VENOM: The Last Dance

*CUT TO THE CHASE*

NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jeremy

The film opens on the planet Klyntar, home of the Symbiotes. Their creator, Knull (Andy Serkis), has been imprisoned there due to his cruel and terrifying ways. He seeks the Codex, which would grant him his freedom and allow him to wreak havoc upon the universe. Knull sends out his minions, the Xenophages, to hunt down the one Symbiote in possession of the Codex.

Eddie Brock and Venom (both Tom Hardy) are drunk in Mexico in Earth-616. The same portals that Knull opened to send the Xenophages through open up to pull the two back to their own universe, in front of the same Bartender (Cristo Fernandez). Venom proceeds to try and make a drink until he and Eddie see that Eddie is a wanted fugitive for the supposed death of Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham). Unable to return to San Francisco, Eddie resolves to head back to New York City. Even though he was banned from there, he claims to have enough dirt on the judge to allow him to clear his name.

On their way out, Eddie and Venom overhear the sounds of panic and danger. They are led to a secret warehouse where dogs are being kept to fight. The four thugs that operate the ring confront Eddie and prepare to kill him, but he lets Venom do his thing and toss the thugs around before setting the dogs loose to take their revenge. Venom then grabs each of the thugs with his tentacles and chomps all of their heads off. Eddie and Venom set the rest of the dogs free and start to make their way toward New York, unaware that a Xenophage is following them.

General Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is summoned by his mysterious boss to investigate the case around Eddie and Venom. He goes to the bar that the two were at since they left behind a sample of Venom. Strickland questions the Bartender about what he saw before ordering his men to bring him in

Somewhere in Nevada, we meet Dr. Teddy Paine (Juno Temple), who is having a nightmare about when she was a child, and her twin brother died when they ran through a thunderstorm. Teddy was struck by lightning, but the current passed through her and electrocuted her brother since he was holding her hand. Teddy gets a call summoning her to Area 51, which is set to be decommissioned in three days time. There, she meets her colleague, Sadie, or “Christmas” (Clark Backo), along with Strickland. Teddy’s lab is researching the other recovered Symbiotes that came to Earth around the same time as Venom. The three then go to a containment cell that is holding Mulligan, who is hosting the Symbiote known as Toxin. Speaking through Mulligan, Toxin warns the three about the threat that Knull poses.

Venom forces Eddie to hang onto a plane on the way to New York. They are attacked by the Xenophage before managing to send it through the turbine (though it regenerates on the ground). Venom makes Eddie jump off and parachute all the way down, landing in the middle of nowhere. Venom then comes clean about Knull and why they are being hunted. The Codex is formed when a Symbiote and its host’s life forces are combined, which happens if a Symbiote saves the host from death. This already happened because Venom revived Eddie when he was impaled by Riot. The Xenophages can detect the Codex if Venom is fully formed, so he stays hidden in Eddie for now. They then spot a horse, and Venom possesses it so that they can move faster.

Strickland sends his mercenaries to track down Eddie and Venom. The two get cornered by a river and must swim to safety. Eddie fights two mercenaries while separated from Venom, and he is forced to shoot one of them in self-defense, which he feels remorseful for. Venom eventually catches up to Eddie and rescues him before they go over a waterfall. Before the mercenaries can take them out, the Xenophage catches up to them, devouring and shredding the mercs like a wood chipper. Eddie and Venom use this opportunity to escape.

Toxin makes his true form visible to Teddy and Sadie, informing them that Venom is carrying the Codex, and as long as he lives, the whole world is in danger. Meanwhile, Strickland is enraged at the loss of his soldiers, and he plans to go after Eddie and Venom himself.

Eddie walks until he comes across a hippie family, the Moons – Martin (Rhys Ifans) and Nova (Alanna Ubach), plus their kids Echo (Hala Finley) and Leaf (Dash McCloud). They give Eddie food and agree to give him a ride as far as Vegas since they are trying to see Area 51 before it is decommissioned. They hit the road and sing “Space Oddity” before the evening falls. Venom muses to Eddie about how he could have been a good family man, especially when he bonds with Leaf after reassuring him that he will not find any scary aliens.

The family drops Eddie and Venom off in Vegas before parting ways. Eddie tries to get into a casino but is denied entry because he is dressed to casually. Venom headbutts the guy unconscious before they find another drunk guy and knock him out too and take his suit. Inside, Eddie and Venom run into Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu), who welcomes them to her room to clean up. She convinces Venom to come out and dance with her, but this leads the Xenophage to track them down easily. Although it runs off once Venom disappears, this allows Strickland and his goons to apprehend Eddie and Venom after separating them.

