Venom 2's Carnage Fight Would've Been Much Better With One Symbiote Change

Venom: Let There Be Carnage saw the titular symbiotes engage in a thrilling showdown but one change involving Shriek and She-Venom would have made the fight even better. Initially, a popular Spider-Man comics villain, Eddie Brock and Venom's encounter with Cletus Kasady (turned Carnage) solidified them as antiheroic lethal protectors. Following the events of 2018's Venom, those dynamics and aspirations were officially brought to the big screen. Unfortunately, the climactic bout largely sidelined Naomie Harris' Shriek and made a repeated mistake when Venom 2 wasted Michelle Williams' She-Venom again.

After causing Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) to be given the death penalty, Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock found himself the subject of the serial killer's wrath. While that wouldn't usually be much cause for concern, things were complicated by Kasady gaining a symbiote of his own after ingesting part of Venom. Furthermore, Eddie and Venom went through something of a break-up, leaving the former completely exposed when Kasady (now as Carnage) escaped prison. Reuniting with his lost love, Frances Barrison (a.k.a. Shriek), the twisted villains set the stage for "a red wedding" by abducting Anne Weying. After she herself brought Eddie and Venom back together - with Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu) briefly joining every Marvel movie character who has had a symbiote - the pair ultimately defeated their enemies.

Prior to that eventual victory, however, Venom was shown to be fearfully apprehensive about their chances of survival. This was due to Kasady's new persona being infinitely more powerful and dangerous. As such, he received the bulk of Eddie and Venom's focus as the battle raged all around the San Francisco cathedral. Meanwhile, Shriek was mostly isolated from the central battle by her ongoing quest to kill Detective Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham). While that was understandable, given the history that was established between them, there was a much better way things could have played out. By making this the moment that Anne reprised her She-Venom persona, fans could have gotten an epic two on two superpowered fight — with She-Venom tackling Shriek as Venom reckoned with the red symbiote Carnage.

Rather than reducing Michelle Williams and Anne Weying to yet another Marvel damsel in distress, she could've played a much more dynamic role in the third act. Instead, Mulligan, the relative newcomer (to the franchise and the world of alien beings), could've been the damsel She-Venom had to rescue. She-Venom could also have shouldered the responsibility of keeping Shriek's powers from being unleashed, thus protecting Venom from being hindered as he dealt with Carnage. The move would've leaned even more into the trope of escalation and expanded upon what Venom set up. Equally, She-Venom getting the heroic moment would have been infinitely more crowd-pleasing than giving it to Dan (Reid Scott), and offered audiences even more symbiote action to enjoy in Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

Venom 2 even laid the groundwork for how it could've happened. Through Cletus Kasady, it was conveyed that Venom could be separate a part of himself to form a whole new symbiote. As Eddie and Venom prepared to face their dual threats, the latter could've willingly severed a piece to seek out Anne and form a more heroic new version to be their surprise ally. And, after all was said and done, it could have been reabsorbed. Then again, it could have alternately set up a spin-off that saw She-Venom protect San Francisco as Eddie and Venom went on the run and traversed the multiverse as per the Venom 2 credits scene. As things stood, however, it all marked a missed opportunity on the part of Venom: Let There Carnage.

More: She-Venom’s Spider-Man Universe Future Explained After Venom 2