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Will Venom: The Last Dance Finally Explore the Coolest Part of the Symbiote’s Backstory?
Jun
Will Venom: The Last Dance Finally Explore the Coolest Part of the Symbiote’s Backstory?
The first trailer for Venom: The Last Dance has arrived, and if it’s to be believed, this is the final time we’ll see Tom Hardy as struggling reporter-turned-kooky superhero Eddie Brock. But the Venom trilogy may have saved the best for last. The final act in this Marvel trilogy will delve deeper into the origins of the Venom symbiote, meaning the series has a chance to finally explore the most fascinating aspect of Venom’s mythology.
Has the time finally come to introduce the symbiote god Knull in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe? Let’s break down what we know and what it means that Eddie is finally coming face-to-face with the rest of his symbiote cousins.
Where Did the Venom Symbiote Come From?
The Venom symbiote is a member of an alien race known as the Klyntar. Like Venom itself, the Klyntar survive by seeking out biological hosts with which to bond. The symbiote enhances the host’s innate strength and abilities, while also amplifying their personality traits, for good or ill.
From what we know of Venom: The Last Dance, the Klyntar have traveled to Earth specifically to hunt the Venom symbiote, even as the military is gunning for Eddie. Sony’s official description teases, “Eddie and Venom are on the run. Hunted by both of their worlds and with the net closing in, the duo are forced into a devastating decision that will bring the curtains down on Venom and Eddie’s last dance.”
It’s an outcast, suffering from mental instability and rejected by the symbiote hive mind. 2015’s Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars actually suggests that Deadpool himself is the cause, as the symbiote briefly bonded with Wade Wilson and was corrupted by Wade’s deranged mind. Obviously, Sony won’t be able to get into that backstory here, but the point remains that Venom is an oddity that doesn’t fit in with its fellow symbiotes.
The Klyntar view themselves as the universe’s protectors, with many seeking out the most noble and benevolent hosts in order to create powerful heroes. They probably view the Venom/Eddie Brock alliance as a mockery of everything the Klyntar stand for, hence their apparent desire to collect Venom and return it to the symbiote collective. Venom 3 may well hinge on Eddie and his other half proving they can be worthy of the Klyntar’s ideals. Together, these two misfits are something greater.
Of course, the sad truth about the Klyntar is that they’re not truly the noble force for good they pretend to be. Their high-minded ideals hide a legacy of darkness and destruction. And it all goes back to one of the Marvel Universe’s oldest villains, the all-powerful Knull.
Will Venom 3 Introduce Knull?
Marvel’s 2018 Venom comic (written by Donny Cates and drawn primarily by Ryan Stegman) dramatically overhauled the mythology of the symbiotes by introducing Knull, their god and creator. But as light began creeping into the universe. And the Celestials began their process of seeding life, Knull took this as a personal affront. He forged the very first symbiote in the form of a weapon, All-Black the Necrosword. And began killing the Celestials in retaliation.
For eons, Knull used his symbiote army to conquer worlds and battle against the spread of life and light. That’s where 2020’s King in Black comes in.
The Knull storyline was notable not just for greatly fleshing out the backstory of Venom and its kind. But also helping Venom to stand alone as a character apart from the Spider-Man franchise. The scope of Venom’s universe is far bigger than a rivalry with Peter Parker. These movies haven’t really acknowledged Spider-Man (outside of the post-credits scene in 2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage). So why not lean into the villain who helped pull Venom outside of Spidey’s shadow?
Could Knull appear in Venom: The Last Dance? Is he the true endgame threat of the third movie? Or is the goal more to tease the god of symbiotes and set him up for a future sequel?
