How Venom: The Last Dance repeats a glaring Marvel mistake

As a longtime Marvel fan who has witnessed the highs and lows of the cinematic universe, I must admit that I was initially intrigued by the casting of Rhys Ifans as Martin Moon in “Venom: The Last Dance.” However, upon seeing him portrayed as just an ordinary IT guy, my heart sank a little.

In a continuation of comic book movie trilogies, it seems the third installment often falls short. For instance, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Fox’s X-Men saga, and Blade: Trinity all ended on less positive notes. The Dark Knight Rises is also considered a less favorable part of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. While there have been successful third films like Thor: Ragnarok, Venom: The Last Dance doesn’t seem to buck the trend that a third movie in this genre can sometimes disappoint.

As a dedicated gamer, I can’t help but feel a tinge of disappointment when it comes to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU). It seems like this universe, once brimming with potential, is now hobbling towards its apparent demise, much like how the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) released films like ‘The Flash’ and ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ out of obligation. While Ruben Fleischer’s ‘Venom’ kicked things off in a promising manner back in 2018, a piece of our symbiote enthusiasm has been chipped away with each subsequent release.

How Venom: The Last Dance repeats a glaring Marvel mistake

The MCU Issue

It’s been noted that the promotion for Venom: The Last Dance hasn’t been particularly grand. Given the current glut of superhero movies, even the formidable reputation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe seems to be waning a bit. It certainly appears as though Sony is trying to keep this film low-key. However, despite the minimal marketing efforts, there’s been a hint that Eddie Brock (played by Tom Hardy) and his symbiote partner’s story might conclude in a grand fashion. Regrettably, the trailers have left us both excited and puzzled about the involvement of actors Chiwetel Ejiofor and Rhys Ifans.

Despite not being officially part of the main Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), there has been much speculation about when the Spider-Man Universe (SSU) will intersect with the most financially successful franchise in the world. The closing moments of “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” sparked this debate by transporting Eddie Brock and his symbiote into the MCU’s Earth-616 timeline, but the opening scene of “The Last Dance” immediately reverses this development. Introducing Venom into the MCU could have potentially created a plot inconsistency when considering that Daniel Ejiofor portrayed Baron Mordo in 2016’s “Doctor Strange” and its upcoming sequel, given that Mordo and Venom are distinct characters in their respective universes.

Rhys Ifans is Knull
Come back to this tweet after the movie is released!!
— Kal ⨂ (@CyanideKal) September 12, 2024

The portrayal of Dr. Kurt Connors/the Lizard by Iwan Rheon in 2012’s “The Amazing Spider-Man” adds complexity to the storyline, as Marc Webb’s movies starring Andrew Garfield exist on a unique timeline distinct from both the MCU and “Venom” films. Remarkably, Rheon reappeared as Connors in the multiverse chaos of “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Could we see him return for more in “The Last Dance”?

Initially, when Ifans debuted in the trailers for “The Last Dance“, there were numerous speculations about his role. Some thought he might utilize his intellectual prowess and past knowledge of multiverses to aid Eddie, while others believed he would be portraying Knull, the underwhelming main antagonist. Given that Knull remains a subtle presence throughout the movie and turns out to be merely a hint for a possible future film, I was slightly anticipating a surprising twist where Ifans’ character would turn out to be Knull in disguise. However, instead, Ifans portrays…a typical individual.

How Venom: The Last Dance repeats a glaring Marvel mistake

A Problematic Bohner

Instead of Rex Strickland, the character Ejiofor portrays from Marvel Comics who’s a long-time nemesis of Venom, Ifans takes on Martin Moon, an everyday guy posing as an IT whiz and alien enthusiast. In the climax, Eddie and Venom work tirelessly to protect Martin and his family from danger. I guess they were inserted to demonstrate a more compassionate side of Eddie and Venom, but unfortunately, the movie doesn’t effectively create much emotional or comedic impact with them.

Playing Ifan as Martin, a seemingly ordinary character, brings to mind the surprising twist of Ralph Bohner in the Marvel TV series “WandaVision.” In this show, actor Evan Peters portrayed a character believed to be Wanda Maximoff’s brother Pietro, also known as Quicksilver. Although Aaron Taylor-Johnson briefly played the MCU version of Quicksilver in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and was later killed off, Peters had previously portrayed him in “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” “X-Men: Apocalypse,” and “Dark Phoenix.” When he unexpectedly appeared at Wanda’s doorstep in “WandaVision,” fans were taken aback. Not only was this a clever twist on our expectations, but it also added some humor to the series. However, the series’ finale revealed that Uncle Pietro was actually just a Westview resident named Ralph Bohner, leaving many fans feeling deceived.

Ralph Bohner remains one of the MCU’s ‘worst’ twists, up there with Iron Man 3’s Mandarin fakeout and Sharon Carter being the Power Broker in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Instead of letting it go, WandaVision creator Jac Schaeffer recently doubled down on this by bringing back Ralph Bohner back in Agatha All Along (although I can let that one slide because it’s clearly supposed to be a bit of comic relief). I’m disappointed that the dire Dark Phoenix could be Peters’ last time playing Quicksilver, especially when the multiverse saga seemed like an easy way to legitimately add him to the mainline MCU. Oh well, there’s always Avengers: Secret Wars.

Regarding the movie “Venom: The Last Dance“, I was one of many who were led to believe that Toby Jones (Ifans) might be playing the Lizard again, or possibly taking on a larger role in the Marvel Universe as Knull. It’s not uncommon for Marvel films to have actors play multiple roles, but the way they pulled it off in “Deadpool & Wolverine” with Chris Evans reprising his role as Johnny Storm instead of Captain America serves as an excellent example. However, it remains a mystery as to why Ifans is even in “Venom: The Last Dance“.

Morbius underutilized Jared Harris’ Dr. Emil Nicholas, presenting him merely as a minor figure in the plot rather than unveiling him as a major villain like Dracula. It leaves us wondering about the true intentions of the Rhino character hinted in the Kraven the Hunter trailer. Sony seems to be having trouble attracting audiences to its growing Spider-Man-absent Spider-Man Universe, and with Rhys Ifans’ talent wasted as Martin the alien fanatic, it’s not hard to understand their struggles. This is a character that should have been eliminated during editing.

2024-10-27 00:41