Following the divisive teaser released in February, Sony Pictures finally gives fans what they want in a Venom trailer: namely, Venom. Yes, we see the popular alien symbiote in, if not all then most of, his grinning, tongue-flicking glory in the first full-length trailer, although we have to wait until the very end for that (naturally). Before that, we're given a lot of action, and a significant amount of clues about the film's plot.

First and foremost, there's confirmation of multiple symbiotes, although we don't see them in their final forms, leaving us to question what roles Scream, Phage, Riot, Lasher and Agony (never mind Carnage) might play in the film. However, that's just one of numerous questions we have about Venom. We break down some of the others below.

Welcome to Earth, Alien Symbiote

Venom Symbiote Cannister Crash Site

As in the teaser, we're taken to the crash site of either an alien vessel or a space shuttle, which introduces the alien symbiote -- or symbiotes -- to Earth. In Marvel comics, Venom's first human host was actually Spider-Man, who acquired what he initially believed to be wondrous new costume while trapped on a distant planet during 1984’s Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars. Peter Parker brought his snazzy new threads with him back to Earth, where the sentient goo soon attempted to permanently bond to his body.

RELATED: Venom Transformation Clip Leaks in Advance of Trailer

Depicting the symbiote as some sort of cosmic stowaway certainly streamlines the origin, and cuts Spider-Man out of the picture, which is probably for the best, as Sony Pictures' co-production deal with Marvel Studios apparently doesn't permit Tom Holland's wall-crawler to appear in Venom.

That's Symbiotes, Plural

Venom Symbiote Cannisters

Although we've known for months that Venom draws inspiration from the 1993 Marvel Comics miniseries Venom: Lethal Protector, which introduced the alien's "offspring" Scream, Phage, Riot, Lasher and Agony, and the 1995 Spider-Man story arc “Planet of the Symbiotes," this is the first visual confirmation of multiple symbiotes in the film. (The same shot in the teaser trailer was cleverly edited so as not to reveal the second canister of undulating black goo.)

RELATED: Carnage Co-Creator Reacts to Rumors of Woody Harrelson Venom Movie Role

The question is whether there were several alien lifeforms aboard the crashed vessel or, like its comic-book counterpart, the Life Foundation has discovered a way to spawn offspring from the original.

Life Foundation May Be a Misnomer

Venom Tom Hardy Eddy Brock Riz Ahmed Carlton Drake

As in the comics, Eddie Brock is an investigative journalist, here on the trail of the Life Foundation, which in the source material is a a shadowy corporate survivalist group run by Dr. Carlton Drake (played in the film by Riz Ahmed of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). This trailer suggests the organization may not be so much focused on creating a utopian society for wealthy clients as it is with discovering, or guiding, the next step in human evolution.

That's not to say this version of the Life Foundation is altruistic, however. Brock's question to Drake, regarding allegations that the organization uses vulnerable volunteers in tests that kill them, comes from his notebook glimpsed in the first official image from the film.

Page 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='A%20Host%20of%20Questions%20About%20the%20Symbiotes']

Exposing Drake's Experiments

Venom Tom Hardy Eddie Brock Followed

Jenny Slate plays a whistle-blower who fills in Eddie Brock about what the Life Foundation is really up doing: bonding the alien symbiotes with human hosts in experiments overseen by the dastardly Drake.

RELATED: A Spider-Man Cartoon Told Venom's Origin Better Than a Movie Ever Can

The teaser, with its shots of Eddie in an MRI machine, accompanied by Tom Hardy's voiceover about mortality, certainly implied the film might also draw from the 2003 recton Venom: The Hunger, in which the symbiote is drawn to the cancer within his body. However, now we're not so sure, as this trailer depicts Eddie as a journalist attempting to uncover the truth, and not someone in search of a miracle cure.

Meet the OTHER Hosts

Venom Symbiote Experiment

The trailer reveals a trio of Dr. Drake's test subjects, and suggests that a.) they may not be fully informed about what they've signed up for; and b.) that the bonding process isn't pleasant. At all. Marvel's Venom: Lethal Protector introduced the symbiote's five initial offspring -- Scream, Phage, Riot, Lasher and Agony -- so we can likely presume these "volunteers" represent at least a couple of those villainous creations.

