Scream is a

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. The Scream symbiote has appeared in ''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

'' comics, as one of five symbiote spawns created simultaneously and has had four different types.

Publication history

Scream first appeared in '' Venom: Lethal Protector'' #4 (May 1993), and was created by David Michelinie and

Ron Lim Ronald Lim (born 1965) is an American comic book artist living in Sacramento, California. He is best known for his work for Marvel Comics on their various "cosmic" titles, most particularly the ''Silver Surfer'' (vol. 3) series. Biography Lim' ...

Hosts

Donna Diego

The Scream symbiote was one of the five symbiotes that were forcefully spawned from the original

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

symbiote, and was their unofficial Californian leader. Donna Diego was a volunteer for the Life Foundation, a survivalist group within the American government preparing both for the

mutually assured destruction Mutual assured destruction (MAD) is a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy which posits that a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by an attacker on a nuclear-armed defender with second-strike capabilities would result in ...

fallout of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

and to provide a comfortable life for wealthy clients after the impending

nuclear holocaust A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear annihilation, nuclear armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a Futures studies, theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes widespread destruction and radi ...

. Carlton Drake was experimenting with symbiotes 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 of

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

s and

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...

.''Venom: Lethal Protector'' #1-6. Marvel Comics. During Scream's first public appearance, she encountered

while terrorizing a shopping mall near

Salinas, California Salinas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Salt pan (geology), Salt Flats") is a city in the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Monterey County, California, Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is ...

. Quickly bested by the more experienced fighter, Scream escaped in a

hovercraft A hovercraft (: hovercraft), also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the ...

which returned to the Life Foundation's base. Unknown to her, Spider-Man had hitched a ride on that same hovercraft. Once Spider-Man helped Eddie Brock escape, Scream and the other guardian symbiotes, Lasher,

Phage A bacteriophage (), also known informally as a phage (), is a virus that infects and replicates within bacteria. The term is derived . Bacteriophages are composed of proteins that encapsulate a DNA or RNA genome, and may have structures tha ...

Riot A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

and Agony, 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. 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 now

fugitive A fugitive or runaway is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

s on the run. Scream led the others to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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 the

Scarlet Spider The Scarlet Spider is an alias used by several fictional Character (arts), characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most notably Ben Reilly and Kaine Parker, both of whom are genetic clones of Peter Parker, the sup ...

to help find Venom. When Scarlet Spider refused, Scream experienced a psychotic break and began a rampage in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

. Humiliated when Venom ripped pieces of her symbiote off her and narrowly saved by the Scarlet Spider, Scream disappeared again. Undiscouraged, Scream rounded up her "siblings" and broke Brock out of prison, kidnapping and imprisoning Brock in a

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...

. 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.''Venom: Separation Anxiety'' #1-4. marvel Comics. It was revealed that Donna was

mentally ill A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

and had been hearing 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. Following the symbiote 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 tracked Xenophage, a huge alien that devours both symbiotes and their hosts' brains. Donna assisted Venom in slaying the Xenophage but was gravely injured. 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 and

Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...

) into another dimension where Scream gets nearly killed once again by the villainous mutants Dirtnap and Chimera. Upon her successful return to Earth, she disappeared, presumably to continue her search for the few remaining symbiotes. Scream appeared in two panels of the Marvel Super Hero Island Adventures comic giveaway from 1999, as she is shown to be a member of the Sinister Syndicate. She is referred to as Scream in the comics for the first time. Donna's

family name In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

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 the

Initiative Popular initiative A popular initiative (also citizens' initiative) is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition. In direct initiative, the proposition is put direct ...

's forces. Scream is next seen investigating the murder of Scott Washington (aka the symbiotic hero Hybrid). She is trapped by Brock. With the Scream symbiote incapacitated by a sonic device, Brock uses a super-heated knife to kill Donna.

Patricia Robertson

The Scream symbiote (still bonded to Donna's corpse after having absorbed Donna's consciousness) is resurrected by Knull and goes to help

Cletus Kasady Cletus Cortland Kasady is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer David Michelinie and artist Erik Larsen, the character first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #344 (March 1991) as the ...

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.

Andi Benton

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. The Scream symbiote later gets seemingly burned out within Andi because of the Carnage symbiote.

Lightbright

During the " Venom War" storyline, Scream bonds with Wild Pack member Lightbright.

