We’re back with another edition of Venom Unleashed fan Q&A, and once again Jordan D. White is here to peel back the symbiote’s layers.
This week’s column dives into two new fan polls, ranging from the eternal debate of what to call a symbiote-wielding MJ to how much a host’s flaws shape the Venom legacy. Jordan shares his insights with the usual mix of candor and humor—alongside some editorial perspective you won’t find anywhere else.
And if that weren’t enough, we’ve also got an exclusive look at new art from books Jordan edits, plus he gives us insight into Luciano Vecchio’s bold Venom design that celebrates Amazing Spider-Man #252 in spectacular style. Trust us—you’re going to want to see how this celebration of Venom’s history plays out across both Battleworld and the mainline series.
So, before we jump into the fan questions, let’s unpack the results of those two polls…
AIPT: We’re back for another edition, and the books you’re editing are fabulous. To kick off the column, let’s unpack the two poll questions:
A bit of a retread of a previous poll question, but we have some new candidates for naming. People love names! Any thoughts on these, Jordan?
Jordan: I mean…if she bonds with the symbiote she is currently wearing, they’re gonna be Venom. I don’t really have any question in my mind about that. If she bonded with a completely new symbiote, then sure, she could be called something else. Like her becoming Red Widow because she finds and bonds with Slither and takes on the super-spy mojo that Sliver learned from Natasha? Yeah, that’s fun. But right now, she HAS a symbiote and it’s the big deal one. Her having any other one would be a pretty big step down, no? That would be pretty messed up, to have MJ paired with a big important character and then decouple them only to have her linking up with some lesser, new character.
AIPT: Next up…
One might assume people picked this one due to the Venom symbiote seemingly being influenced heavily by their host. Would you agree, Jordan?
Jordan: I would! And thankfully, it’s currently linked up with its most morally upstanding host ever…uh, not including Peter. Though I suppose I should mention that that would be the answer if I am thinking about the question from an in-world POV. From the meta point of view, as someone working on the stories about the symbiote, I think it’s important that the character be flawed and that they have some moral failings. Say–Eddie is a pretty good host for this thing! In all seriousness, I remember looking over the history of the character when I took over as editor and looking for what linked the major hosts–Eddie, Dylan, and Flash–and feeling like their flaws were their stronger commonality than their strengths.
AIPT: Jordan, I adored All-New Venom #10. I think it does a lot to answer fan questions concerning MJ and Venom’s past, Dylan, and what’s next with the supporting cast. With so much relationship stuff going on, what was it like editing this issue with Al Ewing at the helm?
Jordan: I have said it before, and I am sure I will say it again–Al Ewing does GREAT character work. I knew MJ would be in good hands with Al because he doesn’t take characters at face value; he digs into their past and works hard to reflect what has come before and how that informs how they react to things. I remember people when the reveal came out saying MJ would never have a symbiote because of the events discussed in this issue–but I already knew a reckoning was coming about those events. And the same goes for every character who appears in the series–they may not get as big a page count as folks might like, but I think Al is nailing the characterization for everyone–Flash, Rick, Paul, Dylan, they are all shining through so well. So, how is it as an editor? It’s a delight! Getting great scripts in, watching Carlos turn them into gorgeous pages, Frankie color them perfectly, and Clayton letter in the words…I love it when a plan comes together.
AIPT: Final question from me, Jordan! We got to see Luciano Vecchio’s design for Venom in Battleworld #3. I’d love any insights or your take on the design!
Jordan: This is a nutty one, but it all stemmed from wanting to do something to celebrate Venom reaching issue 252–the number in which in Amazing Spider-Man Spidey started wearing the symbiote. When I suggested we put Venom in a red and blue costume, I was only kidding…but so many of the best ideas start as jokes! Everyone loved it.
I got Luchiano to design it because hot damn he is great at that.
There are so many great details in there. I then took that design to writer Jordan Morris, who came up with the character and story to go with it. That story will be a backup in the issue and introduce this new Venom to the world! But we weren’t done with the design yet–Al Ewing ALSO loved the look of it and the celebration, so he cooked up an excuse for MJ to rock that look in 616 as well! And if that wasn’t enough of a celebration of ASM #252, we got the creative team from that book–Tom Defalco, Ron Frenz, and Brett Breeding–to do an all-new story harkening back to that era with a new spin on it! It’s gonna be a great issue.
AIPT: Okay, let’s dive into fan questions. There were just over 100 questions, and these are the ones that were selected this month.
Character Relationships & Dynamics
Symbiobro asks: Seeing Flash as Agent Toxin is awesome. We know he and the Venom symbiote have a close relationship, but how would you describe his relationship with Toxin and Sleeper? Is he almost a kind of “uncle” to them?
Jordan: Yeah–I would say an uncle is a good comparison. He cares about them, and sometimes is thrilled to be working with them and other times exasperated by them.
Just call him uncle Flash! Credit: Marvel
Mikey T asks: Now that MJ and Paul have split, how protective of MJ do you think Venom is?
Jordan: MJ and Venom’s relationship is, sadly, complicated. It seems from the ending of issue 10 that Venom is a lot more willing to open his heart to MJ than she is to it right now. That said, the vibe I get from the breakup with Paul is that it wasn’t acrimonious–MJ doesn’t hate Paul or even blame him for the breakup… they just weren’t right together and spent too long pretending otherwise. So I don’t think Venom is particularly worried that they need to protect MJ from him.
