Does Venom Die In The Last Dance? [SPOILERS]

This article contains massive spoilers for "Venom: The Last Dance." Seriously, the title is "Does Venom Die in The Last Dance." If you haven't seen the movie yet, come back here after you've seen it.

Over the course of three movies, Venom and Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) have been a (mis)match made in heaven. They've saved the day plenty of times, protecting the weak and vulnerable as a self-described lethal protector. However, all film franchises must come to an end, and it's understandable if people were worried about the titular character's fate going into the third installment, especially considering it's subtitled "The Last Dance."

Eddie and Venom face their biggest threat to date when a seemingly indestructible xenophage sent by Knull (Andy Serkis) tracks them down on Earth. Despite the help of other symbiotes during the finale, more xenophages arrive. With no other options, Venom separates from Eddie and brings himself and the xenophages in the vicinity of acid to melt all of them. While Eddie lives and eventually makes it to New York like the pair always wanted, Venom bites the dust ... or does he?

It's a poignant ending, complete with one final montage of all the good times Venom and Eddie had during their time together. Of course, comic book movies regularly bring characters back to life in increasingly off-the-wall ways. Does Venom die, or is a revival in store? Let's look at evidence from the movie and the comics to see what Venom's fate may wind up being. For a character as profitable as this, you better believe he never stays dead for too long. 

It's tricky to answer whether symbiotes can die because they technically can, but rarely do. Symbiotes are weak against fire and high-frequency noises, so one would assume enough fire would be enough to kill one. Either that or someone could blast a symbiote with enough loud sounds to separate it from a host and find a way to kill it in its more nebulous form. 

It goes without saying that symbiotes are still very difficult to kill. One of Venom's powers is a healing factor, and that extends to all symbiotes where they can heal both themselves and their hosts from any wounds or illnesses. However, this does appear to have its limits, as numerous symbiotes have died over the years, particularly within the "Venom" film franchise. 

The ending of the first "Venom" movie sees Riot (Riz Ahmed) incinerated after a rocket fuel tank ruptures. This plays into the symbiotes' weakness against fire in that too much could overwhelm the organism. Additionally, Venom defeats Carnage (Woody Harrelson) in "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" by using Shriek's (Naomie Harris) sonic screams to separate the symbiote from Cletus Kassady and then Venom eats Carnage. "Venom: The Last Dance" also sees several symbiotes meet their dooms by getting eaten by xenophages, which are aliens specifically designed to kill symbiotes. Symbiote biology makes them incredibly difficult to kill, but it's not impossible.

Given Venom's sheer popularity, it's no wonder why Marvel is hesitant to ever kill him off, but it does happen from time to time (even if he does come back eventually). For example, Venom (obviously) dies in "Venom: The End" #1 from Adam Warren, Jeffrey Cruz, Clayton Cowles, and Jochen Weltjens. The one-shot story didn't keep Venom dead in the main continuity, but we do see the symbiote create a new universe filled with creatures he bonds with as the Godminds destroy the old reality. Venom dies in the process, earning a heroic sacrifice in stark contrast to some of the most terrible things Venom has done. 

It's an incredibly avant-garde death and demonstrates just how powerful the symbiote is. In fact, an untold truth about Venom is that he manages to give Superman a run for his money in a Marvel/DC crossover comic. And it's not just pure strength that makes Venom formidable. When he's not bonded to a host, he's basically a mass of goo, and that goo can theoretically keep pieces of Venom alive even if the bulk of him perishes.

In Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man 3," Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire) succeeds in defeating Venom (Topher Grace) by throwing a bomb into the bulk of the goo. This ends up burning and destroying most of Venom, but he may not fully be dead. Dr. Connors (Dylan Baker) studies a piece of the symbiote, so part of Venom could still be out there. The same could be said of Marvel's "Spider-Man 2" video game where even though Venom supposedly dies, a piece of him could still be somewhere. This is crucial for understanding how Venom could return in Sony's Spider-Man Universe. 

At first glance, it appears straightforward to answer the question of whether Venom dies in 'The Last Dance." He sacrifices himself to kill the xenophages, thereby destroying the codex in the process, which is what Knull wants in the first place. But not all of Venom was there in that final battle. 

At the beginning of "Venom: The Last Dance," Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) captures a small piece of the symbiote Venom leaves behind at the Mexico bar. This is also when he brings the bartender (Cristo Fernández) into custody. The post-credits scene for "Venom: The Last Dance" sees the bartender escaping from Area 51. We also see a shattered vial, and while it technically could've contained anything, it would make the most amount of sense for it to be the container Strickland uses to acquire the symbiote at the film's start. While most of Venom dies, this final piece could bring him back, growing in mass until it's able to bond with Eddie in New York. 

It's possible that the container could've held something else entirely. But bringing the bartender back for the post-credits scene clearly suggests we're supposed to remember that scene where Strickland got the symbiote. It's possible Venom remains dead, with Sony's Spider-Man Universe continuing without him so that Eddie lives a simpler life. If Tom Hardy wants out of the franchise, Venom could bond to someone else, as there's been no shortage of potential hosts in the comics. Maybe that piece of symbiote could meet up with Flash Thompson in the Sony-Verse to keep the character going. If Knull's going to continue being a threat, it only makes sense for Venom to still be around.