Venom Lore Changes Forever, As Eddie Brock's Father Is Killed

One of the most important characters in Venom lore is officially dead, and their killer is Marvel's newest symbiote. Thirty-eight years after his proper comic book debut in 1988's The Amazing Spider-Man #300, Venom has long left his villainous origins behind and doubled down on his Lethal Protector nature. What's more, the symbiote anti-hero has had to fight his much more destructive siblings and his creator.

Venom has also built his own anti-hero and superhero career separate from his favorite host, Eddie Brock. Currently in Marvel Comics, Mary Jane Watson is Venom's host, while Eddie Brock finds himself forcefully bonded to Carnage. While Eddie has witnessed despicable things as Carnage's host, he should count himself lucky that Cletus Kasady's symbiote has chosen him, considering the current symbiote landscape.

Yes, there's a much more savage symbiote than Carnage, and Eddie Brock has just discovered how far the creature will go to torture his victims.

Torment Kills Off Eddie Brock's Father, Carl

The Amazing Spider-Man #24; Written by Charles Soule & Joe Kelly; Art by Jesús Saíz & Matt Hollingsworth

Marvel's latest symbiote creation, the white-and-red Torment, has started executing his plan to destroy the lives of his three main victims, Eddie Brock, Peter Parker, and Mary Jane Watson. With voluntary and involuntary help from Carnage, Torment sets his sights on Eddie's father Carl, who Torment kills off-screen, leaving the man on the floor for Eddie to find. Torment teases Eddie, sitting right in front of Carl's corpse, waiting for Eddie to unleash his rage on him.

Carl Brock has never always been depicted as an abusive and neglectful father. Eddie Brock's father resents him after Eddie's mother dies during childbirth, and he disowns him in adulthood. The Amazing Spider-Man #24 opens with a flashback to Eddie's teenage years, when Carl punches Eddie in the face to teach him a lesson about family and blood. Thanks to symbiote biology, these memories made their way to Torment, who understood that Carl's death serves as the ideal appetizer for the oncoming slaughter given the mixed feelings it must cause for Eddie.

Torment is surprisingly effective as a murderous symbiote. His streak starts with one of Spider-Man's most famous rogues, Herman Schultz aka the Shocker, who can't even react when he comes face to face with Torment. Like Carl Brock, this choice of first blood isn't random. The Shocker's sonic gauntlets are a powerful weapon against symbiotes, and they could singlehandedly keep Venom and Carnage from getting the upper hand on Torment in battle.

Carl Brock Is An Overlooked But Essential Part Of Venom Lore

Eddie Brock's Father Made Him The Perfect Host For Venom And Carnage

For the past two decades, Marvel has mostly focused on the chaotic bonds between the symbiotes and their unfortunate hosts, as well as the mythos surrounding the symbiotes' creation. One detail that has flown under the radar is that the true architect of the Venom legend is Eddie Brock's father, Carl Brock. Carl instilled in Eddie a desperate need for external validation, which fed Venom and Carnage and inspired Eddie's overcompensating desire to be a Lethal Protector.

Despite his influence, Marvel has sidelined Carl Brock, and Sony's Venom movie trilogy ignored his existence entirely in favor of a lighter odd-couple dynamic between Eddie and Venom. This is a strikingly similar decision to how the MCU has handled the Hulk, as Brian Banner plays a crucial role in the birth of the Gamma monster, but the movies have glossed over Bruce's father for years. Since the father-monster dynamic has been absent, Carl Brock and Brian Banner aren't as well-known as they should be.

Torment's arrival has finally forced this repressed history to the surface. Eddie Brock now seeks revenge for a man he resents, and he now needs to confront the fact that his identity is still tied to Carl’s shadow even after his father is gone. This arc is a test of Eddie’s evolution as a veteran symbiote host and a challenge to overcome the broken child that Carl created.

How do you think Torment will be defeated?

The Amazing Spider-Man #24 is available from Marvel Comics on March 18, 2026.