Eddie Brock as Anti-Venom, as depicted on the cover of Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Anti-Venom - New Ways to Live #1 (September 2009). Art by Mirco Pierfederici.
The 2008 story "New Ways to Die" features the first appearance of Anti-Venom.[2]Eddie Brock gets a job at a soup kitchen under Martin Li. Brock is unknowingly cured of his cancer by Martin Li, who possesses the Lightforce abilities, and Brock believes it to be a miracle.[2] After Brock is attacked by Mac Gargan (the Venom symbiote's current host), the Venom symbiote attempts to reunite with Brock, at which point Brock's skin becomes caustic to the Venom symbiote. Brock is enveloped in a new white “Anti-Venom” symbiote when remnants of the Venom symbiote in his body merge with special antibodies (produced by his white blood cells) due to Li's Lightforce energy.[2][3] Eddie later sacrificed his Anti-Venom symbiote to cure people from the Spider-Queen's spider-virus during the Spider-Island event.
During the "AXIS" storyline, a new version of Anti-Venom is seen in the crowd of new heroes attending a "self help" style seminar being held by Roderick Kingsley (aka the original Hobgoblin). All the new heroes have been given heroic personas by Kingsley that already exist, but are no longer used. It is not shown whether the new Anti-Venom is indeed a symbiote or just a man in a suit designed to look like the original Anti-Venom symbiote. However, the speech bubble used for the character is stylized in a way to suggest a distortion of the character's voice similar to the way Eddie Brock spoke when bonded with the Anti-Venom symbiote.[4]
In the comic "Venom Inc.", Venom was captured by The Life Foundation and was experimented on. The Life Foundation accidentally poured hydrochloric acid on Venom and gave him a white appearance. Anti-Venom possessed new abilities including the ability to phase through any solid object. He used it to escape the Life Foundation and bond with one of the scientists who happens to be Flash Thompson. Flash decides to use the symbiote for good and becomes "Agent Anti-Venom".
Anyone possessed by the Anti-Venom symbiote possesses superhuman strength, durability, and stamina, an accelerated and fast healing factor, genetic memory, detection of its Symbiote offspring, wall-crawling, web-generating abilities, spider-senses, immunity to Spider-Man's spider-senses, and camouflage.
Unlike the other Symbiotes, the original Anti-Venom symbiote used by Eddie Brock is immune to fire, heat, and sound-based attacks. In addition, the Anti-Venom symbiote can produce antibodies that can "cure" a person afflicted by things like radioactivity, parasites, diseases, and drugs. The new Anti-Venom symbiote used by Flash Thompson has the ability to heal physical injuries as well.[5] Due to its failed attempt at curing Spider-Man's radiation-based powers, the Anti-Venom symbiote causes Spider-Man's powers to cancel out when they are too close to each other.
However, Anti-Venom does possess a few weaknesses of its own. It is vulnerable to high concentrations of Norman Osborn's super-venom via Freak's DNA. Additionally since Martin Li's Lightforce touch created the symbiote, Mister Negative's Darkforce touch can interfere or halt Anti-Venom's healing abilities. Also as seen during the Spider-Island event, overusing his healing powers can cause Anti-Venom's powers to weaken.
InWhat If? Peter Parker became Kraven the Hunter where Peter Parker killed Kraven the Hunter and replaced Kraven as the new hunter, Madame Web hired Anti-Venom, Spider-Woman and Mac Gargan to stop Peter. Despite being successful in mortally injuring him, they were all defeated.[6]
The Anti-Venom symbiote appears in Ultimate Spider-Man, voiced by Matt Lanter.[7] This version is created from a sample of the Venom symbiote, with Harry Osborn as its host. In its self-titled episode, the Anti-Venom symbiote is created by Doctor Octopus and Michael Morbius as a candidate for the former's Hydra-backed Sinister Six. Anti-Venom nearly kills Agent Venom, only to be stopped by Spider-Man and Iron Patriot, leaving Anti-Venom inactive and Harry in a coma. In the three-part episode "The Symbiote Saga", Anti-Venom and Harry awaken when the Carnage symbiote attacks New York. Though they neutralize the latter's various hosts, they are almost consumed by Carnage's "heart" until Spider-Man reveals his identity to Harry. Anti-Venom re-bonds with Harry and sacrifices itself to cure New York of Carnage's infestation, but its abilities are later claimed by the Carnage Queen.
The Anti-Venom symbiote appears in the Spider-Man episode "Vengeance of Venom".[8] This version was created after May Parker, at Max Modell's suggestion, uses a sonic device on a symbiote-infected Groot to access the alien's pollination abilities and hybridize it with symbiote power to cure the Klyntar invasion force's hosts.
The Eddie Brock incarnation of Anti-Venom and Flash Thompson / Agent Anti-Venom appear as playable characters in Spider-Man Unlimited.[citation needed]
The Anti-Venom symbiote appears in Marvel's Spider-Man 2. This version was the result of Miles Morales and Martin Li purifying trace amounts of the Venom symbiote that had been left behind in Peter Parker's body as a result of his possession of it, granting him the ability to destroy other symbiotes along with enhanced power without the negative side effects.[10]
^Shinick, Kevin (w), Rodríguez, Javier (p), Lopez, Alvaro (i), Rodríguez, Javier (col), Cowles, Clayton (let), Pyle, Ellie (ed). "Got A Problem? Call Hobgoblin!" AXIS: Hobgoblin, vol. 1, no. 1 (December 2014). New York, NY: Marvel Comics.
^Slott, Dan, Costa, Mike (w), Stegman, Ryan, Sandoval, Gerardo (p), Leisten, Jay (i), Reber, Brian (col), Caramagna, Joe (let), Lowe, Nick, Lewis, Devin, Stock, Allison, Groneman, Thomas (ed). "Venom Inc. Part Six" Amazing Spider-Man: Venom Inc. Omega, vol. 1, no. 1 (March 2018). New York, NY: Marvel Comics.
