Is Venom 2's Daily Bugle An MCU Plot Hole?

Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Venom: Let There Be Carnage!

Venom: Let There Be Carnage features a print copy of The Daily Bugle, but how does this fit with the version seen in Spider-Man: Far From Home, and does it create an MCU plot hole? The sequel to 2018's Venom sees Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock facing off against Woody Harrelson's Cletus Kasady, who becomes the host to the bloodthirsty symbiote Carnage. While that narrative is itself very self-contained, the battle between Marvel's two most famous symbiotes also sets up future storylines in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The trailers for Morbius have revealed a surprising MCU connection in the form of Michael Keaton's Adrian Toomes and graffiti on a wall branding Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man, a murderer. This suggests that Morbius will be part of the MCU, even loosely, thanks to the ongoing deal between Marvel and Sony that allows them to share ownership of Spidey and his villains. With Venom: Let There Be Carnage's post-credits scene incorporating Venom into the MCU, it's safe to say that the rest of Sony's Spider-Man Universe have come along with him as well.

The presence of The Daily Bugle in Venom: Let There Be Carnage connected to Spider-Man before this reveal, however. The Daily Bugle is an iconic part of Marvel lore, particularly in Spider-Man comics. While it was missing from the first joint Sony-MCU venture Spider-Man: Homecoming, it made an appearance in Spider-Man: Far From Home's post-credits scene, alongside J. Jonah Jameson (once more played by J.K. Simmons). There, though, The Daily Bugle was an Infowars-style online broadcast rather than a traditional newspaper. In Venom: Let There Be Carnage, the Bugle goes back to its roots by appearing very much in print, being read by Detective Mulligan (Stephen Graham), which opens up the possibility of these being distinct versions in different universes.

However, the Daily Bugle breaks the news that the bodies of Cletus Kasady's hidden victims have been found thanks to Eddie Brock. This suggests that the newspaper has been a highly renowned entity in Sony's Spider-Man Universe of anti-heroes for a while. This version of the Daily Bugle has the same logo as the one in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, but the copy that Detective Mulligan holds — and the online version that Eddie Brock uses for research in his apartment — very clearly state that it's the "West Coast Edition." All versions of the Daily Bugle are based in New York, so it may simply be a different iteration or form of the Bugle while still within the MCU. Likewise, though the Daily Bugle appeared as a broadcast in Spider-Man: Far From Home, that doesn't mean it can't be a physical newspaper as well.

This also fits with Sony's viral marketing campaigns. An Instagram account for Flash Thompson was set up for Spider-Man: Far From Home and has been maintained for Spider-Man: No Way Home. In 2020, one such post included The Daily Bugle and referenced the Venom sequel via a mention of Kasady, as well as a headline remarking that Spider-Man is missing. This was a front page of a newspaper, and while viral marketing doesn't necessarily establish solid canon, there being a print edition of the Bugle alongside the broadcast would be a way of explaining how it connects to the different Spider-Man universes, rather than creating a plot hole.

As the Spider-Man: No Way Home stinger at the end of Venom: Let There Be Carnage features J. Jonah Jameson's public outing of Peter Parker, any doubts about the same version of the Daily Bugle being in both Sony's franchise, and the MCU are a thing of the past. Venom and Eddie Brock have seen Peter Parker for the first time due to the Daily Bugle, so it will certainly play a big role in Venom and Spider-Man's future, whether that involves an eventual Spider-Man 4, Venom 3, or a full-blown crossover event.

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