The Story
Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars was Marvel's first company-wide crossover event, pulling heroes and villains from Earth to the alien Battleworld to fight for a being called the Beyonder. In issue #8, with his original costume torn to shreds during the fighting, Spider-Man finds a machine that produces a sleek black-and-white suit on request. Jim Shooter scripted the sequence, Mike Zeck penciled it, and the new costume is presented as a straightforward upgrade: self-repairing, able to generate its own webbing, and responsive to Spider-Man's thoughts.
What nobody knows yet, including Spider-Man, is that the suit is a living alien symbiote. It follows him home to Earth, gets rejected via a church bell tower in Web of Spider-Man #1, and eventually bonds with disgraced reporter Eddie Brock to become Venom, a name and identity that would not fully arrive until Amazing Spider-Man #300 in 1988. The first Venom NFT covers that later character in figure form; this issue is the quiet, unnamed start of it. Doctor Doom, Magneto, She-Hulk, and Captain America all figure into the wider Secret Wars story, and Doom has his own figure collectible, the first Doctor Doom NFT.
Spider-Man's print origin sits in the first Amazing Fantasy #15 NFT; the first Spider-Man NFT is the character in figure form.
The Collectible
Original copies of Secret Wars #8 in high grade are a strong Bronze Age key, driven by the costume's later connection to Venom. VeVe's digital edition preserves Zeck's cover at full resolution, and after the January 2026 Collect migration, every edition self-custodies on-chain. The Classic Cover reproduces the original 1984 art, while the Rare Hero Variant and Ultra Rare Vibranium Variant carry new cover work by Mike McKone, colored by Chris Sotomayor, created for this release.
The Drop
VeVe released Secret Wars #8 on October 19, 2023 at $6.99 through a waitlist drop, spanning five cover variants from Common through Secret Rare. The black costume's status as the origin point for Venom kept demand high through the release.
Edition Breakdown
| Tier | Editions | Cover |
|---|---|---|
| Common | 4,500 | Classic Cover |
| Uncommon | 1,687 | Vintage Variant |
| Rare | 750 | Hero Variant, exclusive cover |
| Ultra Rare | 375 | Vibranium Variant, exclusive cover |
| Secret Rare | 188 | True Believer Variant |
7,500 editions total with one burned, leaving 7,499 in circulation at an 8.5% market fee. The 188-edition Secret Rare tier is the scarcest print in the run.
Market Context
Venom's popularity across film and animation keeps steady demand on any collectible tied to the character's origin, and this issue is the earliest point on that chain. The Rare and Ultra Rare tiers, with their Mike McKone exclusive art, have tracked that interest closely. The January 2026 Collect migration moved every edition to self-custody on-chain, with no further minting possible.
Collector's Note
This is the issue where Spider-Man picks up a costume that quietly becomes one of Marvel's most enduring villains, years before anyone calls it Venom. Even a Common edition represents ownership of that starting point, while the Rare and Ultra Rare tiers carry art no printed copy has. Copies are listed on the VeVe secondary market, sometimes below retail. New to VeVe? Take $10 off your first purchase.
Frequently Asked Questions
Spider-Man's costume is destroyed during the Secret Wars crossover, and he finds a machine on Battleworld that produces a black-and-white suit. Cover-dated December 1984, written by Jim Shooter and drawn by Mike Zeck, it is the first appearance of the costume that later becomes Venom's symbiote.
Not quite. This issue introduces the alien black costume, but it is not named or shown as a separate character. That symbiote later bonds with Eddie Brock and debuts as Venom in Amazing Spider-Man #300, published in 1988.
7,500 across five tiers: 4,500 Common, 1,687 Uncommon, 750 Rare, 375 Ultra Rare, and 188 Secret Rare. One edition has been burned, leaving 7,499 in circulation.
Yes. Collectors list copies on the VeVe secondary market, sometimes below retail. Prices vary by tier, with the 188-edition Secret Rare the scarcest.
They use VeVe-exclusive art by Mike McKone, colored by Chris Sotomayor, created for this drop and not printed on the original 1984 issue.
