Venom, or the Venom Symbiote, is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Spider-Man. Venom was originally depicted as a supervillain when he made his full first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #300 (May 1988), but the character has since evolved into the role of an antihero. Venom is a symbiote, a sentient alien, with a gooey, almost liquid-like form.