What does the Venom symbiote subsist on?

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The comics always seemed handwavey about this in my memory, saying that the symbiote was absorbing the life energy of its host or some such twaddle. Fine.



But when Spider-Man (and then eventually Eddie Brock) bond with the symbiote, the symbiote does one interesting thing: it replicates the web shooter function. Webbing shot is actually part of the symbiote transforming itself into webbing. Fine and dandy, but the mass has to come from somewhere. In some way, shape, or form the symbiote must absorb mass to make up for the mass loss. In effect, it must eat something. What does it eat?



Looking for answers from the comics for preference but the movies will also be acceptable if necessary. Not looking for real world explanations here.










share|improve this question





























    up vote
    7
    down vote

    favorite












    The comics always seemed handwavey about this in my memory, saying that the symbiote was absorbing the life energy of its host or some such twaddle. Fine.



    But when Spider-Man (and then eventually Eddie Brock) bond with the symbiote, the symbiote does one interesting thing: it replicates the web shooter function. Webbing shot is actually part of the symbiote transforming itself into webbing. Fine and dandy, but the mass has to come from somewhere. In some way, shape, or form the symbiote must absorb mass to make up for the mass loss. In effect, it must eat something. What does it eat?



    Looking for answers from the comics for preference but the movies will also be acceptable if necessary. Not looking for real world explanations here.










    share|improve this question

























      up vote
      7
      down vote

      favorite









      up vote
      7
      down vote

      favorite











      The comics always seemed handwavey about this in my memory, saying that the symbiote was absorbing the life energy of its host or some such twaddle. Fine.



      But when Spider-Man (and then eventually Eddie Brock) bond with the symbiote, the symbiote does one interesting thing: it replicates the web shooter function. Webbing shot is actually part of the symbiote transforming itself into webbing. Fine and dandy, but the mass has to come from somewhere. In some way, shape, or form the symbiote must absorb mass to make up for the mass loss. In effect, it must eat something. What does it eat?



      Looking for answers from the comics for preference but the movies will also be acceptable if necessary. Not looking for real world explanations here.










      share|improve this question















      The comics always seemed handwavey about this in my memory, saying that the symbiote was absorbing the life energy of its host or some such twaddle. Fine.



      But when Spider-Man (and then eventually Eddie Brock) bond with the symbiote, the symbiote does one interesting thing: it replicates the web shooter function. Webbing shot is actually part of the symbiote transforming itself into webbing. Fine and dandy, but the mass has to come from somewhere. In some way, shape, or form the symbiote must absorb mass to make up for the mass loss. In effect, it must eat something. What does it eat?



      Looking for answers from the comics for preference but the movies will also be acceptable if necessary. Not looking for real world explanations here.







      marvel spider-man venom






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      edited 4 hours ago

























      asked 5 hours ago









      Broklynite

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          2 Answers
          2






          active

          oldest

          votes

















          up vote
          4
          down vote













          It's a monstruous-looking alien from outer space. What did you think it was going to eat, brains? Pffft, Venom's totally into...



          Chocolate



          Okay, well, technically, the other needs phenetylamin to "stay sane and healthy", not necessarily to regenerate matter mass, but there is mass ingestion. It's not so much of a stretch to imagine that somehow, the chocolate matter absorbed can be transformed into Klyntar (Symbiote) matter; you know, kill two birds with one stone.



          Panel below is from Venom: Sign of the Boss #1 (1997).



          Venom eats chocolate




          Hey, I can read. The panel above does imply that Venom has a thing for brains.




          Well, true. Venom has also been shown to eat...



          Brains



          And the people around it, for good measure.



          The mini-series Venom: The Hunger (1996) has Eddie Brock not being able to generate enough phenetylamin for the other to stay sane, so the Symbiote slowly goes, well, out of control, and crawls the city for brains, which contain the precious molecule.



