Edward Brock, Jr. (Earth-5192)

"I'm Brock sir, Edward Brock Jr. I'm here humbled and humiliated to ask you for one thing... I want you to kill Peter Parker."

- - Eddie Brock at the church

Edward "Eddie" Brock, Jr. was a former photographer at the Daily Bugle who was hired by J. J. Jameson to take photos of Spider-Man, which made him a rival of Peter Parker. After being humiliated by Peter under the influence of the symbiote for taking fake photos, he went to church, only to be merged himself with the symbiote, becoming Venom.

Early Life
Eddie Brock, Jr. was born and raised in Manhattan, New York City. He took an interest in photography and eventually became a photographer himself.

Brock was hired by the Daily Bugle Editor-In-Chief J. J. Jameson to take weekly pictures of Spider-Man to put in their newspaper, a position which was already taken by Peter Parker, making them somewhat rivals. In his free time, Eddie pursued the young model Gwen Stacy, whom he dated once.

After Spider-Man saved Gwen from a building accident, he took photos of him, even managing to have a seconds-long talk with the costumed vigilante, which he proclaimed he admired. However, Eddie noticed Gwen developed a platonic crush on the masked hero, much to his dismay.

Faking Photos
"Hey man, Eddie Brock, remember me? Big fan! Give me your best pose, that will fuck up Peter."

- - Eddie Brock to Spider-Man

At one night while searching for Spider-Man to take more photos, he stumbled upon the friendly neighbor as he was searching for the new Metahuman the media labeled Sandman. He managed to reach Spider-Man, and quickly noticed he wore a different uniform, which Brock rapidly praised. Unknown to him, the suit was the symbiote, an alien organism which was slowly making Spider-Man aggressive and dangerous. Spider-Man then webbed Eddie's camera and destroyed it, hoping it would end his career and help boost his own inside the Daily Bugle.