| Scream | |
|---|---|
.png) Donna Diego as Scream inVenom: Separation Anxiety #4 (March 1995). Art byRon Randall. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Venom: Lethal Protector #4 (May 1993) |
| Created by | David Michelinie Ron Lim |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Donna Diego Patricia Robertson Andi Benton |
| Team affiliations | Sinister Syndicate |
| Abilities | Alien symbiote grants:
|
Scream is asupervillain appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The Scream symbiote has appeared inSpider-Man comics, as one of fivesymbiote spawns created simultaneously and has had four different types.
Scream first appeared inVenom: Lethal Protector #4 (May 1993), and was created byDavid Michelinie andRon Lim.[1]
The Scream symbiote was one of the five symbiotes that were forcefully spawned from the originalVenom symbiote, and was their unofficial Californian leader.Donna Diego was a volunteer for theLife Foundation, a survivalist group within the American government preparing both for themutually assured destruction fallout of theCold War and to provide a comfortable life for wealthy clients after the impendingnuclear holocaust.Carlton Drake was experimenting withsymbiotes in the hopes of creating so-called 'super-cops' to watch over the imagined fallout shelter utopia, and Donna was picked from the security force made up ofpolice,soldiers andmercenaries.[2] During Scream's first public appearance, she encounteredSpider-Man while terrorizing a shopping mall nearSalinas, California. Quickly bested by the more experienced fighter, Scream escaped in ahovercraft which returned to the Life Foundation's base.[2] Unknown to her, Spider-Man had hitched a ride on that same hovercraft. Once Spider-Man helpedEddie Brock escape, Scream and the other guardian symbiotes,Lasher,Phage,Riot andAgony, then tangled with Spider-Man and Venom, but Venom turned an accelerated aging device on the five. The age-accelerating machine appeared to make the symbiotes age to dust before the Life Foundation blew up the base.[2]
It was later revealed that Scream and her "siblings" survived, as the Life Foundation was able to save them and their symbiotes. For unknown reasons the guardians had a falling out with their employers and were nowfugitives on the run. Scream led the others toNew York City in search of Venom, hoping to help teach the five how to control their symbiotes, but Venom wanted nothing to do with them and battled Scream. When Venom disappeared, Scream attempted to enlist theScarlet Spider to help find Venom. When Scarlet Spider refused, Scream experienced apsychotic break and began a rampage inTimes Square. Humiliated when Venom ripped pieces of her symbiote off her and narrowly saved by the Scarlet Spider, Scream disappeared again.[3][4]
Undiscouraged, Scream rounded up her "siblings" and broke Brock out of prison, kidnapping and imprisoning Brock in aChicagowarehouse. She once again asked for Brock's help in learning to communicate with the symbiotes. Brock once again refused and tried to kill them all, even without the Venom symbiote as back up. Brock escaped, and soon after the "sibling" symbiotes were murdered, one by one. Scream led them to believe that Brock was the killer, while in fact, it had been her the entire time. She had come to the conclusion that all symbiotes are evil, and those that bonded with symbiotes deserved to die.[5] It was revealed that Donna wasmentally ill and had beenhearing voices long before she was the Scream symbiote's host. Brock managed to re-bond with the Venom symbiote before Scream could go for the kill. While unable to prevent her from murdering every other symbiotes' host, Venom was nevertheless able to beat her in combat yet again and Scream was taken in by the authorities.[5]
Following thesymbiote invasion of Earth, Donna was one of the few remaining symbiotes on Earth. Seeking to redeem herself for her crimes, she busied herself tracking down and helping benevolent symbiotic survivors. After her companions began dying mysteriously, Donna trackedXenophage, a huge alien that devours both symbiotes and their hosts' brains. Donna assisted Venom in slaying the Xenophage but was gravely injured.[6]
After her recovery, Scream sought out the Xenophage's hidden ship to help her track down more symbiotic survivors. The ship transported her and others (including Venom andWolverine) into another dimension where Scream gets nearly killed once again by the villainous mutants Dirtnap andChimera. Upon her successful return to Earth, she disappeared, presumably to continue her search for the few remaining symbiotes.[7]
