Shouldn't be the alien PARASITE costume?

[blockaderunner]

I'm surprised none of you smarty pants brought this up.

For years, Spider-Man comics have referred to the alien costume as a symbiote, but the term couldn't have been more wrong considering its nature. Symbiotes are two or more organisms that work together to gain a mutual advantage. Clown fish and sea anemonies are an example of symbiotes. Zebras and ostriches are another. On the surface, it may seem like the alien costume acts as symbiote. You give into it and it gives you power. But, from what has been revealed, the alien in fact triggers a person's negative emotions so that it can feed off them and then, feed off one's lifeforce, killing them. It's purpose and intentions are self serving and benefits only itself. Maybe TPTB at Marvel thought that using the term parasite would have confused people because DC already has the Superman villan Parasite. I know that the alien costume has been around for over twenty years, but shouldn't it be time to give a more accurate term for the alien costume?

 

[Fel]

"Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between two different organisms. The parasite benefits from a prolonged, close association with the host"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasite

They got it right.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Originally, it was seen as Symbiotic, since it allows the individual to get stronger for whatever purpose he needs to get stronger for. Eventually, it becomes a parasitic relationship, but not at first

 

[Anwar]

Yep, people seem to have forgotten that originally the symbiote story ended with the suit willingly sacrificing itself to save Peter. It didn't become more "parasitic" until they brought it back for the Venom story years later and bonded it to Brock. Being bonded to such and unstable maniac twisted the symbiote and made it more malevolent. In the "Spider-Girl" series set in the future the symbiote is bonded to Normie Osborn for a long time and being with him "purifies" it of Brock's evil, leading it to sacrifice itself to save Spider-Girl.

 

[Christopher]

Actually "symbiote" is technically the wrong term, but only because the correct form of the word is "symbiont." The term "symbiote" was coined by SF author Hal Clement in his novel Needle as a backformation from "symbiotic," because he wasn't aware of the correct form. But Clement's work was so influential in the SF genre that his erroneous coinage became widely used. So in SF today we hear about symbiotes (Venom, the Goa'uld) at least as often as we hear about symbionts (Trill).