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Notice! This post contains SPOILERS for Poison: The last danceVenom: The Last Dance features a wide collection of Easter eggs and Marvel references. Amidst the massive symbiote chaos and the live-action introduction of Knull the Symbiote God, the final film in the series Poison the trilogy starring Tom Hardy features some very exciting nods. This includes references to the previous Poison movies, Marvel Comics and even the MCU.
After his battle against Carnage in San Francisco and a brief visit to Earth-616, Venom: The Last Dance sees Eddie and his other symbiote running away like fugitives. Not only are they wanted by the police and a government organization tasked with studying symbiotes, but the minions of Knull the Symbiote God (Andy Serkis) are also after Brock/Venom. To that end, here are the biggest Easter eggs and references you can find on Venom: The Last Dance.
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Knull’s Origins
Direct from Marvel Comics
Venom: The Last Dance begins with Knull trapped on the world known as Klyntar, the symbiote word for “cage.” Having been imprisoned by his own creations, the reveal that the symbiotes transformed and trapped their creator was ripped straight from the comics before the King in Black was inadvertently freed by Eddie Brock and Venom before 2020. King in Black crossover in the comics by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman.
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Xenophages
Symbiote killers
Confirmed to be the symbiote-killing monsters known as Xenophages in the original comics, Venom: The Last Dance adds the twist that these creatures were also created by Knull after the symbiotes’ betrayal. However, the Xenophages are simply another alien species in the comics, rather than being creations of the King in Black.
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Eddie and Venom MCU Post-Credits Scene
Some slight ret-conning
Eddie and Venom’s story begins with a re-imagining of the post-credits scene in late 2021 Spider-Man: No Way Home which revealed that the two were transported to the MCU, albeit in Mexico rather than New York like the rest of the Spider-Man film’s villains. However, The last dance version shows Eddie and Venom being thrown back through a portal, rather than disappearing in a burst of light as originally depicted.
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Tired of this multiverse shit
Venom agrees with Deadpool
Returning to his own reality, Venom comments that he is tired of this.”shit multiverse“. Hilariously, this is a similar sentiment held by Deadpool as seen in this year’s film. Deadpool and Wolverine. Both are seemingly poignant commentaries on the biggest influx of multiverse-focused superhero movies in recent years. After all, they are both part of the MCU’s ongoing Multiverse Saga.
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Eddie expelled from New York
A reference to Eddie’s comic book origins before Venom
Realizing that they have become fugitives, Eddie decides that he and Venom should go to New York, as he was dirt on a judge who they can blackmail for help. He also mentions that he was kicked out of New York, as mentioned in the first Poison. Just like in the comics, Eddie got into trouble with an editor at the Daily Globe, a major rival to the Daily Bugle, explaining his move to San Francisco.
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Is it still a piece of symbiote in the MCU?
Venom may still live
Eagle-eyed viewers will notice that the piece of symbiote that remained in the MCU likely hasn’t been recovered in Mexico yet. As such, this could have some major implications for the future of Sony’s universe and Earth-616. Not only could this symbiote find its way into Tom Holland’s Spider-Man for his own Symbiote Saga in the MCU, but it could also be a means of reuniting Eddie with Venom after the events of Venom: The Last Dance.
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Eddie hanging upside down
You can’t help but think about Spider-Man
While fighting the gang of dog fighters, Eddie is shown talking to one of the thugs while hanging upside down from one of Venom’s tendrils. As such, it’s not hard to think of multiple iterations of Spider-Man that are constantly hanging upside down from their webs.
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The superhero who can’t fly
“Want to bet?”
After Eddie complains that Venom can’t fly, the symbiote suggests that he actually can. Although the pair are later shown hanging off the side of a plane, this could also be a reference to Venom in 2020. King in Black who grew his own dragon wings at the end of the crossover. Likewise, Venom also got wings at the end of Insomniac Spider-Man 2 game. Perhaps the same could happen with the live-action Venom when and if he ends up facing off against Knull.
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Rex Strickland
A symbiote host in the comics
Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Rex Strickland in Venom: The Last Dance. Although the same does not happen in the film, Rex from the comics was linked to a symbiote and served in Vietnam alongside Nick Fury and Wolverine, receiving the codename “Tyrannosaurus” alongside other soldiers linked to the symbiote.
