Every Venom Movie Has The Exact Same Problem

The final chapter of Eddie Brock and Venom's partnership, "Venom: The Last Dance," has been released in theaters, and it maintains the franchise's consistent track record of landing like an inky black mess where all the critics say the same thing: It's the trilogy's best installment, but that's not saying much. Even with all its wild swings at comedy, action, and sci-fi body horror, the "Venom" franchise, like its alien protagonist, is a shape-shifting, inconsistent creature that can never really settle on what it wants to be.

For many, the primary issue that the movies suffer from is the distinct lack of Spider-Man, the one character that Venom wouldn't even exist without given that he began as one of Spidey's biggest foes. However, while there's certainly an argument to be had about the web-slinger's role in the Lethal Protector's popularity, there are over 30 years of comic book history with Venom starring in his own comic book series, proving he can hold his own as a hero and character apart from Spider-Man.

So what was it about Tom Hardy's time with the most well-known member of the klyntar that prevented the "Venom" franchise from becoming as universally loved as his wall-crawling counterpart? Well, it's something that, if rectified earlier, could've been a tactic applied to some of the other massive misfires in Sony's sans-Spider-Man Universe. Just like "Morbius," certain characters from "Madame Web," and "Kraven the Hunter" (if the trailers are to be believed), "Venom" is a character with a truly mean streak. Showcasing that aspect could've really worked in the franchise's favor.

Throughout his time in the comics, Venom has done some truly terrible things. Born out of a united hatred of Spider-Man, the dude was bad, without question. That is, until he wasn't.

Eventually, Venom became a brutal but beloved force for good, lining him up more with the edgy Marvel heroes and anti-heroes like Blade and the Punisher. Like them, when Venom hit the bad guys, they often didn't get back up, making him terrifying even to those he was trying to save. It's this kind of edge that is distinctly lacking from the "Venom" movies, and its absence is even more baffling given the actor that makes up his human host.

Tom Hardy has performances under his belt that prove he has the capability to give us a pitch-perfect Venom, a version that could've surpassed the one we got in every way. When it comes to Brock's alien other half, if Hardy had blended the physicality of Bane, the unhinged bravado of the Kray twins from "Legends," and the ferociousness of Alfie Solomons of "Peaky Blinders," a far more violent and unsettling Venom could've been born, a hero that we'd love to be wary of. Sprinkle in a bit of Hardy's wandering, reclusive stranger from "Mad Max: Fury Road" and add a hint of "Warrior," and Brock wouldn't have been the highly-strung, whiny iteration we ended up with, thus solving a recurring issue that should've been dealt with in the first film.

"The Last Dance" might be pitched as two friends parting ways, but the truth of the matter is that even after three films, Eddie and Venom never become in sync the way they should've. Okay, the occasional bit of bickering was inevitable as it's essential for any buddy story, but the two never see eye to eye in a way that makes them the anti-hero Marvel Comics fans flock to. Brock and Venom should've become the "Lethal Protector" that the latter often mentions, but it's a title he and Brock never earn on the silver screen.

On the page, Brock and his bruiser of an alien alter-ego are a force to be reckoned with, delivering their own version of justice for years despite the occasional lengthy spat that sometimes sees the symbiote join with a new host. Ultimately, though, for better or worse, Venom always finds its way back to Brock, resulting in some of the most epic confrontations in comic book history.

Unfortunately, we never get anything of the sort from Hardy's stint as Brock. Furthermore, the mistreatment of Venom and Eddie has spread across the whole host of characters Sony has at their disposal, including some iconic villains that are reinvented as shells of their original iterations.

Sometimes, it takes a bad guy to make a good film — but the "Venom" trilogy has never had a great villain. Of course, that shouldn't be surprising given how the franchise's hero has been handled. Take Carnage, for example, a symbiote so in line with his serial killer host, Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson), it uses "I" instead of "we" like Brock and Venom do. This disturbing detail is totally omitted from the villain's big-screen iteration, and, in fact, is even applied as a weakness for Venom to defeat it.

This isn't just some minor issue for comic book nerds to turn their noses up at, but a core element to the character that makes them who they are. Sadly, the creative forces behind the movies clearly have no understanding of this. The same can be said for Knull, who gets the collective screen time as a bathroom break and is, frankly, way too OP for "The Last Dance" in the first place.

Ultimately, the consistent problem with "Venom" lies in Sony having all the right pieces to make a stellar franchise involving a hero with an edge but opting to rip it apart to make a nonsensical comic book caper with teeth. While we sit and wait for the return of vampire hunters and one-man armies, Tom Hardy could've been an anti-hero for the ages. Instead, he ended up swimming in a lobster tank.