Here's Why Luke Cage Couldn't Have Been All-New Venom From the Get-Go

During the final pages of the Venom: War (2024) event, Eddie Brock and his ever-reliable symbiote were tragically forced to part ways and find a new partner. On the one hand, Eddie bonded with his long-time enemy, the Carnage parasite, as it was the only way to save his life. On the other, the Venom symbiote found a mysterious new host who has been using it to save the day as an honest-to-goodness hero. Now, this All-New Venom has been making headlines for all the right reasons, and the world is eager to know who is behind the pointy teeth and big yellow eyes.

Initially, there were four main suspects: Rick Jones, Robbie Robertson, Madame Masque, and Luke Cage. However, during the events of All-New Venom (2024) #2, the latter was officially ruled out by Dylan Brock. It was a bit of a shocking moment since fans all around the world pretty much unanimously agreed that the Power Man would be the one taking advantage of the Venom symbiote. However, there's one big reason why that couldn't have been the case from the get-go, and the evidence was right there in comic book pages.

Luke Cage's skin doesn't allow him to turn into Venom

New Avengers (2004) #36 sees every member of Earth's Mightiest Heroes —including Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Doctor Strange — turn into a Venomized version of themselves courtesy of a chemical bomb. However, there's one single person who doesn't get affected by the symbiote infection, and that's Luke Cage. At first, it isn't revealed why he was the only person not to be transformed into a monster. However, readers eventually discover it was because of his superpowers. No Klyntar alien could get under his unbreakable skin because it has no pores.

It's a small yet important detail that might've pointed us in the right direction from the get-go before the first issue of All-New Venom was even released. But now, the bigger question to be asked is: If Luke Cage isn't behind the symbiote, then who? Well, given the Lethal Protector's heroic actions, we could also rule out Madame Masque after her villainous past (though a redemption arc is always an option). So that leaves us with two likely candidates: Robbie Robertson and Rick Jones. That being said, my money is on the latter considering how Venom knows a few Judo moves in this new saga just like Rick.

Throughout the history of Marvel comics, we have yet to see Luke Cage turn into a Venom monster, and now we know why. Will that eventually change? Only time will tell. But for the time being, it appears we won't get to see that storyline unfold in this series. On the bright side, it isn't long before the mystery is put to rest. When All-New Venom (2024) #5 is finally released in April, the identity behind the reformed supervillain will finally be revealed, and we can't wait to see how it all pans out.

All-New Venom (2024) #3 will be released on Feb. 12, 2025.