All 23 Marvel Games Where Venom Appears (& What You Can Play Them On)

Venom made appearances in many Marvel franchise video games, such as Marvel Ultimate Alliance and Marvel Vs Capcom, adding up to 23 total outings.

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Venom is one of Spider-Man’s most feared enemies, yet fans seem to gravitate towards the character. He obviously looks evil, but that doesn’t stop fans from wanting to be able to have the experience of being Venom. The alien symbiote that makes up the villain first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #258 where it consumed Spider-Man, and in later comics merged with journalist Eddie Brock to become Venom as most people know him.

Eventually, Venom goes on to become sort of an anti-hero. Brock is Peter Parker’s rival, and tries to emulate the scarlet spider at every chance he gets. In some games, Venom is even portrayed as the hero fighting alongside Spider-Man.

Venom’s first appearance in a video game came in 1990’s The Amazing Spider-Man for Game Boy. It’s a relatively short game culminating in a boss fight against Venom, where he slings webs just like Spider-Man. Being from 1990, the game is fairly simple and it’s hard to set Venom apart as a unique character considering he has almost the same powers as the hero. As Venom’s video game persona grew, his powers became more unique and nuanced, turning him into a fierce competitor for Peter Parker and game players everywhere.

Every Video Game Venom Appearance Since 1990

Spider-Man: The Video Game was released in 1991 in coin-operated arcade machines. The unique feature in this game was that after beating Venom’s first boss fight, he became gigantic and started another fight. Spider-Man: The Video Game was a single-player game that also supported up to four player co-op. This game was a great way to spend an afternoon at the local arcade with three buddies, each of whom controlled a unique character, such as Hawkeye or the Submariner.

Eventually, Venom even became a playable character in Spider-Man & Venom: Maximum Carnage (1994) on the Sega Genesis and SNES. Not only was this the player’s first time playing as Venom, but he worked alongside Spider-Man as the hero. In this side-scrolling beat-em-up game, Venom & Spidey team up to take down Carnage, another symbiote who is related to Venom.

Maximum Carnage was such a good game that producers rolled out a sequel, Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety in ’95. It was almost exactly the same game, but added 2-player co-op to the Sega Genesis and SNES adventure.

Venom also made an appearance on the Sega Game Gear, Sega’s early 90’s handheld system. The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin was a side-scroller, and Venom appeared about halfway through the game. He’s just another boss fight and can be taken down with ease once players get his motions memorized, which makes this appearance forgettable.

Venom’s symbiote is the final boss in the Sega Genisis/SNES title Spider Man (1995) developed by Western Technologies. It was a cookie-cutter side-scrolling beat-em-up, but Venom as the game’s end boss had enough varying moves that players might have to restart and try the battle again. In fact, it was probably the toughest boss fight Venom ever put up, if only because of the inaccuracy of Spider-Man’s controls.

The dawn of the PlayStation/N64 era saw Venom move to 3D in a boss fight in Spider-Man (2000), also released on Dreamcast and PC. This game came out on Game Boy Color too, but stayed as a side-scroller. It’s the only PlayStation adaptation of Venom.

The symbiote moved to PS2 in 2005’s Ultimate Spider-Man. The game kicked off with a fight against Venom, and later players were allowed to play as Venom himself. This game was also on GameCube, Xbox, and Windows. An adaptation of the game was ported to Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance, where Venom was controllable as well. Venom has his own missions, and this game’s open world is fantastic to explore.

In the era between PS2/PS3 and Xbox/Xbox360, the movie Spider-Man 3 and the corresponding video game came out. Venom is the final boss that Spider-Man has to take down. Unfortunately, all this appearance is good for is reminding fans how terribly the symbiote was portrayed in early ’00s films.

There’s also Spider-Man: Friend or Foe (2007), where Venom presents a boss fight. That game is loosely based on the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films, but the gameplay was forgettable. It was a repetitive fight after Venom’s first few moves, and didn’t bring much new to the table.

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows (2009) brings back giant boss-battle Venom. Spidey fights Venom in the early part of the game and gets access to the symbiote. In fact, the symbiote is attacking Manhattan, taking more ground as the game goes along. This is one of the best titles for Venom fans, because of Peter Parker’s ability to switch between blue & red Spider-Man and black symbiote Spider-Man. The suits differentiate power, and have separate unlockable paths. No, players aren’t technically playing as Venom, but there’s tons of symbiote influence. Released between PS2/PS3 and Xbox 360, it’s also on DS and PSP and PC. The most notable release, however is the Wii version of this game, which feature six alternate costumes, a platform exclusive.

Moving on to 1v1 fighting games, Venom looked amazing in Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of the Superheroes (1998). His character sprite was dripping with actual green venom, and his moveset fit well against other MvC stars. This was an arcade title that saw release for Sega Dreamcast.

When the MvC franchise moved to PS2 and Xbox, Venom followed for Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes. Barely anything changed about his abilities. Venom was one of the easiest characters, and he landed in the mid-tier among the roster of heroes.

After being left out of MvC 3, Venom made a triumphant return in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. His gameplay and moveset were similar to his loadout in the first two games in the series, but received a huge update to the sound, look and new animations. His teeth are huge, and the whole body is constantly splashing with venom, making the character look disgustingly intimidating. It’s one of the best video game adaptations of Venom’s horific caricature.

Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects came out in 2005 for Ps2, Xbox, GameCube, DS and PSP. It featured Venom on the roster, but it wasn’t very memorable. He’s also in Marvel Avengers: Battle for Earth (2012), another fighting game that tossed heroes for the sake of roster size. That game was on the Wii U, which made controlling the symbiote even more challenging. Neither of these games are worth playing in 2020, unless players simply want to relive the nostalgia factor. Venom is also playable in many forms in Lego Marvel Superheroes 1 & 2. Lego games are pretty straightforward, but Venom has certain powers no other minifigure does, so he’s an essential part of Free Play mode.

Its possible that the pinnacle of Venom’s playability came in the Ultimate Alliance series. He’s present in both games, but players have to buy DLC to get him in the original. In the sequel he’s organically available, unlockable only after beating the final level. He’s one of two bad guys to be featured in this heroic smash-up, along with Green Goblin. He’s also in Ultimate Alliance 3, which sees events similar to Avengers: Endgame play out.

Venom also made appearances in Marvel franchise video games, such as Marvel Super Hero Squad Online and Disney Infinity, bumping up his total to 23 video game appearances. He’s Spider-Man’s second-most iconic baddie behind Green Goblin, and is debuting a new movie in 2021 after his first solo movie in 2018. Only time will tell what new Venom video games will be added to this list in the future.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/venom-video-games-marvel-all-appearances-cameos-playable/