Riot Explained: The Basics
Considering that he acquired his powers by stealing Spider-Man's alien costume, it's only fitting that Venom has inspired a few imitators of his own. Riot is one of five symbiotes to be spawned from Venom due to experiments from the scientists at the Life Foundation. For most of its life, the Riot symbiote has been bonded to Trevor Cole, a security expert helping the Life Foundation carry out its goal of flourishing after a global apocalypse.Riot has survived countless defeats since then, including the death of its original host. Even now, it remains a dangerous X-factor in the Marvel Universe, with its power just as capable of being used for evil as well as good.
Riot's Powers and Abilities
As an offshoot of Venom, the Riot symbiote has many of the same powers as its "father." Riot possesses super-strength superior to that of Spider-Man, as well as the ability to block his Spider-Sense. Riot can cling to walls, recover from most wounds and reshape its body to form tendrils or deadly bladed weapons. Visually, Riot bears the closest resemblance to Venom, albeit without the spider emblem on his chest.However, Riot also has the same weaknesses as most symbiotes. The symbiote by its very nature is dependent on a human host for sustenance and can't survive being separated for long periods of time. It's also extremely vulnerable to fire and sonic-based weapons.
Riot: Origin and Background
Riot debuted alongside four other symbiote characters (Scream, Lasher, Phage and Agony) in a 1993 miniseries called Venom: Lethal Protector. However, the symbiote wasn't officially given a name until 2012's Carnage USA.Lethal Protector was an offshoot of the monthly Amazing Spider-Man comic, pitting Eddie Brock and his alter ego against Carlton Drake's Life Foundation. Drake and his allies believed that the world was destined to be ravaged by a post-Cold War nuclear conflict. Rather than try to prevent this conflict, the Life Foundation was devoted to helping its financiers survive it and flourish in its aftermath. The Venom symbiote became key to Drake's plans. He extracted five samples of Venom's suit and used them to transform volunteers into super-powered bodyguards. In the end, Venom was forced to join forces with Spider-Man to stop Riot and its siblings from wreaking havoc on San Francisco.
Despite their apparent deaths, Riot and company survived and resurfaced in a followup miniseries called Venom: Separation Anxiety. There the symbiotes attempted to reunite with Venom, but Brock wanted nothing to do with his "children" after witnessing how Carnage turned out. Scream used her sonic powers to begin murdering her siblings, tricking the symbiotes into thinking they were being targeted by Venom himself.Riot's human host Trevor Cole was killed by Scream, but the symbiote itself survived. All five symbiotes were eventually merged together to bond with a man named Scott Washington and form a new symbiote villain named Hybrid.
Riot has more recently resurfaced in the pages of Carnage USA, where it was revealed that it and other symbiotes were being paired with US soldiers. Riot even temporarily joined forces with Deadpool in 2014's Deadpool vs. Carnage to help Wade defeat his new foe. These days, Riot's status quo is unclear, but it's safe to assume this symbiote will eventually resurface, for good or ill.