How Does Venom Bond With His Host?

The relationship between the alien Venon symbiote and it’s human host is one of the most compelling aspects of the comic book series, combining elements of horror, symbiosis, and even dark humor. When the alien bondes with a human it does not simply attach itself physically to its host. Rather it merges with the host on a cellular level to form a highly complex psychological connection between two beings. It is why in most of its hosts, especially Eddie Brock, the symbiote finds the greatest source of power in the host’s negative emotions such as anger, aggression, and even despair. The more the host’s emotions match those of the symbiote, the more powerful both the host and the alien become in a symbiotic relationship of mutual empowerment.

What I find especially interesting about their pairing is the way that the relationship between them changes over time. Initially the symbiote would override Eddie’s will to do whatever it wanted to do but in later stories the two have formed a sort of co-dependent relationship. The two of them rely on each other for different reasons. Venom needs Eddie’s negative emotions in order to survive and in return he gives Eddie superhuman strength to exact revenge on the people who wronged him. They even refer to themselves in the plural and have at times acted as a single entity (something that even Eddie admits to at times). This sort of relationship is explored in a number of different stories and it really makes for a compelling read as it challenges the reader’s expectations of what it means to be a hero.

The bond of Venom and his host is fascinating to consider. It is so much more complex than typical hero-villain tales and actually flips the typical script for possession and interactive. It is not so much Venom possessing his host and erasing their identity, but rather he enhances their already existing identity, for better or for worse. It is a negotiation for the both of them as they interact in a dynamic, positive or negative, for better or worse relationship that cannot be replicated by other comic book characters in the same manner.