We know what you're thinking: only five?!
While Venom managed to draw a large audience back in 2018, it was a critical flop that mostly disappointed comic book fans, and serious mistakes were made with the title character that not even Andy Serkis will be able to make right in this September's Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
The first trailer for that movie actually pointed to the same blunders being repeated for a second time, so those of you hoping for a massive upgrade in terms of quality are likely to be disappointed.
It could be a better movie - especially with Serkis replacing Ruben Fleischer - but had Sony not dropped the ball with Venom the first time around, we'd all be feeling way more positive about the franchise's future (especially if a team-up with Spider-Man really is somewhere on the horizon).
To take a look through this feature, simply click on the "Next" button below to see these key mistakes!
5. Venom Isn't Supposed To Be A Comedy Character
The 2018 movie was full of lousy gags that only teenage boys probably found funny, and while that weirdness was embraced by some fans, who knew Eddie Brock's transformation would involve jumping into a lobster tank?
There's absolutely nothing wrong with humour being included in even the darkest superhero movies, but it was wholly unnecessary here and horribly unfunny. We're sure there are at least a few people who were left in stitches when Venom called Eddie a "pussy," but losing the character's inner darkness was a major blunder on Sony's part.
Looking at the trailer for Venom: Let There Be Carnage, it's apparent that the silliness has been carried over into the sequel, hence why we're getting an extended sequence with the alien making breakfast.
Who needs a Lethal Protector when Venom can sing and get on Eddie's nerves!
4. Brains!
One of the worst parts of the Venom character in any medium has always been his desire to eat brains.
While he'd threatened to eat Spider-Man's brains in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #333, the concept was fully introduced in the pretty awful series Venom: The Hunger. With that in mind, we can't fault Sony for adhering to the source material, but as time passed, most writers moved away from the idea.
When Mac Gargan became Venom, it returned with a vengeance, and always seemed pretty daft (why the former Scorpion would willingly allow his alien "other" to eat people was never really explained beyond it making him an even more dangerous member of the Thunderbolts).
The movie franchise has fully embraced the whole "Braaaains!" thing, though, and it's so far made for crappy viewing, making the anti-hero significantly less complex in the process.
3. Making "Venom" A Separate Entity
The Venom symbiote has always been a living, intelligent being, but it's only really in recent years that Marvel has had it become a creature who communicates with its host in conversation.
It's an evolution of the character, though not one that's resonated with the majority of fans. Venom was at its best as a silent influence on Peter Parker and Eddie's lives, but by making it a totally separate being...well, that pretty just makes Eddie a tool used by Venom with everything the character does on screen done by the alien rather than the host.
In the comics, Eddie bulked up and used the alien as a weapon in their shared quest to kill Spider-Man. In this iteration, Eddie is basically an unwilling passenger being taken along for the ride.
It's a crummy dynamic, and one that never really worked in Venom (and probably won't in the sequel).
2. Too Much Symbiote On Symbiote Action?
It did make sense for Venom to square off with Riot, but it feels like this franchise is repeating the mistakes of those early Iron Man movies by pitting the title hero against twisted version of himself.
We're excited to see Carnage on screen, but can't help but wonder how closely Venom: Let There Be Carnage plans to adhere to the source material. After all, Riot actually had most of Carnage's powers, and if the overly busy design we saw in the sequel's trailer is any indication, that's forced Serkis to do something new with his powers are portrayed.
Don't believe us? The filmmaker has already said this Carnage has the power to turn into mist!
Yes, mist. Honestly, it would have been way better to pit Venom against a villain like Scorpion (who could have been outfitted with that costume by the Life Foundation), with Mac Gargan returning for revenge down the line.
1. No Spider-Man
In many ways, we're eternally grateful that Tom Holland's Spider-Man hasn't been sullied by the SPUMC and its Venom franchise. Unfortunately, a future crossover is inevitable, and we can only hope Marvel Studios has some sort of creative involvement.
Regardless, Sony's desire to rush out a Venom movie means that the character's history with the wall-crawler was totally overlooked, robbing him of a key part of his history.
Venom is now a generic anti-hero, and Eddie's lack of hatred for Peter Parker robs him of his transformation from villain to Lethal Protector to superhero. From a visual perspective, it also means Venom is missing that badass chest logo that it would have been amazing to see on screen.
Maybe this will all be retconned together in a backwards way down the line. We'll see!