Venom is returning to the big screen for the first time in 11 years this October, when Sony unveils their solo movie based on the antihero starring Tom Hardy as the symbiote-stricken Eddie Brock. While that’s cause to celebrate, unfortunately it doesn’t look like we’ll see Venom face off against his nemesis any time soon, due to Spider-Man having returned to the arms of Marvel Studios.
However, there’s nothing stopping fans from whipping up some inspired artwork which gives us an idea as to what a battle between Tom Hardy’s Venom and Tom Holland’s Spidey could look like. Case in point: this new piece seen in the gallery down below, which paints a picture of the villain totally besting the wall-crawler in a fight. As you can see, Peter Parker lies senseless in a pile of rubble while his enemy cuts a sinister figure as he lingers over him.
Comic book lovers will note that the composition of the artwork is very deliberately paying homage to a classic Marvel cover, too. It’s a close match to The Amazing Spider-Man #316, which featured a memorable image from Venom co-creator Todd McFarlane. The blood dripping from his claw is a particularly nice (and gruesome) callback to the cover as well.
What are the chances of seeing something like this occur on screen, though? Well, there have been a few rumors that Tom Holland will appear in Venom, perhaps just as Peter Parker instead of having him suit up as the webslinger. However, we’ve been told that Sony’s effort is set apart from the MCU, so there won’t be any crossovers. That said, Holland himself has mentioned that he’d like to see Venom in a Spider-Man sequel, which suggests he might know something that we don’t.
In lieu of a Venom-Spidey battle, then, at least there appears to be a clash with Carnage in the near future. Look out for that when Venom hits theaters on October 5th.