Scream appeared in two panels of theMarvel Super Hero Island Adventures comicgiveaway from 1999, as she is shown to be a member of theSinister Syndicate. She is referred to as Scream in the comics for the first time. Donna'sfamily name Diego is first established (many years after her first appearance as a character in the Marvel Universe) via files where she is quoted as being an "enemy combatant" to theInitiative's forces.[8]
Scream is next seen investigating the murder of Scott Washington (aka the symbiotic heroHybrid). She is trapped by Brock. With the Scream symbiote incapacitated by a sonic device, Brock uses a super-heated knife to kill Donna.[9]
The Scream symbiote (still bonded to Donna's corpse after having absorbed Donna's consciousness) is resurrected byKnull and goes to helpCletus Kasady harvest the codices of previous civilians who at some point had been bonded to symbiotes. Patricia Robertson (who had previously hosted a clone of Venom) later ambushes but the Scream symbiote decides to bond to her, leaving Donna's bones behind. Patricia struggles for control, but eventually the Scream symbiote forces Patricia to hunt other previous hosts.[10]
Persuading the Scream symbiote to resist Knull's control a second time, Patricia sacrifices herself in an attempt to save Andi Benton, and the Scream symbiote bonds to Andi. Transformed into a black-haired version of Scream, Andi breaks free of the meathook and feels the Scream symbiote healing her wounds; reveling in the power of being bonded to a symbiote once more. Andi notes that she can feel not only the Scream symbiote's mental voice, but those of Carnage's doppelgänger horde. She feels Carnage trying to compel her to obey, but sneers that she never liked doing what she was told. Snaring Carnage's arm with tendril-hair, Scream unleashes a torrent of hellfire from her maw - blasting Carnage in the face. Retorting that Carnage thought she would have remembered immunity to fire after their last encounter, Carnage attempts to impale the new Scream like with Patricia, but she leaps over her opponent. Lunging at her, Carnage impales Scream and snarls that he's the voice inside her head telling her to stay and die. Scream snares with tendril hair and slams Carnage into the dangling meat, Andi noting that even with a symbiote she's not powerful enough to fight. Lamenting that she hadn't even known Patricia's name before the Scream symbiote bonded to her, Andi vows not to let Patricia's sacrifice be in vain. Cocooning Carnage in her hair, Scream tosses Carnage into a meat locker, slams the door and flees. Smashing the door off its hinges, Carnage notes that Andi has escaped and grouses of having to wait for another rematch with her before turning to harvest the Mania and Scream codices from Patricia's corpse.[11] The Scream symbiote later gets seemingly burned out within Andi because of theCarnage symbiote.[12]
During the "Venom War" storyline, Scream bonds withWild Pack member Lightbright.[13]
Donna Diego's superhuman abilities stem from the Scream symbiote. Scream often uses her 'hair' as a weapon to wrap or tangle enemies (much likeMedusa of theInhumans), and can mimic clothing as camouflage. Like Spider-Man and the Venom symbiote, Scream has wall-crawling and web-slinging abilities, and boasts an early-warning sense. Scream also possesses some degree of superhuman strength but the exact limits of which are unknown.
In 2021,Screen Rant included Scream in their "Spider-Man: 10 Best Female Villains" list.[14]
| Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Carnage: Scream | Absolute Carnage: Scream #1–3,Absolute Carnage: Separation Anxiety #1 | January 2020 | 978-1302920159 |
| Scream Vol. 1: Curse of Carnage | Scream: Curse of Carnage #1–5 | August 2020 | 978-1302921002 |
| Scream Vol. 2: Suffer the Children | Scream: Curse of Carnage #6–10 | November 2020 | 978-1302924430 |
| Extreme Carnage | Extreme Carnage Alpha #1,Extreme Carnage: Scream #1,Extreme Carnage: Phage #1,Extreme Carnage: Riot #1,Extreme Carnage: Lasher #1,Extreme Carnage: Agony #1,Extreme Carnage: Toxin #1,Extreme Carnage Omega #1 | February 2022 | 978-1302932077 |
The Scream symbiote appears in theSpider-Man series finale "Maximum Venom", voiced byMeg Donnelly.[15][16] This version is the older sister of theVenom symbiote who was created byKnull to serve as a member of the Symbiote sisters alongsideMania andScorn. Additionally, she possesses a host that has sonic abilities.
The Donna Diego incarnation of Scream appears inThe Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, voiced byCandi Milo.[citation needed] This version is a member of theSinister Syndicate.[24]
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