          Venom eats Frankie's brains



          There are several instances of the sort in the series (panel above is from issue #1), which is one big chunk of 90s gory Marvel. But, ends up with a sweet reunion between Brock and his other. No, really. It even introduced the "chocolate as food for the Symbiote" thing with Eddie offering the Symbiote a heart-shaped chocolate box.



          Again, people



          We often underestimate how useful our puny human bodies and feelings are to extraterrestrial life forms. Enter Carnage, who originally was a spawn of Venom.



          In Superior Carnage Annual #1 (2014), Carnage (Symbiote part) has been separated from Cletus Kasady (the human part of Carnage). One female scientist studies a tiny chunk of Carnage goo left behind. In a lab, alone, after hours. What do you think happens? Stuff jumps onto her and three pages after she's a full-fledged Carnage. (panels in links; too much images in answer drift us away from the point)



          So where did the mass came from? According to Carla Unger (Unger - ironic name - got it?), the thing was eating stuff in her insides.



          Scientist is eaten by Carnage inside



          Once again, it's Carnage and not Venom, but they're the same species. Carnage is also shown getting bigger and badder after absorbing its opponents' mass (for instance, this gorgeous page from Carnage #4, 2010).




          The main point of all this being, Symbiotes' nutrition is mainly based on molecules, but since we see him ingest various stuff, we can speculate that the mass absorbed then is later transformed into exploitable mass.



          Unfortunately, the main explanation for mass generation is the offspring of the union between comic books' understanding of science, and the From a Single Cell trope: if you already have a bit of mass, well that thing can become more mass! Because, physics!






          share|improve this answer




















          • The trailer for the new Venom film implies he eats people too.
            – TheLethalCarrot
            52 mins ago










          • @TheLethalCarrot didn't see that one yet, but it's in line with what I've read in comics. Venom eats people almost as often as the TMNT eat pizza.
            – Jenayah
            50 mins ago










          • He threatens to eat someone's limbs. I guess we'll have to wait for the movie to see if it confirms whether he actually eats people. It's possible it was just an empty threat to scare away a would-be robber (and I'll be genuinely surprised if they actually show him eating people though, I get that he's an anti-hero in the movie, but that might be a touch too far even so).
            – delinear
            42 mins ago

















          up vote
          2
          down vote













          The trailer for Venom (2018) tells us that he eats people. View the following gif from 1m 34s into the linked trailer.



          Venom tasting a man




          Eyes! Lungs! Pancreas! So many snacks, so little time!




          We then "see" Venom eating someone after stating that he was going to do that starting at 2m 27s in the tralier.



          Venom eats someone




          We will eat both of your arms, and then both of your legs, and then we will eat your face right off your head. You will be this armless, legless, faceless thing, won't you, going down the street like a turd in the wind!







          share|improve this answer




















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            2 Answers
            2






            active

            oldest

            votes








            2 Answers
            2






            active

            oldest

            votes









            active

            oldest

            votes






            active

            oldest

            votes








            up vote
            4
            down vote













            It's a monstruous-looking alien from outer space. What did you think it was going to eat, brains? Pffft, Venom's totally into...



            Chocolate



            Okay, well, technically, the other needs phenetylamin to "stay sane and healthy", not necessarily to regenerate matter mass, but there is mass ingestion. It's not so much of a stretch to imagine that somehow, the chocolate matter absorbed can be transformed into Klyntar (Symbiote) matter; you know, kill two birds with one stone.



            Panel below is from Venom: Sign of the Boss #1 (1997).



            Venom eats chocolate




            Hey, I can read. The panel above does imply that Venom has a thing for brains.




            Well, true. Venom has also been shown to eat...



            Brains



            And the people around it, for good measure.



            The mini-series Venom: The Hunger (1996) has Eddie Brock not being able to generate enough phenetylamin for the other to stay sane, so the Symbiote slowly goes, well, out of control, and crawls the city for brains, which contain the precious molecule.



