Venom’s chilling appearance will never spark warm fuzzy feelings, no matter what he does to change things around. One look was particularly haunting, though, despite it being a product of the symbiote’s attempt to make itself less intimidating. It turns out that changing his razor-sharp teeth makes Venom more terrifying than ever.
In The Amazing Spider-Man #374 by David Michelinie and Mark Bagley, a chase with Spider-Man puts Venom face-to-face with a clown entertaining a group of children. Understandably, the kids are terrified, and the symbiote makes a surprising attempt to calm one young girl’s fears by offering her a smile with human teeth in place of his usual knife-like grin.
Venom’s sharp teeth and sleek, black skin make up his iconic look, but his ability to shift and change his appearance means nothing technically needs to be permanent. The choice to shave down his many fangs altered his whole look instantly, but it only served to make him more nightmarish.
Venom Traded in His Sharp Teeth for a Terrifyingly Human Smile
The Amazing Spider-Man #374 by David Michelinie, Mark Bagley, Randy Emberlin, Bob Sharen, and Steve Outro
Even the most casual comic fans can pick Venom out of a line-up. His alien appearance is unforgettable, and it’s never been intended to bring comfort. Anyone opposing him can see with a single glance that the symbiote has an arsenal of ways to rip them apart with minimal effort. His long, pointed teeth have always been one of the most eye-catching parts of his design, and Bagley’s attempt to make Venom look less threatening did the exact opposite. By continuing to sport an abnormal number of (now human) teeth in a stretched jaw, he became utterly disturbing and uncanny.
Related
Marvel’s New Venom Just Exposed the Most Tragic Symbiote Power on Record
Most symbiote powers are enviable, but a new downside has been revealed that paints Venom and his fellow symbiotes in a much more heartbreaking light.
Admittedly, Venom has taken on several other unsettling looks over the years. Venom 2099, with his massive, haunting red eyes in a skull-like head, is another standout, along with Mac Gargan’s gargantuan appearance and cannibalistic antics as the symbiote’s host. Still, a human smile is somehow worse than even Venom’s most objectively disturbing moments, and the look continued to pop up in other places. Venom sports a more sapien-like grin in Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man for similar reasons as his Amazing Spider-Man #374 appearance, as the series is geared more toward children. Whether that look achieves the goal is debatable.
Venom’s Altered Smile Says Something Important About the Character
His Strange Compassion Makes Him Even More Complex
Despite the human teeth actually being more frightening than his more animalistic designs, the decision to opt for them says something interesting about the character. Venom was particularly nasty in his earliest days, making a compassionate moment an interesting turn of events. The symbiote, who claimed Eddie Brock as a host at the time of his new smile, genuinely wanted to make himself less intimidating for the children in question. He could have ignored them entirely but instead chose to stop and try to offer a little comfort. Nevertheless, Venom’s human teeth are significantly more disturbing than the symbiote’s famous fangs.
The Amazing Spider-Man #374 is available now from Marvel Comics.
Venom
Venom is a symbiotic alien entity bonded with various human hosts, notably Eddie Brock and later Flash Thompson. It grants superhuman strength, agility, and a shape-shifting black costume. Initially a Spider-Man villain due to its origins, Venom evolved into an antihero, battling both villains and his own dark impulses. The character embodies themes of duality and redemption within the Marvel Universe.
- First Appearance
-
The Amazing Spider-Man
- Alias
-
Eddie Brock
- RELATIONSHIPS
-
Eddie Brock (primary host and ally), Peter Parker/Spider-Man (initial enemy, later uneasy ally), Anne Weying (former wife of Eddie Brock and occasional host), Cletus Kasady/Carnage (offspring of the Venom symbiote and a deadly enemy)
- Alliance
-
Vigilante
- Race
-
Klyntar (Symbiote species)
- Video Games
-
The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man: The Video Game, Ultimate Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
- POWERS
-
Superhuman strength, speed, agility, and endurance, Ability to cling to surfaces, Shape-shifting abilities (forming weapons, shields), Regeneration and healing factor, Immunity to Spider-Man’s spider-sense, Enhanced senses, Able to produce webbing, Bonding with a host to share or amplify powers, Immunity to all Earthly diseases
- HISTORY
-
The Venom symbiote is an alien organism that first bonded with Peter Parker (Spider-Man) during the “Secret Wars” storyline. After Parker rejected the symbiote, it found a new host in Eddie Brock, a disgraced journalist. The symbiote and Brock bonded over their mutual hatred for Spider-Man, becoming the anti-hero known as Venom. Over time, Venom has evolved from a villain to an anti-hero, often fighting alongside other heroes to protect innocents, though his methods remain brutal.
- NAME
-
Venom (Symbiote), Eddie Brock (most prominent host)
- Age
-
Ancient
- Height
-
Around 6’3″ (190 cm) when bonded with Eddie Brock
- Comic Books
-
Venom #1, Marvel’s Venom: Lethal Protector #1, Venom: Lethal Protector II #1, Venom: Space Knight #13, Venomized #1, King in Black #1
Bio
Venom is the combination of the alien symbiote and its human host, most famously Eddie Brock. Together, they form a being with immense strength and the ability to shape-shift into various forms, primarily using these abilities for protection and vengeance. Venom is driven by a complex morality; while typically seen as a villain, the character is also capable of great acts of heroism, albeit through often violent means.
