Appearing in 1st story
Featured Characters:
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Star-Lord (Peter Quill)
- Gamora (Main story and flashback)
- Drax the Destroyer (Arthur Douglas) (Loses the Venom Symbiote)
- Groot
- Rocket Raccoon
- Venom (Flash Thompson) (Main story and flashback) (Merges with the Venom Symbiote)
- Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers) (As hologram)
Supporting Characters:
- Klyntar (Main story and flashback) (Origin revealed)
Villains:
Other Characters:
- Brunnhilde (Dream)
- Carnage (Cletus Kasady) (Only in flashback)
- Spider-Man (Peter Parker) (Only in flashback)
- Betty Brant (Only in flashback)
- Katherine Glover (Only in flashback)
- Savage Six (Only in flashback)
- Crime-Master (Bennett Brant) (Only in flashback)
- Death Adder (Roland Burroughs) (Only in flashback)
- Jack O'Lantern (Only in flashback)
- Human Fly (Richard Deacon) (Only in flashback)
- Megatak (Gregory Nettles) (Only in flashback)
- Toxin (Eddie Brock) (Only in flashback)
Locations:
- Planet of the Symbiotes
- Earth (Only in flashback)
- United States of America (Only in flashback)
- New York (Only in flashback)
- New York City (Only in flashback)
- New York (Only in flashback)
- United States of America (Only in flashback)
Items:
- Venom Symbiote
- Carnage Symbiote (Only in flashback)
- Toxin Symbiote (Only in flashback)
Vehicles:
Synopsis for 1st story
Awakening from a nightmare in which Brunnhilde was being held captive by the Venom symbiote, Flash Thompson sees the Guardians' ship trashed and the Guardians badly injured and unconscious. The Venom symbiote, in control of Drax's body and piloting the ship, announces they have arrived at its destination and leaves. Once the Guardians regain consciousness, they discover they have arrived at a planet completely infested with symbiotes.
Unlike the malevolent, predatory parasites feared throughout the Galaxy, however, these symbiotes are completely non-hostile. The benevolent symbiotes attach themselves to the Guardians and introduce themselves via a hive mind as the Klyntar. The Klyntar explain that in their natural state, the symbiotes are benevolent and seek to create the ultimate noble warriors by bonding to worthy hosts.
However, in order for the symbiosis' full potential to be reached, the host must have a perfect blend of moral and physical ideals, and if this balance is not present than the symbiote will become corrupted with bloodlust, as the Venom symbiote had been when it bonded to Eddie Brock. The Klyntar explain that when Flash first entered space, they reached out in an effort to reconnect the Venom symbiote to the hive mind, causing it to lash out in confusion and anger.
Having guided the Venom symbiote back to the symbiote home world, the hive mind purges it of the bloodlust and malice it had accumulated over the years of being bonded to the likes of Eddie Brock and Mac Gargan, restoring it to the pure state it had been in when it bonded to Peter Parker.
The Klyntar state that Flash has proven himself worthy of being the Venom symbiote's host, and that as a member of the hive mind he will have access to new information and abilities, dubbing him an official agent of the cosmos and warrior of the galaxy, protector of his home world against those who would do it harm. With the Klyntar having used their bonding to purge any diseases from the Guardians, they leave their planet.
Later, in the Guardians ship, Captain Marvel calls them and shows them the announcement that Peter Quill was elected president of the Spartax, much to Star-Lord's shock.
Solicit Synopsis
• Venom finally takes a trip home! Can't wait to meet its folks. Or... the thing it spawned from... or whatever…
• But with the symbiote becoming more and more uncontrollable, this may be seriously bad news for the Guardians.
• I mean... come on guys! Can't they have ONE nice vacation? Always with the monsters and aliens and lasers and stuff...Trivia
- One of the Symbiotes shown through flashback resembles Venom 2099.
- The idea of a symbiote hive mind first appeared in the Spider-Man: Unlimited animated series, where it was referred to as the Synoptic.