Deviation Actions
Description
Why? Well, it ties into a common elements of Spidey's more successful villains (which the symbiote, on its own, doesn't have):
a. animal themed (Doc Ock, Rhino, Chameleon)
b. tech based (Doc Ock, Green Goblin, Mysterio)
c. reflect him in some way, usually, "all power, no responsibility" (Doc Ock, Green Goblin, Electro, Kingpin, Sandman, etc.)
The symbiote kinda demolishes that by (aside from not having any of the above):
a. coming from fucking outer space (yes, Spidey, is a science based hero, but hard sci-fi a la Iron Man, not Cosmic Marvel)
b. coming from a crossover (The Secret Wars, which as you may have noticed almost never gets adapted anywhere)
c. being a series of continual retcons until someone could do something cool with it (The symbiote was neither evil nor sentient in its first appearance. That came later)
The symbiote is a cool concept, but, personally, for me, not for Spider-man. It doesn't really force him to examine himself and/or his relationship with his enemy (the way, say, the Green Goblins or Molten Man do), and by being an evil body-snatcher, it absolves him of all responsibility for what happens to it afterwards (unlike say, his guilt for dissolving Sandman for the upteenth time).
And I don't really like Venom either. Once you get past the superficial (Fangs!... that he never uses!), gratuitous (Tendrils! that he only uses in the games!), and carthartic (He's an evil Spider-man! All the Power! None of the Responsibility) elements, there's not much there. Eddie Brock doesn't have much a narrative arc, as his motivation is petty (Spider-man ruined my career! Wah) and not in an intentionally-petty-to-contrast-Peter's-simple-heroism way. And there isn't much of a redemption arc for him beyond his "gritty," "90s," "let-make-the-villain-an-anti-hero-and-then-a-hero-oh-no-oops-we-took-away-the-part-that-made-him-cool. And none of his replacements (Barring Flash Thompson) have been much better. Even Mac Gargan was only interesting because he was another baddie first, but then KNEW SPIDER-MAN'S IDENTITY!!! Notice how fast they shuffled him back to being Scorpion.
And don't get me started on the crapfest that is Carnage. OOOH, ITS THE JOKER! BUT WITH SUPERPOWERS! *rolls eyes
And Speaking of the "EVIL SPIDER-MAN KNOWS GOOD SPIDER-MAN'S IDENTITY" thing, well, that's a narrative dead end. What do you do when the villain has the hero by the metaphorical throat, and is never letting go unless they slit their throat? There are only a few ways that can end without stretching suspension of disbelief:
a. The villain dies (Spider-man 1,2, & 3)
b. the villlain redeems themselves and take the secret to their grave (Spider-man 2 & 3)
c. The villain gets amnesia (the Green Goblin, the various other Venoms, ONE MORE DAY, Kingpin, most recently)
And that's been played so much that you see it coming!
So yeah, I don't Venom or the symbiote. But I hate Venom less than I hate the symbiote. I think he can work as an evil Spider-man.
So why the pic? Well, if you don't like something, at least make an attempt to show how you'd handle it.
My Venom (sketched in five minutes, hence why he looks like the Joker in a luchador mask) is not symbiote powered. He was either: (because I was ranting about alternate origins for evil spider-men, and thus didn't pick one)
a. bitten by the same spider that bit Peter
b. bitten by a similar spider (a la Miles Morales)
c. given a blood transfusion by Spider-man (A la Hulk -> She Hulk)
d. given a blood transfusion with blood stolen from Spider-man (I don't know how that'd work)
They get all of Spidey's powers, but hand/feet claws for climbing rather than just sticking and fangs to along with it. Also, their spider-senses negate each other, rather than Venom simply being immune.
This new person (or Eddie Brock, as a hero worshipper) steals/recreates Spidey's old black suit (again, not a symbiote. Either a stealth suit, or a regular suit for a vengeance mindset) Spider-man rejects this new person with similar powers as not being responsible enough. They fight, and that's the end of that Venom's intro.
If you want him to come back, have him impersonate Spidey and ruin his rep with everybody. Then have Spidey show everyone how its really done.
If you want to redeem him, have Spidey teach him the lesson, and then spin him off into his own book where he tries to apply the lesson and teach his own villains that.
Bam.
Also, if you want me to do anything else with this, leave a comment.
10 min Skectch in Photoshop