Venom (DC)

Latest revision as of 08:42, 6 April 2024

Bane using Venom in Secret Six v3 #35.

Venom is the name of a drug that features in DC Comics.

History

Origin

Venom was a super-steroid drug that was developed for use by the army. (Batman: Vengeance of Bane v1 #1) It was a derivative of Rex Tyler's Miraclo drug that was developed during his time at Bannerman Pharmaceuticals where he believed he had hidden all traces of the formula. However, parts of his early work were copied where they became the basis of the army's pharmacological super-soldier program that created the original Venom drug. (JSA Classified v1 #17)

On Santa Prisca, the cruel ruling government sought to test the drug Venom for use in the military. Scientists tasked with its study had it being tested on the in-mates at the Pena Duro prison. Five of the test subjects all suffered from adverse reactions to the super-steroid that caused their hearts to explode. It was eventually tested on Bane who after considerable pain managed to survive the injections with this pleasing the scientists on the project. They had implants placed in Bane's skull that allowed the drug to be administered directly into his brain. Unknown to anyone at the time, Bane's associate Bird came to steal the files on the Venom formula that he came to study. (Batman: Vengeance of Bane v1 #1)

Bane used Venom to escape Peña Duro and traveled to Gotham City, with ambitions of defeating Batman. (Batman: Vengeance of Bane v1 #1) Once in Gotham, Bane tested his Venom-enhanced strength against Killer Croc, and won handily. (Batman v1 #489) Shortly after, Bane used a diluted strain of Venom to temporarily strengthen the Riddler as a preemptive challenge for Batman; by then already severely fatigued, Batman was unable to outfight the Riddler, who only fell when Trogg, Zombie, and Bird shot him from behind, so Bane could reserve Batman's defeat for himself. (Batman v1 #490) These hopes were quickly realized, as the Venom allowed Bane to crush Batman in one-on-one combat, even breaking Batman's back over his knee. (Batman v1 #497) Bane's victory would be short-lived, however, as a new Batman soon emerged with better equipment and a much more savage fighting style. In response, Bane dosed himself with more Venom than ever before, only for the new Batman to destroy the Venom's delivery hose; deprived of his main weapon, Bane quickly fell. (Batman v1 #500)

Following Bane's defeat, various strains of Venom continued to circulate throughout the criminal underworld. One strain, developed by the same scientist who had originally experimented on Bane, became popular among professional athletes. (Batman: Vengeance of Bane v1 #2)

President Luthor managed to easily synthesize Venom and laced it with liquid Kryptonite which he injected into his own body. It made him stronger but also caused him to become psychologically unstable and delusional. (Superman/Batman v1 #6) A new Venom mix later began to be distributed on the streets of Gotham with this version being stronger and more addictive than earlier versions. It was being created on Santa Prisca by Bane where he was seeking to distribute it through his estate there through the criminal underworld but was stopped by an empowered-Batman. (Superman/Batman v1 #54)

After returning to Santa Prisca, Bane sought to distance himself from Venom and swore off its use where during this time he sought to take over the criminal underworld on the island nation. Whilst there, he found a lesser variant of the drug being peddled by drug dealers that was modified to be even more addictive than the normal version. This saw Bane then confronting the Santa Priscan mob where he found that the crime lords had been using it on their own henchmen as well. Despite their numbers, Bane managed to kill them and the mob bosses where he found that pharmaceutical scientist that modified it to be an employee of Bannerman Pharmaceuticals. This saw Bane looking to destroy the original research that created the drug and he decided to confront the Tyler family. He pretended that he had been defeated by the Santa Priscan mob who restored his implant and hooked him on the addictive Venom variant thus forcing him to be an enforcer for them. At first, he claimed to had been sent to kidnap Rex Tyler leading to a confrontation with Hourman Rick Tyler where he seemed to enlist their aid in hunting down the creation of Venom. They came to determine from Bannerman Pharmaceutical files that it was based on the Miraclo drug at which point Bane betrayed his compatriots and revealed his true agenda which was to destroy the original formula. This necessitated the death of Rex Tyler but he was defeated by the two Hourmen. (JSA Classified v1 #18)

