Who is Venom in Spider-Man 2?

Spider-Man 2 has given fans plenty to chew on since it appeared during the Summer Games Fest. Apart from the release date and lots of official art, we received an intriguing bit of information from Insomniac Games creative director Bryan Intihar: the identity of the villain Venom isn’t Eddie Brock:

“Obviously, we love Venom for a reason. All those things you love about the character are gonna be there, but how the story plays out, who is Venom — you’ll have to play the game to see how it goes.”

Check out the Spider-Man 2 gameplay trailer below:

The man in the symbiote suit

In the comics, Peter Parker is the first to don the symbiote suit and gain its powers, which include shape-shifting, elastic tendrils, enhanced strength, and increased aggression. Realizing the alien goo was taking over his personality, Peter forcibly dissolves his bond with the symbiote, which leads it bonding with Eddie Brock, a disgraced Daily Bugle reporter with a vendetta against Peter. Part alien, part angry Eddie, Venom has always made it his mission to make life hell for the wall-crawler. 

But now Spider-Man 2 is about to make big changes to the character with the original Venom host Eddie Brock out of the picture. Who will play one of Spidey’s most enduring and iconic villains?

We know based on the official art that it’s not going to be either Peter or Miles Morales. Fans have already provided alternate theories, the foremost being the most obvious—Harry Osborn, who was the original host at the end of Marvel’s Spider-Man. It’s possible that after failing to take over Peter, the symbiote returns to Harry. 

A second theory is Harry’s father, Norman, but this seems less likely given that the elder Osborn is traditionally Spidey’s archnemesis, the Green Goblin.

A third option is the newest villain, Kraven the Hunter. It’s possible that Kraven is unable to beat Spider-Man and thus uses the symbiote to transform himself into the ultimate hunter. 

Because it’s the internet, the mystery of Venom’s true identity has turned into a meme. Fans have offered all kinds of far-out theories, from minor characters like Miles’ best friend Ganke to the bodega cat in Spider-Man: Miles Morales. The argument is that, given the alien’s shape-shifting properties, anyone could be Venom.

We’ll only know the truth when Spider-Man 2 comes out on October 20, exclusively for PlayStation 5. Pre-order a Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 PS5 key from our comparator and get ready for the ultimate hunt.