Venom: The Last Dance may have been the end of a trilogy for Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock, but it definitely also opened some big new doors for Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. Venom 3 introduced the new big bad threat of Knull, the “King in Black” who is the god of the symbiotes. On the other side of that conflict stands “Imperium,” a pivotal new organization that (kind of) gets introduced in the threequel.
It’s clear from the events and ending of Venom: The Last Dance that Imperium is set up to do more in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe than what we get in this initial debut.
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Venom 3: What Is Imperium?
Just putting it out there: it feels like Venom: The Last Dance director Kelly Marvel and editor Mark Sanger cut a large portion from the movie, that gave more detail on The Imperium. What we do know is that the group is a mix of scientists led by Dr. Teddy Payne (Juno Temple) and military operatives, run by commander Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Strickland reports to a shadowy figure whom he communicates with over video chat, but the organization’s function is made clear: monitoring, tracking, and containing, studying, and/or neutralizing alien threats on Earth – specifically the symbiotes.
By the end of Venom: The Last Dance, Imperium’s base at Area 51 is left completely destroyed, and the teams run by Payne and Strickland are left decimated, with nearly all of the soldiers, security guards, and scientists dead in the battle with Knull’s Xenophage beasts. That said, it’s pretty clearly hinted that Imperium is an organization operating on an international scale, and it’s easy to assume that the setback of losing one base hasn’t ended the group entirely.
While Strickland died in the Battle of Area 51, Dr. Payne made the leap of bonding with a symbiote suit and becoming the speedster symbiote “Agony.” With her suit and powers, Payne saved research scientist Sadie Christmas (Clark Backo), who had also temporarily bonded with a symbiote, but lost it in the fight. Payne and Christmas know first-hand that Knull is still a threat to the universe – and that the symbiotes are still the only potential allies that can save Earth.
What Is Imperium’s Role In Sony’s Spider-Man Universe?
Right now it seems that Imperium is being set up as the SHIELD of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe – with the first storyline event being Marvel’s King in Black crossover, which saw Venom, Spider-Man, and the heroes of the Marvel Universe having to unite against Knull and an entire symbiote invasion.
The only lingering question is whether or not Knull and the King in Black storyline is only taking place in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, or if it’s an event that could extend all the way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well.
Assuming that “King in Black” is being positioned as an event that could bring the SSU franchise characters together (Venom, Morbius, Kraven the Hunter, the Madame Web Spider-ladies), Imperium would likely serve as something more along the lines of Amanda Waller’s A.R.G.U.S. in the DC Universe – a clandestine group and hard-line leader who coerce the violent, unhinged, characters of the SSU to work together fighting Knull. On the other side of the battle would likely be whatever version of Spider-Man Sony finally introduces into the SSU, working with a team of other Spider-people that could include the Spider-Girls/Spider-Women whose origins were established in Madame Web, or other live-action versions of Spider-Verse characters like Nic Cage’s Spider-Man Noir from the upcoming Spider-Noir TV series.
Between Imperium, the SSU ‘monsters,’ and the Spider-family, there are enough moving parts to make “King in Black” an actual event film. Of course, Sony has to actually get that far, as right now (at the time of writing this) we have yet to see any cohesive interconnected story for the SSU, after five (nearly six) films. In that sense, there’s every real chance we never hear from Imperium again.
Venom: The Last Dance is now in theaters.
