Wait A Minute…Is That Groot I Saw In The Venom Trailer?

Well, the long-awaited Venom Trailer has arrived. My initial reaction was simply…meh. Am I the only one not too impressed by it?

The first half of the trailer “explains” exactly what’s going on. The Symbiotes, as it seems, are being used by some sort of large corporation to wage war on all that oppose it. While trying to unearth the story, Eddie Brock unknowingly comes into contact with one of the symbiotes. The Symbiote, Venom, then promises that if Eddie cooperates with it, he will be given power.

And he is.

The back half of the trailer spends its giving fan-service. It shows Venom throw, toss, punch, eat?, and kick its opponents from one side of the screen to the other. The Symbiote splays, extends, and wields itself in every imaginable direction, all-the-while taking a page out of a book of a well-known red Symbiote. That is, it turns its arms and hands into giant weapons a slices a room in half. If the Venom trailer, or movie for that matter, were based purely on the power of the Symbiote, we’d in for one great film.

However, this isn’t the case.

Eventually, we get a shot of Venom in his full form…his full, body builder-oily form. Am I the only one who thinks that Venom looks as though he just came from a tanning session that involved nothing but oil? I mean, if I were to give him a hug, I have no doubt that I’d slide down him like a Wisconsin Dells water slide. In a word, strange.

But it doesn’t end there.

Where’s my chainsaw?

Venom looks like a dark, oily, Canadian Maple tree. If not for his oddly shaped head, I’d think I was looking at Groot. As I watched it, I couldn’t help but think, “Where is Rocket? That tree never leaves home without him.” I literally felt like running outside, grabbing my chainsaw, and going all Canadian Lumberjack on him.

Aside from his tree-like appearance, it looks like he has completely neglected leg day at the gym. Look, no one, including myself, likes leg day. It’s grueling and more energy depleting than any of the other days, however, it can’t be ignored. I know that the actor responsible for Venom, Tom Hardy, believes in a complete body workout, so why doesn’t Venom? 

If it seems like I’m being a little too harsh on the character, know that it comes from a good place. I grew up loving this Venom and I’d do anything to protect the integrity of him. He was the first comic book character I learned to draw, one of the first comics I bought, and, when I had money, one that I invested in.

The good news is it’s not all negative.

Symbiotes

The movie will have other Symbiotes. And by the look of it, more than just a few. From what I could tell, and knowing what is kn0wn, the Venom trailer showed us a glimpse of either Scream or Agony.

Scream and Agony are just two of the Symbiotes introduced in the Venom: Lethal Protector series from the early nineties. In this series, Venom is shown to have had “offspring”, four of which are Phage, Lasher, and the aforementioned Scream and Agony. Maybe my eyes deceived me, but I think I might have even seen Cletus Kasady. If this is the case, my arms have officially begun to tingle and the hairs raise.

While the Red Symbiote, Carnage doesn’t have quite the fanfare that Venom has, he is one of the best and most destructive villains in the Spider-Man world. In addition to that, he is the one character that people all over the world, including myself, have been asking for. If he is to make an appearance, which it is a certainty he will, fans all over the world will rejoice.

Cheers,

Joel