Venom creator Todd McFarlane compares Topher Grace and Tom Hardy's versions of the Marvel character. The alien symbiote and frequent villain of Spider-Man became a fan-favorite on the page, evolving into somewhat of an antihero, and is now the center of its own movie franchise. The latest installment, Andy Serkis' Venom: Let There Be Carnagehit theaters in October of this year.

Venom, and more specifically the iteration with journalist Eddie Brock as host, has been portrayed twice in live-action films. The first of those featured Grace as an antagonist of Tobey Maguire's webslinger in 2007's Spider-Man 3, with the movie's portrayal receiving a generally negative reaction from the fanbase - so much so that plans for an immediate solo-project were scrapped. Tom Hardy has since taken over the character in 2018's Venom and this year's sequel to a more enthusiastic response, with plans for him to stick around as a lynchpin in Sony's Spider-Man Universe.

Related: Sony's Spider-Man Universe Needs Miles Morales After Venom 2

But, according to an interview with We Got This Covered, McFarlane thinks comparing the two is a little unfair. The character's co-creator is quick to point out the difference in audience response built into villain-Venom versus antihero-Venom, and notes that the Hardy films get the chance to build on Brock as a likeable, engaging figure in a way that was unavailable to Spider-Man 3. He does concede, though, that Grace's version lacked a certain physicality that could've helped in making him an imposing supervillain. Check out McFarlane's full quote below:

Well, to be fair, I think we’re talking a little bit of apples and oranges. I don’t think it’s a direct comparison. And here’s why I say that. The first movie was a Spider-Man movie, in which he was a villain, and you’re not supposed to root for the villain, right? And in that case, the villain, the bad guy, if you will, was that visually, I thought he could have been way more imposing… way more impressive.

So he was the bad guy. And to me, I didn’t think he came across as the sort of badass as you could have. Fast forward to now, and what they’re trying to accomplish with the Tom Hardy character. Eddie Brock, is… he’s not the bad guy anymore. He’s the guy you’re rooting for. And he gets his two hours of screen time, instead of being the guy that you hope gets sort of beat up at the end. And you get to develop him a little bit more. And oh, by the way, he’s way more imposing, visually, up on the screen.

And so I think it’s, I think it’s way in Tom’s favor, because you go ahead, you’re the lead, you’re a good guy, and you look super badass, right? So I think they were trying to accomplish two different things on both of them. It’s not a straight comparison of them being the same character, per se.

Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock encased in Venom in Let There Be Carnage

There is certainly something to McFarlane's assessment. Venom: Let There Be Carnage was for many a noted improvement on its predecessor for the way it leaned into an absurd tone, giving greater emphasis to elements, such as the old-married-couple dynamic between Eddie and Venom, that inevitably cast the character in a better light. Spider-Man 3's story, crowded as it was with villains for Peter Parker, doesn't have room for that kind of development, nor would it have particularly served Grace's Venom's ability to intimidate.

However, as McFarlane admits, Grace's version does struggle to fulfill the role of antagonist, with the trilogy's previous villains Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus having been much more effective examples. The current Venom franchise has succeeded in making the character relatively lovable, despite his desire for head-chomping, which could end up backfiring - Sony's plan remains to someday have Hardy's symbiote face off against Spider-Man, and it's unclear if audiences can shift to taking him seriously as a villain. Audiences could even see the filmmakers attempt it as soon as Spider-Man: No Way Home, which opens next Friday.

Next: MCU Theory: Spider-Man 4 Will Deliver On Venom 2's Credits Promise

Source: We Got This Covered

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