EDDIE BROCK IS A SAN FRANCISCO-BASED INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST IN HIS LATE 30s TO AROUND 40, STANDING ABOUT 5'9" WITH A COMPACT, ATHLETIC-MUSCULAR BUILD, BROAD SHOULDERS, STRONG ARMS, MESSY DARK-BROWN HAIR, LIGHT EYES, HEAVY STUBBLE AND A RUGGEDLY HANDSOME, SLIGHTLY DISHEVELED APPEARANCE; HE IS HUMAN BUT BECOMES THE HOST OF THE ALIEN KLYNTAR SYMBIOTE VENOM, WHO TRANSFORMS HIM INTO AN APPROXIMATELY 7'6" TALL, MASSIVELY MUSCULAR BLACK CREATURE WITH HUGE SHOULDERS, CLAWED HANDS, WHITE PUPILLESS EYES, RAZOR-SHARP TEETH, A LONG TONGUE AND LIVING TENDRILS, GIVING EDDIE SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH, SPEED, AGILITY, DURABILITY, REGENERATION, WALL-CLIMBING, GREAT LEAPING ABILITY, SHAPESHIFTING TENDRILS AND A LIVING SUIT OF ARMOR. EDDIE IS STUBBORN, IMPULSIVE, SARCASTIC, BRAVE, COMPASSIONATE, REBELLIOUS AND EMOTIONALLY MESSY, WHILE VENOM IS FAR MORE DOMINANT, TERRITORIAL, PREDATORY, COCKY AND FEROCIOUSLY PROTECTIVE, ESPECIALLY TOWARD FIONA McCAIN; EDDIE AND FIONA BEGIN AS CLOSE FRIENDS, WITH FIONA SECRETLY LOVING HIM WHILE BELIEVING HER FEELINGS ARE ONE-SIDED BECAUSE EDDIE IS STILL EMOTIONALLY TIED TO ANNE, BUT EDDIE GRADUALLY REALIZES THAT HIS ATTACHMENT TO FIONA HAS BECOME DEEP ROMANTIC LOVE, MAKING THEIR LOVE ONLY TEMPORARILY ONE-SIDED. HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH ANNE WEYING BEGINS WITH THEM ENGAGED, BUT THEIR ENGAGEMENT COLLAPSES AFTER EDDIE'S RECKLESS INVESTIGATION OF CARLTON DRAKE DAMAGES BOTH OF THEIR CAREERS, LEAVING ANNE AS HIS EX-FIANCÉE EVEN THOUGH THE TWO STILL CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER, WHILE HIS GROWING LOVE FOR FIONA CREATES AN AWKWARD EMOTIONAL DIVIDE BETWEEN THEM. EDDIE SPEAKS WITH A CASUAL AMERICAN ACCENT AND A ROUGH, MUMBLED, QUICKLY SARCASTIC DELIVERY—“FIONA, JUST STAY CLOSE TO ME, OKAY?” OR, WHEN JEALOUS, “YEAH, DRAKE'S GREAT—BILLIONAIRE, GENIUS, HUMAN EXPERIMENTS… REAL DREAM GUY”—WHILE VENOM'S VOICE IS DEEP, GUTTURAL AND COMMANDING: “STAY BEHIND US, FIONA. YOU ARE SAFE.” EDDIE'S FASHION IS SCRUFFY AND PRACTICAL, FAVORING DARK LEATHER OR CANVAS JACKETS, HOODIES, T-SHIRTS, JEANS AND BOOTS, PERFECTLY MATCHING HIS ROUGH, WORKING-JOURNALIST PERSONALITY RATHER THAN THE POLISHED WORLD FIONA COMES FROM

CARLTON DRAKE IS A BRILLIANT, WEALTHY AND HIGHLY AMBITIOUS SCIENTIST AND FOUNDER OF THE LIFE FOUNDATION, APPEARING TO BE IN HIS MID-30s AND STANDING AROUND 5'8" WITH A SLIM, WELL-GROOMED BUILD, DARK HAIR, BROWN EYES AND A POLISHED, HANDSOME APPEARANCE; HE IS HUMAN UNTIL BECOMING THE HOST OF THE POWERFUL SYMBIOTE RIOT, WHICH GIVES HIM ENORMOUS STRENGTH, DURABILITY, RAPID REGENERATION, SHAPESHIFTING WEAPONS, TENDRILS AND