New Spider-Man Theory Suggests MCU Venom Host has Already Appeared

January 1, 2022, 10:47pm

The Venom symbiote has officially arrived in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with a piece of the alien breaking off Tom Hardy’s alien counterpart in the closing moments of Spider-Man: No Way Home. While Eddie Brock (Hardy) is the most prominent host of the symbiote in the Marvel source material, a new fan theory going around suggests the MCU’s version is going to be someone else—and fans have already seen him join the MCU.

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Mac Gargan briefly appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming as an associate of Adrian Toomes’ (Michael Keaton). Gargan, played by Michael Mando, is typically known in the Marvel lore as the alter ego of Scorpion. It’s in the same comic book lore, however, that Gargan also donned the Venom symbiote.

Interestingly enough, the theory seems like it could carry some weight. No Way Home featured many of the villains we’ve seen across the multiverse, by Gargan was noticeably absent. Perhaps instead of introducing him as the Scorpion, Marvel Studios is opting to hold him for their own version of Venom. Eddie Brock, after all, has been played in live-action twice already—once by Hardy, and another time by Topher Grace.

“We never really found the right moment to do something like that. It’s always just about it being right for the story and not just some sort of shoehorned-in cameo,” Homecoming and Far From Home director Jon Watts previously told Digital Spy when explaining why Vulture and Scorpion did not appear in Far From Home despite a credits scene pointing towards the eventual assembly of the Sinister Six. “But I do love the idea that they’re both still out there, and I like the idea that as we move forward with these films, we’re building out this rich world that we can continually draw from.”

Spider-Man: No Way Home is now in theaters.

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