FAN-ticising: Should Flash Thompson become Venom in the newly reignited Spider-Man franchise?

FAN-ticising: Should Flash Thompson become Venom in the newly reignited Spider-Man franchise?

In this corner we have Classic Venom! He is one badass mofo! The challenger is the new Marvel NOW Venom. He carries a rifle and has a conscience. The Winner and still Champion by a landslide victory is the One and Only Original manifestation even if cinematic license is taken with the identity of the Monster's host!

Editorial Opinion
By SuperPopSTOP - Feb 14, 2013 06:02 PM EST
Filed Under: Spider-Man

Ask any dedicated, well versed Spider-Man fan and he or she will tell you that the ultimate Spider-Man villain is Venom!
Hands down, there is no other character foil that even comes close!
Venom is to Spider-Man what The Joker is to Batman or what Lex Luthor is to Superman.
Every superhero needs an enemy that can kick their tail!


Venom represents a dark, evil and completely unconscionable mirror image of our hero!
Venom intimidates Spider-Man on a visceral level! There is no intellect to challenge.
Venom evokes the base emotions of fear and flight!
To say Sony Pictures take on Venom in Spider-Man 3 was disappointing, is putting it lightly. This Venom sucked! There was no intimidation. There was no concern for Mr. Parker’s health and well being. The audience didn’t fear him so why should Parker!

Enter Flash Thompson in the Sony Entertainment 2012 blockbuster, The Amazing Spider-Man. Flash is the high school bully that rules the students through fear and intimidation! Don’t mess with Flash or risk getting your butt kicked! Public humiliation and low self esteem guarantee the reign of this king of the concrete jungle.
The Alpha male has already been established in the new franchise! Why not capitalize on the preset pecking order and let Flash intimidate Peter on a whole new level! And while I’m on the subject, please let the audience know who Venom is up front without the overused plot device of keeping the monster’s identity secret for a late movie reveal!

Originally introduced to readers as Spider-Man’s living costume from The Secret War saga almost 30 years ago, Venom was an alien symbiote that threatened to permanently bond with Peter Parker. Over the years, Venom has bonded with an array of hosts.
As stimulating as it is to fantasize about a film development that addresses the complete history of said symbiote, including its brief encounters with female hosts, there simply isn’t a strong enough fan base with the necessary multidimensional demographic to pull that off.
In Marvel comics NOW (pardon the pun), Venom is Flash Thompson. Assuming the decision is made to allow Flash to become Venom in one of the upcoming Spider-Man films, which interpretation of this almighty antagonist makes the most sense?

Should he be the modern guntoting, utility belt wearing soldier of fortune amputee or the classic horrific mass of muscle with a tongue that would put Gene Simmons of KISS to shame?
Given the choice, I hedge my bets on the completely unpredictable, scary & dangerous classic creature. Marvel NOW’s rendition, while possessed by the spirit of the original Venom which takes control after 48 hours of exposure, presents too much of a story telling challenge. The explanation of Flashes military career and subsequent leg loss would only detract from the main event! The film’s audience could care less about Flashes complete back story! Give a basic run down of how the Venom symbiote possessed him and move on the battle royale! Lets face it, seeing Spider-Man getting destroyed by Venom would be the stuff of legend! It would be just as gratifying as seeing Bane whip up on The Dark Knight or Doomsday give The Last Son of Krypton a death blow!
Don’t pretend you wouldn’t pay $15 to see Peter Parker being torn to shreds in 3 dimensional, I-Max, surround sound glory! I know you would! I would too! Hell, it’s long overdue!
The Green Goblin, Dr. Octopus, Sandman and Lizard were all fine and good but no one can put the smack down on Spider-Man like Venom can! If done correctly with a believable amount of angst and fear, culminating in Spidey’s greatest stand off…the comic community would go ballistic! End the movie with a clear case of Venom winning the fight despite Spider-Mans best effort. Perhaps bring in an Avenger or two to save our hero from eminent demise! Let us see something unexpected, unpredictable and worthy of our hard earned disposable income!
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Tainted87
Tainted87 - 2/14/2013, 6:56 PM
I'd actually be happy with this. Trouble is, when Flash becomes Venom, he's not only an amputee, but he's Peter's friend. He doesn't have a big grudge against Spider-man, he doesn't blame him for his condition, and it isn't his idea (or the symbiote's) to become "Venom", although he does later agree.

