The mid-credits scene in Venom: Let There Be Carnage sparked more excitement and fan discussion than anything from the actual movie. It saw Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock transported into a new parallel universe containing Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, setting up the multiversal madness of Spider-Man: No Way Home and seemingly bringing Hardy’s Venom into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But then, in No Way Home’s mid-credits scene, he was sent right back into Sony’s Marvel movie-verse.
It was an odd choice to bring Hardy’s Venom into the MCU in one credits scene, only to kick him back out of it in another credits scene a couple of months later. Still, it wasn’t a complete waste of time. When Doctor Strange sent all the non-MCU Marvel characters back to their original franchises, Hardy’s Eddie unwittingly left behind some Venom symbiote, possibly setting up a separate incarnation of Venom for the MCU.
It seems unlikely that the MCU will introduce its own version of Eddie. Hardy’s take on Eddie is wildly popular among moviegoers and, like Wesley Snipes’ Blade, has redefined who the character is. Plus, Marvel Studios has to make all its Spider-Man movies in conjunction with Sony and Hardy’s Venom is the centerpiece of Sony’s own Marvel-based movie franchise. Unless Hardy is going to be brought back into the MCU yet again, Kevin Feige will probably avoid Eddie Brock.
Flash Thompson Is The MCU’s Best Venom
Introducing a new version of Eddie’s Venom alongside Holland’s Spidey would feel redundant, especially since fans are desperate to see Hardy’s symbiote-infused antihero bicker with the MCU’s friendly neighborhood webslinger himself. Instead, the best MCU character to host the Venom symbiote is Flash Thompson, who hosted the Venom symbiote and became “Agent Venom” in the comics. This would be a fun development for Tony Revolori’s attention-seeking, superhero-obsessed Flash – especially after forgetting that Peter Parker exists at the end of No Way Home.
Revolori has been hilarious in the role of Flash since his introduction in Spider-Man: Homecoming. In the comics, Flash is a typical brash jock, but Revolori’s Flash is a much more subversive, less clichéd version of the character. He’s a neglected rich kid who uses his social status to belittle Peter as opposed to his physical brawn. The MCU’s Spider-Man movies have made a great running gag out of the ironic comic book tradition that Flash simultaneously ridicules Peter and idolizes Spidey without realizing they’re the same person.
In No Way Home, Flash suddenly started pretending to be Peter’s BFF when he was revealed to be Spider-Man. He instantly published a presumably ghost-written memoir about his fabricated friendship with New York’s resident webslinger. This version of Flash is clearly obsessed with superheroes, so giving him symbiote superpowers would be an interesting way to shake up the character and revamp his relationship with Peter going forward.
Agent Venom’s Backstory Would Need To Change Drastically
In the comics, Flash joins the U.S. Army after graduation. Harrowed by his wartime experiences, he returns to civilian life and succumbs to alcoholism. He bonds with the Venom symbiote and becomes the superhero Agent Venom by controlling the symbiote’s powers with drugs. Eventually, Flash hosts the Anti-Venom symbiote after getting into an argument with Eddie Brock.
In order to suit the MCU’s ongoing storylines and its characterization of Flash, this backstory would need to be drastically changed in its translation to the big screen. Maybe Flash’s parents take him on vacation to Mexico to celebrate his MIT admission and their callous, well-established emotional distance on the trip leads him to the bar where Hardy’s Eddie briefly appeared and left behind a little of the Venom symbiote.
Revolori’s more substantial roles in The Grand Budapest Hotel, Dope, and The Long Dumb Road have proven that the MCU is massively underutilizing the actor with a role as a comedic supporting character. He could do wonders with a larger role as a superpowered Flash in the newly rebooted MCU Spidey solo series.
What Could The New Spider-Man Trilogy Entail?
Since the release of No Way Home, the internet has been abuzz with unconfirmed rumors of a new Spider-Man trilogy in development. After the memory loss spell storyline hit the reset button on Spidey’s MCU adventures, there are many possibilities for storylines in this new trilogy. Peter will finally have to become self-sufficient like he is in the comics because he can no longer rely on Stark Industries or the Avengers or even Aunt May.
Peter might enroll in a local college or get a job as a pizza delivery boy (or both). He might meet an MCU version of Gwen Stacy or mentor an MCU version of Miles Morales. Hopefully, MJ and Ned won’t be written out for good. Wherever Spidey’s MCU solo franchise goes next, a Flash Thompson incarnation of Venom could continue the series’ mission to do things that no previous Spider-Man movies have done.
