Venom |
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Portrayed by Patrick Schwarzenegger |
Statistics |
Full Name |
MacDonald Gargan |
Age |
22 |
Height |
6'3" |
Build |
Athletic |
Eyes |
Hazel |
Hair |
Brown |
Factions |
None |
Occupation |
Professional Criminal |
Alignment |
Villain |
Claim to Fame
Mac Gargan started out as a private investigator with his own firm, but he took a contract to become the Scorpion, and his life has not been the same since. Later, he was bonded to the symbiote, but he's only now beginning to pick up the shattered remnants of his life, thanks to some experimental medication.
Reputation
The Scorpion was savage and brutal. Venom was no different, at least not before he began taking experimental medication. Now he is gaining a name for himself as a reputable mercenary.
Biography
MacDonald Gargan was always good at reading people. He could get into their heads, think like they do, and figure out what made them tick. He could spot a lie a mile away and he was good at problem solving. He had an analytical mind.
In order to graduate from high school, he needed 30 hours of work experience. And he was lucky enough to get some intern work with a private investigator. He took to it like a duck to water. And so, he resolved to become one himself.
And he did. He set up his own firm, small at first, but he quickly developed a reputation as someone who got the job done. He didn't follow any moral or ethical code. He did what he had to, to get the paycheque, no matter what.
And it was as a private investigator that he came to the attention of one J. Jonah Jameson, the publisher of the Daily Bugle. He was hired to discover how and why Peter Parker got so many photographs of the wall crawler, Spider-Man.
But Gargan had met his match. Spider-Man's spider-sense gave him away. No matter what he did, what he tried, he never did find out Parker's secret.
But he had impressed Jameson even in defeat. In one of the media mogul's darker moments, something he has since come to regret, he offered to turn Gargan into the Daily Bugle's very own superhero. And he'd pay him handsomely just for agreeing to receive superpowers. How could Gargan possibly refuse?
But, there was a catch. There's always a catch. The procedure left Gargan unbalanced. Although he did become the Scorpion, able to go toe to toe with the webslinger, but his mind wasn't the same. He had lost something.
He demanded that Jameson turn him back. But it was impossible. He would have turned his aggression on Jameson, if not for the spider's timely intervention.
As the Scorpion, he lived a half-life, more beast than man, but with just enough intelligence to get by. He took the odd contract, he stole, he did what he had to. It wasn't a great life. He was very angry and he was a freak.
Then one night, he encountered the Venom symbiote. They bonded, becoming one, but whereas his predecessors had either been the dominant one, or an equal partner, the symbiote had control of 'their' now shared existence.
Oh, he had some input, and he had influence, but he was very much the junior partner in the exchange, doing whatever the symbiote wanted. When they did what he wanted, it was only because the symbiote had no reason to stop him.
But then, he was forcibly given some medication. It changed him. He no longer looked like the monster he had become. He looked like a man. A man in a skin tight suit, but a man all the same. And what's more, he could think like one.
He was Mac Gargan again. He could act and think normally. Which for him meat dastardly, deceitfully, immorally, and ruthlessly. But really, who's checking?
And if he wanted to stay that way, he would need regular inactions. The price? He had to work for his benefactor, doing whatever job was asked of him. He could live with that. Sure, he'd traded one prison for another, but this new one, it was a country club compared to the maximum security one he was in.
Now, he's returned to his old ways, his very old ways, using his skills as a private investigator, backed up by the muscle of the symbiote, to become a highly capable mercenary. There is no paycheque too big, and no job too hard.
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Character Details
MacDonald "Mac" Gargan is a greedy and unscrupulous fellow. So long as the pay is good, he'll do just about anything. That's how he wound up with super powers. Media mogul J. Jonah Jameson wanted to destroy Spider-Man, and he offered Gargan a lot of money to become the Scorpion, a natural enemy of spiders. There weren't supposed to be any side effects. They were wrong.
The procedure left Gargan struggling to maintain his sanity. The rational, if repugnant man was gone, replaced by a meandering creature, more animal than man, or anthropoid in this case. His life had changed in innumerable ways.
Eventually, he learned to cut through, to reassert some of himself. But it was difficult, and he still was more scorpion than man. As Gargan, he had been crafty, but as the Scorpion, he was often outsmarted by Spider-Man or any hero that he ran across. He was dim-witted, a brute, and nothing more.
Bonding with the Venom symbiote did not help. In fact, it made it worse. The symbiote became the dominant personality. The first man to wear the suit was able to control the symbiote. The second was an equal partner. But Gargan, he was the junior partner. His opinion counted for little. He had lost control. When he spoke, he said "I" rather than "We", but it wasn't Gargan speaking.
