Celebrate Venom’s Tom Hardy For His Birthday In Our Newest Round-Up!

Today is Tom Hardy’s Birthday. He is turning 44 this year, and you’d hardly know he was in his 40’s with how well in shape he is! While a lot of people know him for his American characters, Tom Hardy is actually a British-born actor who was classically trained at the Drama Centre in London. He made his first film debut in Black Hawk Down and has starred in many war-themed films since then.

Fun facts about Tom Hardy:

  • He won a supermodel competition at 21, and had a brief contract with Model 1.
  • He says his acting hero through school was Gary Oldman and got to act alongside him in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
  • He left acting school early due to gaining a part in HBO’s Band of Brothers.
  • Early in his career he worked as a rapper and music producer under the name Tommy No 1.
  • Tom Hardy overcame alcohol and crack cocaine addiction in his 20s after he checked himself in rehab after a serious bout of depression.
  • While he has been in a lot of films, a lot of people love not only his representation of Venom in the movies, but now directly connect him with the character, much to Topher Grace’s joy. So with that in mind, lets talk a little about his main journey as Venom/Eddie Brock in the earlier years of the comics!

    Original Venom
    First Appearance – The Amazing Spider-Man #299 (1988)
    While a lot of people know of Sony’s original run at Venom, with Topher Grace playing Eddie Brock a man disgraced by Peter Parker after he falsifies photos of Spider-Man to make him look like a criminal. In the comic books, Eddie Brock relationship is a little more nuanced and less connected.
     
    Originally Eddie Brock believed a man was “the Sin-Eater” a serial killer. He was so sure he used his career in journalism to out the man. However, when Spider-Man captures the real killer, Brock is disgraced and loses everything. It was during this suicidal and rage induced time that he is found by the symbiote known as Venom which had just been rejected by Peter Parker.
     
    While Eddie Brock is enraged and angered at Spider-Man/Peter Parker, and is a terrifying monster in his Venom form, Brock makes it a point to only kill people he deems worthy of his rage, and protects those he sees as innocent while cutting a wide swath of violence in his goal to destroy Spider-Man.
    Lethal Protector
    First Appearance – Venom: Lethal Protector #1 (1993)
    After his need for vengeance against Spider-Man is removed by Spider-Man saving Anne Weying’s life, Brock and Venom make peace with the web-slinger, and decide to move to San Francisco on the other side of the continent so that he can start over. While there he becomes the Lethal Protector of the homeless people within the city.
     
    However, his life is not a simple existance of heroism as the Life Foundation capture and breed five spawn from Venom. Only with Spider-Man’s help though can he defeat Venom’s progeny Phage, Lasher, Riot, Scream and Agony.
    She-Venom
    First Appearance – Venom #2 (1995)
    In his own direct series, we return in the second part of a two part introduction. The existance of a “new” Sin-Eater puts Anne Weying in danger, and after Sin-Eater shoots Anne, Eddie Brook makes Venom bond with Anne to save her life. However, while bonding she becomes the character known as She-Venom, and loses control violently killing muggers. The event leaves both Anne tramatized, and Venom viewed once again as a monster being hunted by the police.
     
    While Brock eventually gains back the symbiote the experience has cost him Anne, as she no longer wants anything to do with Eddie and Venom as she is disgusted by the violence of their nature and brutality.

    Are you excited for the next Venom movie and Woody Harrelson’s Carnage/Cletus Kasady? Stay tuned to further Comics Round-Ups as we will delve into the character before the movie comes out! Until then, see you next Wednesday!

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