A hulking and twisted distortion of Spider-Man, Venom is the result of an alien symbiote merged with a human holding a bitter grudge against Peter Parker. This combination has proven nearly lethal to the wall-crawler numerous times.

Despite his hatred of Spider-Man, Venom has a twisted sense of morality, avoiding harming anyone he deems to be innocent and even performing heroic deeds. However, it is never clear how long Venom's darker impulses can be held in check. No matter how hard anyone tries to keep the symbiote down, Venom always manages to come back, like a plague.