That is until he went on the medication. While not exactly an employer, he is tied at the hip to his mysterious benefactor, having to do whatever is asked of him, or else he'll be cut off. While on his meds, he is Mac Gargan again. A sane, rational, if unsavoury sort. He is himself. He's human. He even looks human when using his powers. But without them, he reverts to his former self, the monster within reasserting control, making him do things that even he wouldn't do. Considering that he's a mercenary, that's a troublesome thought.
Accelerated Healing Factor |
Venom has a modest healing power. It often gets overlooked when there are people like Deadpool and Wolverine about, but he heals at a faster rate than an ordinary human. He can heal broken bones and large amounts of tissue damage in a matter of days. He can heal from injuries that normal people might never recover from, like a spinal cord injury, or becoming blind. |
Acrobatics |
Venom has all the tools required to excel in the field of gymnastics. He could replicate any acrobatic feat he observed a human perform, or was described to him. He could even do some things that no human ever has, or even could perform. He's just a little too limber, too strong, and too flexible for a normal human to keep up with him. If he wanted to, he could become a millionaire overnight just by agreeing to perform the stunts in a single movie. Though if he did, people might complain that it looked cheesy. |
Chemical Resistance |
Venom's body is able to deal with chemicals that would impair a normal human. Gasses, serums, things ingested or topically applied can still affect him, but their impact is reduced, and in some cases, non-existent. When they do affect him, his recovery is rapid. He's recovered from acid being sprayed in his face, inhaling toxic gasses, being exposed to what should have been deadly radiation, but curiously, his tolerance to alcohol remains unaffected. |
Camouflage |
Venom does not wear a costume. The symbiote becomes his costume. Sometimes it looks like ordinary fabric, but at other times it grows claws, a tongue, and even poisonous fangs. He is called Venom after all. It can also become other forms of clothing, changing colour, shape, and texture. It can expand from the host, which serves as its base, but not contract. It can even mimic other people, but only those who are larger or of a similar size. Venom could masquerade as the Hulk, but he would not be able to mimic Miss Marvel. It is rare that he does this. Normally, the symbiote only becomes simple clothing. |
Combat |
Mac Gargan is a self-taught fighter. As a kid, he learned to fight at school and in the streets. As the Scorpion, he developed his own unique fighting style, and now as Venom, he's developing a completely different way of fighting. With or without weapons, he can handle himself in a fight. Overall, he has something of a savage style though. He channels this savagery into something that resembles a technique, but at its core, it is pure aggression. |
Deduction |
Mac Gargan doesn't miss much. He can glance at a scene and instantly pick up on the kinds of clues that most people miss, paint a picture in his mind, and come up with a spot on assessment. Even before he became an private investigator, he was good at reading people and situations, but with a few years of practice, he's really honed this skill into something of an art. |
Espionage |
Mac Gargan knows the tricks of the private investigator trade. He can trail people without being seen, blend into the background, hide in plain sight, he can pick locks, and bypass security systems. He'll do whatever it takes. |
Immunity |
Venom, or more precisely, the Venom symbiote, is immune to the extrasensory perception-like powers of any host it has previously come into sustained contact with. When it bonds with a host, it learns and will adapt in future. |
Scorpion |
Mac Gargan does not need the symbiote to be a formidable combatant, though it does help. He might lose a certain level of aptitude, but he already possessed some form of most of his abilities before the bonding took place. His camouflage, immunity, and web-shooters are entirely the result of this. |
Superhuman Agility |
Venom is agile, balanced, and coordinated. He is exceedingly limber. His tendons and connective tissue are at least twice as elastic as the average person. If he weren't so strong, he'd probably be even more agile. He is a natural acrobat, and has used this agility to form the basis of his fighting style, movement, and even resting positions. He's quite happy to crouch in positions that would make most men wince in pain. Show him a gymnastics trick, a circus act, and he can recreate it on his first attempt, though he is known for adding a bit of extra flair or panache to these efforts. |
Superhuman Durability |
Venom can endure punishment that would break an ordinary person. He's fallen off buildings and while webslinging. It hurts, it may even break bones or rupture internal organs, but he's survived them all. He can withstand severe impacts, punches from people stronger than he is. His body is so tough that ordinary people, and even some weaker superhumans, have damaged themselves while trying to strike him. If you're not careful, you could break your hand trying to punch him. He loves it when people hurts themselves fighting him. |
Superhuman Equilibrium |
