Dr. Lizard, having witnessed the battle between Venom and Carnage, believed that by merging with Venom, he could surely defeat Carnage and free the world from its dark reign.
However, he underestimated the aggressive nature of the Venom symbiote.
Originally, Venom and Eddie Brock had coexisted in a relatively peaceful manner—something Dr. Lizard had confirmed through his efforts to restore some of Dr. Octopus' research from the latter's ruins. In this world, Dr. Octopus and Dr. Lizard were naturally close friends.
But the reborn Venom exhibited a drastically different personality.
Perhaps it was the impact of being resurrected, or maybe some other unknown factor—whatever the reason, this new Venom possessed traits eerily similar to Carnage.
It first began to influence Dr. Lizard's mind, greatly amplifying the negative traits within his lizard genes that he had previously managed to suppress through controlled experiments.
As a result, Dr. Lizard transformed from a "rational monster" into a "true monster devoid of reason."
And a monster, by its very nature, lacks independent logical thinking.
This allowed Venom to completely consume Dr. Lizard, replacing him and becoming an entirely new entity—
Just like Carnage.
Thus, it became the scene that Peter and Gwen were now witnessing.
Peter, however, caught onto something from Dr. Lizard's words and asked, somewhat speechless, "Wait… Did you say you used a sample from Carnage to resurrect Venom?"
"What about it?" Dr. Lizard nodded, his mind still clouded by the symbiote's influence, making his thoughts sluggish. But Peter's question triggered a realization, and he quickly grasped the key issue. "Are you saying… that what I revived isn't actually Venom, but another Carnage? A cloned symbiote?"
Peter nodded slightly. "Something like that."
Dr. Lizard was horrified.
His mind raced through the sequence of events, replaying everything, and he soon realized—Peter was right.
"But… its appearance still looks like Venom?" Dr. Lizard asked hesitantly.
"That could be a disguise, or… maybe it's neither Venom nor Carnage." Peter's response was startling.
"Neither Venom nor Carnage? Then what is it?" Even Gwen was intrigued now.
After all, when it came to symbiotes, Peter had far more knowledge than the two of them.
The symbiote species was an expansive one.
Venom was merely one among many.
However, Marvel's depiction of symbiotes had always been somewhat inconsistent.
In the earliest versions, there was only Venom—or rather, he was considered the "progenitor" of the symbiote concept.
His existence simply gave Spider-Man a darker side, and that was it.
Later, however, symbiotes evolved into an entire species. They originated from the Living Abyss of Knull, the King in Black, who was their "Hive Queen." Each symbiote was essentially an insect within this swarm.
Like the Zerg in Starcraft, they possessed a "hive mind." When bonded with a host, they could record and upload the host's genetic and biological data to the central network, continuously growing stronger. Eventually, they could even evolve to survive independently without a host.
This version of the symbiotes was incredibly dangerous.
What's more, they eventually united to overthrow Knull, turning against their creator and achieving self-liberation. Afterward, they began wandering the cosmos, searching for suitable hosts.
One theory suggests that the Venom symbiote was simply one of many that had fallen to Earth from a parallel universe.
However, the symbiotes Peter had encountered so far clearly did not belong to that category.
The Venom symbiote from the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man universe did come from space, but its intelligence was far inferior to other versions of Venom, and its overall strength seemed weaker as well.
Meanwhile, in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 universe, both the Venom and Carnage symbiotes were actually mutated substances extracted by Dr. Octopus from Spider-Man's blood, having no connection to extraterrestrial organisms at all.
Going off track.
But within the vast family of symbiotes, these unique, genderless life forms do possess the ability to reproduce.
Their reproduction is somewhat similar to a form of splitting or budding.
As the most frequently appearing symbiote, Venom has an exceptionally large number of offspring.
He has five sons: Carnage, Phage, Riot, Agony, and Lasher, along with two daughters: Scream and Scorn.
Among them, Hybrid is actually a fusion of four symbiotes combined into a singular entity. However, it was born inherently good, never harming anyone, and became the first symbiote to become a superhero. It even possesses the ability to fly.
Carnage, in turn, has three sons and a daughter: Toxin, Ghost-Spider, Mania, and his daughter, Scorn. (Ghost-Spider here is not Gwen but rather a second-generation clone of Spider-Man.)
Additionally, Venom and Mister Negative have a shared offspring—Anti-Venom, also known as Serum.
Now, as for the symbiote currently bonded with the Lizard, its genetic origins suggest it bears similarities to an offspring jointly created by Venom and Carnage—carrying Venom's foundation while inheriting some of Carnage's traits.
Perhaps it should be called… Vengeance!
Its name is a fusion of the first half of Venom and the latter half of Carnage, forming Venage!
The Vengeance Symbiote is clearly a unique entity, distinct from all previously known symbiotes!
However, it is undoubtedly a failed creation, as it appears to have inherited none of the superior traits of its "parents." Instead, it has absorbed both of their worst qualities.
It has taken on Venom's tendency to amplify its host's personality, as well as Carnage's uncontrollable bloodlust and even the ability to consume its host.
Yet, it does have an advantage.
Compared to Venom and Carnage, it seems to have greater adaptability.
And—most surprisingly—it is immune to electricity!
Electro even mentioned it earlier.
Peter had initially found it odd that Electro was struggling in his fight against Vengeance.
After all, symbiotes are supposed to be weak against lightning.
More specifically, they are vulnerable to any form of energy imbued with light attributes.
Lightning is the most typical example.
This is why Knull, the King in Black, was repelled by Thor when he brought his symbiote army to Earth.
Very few symbiotes have evolved the ability to overcome their weaknesses.
The only known case is Anti-Venom.
While symbiotes are naturally weak to sound, Anti-Venom is immune to it.
If Gwen's symbiote were to devour Vengeance and successfully inherit its immunity to electricity, her power would increase dramatically!
Peter only shared the details about the symbiote family but deliberately left out the last part.
Because he understood Gwen's personality well enough to know that if she found out, she would most likely insist on eating Vengeance!
And Peter absolutely could not let her take such a reckless risk!
(End of Chapter)
Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon
https://patreon.com/Glimmer09