Venom is commonly associated with Spiderman.
Venom , or the Venom Symbiote , is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics , commonly in association with Spider-Man . Venom made his first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man # 300 ( May 1988 ) . The Venom Symbiote 's first known host was Spider-Man , who eventually separated himself from the creature when he discovered its true nature . Comics journalist and historian Mike Conroy writes of the character : `` What started out as a replacement costume for Spider-Man turned into one of the Marvel web-slinger 's greatest nightmares . ''