Venom can find his sense of balance or equilibrium no matter what position he's in. He does this on a subconscious level, meaning that he will adjust himself to achieve a state of equilibrium without any forethought. Hanging upside down, balancing on the head of something as narrow as a screwdriver, or webslinging through the air, his sense of equilibrioception will identify the imbalance and his body will correct it, sticking out a knee, leg, hand, arm, tendril, or whatever it takes to find a perfect state of equilibrium. |
Superhuman Reflexes |
Venom is many things, agile being probably the most well known, but his reflexes are almost as well known. He reflexes are around 40 times that of the average human. Combined with his other abilities, it allows him to dodge bullets, assuming it wasn't point blank. He's good, but he's not that good. |
Superhuman Speed |
Venom is fast, able to catch up to an accelerating car while on foot, but for obvious reasons, he prefers to travel by slinging. He is fast enough to dodge a bullet. He may not have a connection to the Speed Force, but he's still fast enough to beat Olympic sprint and distance runners with relative ease. |
Superhuman Stamina |
Venom's musculature produces fewer toxins during use, and thus, he does not fatigue as quickly as an ordinary person. He can maintain peak levels of physical activity for much longer periods of time. While it is a rarity to be put into a situation that would necessitate it, he could continuously act as Venom for several hours before he would need a rest. Also, he needs less air to function, and as a result, he can hold his breath for over 8 minutes. |
Superhuman Strength |
Venom's strength does not behave in a linear fashion as is the case with other people. He has this funny thing where he seems to be as strong as he needs to be, within a certain threshold, which is around 70 metric tons. However, his customary strength is much lower. When he punches someone, without knowing anything about them, it seems to be enough to hurt without causing grave bodily harm. Normally, when he is not in danger, he can exert a force equal to around 15,000 kg. But when his need is great, he's been shown to lift things that are far heavier than 15,000 kg, like a Main Battle Tank, which he was not only able to lift, but could also throw a fair distance. When he's trying these feats of greater strength, his muscles seem to bulge thanks to the symbiote. These instances are rare. He usually remains firmly in the 15 ton category, but he does seem to have a far greater potential. |
Wallcrawling |
Venom can consciously control the electrostatic force found between two objects. Usually, he exerts this force through his hands or feet. It enables him to stick to walls or other objects. Basically, if he wants to keep hold of something he's come into physical contact with, even through his clothing, he can. When there's another superhuman on the other end of the object, like a MacGuffin, he might be thrown around with it, but he will remain attached. He can exert this force on other parts of his body, but he has no need to. Most of the time, he uses it to scale walls, rapidly climbing vertical surfaces as easily as an ordinary human would crawl along a horizontal floor. |
Web-shooters |
Venom has two organic web-shooters, one in each wrist. They can shoot pressurised "web fluid", which is a type of tough but flexible organic polymer. He uses this rope-like substance to swing from, or create simple structures that resemble spider webs. The more complex the structure, the more time it will take him. This webbing is produced by the symbiote. |
Apartment |
Mac Gargan has a studio apartment at 1 Morningside Drive in Hell's Kitchen. There's a Hungarian Pastry Shop nearby that caters to his chocolate addiction, as well as Giovanni's Pizza, Freda's Caribbean and Soul Cuisine, Crepes on Columbus, a couple of Deli's, and a great view of Morningside Park. |
Professional Criminal |
Mac Gargan is a professional criminal. He knows the ins and outs of organised crime, how to find work in criminal enterprises, and most importantly, how to ensure he gets paid. He has friends in low places. He knows how to get rid of stolen materials, where to sell, and how to earn a living breaking the law. |
Public Image |
Venom presents a fearsome image to the public. He can be all kinds of scary when he wants to be. If he had a head for such things, he could intimidate henchmen into working for him. Instead, they respect and fear him, but it's unlikely that they would ever work for him. He's just not the type for it. |
Scorpion Battle Suit |
Mac Gargan may not have a need for the Scorpion Battle Suit, but he still keeps it in storage. The suit is armoured, insulated, and the areas around the eyes are coated with a transparent membrane that dissolves webbing. It features a pair of pinches and an electro-mechanical tail, which is controlled via a sophisticated sensor array that picks up minute changes in his spinal cord. When he operated as the Scorpion, the tail underwent a number of redesigns, though none were performed by Gargan himself. He does not have the wherewithal for it, but he knows how to hire the people who do. |
Scorpion Investigative Service |
Mac Gargan is the owner, operator, and occasionally the sole employee of Scorpion Investigative Services. Originally, it was called Gargan Investigative Services, but shortly after he became the Scorpion, he renamed it. Though he's since abandoned that identity, his company retains the name. |
Streetwise |