            Venom eats Frankie's brains



            There are several instances of the sort in the series (panel above is from issue #1), which is one big chunk of 90s gory Marvel. But, ends up with a sweet reunion between Brock and his other. No, really. It even introduced the "chocolate as food for the Symbiote" thing with Eddie offering the Symbiote a heart-shaped chocolate box.



            Again, people



            We often underestimate how useful our puny human bodies and feelings are to extraterrestrial life forms. Enter Carnage, who originally was a spawn of Venom.



            In Superior Carnage Annual #1 (2014), Carnage (Symbiote part) has been separated from Cletus Kasady (the human part of Carnage). One female scientist studies a tiny chunk of Carnage goo left behind. In a lab, alone, after hours. What do you think happens? Stuff jumps onto her and three pages after she's a full-fledged Carnage. (panels in links; too much images in answer drift us away from the point)



            So where did the mass came from? According to Carla Unger (Unger - ironic name - got it?), the thing was eating stuff in her insides.



            Scientist is eaten by Carnage inside



            Once again, it's Carnage and not Venom, but they're the same species. Carnage is also shown getting bigger and badder after absorbing its opponents' mass (for instance, this gorgeous page from Carnage #4, 2010).




            The main point of all this being, Symbiotes' nutrition is mainly based on molecules, but since we see him ingest various stuff, we can speculate that the mass absorbed then is later transformed into exploitable mass.



            Unfortunately, the main explanation for mass generation is the offspring of the union between comic books' understanding of science, and the From a Single Cell trope: if you already have a bit of mass, well that thing can become more mass! Because, physics!






            share|improve this answer




















            • The trailer for the new Venom film implies he eats people too.
              – TheLethalCarrot
              52 mins ago










            • @TheLethalCarrot didn't see that one yet, but it's in line with what I've read in comics. Venom eats people almost as often as the TMNT eat pizza.
              – Jenayah
              50 mins ago










            • He threatens to eat someone's limbs. I guess we'll have to wait for the movie to see if it confirms whether he actually eats people. It's possible it was just an empty threat to scare away a would-be robber (and I'll be genuinely surprised if they actually show him eating people though, I get that he's an anti-hero in the movie, but that might be a touch too far even so).
              – delinear
              42 mins ago














            up vote
            4
            down vote













            It's a monstruous-looking alien from outer space. What did you think it was going to eat, brains? Pffft, Venom's totally into...



            Chocolate



            Okay, well, technically, the other needs phenetylamin to "stay sane and healthy", not necessarily to regenerate matter mass, but there is mass ingestion. It's not so much of a stretch to imagine that somehow, the chocolate matter absorbed can be transformed into Klyntar (Symbiote) matter; you know, kill two birds with one stone.



            Panel below is from Venom: Sign of the Boss #1 (1997).



            Venom eats chocolate




            Hey, I can read. The panel above does imply that Venom has a thing for brains.




            Well, true. Venom has also been shown to eat...



            Brains



            And the people around it, for good measure.



            The mini-series Venom: The Hunger (1996) has Eddie Brock not being able to generate enough phenetylamin for the other to stay sane, so the Symbiote slowly goes, well, out of control, and crawls the city for brains, which contain the precious molecule.



            Venom eats Frankie's brains



            There are several instances of the sort in the series (panel above is from issue #1), which is one big chunk of 90s gory Marvel. But, ends up with a sweet reunion between Brock and his other. No, really. It even introduced the "chocolate as food for the Symbiote" thing with Eddie offering the Symbiote a heart-shaped chocolate box.



            Again, people



            We often underestimate how useful our puny human bodies and feelings are to extraterrestrial life forms. Enter Carnage, who originally was a spawn of Venom.



