SYM-BI-OATS. That’s how Jenny Slate’s investigative reporter pronounces the strange creatures’ name in the first full trailer for Venom — though she’s strangely missing from Venom trailer #2. And with their debut on the big screen, the origin you may have thought you knew from Spider-Man 3 has been vastly tweaked. And in fact, you get to meet a ton of them in the recently released trailer. So who is the villain in Venom?
It’s a tricky question to answer, actually, as Sony Pictures and Marvel have been a little tight on details. During San Diego Comic-Con, they announced that the symbiote Riot would be the main villain in Venom, though there would be others. Now, we know that’s true: Donna Diego, a.k.a. Scream also shows up. And there’s at least one other symbiote other than Venom… Plus, could Carnage arrive at some point?
Making things a little trickier is that as the trailer proudly announces, Venom isn’t a hero: he’s a lethal protector, at least according to the comics. So when you’re asking “who is the villain in Venom?” technically the answer might be “Venom.”
In this case, though, he’s not. Here’s what we know about the other villains (as well as some guesses):
Who Is The Villain In Venom? Meet Dr. Carlton Drake
Played by Riz Ahmed, Drake never bonded with a symbiote in the comics. There he transformed into a spider/human hybrid called Homo Arachnis. In the movie, though, it certainly looks like he’s bonding with Riot (see below). He’s the head of the Life Foundation, an organization heavily featured in the “Venom: Lethal Protector” comic book, and experiments on symbiotes. Shockingly, it all goes horribly wrong.
Who Is The Villain In Venom? Meet Riot
Also introduced in “Venom: Lethal Protector,” Riot is a four-armed symbiote who bonds with a security guard named Trevor Cole. That said, it looks like Riot is the name Drake takes on once he bonds with a symbiote — and he does, because A) Cole isn’t in the movie, and B) Ahmed’s floating CGI face can be see in a blob of goop towards the end of the trailer.
Who Is The Villain In Venom? Meet Scream
Michelle Lee plays Donna Diego, a.k.a. Scream. In the comics, she’s forced to bond with her symbiote, which grants her the regular powers plus a few extras. She can shape-shift, camouflage herself, and can create a “sonic knife” — hence the name Scream. In the movie, it looks like she can shoot spikes out of herself like a porcupine, but who knows? Of note, Donna isn’t really a bad guy in the books. She’s a mercenary, and eventually uses her powers for good.
Who Is The Villain In Venom? Meet… Carnage???
BIG question mark here, as there has been no official announcement or tease from the footage. But you’re not going to get through Venom movie without introducing the biggest, baddest symbiote of them all. Carnage is the fusion of the worst symbiote possible, and the worst person possible: Cletus Kasady. Kasady is an unrepentant serial killer and child murderer, and basically Venom amped up to 11. Initially, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy in the movie) was supposed to be the worst of the worst. But he became so popular, they made him an anti-hero.
Enter Carnage, who murdered, killed, and was completely irredeemable. Hey, guess what? He became insanely popular, too! Comics are weird!
Anyway, we don’t know for sure that Carnage is in the movie (though there is an iconic shot of Eddie getting the Venom suit ripped off that’s right out of a Venom/Carnage fight from the comics). But come on: he’s in the movie.
Watch Venom Trailer #2 Here:
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