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The Zombiotes are the secondary antagonists of the "Venom War" comic book arc published by Marvel Comics. First appearing in Venom Vol 5 #33, they are undead symbiotes connected through a hive mind with the current King In Black, Meridius. They are a form of zombie, animated and enhanced further through a symbiote which can be spread via a bite. With Meridius ruling them, they attempted to take over New York City, infecting several thousand citizens as well as the several heroes protecting them like Patsy Walker, She Hulk, Wolverine, and many more. They possess a major weakness in the form of the Anti-Venom symbiote or its offshoots, which have the ability to purify them or cleanse them from alive or dead hosts.
Biography[]
NOTE: Venom War Comics run concurrent with each other, so for the purposes of this article, each sub-story within the comic event involving Zombiotes has been separated to their own sections.
The zombiote's first patient zero - Lee Price.
The Zombiote's first appearance was within Venom Volume 5 #33, with patient zero being Lee Price. Venom, debonded from both Eddie and Dylan was week and was barely surviving. As a last resort, he navigated to Lee Prices Corpse, which he saw was empty. Lee Price awakened from his grave with a piece of the symbiote attached to him, and immediately began to attack Venom, strangling him. The two began to engage within a struggle, however they were interrupted by Threkker/The Captive , a member of an alien race known as the Epsiloni who sustained themselves by using the life force of others. Lee Price eventually came out on top, rebonding with a piece of Venom and making Threkker's method of sustaining himself backfire. Threkker eventually perished and passed away as a result of this.
Suddenly, Meridius appeared behind Lee Price, congratulating him for winning against The Captive. He presented Lee Price with an offer, noting that Price had a "sick and dying symbiote" and that he could offer him "fresh and ageless symbiote matter". Price debonded to venom, falling into the arms of Meridius. Meridius said to Venom that if they were to meet again, he would be bonding with him again. Meridius was confused as to how Venom would not be able to recognize him. He told Venom that he was the one who "helped change him" and that they knew each other very well. Meridius mentioned "the absent throne" as the clue for Venom to recognize him. Venom recognized and accepted that he won, and was in tears nothing that Dylan had passed away and that he would inevitably perish as well. Meridius explained to him that he was taking Lee Price's body as as a "consolation prize", as well as a "Plan B". Before leaving, he told Venom that Dylan had survived and was alive, and that Eddie was coming back. Meridus left the scene, noting that a "war" would begin soon.
Thanks to a deal with Alchemax, Meridius surrendered pieces of the Maniac symbiote to them. From there, they created a formula with the remains of the mania symbiote to create the "K-44" formula, officially creating the Zombiotes.
Venom War: Venomous[]
Agent Anti-Venom and Black Widow spied on Alchemax's initial auction for the Symbiote. Alchemax was about to present lot number 52 for auction, so they brung up the head scientist of the project - Dr Frekk. Dr Frekk introduced himself and went on a speech explaining what the K-44 formula could do. There was an overabundance of Klyntar on Earth and he wished to solve it, noting that it could not be "good for business". Dr Frekk demonstrated this on a test patient, who demanded to know where he was. However, the K42T formula went horrifically wrong and the symbiote bonded with the test patient, causing havoc all over the show floorroom. Black Widow gave the "go ahead" signal to her symbiote Sliver. Black Widow battled the enraged test patient for a while before injecting the K42T formula. She caught Dr Frekk and demanded to know where the rest of the K42T formula was. Dr Frekk, rushed and full of tension, explained to her that he only made enough as a demonstration for the auction and that the symbiote used to test it was weak and not integrated to a host like she was with Sliver.
As she swung away from the Alchemax building she spotted Agent Anti Venom on the roof. Black Widow asked Agent Anti Venom what he was doing there. He explained to her that he was following up on an anonymous tip he received about Carnage 's whereabouts, and that he needed help from Liz Allan/Misery, who was the current CEO and head of Alchemax. The two proceeded to break into Alchemax but the both noticed that something was terribly wrong, with Alchemax personnel running from a zombiotic type of symbiote. Black Widow asked her symbiote Sliver if they could talk to the symbiotes, to which they answered no. Sliver told Black Widow that their symbiotic material is similar to the one at the auction, being "mindless".