Powers and abilities

Donna Diego's superhuman abilities stem from the Scream symbiote. Scream often uses her 'hair' as a weapon to wrap or tangle enemies (much like

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; ), also called Gorgo () or the Gorgon, was one of the three Gorgons. Medusa is generally described as a woman with living snakes in place of hair; her appearance was so hideous that anyone who looked upon her wa ...

of the

Inhumans The Inhumans are a superhuman race of super beings appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The comic book series has usually focused more specifically on the adventures of the Inhuman Royal Family, and many people associat ...

), 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.

Reception

In 2021, ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and comic books. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publications including Comic Book Resources, Collider, MovieWeb and XDA Developers. ...

'' included Scream in their "Spider-Man: 10 Best Female Villains" list.

Collected editions

In other media

Television

The Scream symbiote appears in the ''

'' series finale "Maximum Venom", voiced by

Meg Donnelly Meg Elizabeth Donnelly (born July 25, 2000) is an American actress. She played Taylor Otto in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC sitcom ''American Housewife'' (2016–2021), Addison Wells in the Disney Channel film series Zombies (franchise), ...

. This version is the older sister of the

symbiote who was created by Knull to serve as a member of the Symbiote sisters alongside

Mania Mania, also known as manic syndrome, is a Psychiatry, psychiatric Abnormality (behavior), behavioral syndrome defined as a state of Abnormality (behavior), abnormally elevated arousal, affect (psychology), affect, and energy level. During a mani ...

and Scorn. Additionally, she possesses a host that has sonic abilities.

Video games

* The Donna Diego incarnation of Scream appears as a boss in '' Spider-Man and Venom: Separation Anxiety''. * The Donna Diego incarnation of Scream appears as a boss in '' Marvel: Avengers Alliance''. * The Donna Diego incarnation of Scream appears as a boss and playable character in '' Spider-Man Unlimited''. * The Donna Diego incarnation of Scream appears as a playable character in '' Marvel Strike Force''. This version is a City Controller allied with the Spider-Verse and Symbiote teams. * The Andi Benton incarnation of Scream appears as a playable character in '' Marvel Future Fight'', with Silence as an alternate costume. * The Scream symbiote appears as a boss in '' Spider-Man 2'', voiced by

Laura Bailey Laura Bailey (born May 28, 1981) is an American voice actress. She made her voice acting debut as Trunks (Dragon Ball), Kid Trunks in the Funimation dub of ''Dragon Ball Z'' and has since voiced List of Gunslinger Girl characters#First Generati ...

. This version is created when Venom infected

Mary Jane Watson Mary Jane "MJ" Watson is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, making her first appearance in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #25 (June 1965), and subsequent ...

. Scream exploits Watson's repressed frustrations to fight Spider-Man until they reconcile, allowing her host to break free of Scream's control and kill the symbiote.

Miscellaneous

The Donna Diego incarnation of Scream appears in '' The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man'', voiced by Candi Milo. This version is a member of the Sinister Syndicate.

Merchandise

* The Donna Diego incarnation of Scream received an action figure in Toy Biz's ''Venom: Planet of the Symbiotes'' action figure series, which originated her codename, though Marvel did not officially use it until 2007. * The Donna Diego incarnation of Scream received a figure in the Marvel Legends line. * The Donna Diego incarnation of Scream received a miniature on Jada Toys' ''Nano Metal Figs''. * The Mary-Jane Watson incarnation of Scream received a Funko Pop. * The Patricia Robertson incarnation of Scream received two figures in HeroClix's ''Spider-Man and Venom: Absolute Carnage'' series.

Trading cards

* The Donna Diego incarnation of Scream, referred to simply as "Female symbiote", was featured in Marvel's comic book trading cards in the 1990s. * The Donna Diego incarnation of Scream was featured in '' OverPower''s "Mission: Separation Anxiety" series. * The Donna Diego incarnation of Scream was featured in Marvel's ''Legendary: Venom'' deck building game, released in 2019.

References

External links

Scream
at Comicvine
Scream
at Marvel.com

at Spiderfan.org * *
{{Symbiote Family and Hosts Groups of fictional characters Characters created by David Michelinie Characters created by Ron Lim Comics characters introduced in 1993 Fictional amorphous creatures Fictional characters from California Fictional characters with schizophrenia Fictional mercenaries in comics Fictional parasite characters Fictional security guards Marvel Comics aliens Marvel Comics shapeshifters Marvel Comics characters with spider powers Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics female supervillains Merged fictional characters Spider-Man characters Venom (character)