Sony’s changes to Venom’s personality suggest that Spider-Man’s symbiote storyline could be quite different when he finds the suit in the MCU.
Spider-Man‘s symbiote storyline would have to change certain elements in the MCU thanks to Sony’s Venom movies. During Marvel’s 1984 Secret Wars storyline, Spider-Man finds an alien symbiote that bonds to his suit. This entity slowly increases his control over Spider-Man in an attempt to take over his body, and when Peter Parker refuses, Venom bonds to Eddie Brock and helps him give way to his own dark desires.
After the 1994 Spider-Man animated series popularized the symbiotes’ ability to exacerbate negative emotions, Marvel leaned more into their psychological side effects, which explains why Peter Parker doesn’t take the possibility of wearing his symbiote Spider-Man suit lightly. Eddie Brock, on the other hand, allows his symbiote to exploit and weaponize his dark thoughts and turn himself into a full-fledged villain. This characteristic of the symbiote is different in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe and, therefore would make Spider-Man’s MCU symbiote storyline different in the MCU.
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Sony’s Venom Doesn’t Corrupt Its Hosts
Sony’s Venom movies depict Eddie Brock and his titular symbiote as much more heroic characters than their comic book counterparts. In Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, Venom is an insensitive yet kindhearted alien who befriends Eddie Brock instead of manipulating his insecurities. Eddie is able to quench Venom’s hunger for human brains rather easily, and they both agree to become a “Lethal Protector” much sooner than they do in the source material. So, when Tom Holland’s Spider-Man meets the symbiote Eddie Brock left behind during the Spider-Man: No Way Home post-credits scene, he’s unlikely to struggle with holding his strength back or losing control of his emotions.
Why Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Would Fight Venom
The possibility of Spider-Man losing control while wearing the symbiote in the MCU would be an appropriate follow-up to Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s nod at their own similar experiences. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man could have a chance to avoid Maguire’s traumatic stint with the black suit and whatever Garfield referred to when he said he stopped pulling his punches. Defeating the symbiote’s efforts to corrupt his mind would prove that he learned the lessons his fellow Spider-Men taught him in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
However, there are more reasons for Spider-Man to fight Venom in the MCU. For instance, Venom could try to pressure Peter Parker into helping him eat human brains or attempt to bond permanently to Peter. Since Sony’s symbiotes don’t stick to their hosts like suits but instead enter their bodies, Spider-Man would be more than justified in getting rid of the parasite that distracts him from his superhero career. Still, if Venom retains his lighthearted personality in the MCU, any fight between Spider-Man and Venom is destined to be much shorter than it usually is in the comics.
