Venom (2018) vs Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) – Face Off

Say what you will about Sony, but they are nothing if not determined. After all these years, they still hold the cinematic rights to the Spider-Man franchise as well as all the webhead’s ancillary characters, and boy, have they been taking those fringe characters out for a walk. At this point, we’ve had not one but two Venom movies, a Morbius flick, and there are Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web pictures on the way too. They’ve also collaborated with Marvel Studios on their Tom Holland Spider-trilogy, which has naturally gone down like gangbusters.

While they may be overzealous in thinking this is mostly their doing, the reality is it’s likely Kevin Feige and the Marvel Cinematic Universe providing most of the allure there. If you don’t believe me, look no further than Morbius bombing for a second time recently. Regardless, they’ve taken the positive reception to their Holland-Spidey flicks with encouragement, and here we are now with the beginnings of a Sony Spider-verse. The Venom movie was first out of the gate in 2018, to a surprisingly huge box office take and audiences apparently having had an overwhelmingly good time with Tom Hardy’s turn as Eddie Brock.

A sequel was inevitable, and fans were finally gifted with Venom: Let There Be Carnage — delayed a couple times due to the ongoing pandemic, but eventually dropping in October 2021. The sequel adapted fan-favorite antagonist Carnage, but how did it stack up against the surprise hit that the first movie became? You know what it’s time for… FACE OFF! This episode of Face Off is written by Daniel Woburn, narrated by Shawn Knippelberg, and edited by Ric Solomon. Don’t let us have the final word! Tell us which is your favorite symbiotic story — Venom or Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage?