Eddie Brock

*"I like being bad. It makes me happy."*
―Venom to Spider-Man[src]
**Edward Charles Allan "Eddie" Brock Jr.** was a former freelance photographer at The Daily Bugle, who also previously dated Gwen Stacy. He eventually got the staff job for the Bugle, having found a picture of Spider-Man robbing a bank. However, this was exposed by Peter Parker, and this led to J. Jonah Jameson firing him. Few days later, while praying in church, Eddie noticed Peter Parker wearing the Spider-Man suit, deducing Spider-Man's secret identity. While there, he bonded with the Venom symbiote attached to the Spider-Man suit. He allied with Sandman to get revenge on Spider-Man, which soon led to his demise when he was defeated by Spider-Man, with help from New Goblin.

## Biography

### Early Life

At some point during his life, he met and dated Gwen Stacy. He was also an avid photographer, having worked freelance at *The Daily Bugle*.

### Daily Bugle Freelance

#### Spider-Man's Early Years

During Spider-Man's origins and first year as a vigilante, J. Jonah Jameson declared his opinion on Spider-Man as a menace to the public, however, he only did this knowing how much papers it would sell. However, he hadn't gotten a decent picture of Spider-Man yet. Eddie was tasked with finding a picture of the vigilante, but couldn't get a clear view of him. Joseph Robertson relayed this information onto Jameson.

#### Spider-Man No More

A few years later, Eddie Brock took a picture of Spider-Man's abandoned suit, and was credited on the respective newspaper.

#### Crane Accident

Eddie Brock was present during the crane accident that occured. As the police showed up, Eddie took a widened shot of the event, and noticed Gwen Stacy holding on to the side of the building. Even though he knew Gwen had a modelling gig, he was surprised at what he saw. Brock pointed it out, and confused Captain George Stacy, who was Gwen's father. George took the camera and noticed Gwen. Still not knowing who he was, Brock introduced himself, telling him he was dating Gwen.

He witnessed Spider-Man coming in, and saving Gwen. He then met Spider-Man, whom he took photos of, and introduced himself. When Spider-Man enquired about Peter Parker, Brock responded that he was an amateur and he was the new guy, and revealed he thought the pictures were quite chunky and bloated. Spider-Man then left the scene, with Brock telling him he didn't have to worry about that stuff anymore.

### Rivalry with Peter Parker

#### Meeting J. Jonah Jameson

*"You never get that shot."
"Oh, we'll see."*
―Peter Parker and Eddie Brock[src]
After securing the photos of Spider-Man, Eddie Brock then decided to turn these in to J. Jonah Jameson. While there, he noticed the receptionist Betty Brant, and made an attempt to flirt with her, despite her clearly not interested. Following this, he noticed Jameson yelling at Ted Hoffman for his pitch, and quickly seized the opportunity to walk into his office, with Brant telling him not to. Despite having met him last week he was still confused to who he was, so Brock introduced himself. He then submitted his photos, before Peter walked in with his photos. After further inspection, Jameson and Robbie Robertson agreed that Brock's was better, and Jameson promised him 50 bucks.

Brock then revealed his intention of getting married and having a staff job, with Peter getting agitated as it should be him to have the staff job, being there longer. Jmeson then revealed that whoever could prove Spider-Man doing something evil, they would get the job. While leaving, Peter told Brock he would never get that picture, with Brock telling him they'll see.

#### Spider-Man Festival

*"Why not that amazing.....amazing night that we had?"
"We had a coffee, Eddie."*
―Eddie Brock and Gwen Stacy[src]
Some point later during the Spider-Man festival, Eddie talked to Gwen, and took pictures of her, before Gwen told him she had to leave to practise for her speech she was going to give. Eddie asked if he could see her that same night, which Gwen said she couldn't. Eddie asked why, reminding her of a date that they had, before Gwen reminded him they had coffee. Brock was also present when the criminal known as the Sandman floated across.

#### Bank Robbery

*"Whoa, buddy love the new outfit."*
―Eddie Brock[src]
A few days later, Brock caught Spider-Man, now sporting a black suit, lifting the entrance to the subway tunnels infront of a robbed bank. Brock, believing Spider-Man was responsible for the robbery, took pictures of Spider-Man, asking for him to give a pose. However, Spider-Man instead swung the camera Brock was using, breaking the camera, and saying goodbye to him. Brock then decided to take pictures of the robbed bank with his spare camera, and frame Spider-Man responsible just as soon as the police showed up.