Scarecrow used a diluted form of Venom in a pump system to transform the kidnapped boy Colin Wilkes into the much larger Abuse who was sent to fight Batman. (Detective Comics v1 #848)

Post-Flashpoint

Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Venom

After taking over Santa Prisca, Bane resumed the Venom experiments as he began building an army of followers which he intended to use to take over Gotham. (Talon v1 #8)

With the Venom, Strange used it as part of a formula that created a breed of Monster Men that were unleashed on Gotham City. (Batman v3 #8) After the Night of the Monster Men, A.R.G.U.S. was deployed at the remains of each of the Monster Men to attempt to safely dispose of the corpses as even small samples could mutate anyone. As a result, the area was placed under quarantine with some referring to the region as Monster Town. Dr. Victoria October operated as a consultant for A.R.G.U.S. during this time as there fears that terrorist forces were attempting to steal samples of the Monster Venom for use. (Detective Comics v1 #948) Monster Venom was later being sold on the black market with some of the world's most dangerous organizations looking to get exclusive control over it. (Detective Comics v1 #949)

Overview

It was described as being a super-steroid drug that was noted for its complexity yet ease through which it could be replicated. Within the body, it stimulated the adrenal glands whilst another ingredient targeted the corpus callosum segment of the brain thus fusing its right and left hemispheres. (Batman: Vengeance of Bane v1 #1)

Variants of Venom included:

• Monster Venom : variant created by Hugo Strange that utilised the substance to create a super-steroid that powered monster cells by way of massive bioelectric surges. (Batman v3 #8)
• Super Venom : noted for being a super-charged steroid cocktail that could give an individual superpowers. (The Flash v5 #64)

A modified variant of the drug was created that was even more addictive where killed those that stopped using it. (JSA Classified v1 #17)

On the pain of withdrawal, it was said by addicts that leaving Venom was like having their souls leaving their bodies with it feeling like it scraped its way out from the body with a rusted knife. (Batman v3 #16)

Users

• Bane : a male human born in Santa Prisca's Peno Duro prison where he was to serve a life sentence for the crimes of his father with him training his mind and body to the peak of perfection where the warden had him used in the Venom trial experiments with him being the only survivor. (Batman: Vengeance of Bane v1 #1)
• Bronze Tiger :
• Colin Wilkes :

Notes

• Venom was created by Dennis O'Neil, Trevor von Eeden and Russell Braun where it made its first appearance in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight v1 #16 (March, 1991).

Alternate Versions

In other media

Television

• In Batman Beyond, Venom was shown in the setting of the animated television series set in the DC Animated Universe in the episode "The Winning Edge". Set in 2030, it was revealled that Bane's constant reliance on Venom crippled his body leaving him forced to get care. As his mind degraded, he revealed to his carer Jackson Chappell the Venom formula and he began using it to sell the steroid as a slapper drug to teenagers and atheletes until stopped by Terry McGinnis.
• In The Batman, an unnamed serum appeared in the setting of the animated television series starting from the episode "Traction". This was used by the mercenary Bane which when activated grew him to large muscular proportions and gave him red skin. After being hired by the mob, Bane came to badly injure Batman who was later forced to use the Batbot in the second encounter with the mercenary Bane who was defeated in the fight. In the episode "Brawn", the Joker came to steal Bane's power-infusion module from the Gotham P.D.'s lock-up which he used to give himself superhuman strength that he used to fight Batman. With his new-found strength, Joker's latest crime spree seems unstoppable, especially when Batgirl accidentally causes Batman to be captured when she borrows his power suit. To rescue him, Batgirl discovers that she must overcome her own limitations to master control of the suit as well as stop Joker.
• In Young Justice, it features in the episode "Drop-Zone" where its being produced on Santa Prisca island under the direction of Bane. However, the operation is taken over by the Kobra Cult who mixed it with the Blockbuster formula to create a more dangerous and permanent drug called Kobra-Venom This was with the purpose of selling the super steroid to the Light's agent, Sportsmaster but the deal was interrupted by the Young Justice Team.
• In Gotham, the drug made an appearance in the episode "Viper" where an earlier version of Venom was shown that was named Viper. It was created by Stan Potolsky who worked for WellZyn Laboratories that was a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises. Viper was created with a high level of sophistication as part of a weaponized pharmaceutical program to create combat drugs for soldiers that activated unused parts of human DNA. Once inhaled, the green gas imparted users with super-strength through a process that redistributed the calcium stores in the body to the muscles. However, this caused the user to seek out replacement for their depleted stores of calcium by consuming lots of milk and cheese. When unable to find such food, the users body began to rapidly atrophy that began wasting away until every bone in the body's skeletal system collapsed causing immediate death. It would prove to be a failure and a second improved version was created known as Venom though the program was scrapped until the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne whereupon it was revived by WellZyn. This act would enrage Potolsky and those that agreed with his views whereupon he sought to get revenge against Wayne Enterprises. GCPD Detectives James Gordon would confront Potolsky on the rooftop of a building held by Wayne Enterprises where he shot a canister of Viper releasing the substance on Stan Potolsky's face. This caused a high degree of exposure to Viper leading to him to willingly stagger off the building but warned that Warehouse 39 contained more of the drug but the two detectives would find the place empty during their investigation.

