18 Easter Eggs—and A Shocking Mid Credits Scene—From 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage'

Image via Sony

In the comics, a young, orphaned Cletus Cassady / Carnage stayed at the St. Estes Home for Boys, where he was abused by the older wards. He eventually burned the home down, and it becomes the site of a major battle during the Maximum Carnage arc. 

In the movie, the name of the orphanage has been updated to St. Estes Home for Unwanted Children, and both Carnage and Shriek spent their childhoods there. As adults, they burn down St. Estes together.

In the comics, the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane is where both Cletus Kassady and Frances Barrison are imprisoned; a doctor tries to take Kassady’s blood and inadvertently releases Carnage, who kills the staff and frees both himself and Barrison.

In the movie, Barrison was transferred from St. Estes to Ravencroft as a youth, so that researchers could study and control her powers. Kassady breaks her out of Ravencroft after escaping from prison.

In the comics, the police detective character, Pat Mulligan, eventually becomes the host of the Toxin symbiote, which is the offspring of the Carnage symbiote. Mulligan’s eyes glow blue at the very end of this movie, suggesting that something otherworldly is afoot.

Shriek has a damaged left eye; Mulligan shot her during her transfer from St. Estes to Ravencroft. when she attempted to escape. 

In the comics, Shriek’s left eye has a trademark diamond design around it, and it glows when she uses her psychic powers—specifically, when she turns it on the NYC populace and incites them to riot.

Eddie Brock’s motorcycle is a Ducati Panigale. It is a racing bike and an upgrade from his Ducati Scrambler from the first film.

In the comics, Cletus receives the Carnage symbiote after sharing a prison cell with Eddie. In the movie, Cletus receives the Carnage symbiote after biting Eddie’s fingers, drawing blood.

The unexplained way that Shriek acquired her powers, and the way it’s framed as something potentially dangerous and worthy of study, is very reminiscent of the way that young mutants are treated in the X-Men storylines. Perhaps Sony is laying the groundwork for additional crossovers down the line.

Marvel and comic book legend Stan Lee may no longer be with us, but he still manages to make a cameo of sorts. He’s on the cover of a magazine in Mrs. Chen’s store, and the Venom symbiote considers taking a copy.

Eddie’s Detroit Lions jacket and grey undershirt combo is a direct reference to Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop. The year of that movie’s release, 1984, is the same year that the Venom symbiote made its debut as Spider-Man’s alien suit. Venom wouldn’t bond to Eddie Brock until 1988.

We see that Eddie Brock works for the Daily Bugle, as he does in both the comics and in the Sam Raimi films. In those continuities, the Bugle is the catalyst for a professional feud between Peter Parker and Eddie Brock, which eventually spills over into the Spider-Man and Venom rivalry.

The glass barriers and rock walls of Shriek’s Ravencroft cell are reminiscent of Hannibal Lecter’s underground holding cell in The Silence of the Lambs. Like Hannibal, Shriek enjoys tormenting the guards who bring her dinner.

We see a wanted poster for “E. Larson” on the wall of Mulligan’s office. Erik Larsen was a notable Spider-Man and Venom artist during the ’90s and is famous for giving Venom his long symbiotic tongue.

Just as they are in the comics, the symbiotes in the movie are vulnerable to sound waves. Sound waves form a significant plot point in the Maximum Carnage comic arc; Spider-Man takes a sonic gun from the Fantastic 4’s headquarters to use as a weapon on Carnage. In the new movie, the clanging of the church bells affects the climactic Venom vs. Carnage fight, significantly weakening both participants.

There’s a cameo by British-Nigerian rapper Little Simz in the Venom club scene, where we also hear a remix of her “Venom” track.

We get another appearance in this movie from She-Venom, when the symbiote briefly takes over Anne Weying’s body. In the comics, Anne cannot bear the gruesome acts she committed while bonded to the symbiote, and she eventually kills herself by jumping off a building.

The Venom symbiote refers to himself and Eddie as lethal protectors. This is a direct reference to the Lethal Protector comic arc from 1993, in which Eddie Brock forms a truce with Spider-Man and moves to San Francisco, establishing himself as an anti-hero. The moniker was later reappropriated as Lethal Protectors under the Marvel comic crossover Absolute Carnage.