Marvel Studios’ New Spider-Man Symbiote Story Sets Up Tom Holland’s Venom

Marvel Studios is finally exploring a symbiote story, and while it won’t impact Tom Holland’s Spider-Man just yet, it could be laying the foundation for an upcoming MCU debut. One of the most popular rivals to appear in every iteration of Spider-Man is Venom and the rest of the symbiotes. However, they have yet to make a meaningful appearance in the MCU.

Fortunately, Marvel Studios has a new testing ground for Spider-Man stories with Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, an animated series that explores the early origins of the hero. In season 2, the show is expected to introduce a symbiote storyline which could have a direct influence over what is coming down the line for Tom Holland’s Spidey.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Is Bringing Venom To The MCU

X user, kepleravocado, has been sharing promotional material for the upcoming season, which features a variety of suits and proudly displays the so-called “symbiote suit,” which is undeniably Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s take on the Venom symbiote.

The suit boasts the distinct art style of the early comics, which featured Venom with the symbiote having a blue tint and a more slender frame than what audiences have seen in more recent adaptations, such as the Sony Venom films starring Tom Hardy.

This is in keeping with the way the series has been going back to the early Spider-Man comics for inspiration, with the art style resembling the original comics, and characters like Peter Parker being drawn in a way that resembles the earliest depictions from back in 1962.

Tom Holland Has Yet To Meet Venom In The MCU

While Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is following a trend that seems to see Peter Parker faced with the symbiotes relatively early in his timeline, the MCU has yet to have Spider-Man meet Venom, despite already having seen the character travel into the depths of space to fight a tyrannical alien on a distant planet.

However, the Venom from the Sony films has actually spent a little time in the MCU, which was shown at the end of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and further developed in the post-credits scene of Spider-Man: No Way Home, before he returns to his own universe, leaving behind a tiny piece of his symbiotic matter within the world inhabited by Tom Holland’s Peter Parker.

This does set up a confrontation between the hero and the symbiotes at some point in the future, but nothing has been confirmed about when this will actually happen. But the upcoming story in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man could prove useful in creating an outline for how it could be done in the MCU.

YFNSM’s Venom May Be Laying The Foundation For Live-Action

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is not set within the traditional MCU, despite being made by Marvel Studios and their associated Marvel Television brand. However, the show could help to influence how the symbiotes are eventually folded into the larger narrative. With the focus on a traditional Spider-Man story and the wide array of characters, it feels like the show is beginning to align more with the films.

At the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter Parker essentially had his story reset, with the rest of the world now unaware of who Peter Parker is. Now, the character has the freedom to connect with a range of new people, and could see his story overlap with what is happening in the animated series.

Depending on how the symbiotes are brought into the animated Marvel world, it could reflect the live-action projects where the symbiotes are already present, but located somewhere far from Peter Parker and New York. Then, the symbiote may inhabit various hosts before combining with Peter, and ultimately forming the Venom persona that is so iconic.

Of course, all of this is speculation, and both the animated Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and the live-action MCU need to figure out how they develop these stories in a way that suits their unique styles, but whatever happens, it’s been a long time coming and will hopefully be worth the wait.

Release Date

January 29, 2025

Network

Disney+

Writers

Charlie Neuner

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  Hudson Thames

  Peter Parker / Spider-Man (voice)

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