Majorfollow for this past weekend’s Ultimate Spider-Man episode, “Back in Black.”

Venom has been a crucial figure in Spider-Man’s life for many years now, but Ultimate Spider-Man provided a major twist on the character in its latest episode. After encountering the symbiote earlier in the season, Spidey came face-to-face with Venom himself, only to find that the man under the mask was… Harry Osborn!So how did the creators of the new Spider-Man animated series come to put Harry in the famous black costume? Joe Kelly, one of the Men of Action (along with Duncan Rouleau, Joe Casey and Steven T. Seagle), who are supervising producers on Ultimate Spider-Man and wrote "Back in Black", told me it was an idea they had early on while developing the series. “The pages were all still blank and we were in ‘anything goes mode.’ We proposed Harry. Marvel liked it and we ran with it.”Cort Lane, Vice President of Animation Development & Production at Marvel Animation,

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explained, “Our villain story for the season is about Norman’s obsession with Spider-Man – and replicating Spidey’s mutated DNA. Venom comes out of that story and having Norman’s son be Venom’s host is so compelling and ironic that we thought that was an awesome tale to tell. But this all comes back to 16-year old Peter, having to save his best friend who is trapped inside the most brutal villain he has ever faced.”Said Kelly, “We wanted to give long-time fans something new as far as Venom's origin since they've already seen multiple takes on the Eddie Brock story in the comics and cartoons. At the same time, we had Harry and Norman looming, and we all know where that story goes. Since we were cherry-picking some concepts from the Ultimate Comics and Norman was critical in the creation of Venom there, we decided to take things a step further and bring Venom into Harry's life. It creates a really cool dynamic by putting the venom powers in the hands of someone we've never seen before with such a close connection to Peter.”In most versions of the Venom story, Peter Parker is the initial owner of the Venom suit, using it as his Spider-Man costume until he realizes its dark influence. This didn’t happen on Ultimate Spider-Man (though Harry initially used the costume as a crime fighter).“That story has been told so well (and so often) that we did want to offer a new take that would surprise fans and kids alike,” said Lane, explaining why they didn't have Peter use the costume as Spider-Man first. Kelly remarked, “Any time we can take the old toys and play with them in a new and exciting way, we try to go in that direction. Black suit Spidey and Venom are no exception.”As Lane noted, in the comics many characters have been “venomized,” and he added, “Don’t be surprised if other characters get venomized in the future. Flash was the first to become Venom in our 4th episode as a nod to that character’s recent Venom history in the comics. The decision to create Harry’s arc as Venom really grew out of the complex and fascinating relationships between Harry, Norman and Peter.”Kelly exclaimed, “Everyone is at risk with Venom running around!” But as for whether Harry is truly free of the symbiote, he said, “That's one of the great things about this show - you can't assume anything! Harry's connection to Venom will play out over time, and we think fans will be very excited to watch it play out.As for Eddie Brock, Lane said, “Nothing is planned for Eddie Brock so far, but there are a lot of Spidey characters (like Eddie) that we want to explore in the series so he may very well appear in future seasons.” Noted Kelly, “There are cameos and surprise appearances throughout the series... but can't say for sure or we'd ruin said surprises!”Of course, Spider-Man fans eagerly await Norman Osborn himself getting involved in the action. And Kelly said the key word is “evolution.” “Norman is skulking around and making Spidey's life miserable throughout the series. Certainly their relationship will grow and change during the season, ultimately ending in... well, you'll just have to see. But with things like Doc Ock and Venom running around the USM universe, we can say it won't be pretty.”Teased Lane, “The fans will have to be patient to see Norman’s eventual transformation to full-fledged villain. Pay close attention to his relationship to Doc Ock, because that will undergo some serious twists and turns as Otto comes into his own as a villain. The Ock and Venom storylines will set up what the fans are waiting for from Norman.”“Back in Black” ended with a bit of a tense encounter between Otto Octavius and Norman Osborn at the end of the episode. Said Lane, “Neither Otto or Norman can trust each other, that’s for sure. Otto has his own agenda and reasons to despise Norman that the audience has yet to learn. The escalating back-stabbing between the two of them result in some crazy plot twists that will leave the audience shocked and thrilled.”When it came to seeing the Green Goblin, Hobgoblin or any other variation on the persona, Lane added, “A ‘Gobliny’ character will appear in the future, but I can’t reveal at this point whether that is Harry, Norman or someone else entirely.”So how do things go for Peter and Harry’s friendship as the series progresses? “It's gonna be a bumpy ride, but unlike anything we've seen before as they both try to deal with the 800 pound gorillas between them, Spider-man and Venom,” noted Kelly.Said Lane, “They will still be close friends, but Harry’s hatred of Spidey and Peter’s new friends (and S.H.I.E.L.D. duties) continue to drive a wedge between them. However, Harry will need Peter’s friendship even more by the end of the season."