10 Powerful Characters Venom Has Destroyed
For this list, we're looking at Venom's greatest triumphs, once that left the opponent in tears and praying for mercy!
#10: Life Foundation Symbiotes
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The anti-hero's 2018 solo film is heavily inspired by "Venom Lethal Protector," a series that launches with the Life Foundation capturing Eddie Brock in an attempt to extract the symbiote. Ultimately, the criminal enterprise succeeds in fusing the alien substance to five new hosts, who put up quite a fight against both Venom and Spider-Man. Annoyed by the Web Crawler's pleads to save the human hosts, Venom knocks out Spider-Man and destroys all five symbiotes in one go. Nearly two decades later, four of the symbiotes united to form Hybrid, who also did not fare too well against Eddie Brock.
#9: Darkhawk
In the early '90s, Venom was inescapable. Along with "Spider-Man" and various solo story-lines, Marvel frequently loaned out the anti-hero to any comic series that needed a shot in the arm. Debuting in 1991, "Darkhawk" was among the younger heroes to face-off against Eddie Brock, who was kind of trying to be good at the time. Fighting on multiple occasions over the course of a few years, Venom took a liking to Darkhawk and actually let the inexperienced hero win their first battle. Later on, Darkhawk refuses Venom's offer for a team up, prompting the symbiote to give the hero the beating of a lifetime. Hey, even aliens hate rejection!
#8: Jack Flag
Mac Gargan's Venom magnified the character's villainous traits up to eleven. Among other heinous acts, Gargan occasionally engaged in a touch of cannibalism; so, if nothing else, Jack Flag avoided the worst possible scenario. Introduced as one of Captain America's many sidekicks, Flag may be a minor character, but the crime fighter should not be underestimated. Along with the other members of Norman Osborn's Thunderbolts, Venom attacks Flag, with the symbiote receiving a stab wound for his troubles. Stabbing anyone else might be effective, but Flag only succeeded in angering Venom to an unfortunate degree. One of the Thunderbolts' own members had to intervene to ensure Flag lived to see another day.
#7: Sandman
For the most part, William Baker is near invincible to physical damage, with even Spider-Man often struggling to counter the powerful villain's abilities. When all else fails, perhaps, the Wall-Crawler should consider biting Sandman? It worked wonders for Venom. Temporarily recruited as a member of the Sinister Six, Venom quickly turns on the other baddies, with Sandman suffering the brunt of the symbiote's rage. In the midst of the duo's battle, Venom consumes a substantial part of Sandman's body, causing him to destabilize. Sandman ultimately crumbles into the sewer during a fight with Spider-Man as a result of the damage Venom did to him
#6: Jack O’Lantern
Agent Venom marks a rare period when the symbiote was genuinely trying to do right, rather than acting as a misguided anti-hero. Fused with secret agent Flash Thompson, Venom takes on Jack O'Lantern, a psychotic assassin employed by the Crime-Master. The pair's first encounter closes with Flash detonating a grenade in Jack's mouth, but blowing the assassin's face to smithereens is tame compared to the beating Venom threatens to dish out during a later brawl. Grudgingly forced to help steal another symbiote, Venom temporarily flies off the rails and overwhelms Jack within a matter of seconds.
#5: Spider-Man
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Spider-Man is no slouch, but the superhero has been subjected to quite a number of one-sided beatings. Following the villain's debut in 1988, Venom elevated spider squashing to an Olympic sport. Out of all the Venom-themed thrashings, "Amazing Spider-Man #375" might just coincide with the superhero's most painful hour. Along with holding off the Wild Pack, Venom swings Spider-Man around like a rag doll, with Peter's head bouncing off various amusement park rides.
#4: Juggernaut
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While not the sharpest tool in the shed, Cain Marko possesses near limitless strength and has gone toe-to-toe with the Hulk, Thor, and the Thing. Enduring one of the mutant's punches is already an impressive accomplishment, but the symbiote took things one step further. Lasting three issues, "Venom: The Madness" pits the – at the time – anti-hero against Juggernaut on three separate occasions. The mutant pulverizes Venom during the pair's first encounter, but the symbiote comes back stronger than ever! After fusing and defusing with a mercury virus, Venom fights Juggernaut on even footing and gains the upper hand, prompting the Breaker of Stone to flee the scene.
#3: Superman
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With the industry in a rut, DC and Marvel temporarily called a truce to stage a series of crossovers. "All Access" may have been a thinly veiled publicity stunt, but the comic series finally confirmed who would win in a fight between Superman and Venom. With the exception of a glowing space rock, the Man of Steel practically has no weaknesses; yet, Superman struggled to put a dent in the symbiote. Venom repeatedly owns Clark, forcing DC's superhero to team up with Spider-Man! Despite Peter's assistance and history with the symbiote, Superman and Spider-Man nevertheless struggle to handle Venom
#2: The Avengers
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On any other day, the full force of the Avengers should be enough to overwhelm the symbiote without much of a fuss; after all, they are not called the Earth's Mightiest Heroes for nothing! However, Venom's strength varies depending on the host. In 2014, the symbiote bonded with Superior Spider-Man, a version of the hero that saw Doc Ock trading bodies with Peter and taking up the Web Crawler's mantle. Spider-Man's physical prowess, Otto's intelligence, and Venom's brutality proved to be a match made in hell, one the Avengers were ill-equipped to handle. Captain America, Thor, Wolverine, Spider-Woman, and Black Widow stood no chance against Otto's Venom.
#1: Carnage
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Venom's popularity guaranteed Marvel was not done with symbiotes, but Cletus Kassady puts to shame all the other pretenders. Due to bonding with a deranged serial killer, Carnage is chaos incarnate, while Venom's hosts tend to restrict the symbiote's destructive nature. In a fair fight, Carnage trounces Venom every day of the week, but battles are not solely determined by brute strength. Deciding the world is not big enough for two symbiotes, Venom ambushes an imprisoned Cletus and stripped away the Carnage symbiote before Kassady could even react. To add insult to injury, Venom eats Carnage in front of Cletus' very eyes.