### Daily Bugle Career

#### Framing Spider-Man and Confrontation With Peter Parker

*"You do this, I will lose everything. There's not enough of any paper in town that'll hire me."
"You should've thought of that earlier."*
―Eddie Brock and Peter Parker[src]
After taking the pictures of the bank, Eddie edited a picture of Spider-Man onto it, holding a bag of money, and editing the suit to be black. He then turned this fake picture into the *Bugle*, and led them to believe the fake was real. They used the picture in their newspaper, along with Brock getting the staff job as their photographer.
After getting the job, Brock and fellow employees celebrated with a drink. Brock hung up the picture, joking with an employee that they needed more wall space. As he hung up the picture of the newspaper, he saw Peter Parker's reflection. He then greeted Parker, telling Parker he proved him wrong. Parker, under the influence of the alien symbiotic costume, then sarcastically congratulated him, with Brock replying he had to see things as it is. Parker then told him he had seen the picture before, and showed him the proof.

Eddie then called Parker a boy scout and asked if he would give him a break, before Peter pushed him against the wall, breaking the frame the fake picture was being held in. Parker then told him that if he wanted forgiveness, he should get religion. When Robbie asked about what was going on, before Brock lied about them horsing around. He then begged Parker to not show them as he would lose everything, as there was any paper business that will rehire him, but Parker then told him he should have thought of that earlier. Peter gave the forged photos to Robbie and Betty to show it to Jameson, along with telling him to check his source next time.

#### Fired

*"Pack your things. Get out of my building."
"I was just..."
"YOU'RE FIRED!!"*
―J. Jonah Jameson and Eddie Brock[src]
Eventually, with some confirmation that the picture was a fake, a furious Jameson told Brock to leave the building and pack his things. When Brock tried to defend himself, Jameson then yelled that he was fired. While leaving, he overheard Jameson and Robbie talking about printing a retraction, which Jameson hadn't done in 20 years. The new article from the *Bugle* deemed Brock as "faker", which humiliated Brock and he unjustly blamed Peter for it, despite that when it was really his fault.

### Bonding with Venom

#### Meeting Venom

*"It's Brock, sir. Edward Brock Junior. I come before you today. Humbled.....and humiliated. To ask you for one thing: I want you to kill Peter Parker."*
―Eddie Brock[src]
A few days later, Brock noticed Gwen and Peter walking towards a nightclub. Already enraged at Peter for making him lose his job, Brock's feelings for him only got worse. The same night, Brock decided to pray in church. After putting religious water on his forehead, he sat down on one of the pews. He then prayed to God, begging for him to kill Peter Parker. While praying, Brock then noticed the church bells ringing continuously, as well as someone screaming.

Brock then headed to the bell tower, and noticed someone higher up. Brock then realized it was Peter Parker, who was attempted to get rid of the black symbiotic costume when he realised it was slowly changing him for the worse. Eddie looked on, shocked, when a piece of the symbiote was taken off from Peter's black suit, Brock took his jacket off to prevent the piece from crawling on him. He deduced Peter was in fact Spider-Man as the latter ripped the symbiote of himself and crawled down towards Eddie, having sensed his rage and hatred towards Peter. Eventually, all of the black symbiote was carried onto Eddie, aggressively bonding to him. Brock was initially confused, screaming as it bonded with him. However, he soon smiled, realizing he could use this to kill Peter.

#### Getting Used to the Symbiote

After bonding with the suit, Eddie slowly got used to the alien symbiote. At first driven mad by the alien's attempts to communicate with him, he attacked several teenagers in his lunacy and attracted the attention of some police officers. After fighting them off, he finally allowed the symbiote to communicate with him, and it sent images of Parker's life and role as Spider-Man to Eddie, due to it copying the previous host's memories. This confirmed Eddie's suspicions that Parker was Spider-Man. By tapping into the symbiote's memories of Spider-Man, Venom was able to replicate his abilities of web production, wall-crawling, and super strength.

Realising that he could use the symbiote in his desire to get back at Spider-Man for his humiliation, as he found out that the symbiote also wanted revenge on Spider-Man for rejecting it. He sneaked over to the Stacy apartment and watched Gwen through a window. After she left the room, he broke in to look at Captain Stacy's files, and found Flint Marko's file, inspiring him to choose him as a potential ally.

