'Venom' Credits Scenes Explained: Who Is That Character And Why Is He Important?
Venom is now in theaters, and since this is a Marvel Comics movie we're talking about, you know to stay for the credits just in case there are one or two scenes teasing whatever is coming next. In this case, we get two credits scenes, and they couldn't be more different.
Of course, in order to dive into what these credits scenes are about and who is in them, we need to talk about spoilers for the ending of Venom. So if you haven't seen Venom yet, don't read any further.
The End of Venom
First up, let's do a quick recap of what happens at the end of Venom. After finding a certain understanding with the perpetually hungry and sarcastic symbiote, Eddie Brock and Venom work together to stop Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed) and the symbiote Riot from highjacking a rocket back to the symbiote homeworld and bringing an invasion back that would take over every being on Earth.
The bond between Eddie Brock and Venom became one of understanding, especially when the symbiote voice revealed that he's also a bit of a loser on his home planet, not unlike how Eddie Brock was when the symbiote found him after losing his job, his fiancee, his nice apartment and pretty much everything (even though it was his own fault for being a totally unethical journalist). Anyway, that's enough for Venom to sacrifice himself to save Eddie Brock from the rocket explosion as they fall out of the sky and down into the ocean. It seems that's the end of Venom.
But then, in a cute little conversation between Eddie and his ex-fiance Anne Weying (Michelle Williams), it becomes clear that Venom survived and is bonded with Eddie. In addition to getting his reputation back as an ace reporter, Eddie and Venom have both vowed to win back Anne in some capacity. But for now, he's off to conduct "the interview of a lifetime." Is it with Spider-Man? Maybe Tony Stark? Not even close.
The Mid-Credits Scene: When I Get Outta Here...
The first scene comes after an ink blot test style end credits sequence where Eminem's soundtrack rap plays, and you'll be glad it's interrupted by this scene, no matter how bad it is.
Eddie Brock is riding his motorcycle up to San Quentin Prison, and he tells Venom to lay low, because this interview is a big deal. As Eddie walks through the prison, a security guard doesn't give his seal of approval for the interview, but Brock explains that he's just hoping to be able to pull some more names from the serial killer in question to help the FBI. But the security guard warns him that he won't be helping anybody out if he doesn't follow the rules.
The security guard, sarcastically cheerful, says "Hey, Red, I got a visitor for ya!" Brock walks into a room where a single prisoner is sitting in an isolated cell in the middle of the room. It's a man with a head full of curly, red hair, and when that head turns, the face is none other than Woody Harrelson.
He greets Eddie, and asks "Do you mind if we forego the whole creepy serial killer thing?" He says that he could talk about all the arterial spray from his crime scenes, but it's clear he'd rather not. Suddenly he asks Eddie to come closer into the light so he can see him better. Totally unprompted, he says, "When I get outta here, and I will, there's gonna be carnage."
Venom II: There's Gonna Be Carnage
That really subtle line of dialogue confirms the plan for a Venom sequel, should one actually get made, will have Woody Harrelson playing Cletus Kasady, one of the most notorious serial killers to ever grace Marvel Comics. How do we know that? Well, because the character is known for his wild red hair, and eventually he becomes bonded with a symbiote that transforms him into a red and black version of Venom known as Carnage.
In Marvel Comics, Cletus Kasady encounters the symbiote because Eddie Brock is sharing a prison cell with him. Temporarily separated from Venom, the symbiote eventually finds its way back to Eddie, but not before leaving an offspring behind that bonds with Cletus Kasady and turns him into one of the deadliest villains in Marvel Comics.
Much like Venom, the symbiote Carnage gives Cletus Kasay incredible shape-shifting abilities, superhuman strength greater than Venom and Spider-Man combined, the ability to shoot and mold the symbiote substance into weapons (much like Riot in the movie) and more. This deadly array of abilities has made him a foe for Spider-Man, Deadpool and Fantastic Four, but most notoriously, he's quite the foil for Venom.
So if a Venom sequel ends up coming together. You can bet that Cletus Kasady will somehow get bonded with a symbiote.
The Post-Credits Scene: Into the Spider-Verse
For anyone hoping to see another credits scene featuring Venom, perhaps one that has Eddie Brock encountering Peter Parker or someone else from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you might have been disappointed when the second credits scene started. First of all, not only is there no reference to the Marvel Cinematic Universe at all in Venom, but the second credits scene has nothing to do with the movie you just saw. That's because it's a sneak preview of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
The scene in question first follows Miles Morales in a homemade Spider-Man suit as he evades The Prowler through the busy streets of New York City. It showcases the incredible and vibrant animation style, and gives us a good idea of how action will play out in the first animated big screen adventure for Spider-Man.
After Spidey thinks he's evaded The Prowler, we find him in a graveyard, and he visits the grave of none other than Peter Parker. He's apologizing for not being able to be the hero that Parker apparently thought he could be, and he wishes the original Spider-Man was still there to help him out. Then suddenly, wearing sweatpants and a coat over his Spider-Man suit, Peter Parker steps up behind him. But he catches Miles off guard so quickly that Parker accidentally gets knocked out, but not before shooting out a little web that is stuck on Miles' chest.
Hearing a ruckus, some cops show up in the graveyard and start to chase Miles, who realizes he can't run anywhere with Peter Parker still stuck to him via web. So he picks up the knocked out cold body of Peter Parker and jumps and swings away with the cops in pursuit. What follows is a comedic chase where Parker gets banged up through the city, described as a homeless corpse being dragged by a kid. It's hilarious, stylish, and it's a fantastic tease for a movie that clearly knows what it's doing with Spider-Man characters.