            In Superior Carnage Annual #1 (2014), Carnage (Symbiote part) has been separated from Cletus Kasady (the human part of Carnage). One female scientist studies a tiny chunk of Carnage goo left behind. In a lab, alone, after hours. What do you think happens? Stuff jumps onto her and three pages after she's a full-fledged Carnage. (panels in links; too much images in answer drift us away from the point)



            So where did the mass came from? According to Carla Unger (Unger - ironic name - got it?), the thing was eating stuff in her insides.



            Scientist is eaten by Carnage inside



            Once again, it's Carnage and not Venom, but they're the same species. Carnage is also shown getting bigger and badder after absorbing its opponents' mass (for instance, this gorgeous page from Carnage #4, 2010).




            The main point of all this being, Symbiotes' nutrition is mainly based on molecules, but since we see him ingest various stuff, we can speculate that the mass absorbed then is later transformed into exploitable mass.



            Unfortunately, the main explanation for mass generation is the offspring of the union between comic books' understanding of science, and the From a Single Cell trope: if you already have a bit of mass, well that thing can become more mass! Because, physics!






            share|improve this answer




















            • The trailer for the new Venom film implies he eats people too.
              – TheLethalCarrot
              52 mins ago










            • @TheLethalCarrot didn't see that one yet, but it's in line with what I've read in comics. Venom eats people almost as often as the TMNT eat pizza.
              – Jenayah
              50 mins ago










            • He threatens to eat someone's limbs. I guess we'll have to wait for the movie to see if it confirms whether he actually eats people. It's possible it was just an empty threat to scare away a would-be robber (and I'll be genuinely surprised if they actually show him eating people though, I get that he's an anti-hero in the movie, but that might be a touch too far even so).
              – delinear
              42 mins ago












            up vote
            4
            down vote










            up vote
            4
            down vote









            It's a monstruous-looking alien from outer space. What did you think it was going to eat, brains? Pffft, Venom's totally into...



            Chocolate



            Okay, well, technically, the other needs phenetylamin to "stay sane and healthy", not necessarily to regenerate matter mass, but there is mass ingestion. It's not so much of a stretch to imagine that somehow, the chocolate matter absorbed can be transformed into Klyntar (Symbiote) matter; you know, kill two birds with one stone.



            Panel below is from Venom: Sign of the Boss #1 (1997).



            Venom eats chocolate




            Hey, I can read. The panel above does imply that Venom has a thing for brains.




            Well, true. Venom has also been shown to eat...



            Brains



            And the people around it, for good measure.



            The mini-series Venom: The Hunger (1996) has Eddie Brock not being able to generate enough phenetylamin for the other to stay sane, so the Symbiote slowly goes, well, out of control, and crawls the city for brains, which contain the precious molecule.



            Venom eats Frankie's brains



            There are several instances of the sort in the series (panel above is from issue #1), which is one big chunk of 90s gory Marvel. But, ends up with a sweet reunion between Brock and his other. No, really. It even introduced the "chocolate as food for the Symbiote" thing with Eddie offering the Symbiote a heart-shaped chocolate box.



            Again, people



            We often underestimate how useful our puny human bodies and feelings are to extraterrestrial life forms. Enter Carnage, who originally was a spawn of Venom.



            In Superior Carnage Annual #1 (2014), Carnage (Symbiote part) has been separated from Cletus Kasady (the human part of Carnage). One female scientist studies a tiny chunk of Carnage goo left behind. In a lab, alone, after hours. What do you think happens? Stuff jumps onto her and three pages after she's a full-fledged Carnage. (panels in links; too much images in answer drift us away from the point)



            So where did the mass came from? According to Carla Unger (Unger - ironic name - got it?), the thing was eating stuff in her insides.



            Scientist is eaten by Carnage inside



            Once again, it's Carnage and not Venom, but they're the same species. Carnage is also shown getting bigger and badder after absorbing its opponents' mass (for instance, this gorgeous page from Carnage #4, 2010).




            The main point of all this being, Symbiotes' nutrition is mainly based on molecules, but since we see him ingest various stuff, we can speculate that the mass absorbed then is later transformed into exploitable mass.



