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"Stan designed pharmaceutical weapons to be used by combat troops. Drugs that worked on an epigenetic level. Imagine an army made up of soldiers so strong that they can tear a man apart with their bare hands. Of course, at the beginning, there were side effects. But Viper was the first batch. They worked out the kinks in the second version, called it Venom..."
Isaac Steiner to Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock[src]


Venom is the second version of a prototype pharmaceutical drug known as Viper. It was created by former WellZyn biochemist Stan Potolsky.

History[]

When visited by Detectives Gordon and Bullock, Isaac Steiner recalled the history of the drug's creation. Venom was cited to be a fixed version of Viper, without any of the side effects.[1]

Several years later, Hugo Strange was somehow able to get his hands on the Venom drug and had a large supply of it in his possession during the No Man's Land crisis. On Nyssa al Ghul's orders, Professor Strange used Venom on the wounded Delta Force leader Eduardo Dorrance to heal him from his injuries and give him super strength. This painful procedure turned Dorrance into the supervillain Bane and forced him to wear a complex life support suit to keep himself alive. He was now also required to wear a mask that allowed him to breathe the Venom drug at all time.[2]

When Bruce Wayne and James Gordon were later abducted by Bane, Strange prepared to implant a mind-control chip in Gordon's brain and use the Venom drug to corrupt Jim. However, Gordon was able to break free before the Professor could finish his experiment.[2]

Known users[]

Appearances[]

Season 1[]

Season 5[]

Behind the Scenes[]

  • Even though the green mutagen used by Hugo Strange to transform Eduardo Dorrance into Bane in "I Am Bane" was never actually called Venom in the episode, actor Shane West and Gotham showrunner John Stephens have both individually confirmed that the drug is indeed Venom.
    • Before the airing of Season 5, showrunner John Stephens confirmed at the New York Comic Con 2018 that Bane uses the Venom drug on Gotham. He noted, "We really wanted to like tell the story of how did he become Bane, in many ways, while preserving key elements of his mythos like Peña Dura and Venom and everything else, keeping those. They're in his storyline."[3]
    • In January 2019, Bane actor Shane West also identified the drug as Venom in an interview with BUILD. West talked about the complex life support system that Bane uses on Gotham and explained, "He literally needs this stuff to live. It's not just the Venom coursing [...] through his blood, it's literally like he's gonna fall apart and die if he doesn't wear this stuff."[4] He added, "My main focus and their main focus was the mask and the chest plate. And the chest plate is there for a specific reason which you'll see. So having that all connected to keep him alive and going was important to me."[5]
    • Regarding the color of Venom on the show, Shane West said in the same interview that for "the Venom that they'll have" on the show, it was also important "dyeing out the bright colors, making it a little less Slimer color then and then making it a little more darker and like »oh my god, I can't believe he's actually breathing this stuff, that kind of stuff«, rather than making it too cartoonish."[6]
    • As seen on the show and alluded to by West in the BUILD interview, Bane actually breathes Venom through his mask on Gotham, as opposed to other versions where the drug is pumped directly in his veins via tubes. In the continuity of Gotham, the Venom drug therefore acts similar to its predecessor Viper, which was also liquid when contained but became gaseous when exposed to air, allowing the user to breathe it. Additionally, both drugs cause bulging veins on the user's bodies and make their skin turn pale. Consequently, Venom acts just like the Viper drug minus the negative side effects, which is exactly how Venom was originally described in the Season 1 episode "Viper".

Notes[]

  • In DC Comics, Venom is the green drug that Bane uses to temporarily enhance his strength. It first appeared in the eponymous Batman: Venom (1991), set in Batman's early years as a crimefighter and detailing how he became addicted to the drug for a time, in an attempt to overcome his physical limits after watching a little girl die as he failed to save her. An advance version of Venom was introduced in the landmark storylines Batman: Vengeance of Bane and Batman: Knightfall, and it has since been largely associated with Bane.

References[]

  1. Cutter, Rebecca Perry (writer) & Hunter, Tim (director) (October 20, 2014). "Viper". Gotham. Season 1. Episode 5. FOX.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Stoteraux, James & Fiveash, Chad (writer) & Fink, Kenneth (director) (March 21, 2019) "Legend of the Dark Knight: I Am Bane" Gotham. Season 5. Episode 10.
  3. NYCC 2018: Gotham - EP John Stephens (timestamp 2:36). Whedonopolis. YouTube (8 October 2018).
  4. Shane West Chats About His Role In FOX's "Gotham" (timestamp 7:24). BUILD Series. YouTube (31 January 2019).
  5. Shane West Chats About His Role In FOX's "Gotham" (timestamp 9:24). BUILD Series. YouTube (31 January 2019).
  6. Shane West Chats About His Role In FOX's "Gotham" (timestamp 9:46). BUILD Series. YouTube (31 January 2019).
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