Long before Peter Parker was bitten by a certain radioactive spider, and had his DNA altered, he was a young man with loving parents and an older, best friend named Eddie Brock. Both Eddie’s and Peter’s fathers were engaged in bio-research, working on a ‘suit’ that would encase people for a short time and help the body produce the chemicals needed to destroy cancer cells.

But then, as with any mythical tale worth its salt, tragedy struck. Both sets of parents were killed in a plane crash and Eddie moved away. Peter’s life moved forward and then along came a spider, which altered both Peter’s DNA and life in dramatic fashion.

Years later, Peter finds transcripts of the work both his father and the elder Brock were engaged in, finds Eddie, discovers a vial of the compound, has a drop fall on his skin and becomes wrapped within the vile, sentient armor of Venom. Only through use of his incredible powers is Peter able to break free of the suit. He thinks he has destroyed it, but Eddie had a second vial of the compound and upset that Peter stole some and tested it, willingly allows the suit to encase him. Unfortunately, Eddie does not have the strength or personality, nor the super powers of Spider-man, and the suit overwhelms him. Venom is born as a terror and threat in the Spider-man universe.

Ok, that is the back story, and sets the stage for this adventure, courtesy of and drawing from an original story by Ultimate Spider-man’s own Brian Michael Bendis. And lest one thing that Bendis’ story gets a graphical boost by the penciling of Mark Bagley, never fear – that is used in the DS version as well.