Tom Hardy’s Venom Battles MCU Spider-Man In McFarlane-Inspired Fan Art

Tom Hardy's Venom puts a beating on Tom Holland's MCU version of Spider-Man in a new piece of fan art inspired by Todd McFarlane. The latter has regained prominence in recent years as he writes and directs a new Spawn reboot, but he's also widely known and respected for his artwork on the Amazing Spider-Man comics, which included the first full appearance of Venom. The symbiote alien remains one of Marvel's most popular characters, and most under-represented on the big screen, as Hardy's solo turn as the title character in Venom is on the horizon.

Although Venom's October release will keep most Spider-Man fans engaged, it's unclear whether Spidey himself will have any involvement in the standalone movie, which is not expected to be connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But that hasn't stopped rumors from percolating about a possible cameo from Holland as the MCU's edition of Peter Parker/Spider-Man. And now there's new fan art that envisions what that appearance could look like if it happened.

Related: Todd McFarlane Wants Venom & Spawn Movie Crossover

As you can see below, via "Artoftimetravel" on Instagram, the new artwork depicts Hardy's Venom on top of Holland's Spider-Man with the upper hand in a bloody dispute. The artist also released a comparison post that reveals the inspiration behind the artwork is the cover for McFarlane's Amazing Spider Man No. 316.

First published on June 10, 1989, the comic followed Venom's quest for revenge against Spider-Man, who had caught him and sent him off to the Vault prison in The Amazing Spider-Man No. 300 - Venom's first full appearance. Some elements of these comics inspired Eddie Brock's narrative in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3, but it's unclear how much the original stories influenced the plot of the upcoming Venom.

Of course, an entire solo movie centered around Venom is a far cry from the character's superfluous, ultimately under-served appearance in Spider-Man 3. Producers pressured Raimi to include Venom in the commercially successful but critically polarizing sequel, despite the character being one that the director didn't fully support or feel completely invested in creating. Venom director Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) is ostensibly doing the polar opposite of that, and perhaps even forging a new story between the title character and Spider-Man.

The rumor is that Venom could include a cameo by Peter Parker, but not Spider-Man. There are theories as to where exactly the character could fit in. Fleischer would neither confirm nor deny the rumor, but hinted at the potential for future crossovers. So in light of what's known, it's more likely that a Venom/Spider-Man clash wouldn't come until a later movie, if and when Hardy becomes the MCU's version of Venom. At this point, a Peter Parker cameo in Venom would be exciting enough.

Source: "Artoftimetravel" Instagram [1, 2]

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