Ultimate Venom is TERRIBLE 

Ultimate Spider-Man is easily one of the most popular comics to ever come out of Marvel. It took the world by storm in the early 2000s by being what seemed like a fresh and modernized take on Peter Parker's origin and early stories from the 60s Lee and Ditko run, and most spidey adaptations to this day continue to use its ideas in their own stories! Unfortunately, not everything from Ultimate has aged well, and today we're going to be talking about one of the worst offenders: Ultimate Venom. Sure, the video game version might be pretty awesome, but the comic counterpart to Ultimate Eddie Brock is genuinely one of the worst things the run did wrong.

I’ll never forget the first time I saw Venom eat a child in the Ultimate Spider-Man game 💀

It feels weird how little Venom shows up in the comics. They could have just said the game’s story was canon because let’s be real…everyone thinks of game Venom when you mention “Ultimate Venom”.

you gotta appreciate this venom design tho, I love how unstable he looks.

Whats worse is the Ultimate game was SUPPOSED to be canon to the comics, and in the end of that game he turned into the Venom we all know. Gaining the iconic spider logo, eddie gaining control of the symbiote, eating the one responsible for his parents' deaths and then becoming an anti-hero. He had a full complete character arc that was left open for him to team up with spidey/clash with him again. But the new ultimate writers completely ignored the game and messed it all up. They retconned sable, bolivar trask, carnage, and many more that had amazing set ups already. Its why after the venom arc in the comics i stopped reading. The writing definitely went downhill

What scared me about Venom in the Ultimate Spider-Man game was when the voice actor did Venom's growling. Made Venom genuinely sound like an animal. I also love Tony Todd's voice in Spider-Man 2. Dude sounded like a monster, but as a compliment.

Really sucks they added that crap with Eddie creeping on Gwen, everything with Peter with the suit and the actual scenes with Venom at the football yard is genuinely good imo, even if it's just 1 fight, and what sucks is you're right, Bendis actually did not want to do Venom cause, he straight up didn't like Venom in interviews. Though I do admittedly like the angle that Venom was a lab creation made by Peters father, tying into Peters story and the sins of their fathers. Everything with Venom afterwards sadly as you said, sucked, pretty much alot of stuff after it is mid or just bad up till the death of Ultimate Spider-Man which I will forever say is a great end to the character. (Ignoring what happened later with him returning to life for, some reason.)

Honestly even as a kid I thought Bendis didn’t like venom. And with how different Venom is treated in the game vs comic might come down to the developers than Bendis. As it’s most common practice that the story is made after the layout of levels. So wouldn’t be surprised if the developers approached Bendis with writing the plot of a Spider-Man game where the most story they had so far was Venom hunting Peter down. But the game would switch back n forth between the 2 characters. This Bendis suggested tying it to the ultimate comics.

I'm just glad other writers take better aspects from Ultimate Venom like Eddie and Peter being childhood friends.

Yeah it still annoys me that ultimate Eddie Brock aka ultimate venom never got a proper ending to his story in ultimate Spider-Man comics in my opinion.

I will never forget the time playing ultimate venom in ultimate Spider-Man video game and having fun because damn that story and gameplay in that amazing game was amazing in my opinion.

MANDARIN.- A Crazy A.I. Fantastic 4 Powers.- NEGATIVE ZONE Galactus.- A ROBOTIC HIVE THE SYMBIOTES.- A lab experiment *WhyTHE ULTIMATE UNIVERSE REFUSED SO HARD THE USE OF ALIENS?*

I still can’t get over how Venom in Ultimate comics was a suit made to cure cancer but goes and decides to do the complete opposite and Eddie Brock is a pedo…… that ain’t the Eddie Brock I know. I do like the Symbiote Spider-Man suit and preferred playing Shattered Dimensions since the suit allows the same attacks like Venom in the Ultimate Spider-Man game. It’s out of pocket for Venom to be written but then again, Brian Michael Bendis didn’t want but Marvel at the time probably was like "if you don’t, then you’re out”.