#### Allying with Sandman

Brock, using the new symbiote capabilities, then decided to swing around the city, trying to find Flint Marko, otherwise known as the Sandman. Flint, initially believing he was Spider-Man, attacked him, before Brock revealed he was also an enemy of Spider-Man. Brock revealed that through the symbiote's knowledge he knew a lot about Flint and how Spider-Man wouldn't let him save his daughter. He asked Flint if he was interested in working together, which he agreed to.

#### Kidnapping Mary Jane Watson

Knowing about Peter's relationship with Mary Jane Watson, Eddie decided to kidnap her to lure Peter in. He disguised himself as a taxi driver, which MJ decided to hitch. As she got in, Brock asked where she wanted to go, before revealing his symbiote form and kidnapping her. He then decided to make giant web at a construction site, making a lettering reading: "SPIDER-MAN, STOP US IF YOU CAN." Eddie tormented Mary Jane by saying Peter didn't love her, in order to scare her, but Mary Jane didn't fall for it, until Sandman told him to stop. Eddie sensed Spider-Man's presence coming up, as the symbiote was able to track Spider-Man, due to it bonding to him previously.

#### Battle at the Construction Site

*"Eddie, the suit. You gotta take it off!"
"Oh you like that, wouldn't you?
"I know what it feels like: It feels good. The power. Everything. But you'll lose yourself. Let it go."
"I like being bad. It makes me happy."*
―Spider-Man and Venom[src]
Eventually, Spider-Man joined the battle, swooping in. However, as soon as he saw MJ, Eddie attacked him. He then mocked Peter, grabbing MJ and kicked him away. Eventually, he webbed Peter up and jumped on him. When Peter suggested another way instead of fighting, Eddie then decided on humiliating him. He eventually explained that he took his girlfriend, so he would make him lose his. As soon as he was about to attack Parker, MJ threw a brick on his head, distracting Eddie. This gave Peter time to break free and attack him. After, they both fell down the construction site, attacking each other.

Eventually, as Peter fought Sandman, Eddie webbed him up, allowing Sandman to hit Peter, until Harry Osborn showed up. Harry then fought Eddie, kicking him back, allowing him to help Peter get back on his feet. Eddie then jumped on to Peter, but Harry then swung Peter and he was able to hit Eddie. After Peter and Harry took care of Sandman, Eddie webbed Peter up and landed some attacks on him. He then told Peter to not wound what he couldn't kill. Despite Peter's warnings about the dangers of the Venom symbiote and pleading with him to take it off, Eddie decided to keep it, having enjoyed his villainy.

#### Death

*"Peter, what are you DOING?!?! NOOO!!!"
"EDDIE!!!!"*
―Eddie Brock and Peter Parker[src]
However, Venom was about to kill Spider-Man by impaling him with a rebar, Harry showed up throwing razor bats at Venom's arms, infriutating him. Harry attempted to impale Venom with his glider, but Venom attacked him, taking his glider. He then decided to use the glider's blades to kill Peter, but Harry jumped in the way, rescuing Peter but dying in the process. As soome metal pipe bars fell. Peter used two metal bars to keep Venom still, using the loud vibrations to weaken the alien, before assembling a lot more metal bars around Venom. After seeing Eddie being de-attached from the suit, he webbed Eddie out of the symbiote.

As Eddie got out, the symbiote grew more and attempted to angrily kill Peter, causing Peter to make more noise. Peter then grabbed a pumpkin bomb from Harry's glider to destroy the symbiote. However, Eddie realised what Peter was doing and wanted to re-bond with the symbiote as it made him powerful, so he jumped towards Venom, by mistake. Peter, horrified by this rushed to save Eddie, but as soon as he did this the bomb exploded, killing both Eddie and the symbiote.

### Legacy

*"I fought a.....an alien made out of black goo once"*
―Peter Parker to his alternative selves, referring to Venom[src]
Years later, when Peter was transported into another reality, similar to his own, he met two alternative versions of himself when they were on a mission to cure several villains who were accidentally brought into reality Peter was in. While talking to his counterparts about the previous villains he faced, Peter mentioned he fought an "alien made out of black goo", referring to both Eddie and Venom as the weirdest villain he encountered.

