The Venom Symbiote’s Best Future in the SSU Isn’t With Eddie Brock

Venom: The Last Dance is the third and final entry in Tom Hardy’s superhero trilogy. The partnership between Eddie Brock and Venom kicked off the Sony Spider-Man Universe (SSU) in 2018, but the franchise is now forced to carry on without its central character. The Last Dance follows Eddie and Venom as they embark on one final adventure together after a short and disappointing trip to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Pursued by multiple enemies, it becomes increasingly clear to Eddie and Venom that their symbiotic relationship won’t last much longer.

In Venom: The Last Dance‘s epic finale, Eddie and Venom are captured by the soldiers and scientists at Area 55, a secret government base hidden beneath the much more public Area 51. There, they are discovered by the Xenophages, monstrous aliens sent by the imprisoned symbiote god Knull who desperately wants to break free of his chains. To protect Eddie and the world, Venom sacrifices himself to destroy the Xenophages and stop Knull’s escape. Although the film ends with Venom’s death, a post-credit scene features a cockroach scurrying away from the wreckage of Area 55, seemingly with a black symbiote in tow. Venom’s survival could set up a future reunion with Eddie Brock, but it could also hint toward something else entirely. There is one other character from Marvel Comics who would be an even better host for the Venom symbiote than Eddie Brock.

Agent Venom Makes Perfect Sense as the Symbiote’s New Host After Eddie Brock

Agent Venom should be the next character the Sony Spider-Man Universe follows after Venom: The Last Dance. In Marvel Comics, Peter Parker’s school bully turned friend, Flash Thompson, bonds with the Venom symbiote after losing his legs in service during the Iraq War. A war hero who struggles to cope with returning to the States, Flash is eager to accept a mysterious offer to partner with a government program known as Project Rebirth 2.0. There, he discovers that the United States government has obtained the Venom symbiote and drugged it to make it more docile. Flash bonds with the toned-down symbiote to become the new government operative Agent Venom. Flash can regrow his legs while bonded to it thanks to the symbiote’s powers, making him dependent upon Venom for better or worse.

Once little more than Peter Parker’s high school bully, Flash Thompson grew to become one of the most admirable heroes in the Marvel Universe during his years as Agent Venom. As Venom, Flash went on many high-strung adventures, fighting villains like the Crime Master, and even joining the Secret Avengers for a time. Eventually, Flash lost the symbiote, which returned to Eddie Brock. Nevertheless, this wasn’t the end of Flash’s hero career. He later became Agent Antivenom, using his newfound powers to help his old friend Spider-Man in several difficult battles, including with the Red Goblin. A character with such a rich backstory deserves to be a topic of focus in the SSU and, with Eddie Brock now out of the picture, now seems to be the perfect time to bring Flash Thompson’s Agent Venom into the franchise.

Flash Thompson and the Venom Symbiote Would Have a More Practical Partnership

Flash Thompson Works Better With Venom Than Eddie Did

Agent Venom would have the potential to become the Sony Spider-Man Universe’s best new character and the perfect replacement for Eddie Brock. Although Tom Hardy was undoubtedly the best part of the Venom trilogy, his version of Eddie Brock was decidedly different from that seen in the comics. Hardy’s Eddie was manic and nervous, struggling just to survive let alone become the “Lethal Protector” that Venom always talked about being. This version of Eddie was more focused on making his relationship with the Venom symbiote work than actually using his newfound powers to protect innocent people. Flash Thompson could be the perfect foil to Eddie Brock. As a trained soldier with more than enough physical training to handle the Venom symbiote, Flash could make better use of his powers to become the hero that Eddie could never be.

More importantly, Flash Thompson would have a more constructive relationship with the Venom symbiote than Eddie ever did. In the comics, Flash was able to become a prolific hero because the symbiote had been sedated enough to be controlled. Venom became a tool in the hands of its host, not the other way around. Although the SSU version of Venom is decidedly less villainous than his comic book counterpart, there is no denying that his relationship with Eddie was more destructive than constructive. Though they were friends, Eddie was a puppet to the symbiote during the more exciting parts of their adventures, along with the ride as Venom did all the hero work. Flash Thompson would be the opposite, bending the Venom symbiote to his will to protect innocent lives.

Is Sony Making an Agent Venom Movie?

Rumors Suggest that Sony Has an Agent Venom Movie in Development

In a recent article, Fiction Horizon reported that Marvel scooper Daniel Richtman (@DanielRPK) had big news to share about the future of the Venom franchise. Richtman, who has delivered many accurate scoops over the years, reports that Sony is in the early stages of developing a film centered around Agent Venom. The scooper suggests that this could be rated R, fixing one of the major complaints about the Venom trilogy. Although Sony has yet to confirm any such plans, it makes perfect sense that the studio would want to introduce the character now, especially with Tom Hardy taking his final bow as Eddie Brock in Venom: The Last Dance.

An Agent Venom film could save the Sony Spider-Man Universe, which has been struggling to find a lucrative franchise for years. Flash Thompson is a recognizable character with direct ties to Peter Parker/Spider-Man, automatically making him more interesting to Marvel fans than El Muerto or the Hypno-Hustler, both of whom are set to appear in their solo films. Furthermore, Agent Venom is a bonafide hero, not a pseudo-hero like Eddie Brock or an antihero like Morbius. With an Agent Venom film, the SSU could shift its focus to actual heroes worth following rather than the antiheroes and villains that it previously planned to build its franchise around.

From a storytelling standpoint and from a business perspective, Agent Venom is the most logical choice to succeed Venom in the Sony Spider-Man Universe. As rumors abound concerning Sony’s plans for the franchise, Agent Venom seems closer to a potential live-action debut than ever before.