24 Venom 3 Easter eggs explained: Spider-Man, Knull & even Agent Venom

❘ Published: 2024-10-25T08:54:49

Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, bonded with the Venom symbiote

Sony Pictures/Marvel Comics

Stop the music because Eddie Brock and his symbiotic sidekick Venom have had their last Dance.

Yes, Tom Hardy’s trilogy of Spider-Man movie spin-offs has finally come to a close, and things are ending on a bit of a bum note. At the time of writing, the latest Venom movie has scored a rather meager 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, and our own Jessica Cullen gave it just two stars in her venomous review.

Still, just because critics aren’t enjoying Venom’s last hoorah doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun with it, and one thing I love to do while watching superhero movies is trying to spot all the clever references and Easter eggs hidden in the movie to please die-hard fans like me.

So here are all the comic book secrets, winks, and nods I spotted while watching! Also spoilers ahead!

The King in Black

Since the first Last Dance trailer, we’ve known that Knull would be the big bad of Venom 3 (so this isn’t really an Easter egg), but it’s an impressively faithful adaptation of the character.

Not only does he look like the bastard child of the Joker and Slender Man going through his emo phase, but he also refers to himself towards the end of the film as The King In Black. This isn’t just some cool title he made up to sound like a badass, though.

In the pages of Marvel comics, the King in Black refers to both the storyline where Knull and his symbiotic dragons invaded the Earth, but it’s also a title given to a powerful being who serves as the cosmic counterbalance to the Beyonders in the running of the Multiverse.

Or at least that was the idea. Unfortunately, Knull wasn’t too happy with his responsibilities and used his power to try and destroy everything, creating the symbiotes to serve as his foot soldiers in his war against creation.

The Necrosword

While watching Venom 3, did you see Knull’s sword and think, ‘That looks cool. I swear I’ve seen it before?’ Well, you should because that’s the Necrosword, and this isn’t the first time you’ve seen it in a superhero movie.

In the comics, the Necrosword is, in fact, the first symbiote ever created, forged from the Living Abyss, and it’s immensely powerful, capable of decapitating Celestials and bisecting planets. The Necrosword has had many users, including Galactus, but arguably its most infamous host was Gorr the God Butcher, who you may or may not remember from Thor Love and Thunder. Was the sword Gorr used on Earth-616 connected to Knull in some form? We don’t know, but we expect to find out soon.

The Light and Beyonders

During his long expositionary monologue, Knull makes reference to something called “The Light” that invaded his world and helped imprison him. This wasn’t some vague force for good; it’s actually a reference to the aforementioned Beyonders. Who are the Beyonders? No one you have to worry about yet (although they may appear in Secret Wars). Just think of them as uber-powerful gods who help maintain the Multiverse, with the King in Black helping them in this duty.

Klyntar

During the opening, Knull mentions he’s imprisoned on Klyntar, the symbiote’s homeworld, but there’s more under the surface (literally). In the symbiotic language, Klyntar means “cage,” a reference to the fact that the planet isn’t really a planet in the traditional sense of a big rock floating around the sun. No, the entire planet of the symbiotes is, in fact, artificial and was created by the symbiotes to keep Knull caged away for all eternity.

Codex

In The Last Dance, the Codex is the Macguffin that kicks off the whole plot. Knull needs to get his slimy claws on Eddie’s Codex if he wants to escape Klyntar. The movie implies that the Codex is unique to Eddie (or certainly a rare occurrence), but it works a little differently in the comics.

During the Absolute Carnage event, Cletus Kassady was brought back from the dead by Knull worshipers on Earth to hunt down anyone and everyone who’d ever worn a symbiote so he could harvest their Codex.

In the comics anyone who’s ever worn a symbiote has a Codex, and it serves as a connection to the symbiotic hive mind. Most of the time, the Codex connection is too weak to access the hive-mind, but if you collect enough of them, you can access it, and that’s why Knull needed Carnage to collect them. So he could use Carnage to reassert control of that hive mind and free himself from his prison.

Xenophages

The Xenophage in Venom 3nad the Xenophage in the comics both of which resemble a large insect like creature

As Knull’s stuck on his throne like a bit slimy Orcus (one for the DnD fans), he has to rely on some alien mooks to get the job done. Specifically, he can summon creatures known as Xenophages who, in addition to being incredibly strong and fast, can teleport themselves over vast distances.

In Last Dance, Knull made the Xenophage, but they have nothing to do with the King in Black in the comics. Instead, they’re natural symbiote hunters who want to eat the Venom and his gooey compatriots because they consider them a delicacy. One member of the species known as Phage was particularly interested in eating Venom, but Eddie and his other got the better of the beast by tricking him into eating a grenade.

