Has Harry Osborn been Venom in the comics? Exploring details following the gameplay reveal of Spider-Man 2

The first gameplay of Spider-Man 2 was officially revealed recently in a new PlayStation showcase. It showed fans Peter Parker fighting Kraven's army with the help of the Symbiote suit. Giving fans more details about what to expect from this story, it looks like the game might supposedly be making Harry Osborn the Venom in this universe.

Harry Osborn becoming Venom in Spider-Man 2 is definitely a possibility given the setup from the previous Spider-Man games. It is a possibility based on how they also revealed him being sick and needing the symbiote to survive. There are some fans wondering if Harry Osborn had ever been Venom in the comics and the role that the symbiote could play in the game's story.

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Harry Osborn first debuted as Venom in animation and is teased to appear in Spider-Man 2 as well

It's definitely odd, but Harry Osborn has never been Venom in the comics at all. While the mantle of Venom has been held by many, the heir of the Osborn empire has never bonded with the symbiote. The character first was its host in the Ultimate Spider-Man series which introduced the idea.

In the show, during one of Spider-Man's battles, Harry was there as well and was fascinated by the symbiote. When the symbiote came to be destroyed, Harry was able to salvage a piece of it and kept it to himself. He would start using the suit and become the "Black Suit Spider-Man" with people of New York loving him and humiliating the original Spidey on many occasions.

Harry would reveal to Peter that he has a piece of symbiote with him and Peter would warn him of the dangers the suit can possess. However, Harry would ignore him and continue to use it. This would ultimately lead him to be completely consumed by the symbiote and become Venom as he would slowly change into a monstrous creature.

This is pretty much how Harry becomes Venom in the show, but it looks like Insomnia Games will be going in a different direction with Spider-Man 2. In the first Spider-Man game's post-credits, it was revealed that Harry has been sick for a long time and has bonded with the symbiote implying that it is keeping it alive.

Then in Miles Morales' post-credits, it is revealed that Norman Osborn wants his son out of the tank. So, it looks like Spider-Man 2's story might be taking heavy inspiration from the Ultimate Spider-Man comics as well.

In the Ultimate Spider-Man comics (not to be confused with the show of the same name), writer Brian Michael-Bendis brought his own twist to the symbiote. Here it was created as a medicine for incurable diseases by Peter and Eddie Brock's fathers. However, the dangers of the suit are explained to fans with it making its host extremely aggressive, and thus it is eventually destroyed.

With Harry being sick in the games, fans can pretty much expect this plot point to play in and in an effort to cure him, he turns into the villainous Venom. Of course, Eddie Brock, the original host for Venom is confirmed to be a part of Insomniac's universe, but until then we can just speculate if he will be appearing in the game as well.

While it does look like Harry might be Venom in Spider-Man 2, fans will just have to wait and find out when the game releases this fall on PlayStation 5.