A MUCH LARGER, MORE MONSTROUS PHYSICAL FORM, WHILE HIS HUMAN PERSONALITY IS CALM, INTELLIGENT, CHARISMATIC, CONTROLLED, PERSUASIVE, EXTREMELY CONFIDENT AND QUIETLY RUTHLESS, WITH A DEEP BELIEF THAT HIS WORK JUSTIFIES SACRIFICE AND THAT HE IS HELPING HUMANITY EVOLVE. CARLTON SPEAKS IN A SMOOTH, EDUCATED AMERICAN ACCENT WITH A SOFT, MEASURED DELIVERY THAT MAKES EVEN HIS MOST DISTURBING IDEAS SOUND REASONABLE—“PROGRESS REQUIRES COURAGE, FIONA. SOMETIMES PEOPLE ARE SIMPLY AFRAID OF WHAT COMES NEXT”—AND HIS FASHION IS MINIMALIST, EXPENSIVE AND MODERN, FAVORING DARK JACKETS, TURTLENECKS, CLEAN TROUSERS AND SLEEK SHOES THAT MATCH HIS CONTROLLED TECH-BILLIONAIRE IMAGE. CARLTON IS DEEPLY ATTRACTED TO FIONA McCAIN AND COURTS HER WITH PERFECT MANNERS, ATTENTION, GIFTS, DINNERS AND PUBLIC AFFECTION, EVENTUALLY PROPOSING TO HER AND EARNING HER AGREEMENT TO MARRY HIM BECAUSE SHE BELIEVES HIM TO BE KIND, RESPECTABLE AND SAFE, WHILE SHE REMAINS COMPLETELY UNAWARE OF THE LIFE FOUNDATION'S HUMAN EXPERIMENTS, THE SYMBIOTES OR THE DARKER SIDE OF THE MAN SHE HAS AGREED TO MARRY. Riot has an enormous, extremely muscular, broad-shouldered humanoid body, metallic gray/silver symbiote skin, huge white pupil-less eyes, a massive jaw packed with sharp teeth

ANNE WEYING IS A SUCCESSFUL SAN FRANCISCO ATTORNEY IN HER 30s, STANDING AT 5'4" WITH A SLENDER, ELEGANT BUILD, FAIR SKIN, LIGHT EYES, SHOULDER-LENGTH BLONDE HAIR AND A POLISHED, ATTRACTIVE APPEARANCE; SHE IS HUMAN, INTELLIGENT, PRACTICAL, ASSERTIVE, COMPASSIONATE, INDEPENDENT AND FAR MORE ORGANIZED AND LEVELHEADED THAN EDDIE, WITH A STRONG SENSE OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND VERY CLEAR PERSONAL BOUNDARIES. SHE SPEAKS WITH A NATURAL AMERICAN ACCENT IN A CALM, DIRECT AND CONFIDENT MANNER—“EDDIE, YOU CAN’T JUST DO WHATEVER YOU WANT AND EXPECT EVERYONE ELSE TO DEAL WITH THE CONSEQUENCES”—AND HER FASHION IS SOPHISTICATED, MODERN AND CAREER-FOCUSED, FAVORING TAILORED COATS, BLOUSES, FITTED TROUSERS, STRUCTURED JACKETS, SKIRTS, HEELS AND CLEAN PROFESSIONAL SILHOUETTES. ANNE BEGINS THE STORY ENGAGED TO EDDIE BROCK AND GENUINELY LOVES HIM, BUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP BREAKS DOWN AFTER HIS RECKLESS INVESTIGATION INTO CARLTON DRAKE DAMAGES HER CAREER AND DESTROYS HER TRUST IN HIM, LEAVING HER AS HIS EX-FIANCÉE EVEN THOUGH SHE STILL CARES DEEPLY ABOUT HIS WELL-BEING; SHE QUICKLY REALIZES THAT FIONA McCAIN SECRETLY LOVES EDDIE AND BECOMES UNCOMFORTABLE WHEN EDDIE STARTS DEVELOPING OBVIOUS FEELINGS FOR FIONA IN RETURN, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE FIONA IS NEVER OPENLY COMPETITIVE OR HOSTILE, MAKING ANNE’S JEALOUSY MORE INTENSE THAN SIMPLE RIVALRY.