The Moons arrive at Area 51, just as Eddie wakes up there. Strickland pulls Eddie out of his cell to personally execute him to destroy the Codex (he or Venom has to die), but Venom had latched onto Sadie and then jumps back to Eddie to save him. The Xenophage shows up, with Toxin holding it off long enough to allow Venom to run before the Xenophage eats and shreds him too. The other Symbiotes are soon set free by Teddy and Sadie, with them latching onto other scientists to unleash their true forms. The Symbiotes battle the Xenophage, but it is constantly regenerating and impossible to kill, and it also manages to kill some of the other Symbiotes.

The Xenophage breaks out of the facility, which the Moons witness. Eddie goes after them to get them to safety just as the Xenophage summons other creatures like her to back her up. Sadie, now the Symbiote Lasher, leads the other Symbiotes to fight. Eddie helps the Moons get away after rescuing them from falling from a tower. Venom lures the Xenophages away from killing Lasher by bringing them to a kill zone with help from Strickland, who switches sides after his attempt to kill a Xenophage ends with the accidental death of one of his people. They blow up two Xenophages while Venom rides a motorcycle and decapitates another one. Unfortunately, more and more Xenophages show up, outnumbering them, and one of them kills Lasher after she separates from Sadie. Eddie and Venom know what must be done, and they decide to do it together.

Eddie and Venom walk out into the open to lure the Xenophages to them. Venom wraps all of them within himself and pushes Eddie out of him to a safe distance. Strickland activates a container of acid to shower Venom and the Xenophages together. Venom bids Eddie “bye for now” and covers him, just as Strickland detonates a grenade since he is getting sprayed with acid too, and the entire place blows up, destroying the Xenophages for good. With the Codex gone, Knull is also forced back inside his prison. Teddy activates her own Symbiote, Agony, and uses her super speed to get herself and Sadie to safety before they get caught in the explosion.

Eddie wakes up in a hospital, where a federal official tells him that thanks to what he did, his criminal record has been erased, and he can go back to living a normal life, as long as he doesn’t tell anybody what he encountered.

Eddie finally makes his trip to New York City. He goes to visit the Statue of Liberty, just like Venom wanted. As he sits to enjoy the view, Eddie takes time to remember his best friend.

Mid-Credits Scene: Knull vows revenge and promises to lay waste to the universe now that Venom is gone.

Post-Credits Scene: The Bartender escapes from the remains of Area 51. Not far from him, a cockroach appears to possess a piece of Venom’s Symbiote.

Eddie Brock and Venom are on the run after fleeing San Francisco. Hoping to relocate to New York City, the two head there until they are tracked down by a Xenophage, Symbiote hunters from the planet Klyntar where Venom came from. They were sent by Knull, creator of the Symbiotes that was imprisoned by them for his cruel ways. He wants the Codex, which Venom carries since his and Eddie's life forces were combined after he revived him, and with the Codex, Knull can escape his prison and wreak havoc upon the universe.

General Rex Strickland is also hunting Eddie and Venom, while Dr. Teddy Paine is keeping Detective Patrick Mulligan in her lab since he is infected with the Toxin Symbiote. After the two attempt to hide in Vegas before going back to New York, Strickland captures Eddie and Venom, bringing them to Area 51 where the lab is. Strickland tries to kill Eddie to destroy the Codex (and also retaliation since his mercenaries were killed by the Xenophage, and one by Eddie in self-defense), but Venom saves Eddie. This leads the Xenophage to Area 51, leading to a battle with the other Symbiotes latching onto the scientists, including Teddy's colleague Sadie, though many of them, including Toxin, are killed.

When more Xenophages show up, Eddie and Venom realize they are outnumbered. Venom pulls the Xenophages within his own body and pushes Eddie out to a safe distance. With Strickland's help, Venom stands under an acid container to let himself and the Xenophages get melted. Strickland blows himself and the whole place up with a grenade, while Teddy uses her own Symbiote, Agony, to save herself and Sadie. The Xenophages are gone, and Knull remains imprisoned, but Eddie loses his best friend.

Eddie wakes up and learns his criminal record is erased due to his heroics. He goes to New York and visits the Statue of Liberty, like Venom wanted to do. Meanwhile, Knull swears revenge, while it is implied that part of Venom survived and is now latched onto a cockroach.