Oh snap, is that Thanos?

When we first see Eddie Brock, he’s still on Earth-616, complaining to a disinterested bartender about a big purple alien who snapped away half the universe. So unless Eddie’s gone on a random rant about Sheb Wooley’s infamous novelty song (Ask your grandparents), this must be a reference to the one and only Thanos and his actions during Infinity War.

Done with the Multiverse

After Eddie’s dropped back on his Earth after his jaunt to Earth-616, he makes a quick joke about “being done with the Multiverse,” a playful reference to the alleged superhero burnout caused by the genre’s growing obsession with alternate dimensions. Unfortunately, Eddie, you might be done with the Multiverse, but I get the feeling Sony is just getting started.

Sin Eater

While Eddie and Venom are working out how to clear their name after being accused of killing Patrick Mulligan, they decide to travel to New York City. Why? Well, Eddie was supposedly ran out of the city a few years ago, but he knows a judge who might be able to help them. Eddie never actually explains what he did to get chased out of NYC, but it’s implied to be shady, and this is likely a nod to the Sin Eater storyline from the Spider-Man comics.

This dark tale involved Spidey trying to take down the Sin Eater, a dangerous serial killer. Eddie actually exposes Sin Eater’s identity, but it later emerges – when Spidey catches the killer – that Brock has identified the wrong man. Unsurprisingly, this ruined Eddie’s journalistic reputation, and he blamed Spider-Man for that, putting him on the dark path to becoming Venom.

Spider-Man moves

After three films of waiting, we finally see Venom do something vaguely ‘Spider-Man-y’ (for lack of a better word). While fighting the thugs running a dog fighting ring, Eddie drops down from the ceiling on a strand of symbiotic tissue, effectively replicating one of Spider-Man’s most iconic poses. Unfortunately for the gangster, Venom doesn’t want a kiss… he wants to eat his brains.

Rex Strickland

Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Rex Strickland, a pretty generic-brand army man who serves as Area 55’s muscle. Though, Rex couldn’t be less generic in the comics if he tried. You see, Rex was part of a special unit of soldiers who Nick Fury himself chose to bond to an ancient symbiote during the Vietnam War.

Rex named his symbiote “Tyrannosaurus”, and the pair went on several missions for SHIELD. Sadly, Rex was eventually killed in the line of duty, but feeling guilty about his host’s death, Tyrannosaurus assumed his identity. Rex/Tyrannosaurus would eventually help Eddie deal with a rampaging Carnage, but he died in the process.

Dr. Payne

Juno Temple’s character, Dr.Teddy Payne, is sort of an original creation in the movie. There is a Dr. Thedore Payne in the comics, and her character name is likely a reference to this forgotten villain, but that’s the only thing they have in common. In the book, Dr. Payne is a lunatic who tortures Eddie while he’s separated from his symbiote, but once he’s back in the black, Venom gets his terrible revenge.

Toxin symbiote

Stephen Graham as Patrick Mulligan in Venom The Last Dance

One of the weirder decisions the Venom movies made was to introduce the Toxin symbiote – the offspring of Carnage – and his host, Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham), only for them to do absolutely nothing with him.

Supposedly, Toxin abandoned Mulligan offscreen, and we don’t see the powerful alien during the movie’s events. This was likely done so Sony could use the character in the future or because Toxin – who’s supposedly the strongest symbiote ever – would have dealt with the Xenophages too easily. Still, it seems odd not to include Mulligan’s symbiotic other, considering they give him a different symbiote… speaking of which!

Lasher

If clothes make the man, then I guess Parick Mulligan must be Lasher in this dimension. I say “must be” because no one calls him Lasher, but he looks like the character. Lasher’s not exactly an A-list symbiote in the pages of Marvel comics, but his unique gimmick – he makes symbiotic whips that he ‘lashes’ out with – has earned him a cult following. Sadly, if you were looking forward to seeing more of Lasher, he dies while fighting the Xenophage.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

You can’t make an alien movie without referencing at least one of the genre greats, and Last Dance chose ET! While Strickland is walking with Dr. Payne, there’s a quick reference to the alien’s phoning home, a loving nod to the classic line “E.T. Phone home.”

Knull’s Spiral Sigil

There’s a recurring symbol in the movie of a strange-looking swirl or spiral. It can be seen on Venom’s Codex, Knull’s sword, and a few other places. This isn’t some random pattern; this swirl is, in fact, Knull’s Sigil. In the comics, it manifests on symbiotes who Knull is controlling (or trying to control), but thankfully, we never see Knull use it for that purpose in Last Dance.

