Marvel Introduces Permanent New Superpower For An Iconic Character

Published Oct 6, 2026, 7:44 PM EDT

Jared is a writer, editor, and Communications Studies graduate who loves popular nerd culture (almost anything to do with Marvel, DC, Star Wars, or The Lord of the Rings) and the interactive storytelling medium. Jared's first console was the PS1, wherein he fell for Spider-Man, Spyro the Dragon, and Crash Bandicoot.

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Warning! The following contains SPOILERS for Venom #262 and Friendly Neighborhood Mary Jane #1, as per covers and solicitations.It’s finally the end of an era for Marvel that few fans couldn’t see coming eventually, rehabilitating old status quos and providing a launch pad for the characters involved to lean into the traits that have defined them for decades. It all happens fairly abruptly, but what readers are left with in Venom #262 is Venom and Eddie Brock being back together again, and MJ on her own once more…

Or is she? Venom #262 doesn’t end without making note of something of a souvenir that the symbiote leaves behind for her, as a token of the relatively brief bond MJ and Venom shared that made a considerable impression on both of them, and it’s sure to be a superpower she leans on heavily.

Venom Isn’t Leaving MJ Empty-Handed

With the dust settled in the aftermath of Marvel Comics’ Queen in Black crossover event, MJ and Venom have parted ways, and MJ had confirmation from none other than Reed Richards that her “atoms are as stable as anybody else’s.” Apparently miraculously healed and no longer needing to be bonded with Venom in order to survive. That said, she’s kept a piece of the symbiote with her, which MJ fascinatingly describes as “Anti-Carnage.”

Behaving like a symbiote accessory, MJ wears it discreetly like a fashionable gold bracelet, and it responds to her thoughts. MJ demonstrates to Peter how it can imitate her keys if she loses her real ones, and it can therefore theoretically produce any sort of item or weapon that she’d desire, be it bolt cutters or a karambit.

MJ also describes it as “more like a pet dog than a roommate,” but it seems far too good to be true. It won’t be the slightest bit surprising if, in MJ’s upcoming limited series, or wherever else she appears thereafter, a writer chooses to suddenly have it start talking to her, reveal that it had been communicating with her all along somehow, or decide that it’s a sapient spawn of Venom altogether.

Of course, pretending to be a costume is precisely how the symbiote originally got close to Peter, though MJ would probably have no fears or qualms about it having sentience and not simply being a convenient tool. For all we know, MJ may bond with this “Anti-Carnage” and be there to help cleave Jessica Drew’s Spider-Woman and Carnage away from one another whenever their own respective era draws to a close.

MJ And The Symbiote Have A Bit Of Separation Anxiety

For anyone hoping that the end of Al Ewing’s Venom run would mean a clean break from MJ and the symbiote’s All-New Venom, MJ’s brand-new five-issue miniseries is proof that the black goo will still play a massive role in her life. It’s plain to see that Marvel isn’t ready for MJ and the symbiote to part ways wholly—or maybe doesn’t know what MJ looks like without a symbiote anymore—in unlettered preview pages for Friendly Neighborhood Mary Jane #1, where the supposedly nonsapient accessory is now worn as a chic black-and-gold jacket.

Hell, she’s even wearing a shirt with Venom’s smiling mug on it in J. Scott Campbell’s cover for the first issue. The solicitation for Friendly Neighborhood Mary Jane #1 reads as follows:

YOU’RE NOW INVITED TO THE GRAND OPENING OF WATSON PRODUCTIONS!

Spinning out of storylines from MARY JANE: FACE IT, TIGER and QUEEN IN BLACK comes an all-new adventure for one of the most beloved characters in Spider-Man’s world. Mary Jane Watson — model, actress, hero — is taking on a new role: PRODUCER! But when CHAMELEON sets his sights on sabotage, Mary Jane will need to use every tool in her arsenal — including a TOP-SECRET gift from Venom — to come out on top. Rising star Ashley Allen (MAGIK, MAGIK & COLOSSUS) and superstar artist Phil Noto kick off a brand-new chapter you won’t want to miss!

Venom #262 is out now. Friendly Neighborhood Mary Jane #1 is scheduled to be released on November 4, 2026.

Do you think there is more than meets the eye to MJ’s new “Anti-Carnage” accessory?

Venom is a symbiotic alien entity bonded with various human hosts, notably Eddie Brock and later Flash Thompson. It grants superhuman strength, agility, and a shape-shifting black costume. Initially a Spider-Man villain due to its origins, Venom evolved into an antihero, battling both villains and his own dark impulses. The character embodies themes of duality and redemption within the Marvel Universe.