            Unfortunately, the main explanation for mass generation is the offspring of the union between comic books' understanding of science, and the From a Single Cell trope: if you already have a bit of mass, well that thing can become more mass! Because, physics!






            share|improve this answer












            It's a monstruous-looking alien from outer space. What did you think it was going to eat, brains? Pffft, Venom's totally into...



            Chocolate



            Okay, well, technically, the other needs phenetylamin to "stay sane and healthy", not necessarily to regenerate matter mass, but there is mass ingestion. It's not so much of a stretch to imagine that somehow, the chocolate matter absorbed can be transformed into Klyntar (Symbiote) matter; you know, kill two birds with one stone.



            Panel below is from Venom: Sign of the Boss #1 (1997).



            Venom eats chocolate




            Hey, I can read. The panel above does imply that Venom has a thing for brains.




            Well, true. Venom has also been shown to eat...



            Brains



            And the people around it, for good measure.



            The mini-series Venom: The Hunger (1996) has Eddie Brock not being able to generate enough phenetylamin for the other to stay sane, so the Symbiote slowly goes, well, out of control, and crawls the city for brains, which contain the precious molecule.



            Venom eats Frankie's brains



            There are several instances of the sort in the series (panel above is from issue #1), which is one big chunk of 90s gory Marvel. But, ends up with a sweet reunion between Brock and his other. No, really. It even introduced the "chocolate as food for the Symbiote" thing with Eddie offering the Symbiote a heart-shaped chocolate box.



            Again, people



            We often underestimate how useful our puny human bodies and feelings are to extraterrestrial life forms. Enter Carnage, who originally was a spawn of Venom.



            In Superior Carnage Annual #1 (2014), Carnage (Symbiote part) has been separated from Cletus Kasady (the human part of Carnage). One female scientist studies a tiny chunk of Carnage goo left behind. In a lab, alone, after hours. What do you think happens? Stuff jumps onto her and three pages after she's a full-fledged Carnage. (panels in links; too much images in answer drift us away from the point)



            So where did the mass came from? According to Carla Unger (Unger - ironic name - got it?), the thing was eating stuff in her insides.



            Scientist is eaten by Carnage inside



            Once again, it's Carnage and not Venom, but they're the same species. Carnage is also shown getting bigger and badder after absorbing its opponents' mass (for instance, this gorgeous page from Carnage #4, 2010).




            The main point of all this being, Symbiotes' nutrition is mainly based on molecules, but since we see him ingest various stuff, we can speculate that the mass absorbed then is later transformed into exploitable mass.



            Unfortunately, the main explanation for mass generation is the offspring of the union between comic books' understanding of science, and the From a Single Cell trope: if you already have a bit of mass, well that thing can become more mass! Because, physics!







            share|improve this answer












            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer










            answered 57 mins ago









            Jenayah

            7,45733963




            7,45733963











            • The trailer for the new Venom film implies he eats people too.
              – TheLethalCarrot
              52 mins ago










            • @TheLethalCarrot didn't see that one yet, but it's in line with what I've read in comics. Venom eats people almost as often as the TMNT eat pizza.
              – Jenayah
              50 mins ago










            • He threatens to eat someone's limbs. I guess we'll have to wait for the movie to see if it confirms whether he actually eats people. It's possible it was just an empty threat to scare away a would-be robber (and I'll be genuinely surprised if they actually show him eating people though, I get that he's an anti-hero in the movie, but that might be a touch too far even so).
              – delinear
              42 mins ago
















            • The trailer for the new Venom film implies he eats people too.
              – TheLethalCarrot
              52 mins ago










            • @TheLethalCarrot didn't see that one yet, but it's in line with what I've read in comics. Venom eats people almost as often as the TMNT eat pizza.
              – Jenayah
              50 mins ago