The two soon found themselves outnumbered. As a temporary plan Agent Anti Venom suggested to Black widow that they could lure them into a cold storage room which would make them susceptible to extreme temperatures while they worked to find Liz Allan. The Zombiotes knocked the two of them into the cold storage room, and the plan failed. The Zombiotes were soon eating at the corpses and managed to find new bodies to possess. Agent Anti-Venom delivered a brutal punch to one of he zombiotes, which knocked it back as well as forcibly de-bonded it from its host. With his symbiote's powers, he along with Black Widow worked on freeing the Zombiotes who had live hosts, as well as the ones who resided in the dead.
Due to the events of Venom War #2, Misery/Liz Allan fell from several stories due to a devastating punch by Meridius following her protests against the Zombiotes. She managed to save her fall by landing on a Taxi. Liz realized that the Zombiotes have escaped the lab, and are now infecting New York City's citizens. She saw on a jumbo-tron the broadcast of the fight between Dylan, Red Goblin, and Eddie Brock as well as several time-displaced variants of him. As she swung to the scene, she was quickly tackled by a zombiote who then proceeded to slam her into the ground. Agent Anti-Venom and Black Widow managed to make it down to floor A and caught up with Misery. She got angry at Agent Anti-Venom and said to him he'd be paying for the property damage that he caused in the Alchemax building. Misery also found that due to her Anti-Venom symbiote, she would be able to purge the Zombiote out of the host. The three managed to see what was occurring on the jumbotron. Misery expressed her urge to stop Eddie and Dylan, however Agent-Anti Venom fiercely objected, stating that he didn't want her to get hurt. He told Black Widow and Misery that he would be there to "talk some sense" into Eddie and hopefully work out a solution with him. He swung away to the arena, and and asked the two to keep each other safe.
Natasha/Black Widow loses her beloved friend/symbiote, Sliver as a result of the Anti-Venom purging the Alchemax building.
Due to Black Widow's inability to cleanse the symbiotes, she was getting punched, knocked back and kicked several times by the Zombiotes again and again. She expressed a inner sense of doom, feeling that the more zombiotes they take out, more people keep getting infected due to it's nature. Black Widow also showed anger towards Misery, noting that it was "pretty much all her fault" as her company chose to take the deal and develop the K-44 Formula. Misery shouted at Black Widow that it was impossible to stop them all. Black Widow remarked to Misery that she was an Avenger and that they "did the impossible every day". The both of them needed to find a way to heal them all at once, with Misery proposing a solution to lure them all into one place so they would be be able to dispense a cure en masse. As the two made their way to the building's rooftop, misery activated an electricity panel, replacing the fire extinguisher with her Anti-Venom in it's place.
As Black Widow was swarmed, she was forced to de-bond with her symbiote. Black Widow used her gauntlets to disperse them, with Sliver being the bait for the Zombiotes. However, it was too late as Sliver was infected with the Zombiote virus and started to attack Black Widow. With tears in her eyes, she urged Sliver to fight the Zombiote infection off, telling Sliver to remember who they were. The Sliver symbiote apologized before making a brave sacrifice. The sprinklers activated, killing the zombiotes but also killing Sliver due to the Anti-Venom being indiscriminate when it came to purging them. She had no time to cry however as she rushed over to help the victims of the Zombiote virus.
As police and emergency services tended to the building, Liz asked Natasha if she was okay. Natasha said that she was not okay, and that Sliver was killed as a result of the Anti-Venom going through the building. Liz apologized to Natasha, and reassured her that she was going to be the leader that her company needs. Natasha told Liz that she and Sliver did "what they had to do", and commented on Sliver being a "good student". Natasha left the scene heartbroken over the loss of her friend/symbiote, but found a new friend in Liz as she saw she was "pretty damned brave" and why Flash/Agent Anti-Venom liked her so much.
