Venomverse (also written as VenomVerse) is a 2017 comic book limited series starring Eddie Brock and Venom. It was written by Cullen Bunn and drawn by Iban Coello, accompanied by the companion series Edge of Venomverse serving as a lead-in to the 2018 crossover event "Venomized" (2018), which in-turn were followed by the sequel limited series Extreme Venomverse and Death of the Venomverse (both 2023), Venomverse Reborn (2024), and Spider-Verse vs. Venomverse (2025). The series takes a similar premise as the 2014 event Spider-Verse, in different iterations of Venom from across the multiverse being drawn together just as versions of Spider-Man were.
Publication history
Marvel started a new
Venom comic in 2016, where the main character was Lee Price, a new host of the symbiote, but
Eddie Brock, the original Venom, returned in
Venom #6 at fan request.
This return was soon followed by the
Edge of Venomverse miniseries, starring Venom and alternate versions of other Marvel characters.
The actual
Venomverse arc was released after the conclusion of the
Edge of... miniseries, written by
Cullen Bunn and drawn by
Iban Coello, who had already worked together in
Deadpool & the Mercs for Money.
The editor Devin Lewis described it as "the biggest Venom story of all time", and it intended to make Venom an important character in the Marvel universe.
Bunn pointed that most of the other main characters were selected because they would seem unexpected hosts of the symbiote. Lewis mentioned
Deadpool in particular, and said that "Deadpool is one of our main venomized protagonists. He’s got so much heart and he’s also a source of unpredictability, insanity, and goofiness".
Bunn preferred instead his version of
Rocket Raccoon.
The series also introduced a new alien race, the Poisons, based on character designs by Ed McGuinness. Venomverse: War Stories was released alongside the main event, and served as a second anthology series based on the characters. It included a story about Punisher, written and drawn by Declan Shalvey.
Plot
After a battle with the Jack O'Lantern, Venom suddenly disappears and appears in an alternate dimension, summoned by the local
Doctor Strange. He was recruited for an ongoing war between the Venoms and the Poisons. The Venoms are many alternate versions of known characters from Marvel Comics, all of them bonded with a Symbiote. This includes an alternate
Spider-Man and the Mary Jane Watson from the
comic, but also characters usually unrelated to the Spider-Man mythos, such as Dr. Strange,
Captain America, Rocket Raccoon, Ghost Rider and X-23. The Poisons are creatures that feed on heroes bonded with symbiotes, which permanently turns both the host and the symbiote into one of them. They are led by a poisoned
Doctor Doom.
Dr. Strange realizes that bringing Venoms to continue the war only gives more prey to the Poisons, so he returns everyone to their native reality before dying. However, the war made the poisons aware of the multiverse, and they decide to explore alternate dimensions on their own. The final scene reveals that Doom actually worked for Thanos, who is also poisoned.
Sequels
Venomized (2018)
Extreme Venomverse (2023)
Death of the Venomverse (2023)
Venomverse Reborn (2024)
Spider-Verse vs. Venomverse (2025)
Spider-Verse vs. Venomverse is a 2025 comic book limited series published by
Marvel Comics featuring multiple alternative versions of Spider-Man and Venom that had appeared in various media, and their supporting casts, also serving as a continuation of
Venomverse,
Venomized, and
Extreme Venomverse. The series is much shorter than the original one lasting 5 issues and having no tie-ins, written by
Mat Groom and
Kyle Higgins.
In other media
Different incarnations of Poisons appear as playable characters in the mobile game
Spider-Man Unlimited.
In the mid-credits scene of the Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) film (2021), Venom reveals to their host Eddie Brock that they have "hive knowledge across universes", a concept originating from Venomized Gwen Poole from the Venomverse sub-series Edge of Venomverse and described by her symbiote as being unique to her, before the duo suddenly find themselves transported to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Collected editions
|
| Venomverse | Venomverse #1–5 | | |
| Edge of Venomverse | | November 2017 | |
| Venomized | Venomized #1–5 | July 2018 | |
| Extreme Venomverse | Extreme Venomverse #1–5 | October 2023 | |
| Death of the Venomverse | Death of the Venomverse #1–5 | December 2023 | |
| Venomverse Reborn | Venomverse Reborn #1–4 | October 2024 | |
| | Spider-Verse vs. Venomverse #1–5 | January 2026 | |
See also
-
List of Venom titles
-
Spider-Verse
-
Sony's Spider-Man Universe
External links
