EntertainmentMoviesAction MoviesMarvel MoviesVenom 3Xenophages: The comic book origins of Venom: The Last Dance’s main monsterWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
EntertainmentMoviesAction MoviesMarvel MoviesVenom 3Xenophages: The comic book origins of Venom: The Last Dance’s main monsterWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
Venom: The Last Danceis in cinemas now. The seemingly final instalment of the trilogy picks up the story of Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock and his alien symbiote pal as they are transported back to their own reality after theSpider-Man: No Way Home post-credits sequence– and immediately find themselves in a whole heap of trouble and on the run.
While much of the press leading up to the release of Venom 3 has focused on the inclusion ofbig bad Knull, the more tangible threat for much of the movie comes from his monstrous army. Knull is trying to get his hands on Venom and for that he despatches some Xenophages – alien hunters who are uniquely capable of sniffing out symbiotes in hiding.
Mild spoilers for Venom: The Last Dance
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
The Xenophage in the comics has a few key differences to the monsters seen in the film. There’s only one of them in The Hunted, and a whole bunch in The Last Dance. The creature we meet in the comics is also capable of speech and chats away to Venom while they fight, where the monsters in the movie only roar and chomp. These Xenophages also don’t seem capable of full shape-shifting as such – though as we see throughout they’re able to reconstitute their bodies after they’ve been blown up.
Their inclusion in Venom: The Last Dance feels like a remix of the comics' lore, similar to how Mulligan has a symbiote here, but isn’t really Toxin as in the comics. Still, it’s cool to see this deep cut creature on the big screen and pleasing to see its creators get a nod in the end credits.
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Venom: The Last Dance is in theaters worldwide now. For more, check out our guide to theupcoming superhero moviesto add to your calendar, as well as how towatch the Spider-Man movies in order.
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