First Appearance of Agent Venom: Amazing Spider-Man #654

Agent Venom first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #654 (2011), the issue in which Flash Thompson is shown as the new, government-run Venom. PriceCharting lists #654 as the "first appearance of Flash Thompson as Agent Venom" and gives its release as April 2011; Wikipedia places the new Venom's debut in #654 in February 2011. The sources disagree on the month, so identify the book by its issue number, not the date.

Wikipedia adds that Marvel announced a "black ops" Venom on December 9, 2010, revealed on January 28, 2011 that the new host was Flash Thompson, and launched a new Venom series in March 2011.

This is the question collectors ask most about Agent Venom, because both issues came out in 2011 and some sellers list #654.1 as "1st Agent Venom".

• The Amazing Spider-Man #654 is the one PriceCharting marks as the first appearance of Flash Thompson as Agent Venom.
• The Amazing Spider-Man #654.1 was released the same month (PriceCharting lists April 1, 2011) and centres on the new Venom, which is why it is often sold as his first solo story. PriceCharting's own record for #654.1 is marked "Is Key Issue: No".
• A second printing of #654 exists. PriceCharting tracks "Amazing Spider-Man [2nd Print] #654 (2011)" as a separate item, so check the indicia and cover for a printing note before you compare prices.

If you are buying one book for the first appearance, buy #654. Read how to spot printings and variants before paying a first-print price.

Flash Thompson started as Peter Parker's high-school bully in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962), created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Wikipedia describes how he later lost both legs in the Iraq War and agreed to bond with the Venom symbiote through a military program. The symbiote formed new legs for him, and he could stay bonded for only 48 hours at a time so the symbiote would not take full control of him.

After the solo series he served with the Secret Avengers (2012 to 2013), joined the Thunderbolts and the Guardians of the Galaxy, and starred in Venom: Space Knight, which Wikipedia says was cancelled after 13 issues. Wikipedia also records his death: critically wounded by Norman Osborn as the Red Goblin, he refused symbiote healing so it could be saved for Peter and died in Peter Parker's arms.

Yes. Wikipedia states that Agent Venom wears the same Venom symbiote that was earlier bonded to Eddie Brock; it is the one alien passed from host to host, not a copy. What changed was the host and who controlled him: a soldier working for the U.S. government instead of Brock.

PriceCharting values retrieved September 25, 2026:

• The Amazing Spider-Man #654 (first Agent Venom): ungraded $19.71 (about two sales a week); graded 4.0 $7.15; 6.0 $16.14; 8.0 $18.17; 9.2 $249.99 (about one sale a year); 9.8 $80.00 (about two sales a month)
• The Amazing Spider-Man #654.1: ungraded $12.99; 4.0 $7.00; 9.2 $208.00 (about one sale a year); 9.8 $48.36 (about one sale a month)

The 9.2 figures for both books sit above the 9.8 figures. That is not a sign that 9.2 is the better grade: each 9.2 price rests on about one sale a year, while the 9.8 prices come from monthly sales. PriceCharting figures are estimates built from recorded sales of CGC-graded copies; when a grade trades only about once a year, one sale can push it above the next grade up. In 9.8 the first-appearance issue is worth about two-thirds more than #654.1 on the same date.

Neither the Wikipedia article on Venom nor the one on Flash Thompson describes the symbiote, Eddie Brock or Flash Thompson as LGBTQ, and we found no Marvel statement saying so.

If you were looking for Marvel's first LGBTQ character, the usual answer is Northstar, who came out in Alpha Flight #106 (1992); see the FAQ below.

Photograph the front cover straight on, then the indicia (the small print on the first page or inside cover with the title, issue number and date). ComicLens reads the title, issue number and cover from the photo, matches the likely issue with a confidence indicator you can correct by hand, and shows a reference price range that moves with the grade you pick. For The Amazing Spider-Man #654, check that the number in the indicia is 654 and not 654.1, and look for a second-printing note, because both change the price. There are free scans every day; the range is a reference estimate, not an appraisal or an offer.

Research and drafting were assisted by AI and checked line by line against the sources listed on this page. Prices are the figures shown by the named source on the date given; they change with the market. Pages we tried to open but could not read (Key Collector Comics, Reddit, Facebook, eBay and Fandom returned errors) are not used as sources.