Sometimes studio marketing departments must want to tear their hair out. You spend a year on a project – let’s say Spider-Man 3, one of the most eagerly-awaited sequels of all time – and, apart from a quick, very blurry glimpse in one grainy teaser that made its way onto YouTube, and an official shot that shows pretty much nothing, you’ve managed to keep the look of your principal villain – let’s say Venom, the alien symbiote psycho who makes Spidey’s life hell – a secret.
And then a toy company with rights to the project – let’s say Medicom Toy Corporation – goes and releases an image of their Spider-Man 3 Venom toy, the latest in their line of Marvel RAH (Real Action Heroes) and the cat is out of the bag.
And if you want to purchase one for the princely sum of $99, head on over to the brilliant Sideshow Toys. Of course, this won’t beat seeing Topher Grace (and a whole heap of CG) in the film version, but it’ll do in the meantime.
Immediate reaction? We likey. Sam Raimi and his design team have managed to strike a neat balance between the Venom of the comics and the new black costume that Spidey wears for much of Spider-Man 3 (which, of course, turns out to be the alien symbiote that tries to bond with Peter Parker, is rejected, and then latches onto Grace’s disgruntled photographer Eddie Brock, becoming the utterly looney tunes Venom).
Gone is the thick white spider emblem that dominates Venom’s chest in the funnybooks, instead replaced by the tenebrous grey lines of the black costume, but warped and twisted, to hint at the fragile mind of the Brock/alien combination. The hands are twisted into gnarled claws, and Venom is much more muscle-bound than Spidey, with the impression that things are almost busting out of the costume.
Thankfully, no real changes have been made to Venom’s face, a gaping maw filled with jagging teeth and a lolling tongue. Take a look at Venom’s body, you could still mistake it for Spidey’s black costume – take a look at Venom’s face and you’re in no doubt that this, this is not friendly. Or neighbourhood. In fact, this is damned evil – Peter Parker is going to have his work cut out to stay alive on May 4…
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i think it will obviously look better in the film, however if this is based on that of the character in the movie, then i like where they are going with it! Sami Rami likes a touch of realism in his characters and i certainly has that! although venom usually has buldging muscles. the evil slimy mouth remains, which is good! overall i think venom will look good! as long as they really nail the CGI on him and dont have it as some rush job! ... Read More
The lower jaw particularly looks absolutely stupid. But it is just the toy, I'm fairly sure there's no real correlation to how it'll look in the film. ... Read More
L: crispy_christian
Good God - Calm down everyone - it's a toy! It'll probably look a hell of a lot better on screen
honestly think that the version we see will look like the leaked picture released a few months back. looks fantastic
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