I’m convinced the Ultimate comics only existed for the sake of making gross stuff. Quicksilver and Wanda have a, relationship, Wolverine tries to smash Mary Jane, it’s awful. Don’t get me wrong, the comics did some great stuff but COME ON.

So does Ultimate Green Goblin. He was basically made to outclass the original comic Green Goblin but he looks like a generic big bad guy and Hulk villain like the Abomination.

You don’t need to diss Insomniac Venom. He just needed more screen time.

When making the game: Smoking some of the best shit found on earth When making the Comic: Some weird ass shit found in Jersey

To add additional info, the symbiote would actually reappear with Ultimate Reed, The Maker, during his time in the Donny Cates Venom comic. What happened to Eddie? Hell i know, probably sent to the Shadow Realm.

Insomniac Venom is practically Ultimate Venom, right? I think the only difference is that insomniac version seems to be a little more aware of his actions

I especially hate how later on venom just devolves into a monster who doesn’t even talk. I love venom it takes a lot for me to not enjoy him, but by god I’m glad this version of venom is gone and never coming back.

Getting Bendis to write Venom is like getting Paul Dini to write Bane

I distinctly remember going to my local library and seeing that there was the issue of Ultimate Spiderman that introduced Venom. I immeaditely borrowed it and went home to read it. What i loved from it was the detail of Eddie and Peter being childhood friends and how in a way, Peter was responsible for Venom's creation, putting all that hate into the symbiote and then having it go all into Eddie when he put it on. I also liked that this version of Eddie was a pretty decently smart guy and got to university (but friends, i will always prefer the disheveled look of Tom Hardy's Eddie. Full stop GOAT for that.) What i ultimately hated though was the whole...Eddie creeping on Gwen thing, the fact that Venom never got his redemption arc or his own series (Ultimate Venom as a title goes so hard) and the sheer fact that the video game seemed to have done his run better then the writers...*sigh* In the end? I agree with you on this video (not whatcha said about Insominac's Venom. Let them cook, the solo game could be GREAT) and to this day? I haven't read anymore of Ultimate Spiderman past the Venom arc. It became so mid.

"Ultimate Spider-man is mid" I HARD AGREE its so overrated and i personally did not enjoy how Bendis imagined the characters

7:37 Yes! I don't get the ultimate universe, it's all so heinously edgy with really bad fights. I was told ultimate spiderman would stand out but *nooooo.* not really.

Danm, didn’t know how gross Ultimate Eddie really is?! 🤮 Totally agree with you on the Ultimate Venom is pretty “Wasted” and very unexplained of how’s symbotie works. You should make some Ultimate hot takes. Never read ultimate comics outside then Spider-Man. There’s a lot of weird stuff going around.

I really pray that in Jonathan Hickmans new ultimate Spider-Man, we actually get a really good symbiote Spider-Man arc then when it’s venoms turn he actually fleshes out as character

Honestly it’s a damn shame that comic ultimate venom is such shit, not only because his design in my opinion is peek venom (I will always perfer the toxic purple over the blue) But because ultimate venom in the game is in general peek.

Spectacular Spiderman did it better if it makes you feel better.

ultimate eddie's version of the time venom spends on the beach actually takes place on epstein island

Most of Ultimate spidermans villains were pretty mid ngl. The goblin was just a hulk with fire powers. Carnage was a blank slate with no personality. Venom is a creep. Sandman just does nothing at all. And lastly Kraven's a joke of a character in the Ultimate run.

The best part of the Ultimate Venom arc was the artwork, the previous saga, Public Scrutiny was way better. At least the videogame ends with an implication that Venom becomes a Lethal Protector.

I always assumed Eddie from the Ultimate Comics was a college freshman like in the Spectacular Spider-Man. He was childhood friends with Peter Parker (who was the same age as Gwen) so I never really thought their was that much of an age difference between them.

Thank god with other adpations like Eddie from Spectacular Spider Man he was a much more likeable character than his uglyier counterpart. Sure yea he also ended up being a bad guy and could of had a second chance to be redeemed if the show carried on. Though he is a mix of 616 Eddie same with Raimi Eddie in some ways, but still again better than was they were based on. Overall I do hope when the new Ultimate Spider Man comic comes out Eddie is written less of a creep.

