When the trailer for Venom: The Last Dance arrived, it promised an epic, action-packed conclusion to Sony’s Venom trilogy. However, one highly anticipated element was conspicuously missing – the long-awaited showdown between Tom Hardy’s eponymous anti-hero and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.
While disappointing to some fans, the lack of a Venom vs. Spider-Man battle may actually benefit the film’s densely packed narrative. “The third and final Venom is going to be huge,” teased Sony chief Tom Rothman, suggesting an ambitious, no-holds-barred storyline is in store.
And based on the new symbiote characters unveiled in the trailer, The Last Dance’s titanic stakes are clear. Venom and his human host Eddie Brock find themselves targeted by both human symbiote hunters and an ominous extraterrestrial force – leaving little room for the web-slinger’s involvement.
“An appearance by Spider-Man would feel shoehorned in,” says comic writer Donny Cates. “This movie has more than enough going on with Venom’s struggle against these new, incredibly formidable symbiotes.”
So just who are these new symbiotic threats about to give Venom the fight of his life? Here’s a breakdown:
Toxin: The fan-favorite heroic symbiote looks primed to finally make his live-action debut. In the comics, the NYPD officer Patrick Mulligan becomes Toxin’s host after the creature is spawned during a battle between Venom and Carnage – a pivotal event shown in Let There Be Carnage. Depending on how the movie adapts Toxin’s origin, he could emerge as either Venom’s greatest ally or most deadly adversary.
The Pureblood Klyntar: Representing a long-teased extraterrestrial menace, this multi-legged monster is the first glimpse of the ancient alien “Klyntar” race that all modern symbiotes originated from. Its insectoid appearance and sheer size suggest it may be one of the greatest physical threats Venom has ever faced.
Scream, Lasher, Agony & Phage: These four fan-favorite symbiotes from the 90s comics appear to have been captured and experimented on by the nefarious Life Foundation. Each possesses unique powers and personalities – Scream created sonic-blasts, Lasher could form bladed tendrils, Agony sported spiked protrusions, and Phage a hardened blade-like form. Whether friends or foes, they’re certain to factor into Venom’s struggle.
The Mysterious Blue Symbiote: The only new symbiote of unknown origins, this azure life-form may tie into the stray blue symbiote glimpsed bonding to homeless people in the 2018 Venom film. Comic fans have speculated it could be the Mayhem or Wilde symbiotes – or something entirely new.
Venom’s Spawn: Perhaps the most intriguing new addition is the tiny blob of black symbiote matter – a piece of Venom left behind in the Marvel Cinematic Universe during No Way Home. How and why it has returned remains a mystery, but its sentient behavior suggests it may be the first offspring or offshoot of the Venom symbiote itself.
With higher stakes than ever before and a rogues gallery of deadly new symbiotes to battle, The Last Dance seems determined to pull out all the stops for Venom’s purported final cinematic outing. And while Spider-Man’s absence may disappoint some, the sheer scale of symbiotic threats present provides more than enough super-powered spectacle to make this an appropriately monumental sendoff for one of Sony’s most iconic Marvel characters.
