BY: Charles Singh
The Anti-Venom symbiote was born after Eddie Brock separated with the Venom Symbiote. Eddie still had residual symbiote cells in his body and was fighting cancer. During this time Eddie met the supervillain Martin Li, Mr. Negative. Mr. Negative is a supervillain with the powers to control minds, heal, and release bursts of energy. His powers were a result of experimentation with a synthetic drug. The drug also left Mr. Negative with two personalities, the villain, and the kind philanthropist Martin Li.
Eddie befriends Martin Li while working at the F.E.A.S.T. center, Li’s organization to help the homeless. Li learns of Brock’s condition and used his powers to heal him but the reaction between Negative Man’s powers and Brock’s symbiote cells has an unforeseen reaction. The hybrid symbiote Anti-Venom was created. It activates when the Venom Symbiote tries to leave Mac Gargan The Scorpion and reunite with Eddie. The symbiote is driven away by the new symbiote hybrid Anti-Venom.
Anti-Venom has the unique ability to heal. Scorpion tried to kill Brock using the Venom symbiote but the symbiote prevented him and spared Brock’s life. He learns that the Anti-Venom hybrid is also capable of cleansing others of powers. During the events of the Spiderman arc, Spider-Island Eddie discovers that he can cure the afflicted from their spider ailment. He eventually has to sacrifice his symbiote to cure all the citizens from the illness causing them to become spider-like. Anti-Venom’s most impressive ability is the ability to produce antibodies at will.
Since Anti-Venom is a hybrid created by Negative Man and Brock’s residual symbiote cells, the symbiote does not have a mind or personality of its own. It is simply a wearable armor with amazing abilities. The Anti-Venom hybrid was perfect for Eddie Brock to recreate himself after battling cancer and trying to turn a new leaf. Although it was ultimately destroyed, Eddie’s time as Anti-Venom showed him what it was like to be a true hero without the violent and destructive edge of the Venom symbiote. He gave it up to save innocent civilians and eventually returned to his original symbiotic partnership, reprising his role as the Lethal Protector.
