I just realized why I always liked Venom and why those comics stuck with me more than others. Spider-Man was actually put in compromising positions because of Venom.

Peter was commonly outmatched, scared, it felt like there were stakes. There are enemies with more frightening powers, like Sandman and Electro, but you know it's not in their character to be fully psycho, and that somehow they'll always fail to utilize their godlike powers, and that Peter will manage to "outsmart" them by making them get wet or whatever so it can get back to the boring shit about Mary Jane or Aunt May or whatever