7 Times Venom Defeated Spider-Man (and 4 is Most Terrifying)

Eddie Brock, aka Venom, is one of Spider-Man’s most hateful and powerful foes. The disgraced reporter bonded with the dark alien Symbiote suit after Spider-Man discarded it and transformed into Venom. With the Symbiote, Eddie began making Spider-Man’s life a living hell. As Venom, Eddie’s strength far exceeds that of the web-head. And with his connection to the Symbiote, Eddie has in-depth knowledge of Spider-Man’s life and loved ones. Over the years, the two have battled on numerous occasions, with Spider-Man always winning by the skin of his teeth. However, to cement his place as one of Spider-Man’s greatest enemies, Venom has beaten and humiliated the web-slinging hero multiple times.

From shattering Spider-Man’s body to crushing his spirit, here are seven times Venom has proven himself to be one of the wall-crawler’s deadliest enemies.

7) Venom’s First Appearance Caught Spider-Man Off-Guard

When Eddie Brock merged with the Symbiote for the first time, they immediately set out to ruin Spider-Man’s life. One of Spider-Man’s major weaknesses is that the Spider-Sense can’t detect Venom, which the villain regularly exploits. In The Amazing Spider-Man #300, Venom ambushes Spider-Man, quickly overpowering the hero with his superior strength and speed. Spider-Man tried to use a gun designed to separate Eddie from the Symbiote. However, their bond proved too strong to be broken. When Spider-Man tries to flee, Venom easily catches up and swiftly knocks him out. Venom then ties up Spider-Man, planning to kill him in a death trap. Although Spider-Man eventually manages to escape and defeat Venom, the initial battle where Venom easily knocked him out was one of the web-head’s worst losses.

6) Venom Pulverizes Spider-Man Before Their Team-Up

With his in-depth knowledge of Spider-Man’s personal life, Venom has frequently used the hero’s loved ones against him. In 1992, Peter’s long-lost parents return! Immediately taking advantage of this opportunity, Venom kidnaps Mr. and Mrs. Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man #375 and holds them hostage. Unfortunately, when Spider-Man arrives to save his parents and confront the villain, Venom’s strength once again overwhelms the wall-crawler. Venom repeatedly slams Spider-Man’s head into the support beam of a giant Ferris wheel, knocking the hero out cold. When Venom’s ex-wife, Anne, tries to intervene, the Ferris wheel collapses, nearly falling on top of her. Just in the nick of time, Spider-Man wakes up and helps Venom save Anne. Thankful for Spider-Man saving Anne’s life, Venom agrees to help Spider-Man track down and defeat the villain Carnage.

5) Venom Defeats Spider-Man and Superman Simultaneously

In 1992, DC and Marvel collaborated on a crossover event called DC/Marvel All Access, featuring team-ups and battles between popular heroes and villains from both companies. For the first issue, Spider-Man worked alongside Superman to stop Venom’s rampage through Metropolis. Despite the Man of Steel possessing enough strength to destroy a planet, Venom somehow got the better of him. Even more astounding, the villain proved capable of besting Superman and Spider-Man concurrently, holding them both by their throats at the same time. Luckily, just as Venom is ready to finish them off, the hero known as Access arrives, shooting Venom with a sonic weapon and knocking the villain out cold. The fact that Venom managed to overpower both Spider-Man and Superman simultaneously is ludicrous.

4) Spider-Man Lives Because Venom Allows It

As this list has shown, Venom has had multiple opportunities to put Spider-Man down for good. So why doesn’t he? He discloses the disturbing reason why he doesn’t want to kill Spider-Man in a monologue in Venom #11. After once again leaving Spider-Man battered and unconscious, Venom explains that, rather than having Spider-Man die a hero fighting against the forces of evil, he wants Spider-Man to live in fear, knowing that Venom can attack him any time he wants and break the hero. It’s a nightmarish moment that reveals the depths of Venom’s hatred for the web-head, as well as how he uses psychology to hurt Spider-Man.

3) Venom Hunts Spider-Man on a Tropical Island

Oftentimes, when Venom and Spider-Man duke it out, other heroes arrive to help fight the villain. In The Amazing Spider-Man #347, Venom hatched a plan to ensure that no one would interfere with their duel. Venom kidnaps Spider-Man and takes him to a remote tropical island where they can fight without interference. With no tall buildings to swing on, Spider-Man couldn’t rely on his web slinging to evade Venom’s powerful strikes. Realizing that he can’t beat Venom, Spider-Man dresses a skeleton up in his costume and fakes his death. While Venom is celebrating his victory, in one of Spider-Man’s most humiliating defeats, he skulks away and swims off the island to get away from Venom.

2) Venom Fights Spider-Man in a Meatpacking Factory

Another time Spider-Man ran away in terror of Venom is during The Amazing Spider-Man #316. To hurt Spider-Man, Venom savagely attacks the hero’s friend, Black Cat. Spider-Man tried to get revenge and fought Venom, but the villain’s strength once again proved to be too much. With just a single punch from Venom, Spider-Man was sent flying through the wall of a meatpacking plant. As Venom closed in on his target, the bloodied Spider-Man panicked, but was still able to buy himself some time by dropping several tons of machinery on the villain, thus temporarily impeding Venom’s progress. Yet, knowing that this stalling tactic wouldn’t keep Venom down for long, Spider-Man took the opportunity to retreat in a hurry. Of course, Venom easily got out from underneath the machinery and was already planning his next move after discovering Spider-Man’s home address.

1) The Symbiote Reclaims Spider-Man

Ever since Spider-Man and the Symbiote first bonded during the events of Secret Wars, the pair have had a toxic bond. Even when Spider-Man freed himself of the alien’s influence, the Symbiote always tried to find a way back to the web-head. In Venom: Space Knight #11, the Symbiote isn’t attached to Eddie Brock, but instead to Spider-Man’s old high school bully, Flash Thompson.

To save his friend, Spider-Man uses various gadgets to separate Flash from the Symbiote forcefully, but this does not end the fight. The Symbiote takes a hulking humanoid form and brutally beats Spider-Man to a pulp. With the hero weakened, the Symbiote takes the opportunity to latch itself onto Spider-Man and forcefully bond with him once again. Although the alien eventually lets Spider-Man go as a show of goodwill, the encounter still presents how, even without a host, the Symbiote can easily overwhelm the wall-crawler.

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