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Mulligan’s original symbiote left him for dead
Toxin, descendant of carnage
Patrick Mulligan is saved from mortal wounds received at the end of Let there be carnage thanks to Project Imperium and Doctor Teddy Payne. Bonding with a new symbiote, it is revealed that the original symbiote left Mulligan for dead. Having come from Carnage, it can be assumed that this first symbiote was the Toxin of the comics, Mulligan’s symbiote on the page.
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Knull Spiral
The Classic Symbol of the Symbiote God
As Mulligan and his new symbiote reveal Knull’s dangers to Rex, Payne, and Sadie Christmas, a sequence on Klyntar reveals the codex needed to free Knull from his prison. Likewise, his classic spiral symbol is shown when the King in Black corrupts symbiotes in the comics.
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All black, the necrosword
Also wielded by Gorr, the God Butcher
Knull, the Symbiote God, is also shown raising his massive sword above his head. This is All-Black the Necrosword, a powerful blade created by Knull that was lost in the comics, only to be wielded by Gorr the God Butcher (who recently debuted in the MCU played by Christian Bale). As such, it would be very exciting if a similar connection was eventually established on-screen and across universes.
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Rhys Ifans’ Martin Has a Possible Lizard Nod
Next to the family van
While Rhys Ifans played Doctor Curt Conners, aka The Lizard, in the previous Sony Marvel films, he plays Martin in Venom: The Last Dancea hippie who believes in aliens taking his family to see Area 51 before it is completely decommissioned. While there’s no apparent connection to Connors, there is a “lizard person” in Martin’s van (who is covered in alien paraphernalia), and it could be a subtle nod to his previous role as a Marvel villain.
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“Don’t say his name”
Not unlike Voldemort from Harry Potter
When Eddie asks Venom about his creator, the symbiote struggles to say Knull’s name and shushes Eddie when he says it. To that end, it looks very similar to Harry Potter and the wizarding world’s fear of saying Voldemort’s name.
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The origins of the Codex
During the first Poison Riot movie
Venom confirms that the codex was created when he revived Eddie in his first film after Brock was stabbed by Carlton Drake/Riot. Likewise, the codex also exists in the comics, a means of retaining all of a host’s memories and consciousness within the larger symbiote’s hive mind (even after death).
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poisonous horse
It also exists in the comics!
Needing a quick way to cross the desert, Venom bonds with a horse. Humorously, “Venom Horse” recently premiered before Venom: The Last Dance as a multiversal variant (and he is notably quite eloquent and informative).
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Six symbiotes in area 55
Agony, Lasher, Phage and more
Six symbiotes are revealed in Area 55, having been contained by Project Imperium after landing on Earth. Once the first Xenophage invades the facility, the symbiotes are released and bond with nearby humans, aiding Venom and fighting the symbiote hunter to ensure Knull remains trapped on Klyntar. This notably includes Sadie Christmas, who becomes Lasher, a security guard named Jim, who apparently bonds with Phage, as well as Mulligan and his serpent-like other, who was the first symbiote to be eaten by the Xenophage.
Doctor Payne herself teams up with Agony near the end of the battle. Additionally, Teddy Payne’s name is likely derived from Marvel Comics’ Thaddeus Paine, a Venom and Moon Knight villain on the page. There is also a red symbiote with fire powers and two symbiotes that fuse, forming a two-headed version of their hosts.
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The end is Knull
A possible king slogan on black crossover
During Mulligan and his symbiotes’ warning, he says that “The end is Knull“. This was almost certainly a promotional slogan during the release of the Marvel film King in Black crossover and its various related problems.
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You would be a good father
Referencing Dylan Brock?
While hitchhiking with Martin and his family, Venom tells Eddie that he would be a good father. As such, this could be a potential nod to Eddie’s son Dylan in the comics, a Venom host who is also known as Codex in a future timeline. Currently, Dylan and Eddie are at odds over the Venom symbiote in the Marvel film. Poison War crossing.
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Thelma and Luisa
Fugitives on the run
Upon entering a Las Vegas casino, Eddie and Venom refer to each other as Thelma and Louise. This is quite appropriate, and Eddie and Venom’s self-awareness is very on point considering 1991 Thelma and Luisa It’s a classic buddy-on-the-run movie.