Mac Gargan is a man of average to slightly above average intelligence. He was a poor student, the type of guy who have things like 'needs more effort' show up on his report cards. He may not have book smarts, but he does have street smarts. He's perceptive, he's observant, and he's creative. He's become an effective combatant with little to no training. Most of the time, he's one of the dumbest people in the room, but sometimes he's also one of the wisest. |
Symbiote |
Mac Gargan has bonded with the symbiote. It is now a part of him. But it remains a distinct creature. It has thoughts of its own. It wants to control him, but he's used drugs to keep it docile. The bond can be broken by outside means, such as extreme heat and sound, or it could voluntarily choose to leave him. It may desire to join one of its previous hosts, or a new one. |
Wealth |
Mac Gargan is not a wealthy man by any stretch of the imagination, but he does have enough money to live comfortably in New York. He's been trying to diversify his portfolio, to invest his ill gotten gains, but much of the money he has earned, has been squandered. Now that he has the symbiote, he does not need to earmark money for the maintenance, repair, and upgrades of the Scorpion Battle Armour. Without those bills, he's begun saving money. |
Chloroethane |
Venom's immune system can handle a lot, but Chloroethane, more commonly known as Ethyl Chloride, is particularly troublesome. It wasn't an issue before he became Venom, but ever since, he has trouble breathing, thinking, or doing much of anything when in the presence of this stuff. The refrigerated liquid form isn't too bad, like when stored in a barrel, but if he gets it on his skin, or he breathes it in, it affects him to a greater degree than it would an ordinary human, and it's not exactly good for an ordinary human either. |
Heat |
The Kyltnar, also known as symbiotes, have an intense reaction to extreme heat. Temperatures that would not cause permanent damage to a human being will force the Kyltnar to retreat and potentially leave its host. An act as mundane as warming your hands in front of a fireplace would cause the Kyltnar to retreat, exposing the host's hands, forearms, and quite possibly biceps. |
Medication |
Mac Gargan is currently being supplied with medication from a mysterious benefactor. He does not know what's in his medication, only that it allows him to maintain control over his own body. As far as he can tell, there are no side effects, but that may change in the future. He also worries about what would happen to him if he were to ever run out of this medication. |
Mysterious Benefactor |
Mac Gargan has traded one prison cell for another. Without his medication, he served at the pleasure of the symbiote. But now, thanks to that medication, he serves another, possibly far more sinister being. He doesn't even know who is supplying him with the medication, he just knows it works. And if he wants it to continue working, he will have to do what his benefactor tells him. As slavery goes, it's not too bad. Most of the time he lives his life as he sees fit. But when he's ordered to jump, his response must always be, 'how high?' |
Phenethylamine |
The Kyltnar have a dependence on phenethylamine. They consume it as nourishment. Phenethylamine can be obtained via chocolate, pharmaceutical supplements, or through far less savoury means. They need it to survive. |
Professional Criminal |
Venom has committed crimes and he is wanted by the authorities. Sometimes, his reputation will precede him. If he continues, eventually everyone will know about him. He is an assassin, a mercenary, and a thief, and he will be treated as such. Further to that, he routinely endangers himself by the life he's chosen to lead. He works alongside unscrupulous people who wouldn't hesitate to throw him under the bus if it suited them. But crime does pay. |
Secret Identity |
Venom maintains a secret identity. He does not want the world to know that his real name is Mac Gargan. There are people who know that he was once the Scorpion, and a few who know that he is now Venom, but they are small in number. He does not maintain this secret out of fear for friends or family, but instead for his own selfish reasons. Were it to become public knowledge, it would affect him in everyday, mundane ways. It would be an inconvenience. |
Sound |
The Klytnar, or symbiotes if you prefer, are extremely sensitive mechanical waves that pass through gases, liquids, and solid materials. Generally speaking, loud noises like the kinds made by jet engines, explosive devices, and bells, disrupt the symbiote's ability to maintain its bond with the host. |
Symbiote |
Mac Gargan has bonded to a sentient life form that he'll never understand, and always fear. Without his medication, he would become the pawn of the symbiote once more. For the time being, he seems to be perfectly happy about the arrangement, as he is now in complete control, but for how long? |
Xenophage |
The Xenophage, or the Phage for short, are an amorphous extraterrestrial species. Curiously, their anatomy does not contain nociceptors, meaning that they feel no pain. Their saliva functions as an incendiary neurotoxin, both burning and paralyzing tissue it comes into contact with. They are the natural predator of the Klytnar, which are known in English as symbiotes. They have a particular fondness for the brain tissue of a symbiote's host. |
Relationships
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