Marvel Officially Confirms Venom's Worst Nightmare Is A Classic Hero, And It's Not Who Fans Expect

Published Sep 10, 2026, 7:59 PM EDT

Mark has been a comic book journalist for over 15 years and has interviewed comic book creators like Gail Simone and Caspar Wijngaard. And when he's not writing, he's working on beating his record of 1,200 comics read in a year.

The Klyntar are a symbiote race that many know from Venom, Carnage, and a host of other characters. It made its debut during Marvel Comics’ event Secret Wars issue No. 8. Since then, the alien creature’s origin has become deeper. For example, during Guardians of the Galaxy No. 23, the team is brought to the Klyntar planet and learns that their race is actually peaceful.

Years later, the King in Black, Knull, was introduced. It was then revealed that there’s a power and a lot of history to the symbiotes that dates back to before Galactus. Now, the former King in Black is the King in White, and Hela of Asgard is the Queen in Black, and the two of them are fighting for supremacy in the current event, Queen in Black.

During Venom No. 261, Reed Richards is working on a way to remove the Venom symbiote from Mary Jane Watson without killing either of them. This is a good thing for both Venom and MJ. Sadly, it brings back trauma that Marvel Comics readers didn’t know existed.

The Torture of Venom

Venom No. 261; Written by Al Ewing; Art by Carlos Gómez; Colors by Frank D'Armata

Venom No. 261 begins with the symbiote telling Reed Richards about when they first met. At the time, no one knew much about the black suit other than it was sentient and wanted to remain bonded to Peter Parker. What readers learn is that Venom didn’t want to feed off him. It was the first time it had a host who made it feel good, and Reed wanted to take that away. Unfortunately, the story only gets worse from here.

As the story continues, the suit explains that it perceived Reed as a monster. Mr. Fantastic used sonics to hurt it, had Johnny Storm surround it with fire, and then imprisoned it. Now, imagine going through that torment and, years later, being forced to be experimented on by the person who taught you fear. That’s what Venom was going through. It’s understandable that it lashed out during the testing.

The pain of trying to separate MJ from Venom was so intense that it broke the containment and punched Reed. The symbiote expected a fight, but got an apology instead. It was unexpected and calmed Venom down. After the rage subsided and MJ was back in control, the symbiote felt ashamed.

At the end of the issue, the symbiote begins to lose control and becomes a monster that’s ready and willing to kill Reed Richards. It showed that people can forgive, but maybe not forget. Also, certain triggers can make someone attack in a fit of anger.

Writer Al Ewing did a masterful job showing things that many people can understand. First, there’s the feeling of abuse and not being able to verbalize how you're feeling. Then comes the trauma of meeting your abuser, causing you to react with violence. Lastly, there’s regret and understanding that things may not have been what they seemed, and the abuser is apologetic. All of which are understandable.

This issue of Venom became something that comic book fans may not have known they needed. It was full of depth and scenarios that people deal with in real life. It's easy to guess that someone read this and felt seen.

Marvel Is Teasing Venom's Next Era

The conclusion of this conflict will directly affect the upcoming Venom by Charles Soule (Eddie Brock: Carnage) and Friendly Neighborhood Mary Jane by the amazing Ashley Allen (Magik). The former is obvious because Eddie Brock becomes the Lethal Protector again. As for MJ, Marvel says that she gets a “top secret gift from Venom.”

What that is should be interesting, and likely will be the liquid gold in the Venom suit. Sadly, Venom fans won’t know until all is revealed during Queen in Black.