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…