Hybrid Vs Toxin (Not a fight thread)

[FortKnox]

Ok I was looking at some old threads talking about Toxin and some people wonder why Hybrid hasn't been seen in forever and why he hasn't got to the level of Toxin.

And I was thinking about that today when reading the Toxin tpb. They've both the same in alot of ways. Good guys from the start that are trying to control their symbiotes but, Hybrid was the first true good symbiote. So why didn't he take?

Timing.

In other words Hybrid came at a bad time when people were getting sick of Venom and symbiotes in general. First when Hybrid first came around there had already been a bunch of symbiote "spawn" running, Carnage and The Life Foundation. And then Hybrid was a result of the fall out from Planet of the Symbiotes and his storyline happened in the back of a Venom limited series which, again, people were sick of or just didn't care for and didn't read.

Now Toxin came out at a time were there wasn't a bunch of symbiotes around and interest in Venom is getting back up (good or bad) thanks to The Hunger storyline. And I think that's why Toxin is the more well known good guy.

So what do you think?

[Cthulhudrew]

I think that, rather than creating a new character, they should simply have reused Hybrid (even if they renamed him Toxin- which does sound better). I'm not really sure why they created an all-new virtually identical character.

Heck, even if they just had the Hybrid symbiote bond with the new guy that ended up bonding with Toxin, it still would have been a better approach. Would have let the creator use his concept and kept from redundantly overpopulating the world of Spidey symbiotes.

[Nosgoth Phantom]

I think.... Just like Hybrid, we won't be seeing Toxin around any time soon either ;) Think of it. If the his series was a success we would have seen him again a long time ago.

[Sean Whitmore]

Timing.

In other words Hybrid came at a bad time when people were getting sick of Venom and symbiotes in general. First when Hybrid first came around there had already been a bunch of symbiote "spawn" running, Carnage and The Life Foundation. And then Hybrid was a result of the fall out from Planet of the Symbiotes and his storyline happened in the back of a Venom limited series which, again, people were sick of or just didn't care for and didn't read.

I think you nailed it, FK. Halfway through the 90s, I know I was symbioted the hell out. I hated that Carnage returned after his first storyline (which was very good), and I was completely cold to Venom's five "children" and the whole Planet of the Symbiotes thing.

(Cronin will probably take away my modship for saying that. Planet was his favorite work of comic literature ever. He's often said how that's the way Grant Morrison would write if he wasn't a pretentious limey bozo. S'true.)

So yeah, nobody saw Hybrid because nobody was reading those shitty one-shots or their shitty backups. And the people who DID see him, did so because we read EVERYTHING Spider-Man, regardless of quality. And we were just plain tired of symbiotes and low-rent heroes in the Spideyverse. This was the era of Cardiac, Annex, and Nightwatch, after all.

And let's not forget the overriding important point, which is that Hybrid was just a stupid, stupid idea. Five alien costumes merge into one alien costume. How could it fail? ;)


SEAN

[Nosgoth Phantom]

He did have a unique character design. He was the only one of them that had glider wings and biological spider tracers.



Speaking of missing Symbiotes. Add Donna aka Scream to the list. Or was she eaten by the Xenophage named Phage?

[Lord_Archive]

He did have a unique character design. He was the only one of them that had glider wings and biological spider tracers.



Speaking of missing Symbiotes. Add Donna aka Scream to the list. Or was she eaten by the Xenophage named Phage?

And he was the only one who didn't use excessive violence to try to solve his problems.

I don't think Scream was eaten. I loved that mane of hers. It was the 80's hairdo from hell.

[Sean Whitmore]

It's like Carnage and the Beetle mated and had some unholy child.


SEAN

[Brian Cronin]

Sometimes, I will lay awake at night and touch myself, thinking of Planet of the Symbiotes.

-Brian

[Albert]

He did have a unique character design. He was the only one of them that had glider wings and biological spider tracers.



Speaking of missing Symbiotes. Add Donna aka Scream to the list. Or was she eaten by the Xenophage named Phage?

My... God...

looks like the Diefladermaus symbiote to me.

[Venom]

I think.... Just like Hybrid, we won't be seeing Toxin around any time soon either ;) Think of it. If the his series was a success we would have seen him again a long time ago.

Or maybe Marvel just don't want to overexpose him like they allegedly did with Venom & Carnage.

[Nosgoth Phantom]

Or maybe Marvel just don't want to overexpose him like they allegedly did with Venom & Carnage.

Marvel overexposing a character that makes them money? Marvel would never do THAT ;) *goes to use his Wolverine port-a-potty and Green Goblin TP*

[Lord_Archive]

My... God...

looks like the Diefladermaus symbiote to me.

If only Hybrid had Diefladermaus' personality. That would have rocked!

The power of four emotionally scarred symbiotes and a completely self-centered, cowardly, womanizing personality. A comic like that would just write itself.

[Sparda]

Who wrote planet of the symbiotes? I've forgotten and only own part 4 and 5. I did like the scarlet spider's involvment of the arc though and him creating his unique spider shirt. Also liked the extra story of him taking on the lizard.

[Sean Whitmore]

Who wrote planet of the symbiotes? I've forgotten and only own part 4 and 5. I did like the scarlet spider's involvment of the arc though and him creating his unique spider shirt. Also liked the extra story of him taking on the lizard.

Cronin thinks it was delivered to us, fully-written, by angels.

But it was actually David Michelinie, merely taking his Venom creation to its logical conclusion.

*Cough*

Some funny and illuminating words from editor Tom Brevoort on the subject.


SEAN

[FortKnox]

I was just thinking about this. Has Hybrid show up in other comics besides the Venom limited series? Has he ever met Venom, Carnage, or Spider-Man?