7:36 I also theorize it’s popularity inspired Marvel to go through with One More Day since it was clear teenage Peter was a popular concept in the early 2000s

Venom Gotta Be My One Of The Most Favourite Villains Of Spiderman 🧡

It's strange what a huge contrast it is between comic and game Ultimate Eddie/Venom The comic just comes across as Bendis rushing through it with the first Symbiote story, and in War of the Symbiote it just feels like a rush job to bring back Gwen. In the game Brock is this tortured guy who is constantly hunted and trying to survive, gradually evolving into something closer to 616 Venom by the end. He's also just more of a powerhouse badass.

I guess this is what happens when you make someone who hates Venom write Venom

My take on Ultimate Venom is this: I hear a lot of people ragging in him for being a pedophile, but that’s kinda the point. Don’t get me wrong it definitely didn’t NEED to be the point, but it actively acknowledges that Eddie is an asshole for this and foreshadows his eventual villainy well when Gwen warns Peter of him being a creep. Also Spectacular Eddie was too. While you could say he was using her, he was trying to get with MJ (a high schooler) while he was in College. That show did the same thing Ultimate did, even with MJ warning Pete about him being a douchebag. As for Venom himself, I didn’t think the take was the worst per se. I think they absolutely WASTED him, but when I read it I thought it was alright for what they were trying to go for, a more monstrous take on him (before that became an insanely tired take on Venom and at this point almost the main one with how common it is in games shows and movies). Overall, I do prefer the 616 venom and the generally more antihero venoms, midnight suns did him great, and Ultimate Venom could’ve been done way better, but I still see what Bendis was going for. Do agree that Bendis could’ve stopped with him just being manipulative, didn’t need to do all that.

They really turned Venom into an Ultimate Mole Man in War of The Symboites! Why couldn't they just adapt the game's version of the story faithfully?

I could never get over the art style as a kid 😅 but Bagley is one of my favorite 616 spidey artists 😂😂😂

Eghads, my favorite Spider-Man adjacent RU-vidr critically breaking down my favorite Spider-Man arc! I would love to present why this arc made me into a lifelong Spider-Man fan as a child. Eddie having so many negative qualities seemed to me to be the point. For me, the arc really laid in the "sins of the father" theme that the arc constantly hammered in, even though those "sins" were being overly trusting to a lifelong friend and doing your best to help the world without yet fully understanding the consequences. The recordings left by Peter's father are something Peter hopes will reconnect him with his lost parent, and they do! But they devolve into despair over the collapse of his friendship with Eddie Brock Sr., and a warning over people in your life who will always put themselves first blindly. This much wanted connection becomes a negative, not something to take solace in, and represents some of the hardest lessons a young self-styled hero could learn. This is even further hammered home with Eddie's own college roommate criticizing him top to bottom, from being a creep around women to being someone who got their cheeto-dust infested fingers all over their dorm room. You're trash, Brock. It is a destruction of his relationship and memories with Eddie, and even his father to a degree, seriously violating the good bits of his childhood he optimistically hung on to. To get personal I'll say that as a child, this preyed on my own fears of losing touch with the friends I had in my life, and seeing my friends go down a bad path where we could no longer stand one another and worse, where they were beyond my "help" as I felt it was my duty to do so. That time away from each other could cause me to "miss my chance" to fix things. None of this really answers your critiques, and while it is one of my favorite arcs of all time, I will grant everything past the initial Venom run IS trash. But I hope this speaks to the emotional core that resonates with some! Love your videos, and wish you well.

wait wait wait. did all of that happen in a single issue? wow or Bendis really really didn't want to adapt venom in ultimate or his writing style has really changed over the years.

Honestly, if the comics took the game´s story as canon and expanded on Eddie´s journey as being in control of the suit this version of Venom would be a great interpratation of the character, and if the carnage arc didn´t exist, however a lot of weird decisions were made along the run, making Carnage a clone of Peter was awful which lead to the unecessary death of Gwen and turning her into a strange symbionte clone which also lead to the very underwhelming War of the Symbiontes arc, that honestly felt like a very contrivied way to bring Gwen back and left Eddie as almost non-existent character since his only motivations were to feed and survive, not get vengeance or anything, he was just a cannibal monster, very disappointing.

