Marvel readers have been familiar with Venom for decades, but the half-alien anti-hero
is only just now making his standalone big-screen debut.
From who's playing who, to the comics you need to brush up on, here's everything you
need to know before you see Venom.
A symbiote story
Also known as the Klyntars, the symbiotes are a race of extraterrestrial, fully sentient
parasites.
They live by cocooning living organisms and feeding off their adrenaline, sucking hosts
dry before leaving them for dead.
The Venom symbiote is unique in its species for desiring long-lasting bonds over quick
kills a trait which makes it an outcast.
Making its first appearance in a string of 1984 comics, the Venom symbiote originally
attached itself to Peter Parker in the form of a black Spider-Man suit.
While Peter initially enjoyed the benefits of the symbiote, he worked to rid himself
of it after he discovered its villainous nature, eventually driving it away by exploiting its
weakness to loud sounds.
A new host
The best-known human half of Venom is Eddie Brock, played by Tom Hardy in the 2018 film.
Created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane, the character made his first full-fledged
appearance in a 1988 issue of Amazing Spider-Man.
In the comics, Brock is a once-respected reporter who lost his job as an indirect result of
Spider-Man's crime-fighting.
Specifically, he's fired after a high-profile story about a serial killer's true identity
is discredited after Spider-Man nabs the real culprit.
Furious and seeking guidance, the Catholic Brock takes refuge in a church the same church
whose loud bells Peter successfully used to separate from the symbiote.
After they encounter each other, Brock and the symbiote bond over a shared hatred of
Spider-Man and Venom as we know him is born.
Existing outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Venom movie significantly tweaks Brock's
origin story, removing the Peter Parker element and setting the action entirely in Brock's
home city of San Francisco.
In the movie, Venom bonds with Brock without ever encountering Peter Parker as you can
tell from the lack of white spider markings on the movie Venom's suit.
Adapting the source
While the Venom movie is an original story, it's based on two distinct Marvel comic arcs.
The first, 1993's Lethal Protector, is a six-issue story that sees Spider-Man and Venom arranging
a truce, with the latter agreeing to leave New York for San Francisco.
Venom takes up a role as a Bay Area antihero, eventually teaming up with Spider-Man again
to fend off five new villainous symbiotes.
The second chunk of source material is 1995's "Planet of the Symbiotes", a five-issue arc
which also follows Venom and his allies as they work to stop a worldwide symbiote invasion.
Combine the two together, and you get the movie's story of a brutal west coast superhero,
protecting San Francisco from his violent fellow aliens.
The Life Foundation
In the comics, the shady organization of survivalists called The Life Foundation was formed during
the Cold War by people who believed that the world was headed for a nuclear holocaust.
To ensure the survival of civilized life on Earth, the foundation built a massive fallout
shelter for survivors or, at least, for those wealthy enough to buy themselves a space.
To protect the shelter and its inhabitants, the Life Foundation kidnapped Venom and used
him to create five new symbiotes: Agony, Phage, Lasher, Scream, and Riot, all of which get
bonded to Life Foundation employees.
Reportedly, the big bad in Venom will be the formidable Riot, latching himself primarily
onto Riz Ahmed's character Life Foundation boss Carlton Drake.
Dreams of Carnage
Venom's most famous symbiote nemesis is Carnage, an unhinged offshoot of Venom that latches
onto the psychotic killer Cletus Kasady.
Though Sony has tried to keep his involvement a secret, Kasady is reportedly being played
in the film by Woody Harrelson though that doesn't necessarily mean that Carnage himself
is showing up.
Speaking to Collider, Harrelson said his appearance in Venom is more of a setup for the future.
While the actor did not confirm he was playing Kasady, he hinted at the tease - nature of
his role, saying,
"I'm in a little fraction of this movie, but I'll be in the next one, you know?"
She-Venom
Michelle Williams stars in Venom as Anne Weying, who in the comics is a hotshot lawyer and
Eddie Brock's ex-wife.
The movie makes tweaks to their relationship, making her Brock's current girlfriend as opposed
to his ex.
Much like Cletus Kasady, Anne is another character with some secret significance.
In the comics, Weying becomes the character She-Venom, gaining the powers of the symbiote
after Brock allows the two to bond.
Williams has already made it clear that the movie Anne will be no pushover, but will she
really transform into She-Venom?
Probably not in this one.
More likely, she's in the movie as a seed of what could come.
If Venom does well enough to warrant its own sequels, you can bet we'll see more famous
symbiotes taking turns in the spotlight.