NOTE: This article is about the incarnation of Venom from the 2018 film. The mainstream version can be found here: Venom (Marvel).
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| “ | WE...are Venom. | „ |
| ~ Eddie Brock and Venom's most famous quote. |
| “ | I'm Eddie Brock. I'm a reporter. Now I always seem to find myself questioning something the government may not be looking at, but I found something really bad... and I have been taken. | „ |
| ~ Eddie Brock. |
| “ | If you come in here again- In fact, if you go anywhere in this city, preying on innocent people and we will find you. And eat both your arms and then both of your legs and then we will eat your face right off your head, do you understand? Yes, so you will be this armless, legless, faceless thing, won't you? Rolling down the street like a turd in the wind. Do you feel me? | „ |
| ~ Venom threatening the convenience store robber. |
Edward "Eddie" Brock, also known as Venom, is the titular main protagonist of the 2018 superhero film of the same name.
He was portrayed/voiced by Tom Hardy, who also played Shinzon in Star Trek: Nemesis, Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, and John Fitzgerald in The Revenant.
Biography
Eddie started off as an investigative journalist who's doing a report on a company call Life Foundation, whose CEO Carlton Drake has found living symbiotes in a comet and have been performing illegal experiments on homeless civilians. However, a certain detailing of the experiments leads Brock to be ultimately fired, resulting a fallout with his girlfriend Anne Weying, who happens to an attorney.
Six months later, Brock receives help from a disgruntled scientist (who is disgusted by Drake's experiment) to expose Drake's crimes. Unfortunately, he discovers that his friend Maria has been captured and bonded to a symbiote. When he tries to free her, she attacks him, and her symbiote bonds to Brock while the scientist ends up being killed by Drake. Because of this event, Brock is hunted down by mercenaries sent in by Drake, and finds himself in conflict with the symbiote, who explains that the other symbiotes are searching for new world in order to devour lifeforms to survive, and offers to help out Brock in return for his cooperation. Though Brock seems to enjoy his new powers, he is upset to hear that Venom was eating his heart because Eddie wasn't eating much in awhile, so Anne Weying is forced to use an MRI machine to separate himself from the symbiote, although he is captured by Drake's mercenaries minutes later.
A separate symbiote named Riot bonds with Drake, who agrees to help Riot seek out the other symbiotes in space. Fortunately, Anne reluctantly bonds with the Venom symbiote, allowing it to free Brock before being convinced by him to stop Drake and Riot from achieving their goal. To that end, Venom manages to damage the ship's probe, causing an explosion that kills both Drake and Riot. As Eddie receives his job back, he allowed Venom to stay in his body under the condition that Venom only eats "bad people." Venom agrees and begins by devouring a thug robbing a grocery store.
Eddie is last seen visiting a state prison as he is about to do an interview with a dangerous convict named Cletus Kasady.
Personality
Eddie Brock
Similar to his original counterpart, Eddie is trying to excel in journalism. However, unlike his original counterpart (who happens to be somewhat wrathful in nature), Eddie tries to be more civil as he tends to avoid causing any trouble with the authorities. He is also more civil with Anne due to their friendship; even after their breakup and learning that she's going out with another man, Eddie decided that it would be better not to interfere with Anne's new relationship.
When being bonded with the Venom symbiote, Eddie seems to be very uncomfortable in becoming its host body as it made him go on the run from the law. However, he seems to appreciate his new abilities, even convincing the symbiote that they would just use the power only to take down criminals instead of hurting innocent people; even the symbiote agreed to this as it admitted that it was treated as a 'loser' in its home planet. Therefore, this Brock remains even more sympatheic than his comics counterpart.
Venom Symbiote
The Venom symbiote was originally malicious and controlling being that worked for Riot in wreaking havoc and conquering planets with life where their current target being Earth. His controlling side best displayed through their early interactions with Eddie and how he caused his host troubles. He also enjoys combat and bloodshed, and has a sadistic sense of humor to boot, a trait that he retained even after befriended Eddie.
Even so, Venom is not without positive qualities, as through his time with Eddie, he grew to appreciate humanity and developed a soft spot for his host and Anne; even agreeing with Eddie that they should only kill criminals instead of innocent people. In contrast to Riot who treated his hosts as disposable battery, Venom cares for Eddie over time in spite of initially for his own survival. This was shown where the symbiote frantically plead to Eddie that he will fix the organs he just feed on and later, leaving Anne unharmed from his possession on her as they join forces to save Eddie from being killed by Drake's mercenaries (though Anne was nevertheless left horrified from Venom eating their heads through her). Venom also had an insecure side, as when telling Eddie how he had a change of heart, he told the man how he was treated like a loser and sees much of himself in Eddie, which eventually allow him to stand up against Riot by the climax of the film.