However, it's certainly worth pointing out that Woody Harrleson, long rumored to appear in Venom as serial killer Cletus Kasady, who bonds with a symbiote to become Carnage, is nowhere to be seen in the trailer. (Neither is he named in Sony's cast list.) That leaves us to wonder whether the rumor is bunk, or if the filmmakers are holding back Carnage for a cliffhanger ending or a post-credits scene.

How Does Eddie Bond With the Symbiote?

Venom Eddie Brock Test

The trailer cuts from a screaming test subject of the Life Foundation to these computer screens. However, you'll notice the assorted scans are labeled "Subject Brock," which means, of course, that these are for Tom Hardy's character. Scenes in the teaser and, more briefly, in this trailer would lead us to believe that Eddie Brock stumbles upon the symbiote while snooping around the Life Foundation's San Francisco headquarters, where he's attacked by one of the "volunteers."

RELATED: Venom's Teaser Trailer Is Far More Revealing Than You Think

Presumably, this sequence comes after Eddie is apprehended by Dr. Drake's thugs; indeed, later in the trailer, he appears to be Drake's captive, yet warns, "You should be extremely afraid." It's possible that Eddie represents the first truly successful union between a human and one the parasitic aliens, and the Life Foundation is determined to figure out what makes him different from the others.

Page 3: [valnet-url-page page=3 paginated=0 text='Here%20Comes%20Venom%20...%20and%20His%20Teeth']

'Why Would We Do That?'

Venom Eddie Brock Powers

Eddie struggles at his apartment with the symbiote taking hold of his body -- "I'm feeling really sick," he tells someone on the phone -- and is hurled across the bathroom by an unseen entity that calls his name (Hardy voices Venom also). Of course, that's nothing compared to what the alien has in store for the Life Foundation's goons, as we get our first look at Venom's shape-shifting abilities.

The thug says, "I'm going to need Mr. Drake's property back," which would seem to imply Eddie stole something from the Life Foundation -- either one of those canisters or a sample of the black goo -- and they're unaware he's actually bonded with the symbiote. Well, that's about to change. It's probably also important that Eddie asks, "Why would we do that?" after taking out the gunmen, suggesting his union with Venom is occurring rapidly.

A Deal With the Devil

Venom Tom Hardy Eddie Brock Pinned to Wall

Seemingly conceding that the symbiote isn't going anywhere, Eddie attempts to bargain with the creature that now shares his body. "If you're going to stay," he says, "you will only hurt bad people." However, it's clear that Eddie isn't the one in charge.

"The way I see it," the disembodied voice growls as Eddie is thrown against a wall by an invisible force, "we can do whatever we want. Do we have a deal?" In short, there's no longer an "I" and a "you," only we.

There's An Upside to An Alien Parasite (Really!)

Venom Motorcycle Chase

This unwanted partnership isn't without benefits for Eddie, however. A montage of his pursuit by Drake's minions depicts the symbiote overturning pursuing vehicles with the amorphous black tentacles that suddenly appear from Eddie's body; he's also able to run through a fallen tree and leap from an upper story, both thanks to the alien's influence. Perhaps most importantly, as Eddie is about to be thrown from his speeding motorcycle, the tentacles reappear to return him to (relative) safety.

Mind you, the symbiote isn't doing any of this out of some fondness for Eddie. It's a parasite that requires a living host in order to survive; these are all acts of self-preservation.

Spider-Man (Logo) No More?

Venom

The closest we come to a full-body shot of Venom comes in the closing moments of the trailer, as the black ooze overtakes Eddie Brock for the big reveal. Although it's difficult to tell for sure, it doesn't appear that the film's Venom has the enormous stylized white spider emblazoned on its torso. And that would certainly makes sense, as Venom has excised Spider-Man from the origin story.

In this interpretation, the symbiote wasn't rejected by Peter Parker, and Eddie Brock doesn't bear a grudge against Spider-Man, and, thus, don't bond over the mutual hatred for the wall-crawler.

'We Are Venom'

venom

That said, Venom does boast the character's other signature elements: the enormous white eyes; the disconcerting and dangerous maw; the even more disconcerting elongated tongue; the white veins coursing through its back form. Despite concerns, and rumors to the contrary, this is very much the fan-favorite creature that rose to prominence in comics, first as a villain and then as an antihero.

All that's missing (maybe) is a sickening trail of saliva ...


Directed by Ruben Fleischer from a script by Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg, Venom stars Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Jenny Slate, Scott Haze, Reid Scott and Riz Ahmed. The film arrives Oct. 5.