CJ asks: How long was the MJ/Paul breakup in the works?
Jordan: We knew we were going that way since we signed up MJ to be Venom. Happily steering the ship in that direction the whole time. You will recall the reference to couples therapy in issue 1, I believe. They were doomed the whole time.
Dimitri V also asks: Which character do you think has worse luck, Eddie Brock or Peter Parker?
Jordan: Oh, good question. I guess it depends on your view of what luck is. Bad things happen to them both, but I think the question of whether it’s luck or not depends on your outlook on why those things happen to them. Peter, I feel like MOST of the bad that falls on him happens because of his heroism–because he has this burden of responsibility and is constantly sacrificing his own happiness for others. And honestly, because of that, us comic creators do tend to pile unfortunate coincidences onto him. So his bad luck is used to showcase his heroism, basically. With Eddie…I feel like it’s coming from a different place. It tends to read to me a bit more karmic–he has a lot of bad things happen to him as a result of having made a lot of poor choices over his life. I hesitate to call it punishment, but perhaps saying that overcoming these troubles is meant to be redemptive is a bit more accurate. At the end of the day, I think I would end up tipping it to Peter? But it’s 100% a judgment call.
A panel from Nightwatch #5.
Credit: Marvel
Symbiote Lore & Concepts
Venom King asks: Will we see Venom lore expanded more?
Jordan: I mean… yeah, I feel like we expand the Venom lore with every issue! And I don’t mean that flippantly in that more things happen to them, I mean I really feel like we are exploring different parts of how the symbiotes work and experience things, and are giving more nuance and richness to it.
Scal asks: Why does Carnage make those little “flowers” on Eddie’s body? Can symbiotes photosynthesize?
Jordan: Hahaha, no. I think they just look cool and creepy, and I think Carnage is not strong enough to make a full “human” self stemming off Eddie. So he’s making those blooms, and his little umbilically attached critters.
Those aren’t flowers, folks!
Credit: Marvel
Overwatch asks: Does Mary Jane use her powers to help herself with daily tasks?
Jordan: I don’t think so–I think she is still mostly not accepting the bond enough to want to incorporate it into her life in that way. I think she would if it were an emergency, maybe, but probably isn’t just casually like extending a tentacle to grab the coffee or stuff like that.
Supporting Characters & Spin-offs
Carl asks: What if Paul hosted a symbiote — which one would it be and why?
Jordan: Fun! Let me think about this. Paul as Venom is no good, MJ is Venom, and I don’t want that to end any time soon. Paul with Carnage would be interesting–I don’t think he is at all suited for the role, that symbiote would ruin his life completely, which IS a compelling reason to do it as that could make a good story. But Carnage is busy ruining Eddie’s life right now. I don’t think Toxin is the best fit.I mean…probably Sleeper would be the most fun of the ones we’ve been dealing with recently, in that he would just use Paul as his Sleeper Agent, and Paul would be very unhappy about it, and Sleeper would probably not care. They should probably work on that. That all said…I feel like the best option would be to take a cue from the original birth of Carnage–what happens when MJ leaves Paul, but the symbiote just drips off a new offspring that it leaves behind?
What if another drip creates a symbiote for Paul?
Credit: Marvel
Creative Process & Direction
Y. Lu wants to know: With the latest volume, Venom is now more Spider-Man-adjacent, featuring his supporting cast and big villains. Was that a deliberate direction or just how things developed?
Jordan: A little bit of both. We definitely wanted to go street level, and we wanted a new host in the symbiote. Once we hit on it being MJ, it was inevitable that the book would have more Spider-Man links. If we had gone with Rick Jones as the host, we would probably have a lot more Hulk and Cap stuff in the book. But it also makes sense for there to be more spider things–the book IS a Spider-Man spin-off, and Venom DOES have Spider-powers. It’s GREAT that Venom has his own lore that is separate from Spider-Man now as well, but he does also have a lot of Spider-Man connectivity baked in.
Evan asks: What made you decide to retitle the book back to Venom besides the legacy numbering?
Jordan: Hahaha, I mean… nothing? LOL. It’s both good marketing and a fun thing to do, going back to that original numbering once in a while. We had a nice 10 issue run as All-New Venom, and MJ is continuing as Venom with issue 250 on, so it’s not still that character. I guess she is not as “All-New” as she was 10 issues ago. That said, what IS nice about changing the title with what would have been issue 11 is that we now have a 10-issue ALL-NEW VENOM series in which ALL the issues were the same creative team! A very rare thing in this day and age, and I am super proud of Carlos and Frankie for kicking ass on 10 issues in a row!
Fun Finish
Hank asks: What’s Venom’s favorite movie?
Jordan: Well, once again I will turn to the fact that so often our favorite movies have a lot to do with the experiences of seeing them, the nostalgia associate with a part of our lives. Peter brought that symbiote back to Earth at the top of 1984, which was a pretty good year for movies. I am sure the symbiote has a soft spot in his heart for Beverly Hills Cop, The Terminator, Footloose, Gremlins, Purple Rain, and yes, even Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (IMO the best of the series)…but all of those pale in its heart compared to the first time Peter wore it to the movies to see Ghostbusters.
Actual footage of Peter leaving Ghostbusters.
And that’s a wrap on Venom Unleashed #11! Check out exclusive art below, and keep scrolling to ask White more questions and take our new poll questions!
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