Films

• In Batman & Robin, Venom was shown in the 1997 live-action film where it was revealed to be based on snake venom injected into plants by Pamela Isley in order to imbue the flora with defensive traits similar to those in animals. Samples were stolen by her colleague Dr. Jason Woodrue who used it to create the Venom drug that would be used to create a supersoldier army with Bane as the prototype. Venom was partly responsible for the transformation of Isley into her villainous persona of Poison Ivy.
• In Batman Unlimited: Mech Vs. Mutants, Venom was mentioned in the direct to video animated film. It was said that it enlarged those injected with it and was used by Bane to give him his great strength. Mr. Freeze used it along with Chemo's chemical makeup and Clayface shapeshifting material to form a mutagen that turned people into giant mutants.

Video games

• In Batman: Arkham Asylum, a much altered version of Venom called Titan that was a formula engineered by Dr. Penelope Young. Its purpose was to imbue greater strength in prisoners at Arkham Asylum to allow them to survive the stress treatments. When the Joker learnt of it, he secretly funded Dr. Young's experiments under the alias as Jack White and saw Bane transferred to Arkham where Venom was drained from his blood for the Titan project.
• In Batman: Arkham City, the effects of Titan were referenced in the setting of the video game sequel set in the Arkhamverse. The Joker was suffering illness from his prolonged exposure and has become terminal and eventually injects Batman with his blood. A sub-plot of the game involves Batman double crossing Bane into destroying the remaining Titan containers.
• In Batman: Arkham Origins, Venom appeared in the setting of the prequel video game set in the Arkham universe. Bane was shown to make regular use of Venom which he acknowledged as a weakness and was one of eight assassins hired to kill Batman on Christmas Eve. It was revealed that Bane had also developed a variant of Venom called TN-1 as a means to overcome his addiction, but was reluctant to use it until it was perfected because it caused permanent and gradual memory loss. Bane learned about Batman's true identity, but the drug seemed to have the effect of memory loss on the user. The drug greatly increased the user's bone density and muscle strength.
• In DC Universe Online, Venom was described as a meta-steroid that increased strength but ravaged the body and was noted for an awful smell. Bane's gang trafficked in the spread of Venom in Gotham City where numerous criminals had use of injectors to increase their strength. A new supply of Venom was said to had been created and that Bane himself after being off the drug had resumed using it.
• In Injustice 2, Venom was referenced in dialogue and in gear items in the fighting video game.

Novels

• In Batman: Knightfall, Venom featured in the novel adaptation of the comic storyline.

Appearances

• Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight v1: (1991)
• Batman: Vengeance of Bane v1:
• Batman:
• Talon v1:
• Batman v3:

External Link

• DC Database Entry
• Comicvine Entry

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