            • He threatens to eat someone's limbs. I guess we'll have to wait for the movie to see if it confirms whether he actually eats people. It's possible it was just an empty threat to scare away a would-be robber (and I'll be genuinely surprised if they actually show him eating people though, I get that he's an anti-hero in the movie, but that might be a touch too far even so).
              – delinear
              42 mins ago















            The trailer for the new Venom film implies he eats people too.
            – TheLethalCarrot
            52 mins ago




            The trailer for the new Venom film implies he eats people too.
            – TheLethalCarrot
            52 mins ago












            @TheLethalCarrot didn't see that one yet, but it's in line with what I've read in comics. Venom eats people almost as often as the TMNT eat pizza.
            – Jenayah
            50 mins ago




            @TheLethalCarrot didn't see that one yet, but it's in line with what I've read in comics. Venom eats people almost as often as the TMNT eat pizza.
            – Jenayah
            50 mins ago












            He threatens to eat someone's limbs. I guess we'll have to wait for the movie to see if it confirms whether he actually eats people. It's possible it was just an empty threat to scare away a would-be robber (and I'll be genuinely surprised if they actually show him eating people though, I get that he's an anti-hero in the movie, but that might be a touch too far even so).
            – delinear
            42 mins ago




            He threatens to eat someone's limbs. I guess we'll have to wait for the movie to see if it confirms whether he actually eats people. It's possible it was just an empty threat to scare away a would-be robber (and I'll be genuinely surprised if they actually show him eating people though, I get that he's an anti-hero in the movie, but that might be a touch too far even so).
            – delinear
            42 mins ago












            up vote
            2
            down vote













            The trailer for Venom (2018) tells us that he eats people. View the following gif from 1m 34s into the linked trailer.



            Venom tasting a man




            Eyes! Lungs! Pancreas! So many snacks, so little time!




            We then "see" Venom eating someone after stating that he was going to do that starting at 2m 27s in the tralier.



            Venom eats someone




            We will eat both of your arms, and then both of your legs, and then we will eat your face right off your head. You will be this armless, legless, faceless thing, won't you, going down the street like a turd in the wind!







            share|improve this answer
























              up vote
              2
              down vote













              The trailer for Venom (2018) tells us that he eats people. View the following gif from 1m 34s into the linked trailer.



              Venom tasting a man




              Eyes! Lungs! Pancreas! So many snacks, so little time!




              We then "see" Venom eating someone after stating that he was going to do that starting at 2m 27s in the tralier.



              Venom eats someone




              We will eat both of your arms, and then both of your legs, and then we will eat your face right off your head. You will be this armless, legless, faceless thing, won't you, going down the street like a turd in the wind!







              share|improve this answer






















                up vote
                2
                down vote










                up vote
                2
                down vote









                The trailer for Venom (2018) tells us that he eats people. View the following gif from 1m 34s into the linked trailer.



                Venom tasting a man




                Eyes! Lungs! Pancreas! So many snacks, so little time!




                We then "see" Venom eating someone after stating that he was going to do that starting at 2m 27s in the tralier.



                Venom eats someone




                We will eat both of your arms, and then both of your legs, and then we will eat your face right off your head. You will be this armless, legless, faceless thing, won't you, going down the street like a turd in the wind!







                share|improve this answer












                The trailer for Venom (2018) tells us that he eats people. View the following gif from 1m 34s into the linked trailer.



                Venom tasting a man




                Eyes! Lungs! Pancreas! So many snacks, so little time!




                We then "see" Venom eating someone after stating that he was going to do that starting at 2m 27s in the tralier.



                Venom eats someone




                We will eat both of your arms, and then both of your legs, and then we will eat your face right off your head. You will be this armless, legless, faceless thing, won't you, going down the street like a turd in the wind!








                share|improve this answer












                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer










                answered 33 mins ago









                TheLethalCarrot

                32.5k13183225




                32.5k13183225



























                     

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