You know Insomniac's Venom could win my heart if he comes back in his own DLC or solo game with Eddie Brock or Flash Thompson as his host, this Harry Osborn Venom thing kind sucks plus it was already done to death in the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon.

Ultimate spiderman comics fell off so hard

They should have had this venom meet each other so we can have alien vs predator

Ultimate Venom really didn't do much in this series...

I personally hate when they dumb down venom to a big black verion of the hulk. Ultimate was fun to play as a kid but I don't have the will to go through insomniac's ooga booga venom

For me, I hate ultimate venom because brian michael bendis didn't care for any of his passionate storylines in the original continuity because they wanted him to be different. I will say this peter parker in the ultimate universe, and miles morales from that same universe they are both better written characters then mister edward brock jr good video synth your the hero we need to call out this mid storyline.

This has definitely been mentioned in this comment section before, but I can't resist sharing my thoughts. Your voice reminds me of a younger, softer rendition of Yuri Lowenthal's, making it perfect for Spider-Man.

I hate Ultimate Spider-Man in general. Any time they set Spidey in high school or otherwise don't make him an adult, I just mentally tune out. Also didn't help what they did with the Goblin, completely misunderstanding his character and making him a generic Hulk clone.

Venom IS a symbiote that needs a host to live, so it stands to reason that venom and Eddie would be a little fruity

The ultimate symbiote does return donny cate's run of venom

I actually like how he was different and wasn't just the same 1:1 adaptation of the og

Ultimate Spider-Man is my favorite Spider-Man and I have 10 comic of Ultimate Spider-Man. I’m getting more comic of Ultimate Spider-Man. I can’t believe I’m about to say this but I like Ultimate Venom I like the story that they were trying to through about Ultimate Venom

Ultimate Eddie Brock is literally EDP445

I remember playing the video game when I was 7-9 years old and loving how it portrayed Venom. It even made me interested in the comic series to see how it was handled and how Eddie's story continues past the game. So you can imagine my disappointment when I saw how different the comics were and how it was handled.

God yes. I had a feeling you'd feel that way about Insomniac Venom. Half baked Tasm Harry is so apt. I wish Spider-Man 2 would have paced itself better or you know, used Venom at all instead of like 4 scenes I love Spidey 2 but man, how do you fumble Venom that hard. The concept of Harry being Venom was already a weak foundation and they still half baked it

i like insomiac venom. for me venom is a monster he dont talk alot but yea he need some more to make him perfect for me

