The first symbiote to show up in Marvel Comics wasn’t known as a symbiote at first, and it was really shown to be just a sentient costume for Spider-Man. However, this was Venom, and when Peter Parker rejected the symbiote, it found Eddie Brock, and history was made. The symbiote went from its first appearance in the original Secret Wars to a villain in the Spider-Man comics, and eventually became one of the most powerful anti-heroes in the entire Marvel Comics universe. Symbiotes also spawn offspring, which then look for a host for themselves, and this has filled up Marvel Comics with a ton of powerful symbiotes.
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From Venom’s first offspring to the king of all symbiotes, here is a look at the most powerful symbiotes in Marvel Comics, ranked.
10) Rascal
Norman Osborn was the first Red Goblin in Marvel Comics. However, the current Red Goblin is Norman’s grandson Normie Osborn, and his symbiote is named Rascal. This symbiote is an offshoot of Bedlam and was left with Kang the Conqueror. It was then sent to the 21st Century and hybridized with a sample of Carnage symbiote. After this, Dylan Brock stole it, and Normie ended up bonding with it. Red Goblin joined the Avengers Academy to learn how to control his powers better, effectively breaking away from his grandfather. He is a little less powerful than other symbiotes, as his bond with Normie is incomplete, and he often lashes out, making him less controllable.
9) Lasher
Lasher was a second symbiote created by the Life Foundation, and he bonded with Ramón Hernández. Ramón was already a dangerous man before becoming Lasher, as he was a mercenary for the corporation. While he died in the original battle with Venom and Spider-Man in San Francisco, Lasher ended up resurrected and helped Eddie Brock break out of prison to try to contact other alien symbiotes from off Earth. Scream killed all the Life Foundation symbiotes, but Lasher was the last to die at her hands.
8) Maniac
Maniac was the symbiote that bonded with Lee Price. Initially, the Venom symbiote bonded with Lee because it desperately needed a new host. Lee was able to mentally stand up to Venom and maintain control despite the symbiote trying to assert its dominance over him. After Lee lost the Venom symbiote when he was arrested, he was released when he convinced the courts that Venom was responsible for all his crimes. This is when he looked for another symbiote, found Mania, and injured her. He then took the symbiote for himself and renamed it Maniac. He then was able to spread pieces of his symbiote around to give his new gang powers, and it took Spider-Man and Agent Anti-Venom to defeat him. Lee eventually died when he had Maniac ripped out of his body, but returned later as Zombiote.
7) Scream
Scream is Donna Diego and is one of the most powerful symbiotes created by The Life Foundation. This corporation kidnapped Venom and removed his “seeds,” hatching them to create five new symbiotes, which they then distributed to their most trusted and skilled employees. One of these was Donna Diego, who became Scream. Of these five, Scream and Lasher were two of the most powerful, with the others being Agony, Phage, and Riot. Over time, Scream enhanced her powers, evolving from merely being a copy of Venom to also having capabilities, including camouflaging and shapeshifting. She is also mentally unstable, making her one of the most dangerous of the Life Foundation’s symbiotes, and she was the one who killed the other four.
6) Tantrum
Tantrum is a reasonably new symbiote in Marvel Comics, making its debut in the pages of Spider-Gwen’s comic. This is Gwen Stacy from Earth-65, formerly known as Ghost-Spider, now residing on Earth-616. This is also a surprise entrant into the Marvel Universe because Tantrum is Gwen’s old symbiote, making it her version of Venom. The first appearance of this symbiote since Gwen rejected it is scheduled for October. Writer Stephanie Phillips further notes that Tantrum represents everything Gwen left behind, including chaos, anger, and guilt. From the sound of it, Tantrum will be the next ultra-powerful symbiote in Marvel Comics, but how powerful remains to be seen.
5) Sleeper
Sleeper is the symbiote that was the seventh spawn of Venom, born at Alchemax’s astrobiology laboratory. Eddie Brock and Venom tried to protect the infant and wouldn’t allow anyone to bond with it too early and also protected it from Liz Allen’s immoral business decisions. Sleeper’s first bonding was to Eddie Brock to save Venom from its father’s first host, the Kree soldier, Tel-Kar. This was where Sleeper showed his power, as he bonded with Tel-Kar to save Venom and Eddie and lobotomized the Kree soldier before using his mindless body as a puppet to explore the universe. Sleeper was also a massive part of the King in Black storyline, arriving on Earth to protect Dylan Brock and Normie Osborn. He also helped in the Extreme Carnage storyline, bonding with Hank Hensley. In current Marvel storylines, Rick Jones is the new host for Sleeper.
4) Carnage
Carnage was the second symbiote Marvel Comics introduced after Venom. He was the offspring of Venom and was born when Eddie Brock was in prison. As a result, Carnage had to bond with another prisoner and chose the worst possible host. Carnage bonded with Cletus Kasady, a serial killer with no remorse and a complete sociopath. Since Cletus was a cold-blooded killer, Carnage quickly assimilated with him and became one of the deadliest villains in Marvel Comics, someone who is unlikely to find redemption. Since symbiotes typically become stronger than their parent, Carnage was stronger than Venom, and it took Venom and Spider-Man working together to beat him. In events like Maximum Carnage and Extreme Carnage, he proved to be one of the deadliest symbiotes to ever exist in Marvel Comics.
3) Toxin
Toxin was Carnage’s offspring, and he tried to kill the infant because he feared it would become all-powerful. However, Carnage was weakened after giving birth, and Toxin attached to a New York City police officer named Patrick Mulligan. Since his host was a good cop and a hero, Toxin was one of the few symbiotes that developed with a conscience and became a hero as well. Toxin proved how powerful he was when he defeated both Venom and Carnage when they tried to kill him. Because Toxin was bonded to a cop, Spider-Man trusted him over other symbiotes, and they became allies. Sadly, Toxin died, but it was at the hands of Blackheart, the son of Mephisto.
2) Grendel
Grendel is a demonic symbiote who is billions of years old. Knull created him and sent him out to destroy and devour everything he came across. However, when Grendel arrived on Earth-616 in the 6th Century, Thor was able to defeat it and had it imprisoned in a glacier. SHIELD mistakenly exumed it in modern times, and then Knull connected with it, sending it on a rampage through New York City, where he had to face Venom and other Marvel heroes. As a symbiote-dragon with deific powers bestowed upon him by Knull, he is more powerful than almost all other symbiotes. He is also immortal, a quality that surpasses that of other symbiotes.
1) Knull
Knull is not technically a symbiote, but he is an eldritch god of darkness and the lord of the symbiotes. Knull created the symbiotes, so every symbiote in existence exists because Knull made them. He is the King in Black, and the first symbiote he ever created is known as the All-Black the Necrosword, which he formed after using the sword to decapitate a Celestial. As a god, he possesses superhuman attributes that even surpass those of most other deities. He also has the power to create more symbiotes and forms of those beings, thanks to the eldritch darkness, and hold control over them, even from millions of miles away.
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