Warning: Spoilers Ahead for Spider-Man: Black Suit & Blood #4!A new man-made Carnage and Knull. This expansive lore proved to be so beloved by fans that it spawned the creation of the Venom-verse. However, a new artificial symbiote is paving the way for a huge change for future Marvel comics.
In Spider-Man: Black Suit & Blood #4, the story "The Achilles Shield" introduces readers to a new villain bearing the titular name. Originally one of Peter's professors, Professor Hensley is shown to have crafted a suit made of a unique polymer he dubs "liquid steel." He decides to test its durability on himself by applying it to a speed skating suit. However, he quickly discovers a major side-effect that may seem familiar to fans of Venom and the symbiotes. Hensley mentions that once he puts the suit on, he couldn't take it off because it bonded to his skin, even through his clothes.
Plus, with the material forming over his nerves, he can no longer feel anything either. Essentially, this is an artificial version of a symbiote, and seeing the suit in action further highlights the interesting parallels between the two.
What This Man-Made Symbiote Means For Marvel's Future Weaponry
Professor Hensley's Suit Has Potential to Be as Strong as Venom, With One Lethal Exception
What's remarkable about Hensley's creation is how much it matches in power to the infamous Lethal Protector. Just like organic symbiotes, his polymer makes him bulletproof. When the police barge into his lab, they open fire on him, only for the bullets to repel off the speed skating suit. This is due to the material he created being as strong as steel. Plus, with its durability making the bullets launched at him ricochet off his body, it makes the suit just as useful as a deadly offensive weapon, rather than a simple shield.
Venom Names the 1 Symbiote Who Can Match His Strength (Not Carnage)
In Red Goblin #10, the Venom symbiote declared the eponymous character to be the one symbiote that can match its strength, moreso even than Carnage.
Of course, given the name, The Achilles Shield does prove to have one major weakness that puts organic symbiotes over Hensley's artificial creation in of strength. When he falls off a building after being cornered by the police, Spider-Man is unable to web him to safety due to his webbing being unable to stick. This leads to him hitting the ground, dying instantly. While the material is strong enough to deflect any oncoming projectiles, the crushing impact of the ground from falling at terminal velocity shows that Hensley's material has its limits.
Our Take on Marvel's New Man-Made Symbiote's Future
The Achilles Shield Paves the Way for an Interesting Future for Symbiotes
Even though Hensley's design has a clear flaw in its design, the introduction of the Achilles Shield polymer shows that humans on Earth-616 are on a path to creating their own version of symbiotes. Since Hensley's polymer isn't a living thing like Venom or Carnage, humans can benefit from the Achilles Shield's positives without fear of the material feeding on their organs for nourishment. Plus, under the microscope of some of Marvel's smartest characters, this material could be perfected to remove the flaws in Hensley's design to make mankind stand a chance and defend itself should another Venom War event arise in the future.
The best thing is, since the stories of Black Suit & Blood have been elaborated as missing stories during the Alien Suit saga, Hensley's story is canon to the Marvel universe. Thus, this makes it possible that the Achilles Shield could undergo improvement in a lab without any of the Avengers knowing. Should it be perfected, this man-made Venom symbiote has the potential to change things forever in Marvel's massive universe.
Spider-Man: Black Suit & Blood #4 is available now from Marvel Comics.
- NAME
- Venom (Symbiote), Eddie Brock (most prominent host)
- Alias
- Eddie Brock
- Created By
- David Michelinie, Todd McFarlane
- POWERS
- Superhuman strength, speed, agility, and endurance, Ability to cling to surfaces, Shape-shifting abilities (forming weapons, shields), Regeneration and healing factor, Immunity to Spider-Man's spider-sense, Enhanced senses, Able to produce webbing, Bonding with a host to share or amplify powers, Immunity to all Earthly diseases
- RELATIONSHIPS
- Eddie Brock (primary host and ally), Peter Parker/Spider-Man (initial enemy, later uneasy ally), Anne Weying (former wife of Eddie Brock and occasional host), Cletus Kasady/Carnage (offspring of the Venom symbiote and a deadly enemy)
- HISTORY
- The Venom symbiote is an alien organism that first bonded with Peter Parker (Spider-Man) during the "Secret Wars" storyline. After Parker rejected the symbiote, it found a new host in Eddie Brock, a disgraced journalist. The symbiote and Brock bonded over their mutual hatred for Spider-Man, becoming the anti-hero known as Venom. Over time, Venom has evolved from a villain to an anti-hero, often fighting alongside other heroes to protect innocents, though his methods remain brutal.
Venom is a symbiotic alien entity bonded with various human hosts, notably Eddie Brock and later Flash Thompson. It grants superhuman strength, agility, and a shape-shifting black costume. Initially a Spider-Man villain due to its origins, Venom evolved into an antihero, battling both villains and his own dark impulses. The character embodies themes of duality and redemption within the Marvel Universe.