Man, I really liked your video Narration and editing are on point 👌

Ultimate Venom is the type of character the main Eddie brock would hate and beat up. I really hate ultimate Venom For for one for his obvious advances on Gwen who was like beginning of high school age being only 15 years old while Ultimate Eddie was a college student. I don't even know what they were thinking since in the main universe Eddie and Peter are not that far apart in age. At best in the main universe he was only one to two years older then peter but the gap was significantly smaller they should have just made Eddie a senior or a jr. and literally cut his advances on gwen. Ultimate Eddie quickly exposed a sleazy and vindictive side - expecting the fifteen-year-old Gwen Stacy to sleep with him on the same day they'd met, then accusing her of leading him on when she rejected him out of disgust. Honestly Ultimate Eddie is way less sympathic then the main one and people say his reasoning for Hating Spiderman was more reasonable but Honestly no. I think the main universe Eddie motivation is way more understandable. It was a downward spiral and at the time the main universe Eddie was blaming Spiderman as a way of coping for the downward spiral of his life where as Ultimate Eddie gets mad at Peter someone where suppose to believe are really great friends because he destroyed highly dangerous goo that makes you eat people. The ultimate symbiote isn't even sentient so theirs no moral ambiguity about peter decision either. Ultimate Eddie even agrees with Peter that the Ultimate symbiote is extremely dangerous but the moment peter leaves he bonds with it anyway. Two he's a giant monster who has no qualms about eating innocent people and shows no signs of caring about wanting to kill his supposedly best friend from when he was younger. Honestly it starts becoming hard to believe they were ever friends. It doesn't feel like tragedy that Ultimate Eddie and Peter fail out it feels like Ultimate Eddie was just a giant douchbag. Ultimate Eddie could have been a opportunity to tell a new story about Peter and Eddie dynamic but the story fails in execution. Ultimate Eddie has showed us he's a garbage person,makes advances on someone who is underage and gets mad when she doesn't accept his advances,and literally has no problem becoming a monster and hurting Peter. Honestly making ultimate Eddie know Peter for most of his life doesn't actually improve this version it makes him worse. He's the type of character that makes you want to see the main universe Eddie beat up. The main universe Eddie isn't perfect and has innocent blood on his hands too but he always showed some signs of valuing innocent life. Like literally he had mutiple opportunities to kill mj but chose not and we see he deeply regrets his actions as his story continue. Main universe Eddie isn't proud of the man he was during the 80s and 90s and he's literally Kratos now. Like he time travel recently and told a younger version of Peter that even if he succeeds in saving the universe he doesn't think or is sure that will ever make up for the innocent lives he's taken. Even as Anti Venom he dislike the monster he once was and was fighting hard not to slip back into his old ways. The only people who like ultimate Venom only like the ideas in ultimate Venom and Nostalgia as they grew up with ultimate Spider-Man comics. From what I've seen since any person actually looking back can tell the serious flaws with ultimate Venom if they go back and pay attention. While the ideas could work its just some bad execution. If the goal was to make a dark and interesting mirror to face Peter in the ultimate universe they failed. The main universe Venom when he was a villian was a pretty good dark mirror to Spider-Man but ultimate Venom is a giant evil goo monster and that's it. Spectacular Spiderman while I have my problems with their venom was overall better executed. The best way to describe ultimate Venom is decent ideas but some bad execution. The saving grace of the storyline is the art and that's about it. Many fans call Ultimate Venom a improvement but like many characters in the ultimate universe he was a massive downgrade. The symbiote coming from a lab experiment instead of space is a downgrade,Eddie personality is a downgrade,the only thing that's kinda interesting is making him and peter friends from childhood and giving Eddie a interest in science like peter however they do jack all with that and he's then left as a cliffhanger that will never be solved since who would even want to touch this version of Venom. Honestly for me alongside the likes of ultimate Wolverine and a lot of the other ultimate characters Ultimate Venom is up their with some of the worst versions of the characters and just a massive downgrade.

Yeah when it comes to adapting Eddie Brock/Venom, it never ends well (except Spectacular Spider-Man and the 90s Cartoons and PS1 Venom) and the only good thing to come out of the Ultimate Universe is Miles Morales

I remember people preferring this venom over 616 on a lot of forums back in the day and i don't know why

This is a dumb take but I just wanna see a version of Venom where his whole life is made to make Peter’s life hell. I know people are more into the lethal protector side of Venom, but for me personally I like it when he’s a villain. Not where he wants to do some Web of Shadows BS.

it is because of gross edgelord trash like this that i never got into the Ultimate comics

You really sound like Rino Romano.

Guys don’t tell him about spider man 2 venom 😔

Eddie went down the same hole as Judy Winslow and Chuck Cunningham. Joining Poochie to go back to their home planet.

Just wanted to point out something that was not accurate. Peter first dons the black suit at the end of issue 34, he gets it off at the end of issue 35, Eddie puts on the suit at the end of issue 36, with the fight ending at the end of issue 38. You said it all happened in one issue, but when I read it, it was five.

its crazy how one of the worst venoms has one of the coolest designs

Oh no my balloon

Part of me wants to try and write my own mini-series that gives Ultimate Venom a conclusion and a way to to tie into the future incarnation that faced Miles. The only things that stopping me from doing so is A) I have no history of writing comics. And B) how to make the character of 1610 Eddie Brock into a root-for protagonist despite his _minor_ problem. There’s no dancing around the fact that he’s a creep. So I won’t bother.

