How Spider-Man Got The Venom Symbiote Explained

Spider-Man first wore black as part of the massive 1980s crossover «Secret Wars,» making a big splash on the cover of #8. The comic book (by Jim Shooter, Mike Zeck, John Beatty, Jack Abel, Mike Esposito, Christie Scheele, and Jon Rosen) sees Spidey — who, along with the other heroes, is trapped on a planet called Battleworld and pitted against an army of bad guys — ruin his costume, whereupon he’s directed to a machine that will allegedly create a new costume for him from his thoughts. He chooses the wrong machine, though, and a small black ball appears, that bonds with him and takes the now-iconic shape of the black suit.

Spider-Man doesn’t know the suit is alive, but doesn’t seem too worried about its material, and so he wears it back home to Earth following the end of the Secret Wars, and he uses it while crimefighting. However, the suit continues influencing his life, even taking him out the window while he’s asleep and fighting bad guys with his body, leading Peter to get help from Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four. With Reed’s assistance, he discovers the truth — that his «suit» is a living organism trying to permanently attach to Peter’s body. He quickly has it removed.

However, the symbiote breaks out. It once again bonds with Peter, and the hero is forced to separate from it by using its weakness — sound waves — against it, via the vibration of giant church bells. The superhero’s rejection soon drives the alien into villainy, as it finds a new host.