Comic Books

A new symbiote era begins this fall in ‘Battleworld’ #3 and ‘Venom’ #252

Get your first glimpse at a new VENOM SUIT debuting this November in BATTLEWORLD #3 and who will reappear this December in VENOM #252!

David Brooke

August 1, 2025

Back in Amazing Spider-Man #252, Spider-Man stunned fans by returning from Secret Wars in a sleek black suit and was later revealed to be the alien symbiote that would become Venom. Now, over 40 years later, Marvel is set to unveil its most shocking costume twist since that game-changing debut.

This November, Battleworld #3 will introduce an all-new symbiote look—this time worn by a mysterious alternate universe hero sporting a red-and-blue Spider-Man suit with a symbiotic twist. The story continues in Venom #252 the following month.

Battleworld, a multiverse-spanning limited series by Christos Gage and Marcus To, kicks off in September and draws inspiration from both the original 1984 Secret Wars and its 2015 spiritual successor. In issue #3, one of the story’s chosen heroes is revealed to be this brand-new version of Venom. The character was created by writer Jordan Morris (who recently debuted in Web of Spider-Verse: New Blood #1) and Marvel Stormbreaker artist Luciano Vecchio, known for his dynamic Spider-Verse designs.

A new symbiote era begins this fall in 'Battleworld' #3 and 'Venom' #252

The new character will take center stage in a backup story in Venom #252, written by Morris with art by Jesús Saíz. That issue will also feature a special story from Amazing Spider-Man legends Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, directly tying back to their original work on the black suit’s debut.

Fans can also look forward to a first look at the new symbiote design by Vecchio, along with:

Battleworld #3 main cover by Leinil Francis Yu
Venom variant cover by Phillip Tan
Venom #252 variant covers by R.B. Silva and Cory Smith, homaging Secret Wars #7 and Amazing Spider-Man #252, respectively

Preorders for both issues are now available—don’t miss the biggest symbiote reveal in four decades. For more on Venom, don’t miss our EXCLUSIVE monthly column, Venom Unleashed!