Back with Peter. So predictable. Always thought I was the dumb one, didn't you? But here I am. Outthinking you. Outplaying you. Even outmaneuvering Spider-Man. Waiting patiently throughout the entire history of this planet to bring the chaos I'll unleash tonight. Somewhere in your mind... I hope you can hear this. The only thing I'm gonna enjoy more than watching this wreck your world is killing your little friend. And at the end of all things... you will be mine. 
Appearing in 1st story
Featured Characters:
- Spider-Man (Peter Parker) (Main story and flashback) (Bonds to the Venom symbiote)
Supporting Characters:
- Venom Symbiote (Main story and flashback) (Bonds to Spider-Man)
- Jackpot (Mary Jane Watson)
Antagonists:
- Hobgoblins (Bonded to the Arachniote)
- Numerous unnamed civilians
- Hobgoblin (Roderick Kingsley)
- Mr. Meridius (Eddie Brock)
- Arachniote (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Venom (Eddie Brock) (Only in recap)
- Hobgoblin (Ned Leeds) (Mentioned)
- Knull (Only in flashback)
- All-Black Symbiote (Only in flashback)
- Paul Rabin (Referenced)
Races and Species:
- Humans (Main story and flashback)
- Symbiotes (Main story and flashback)
- Alien Gods (Main story and flashback)
Locations:
- Earth (Main story and recap)
- United States of America (Main story and recap)
- New York (Main story and recap)
- New York City (Main story and recap)
- Manhattan (Main story and recap)
- Midtown
- Lower East Side (Only in flashback)
- Our Lady of Saints Church (Only in flashback)
- Alchemax Tower
- Manhattan (Main story and recap)
- New York City (Main story and recap)
- New York (Main story and recap)
- United States of America (Main story and recap)
- Klyntar (Only in flashback)
Items:
- Spider-Man's Suit
- Pumpkin Bombs
- Bat Gliders
- Jackpot's Suit
Synopsis for 1st story
As it covers him, the Venom symbiote asks Peter Parker if he's sure he wants to do this. After a moment of hesitation, Peter says that he's sure, but lays down a few ground rules--the symbiote is to keep its mind separate from his, like when they first bonded. Agreeing to this, the symbiote covers him and they set out to put a stop to Eddie and the Kings in Black's rampage at the Grand Garden Arena. En route, Peter banters with the symbiote over why Eddie and the others--who the symbiote says are other versions of Eddie come to kill it and Dylan--attacked the arena during the wrestling match. Rolling his eyes, Peter says that that's weird before surmising that's the price one pays for being bonded to it. As he admits that it's good to be back in black, his Spider Sense goes off and he's struck by a series of memories--when he first bonded to the Venom symbiote, their falling out at Our Lady of Saints Church, Venom (Eddie Brock) attempting to devour him... and Knull battling a strange arachnid-like monster with segmented tentacles for legs. As the Venom symbiote asks what's wrong, noting that he sounds sad, Peter assures it that he's fine and that his life couldn't be better. Noting that his Spider-Sense seems to be going haywire, Peter asks the Venom symbiote to be a buddy and alert him to any dangers it sees coming. The Venom symbiote alerts Peter to incoming danger just as the Hobgoblin rams into him with a Bat Glider. Wondering if this is Roderick Kingsley or Ned Leeds, Spider-Man is shocked to see a young woman beneath the cowl. The woman begs Spider-Man to help her, crying that he took them into the dark and changed them, and now she has no control over her body. As the woman screams for Spider-Man to help her, she rams him through the side of a high-rise. As Peter falls, unconscious, the Venom symbiote makes sure he's still alive and covers him once more, noting that while they weren't able to save the woman she mentioned other innocents were similarly being controlled. Saying he hasn't earned his rest, the Venom symbiote snaps Peter back to consciousness and he thanks it for saving him. Pleased at being called "buddy", the Venom symbiote says that they're in this together. Accompanied by dozens of people dressed in Hobgoblin suits, the real Hobgoblin streaks towards Spider-Man on his Bat-Glider, shouting that the time has come to make Spider-Man pay for having taken everything from him again and again.
