Warning: This article contains spoilers for Venom: The Last Dance.
Eddie Brock’s future as the host of Venom seems confirmed after Venom: The Last Dance, but the perfect replacement might have already been set up for future projects in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. While there was speculation that Venom would make the move into the MCU proper after Venom: The Last Dance, the movie’s ending left Eddie Brock and Venom’s future less certain. Following on from 2018’s Venom and 2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage, The Last Dance marked an emotional ending for Brock as the host of the Venom Symbiote.
Venom: The Last Dance saw Eddie Brock returned to the SSU after his brief excursion in the MCU during Spider-Man: No Way Home’s post-credits scene. After the events of Let There Be Carnage, Brock is a fugitive, but he and Venom also find themselves hunted by monstrous Xenophages, soldiers of Knull who are searching for the Codex inside Brock, which is capable of releasing the villain from imprisonment. To defeat the Xenophages, Venom saves Brock and sacrifices himself in Venom: The Last Dance’s final moments, but his fate may not be completely sealed.
Venom: The Last Dance Teased Venom’s Survival, Despite Tom Hardy’s Departure
Venom 3’s Post-Credits Scene Teased The Symbiote’s Return
Although Venom was seemingly killed after bonding with the Xenophages and showering himself in acid, Venom: The Last Dance’s post-credits scene may have teased the Symbiote’s return. Tom Hardy has confirmed that The Last Dance is his final Venom movie, and the ending of the movie underlined this point, as Eddie Brock traveled to New York City, now a free man in every sense. Despite Tom Hardy’s departure, however, it’s possible that this might not actually be the end for Venom himself.
Venom: The Last Dance’s post-credits scene saw Cristo Fernández’s bartender escape from the ruins of Area 51, and he was joined by a cockroach, paying off Dr. Payne’s comments from earlier on about roaches surviving anything. The cockroach pays attention to a broken vial that previously held a piece of the Venom Symbiote, which may have teased Venom’s return, first bonding with the roach before working his way up. This could eventually lead to Venom bonding with a new host, and this new recipient may have already been seen.
Flash Thompson’s Agent Venom Could Replace Eddie Brock In The SSU
Flash Thompson Became Venom’s New Host In 2011
Towards the end of Venom: The Last Dance, during the epic final battle against the Xenophages in Area 51, the SSU’s version of Flash Thompson may have been glimpsed. After studying alongside Peter Parker’s Spider-Man, Flash Thompson joined the military in Marvel Comics, which saw him lose both his legs during the Iraq War. In The Last Dance, a Xenophage eats both the legs of a soldier working for Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Strickland, but this soldier is dragged away from the battle and presumably survives the events of the movie.
Flash Thompson made his premiere as Agent Venom in 2011’s The Amazing Spider-Man #654 , and continued in his own Agent Venom series.
After losing his legs in Marvel Comics, Flash Thompson volunteers to periodically and temporarily bond with the Venom symbiote, becoming a militarized version of the character known as Agent Venom. There’s been no sign of Tony Revolori’s Eugene “Flash” Thompson becoming Agent Venom in the MCU, but it’s possible this version of Venom could be introduced into Sony’s Spider-Man Universe instead. Agent Venom would make a great replacement for Eddie Brock after Venom: The Last Dance, perhaps setting up a darker future for the SSU.
Why Flash Thompson’s Agent Venom Would Be Perfect For The SSU
Agent Venom Is The Dark Antihero The SSU Needs
Sony’s Spider-Man Universe’s adaptation of Venom was, in some respects, disappointing, as it was far from faithful when compared to Venom’s Marvel Comics counterpart. Venom: The Last Dance may have presented the perfect second chance, as Agent Venom would make for a fantastic evolution of the antihero, and this would set up a darker, more intense and less jokey future for the SSU. Flash Thompson is the perfect replacement for Eddie Brock’s Venom after Venom: The Last Dance, which could also pose an exciting future for the MCU proper, too.