## Personality

*"You're so right. I'm thinking...humliation. Kinda like how you humiliated me. Do you remember? Do you remember what you did to me? You made me lose my girl, now I'm gonna make you lose ours. How's that sound, "Tiger"."*
―Eddie Brock[src]
Eddie Brock appears to be a hard working, honest, and determined man who will do anything to get the job done. He is incredibly passionate about photography, knowing everything that makes up a good picture. He is also determined to have a great life, as he tries hard in order to make his relationship with Gwen Stacy work. He seemed to show politeness around people with power, such as J. Jonah Jameson, complimenting how he liked Jameson's shirt.

However, Brock is deep down an arrogant, egotistical and uncaring man. Despite knowing about Peter Parker's long-running history with *The Daily Bugle*, he immediately disregarded Parker's efforts, brushing him off whenever he tried defending himself. He also had no qualms about cheating to get the job done, because despite having no concrete evidence to prove that Spider-Man really did commit a crime, he still decided to fake the pictures just to beat Parker. He also felt no sense of regret doing so, showing how truly selfish he was. Upon framing Spider-Man, he bragged about it to Parker, despite not having any actual evidence. This showed how he did not have any sense of honour and respect. He further insulted Parker in order to protect himself, showing he had no real sense of respect. Furthermore, he did not seem to care about his relationship with Gwen, because upon seeing Betty Brant he immediately flirted with her, despite being in a committed relationship with Stacy. He could also get jealous easily, as shown when he learnt Parker took both his job and Gwen Stacy.

Additionally, Brock only acted his true self to those who had no power over him. He insulted people such as Peter Parker, regularly doing so for him not being as good a photographer. He only acted defenceless towards Parker in order to protect his reputation as a photographer. Furthermore when Jameson found out about who he truly was, he tried defending himself, but said nothing when Jameson told him to leave. This showed he only cared about people who were useful in his life.

Eventually, upon feeling his life was ruined, he became heartless, wishing for Peter Parker's life to end. Furthermore, unlike most hosts to the symbiote known as Venom, he immediately accepted it, and it did nothing to alter his personality, instead amplifying himself in a way to become worse than he already was. He showed no further emotion as he willingly kidnapped Mary Jane Watson just to kill Parker, even though she did nothing to him. He was also willing to hurt anybody with any ties to Parker, even though they had done nothing. This lack of emotion made him dangerous, and he not only did it, but relished in Parker's pain, showing how much of an evil man he truly was.

## Powers and Abilities

### Powers

* **Symbiotic Costume Enhancements:** Due to bonding with the same alien symbiotic costume that first bonded to Spider-Man, Eddie Brock possessed the same powers as Spider-Man/Peter Parker does. He even had the ability to bypass Spider-Man's spider-sense which can allow him to grab Spider-Man without warning and was shown to be the most dangerous foe Spider-Man had faced. These powers include:

* + **ESP (Spider-Sense):** While bonding with the symbiote, Brock possessed an extrasensory ability similar to Spider-Man's Spider-Sense. This response is not as complicated as Spider-Man's inherent sense since the alien costume can detect danger from every direction and conduct Brock in plenty of time. It's a lot more efficient than Spider-Man's Spider-Sense because it takes less time to sense the danger, and Brock's reflexes are faster than Spider-Man's, as Venom can dodge a gunshot or a barrage of bullets.
	+ **Immunity to Spider-Man's Spider-Sense:** Due to Spider-Man being a previous host to the symbiote, Brock was able to bypass Spider-Man's Spider-Sense. As such, Brock was capable of attacking Spider-Man without alerting him, making him a deadly opponent.
	+ **Superhuman Strength:** Due to the symbiote copying the strength from Spider-Man, Eddie possessed superhuman strength which was great enough to smash a car's roof off by swinging towards it. Brock was able to hold Mary Jane with one hand without showing signs of difficulty. He was even able to restrain Spider-Man and even overpower him most of the time.
	+ **Wall-Crawling:** Much like Spider-Man, Venom had the ability to cling to virtually any surface. He can rapidly crawl, walk, or run across even slick/wet surfaces.
	+ **Superhuman Stamina:** Because the symbiote was able to copy Spider-Man's improved stamina, Eddie was able to pick up fights with the experienced Spider-Man without physically exhausting himself.
	+ **Webbing Generation:** Venom can project a powerful, black organic web-like substance similar to the webbing Spider-Man has. He typically uses this webbing to swing from building to building or as a means of immobilizing someone. The webbing is incredibly strong as Spider-Man had difficulty trying to get from it.
	+ **Superhuman Speed:** Due to having the same superhuman speed as Spider-Man does, Venom was capable of running at speeds faster than normal humans and moves faster that any human eye could see.
	+ **Accelerated Healing Factor:** The symbiote was able to regenerate its own biomass as well as heal its host to a certain degree. When Eddie received injuries on his elbows from Harry's pumpkin bats, it healed up instantly within seconds.
	+ **Superhuman Durability:** Because of the symbiote copying Spider-Man's powers, it granted Eddie immense durability, allowing him to survive from being hit by hard obstacles. He was barely fazed from having a large brick being thrown at the back of his neck. He even recovered from taking a brutal hit from Harry's glider and smashing through some thick brick walls and even passing out momentarily.
	+ **Superhuman Agility:** Due to the symbiote copying Spider-Man's agility, Venom possesses superior agility and flexibility that was greater than Spider-Man's. He was able to acrobatically leap into the air and take Harry's glider with one webbing within seconds.
	+ **Superhuman Reflexes:** Because the symbiote having copied the same reflexes as Spider-Man does, Venom has reflexes that allow him to dodge any attack, even Spider-Man's punches and kicks.

