Eddie Brock

Disgraced Daily Globe journalist Eddie Brock blamed Spider-Man for ruining his career, and his consuming hatred made him the perfect host for an alien symbiote the hero had already rejected — together, the two became Venom, a living costume granting Eddie superhuman strength, shapeshifting tendrils, and a unique immunity to Spider-Man's spider-sense.

Few characters have clawed their way from supporting role to full-blown icon quite like Eddie Brock, who first emerged in 1988 during comics' Copper Age and never looked back. With 536 catalog appearances spanning nearly four decades — nine of them recognized as key collector issues — his staying power speaks for itself. He's a fixture of Marvel's darker corners, most at home in the pages of Venom, The Amazing Spider-Man, and Marvel Comics Presents, where he shares the stage with heavyweights like Spider-Man, Carnage, Wolverine, and Captain America. If you're building a serious Marvel collection and Eddie Brock isn't in it, you're missing one of the most consequential characters the Copper Age ever produced.