Venom co-creator shares his take on wrestlers using the character’s image

Venom co-creator Todd McFarlane revealed in a recent interview how he felt about pro wrestlers using attire inspired by the comic book character. 

Pro wrestlers like AEW star Penta El Zero M and WWE Superstar Charlotte Flair have worn the mask in the past, with the former occasionally rocking the face-covering in his matches, while Flair wore the mask during her 2021 Extreme Rules entrance. 

The most memorable incident occurred in 2018 after Johnny Gargano showed appreciation to his “favorite” Marvel character by wearing a headpiece and Venom-inspired ring gear during his Last Man Standing Match against Tommaso Ciampa. 

McFarlane revealed to Looper that he doesn’t mind wrestlers’ appreciation for Venom, because that’s what he expected when creating the movies.

“Here’s what I would say without knowing. My guess would be that a wrestler wants to be a badass, and if you’re going to be Aunt May or Venom, I think the choice is really clear. So you just go, ‘I’m going for the badass.’ We might argue that Aunt May is plenty badass, especially Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May, but that’s neither here nor there.

Do I want to be the nice, polite hero who’s always accommodating and is very courteous? Or do I want to be the guy who, from time to time, has to bite people’s heads off? I don’t know. So I get it. Probably if I was a wrestler, I’d be looking for those types of characters too. I’m assuming that characters like Punisher and Wolverine also have a lot of appeal to those same sort of crowds, sort of what we call the anti-heroes.”

Clearly, it’s a badge of honor for McFarlane to see grapplers so indebted to his work. Venom: Let There Be Carnage is now available to watch on digital, 4K UHD, Blu-Ray, and DVD.