### Abilities

*"What was that you said? "Never got that shot". There's your hero"*
―Eddie Brock to Peter Parker[src]
* **Skilled Photographer:** Eddie Brock was shown to be a good photographer, as he was able to get a picture of Spider-Man saving Gwen Stacy from falling. Though his skills were not as skilled as Peter Parker's; he forged a fake photo of Spider-Man robbing a bank that was edited by a previous photo Peter had taken, which led to Eddie getting fired as a result.

* **Expert Combatant:** Despite not having any formal training, Eddie was shown be an extremely skilled and deadly fighter, thanks to the symbiotic costume. He was able to pick up fights and take Spider-Man down easily, due to the symbiotic copying Spider-Man's powers and fighting moves.

## Equipment

* **Venom Symbiote:** When Spider-Man rejected the black symbiotic costume when he learned it was slowly corrupting him, Eddie Brock became the symbiote's next host and he used it to get revenge on Spider-Man for his ruined life. The symbiote was later destroyed by Spider-Man when he threw a Pumpkin Bomb at it, along with Eddie, who tried to rebond with the alien.

## Relationships

### Allies

* Venom - Symbiote
* The Daily Bugle - Former Employees
	+ Betty Brant
	+ Robbie Robertson
* Flint Marko/Sandman
* Gwen Stacy

*To be added*

### Enemies

* J. Jonah Jameson - Former Employer
* Peter Parker/Spider-Man - Rival, Attempted Victim and Killer
* Mary Jane Watson - Attempted Victim
* Harry Osborn/New Goblin - Victim

*To be added*

## Trivia

* This is the first live-action incarnation of Venom/Eddie Brock from Marvel Comics.
* Eddie Brock is the only villain of the Raimi trilogy to appear in just one film. However, he's mentioned in the rest of the films.
* R.C. Everbeck was intended to play Eddie Brock on the first film, but his scenes were unreleased.
* Eddie is the first Spider-Man villain to kill a main character in a film. He kills Harry Osborn in Spider-Man 3.
* Despite being credited as Venom, Eddie Brock never uses the alias in the film.
* Brock is referenced in *Spider-Man: No Way Home* when Peter Parker recounts fighting him, but instead refers to Venom rather than Eddie Brock.
	+ Additionally, the Sony's Spider-Man Universe incarnation of Eddie Brock/Venom appears in the film in its mid-credits scene, portrayed by Tom Hardy.

## Behind the Scenes

* Venom/Eddie Brock was originally going to be added as a villain in Spider-Man 3, due to director Sam Raimi not being a huge fan of the character, stating "he lacked humanity". Sony forced him to add Venom in as a sort of a fan service.
* Topher Grace, a huge fan of Marvel Comics, agreed to take the role as Venom. He wore the Venom costume along with fake fangs, that bruised his gums.
* Tophie Grace didn't drink any water, due to not being able to take the entire costume off.

## References

The Spider-Man Trilogy Wiki has a collection of images and media related to **Eddie Brock**.

The Spider-Man Trilogy Wiki has a collection of quotes related to **Eddie Brock**.

1. ↑ *Spider-Man*
2. ↑ *Spider-Man 2*
3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 *Spider-Man 3*
4. ↑ *Spider-Man 3: The Black*
5. ↑ *Spider-Man: No Way Home*
6. ↑ https://twitter.com/RCEverbeck/status/1026595688489148416