Spider-Man 4 needs the Venom symbiote, but not Eddie Brock

Ever since Peter Parker swung away at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, fans have wondered what’s next for the Wallcrawler. Well, the answer’s obvious: the MCU needs to bond him with the Venom symbiote in Spider-Man 4. We just have one caveat: don’t bring in Eddie Brock.

Why do we think that? Is it because I think Spider-Man’s black suit looks awesome, and I hate Venom? Well, no! While I do think that Spidey’s never looked better than when he slipped on the sleek black suit, I don’t dislike Venom. In fact, I love the fanged fiend, but only when he’s done right. Let me explain.

For Venom to work in the MCU, whoever’s making the movie needs to give the story of the symbiote time to breathe and not rush to the end like a giddy Olympic athlete trying to win gold. Now, as things stand, there’s probably never been a more appropriate time for the sinister sentient slime to attach itself to Peter Parker.

A black suit for dark times

After all, the MCU’s Wallcrawler has never been in a darker place. His beloved Aunt May is dead, his mentor is gone, and the love of his life had all her memories of him wiped. Basically, Pete’s entire life is in ruins, and he’s all alone. That leaves Peter particularly vulnerable to the sweet allure of the symbiote’s companionship and power.

What we don’t want, though, is for Peter to embrace the symbiote and then reject it 45 minutes later. That’s what happened in Spider-Man 3, and it made for a pretty crappy movie (I’m tired of pretending it’s not because people find the Danice Peter meme funny). Instead, the story of Spidey being corrupted by the insidious suit should be a darker, more slow-burning story told over multiple Spider-Man movies.

Previous adaptations of the symbiote’s story have proven playing the long game with the black suit is the best approach. Both the ’90s Spider-Man cartoon and The Spectacular Spider-Man – arguably the greatest adaptations of the story – told the tale over multiple episodes, and it allowed them to build up Peter’s relationship with the alien costume over time.

As a result, the suit’s influence felt all the more insidious. Watching Spidey slowly grow darker and darker as the alien goo seeped into his soul was thrilling and downright scary at times. I’d love to see Tom Holland, who’s no stranger to darker characters, take a crack at that type of Spider-Man, and watching him go from a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man to a more sinister and scary vigilante would be riveting.

Were I in charge of Spidey’s future in the MCU, I’d have Peter bond with the symbiote in Spider-Man 4, but rather than have him tear it off in the third act, he’d keep it for the whole film, perhaps using its power to defeat a dangerous villain like the Kingpin. Then, in the sequel, Peter would be forced to confront the suit’s evil nature and visit the infamous bell tower to get rid of it. Only then, in the third film, would Venom appear for a climactic final battle.

We know that would be a long old road to get to a fan-favorite villain, but honestly, Venom’s such a great villain he deserves a complex and rich backstory. Too often in adaptations, he’s just sort of there for no other reason than he sells toys. Even some more recent adaptations, like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, felt like they rushed the character’s development. Do you know why Harry started calling himself Venom in that game? Because we don’t.

It’s a shame because Venom is genuinely one of the greatest Spider-Man villains of all time, not just because he looks freaking amazing but because he’s driven by something different from Spidey’s other foes. He’s a fusion of the symbiote’s bizarre attachment to Peter and the host’s hatred of the Web-Head. It’s that cognitive dissonance between love and loathing that drives the character forward and is the reason for everything he does. Without the bond between the symbiote and Peter Parker being properly set up, you don’t really have Venom. You’ve just got Spidey in black pyjamas.