Venom War (Mainline Comic)[]
In Grand Garden Area in New York City, two wrestling announcers were preparing the mainline show. Headlining the show was Symbiote Smith and Ken "Caveman" Corrigan, along with the Big Chomp. Symbiote Smith had the champions belt, and posted an open challenge promising that whoever would defeat him would gain his belt. As the match began, the three began to exchange blows with each other before they were interrupted by Eddie Brock, Bedlam, Tyro and Wilde. Eddie knocked out Symbiote Smith before Lumber Jack began to pounce on Tyro and Wilde. Big Chomp had his face shoved into the ground by Bedlam. Eddie began to take the mic as the audience began to evacuate the building. He stated that he wanted two things: his son Dylan, and the Venom symbiote, before welcoming the audience to "The venom war".
Venom from there narrates a summary of his origin, in how he bonded to his host Tel Kar. Venom comments how the first thing he really knew was a war, and that Tel Kar forced him to do horrific things such as war crimes. He then narrates back to Peter Parker, and how he bonded with him during the events of secret wars and rejected him. He then mentions the various hosts he's had that are one-offs (such as agent venom, mac gargan, and lee price) before Dylan Brock. Venom then goes on to discuss how he couldn't save anybody, and how he's not a symbiote but rather a "parasite", destroying his hosts. Alone, starving and dying he sits in Peter's closet, waiting to bond to him. As Peter puts on his costume, he realizes that it was his black suit. Venom pleads with Peter not to freak out and explains the situation.
Venom War: Zombiotes![]
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Venom War: Lethal Protectors[]
During the events of Venom War, the Misery Symbiote (whose host was Liz Allan) was overrun in New York, along with a variety of heroes such as Daredevil, She Hulk, and many more. Requesting support, Liz sent Silver Sable and her elite team of mercenaries a contract to help her rid New York City of the Zombiotes. Upon arriving at the designated facility, Silver Sable's Team discovers that there are soundproof cages, and one of the members is confused as to why the package they were sent to retrieve, a "chemical" would need to be soundproof.
Suddenly, the Zombiotes invade and ambush them, and they activate special technology that enables them to take over. Her team would be transformed into Agony, Riot, Lasher, Scream, Phage, and a new Symbiote discovered - Flicker, piloted by Lina Abbas. The team manages to hold the symbiotes off for a while, but Navvab unfortunately succumbs to a zombiote bite and activates explosives around him to disperse them. The Agony symbiote leaves Navvab's dead corpse. Lasher is confused at what happened and asks the team. Phage answers that the agony symbiote got nervous and as a result it "bailed" to protect himself. The bracelet that each mercenary is equipped with have sonic emitters to ensure that none of the life foundation symbiotes fall out of line.
The mercenary group then gets into an argument about the each of them being a liability. Puma gets aggressive and punches Silver Sable, so she activates the sonic emitter sending him into excruciating pain. Unbeknownst to them, the Agony symbiote reforms itself and attaches itself to Silver. As it begins to bond with her, she sees her life flashing before her eyes, including her mothers death, her training, and her first date with her- Dominic Fortune III. Meridius then begins to converse with her, threatening her to "stay out of his affairs". The bonding process completes, and Silver Sable and the Agony symbiote now join forces as the Silver symbiote.
In Venom War Lethal Protectors #2, the Silver symbiote experiences several flashbacks concerning Sable's time with Dominic Fortune. Her team walked the streets of New York City, seeing it abandoned and in chaos. Sable expressed the concern that something was "in her mind" and that they needed to leave the city, however Tarantula told her that due to the lack of signal in the area they were unable to request an airlift. Suddenly, Scorpion was spotted in the distance and Silver demanded answers on why he needed their help. Scorpion said to Silver that he needed to get out of the city too, and was willing to pay cash. Before they could continue their conversation, however - he was bitten by a Zombiote and the crew had to abandon him as they kept running from the Zombiotes.
She instructed Lasher to protect the tank, to which they agreed to. They continued moving upwards towards a building while she instructed Stricklan/Scream and Flicker to clear out a path towards the street. Her team quickly moved across a power line however it was too late as one of the Zombiotes punctured the tank and caused it to explode. The cargo in the tank was revealed to be Shriek (Marvel), previously thought dead. Shriek explained that she was regrown in a lab along with the rest of the Life Foundation Symbiotes. Flicker expressed they had no time for conversation and insisted they needed to move. However, Shriek went rogue along and started fighting the rest of the Life Foundation symbiotes. However, she was quickly knocked out by Phage and taken to Dominic's ship, the Mississippi Queen which was known as a safe place during the event for the Wealthy.
