Andrea Benton (Earth-616)

Silence
Full Name:	Andrea Benton
First Appearance:	Venom Vol 2 #31 (Unnamed) Venom Vol 2 #32 (As Andi) Venom Vol 2 #38 (As Mania)
Created by:	Cullen Bunn, Declan Shalvey
Home Universe:	Earth-616
Alignment:	Neutral
Status:	Alive
Place of Birth:
Citizenship:	American
Base:	Jenkintown (Philadelphia)
Affiliations:	Agent Anti-Venom
Powers/Abilities:	Hell-Mark flame powers, Silence symbiote
Height:
Weight:
Hair Color:	Purple (contact lenses)
Eye Color:	Purple (dyed from unknown color)
Unique Features:	Piercings

Andrea "Andi" Benton (of Earth-616), formerly known as Mania and Scream before becoming Silence, was one of the first friends Flash Thompson made during his time in Philadelphia. After becoming bonded to the Mania symbiote (a clone of the Venom symbiote), Andi joined Flash as his sidekick and assisted him in his superhero career while also learning to control the negative effects of the symbiote on her mind.

History

Humble Beginnings

Andi before becoming Mania

Andrea was a normal goth teenager, and one of the first people Flash Thompson met in Philadelphia, who moved to live upstairs in Flash's apartment building.

Andrea attends West Philadelphia High School, where Flash works as an assistant coach. Usually skipping gym, the one day she comes to gym, she is the only person to see when Flash used his symbiotic-enhanced arm to throw a ball at a bully, and came to the conclusion Flash Thompson was Agent Venom.

New Host

When a mob boss called "Lord Ogre" put a price to Venom's head, Andi was targeted by Jack O'Lantern, a villain who also knew Flash's alter-ego. In Andrea's burning apartment, in Venom #38, Agent Venom could not save Andrea's father from being stabbed and killed by Jack.

However, when Jack released a poisonous gas, last minute, Flash decided to protect Andrea with his symbiote (which he did not know had been been fused with its own clone, the Mania symbiote). While she was safely wrapped in the Venom symbiote, the Mania symbiote separated itself in order to bond with Andi and make her its host.

Unbeknownst to Andi, the Venom symbiote had been exposed to a demonic force called the Hell-Mark. In order to protect itself and Flash Thompson from its curse, the Venom symbiote transferred the Hell-Mark to the Mania symbiote. As Mania's host, Andi was now infected with the Hell-Mark.

Scream

After Lee Price stole her symbiote and Flash Thompson died at the hands of the Red Goblin, Andrea became aimless and lost. She was attacked by Carnage and was saved by the Scream symbiote who made her its new host.

Silence

When Carnage was able to take over the Scream symbiote, Andi used the fires of her Hell-Mark to burn the symbiote off of her. After being attacked by Phage, Andi was severely injured. Without her symbiote to help her heal, Andi was dying. In an attempt to save her, symbiotic material taken from Flash Thompson's Anti-Venom symbiote was combined with the remaining pieces of the Scream symbiote. This created a new symbiote called Silence that merged with Andi and healed her.

Powers & Abilities

Powers

• Hell-Mark: Andi is cursed with the Hell-Mark, which gives her powers similar to those of a demon.
  • Hellfire projection: Andi can channel demonic fires through her Hell-Mark.
  • Teleportation: Andi can teleport using the magic of the Hell-Mark
• Silence Symbiote Costume: Due to Andi being bonded to the Silence symbiote, she possesses all the powers and abilities that the Scream and Anti-Venom symbiotes possessed.
  • Anti-Symbiote touch: The Silence symbiote is toxic to other symbiotes, and is able to severely weaken them with just a touch.
  • Superhuman Strength: The symbiote greatly enhances Andi's natural level of physical strength to superhuman proportions.
  • Superhuman Durability: Silence's body is highly resistant to physical injury, capable of withstanding assault from high-caliber bullets as well as attacks from super powered individuals. When distributed at a typical thickness over Andi's body, the symbiote is capable of absorbing bullets from small-arms weapons firing conventional ammunition. The symbiote is however particularly vulnerable to both sonic and heat-based attacks.
  • Superhuman Stamina: Silence is also capable of surviving in harmful areas for long periods of time such as underwater or in toxic gases, the symbiote filtering breathable air to the host.
  • Accelerated Healing Factor: Additionally, the symbiote is capable of healing injuries in the host at a faster rate than normal human healing allows. The symbiote is also capable of healing injuries and illnesses that current human medical care cannot such as cancer.
  • Genetic Memory: The symbiote possesses some psychic ability, making it capable of obtaining information from its hosts and even other people and symbiotes simply by touch; The symbiote is capable of recalling information from previous hosts. It can however, be forced to forget information if the symbiote is inflicted with heavy trauma.
  • Wall-Crawling: The symbiote also grants Andi the ability to cling to walls by controlling the flux of inter-atomic attraction between molecular boundary layers.
  • Webbing Generation: Silence can shoot strands of the alien’s substance in the form of "webbing" at high pressure up to a distance of 70 feet. The alien’s substance seems to be composed of tough, flexible fibers of organic polymers, which regenerate swiftly after "shedding." The strands have extraordinary adhesive properties, which diminish rapidly once they abandon their living source. After about three hours, with no source to nourish them, the strands dry up like dead skin and dissolve into a powder. The strands possess a tensile strength of 125 pounds per square millimeter of cross section. In addition to creating webbing, Andi can use the symbiote in the form of tentacles or tendrils to attack or ensnare her opponents.
  • Constituent-Matter Generation: Silence can also use the same substance comprising the symbiote in the form of constituent matter or goo, and uses it in this method for lethal force against criminals.
  • Constituent-Matter Manipulation: Silence can morph sections of her body, such as her hands or feet, into spikes, blades, axes or a shield. She primarily uses the ability to morph and extend her symbiotic hair.
  • Immunity to Spider-Man's Spider Sense: Due to the Venom symbiote being immune to Spider-Man's spider-sense, Silence also possesses this ability do to her symbiote being created from pieces of Venom's offspring.
  • Camouflage Capabilities: The symbiote is capable of mimicking the appearance of any form of clothing, camouflaging with its surroundings, and even mimicking other people.
  • Shapeshifting: The symbiote allows the user shape-shifting abilities. Silence can mimic clothing, and completely change its appearance and stature.

Weaknesses

• Sonic and Heat: The Silence symbiote, like all others of its kind, is extremely vulnerable to heat and sonic based attacks. They can cause the symbiote physical pain and discomfort.

Notes

• Andi's last name was first revealed by Cullen Bunn on his personal blog

See Also

• Gallery