With great power there must also come symbiote stories unlike any other!

Actor David Dastmalchian (Late Night with the Devil, Dune) returns to the world of Marvel Comics in Venom: Black, White & Blood #3, on sale October 29.

Dastmalchian collaborated with artist Philip Tan to reveal the earliest exploits of Venom as he stalked Spider-Man through New York subways and rooftops, immune to Peter Parker’s Spider-Sense.

“I was speaking with Mark [Basso, editor] about some of the ways I’d like to explore classic Marvel characters and stories through a more contemporary lens that’s impacted by recent cultural and social changes,” Dastmalchian tells Bloody Disgusting.

“All of the time I’ve spent thinking about mental health has filled me with so many questions about nature versus nurture, biochemical tendencies and body history. Both Eddie and Peter are excellent characters to follow while exploring those ideas.”

The story is rooted in Marvel history, taking place before Venom’s debut appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #299, but Dastmalchian also had a major cinematic influence.

“I drew massive inspiration from David Fincher’s film Se7en, and I hope you can feel that pulpy, gritty, horrifying sense of compulsion and obsession throughout the story,” he says.

No stranger to the world of superheroes, Dastmalchian has played powerful characters. Could any of them take down Venom?

“I think that Abner Krill, AKA Polka Dot Man [from The Suicide Squad], could probably incinerate Venom with just a few dots,” Dastmalchian asserts.

He adds, “I also think Gurathin from “Murderbot” could outsmart Venom. If he runs into any trouble, Gurathin could just call on SecUnit to lend a hand. Being a construct, SecUnit is probably impervious to Venom.”

Venom: Black, White & Blood #3 marks Dastmalchian’s second time writing for Marvel, following a story he wrote earlier this year in Web of Venomverse: Fresh Brains.

The issue also includes stories from Carl Potts & Damian Couceiro, showing what would happen if a Peter Parker prone to violent solutions for his enemies became Venom, and Takashi Okazaki, who imagines a never-before-seen Venom going up against Carnage in ancient Japan.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman designed the main cover, while Okazaki created a samurai-inspired variant.

Take an exclusive look two of Tan’s pages from Dastmalchian’s story below.

Cover by Kevin Eastman

Cover by Takashi Okazaki