The characters of Venom 2 vary in their personalities, from less-than-heroic action heroes to carnivorous alien organisms. Each character brings their own brand of weirdness to the film, creating a chaotic yet lovable movie worthy of the title Let There Be Carnage.
There are lots of ways that some characters can return in the future, but fans may have been disappointed at the characters' current treatment, such as the disappointing and underdeveloped villains, and the underutilized love interest.
Frances Barrison / Shriek
Shriek is a Marvel villain that is usually depicted as an enemy of Spider-Man, but in Venom 2, she faces off against Venom with her sound manipulation powers. For much of the first half of the film, Shriek is trapped in a glass box and rendered voiceless, unable to use her powers or even speak, which takes away from her characterization.
Shriek does save the day at the end with her sound powers and gives Venom the edge he needed to kill Carnage once and for all. However, some things about her character don't make much sense, such as her ability to expertly drive a car despite being trapped in St. Estes and Ravencroft for most of her life.
Patrick Mulligan
The smartest character in Let There Be Carnage, Mulligan is a dedicated and determined police officer that hounds Eddie Brock for information on the "monsters" that are terrorizing New York. Mulligan wears a hearing aid after his battle with Shriek when she screeched in his ear and caused a car crash.
Mulligan is one of the best characters in the movie because he takes everything very seriously, rather than playing up the campy vibe that the movie is going for. When Eddie escapes the police station, Mulligan throws a chair and is seemingly angrier about Eddie's escape than the obvious monster-shaped hole in the wall.
Carnage
Carnage has less character in the movie than fans were expecting, his only real motivation being to kill Venom and become stronger than his father. Carnage isn't a very deep character, since the audience knows very little about him, but he is humorous at times and certainly true to his name, inciting violence and chaos wherever he goes.
Carnage embodies chaos, creating a whirlwind to kill multiple people at the prison facility, and he goes back on his word several times, such as hurting Frances in front of Cletus, and killing the priest even when he said he wouldn't. The action scenes are tons of fun to watch but might have been more fun if the character was more intriguing.
Cletus Kasady
The idea of a serial killer obtaining a near-unstoppable symbiote is a fantastic idea that was done really well in the comics. Cletus is a major villain to Venom and Spider-Man, and many fans were disappointed that Venom 2 killed him off, since it might have been fun to watch him square off against Tom Holland in the MCU.
Cletus has some well-animated sequences to explain his backstory so the audience understands him, but without Carnage, Cletus can be boring and one-note. His personality shines when he is with Shriek, dancing away from St. Estes as it burns to the ground, and with Carnage, leaving major chaos in their wake.
Anne Weying
Anne is less serious in Venom 2 than she was in Venom, able to let her light side through and become comedic, such as flirting with Venom at Mrs. Chen's shop. Anne shows that she is capable and likable, able to do what is good but not necessarily what is right. A lovely moment in the film is when Eddie apologizes to Anne and Venom at the same time, trying to right his wrongs while looking his ex-fiance in the eye.
Despite her abilities and confidence, Anne is reduced to a damsel in distress at the end of the film when Carnage captures her and traps her in a coffin. The film takes on a Spider-Man vibe with parallels to MJ getting captured by Green Goblin, and their respective heroes having to save them.
Dan Lewis
Dan acts as the straight-man to Eddie's frenetic and manic energy, often commenting on the aliens and wondering out loud why weird things keep happening to the characters. Dan becomes a little more likable in Venom 2 as he actively tries to help Anne and Eddie, lighting Carnage on fire as per the "fire and sound" method of beating the symbiotes.
Even if Venom calls him a hindrance, the audience can see why Anne likes him, as Dan is pretty funny and willing to take action. He stays by Anne's side even when the going gets tough, and puts up with Eddie despite often being slapped around by Venom.
Mrs. Chen
Undeniably one of the most likable characters in the movie, Mrs. Chen demonstrates why she is one of the best characters in the entire Venom franchise in this movie. She accepts Eddie and Venom as a complete package, saying hello to them as they walk into her shop, but keeps her sarcastic nature and gives Eddie a tough time as her way of being kind.
When Venom limps into her shop seeking help, Mrs. Chen doesn't hesitate to comfort him, stroking the host's hair and cradling him in her lap. She even appears to offer her body as a host for Venom, since he is shown possessing her when he talks to Anne. Luckily, unlike most Venom hosts, she appears to be alive, so hopefully, fans will see her in the next installments of the franchise.
Eddie Brock
Eddie is a mess but he is absolutely lovable. He is humanized in contrast to his alien symbiote by showing his emotions and becoming overwhelmed with the events of the movie, making Eddie a breath of fresh air from the invincible action heroes of today. Being human he is easily hurt and captured, which makes his dependence on Venom seem natural and expected, even if he tries to be his own person in this movie.
Eddie and Venom's romance-friendship was furthered by one of the best quotes in the movie, "you just said you loved me," allowing fans to speculate on where the two will go from here.
Venom
Venom is the star of the show - as he should be - living his best life, going to a rave, and letting his hair down. He experiences the most extreme mood swings in history, but they show his insecurities, exposing how Venom feels about Eddie and his dependence on him. Venom's relationship with Eddie is the highlight of the film, further expanding on the symbiotic relationship between them through Venom's need for attention and Eddie's need to lay low.
One unpopular opinion about the movie is that the character wasn't portrayed as comic-accurate, especially with the toned-down gore and violence, but fans can mostly agree that Venom was at least a fun character to watch as he smashes his way through New York City.