Warning: Contains SPOILERS forVenom War #5
TheVenomWar is over and with it comes the final victor: nobody. The war that was destined to come when Eddie Brock first became the King in Black has wrought nothing but chaos and death across the Marvel multiverse. However, in the wake of the conflict’s multiversal devastation, everything readers once knew about the symbiotes has changed, leaving mountains of new information to be studied.
Venom War #5 -by Al Ewing and Iban Coello - is the final chapter of a saga that began when Knull’s name was first uttered over six years ago.
Since then,the lore of the symbioteshas drastically evolved, transforming the amorphous species from specks of alien goo into parts ofa cosmic machine that transcends space and time. The rules that once bound the Klyntar are gone and the King in Black is no more. So,with the end of this literary eracomes thetime to reflect on all that has transpired.
How The Symbiotes Went From Parasitic Goo to an Omnipotence Machine
Venom War #5- Written by Al Ewing; Art by Iban Coello; Color by Frank D’Armata; Lettering by VC’s Ariana Maher
As it’s long been revealed, the symbiotes have ultimately been nothing more than tools to serve the agendas of gods. When Knull originallyreigned as the King in Black, his job was to serve as thecounterbalance to the Beyonders.However, Knull’s desire to see his domain expand and consume grew too large, leading to the creation of his personal weapons, the symbiotes. Centuries later, his arrival on Earth ushered ina new era in Marvel Comicswhen he was finally usurped by the once-thuggish ex-journalist, Eddie Brock.
Every Named Symbiote in Marvel Comics History (Ranked Weakest to Strongest)
From Venom to The King in Black, Marvel has created dozens of symbiote Klyntar. But which of these alien weapons could be considered the strongest?
Throughout Eddie’s reign,several new revelationsabout themechanics of the symbiotesand their true cosmic nature have been made. The symbiotes, while sentient, were originally meant to act as controllable cannon fodder. However, together, they weave throughout space and time to create a massive network of consciousness called the Symbiote Hive. Through this hive,a King in Blackwould have the power to touchevery corner of existencethroughout the multiverse. With every new host and their codex of memories and experiences, the Hive’s knowledge grows, transformingthe meager black goo into an omnipotence machine.
The Symbiotes Have Evolved: From Genetic Adaptation to Cosmic Purpose
The Klyntar Still Face The Eventuality of Cosmic Death
The symbiotes have proven that their entire species revolved around the concept of “genetic adaptation and evolution.” The strongest of their species have long since abandoned their simple constraints. Venom could equallyexist between two hosts. Carnage can rewrite a person’s genetic code to create a new or recreate an old host altogether. With each bond,a symbiote grows more complex.With each symbiote, the Hive evolves. This all leads to the symbiotes’ greater purpose that no original 90s fan could have predicted:cosmic death.
This isn’t the result of magic and maniacal machination, it’s simply the natural endpoint of the symbiotes. It is their collective Eventuality.
TheKing in Black’s true purposeis toserve as sentient decay, consuming creation into its void domain. However, through Donny Cates and Al Ewing’s transformative writing, both the symbiotes and the King in Black havereached a higher cosmic purpose. At the end of time, when this multiverse draws its final breaths, theKing in Black will evolve into the Anti-All, the final death of the multiverse to follow. However, this isn’t the result of magic and maniacal machination, it’s simply the natural endpoint of the symbiotes.It is their collective Eventuality.
Venom War Cements the Symbiotes’ Future of Sci-Fi Spiritual Storytelling
Meanwhile, Crimson Devils Threaten to Tear it All Down
Further embracingthe new religious contextgiven to the symbiotes, came with the introduction of the symbiotes’ Christ figure, Dylan Brock. A human-symbiote hybrid, Dylan walks between the land of the mortals and the infinite network that createsthe omnipotent Symbiote Hive.Dylan, the son of a symbiote and the King in Black, is only another of the species’ attempts at evolution toward the inevitable. A messiah who would usurp his father and end the Venom War, Dylanpromises to push the species forwardwhilehis father currently conspires with crimson devils.
Gold Venom Makes Marvel Debut With Anti-Carnage Powers in Hand
Venom’s newest golden power-up transforms the symbiote into the perfect weapon against Carnage, but it tragically comes with a lethal cost.
Since Knull’s introduction, the symbiotes haverapidly evolved both on and off the page.Now embracing new elements of cosmic importance and religious sub-texts, the species has irreversibly surpassed the days of being considered parasitic space goo. Through the Venom War, the nature of the symbiotes has forever been changed, completely abandoning their original science-fiction theming to further embracea new era of divine characterization.While writer Al Ewing has promised to moveVenomaway from gods and multiversal plots ahead of hisAll-New Venomseries, the saga that he and Cates leave behind will forever define what’s to come.
Venom War #5is 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.
