Venom may owe his origins to Spider-Man in the comic books, but in the movie version, Marvel's hold on Disney means no Spidey at all. But while some fans worried that removing Spider-Man from Venom's origin would be a problem, it actually makes for a way better story - and honestly, one much closer to Venom's current origin, too.
By now even casual fans will be familiar with the classic origin story for Venom, if not from the comics, then the fact that Spider-Man 3 adapted it almost to the letter. Spider-Man brings an alien suit back from space, which eventually shows an 'evil' mind of its own. Spider-Man rejects the symbiote until it finds the same level of hatred for Spidey in Eddie Brock. Man meets suit, and together they become Venom to launch their revenge on Spider-Man in a tale many claim the Venom movie SHOULD have told.
The problem with that version of a Venom origin movie? It's faithful to the original version of the comic books, sure. But it's a story that makes Spider-Man the real star of the show, plus... that's not what really happened, according to modern Marvel Comics.
- This Page: Spider-Man Makes Venom Worse, Not Better
- Page 2: Venom Avoids Marvel's Mistake By Removing Spider-Man
Venom Should Be Eddie's Story, Not Spider-Man's
It's easy to see why there would be an outcry over the need to remove Spider-Man from Venom's origin movie. After all, the moviegoers who would know Venom's origin best are Spider-Man fans, and who would wish to see Spider-Man in the movie more? (Not to mention removing Spider-Man means no iconic Venom logo.)
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But what fans want isn't always what's best, and in the case of Venom, the existing origin has one major problem: in the comics, it's told as one of Spider-Man's most formative stories, with Eddie Brock a victim of Peter, the symbiote, and professional failure. While a victim's story could be interesting, and has been used as a jumping-off point for other superhero origins... those heroes aren't Venom. Besides the fact that the Venom movie is trying to have some fun with Eddie and the symbiote's fusion, it's built on the idea that Eddie is a good man, ruined by evil forces - not a bitter, angry, jealous man fueled by hate of Spider-Man as he was in the comic.
One of those descriptions fits a movie hero... the other fits a villain unlikely to star in a fun, subversive, and oddball body horror adventure. The result is a better version of a Venom movie. "But," we're sure some die-hard Spider-Man fans will cry, "you're making Venom a different character!" And by twisting his origin to make Eddie and the symbiote a misunderstood antihero, the makers of Venom have done just that... but Marvel Comics did it first.
Marvel Has Changed Venom's Origin Already
Revisiting the comic book history of Eddie Brock and his time as Venom means traversing more than one major retcon, or retroactive changing of his origin story. Fictionally, it's an expansion and deepening of Eddie's story. But practically, like most other retcons, it's about 'fixing' past writing or plot that hinders the character's next step forward. And for Eddie Brock, the idea of him being a byproduct of Spider-Man has been minimized, downplayed, or altogether changed since he first set out to play a hero in Venom: Lethal Protector, upon which the movie is based.
People who walk out of Venom excited to read that comic book inspiration are in for a rude awakening, however, since Spider-Man is without question the WORST part of it. Because Peter Parker is misinformed about who Venom is, what motivates him, and who he has become as more than just the hero's villain. Arguably, every bit as misinformed as the people claiming the Venom movie 'got it wrong' by removing Spider-Man altogether.
As we see it, the makers of the Venom movie just learned from the missteps and corrections Marvel Comics has made so they wouldn't make them in the movie, too. The first step? Taking Spider-Man out of the equation to create the Venom modern comic readers know and love.
Page 2 of 2: How Venom Avoids Marvel's Own Mistakes
Venom Avoids Marvel's Own Comic Mistakes
In Venom's first solo comic outing, Spider-Man is an antagonist for completely flawed reasons. Despite Eddie being every bit the normal, evil-hating human he is in the comics, Spider-Man actively fights him, believing he's still as evil as Marvel made him in his origin story. In his defense, Spider-Man was just late to the party, unaware that Marvel editorial, and a long line of writers and artists were already beginning to make Eddie and Venom not evil, just... misunderstood.
RELATED: Venom's Post-Credits Scene Tease Explained
The changes came one by one: the Venom symbiote wasn't hateful, but a traumatized member of an alien symbiote race, Eddie Brock's rough exterior becomes a result of a cold, distant, single father, and just weeks ago, the origin was changed once more by showing that Spider-Man was evil, not the symbiote when they first merged. It's flawed thinking to assume a movie should recreate each one of those steps, rather than looking at who Venom is today, and aiming for that from thee outset.
Still, one feels for director Ruben Fleischer for having to make that call, since he has admitted that removing Spider-Man from Venom was a challenge (that's the origin everyone knows). But the finished film shows it was the right path to take for one simple reason: the Venom of the movie is basically the one Marvel took decades to arrive at. Not just Eddie the relatable hero, but the symbiote's personality, voice, sense of humor, and even love for its host.
The Movie Venom is The True Comic Venom
In fact, the moments of humor and love from the symbiote may turn off older fans of the origin hero, while hitting the bullseye for the modern incarnations. After all, Eddie and the symbiote had a baby not too long ago in the comics, and it's not hard to see a Venom movie sequel embracing that strange, borderline ludicrous plot. Leave the theater and go pick up the newest issue of Venom, and the version may not be perfect copies, but more importantly, the strengths of one are alive in the other.
And, perhaps most importantly, the existence of Spider-Man is a footnote, or back-up character at best. By now even Peter Parker understands that his time with the symbiote was a fluke, or coincidence, compared to the character Eddie and Venom became.
In Marvel's Universe, there may not be a greater romance than Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote - and when audiences line up for a great love story, you don't bother starting with the flings, one-night stands, or bad dates that came before.
