During his latest convention appearance, comic book artist Todd McFarlane explained how one of his most iconic characters, Marvel’sVenom, was created in part because he wanted to draw Spider-Man in his classic costume, rather than illustrating the hero’s sleek black suit of that era. This decision ultimately changed the trajectory of the nextseveral decades of Marvelstories.
As reported by Popverse, at WonderCon 2025,McFarlane spoke about his role in the origin of Venom, stating, “I did not want to draw that black costume.”In the forty years since he made that fateful decision, McFarlane’s creation has gone from Spider-Man’s arch-villain, toa fan-favorite Marvel hero.
The character’s iconic features have been a part of what makes Venom such an enduring figure in the Marvel mythos, and it all started with the idea to separate Spidey from his infamous black look.
Todd McFarlane Explains What Really Led To The Creation Of Venom
The Reason Behind Turning Spidey’s Black Suit Bad
In retrospect, it sounds exactly like the iconic superhero story it is, an epic admixture of tragedy and farce: a hero abandons his familiar costume in favor of a cool new one he finds while on an adventure in outer space; the new costume turns out to be alive, and soon exerts a sinister influence on the hero; eventually, the hero rejects the costume, which goes on to find a new host, and subsequently becomes the hero’s moral enemy. Venom’s origin story is a classic, but according to Todd McFarlane, it arose out of a shockingly simple creative decision.
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As Popverse quoted McFarlane from this year’s WonderCon:
That’s why there’s a character called Venom. I did not want to draw that black costume…I never felt like I was drawing Spider-Man, even though I was doing what would become my Spidey style.
In other words, at a pivotal point in his early career, McFarlane had achieved a major milestone, becoming the artist on Marvel’sAmazing Spider-Man, but the catch was that the character was currently not wearing his beloved red-and-blue costume. Spider-Man had been in his black costume for several years at this point, yetMcFarlane was successfuly able to push for a change in creative direction, which ultimately led to the return of the red-and-blue, and the creation of Venom.
Todd McFarlane’s Desire To Draw Classic Spider-Man Resulted In One Of Marvel’s Greatest Rivalries
Venom’s Path To Fan-Favorite Status
Though the impetus was simple, Todd McFarlane’s role in prompting the creation of Venom proved to be one of the most consequential decisions in thehistory ofSpider-Manlore. Venom is now firmly among the ranks of Marvel’s top heroes, but for decades, he was the greatest antagonist Spider-Man ever faced, given that the symbiote knew Peter Parker almost better than he knew himself, from their time being bonded. While Venom makes an excellent hero, his role as the Webslinger’s dark opposite will perhaps always be his defining legacy.
[Spider-Man’s] return to his signature look was inevitable, but the decision to turn his black costume villainous…was a masterstroke of superhero storytelling.
Today,Spider-Man’s black suit might be just one of many memorable costumesthe character has worn, in the 1980s, it was a major departure for the character; the character’s return to his signature look was inevitable, but the decision to turn his black costume villainous, rather than discarding it, or even making it an ally of Spidey’s, was a masterstroke of superhero storytelling. This makes it fascinating thatVenomand everything the character has done in the past several decades all stemmed from one artistic choice.