Hell yeah the Ultimate Spider-Man game is still peak that game still kicks ass and deserves a remaster 🤘🕷️🕸️🔥, also as someone that hasn't read any of the Ultimate Spider-Man comics and has only played the game i was not expecting Eddie to be a p*do I was not expecting that to be said i was like ayo WTF 😂😂

The fact that they had Eddie an adult college man flirting with a 15 year old Gwen Stacy makes other Venoms like Insomniac and Spider-Man 3's look look good. So glad the Ultimate Spider-Man game did Eddie justice

The goop behind the slaughter

I would argue that almost everything outside of Peter Parker himself in the Ultimate universe is... not so good.

Didn’t Bendis say that he didn’t care for venom? That could possibly be why his comic appearance is short lived and sporadic.

Insomniac venom is waaay more terrible

To be honest? I love alot incarnatipns of Venom. BUT I enjoy versions of Venom that are completely monster who kills innocent people. Without Ultimate Venom my favorite game series Prototype probably would have never been made.

Is it because he has No Spider on his Body or is it because that he created by the Late Richard Parker

Wait, wasn't the ultimate Venom symbiote found by Ultimate Reed Richards/Maker?

So basically Eddie in the ultimate universe is a resentful jaded incel groomer, while Peter is a good person trying to change society for the better

Honestly, while I appreciate what the Ultimate Spiderman continuity *tried* to do and I even like a lot of aspects of it, I feel like the game is just a better version of the entire Venom arc. And the fact that it ends on a cliffhanger where Eddie/Venom becomes the version we know implies to me that the people who made the game *expected* the comics to treat it as canon and take the same route. I mean, the fsct that Venom symbiote is actually responsible for the deaths of both Peter and Eddie's parents, with the latter not knowing, is such an interesting setup. Only for the latter half of the comic run just completely go off the rails, ignore the game which did so much heavy lifting and basically put Peter out of his misery rather than letting him suffer in this continuity. PS: I also appreciated how Shatter Dimensions depicted Ultimate Carnage, not as an animal or even a monster, but as an unholy fluke of nature. A science experiment gone horribly wrong that now threatened to consume the world in its endless need to feed and reproduce

amazing video nora

Ultimate Venom is still my favorite rendition of the character honestly, I love the origin, the design and the powers, I prefer Ultimate's version over any other honestly. It being like a Lovecraftian monster is great and really fits the character.

Bendis REALLY messed up his character. No wonder since he has always been more of a Green Goblin guy. Ultimate Venom's color and design though were pretty cool and badass and they were eventually given to the third Venom ( McGargan ) as well.

You have a problem with ultimate Spider-Man because it has horrible people I love ultimate Spider-Man because it has realistic people (Eddie isn't one of the realistic people I like)

Nahh, ultimate venom is goated.

1:20 honestly the reason why I take so much interest in him

Speaking of that Venom gay thing, it was well done compared to what most of Hollywood and AAA can do.

2:53 Wooow exact opposite of normal vemon jfc 😅😂

Ugh and I fought Eddie Brock was a scumbag in Dark Origins ugh.

Valid opinion man much respect My only complaint with Eddie Brock venom as a whole not just this universe, the character as a whole never interacts with the other villains. It would’ve been awesome to see that happen, but the writers don’t do their homework.

Great video!! I love ultimate Spider-Man, but even as a kid I always thought the venom story was weirdly weak. I thought the game even did it significantly better.

Another thing I hate is the symbiote has no character like 616 Venom, it isn't even a symbiote, it's a cure for cancer, which is kinda stupid, alien Venom works way better because it differentiates the host and the alien, the symbiote should benefit it's host but also hurt it mentally as in 616 I don't think the symbiote was established as eating the host from the inside, I think Ultimate Venom is a absolute disgrace besides the rushed Insomniac Venom

He tried getting close to a Probably 16 year old Gwen Stacy at one point, which was weird

Lethal Predator

Yeah well his incarnation in the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon isn't any better.

Ultimate Spider-Man is the best Spider-Man tho lol

The comic peaked with the Sinister Six. Anyone who wants to read USM should get to that then play the game and never bother with anything else USM