Marvel Just Rewrote 38 Years Of Venom Lore, And It’s The Best Of Both Worlds

Published Sep 6, 2026, 11:00 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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A persistent controversy marring Venom lore is finally being nipped in the bud before the end of the year, when Mary Jane Watson and the alien symbiote go their separate ways, and the black goo finds its way back to Eddie Brock. For a while now, whether fans like it or not, Marvel Comics has made it canon that, independent of a host, the symbiote can be referred to as “Venom,” which has not always been considered preferable.

In Venom’s origin story, the combination of the symbiote and Eddie formed what would be called “Venom.” Now, in the Venom series’ upcoming relaunch, it has been confirmed that the antihero’s naming convention remains fluid, with the series writer himself and the solicitation for Venom #1 confirming that “Venom” can refer to either the symbiote on its own or Eddie and the symbiote together.

Venom’s New Relaunch Puts Its Foot Down

According to Venom writer Charles Soule and Venom themselves, you haven’t been referring to the symbiote wrong if you’ve been calling it “Venom” when it isn’t bonded to Eddie. This is emphasized in the solicitation for Venom #1, officially denoting how Venom should be addressed going forward:

THEY ARE VENOM!

Eddie Brock and Venom are reunited — and it feels so good! After years apart, once again THEY ARE VENOM, and Eddie is not going to let this opportunity go to waste. He is determined to be the ultimate host for the symbiote and be the hero he knows he can be... and he’s not going to let any other super heroes say otherwise! Writer Charles Soule (DAREDEVIL, STAR WARS) and artist Tommaso Bianchi (DAREDEVIL/PUNISHER: THE DEVIL’S TRIGGER, THUNDERBOLTS) bond together to bring us this story of two becoming one!

Indeed, “Eddie Brock and Venom are reunited” is all the evidence needed to comprehend that the symbiote has adopted the name. Soule has no problem referring to it as the “Venom symbiote,” either, as per Marvel. “THEY ARE VENOM” then basically suggests that the two of them together form Venom, but so too is the symbiote Venom, leaving it hardly as cut-and-dry as some fans would like it to be.

The ‘Venom’ Naming Convention Is Apparently Polarizing

Fans of Venom are likely to be thrilled that the symbiote and MJ will no longer be together, but many would also probably prefer to hear that the symbiote itself will no longer be referred to as “Venom,” assuming that was ever something they thought twice about or were peeved by. It’s understandable why fans might have never accepted the symbiote itself being called “Venom,” as that name was originally intended to represent the symbiote and Eddie’s joint character. Still, it’s not all that surprising that the symbiote wouldn’t forever be known exclusively as the “symbiote.”

Countless symbiotes have debuted, and symbiote lore has expanded exponentially in the last 42 years, when it was first revealed that Spider-Man’s black-and-white Battleworld costume was actually an alien that wanted to permanently graft itself to Peter Parker and experienced separation anxiety (a pivotal moment in Spider-Man and the symbiote’s history that was explored further recently from the symbiote’s perspective in Venom #261). Plus, the name “Venom” isn’t even unique to Eddie and the symbiote, since that’s also what Mac Gargan and MJ were called when they were bonded to it, and so it’s not absurd for the symbiote to be called “Venom” when the black goo cannot be taken out of the equation, but its host can.

Consequently, there’s hardly any ambiguity regarding how Venom should be addressed going forward, and all that’s asked of readers is to acknowledge that Venom as the lone symbiote is referred to as “it,” and Venom as the bonded combo of it and Eddie is referred to as “they.” Of course, there’s a possibility that whoever inherits the ongoing Venom series after Soule may simply retcon this, and the symbiote will forever be subject to the whims of the creatives that tackle it.

Venom #1 is scheduled to be released on October 14, 2026.

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.