Powers and Abilities
Venom is a Klynthar, a race of parasitic goo-like alien lifeforms that can possess a living being upon physical contact and endow them superhuman powers including enhanced strength, speed, durability, healing factor, shapeshifting, and construct creation. While he is capable of seemingly suppressing a host's mind and use their bodies as if it were his own, he is able to almost meld minds with them and work collectively with them while sharing the same body. Eddie Brock himself on the other hand, lacked notable superhuman abilities of his own, but thanks to his compatibility with Venom, the alien symbiote who merged with his body, he gained the access for all powers and abilities Venom endowed to him.
- Possession: Being a symbiote, Venom can possesses any living beings upon physical contact with them, passing into their flesh as if intangible and taking full control of their bodies. Once inside the host, Venom is able to enhance their physical abilities to inhuman levels, allowing them to overpower other humans with ease and heal from severe injuries such as broken bones and damaged tissue in seconds. Venom displayed that it can suppress its host's mind to fully control their bodies should they reject him. Should they accept it, both it and them can able to almost meld minds with them and work collectively with them while sharing the same body as demonstrated through the teamwork with Eddie. The abilities it can use while bonded with a host, as well as how good its host exploit them for their advantage, is fueled by the compatibility to each other.
- Shapeshifting: Being a Klynthar, Venom possesses the ability to change both shape and appearance of his very form as well as fashion part of its very being into weapons and constructs.
- Symbiotic Costume: The symbiote can envelop the host's body within a sentient, malleable but durable body complete with eyes, claws and a mouth with powerful jaws and sharp teeth while increasing in mass, turning him into powerful opponent.
- Construct Creation: As stated before, Venom can fashion parts of his very being and that of host into weapon such as talons, web-like tendrils, shield, and as shown in climax of the film, using most of its biomass into a parachute/shield to both slow the descend and protection from harm. Venom's mastery over this ability notably pale as most of his constructs are still malleable and yet able to create more solid and detachable ones.
- Superhuman Strength: Eddie can bolster his physical strength to superhuman level by having Venom enhancing his muscles.
- Superhuman Leap: By having Venom increasing the strength of his leg muscles, Eddie can leap superhumanly high at will.
- Superhuman Durability: Due to Venom's presence inside him, Eddie's bodily tissue becomes substantially harder than normal human, which increased to maximum level by forming black, slimy armor around him. His durability is further increased upon forming his hulking body over his host's.
- Superhuman Speed: Venom's enhancement on his muscles also enable Eddie to move faster than regular humans can keep up. A testament of this best displayed throughout his ability to dodge bullets and catch a tear gas that was fired from him.
- Superhuman Agility: Venom's ability to amplify his host's physicality allow him to increase dexterity and mobility to inhuman levels, to the point where Eddie was able climb to the top of a tree in mere seconds. While manifesting his full body over Eddie, Venom demonstrated acrobatic and gymnastic capabilities despite his burly and hulking frame, being able to move on all fours with ease, charge up the side's of buildings,
- Regenerative Healing Factor: In addition of muscular enhancements and increase of bodily tissue's durability, Venom's presence in Eddie's body enable him to quickly regenerate from the most severe of injuries in mere seconds, from ruptured organs to broken bones. This allowed Brock to almost instantly recover from being hit by a van and having much of his body broken, as well as bring him back from the brink of death after he had been impaled by Riot. Even without a host, Venom can regenerate himself even from smallest bit of his very being provided that he has enough nourishment to so, as seen when the symbiote recovered some time after sacrificing most part of himself to protect Eddie.
Quotes
| “ | Eyes, lungs, pancreas. So many snacks, so little time. | „ |
| ~ Venom to Roland Treece. |
| “ | Eddie: What the hell are you? Venom: I am Venom, and you are mine. Eddie: You bit somebody's' head off... Venom: Fuel in the tank. Listen closely, Eddie. You did not find us, we found you. Think of yourself as my ride. Eddie: Where are you going? Venom: We need Carlton Drake's rocket. You remember him? Eddie: How did you know about that? Venom: I know everything, Eddie. Eddie: You know? Venom: Everything about you. Eddie: How? Venom: I am inside your head. You are a loser, Eddie. Eddie: You're gonna eat somebody else? Venom: Most likely. Eddie: Oh god... Venom: That is why we are here, cooperate and you just might survive. That is the deal. | „ |
| ~ Venom introduces himself to Eddie |
| “ | Eddie: Damn it! What the hell happened there?! We just left Anne! Venom: It is not safe for her. If we do not stop Riot, he will come back here with millions more of my kind. Eddie: Millions? What? You were gonna... You were gonna take the rocket and come back with an invasion force, and then what were you gonna do? Were you gonna feed on the whole planet? Venom: Yes! But it is different now, Eddie. I have decided to stay. Eddie: Woah Venom: On my planet, I am kind of a loser, like you. But here, we could be more. Eddie: Excuse me? Venom: And I am getting to like it here. Eddie: Oh, you like this now, do you huh? Venom: However, there will be nothing to like if we do not stop that rocket. Eddie: Oh, I see. Great! When it comes to being completely annihilated, then it's back to we. Venom: It is we. Like it or not, it's gonna take both of us. Eddie: Cut the bulls**t, what really made you change your mind? Venom: You. You did, Eddie. | „ |
| ~ Eddie and Venom prepare to fight Riot. |
| “ | (SWAT: HANDS!!! ON THE GROUND NOW!!) Eddie: Guys. You do not want to do this. Trust me. (SWAT: MASK!!!) (Other SWAT: Copy!) Eddie: Alright. Have it your way. Mask! (Venom: Copy!) | „ |
| ~ Eddie and the SWAT team before Venom takes over and fights them. |
| “ | Eddie: You can take this guy, right? Venom: He has got s**t you have never seen! Eddie: What does that mean? What are our chances? Venom: Mm. Pretty much zero. Eddie: F**k it, let's go save the planet. | „ |
| ~ Eddie and Venom on their luck against Riot. |
| “ | Venom: Jump! (Eddie press the elevator button) Pussy...
