Venom: The 20 Strongest Symbiotes

Summary

• The Symbiote backstory extends billions of years before its first bond with Spider-Man, revealing a rich history.
• Venom, although the most famous Symbiote, is not the most powerful; other Symbiotes such as Toxin and Anti-Venom surpass him in strength.
• Tthe most powerful Symbiote is a literal god of darkness, with the ability to destroy Celestials.

Even before Sam Raimi used his own interpretation of the Venom character in Spider-Man 3, the Marvel Symbiote is one of the most recognizable villains and anti-heroes in the Spider-Man universe. However, the Eddie Brock version of Venom isn’t the only Symbiote character that comic book fans have become acquainted with over the years. As it turns out, the Symbiote backstory goes back several billion years before the black ooze first bonded with Spider-Man.

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Whether we’re talking about the origins of the Symbiote (also known as the Klyntar) or the many spawns and clones of Venom, the parasitic substance’s many forms have undoubtedly produced some of the most powerful entities in the Marvel universe. It can be agreed that Venom is the most famous of the Symbiotes, but how does he rank against the others in terms of power?

The Symbiotes on this list have been ranked based on how much damage they have caused to people (and the universe) and how difficult it is to defeat them in a fight.

Updated October 26, 2024 by Jon Eakin: With the latest Venom movie hitting the big screen we felt it was the perfect time to refresh this list with a whole host of new entries, covering more modern symbiote as well as some of the classics from Marvel's past.

Dreadface

Honourable Mention

Dreadface is the odd one out in the symbiote line-up, because there's no hard evidence that it is the same species as all the others. Yes, it's an amorphous parasite that can bond with people. And he also has the usual abilities and weaknesses, and he even calls himself a symbiote. But the Fantastic Four Annual #26 specifically states there's no proof.

That aside, Dreadface doesn't stand out all that much aside from the fact that it has exclusively been a Fantastic Four foe and not a Spider-Man enemy. Beyond that he's your standard body-hopping villain from space, just about any other symbiote outmatches it.

24 Raze

Symbiotic Immunity

Raze, bonded to former FBI agent Claire Dixon, had the singular advantage over other symbiotes of not being weak to either fire or sonic vibrations. The downside was that she instead had a weakness against chthonic magic and associated weapons.

That weakness is so unlikely to be exploited that you might expect Raze to have been a major player among symbiotes, but Raze never amounted to much. It was ultimately destroyed and went down in Marvel history as the shortest-lived symbiote of all.

23 Miles Morales' Symbiote

Could Be Worse

The idea of Miles Morales overtaken by an offshoot of the Carnage symbiote would be potentially almost unstoppable, but fortunately it was never able to take full control of the young hero and he repeatedly prevented it from causing real harm.

It remains one of the best designs of any established character with a symbiote, but is unfortunately unlikely to be seen again after it was destroyed by Eddie Brock.

This nameless symbiote only had one other host for a brief period in between stints with Miles, briefly attaching itself to none other than J. Jonah Jameson.

22 Lasher

Lashing Out

Fans of the comics didn’t spend much time reading about Lasher, but as one of the children of Venom and the result of a Life Foundation experiment, Lasher was significantly strong. Appearing in the six-part comic book series called Venom: Lethal Protector, it took both Venom and Spider-Man to defeat it.

Unfortunately, Ramon Hernandez (the mercenary whom Lasher took on as a host) wasn’t strong enough to control it and was easily defeated by one of the other Life Foundation experiments.

21 Agony

The Female Of The Species

Another child of Venom and a Life Foundation experiment, Agony attached itself to the mercenary Leslie Gesneria. It was similar in strength and speed to its parent Venom, and had a distinctive purple colouring.

It had distinct absorbing abilities and could regurgitate almost all projectiles fired at it in the form of acid. In addition, after being freed from its control by Silk, Gesneria maintained all of Agony’s strengths and eventually joined the Spider-Men under the guidance of S.H.E.I.L.D. The symbiote would go on to find a new host, Gemma Shin.

20 Phage

Not So Mellow-Yellow

Another result of the Life Foundation experiments, Phage bonded with the mercenary Carl Mach to become a super soldier (along with five others). It later gained the ability to manifest razor-sharp blades that can cut through anything. In addition, it is immune to Spider-Man’s Spider-sense, has an accelerated healing factor, and constituent-matter generation.

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Phage had similar attributes to its parent, Venom, but it became stronger after being allowed to bond with Deadpool. As a result of the bonding, the two were strong enough to defeat Carnage in battle.

19 Scorpion

Symbiote Obsessed

Mac Gargan, longtime Spider-Man villain Scorpion, had a less than pleasant time while a host to the Venom symbiote. Nevertheless, the experience made him obsessed with the strength a symbiote provides.

Provided a new symbiote by a different Venom host, Lee Price, Gargan dubbed it Scorpion after his criminal alias. This symbiote doesn't have special abilities, but is notably dangerous due to the experience of the wearer in super powered combat.

Mac Gargan would lose this symbiote, but was so obsessed with them that he managed to find one in another dimension. Showing great creativity he called that one Scorpion as well, and also managed to lose it too. His track record doesn't look so good.

18 Widow

Symbiote Spy

It's shocking that it took Black Widow until 2023 to get a symbiote; the pairing seems so good that it should have happened sooner. The symbiote, named Widow, fits the Avengers spider theme and helps elevate her to the strength level of other Avengers.

Aside from the usual suite of symbiote powers such as an enhanced strength, Widow does sport one more unusual ability. Able to view and absorb the memories of others, this power is an obvious boon to the worlds greatest spy.

17 Riot

A Riot Of Colours

In the comics, Riot was bonded with a mercenary known as Trevor Cole with the intention of making a team of super soldiers. It was initially considered one of the weaker spawns of Venom but it’s physically faster and stronger than its siblings.

In addition, Riot is the main villain in the motion picture Venom starring Tom Hardy in Sony’s Marvel movie universe. Except, in the film version, the Riot Symbiote bonds with Carlton Drake (the founder of the Life Foundation). Interestingly, Riot is the symbiote whose colour scheme has changed the most of any yet seen.

16 Sleeper

The Prodigal Son

Sleeper, the unexpected seventh spawn of Venom, is probably his most unusual child. Kept in a lab without a host for the first part of its life, it has since been bonded to both Eddie and Dylan Brock, a few aliens, and has spent considerable time traveling space.

Along with the usual symbiote abilities, Sleeper also has the ability to become invisible and possesses chemokinesis, able to produce liquid and aerosol chemicals. It can leverage this ability to manipulate emotions, tranquilize enemies, produce acid, and more.

15 Scream

A True Scream-Queen

Scream is very likely to be the most powerful member of the Life Foundation mercenaries that bonded with the spawn of Venom. The host, Donna Diego, was a mercenary like the others, but she was far less stable and this quickly manifested itself ten-fold in the Scream Symbiote.

Turning on the other Venom-spawned Symbiotes, she absorbed all four - becoming more dangerous and powerful in the process. She was eventually taken down by Spider-Man and the Eddie Brock Venom.