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Interesting, because I feel completely the opposite, though I'd guess you and I have fundamentally different views on Venom's character, probably BECAUSE of how we see Spider-Man's role in his story. I've honestly found Venom significantly more interesting than Spider-Man ever since playing Maximum Carnage back in '94 since that was really my exposure to the character since I didn't properly read comics until way later in my life. (That's exacerbated now because I've continually grown largely disinterested in Peter Parker, and vastly more interested in the derivative incarnations he lead to: case in point, I'm currently only reading Miles Morales, Gwen, & Venom's ongoing series from the Spider-fam).
I'd be more than willing to venture that most folk who're interested in seeing a Venom film are most interested in seeing something actually about Venom being the main focus. Venom already being the extant Anti-Hero and digging into more about the Symbiotes rather than retreading the Black Suit relationship with Spider-Man where Venom only really exists in the later half and basically just gets to exist as the villain placed directly in Spider-Man's shadow is the best way to do that.
It's worth remembering that Spider-Man Homecoming didn't even cover Peter's origin story (because it's been done to death), and Marvel even did the same thing with The Incredible Hulk by showing the origin in the opening credit montage. Those both show that no matter how pivotal something in an origin is (like Spidey being the first Symbiote host), it's clear that if the most bare basics of a superhero is known well enough by the audience, you can make a successful first film for a new incarnation of a character that ISN'T an origin film. It's not a surprise that Sony's going for the same thing here with Venom, given that he's a massively popular character AND (like it or not) Spider-Man 3 still has the highest worldwide gross of ANY Spider-Man film and Venom was in it. That helps get his story on his feet, since it's a mess it is to get from the origin of the Black Suit, through the interactions Peter has with it, and then into making the Symbiote pair with Eddie to a point where he could take center stage as the main character. So long as the audience has even the most loose basic awareness of Venom, that's totally sufficient for what's needed here, especially insofar as the start of Lethal Protector is concerned.
There's a reason Venom is still one of the most popular characters in things like Marvel Vs. Capcom — and it's not because he used to be a costume for Spider-Man. The draw is all about Eddie's relationship with his fluid extraterrestrial Symbiote, monstrous muscle-bound appearance paired with being an anti-hero. If they want Venom to stand on his own, it makes sense to focus on the origin of who he is as his own hero APART from the connection to Spider-Man — which is really what Lethal Protector and Planet of the Symbiotes are all about, and why the former is how they started Venom's first solo comic series. The story gives him a purpose and development of his own focused on Eddie and the Symbiote where Spider-Man's involvement is entirely tertiary. It gave Eddie a fresh start in a new city and focused on that like a new origin story for him there. On top of that, Planet of the Symbiotes gives the other side of the development to their pair, so that we understand the Symbiote's point of view, and what makes it unique, and ultimately how their relationship together solidifies itself in the very last panel:
"We are content. We've reconciled our ambivalence, accepted what we are. Saving an entire world brought that home once and for all. Now we know it is our immutable destiny to protect innocents, no matter the cost. Which of us decided how to reach that goes is irrelevant; its achievement is all that truly matters. And for that reason, we are… and will always remain… Venom!"
tl;dr — Venom is always better the less you focus on Spider-Man and the more give him room to breathe and be his own hero, and that's exactly what the stories they're using do, because it can be a successful without being an origin story.
X
I'd be more than willing to venture that most folk who're interested in seeing a Venom film are most interested in seeing something actually about Venom being the main focus. Venom already being the extant Anti-Hero and digging into more about the Symbiotes rather than retreading the Black Suit relationship with Spider-Man where Venom only really exists in the later half and basically just gets to exist as the villain placed directly in Spider-Man's shadow is the best way to do that.
It's worth remembering that Spider-Man Homecoming didn't even cover Peter's origin story (because it's been done to death), and Marvel even did the same thing with The Incredible Hulk by showing the origin in the opening credit montage. Those both show that no matter how pivotal something in an origin is (like Spidey being the first Symbiote host), it's clear that if the most bare basics of a superhero is known well enough by the audience, you can make a successful first film for a new incarnation of a character that ISN'T an origin film. It's not a surprise that Sony's going for the same thing here with Venom, given that he's a massively popular character AND (like it or not) Spider-Man 3 still has the highest worldwide gross of ANY Spider-Man film and Venom was in it. That helps get his story on his feet, since it's a mess it is to get from the origin of the Black Suit, through the interactions Peter has with it, and then into making the Symbiote pair with Eddie to a point where he could take center stage as the main character. So long as the audience has even the most loose basic awareness of Venom, that's totally sufficient for what's needed here, especially insofar as the start of Lethal Protector is concerned.
There's a reason Venom is still one of the most popular characters in things like Marvel Vs. Capcom — and it's not because he used to be a costume for Spider-Man. The draw is all about Eddie's relationship with his fluid extraterrestrial Symbiote, monstrous muscle-bound appearance paired with being an anti-hero. If they want Venom to stand on his own, it makes sense to focus on the origin of who he is as his own hero APART from the connection to Spider-Man — which is really what Lethal Protector and Planet of the Symbiotes are all about, and why the former is how they started Venom's first solo comic series. The story gives him a purpose and development of his own focused on Eddie and the Symbiote where Spider-Man's involvement is entirely tertiary. It gave Eddie a fresh start in a new city and focused on that like a new origin story for him there. On top of that, Planet of the Symbiotes gives the other side of the development to their pair, so that we understand the Symbiote's point of view, and what makes it unique, and ultimately how their relationship together solidifies itself in the very last panel:
"We are content. We've reconciled our ambivalence, accepted what we are. Saving an entire world brought that home once and for all. Now we know it is our immutable destiny to protect innocents, no matter the cost. Which of us decided how to reach that goes is irrelevant; its achievement is all that truly matters. And for that reason, we are… and will always remain… Venom!"
tl;dr — Venom is always better the less you focus on Spider-Man and the more give him room to breathe and be his own hero, and that's exactly what the stories they're using do, because it can be a successful without being an origin story.
X