| „ |
| ~ Venom insult Eddie when Eddie takes the elevator than jumping out of the window |
| “ | Venom: Parasite?! Eddie: Yeah. It's a term of endearment, that's all. Venom: Apologize! Eddie: No. Venom: Apologize!!! Eddie: All right, fine. I'm sorry. So, what do you want to do now? Venom: The way I see it, we can do whatever we want. | „ |
| ~ Eddie and Venom before the ending credits. |
Trivia
- A running gag in the movie is Venom does not like being called a "parasite", even if it is by Eddie (as they are arguing with this at the end of the film). He likely considers it a racist term.
- However, a parasite is a mindless creature that swaps any host in order to survive while a Symbiote's bond benefits both the host and the symbiote, it is most likely Venom felt Eddie were ungrateful for his possession.
- In the comic, the symbiote's best way of attaining phenethylamine, a chemical that stimulates the brain in humans. This is required by symbiotes of Venom's species, however it can also find in chocolate,thus the idea once again use in the scene, where Eddie ask Venom.
- It was also shown that Venom did like Anne and care about her; this could be one of the reasons why Venom didn't kill her while re-swapping into Eddie (which is weird as a symbiote would have to kill its host if he/she wasn't suitable to their nature or when swapping to another host).
- It is implied that Venom may want a romantic relationship with Anne. After fighting with the SWAT team, when Anne asked Eddie to go to the hospital while the latter didn't want to do so, Venom suggested to Eddie to get in the car because he "likes" her. Another piece of evidence was after the battle with Riot, a surviving Venom tells Eddie that Anne doesn't know they are going to steal her back.
- The kiss actually is a nod of The Venom Kiss, which is memorable as Thanos kissing a Venom-ized Death.
- It is implied that Venom may want a romantic relationship with Anne. After fighting with the SWAT team, when Anne asked Eddie to go to the hospital while the latter didn't want to do so, Venom suggested to Eddie to get in the car because he "likes" her. Another piece of evidence was after the battle with Riot, a surviving Venom tells Eddie that Anne doesn't know they are going to steal her back.
- This is the second live-action cinematic incarnation of Venom, the first being Topher Grace's portrayal.
- Ironically, while Topher Grace's portrayal was disliked by the fans, Hardy's portrayal had received more critical acclaim. Also, Topher's Eddie Brock was shown to like being evil, which doesn't fit the original comic's counterpart; Hardy's Brock was more fit to Venom's anti-hero/anti-villain side, and the appearance and personality are more fit to the comic's counterpart.
- For the same reasons, Topher Grace himself greatly approved Hardy's portrayal of the character.
- Ironically, while Topher Grace's portrayal was disliked by the fans, Hardy's portrayal had received more critical acclaim. Also, Topher's Eddie Brock was shown to like being evil, which doesn't fit the original comic's counterpart; Hardy's Brock was more fit to Venom's anti-hero/anti-villain side, and the appearance and personality are more fit to the comic's counterpart.
- The notable difference between Hardy's Venom and his comic's counterpart are the symbiote never met Spider-Man, which explained why Venom lacks the spider symbol on his chest. Also, Hardy's Venom is not biologically related with Riot, the symbiote antagonist in the movie.
- Although, when Venom heal Eddie after Riot stab the latter's chest,their wound looked like the iconic spider symbol in the comic.
- Stan Lee,the creator of Marvel Comic once again appear in the film as cameo,however Venom replying by asking who the old man - credited as Dapper Dog Walker - even is. which is an extra joke for comic fans, since Lee had nothing to do with the creation of Venom.
- According to Venom, on his planet he was a loser just like Eddie, which is one of the reasons for his attachment particularly to him.
- This is partly a nod to his comic book counterpart that considered as an outcast among its kind because it wanted to form a bond with its hosts that benefited both parties when their species is usually purely parasitic.
- The line "Eyes, lungs, pancreas. So many snacks, so little time" is directly taken from The Amazing Spider-Man #374 .
External Links
- Venom at Heroes Wiki.