Shriek awoke from her unconsciousness and saw Dominic knocked down on the ground. Dominic became furious with Silver Sable, claiming that she only used him "as an asset". The Silver Symbiote along with Agony ordered her crew to put Dominic "somewhere he won't be found", to which the group complied. In the ship's dock, Strickland apprehended Shriek as she was trying to escape. Shriek mocked Stricklan, calling him an expert in apprehending "helpless women". Strickland striked Shriek, saying that no one cared about her condition, especially not Meridius as he shot her in the head, causing her to fall off the boat. Puma asked where Strickland took Shriek. Before his question could be answered, the outbreak came to Silver and her crew.
She activated "Lethal Protector" mode and ordered her crew to find Shriek and activate a sonic device that could harm the Zombiotes. Strickland escaped to the gambling room, where he explained to Puma (Marvel) that he deactivated the sonic emitter allowing the Zombiotes to break out in unforeseeable numbers. Puma accused Stricklan of being a traitor, and screamed at him, asking what he did. Strikland replied that he did what he had to do. While Puma was confronting Stricklan, Silver/Agony and her team were defending the boat. Silver ordered her team to evacuate the civilians.
Dominic managed to break free and saw the chaos occurring across the boardwalk. In a sudden twist, it was revealed that Shriek had survived the gunshot. Dominic was confused, asking Shriek who she was. Shriek explained that the life foundation had given her more upgrades before taking Dominic hostage. Flicker felt anxious as she felt the Zombiote horde progressing and told Silver that there was a chance that they could get to the sonic emitters before them. Silver/Agony instructed Flicker to hook up Shriek to the emitter to use her as a sonic amplifier. Flicker rushed to Shriek.
In the gambling room, Stricklan also activated "Lethal Protector Mode", prompting him and Puma to have a brutal fist fight across a table. Stricklan pleaded with Puma and argued that the ship was sinking. Stricklan offered to help Puma escape. Puma refused, and laughed in Stricklan's face, telling him that he reactivated the sonic emitter. The sonic emitter activated, sending a massive explosion that disintegrated Stricklan and his symbiote to atoms.
Before Flicker could rush to Shriek, Shriek pulled out a gun on Dominic, and demanded that Silver offer her a way out of the city. Silver/Agony refused, while Dominic begged Shriek to put down the gun, telling her that Silver Sable did not care about whether he was alive or dead. Silver/Agony denied this. Shriek let Dominic go before unleashing a massive sonic boom that separated Silver from Agony. Silver quickly rebonded to Agony, before roping Shriek up, slamming her on the Sonic emitter. Dominic grabbed Shriek's gun, and scolded Silver for attacking his ship, as well as being bonded to Agony before asking what happened to her. Silver, out of anger pushed Dominic aside before shooting him in the leg with Shriek's gun. Silver answered Dominic, telling him that nothing has happened to her, but rather the circumstances/mission has changed. She explained to Dominic that it doesn't matter how they feel each other, when they need to focus on saving the city and by extension, the world. Silver's team successfully evacuated the civilians to a safe place, and returned to her side. With the sonic emitter now active, the Zombiotes would be prevented from crossing the water to attack the civilians.
Silver asked Puma where Stricklan was, to which Puma told her that Strikland didn't make it out alive. Their mission complete, they returned to the helicopter. Shriek was angered by Silver and her team and allowed them to leave, but insisted that the sonic amplifier would not contain her forever. Safe on the helicopter, Silver was now enlightened by new insight from Puma. She explained to her team that Stricklan was influenced by Meridius in an attempt to sabotage the mission, which failed. Puma was upset and showed the team the view outside, which was full of fire and ash. Flicker looked outside the window with a sad face and asked the team why Stricklan did what he did. Silver told Flicker that the reason why Stricklan betrayed them is because he thought Meridius would win. Lasher asked Silver if she was okay. She told Lasher she was fine, but was curious if Dominic said any last words to her. Lasher shook her head, telling her Dominic did not have any. Lasher returned to her seat. As Silver continued to fly the helicopter, she reminisced about her time with Dominic and so, a single tear was seen running down her face.
Powers[]
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Weaknesses[]
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