Regarded by some as a second Spider-Man, Venom is iconic as both a villain and a rival to his heroic web slinging counterpart. A popular character in his own right, he has clashed not only with Spider-Man, but also with super-hero team The Avengers! Venom is a symbiotic relationship incarnate: a human host co-existing with a sentient alien parasite, appropriately called a "symbiote".