Venom Horse

The Venom Horse took the Internet for a ride when it first appeared in the Last Dance trailer, and since then, this feisty thoroughbred has caught the attention of Marvel comic artists. Artist Clayton Crain drew not one but two symbiote horse variant covers for Venom War #1.

Despite the beast being an original creation for the movie, we did some digging and found out that a symbiotic stallion appeared in the comics. In the Death of the Venomverse #3, a symbiote bonded to Asgardia’s Winged Horse, creating a FLYING VENOM HORSE!

We’re probably reaching a little here, but when life gives you the opportunity to write about a pegasus, you should take it. Oh, and if you’re wondering about the Venom frog and fish? We couldn’t find anything about them in the comics. Sorry!

Venom loves chocolate

A recurring gag in the Venom movies is that the symbiote adores the taste of chocolate. While it seems silly, this is actually a deep-cut reference to the comics where Eddie uses chocolate to curb the symbiote’s craving for brains. Supposedly, that works because chocolate contains phenethylamine, the chemical that makes your brain release serotonin, and Venom just loves the taste!

Thelma & Louise

When Eddie and Venom are in Vegas, they refer to themselves as Thelma and Louise, which is a fun line referencing that they’re on the run from the law. It also serves as a clever bit of foreshadowing, as anyone who’s seen Thelma and Louise will know their ultimate fate (they die driving off a cliff to escape the law). This is similar to Venom’s final sacrifice at the end of Last Dance when he dissolves himself in acid rather than be captured by the Xenophages.

Sexiest Man

After Eddie and Venom pull off some ‘grand theft tuxedo’ while in Vegas, the symbiote comments that Eddie looks pretty good in a suit. During the argument, Brock claims to have won plenty of sexiest man awards, a clear reference to actor Tom Hardy’s many sexiest man of the year awards. The last ‘official’ time he won seems to have been in 2021 when he was named the UK’s sexiest man (my runner-up prize must have gotten lost in the post).

Symbiotes galore

When the Xenophages invade Area 55, a whole host of symbiotes bond with unsuspecting scientists, soldiers, and at least one security guard. Most of these aliens appear to be original creations for the movie; however, in the carnage (no, not that one), I think I spotted a green and black one that resembled Sleeper (Venom’s second-born son), and there’s a white one that looked a hell of a lot like Anti-Venom, although considering that suit’s convoluted origin I doubt it was meant to be the character.

Flash Thompson

If you’re a big Spider-Man fan, then the chances are you’re as desperate as I am for a decent adaptation of Flash Thompson. Well, I’ve got good news for you: we’re one step closer after the events of Last Dance (Although step might be the wrong word considering what happens). You see, during one of the Xenophage’s attacks, a soldier gets pulled into their mouth and loses his legs.

As that happens, Strickland screams, “Thompson is down,” and manages to save him from being devoured completely. In the comics, Flash served as a soldier and he lost his legs in Amazing Spider-Man #622, this eventually led to him being chosen by the US army to bond with the Venom symbiote, becoming Agent Venom. Was this Thompson Flash, and did we see Agent Venom’s origin story? Time will tell, I guess.

Is that Agony?

Towards the end of the movie, Dr. Payne bonds with her own symbiote, turning into a creature resembling the character Agony —a purple symbiote with a mane of tentacles that look like hair. Bizarrely, she’s got superspeed, which makes us wonder if this is meant to be Agony or an original character borrowing her signature look. Still, if it is Agony, then we might be in trouble because she actually plays a pretty big role in Knull’s eventual invasion of Earth, so god only knows what she might get up to in the future.

Venom cockroach

During the post-credit scene, where we see the bartender who had the bad luck to bump into Eddie Brock escaping Area 51, the camera pans over to a broken symbiote containment unit, which an unsuspecting cockroach is about to crawl into.

This may seem a little random to the uninformed, but this isn’t the first time a symbiote has bonded with the bug. In the ‘Run’ storyline, a Venom clone bonds to a swarm of cockroaches to survive a nuclear blast. Now, I doubt the Area 51 scientists have cloned Venom, but remember the drop of Venom that Rex captured earlier in the movie? Maybe reports of Venom’s death have been exaggerated.

If you enjoyed Venom 3, then check some of our other superheroic coverage. We’ve got articles breaking down all the upcoming Marvel movies, including Spider-Man 4, Avengers Doomsday, and Kraven the Hunter. We’ve also written about how Venom 3 post-credits scenes set up Knull’s bigger plan!