blast him, and seize the symbiote in additional superior containment techniques…

Eddie Brock was concerned with the operation, though he wasn’t on the scene when the symbiote was captured. On the finish of the problem, he reveals that that was as a result of he did not need the symbiote to affiliate him with its seize, as, after all, his plan was to re-bond with it, and so after Eddie Brock was gone as Venom for…man, a goodly period of time (over a decade, proper?), the traditional Venom was again!

This time round, Eddie and the symbiote lastly proved themselves to be the hero they at all times WANTED to be, and finally have been accepted by the world’s superheroes after serving to to defeat the villainous Knull, the God of Symbiotes, in the King in Black epic crossover occasion. Nonetheless, earlier than THAT occurred, there was one final time for the symbiote to bond with Spider-Man….

In a difficulty crammed with symbiotes, the Venom as soon as once more joined with Peter

This one is a bit difficult, however I feel it counts. Okay, in Superb Spider-Man #800 (by Dan Slott, Nick Bradshaw, Humberto Ramos, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Stuart Immonen, Marcos Martín, Victor Olazaba, Cam Smith, Wade von Grawbadger, Edgar Delgado, Java Tartaglia, Marte Gracia, and Muntsa Vicente) Norman Osborn has bonded with the Carnage symbiote to grow to be the Crimson Goblin. In the meantime, his grandson, Normie Osborn, has additionally bonded with the symbiote, changing into Goblin Childe.

Okay, clearly the Inexperienced Goblin with the facility of Carnage is an exceptionally highly effective villain, and all through the problem, Spider-Man is busting his butt attempting to maintain all of his family members protected from Osborn (who, naturally, needs to kill all of them to torture Spider-Man). In the end, after Venom reveals as much as assist (once more, Spider-Man wanted ALL of the assistance he might get with this one, because the Crimson Goblin was one highly effective unhealthy man), Eddie Brock decides that the one manner for Spider-Man to cease Crimson Goblin is for Spider-Man to bond with the Venom symbiote once more. Spider-Man agrees, and the 2 headed off into motion…

In the long run, even with the symbiote, Spider-Man was no match for Crimson Goblin, however that turned out to be the important thing for Spider-Man, as he satisfied Osborn that he could not get his final victory because the “Crimson Goblin,” as clearly everybody will simply assume it was Carnage who killed Spider-Man. So Osborn agrees to lose the symbiote to kill Spider-Man because the Inexperienced Goblin. Spider-Man then ditches the Venom symbiote, as properly (partially as a result of they have been surrounded by flames, which might kill the symbiote).

Spider-Man then defeated the Inexperienced Goblin (sadly, Venom’s outdated host, Flash Thompson, died throughout one of many battles with Crimson Goblin). Now, this was extra of a WILLING re-bond, however it completely counts.

Bear in mind, everybody, that these lists are inherently not exhaustive. They’re an inventory of 5 examples (often I will be good and toss in a sixth). So no occasion is “lacking” if it’s not listed. It is simply not one of many 5 examples that I selected. If anybody else has solutions for a future Drawing Loopy Patterns, drop me a line at brianc@cbr.com!