A new man-made Venom symbiote has been introduced into Marvel canon, and it has the powerful potential to change the future of the franchise's universe. Venom's popularity since his introduction in the 1980s has made a strong impact on Marvel history as he saw the beginning of a major new branch of alien villains such as Carnage and Knull. This expansive lore proved to be so beloved by fans that it spawned the creation of the Venom-verse. However, a new artificial symbiote is paving the way for a huge change for future Marvel comics.
In Spider-Man: Black Suit & Blood #4, the story "The Achilles Shield" introduces readers to a new villain bearing the titular name. Originally one of Peter's professors, Professor Hensley is shown to have crafted a suit made of a unique polymer he dubs "liquid steel." He decides to test its durability on himself by applying it to a speed skating suit. However, he quickly discovers a major side-effect that may seem familiar to fans of Venom and the symbiotes. Hensley mentions that once he puts the suit on, he couldn't take it off because it bonded to his skin, even through his clothes.
Plus, with the material forming over his nerves, he can no longer feel anything either. Essentially, this is an artificial version of a symbiote, and seeing the suit in action further highlights the interesting parallels between the two.
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Professor Hensley's Suit Has Potential to Be as Strong as Venom, With One Lethal Exception
What's remarkable about Hensley's creation is how much it matches in power to the infamous Lethal Protector. Just like organic symbiotes, his polymer makes him bulletproof. When the police barge into his lab, they open fire on him, only for the bullets to repel off the speed skating suit. This is due to the material he created being as strong as steel. Plus, with its durability making the bullets launched at him ricochet off his body, it makes the suit just as useful as a deadly offensive weapon, rather than a simple shield.
Of course, given the name, The Achilles Shield does prove to have one major weakness that puts organic symbiotes over Hensley's artificial creation in terms of strength. When he falls off a building after being cornered by the police, Spider-Man is unable to web him to safety due to his webbing being unable to stick. This leads to him hitting the ground, dying instantly. While the material is strong enough to deflect any oncoming projectiles, the crushing impact of the ground from falling at terminal velocity shows that Hensley's material has its limits.
Our Take on Marvel's New Man-Made Symbiote's Future
The Achilles Shield Paves the Way for an Interesting Future for Symbiotes
Even though Hensley's design has a clear flaw in its design, the introduction of the Achilles Shield polymer shows that humans on Earth-616 are on a path to creating their own version of symbiotes. Since Hensley's polymer isn't a living thing like Venom or Carnage, humans can benefit from the Achilles Shield's positives without fear of the material feeding on their organs for nourishment. Plus, under the microscope of some of Marvel's smartest characters, this material could be perfected to remove the flaws in Hensley's design to make mankind stand a chance and defend itself should another Venom War event arise in the future.
The best thing is, since the stories of Black Suit & Blood have been elaborated as missing stories during the Alien Suit saga, Hensley's story is canon to the Marvel universe. Thus, this makes it possible that the Achilles Shield could undergo improvement in a lab without any of the Avengers knowing. Should it be perfected, this man-made Venom symbiote has the potential to change things forever in Marvel's massive universe.
