It’s officially the week Venom: Let There Be Carnage releases in the UK, so it’s time I gave you all the information you need to know about Eddie Brock, Venom, Symbiotes and Carnage!

Today, we start with the human element:

Who Is Eddie Brock?

Eddie is the host to the symbiote, Venom. Before he joined with Venom, he was a newspaper reporter in New York, based at the Daily Globe. His big break came when he managed to get an exclusive interview with a serial killer called the Sin Eater, originally, he protected the killer’s identity, before his conscious (and the police) forced him to reveal that the Sin Eater was really a man named Emil Gregg.

But, the day interview went out, Spider-Man caught the Sin Eater and revealed him to be a man named Detective Stan Carter – Gregg was just Carter’s neighbour. This made Eddie a laughing stock, and got him fired from the Daily Globe.

From there, he was forced to work for a seedy tabloid to make ends meet. Eddie never took responsibility for his mistakes, which meant that his wife, Anne, left him and his father disowned him. Eddie blamed all of this on Spider-Man, and started to want to get revenge.

How Did Eddie Become Venom’s Host?

After his marriage breakdown, Eddie started working out to relieve stress, eventually putting him in peak physical condition. But, it didn’t help, and Eddie became suicidal. As he had been raised a devout Catholic, he went to church to pray for forgiveness before taking his own life.

But, hiding in the church was a symbiote, who had up until recently been posing as Spider-Man’s black suit. The symbiote attacked Eddie, bonding with him physically and mentally. Eddie agreed to the bond, due to their mutual hatred of Spider-Man. The name ‘Venom’ came from the symbiote, who suggested it after seeing Eddie’s hatred towards the seedy tabloid journalism he had been forced into.

Is Eddie A Villain?

Eddie/Venom were originally a villainous pairing – intent on killing Spider-Man in revenge. This played out over several different battles, ones usually resulting in severe injuries and trauma to Peter Parker’s loved ones.

Peter, as Spider-Man, managed to borrow a sonic blaster from the Fantastic Four, and imprisoned Venom and Eddie. The two managed to escape several times, heading out again to kill Peter, but never succeeding. During their last attempt, Venom was seemingly killed, leaving Eddie in his human form to be sent to Ryker’s Island prison.

But, Venom the symbiote had survived, and when Eddie’s cell mate, Cletus Kasady (more on him later this week), tried to murder him, Venom re-bonded with Eddie, keeping him alive and helping him escape prison. What the two didn’t realise, was that Venom had left an asexually reproduced offspring in the cell, which bonded to Kasady.

The two took on the name Carnage, escaped prison, and went on a killing spree, and almost succeeded in killing Spider-Man. Peter, in desperation, went to Venom and Eddie for help, asking them to team up with him to take down Carnage. Venom and Eddie agreed, on the promise that Peter would let them go free afterwards, which he grudgingly agreed to.

From there, after taking down Carnage, Eddie and Venom planned one last attack on Spider-Man, not knowing that Spider-Man had contacted Eddie’s ex-wife, Anne, to get more information on the pair. When the battle got underway in an amusement park, Anne was hit by a collapsing ferris wheel. Eddie and Venom helped Spider-Man save Anne, while she managed to convince them to call a truce and to not target each other anymore.

Since that truce, Venom and Eddie have teamed up with Spider-Man and various other heroes, have relapsed into villainy, gained back the title of hero, unbonded and rebonded, and gone through many, many adventures together.

As for whether or not they count as a hero or a villain, it really depends on which comic you read. Currently, as of King In Black, I’d say that the pair, while separated, are working on the side of good.

Where Can I Read More About Him?

In many, many places, because Venom is one of the most popular characters at the moment! First, I’d recommend his first ever appearance in Web Of Spider-Man issue 18 (September 1986) by David Michelinie.

After that, literally any Venom work by Donny Cates is a good shout – the man has worked for years in Venom and is counted as a fan favourite, and luckily for you, my guide to Venom, Absolute Carnage and King In Black, is already up! And watch this space for more – I’ve got a few posts coming up this week with loads of information about the world of Venom and the symbiotes!

And with that, that is my guide as to just who Eddie Brock is! I hope you found this helpful, and if you have any questions, leave them down below!