This would cast Flash as the villain, a part that Eddie should fill, and is conflicting with the direction that Flash is going in the reboot. I'm not the greatest fan of Brock, but I do have a respect for the character and fanbase.
Tainted87
Tainted87 - 2/14/2013, 6:58 PM
I WOULD like to see Flash make his own Spider-man costume and come to Peter's rescue, or at least try to.
TheSuperguy
TheSuperguy - 2/14/2013, 7:03 PM
Would prefer to see Flash become Venom. This way you don't have to introduce Brock in 3 or 4, it's set up from the beginning.
GoodGuy
GoodGuy - 2/14/2013, 7:18 PM
Sounds pretty cool to me. It's a chance to renew vigor in a botched character in a previous franchise while providing new thrills and spills. So if done right, maybe?

I'm not so familiar with the whole Flash-Venom thing, but it seems as if the story enriched by a rich background and history for Flash, first. In this comics Flash is a war veteran rediscovering his purpose in life. In this movie series he is... a sucessful... no... well... he's an unaccomplished high school bully with a last minute change of heart. Regardless.


Fun read man!
DumbledoreCalrissian
DumbledoreCalrissian - 2/15/2013, 2:18 AM
i would prefer Brock too.
Spideyguy94
Spideyguy94 - 2/15/2013, 3:52 AM
I'd personally love to see flash as venom, but they really need to cover a lot if ground if they are going to do that. You need to have Brock as venom first, flash being in the army and losing his legs, being married to Betty brant etc. Flash as venom is the only time I've ever cared about venom as a character, because the thing with Eddie Brock is he is a great villian, one ofmy favourites, but he's completely unsympathetic as a hero and very unlikeable and the whole lethal protector thing in the 90's was a gimmick marvel used to capitalise on venom's huge popularity. I would highly recommend anyone to read the first 22 issues of venom they are fantastic.
AmazingFantasy
AmazingFantasy - 2/15/2013, 3:57 AM
If not Brock, Flash would be.. Intresting.
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 2/15/2013, 6:28 AM
EDDIE BROCK or don't bother, too soon for Flash!
Irishlad
Irishlad - 2/15/2013, 7:24 AM
I'd love to see Flash as Venom but one of the things that made his series so interesting was the fact that we saw what Venom did to Eddie Brock so we knew how dangerous it was for Flash to be in the Venom suit.
They should do Eddie Brock right first and maybe in the second or third movie send Flash off to war.
I don't want to see Flash as Eddie.
marvel72
marvel72 - 2/15/2013, 1:04 PM
i really don't mind,of course i'd rather eddie brock as venom but seeing a decent version of venom on the big screen for the first time would be cool.
IIIAdamantiumIII
IIIAdamantiumIII - 2/16/2013, 12:14 AM
flash was already put in his place and by the end has a man crush on spider-man. Brock being the shunned coworker at the dailybugle is the only way to go. I could see flash becoming venom way later on but not right now.
arashini
arashini - 2/18/2013, 11:30 PM
What's the big problem in "setting up" Eddie?


Flash wasn't exactly "set up" with bells and whistles either. He was just kind of there, and then just kind of became good I guess.

If that's all it takes to be ready to become Venom, then just go with Eddie (after setting him up in TASM2 - not even too much screentime needed by Flash's standards).
PeterParker1991
PeterParker1991 - 2/19/2013, 7:49 AM
OK, first issue is how Parker and Thompson are friends by the end of Amazing, when in the comics it took them YEARS to become pals. So that to me was a little rushed in the film. That and his relationship with Gwen was good but it could've been stretched out. As far as Thompson as Venom? GTFO. Eddie Brock = Venom.
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