Leslie Gesneria

Leslie Gesneria is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer David Michelinie and artist Ron Lim, the character first appeared in Venom: Lethal Protector #4 (March 1993). Gesneria serves as the host to Agony, one of the six symbiote spawns of Venom.^[2] Her symbiote is predominantly purple.^[3] She mainly appeared in the Spider-Man comic books.

Agony
Leslie Gesneria as the Agony Symbiote
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Venom: Lethal Protector #4 (March 1993)
Created by	David Michelinie Ron Lim
In-story information
Alter ego	Leslie Gesneria[1]
Abilities	Alien symbiote

Publication history

Agony first appeared in Venom: Lethal Protector #4 (March 1993).

Fictional character biography

Leslie Gesneria was a mercenary who worked for the sinister "Life Foundation" corporation, who was preparing for the M.A.D. nuclear fallout of the Cold War and sought to provide a comfortable underground life for their wealthy clients after the impending nuclear holocaust. The Life Foundation was experimenting with the Venom symbiote in the hopes of developing superhuman peacekeepers to watch over their imagined fallout shelter utopia. Leslie was one of two women who were chosen as hosts for Venom's forcibly-extracted symbiote spawn. She is defeated by Venom and Spider-Man in the storyline Venom: Lethal Protector. Her symbiote is artificially aged to dust and her body is presumed destroyed in a massive explosion that destroys the Life Foundation's main headquarters.^[4]

The symbiote was revealed to have survived in the mini-series Venom: Separation Anxiety. Leslie mentions that she had wanted to be a hero, but like the other hosts of Life Foundation symbiotes was having trouble in controlling her symbiote. This lack of control over the alien bonded to her kept resulting in violence. Leslie and the others break Eddie Brock, Venom's secret identity, out of prison and kidnap him in order to make him teach them how to control their symbiotes. Leslie shows remorse and regret for her actions, just before she is murdered by her "sister" Scream, using a sonic knife.^[5]

After Leslie is killed, what is left of her symbiote merges with its siblings (except Carnage and Scream) and bonds with a man named Scott Washington to form a new antihero called Hybrid.^{[volume & issue needed]}

After Hybrid was killed by Eddie Brock, the symbiotes were split back into four separate beings.^{[volume & issue needed]} In Carnage USA the symbiotes was officially called Agony and given to a soldier named James Murphy.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Powers and abilities

Agony possesses all the powers the original Venom has, including suit-generated webbing, shape-shifting, superstrength and the ability to be undetected by Spider-Man's "spider-sense". Agony can also use her metabolism to spit acid, and can absorb chemicals (such as Spider-Man's webbing).

In other media

Video games

• Agony is one of the six symbiote bosses in Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety.^{[citation needed]} She is encountered late in the game, and attacks mainly by extending her arms and spinning around.
• Agony is scheduled to appear in the second season of Marvel: Avengers Alliance.^{[citation needed]}
• Agony was added as a card to Marvel Snap on October 16, 2024.^[6]

Merchandise

• In 2022, Hasbro released an Agony action figure as part of the Marvel Legends action figure line.^[7]