Phase 4 of the MCU has expanded the world drastically over the last year, bringing in outsiders like Deadpool, and introducing new characters from the comics like Kate Bishop. Marvel has done all this while continuing the stories of heroes that popped up in previous Phases, like fan favorites Bucky Barnes and Loki, but the lineup of characters is steadily growing.

Two of the newest additions, established through a post-credit scene, are Eddie Brock and Venom, who found themselves in a whole new world of trouble (literally) at the end of Venom: Let There Be Carnage. The scene shows the pair relaxing while watching TV, up to their usual bickering, before an Earth-shattering vibration transports them to a mysterious tropical oasis. The vibrations in question are most likely the aftershock of Doctor Strange’s spell gone wrong, which fans have seen glimpses of in the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer.

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Not only does this scene establish Eddie and Venom as MCU characters, it confirms their arrival in the MCU during the events of No Way Home, meaning Venom is currently trapped in the same timeline as all the other villains who found their way to the MCU from other branches of the Spider-Verse. Although that’s exciting enough for fans that are anxiously awaiting the release of No Way Home, a fan theory from Reddit user eldritchBat dug a little deeper into the conversation Eddie and Venom were having before their trip across the multiverse, proposing the idea that Hardy’s Venom already has knowledge of Spider-Man.

venom eddie let there be carnage

Before being teleported, the theory notes, Venom tells Eddie that symbiotes have a “hive mind” consciousness that spans across multiple different universes. He doesn’t go into too many details, claiming that his knowledge and understanding of the world would melt Eddie’s “tiny” human mind, but it’s easy to deduce that symbiotes have a collection of their own memories, as well as a collection of memories formed by other symbiotes.

The Reddit theory expanded upon this idea when analyzing Venom’s strange reaction to seeing Holland’s Peter Parker on screen, which makes much more sense given the nature of the symbiotes’ hive mind consciousness. If Venom is able to recall knowledge and memories from other timelines, thanks to his connection to all the other symbiotes in the world, that means he should remember there being an alternate version of himself that once fought with Peter Parker.

No Way Home has established that all 3 Spider-Man series from the 2000s are MCU canon, meaning the showdown between Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker and Topher Grace’s Venom are also now part of that canon. According to the theory, this information, in combination with the fact that symbiotes have a have mind, means that Hardy’s Venom remembers what Grace’s Venom went through while battling it out with Maguire’s Spider-Man. Thus, explaining why Venom seemed to know who Holland’s Spider-Man was when he saw him on the television.

let there be carnage post credit scene

When Hardy’s Venom sees Holland’s Spider-Man, he says “that guy,” as if they’ve already met in the past, and in a way, they sort of did. The theory suggests that because of the hive mind consciousness the symbiotes have, Hardy’s Venom remembers his life in the Maguire timeline and can recall Peter Parker, AKA Spider-Man, being the name of the person responsible for “his” death.

This could mean a few things for the future of the franchise. Firstly, there’s a chance that the big surprise Marvel has been promising fans during Spider-Man: No Way Home isn’t the reappearance of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, but perhaps it's getting to see the new Venom for the first time in the MCU. Recent events, like leaked photos and the release of the new trailer, have led viewers to believe that their return is almost certain, so now that the cat is out of the bag, Marvel Studios will have some heavy lifting to do in order to deliver on their promise of big things, without disappointing fans.

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Secondly, as the fan theory says, if Venom isn’t in No Way Home, he’ll be a key player in future Spider-Man movies. Tom Holland has spoken out about the fate of Spider-Man after the release of No Way Home and confirmed that the next step in Peter Parker’s journey will take him into his college years. Another Venom/Spider-Man crossover has been high on the list of things long-time MCU fans are itching to see, and since No Way Home is already packed full of recurring villains and characters from across the multiverse, waiting to involve Venom might be the best move.

It’ll be difficult to top No Way Home, so Marvel’s best chance at creating the same level of hype for future projects would be to put the brakes on having Holland’s Spider-Man and Hardy’s Venom come face to face. Giving them a movie dedicated entirely to their own rivalry would allow for more development in the story, without rushing their journey and failing to meet viewer expectations.

Spider-Man: No Way Home hits theaters December 17, 2021.

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