As Spider-Man notes that this is the real Roderick Kingsley, the Venom symbiote snarls that it always hated him--surprising Peter with its vulgarity. Engaging the brainwashed civilians, Spider-Man apologizes for having to beat them up and suggests that next time Hobgoblin throw down with a bunch of his friends instead. As Spider-Man asks how Roderick even found him, the Hobgoblin sneers that Spider-Man has many powerful enemies with eyes everywhere. Gleefully exclaiming that he helped the brainwashed people see that they hate Spider-Man as much as he does, Roderick prepares to throw a pumpkin bomb but is hit in the face with webbing. The Venom symbiote notes that it can taste the brainwashing he used to control them, Peter scolding it that brains are off the menu for as long as they're teamed up. The Venom symbiote begrudglingly agrees, grumping that it's only doing so because Peter called it "buddy", and shields him from a pumpkin bomb. As the Hobgoblin gleefully assumes he's killed his nemesis, Spider-Man dives through the flames and punches him in the face. As Spider-Man asks why they can't just let bygones be bygones and get along without the scary masks and exploding pumpkins, Roderick snarls that his mask and suit are the embodiment of his real self, his hatred made manifest. Saying that he's always been partial to black, Spider-Man slams Roderick's Bat Glider into the side of a car, exploding it. The Venom symbiote scolds him for letting its power go to his head, making him more reckless and aggressive to the point where it can sense his anger even without interfacing with his mond, but Spider-Man complains that he's not seeing any way to save the brainwashed civilians when they're all trying to kill him. The Venom symbiote notes that this is exactly why Roderick has done this, to use Peter's obsessivw need to protect the innocent against him. Spider-Man asks if the Venom symbiote thinks that's going to change just because he's wearing a different costume, but the Venom symbiote reminds him that it's much more than just a mere costume. Taking on a new appearance and extruding chains instead of webbing, the Venom symbiote smashes Roderick's Bat Glider to pieces with a single blow and says that Peter is still thinking like a spider--a lone hunter sitting in a web--when he isn't alone anymore. As Spider-Man uses the symbiote's chain-webbing to shred the Bat Gliders, the symbiote triumphantly declares that they are back and they are together. Just as it starts to say that they are Venom, Roderick attacks from atop a new Bat Glider, screaming at Spider-Man to die. Struck by several pumpkin bombs, Spider-Man crashes into the street, dazing the symbiote. As it tries to complete its catchphrase, Peter interrupts to say they're still on the clock, still saving people, and that they are Spider-Man.
Leering that Spider-Man is finally making this worth his time, Kingsley has his minions unleash a barrage of dozens of pumpkin bombs, carpet-bombing the city block. As the smoke clears, Spider-Man finds himself surrounded by a red force field as Jackpot approaches. Not recognizing her, the Venom symbiote asks who she is and Spider-Man introduces her by her hero name. As they banter, Spider-Man congratulating her on upping her quippage, the Venom symbiote recognizes her as Mary Jane Watson and is confused. Recognizing the Venom symbiote, Jackpot berates Peter for bonding with it again given what happened the first time, but Peter assures her that he's older and wiser now, and that he made a lot of bad choices when he was young and foolish. Noting that Mary Jane still hates it, the Venom symbiote bitterly adds that leaving it was one of them. As Mary Jane says that getting rid of the symbiote wasn't one of them, the Venom symbiote is shocked to realize that Peter and Mary Jane are no longer together despite being soul mates, and that he's utterly miserable as a result. Peter tells it to mind its own business and that Mary Jane is spoken for, but the Venom symbiote quietly scolds Peter for lying to it earlier when he said he was fine. As Jackpot tells Spider-Man to hurry up and help save the city, the Venom symbiote forlornly asks who is there to save him and keep him safe.
Watching the battle from Alchemax Tower, Meridius gloats that the time has come at last for his master plan--millions of years in the making--to be put into action. Sneering at the Venom symbiote having gone crawling back to Peter Parker, Meridius smiles maliciously as he declares that the only thing he's going to enjoy more than destroying the world is watching the symbiote suffer as everyone it cares about dies. Saying that in the end it will be his again, Meridius pulls out a button and pressing it. Across the city, Spider-Man and Roderick's banter is cut off as symbiote matter suddenly engulfs him and the other mind-controlled citizens, a voice triumphantly declaring that it is finally free. Fully subsuming its victims, the symbiote manifests into a squid-headed monster with a spider-like body and declares itself to be the Arachniote. As Spider-Man and Jackpot struggle to comprehend what they're looking at, the Venom symbiote tells Peter that the Arachniote is a legendary monster on Klyntar that even Knull was afraid of. Manifesting a head from Spider-Man's shoulder, the symbiote says that if they are to stand a chance against it they must bond and be together, not as Spider-Man but as Venom.
Solicit Synopsis
THE SPIDER-MAN IN BLACK!
Eddie Brock wants the symbiote, Dylan Brock wants the symbiote…but they’re forgetting about the first host to ever wear the black…PETER PARKER! That’s right – Spider-Man is back in black again, and this time, he’s liking how it fits him! Maybe the winner of the Venom War could be the OG!