Marvel’s Venom chooses his next host, and it’s none other than Thor, who may become more powerful than ever when he wears the symbiote. Venom started his Marvel history as an alien suit Spider-Man started wearing while facing the Beyonder among the Avengers and other heroes in 1984’s Secret Wars, but he soon became a character of his own and the perfect complement to a considerable number of different heroes, anti-heroes, and villains.
In strict Marvel canon, Venom has bonded to heroes like Peter Parker, Ben Reilly, Mary Jane Watson, Drax, and Captain Marvel, as well as anti-heroes like Eddie Brock, Flash Thompson, and Red Hulk, and notably villains like Mac Gargan, Angelo Fortunato, Lee Price, and the Maker himself. Venom has also chosen hundreds of different hosts across the infinite Marvel multiverse, from Captain America and Wolverine to Loki and a Valkyrie’s winged horse, not to mention the entire Marvel Universe in the Venomverse comics.
Although Venom has bonded to virtually every major character in the Marvel Universe, only some of its hosts have been powerful enough to make the process worth it.
Thor Bonds With Venom In What If…? Thor #1
What If…? Thor #1; Written by Torunn Grønbekk; Art by Sergio Dávila; Cover by Lucas Werneck; Variant Cover by Sergio Dávila
Marvel is gearing up to release a brand-new What If…? story centered on Thor and Venom where the God of Thunder receives the honor and the curse of becoming the most famous symbiote’s host. Few plot details have been confirmed, but the first cover by Lucas Werneck offers a hint at their team-up, with a semi-Venomized Thor casting lightning with Mjolnir. In this new Marvel timeline, Thor and Venom’s union might be necessary to defeat a threat that their 616 counterparts wouldn’t be able to stop by themselves:
“Amid the chaos, there comes a costume – but not to the hero you know! Legend has it that bonding with the symbiote suit made Thor mightier still. But what shadows lurking in the Ten Realms would take interest in such a powerful pairing?”
A variant cover designed by Sergio Dávila pays homage to Spider-Man’s first encounter with the symbiote from 1984’s Secret Wars #8, with a faithful recreation of the background battle taking place while Venom’s host meets their black costume. Marvel’s What If…? stories may not be consequential to the canon of popular universes, but they’re a great place to experiment with character pairings, new powers, new villains, and events that could never unfold on timelines like Earth-616, Earth-1610, and Earth-6160. Together, Thor and Venom could easily save or doom their reality.
Thor And Venom Have A Long Shared History
Thor And Venom’s Stories Are Already Closer Intertwined Than You Think
Thor bonds with the Venom symbiote in Marvel’s Thor Vol 6 #28
While a permanent bond in main continuity is rare, Thor and Venom have merged in several high-stakes What If? scenarios and alternate timelines, most notably in the Venomverse and Edge of Venomverse arcs, where a Venom-Thor fusion combines Mjolnir’s divine lightning with the symbiote’s shifting biomass to create a cosmic warrior of unparalleled fury. Venom also bonds to Thor after killing Peter Parker in 1989’s What If…? #4, and on Earth-616, they briefly merge to become the “God in Black” and defeat Darkoth the Death-Demon.
Of course, King in Black retroactively ties Thor’s mythology to the symbiotes’ origin when it reveals that the first symbiote was forged in the shadow of a slain Celestial, birthing All-Black the Necrosword, famously wielded by Gorr the God Butcher to nearly exterminate Thor’s kind. As Knull, the God of the Void, descends upon Earth, Thor is one of the few beings capable of truly harming the dark god. Thor manages to defeat the symbiote dragon Grendel, but Eddie Brock steps up to stop Knull for good.
If Venom bonds to Thor and they lift the hammer together, is Venom technically worthy?
What If…? Thor #1 is available from Marvel Comics on June 17, 2026.
First Appearance
Journey into Mystery
Alias
Thor Odinson, Eric Masterson, Kevin Masterson, Beta Ray Bill, Thordis, Throg, Red Norvell, Jane Foster
Alliance
Avengers, Warriors Three, Thor Corps, God Squad
Race
Asgardian, Human
Franchise
Marvel
First Appearance
The Amazing Spider-Man
Alias
Eddie Brock
Alliance
Vigilante
Race
Klyntar (Symbiote species)