It has been nearly three years to the day since we first got to see Tom Hardy’s take on the classic Marvel anti-hero Eddie Brock and his symbiotic counterpart in Ruben Fleischer’s box-office juggernaut Venom. A lot has happened during that stretch of time and so you might have forgotten some of the key moments of the film, which could potentially make for a confusing moviegoing experience when you go see Venom: Let There Be Carnage when it opens in theaters on October 1. But fear not because we have put together a quick refresher that breaks down everything from Venom’s origins all the way to the Venom end credits scene with that special appearance by Woody Harrelson’s Cletus Kasady. And just a heads up, there are some major spoilers sprinkled throughout this piece about 2018's Venom.
Venom And The Other Symbiotes Were Discovered On A Comet
In the opening moments of Venom, a spacecraft (later revealed to be a Life Foundation recon mission to find new planets) crashes in Malaysia containing four specimens from a comet the ship came across on its flight back to Earth. The specimens are revealed to be symbiotic life forms that require oxygen-breathing hosts in order to survive. Three of the symbiotes (including Venom) are contained and sent back to the Life Foundation headquarters in San Francisco, where Carlton Drake (Sound of Metal’s Riz Ahmed) conducts a series of experiments with them in order to find a suitable host that can survive the symbiosis process, using the city’s homeless population as his test subjects.
Meanwhile, a fourth symbiote, Riot, evades capture and slowly makes its way to join the others in San Francisco, jumping from one host to another until it reaches its destination.
Eddie Brock Is An Investigative Journalist With A Tarnished Reputation
When Eddie Brock is first introduced in Venom he is a dogged reporter in the San Francisco Bay area who will risk anything and everything (including his engagement) to get to the bottom of a story and expose those doing wrong to society. In an early conversation when Brock is assigned to cover Life Foundation founder Carlton Drake, his editor, played by Ron Cephas Jones, tells the journalist that he didn’t want to see him get run out of San Francisco the way he was blacklisted in New York City prior to the events of the movie.
When Eddie Brock accidentally comes across a confidential email sent to his fiancée Anne Weying (Michelle Williams), who is representing the Life Foundation in a lawsuit, he uses the information to confront Carlton Drake about the human trials during his interview, costing not only his job but Anne’s position and their relationship.
Venom Latched Onto Eddie Brock When He Was Investigating The Life Foundation
Several months after the discovery of the symbiotes, Eddie Brock losing his job, and the breakdown of his relationship with Anne Weying, the reporter is followed by Life Foundation scientist Dora Skirth (Jenny Slate), who sheds light on the grim nature of her boss’ human trials. When investigating the lab for himself one night, Brock causes one of the lifeforms (Venom) to escape and form a bond with the reporter, who happens to be a perfect match.
Not long after being exposed to the symbiote, Eddie Brock begins to have strange symptoms including superhuman strength and speed, increased body temperature, and an adverse reaction to high-pitched noises. Brock and Venom eventually form a symbiotic relationship (and the character’s iconic look) but it takes its toll on the host, who reaches out to Anne Weying’s new doctor boyfriend Dan Lewis (Reid Scott) for help.
Anne Weying Briefly Hosts Venom To Save Eddie Brock
The symbiote separates itself from Eddie Brock when Anne Weying uses an MRI machine to release a burst of high-frequency noises. However, Brock is then captured by Life Foundation security officers who bring him to Carlton Drake’s compound. Marked for execution, it looks like this is the last the world would see of Brock, right? About that…
Not long after escaping the hospital and Carlton Drake’s men, Anne Weying forms a bond with the symbiotic life form in an attempt to rescue Eddie Brock from certain death, and briefly becomes She-Venom, an iconic character from Marvel Comics.
Venom Tells Eddie Brock He Wants To Save Earth From The Other Symbiotes
When Eddie Brock and Venom bond once again, the symbiote reveals that Riot (who has since bonded with Carlton Drake) plans on using Life Foundation rockets to return to their home and bring back even more of his kind to take over the planet. But now that Venom (who also reveals that he is also an outcast) sees the good in humanity thanks the Brock, he wants to help stop Riot from carrying out his plan.
Following a brutal battle between the two symbiotes, Riot escapes to the rocket just as it is taking off into space. However, Venom and Eddie Brock are able to puncture the rocket’s fuel tank causing it to explode into a massive fireball.
Anne And Dan Think Eddie And Venom Are No Longer Connected
At the end of the movie, Anne Weying and Dan Lewis are under the impression that Venom died in the explosion that killed Riot and Carlton Drake, but he and Eddie Brock are still very much connected. Working more as a team than ever before, Venom and Brock keep their bond under wraps and only expose themselves when the situation requires it, like when they prevent a gangster from making Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu) from paying protection money out of her convenience store register before eating him.
Cletus Kasady Asks Eddie Brock To Interview Him In Prison
In the Venom end credits scene, Eddie Brock goes to San Quentin Prison to interview the vicious serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson), who requested the reporter come visit him in his heavily-fortified prison cell (he even has a welcome message to Brock written in blood). After toying with Brock about his crimes, Casady reveals that he when he gets out of prison there is going to be carnage just before the screen fades to black.
This should all be more than enough to get you caught up to speed if you don’t have time to go back and rewatch Venom or haven’t gotten around to see it a first time. Either way, make sure to check out Venom: Let There Be Carnage when it opens in theaters Friday, October 1, 2021.
