The Duality of Humans in Venom

Image Source: Marvel Entertainment

The recent Marvel hit, Venom, digs deeper than the action film it presents itself as.

Disgraced journalist Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), after losing his fiancé and job because of a scandal involving the ‘Life Foundation’, attempts to take down the nefarious foundation that claims to be  dedicated to developing cures for neurodegenerative diseases, and discovers the truth behind its methods of testing new cures. In the process, Eddie becomes host to the foundation’s latest possible cure: an alien named Venom, intent on taking over the world with his fellow aliens.

Although the plot seems pretty straightforward and typical of Marvel—unlikely hero saves world from outside invasion—the underlying theme of this film is particularly deep and troubling. A truly evil force possesses a naturally good human and the human, by the end of the film, comes to terms with his newfound violent and primal side. The concept is not new. Dualism—in this case, man being both good and evil with a delicate balance to maintain—has now been revived into popular culture. Venom effectively spins the duality of humans to be a character trait worthy of two hours of your time, making for an incredibly interesting and action-packed film.