In 2011, Marvel Comics made one of its boldest decisions when Peter Parker's high school bully, Flash Thompson, was revealed as Agent Venom. A few years earlier, Flash had lost his legs fighting in the Iraq War. However, bonding with the Symbiote allowed him to walk (and fight) again.
The character had a lengthy stint as Agent Venom and struck a chord with fans. Venom: The Last Dance even set the stage for a new version of Flash to be bonded with the Symbiote after a soldier named "Thompson" had his legs bitten off by one of the Xenophage.
It no longer appears Venom 4 will happen and that means rumoured plans for Agent Venom to make his live-action debut have likely been scrapped.
Hot Toys has today unveiled a new Agent Venom 1/6th scale action figure based on the Marvel Comics version of the anti-hero. If this is what he'd have looked like in live-action, it's not unfair to say we've majorly missed out.
Here's the official description for the company's highly detailed Agent Venom action figure:
"Flash Thompson grows up to join the army but loses his legs in combat. Bonding with the Venom symbiote allows him to walk again while in the suit, and he also becomes Agent Venom for the government. Possessing powers similar to Spider-Man’s, he gains superhuman abilities and the ability to generate webbing."
"Today, Hot Toys is excited to present this new 1/6th scale Agent Venom collectible figure, which is sure to give your display a remarkable upgrade."
"Meticulously crafted based on Marvel Comics, the Agent Venom figure features a newly crafted head sculpt with interchangeable eye pieces, a specialized body that naturally portrays Agent Venom’s muscular physique, a symbiotic armor with spikes showcasing a military theme, an interchangeable symbiotic blade forearm, four tendrils with interchangeable symbiotic accessories attachable to figure’s back, two strings of webbing accessories, a series of firearms including sniper rifle, machine gun, submachine guns, pistols, and lastly a specially designed figure base with the character’s name."
"Cue the epic comic battles with the 1/6th scale Agent Venom that will take your Marvel Comics collection to the next level."
This is a very cool take on the powerful Symbiote and, had Sony moved forward with Venom 4, we'd have gotten a Flash with no links to Spider-Man (which was also the case for Eddie Brock, of course). With that in mind, the movie not happening perhaps isn't the end of the world.
Take a closer look at Hot Toys' Agent Venom in the Instagram gallery below.