10 Unpopular Comic Book Character Reboots (That Were Actually Perfect)

When the first trailers of 2018's Venom movie dropped, the reactions of fans largely fell into one of three categories; incredulity, outrage, and humorous amazement. The internet shook from the din of message boards discussing how so many terrible creative decisions could have been greenlit. Where was the white spider symbol on his chest? Why were his eyes so narrow? What the heck does "like a turd in the wind" mean?

The more optimistic fans were hoping for a film that at least was so bad it circled back around to being amazing, but they, like all other viewers, were left disappointed by a competent but very middle-of-the-road movie. While it had it's supporters, it was clear that nobody was really all that invested in Sony's spin-off, but were willing to throw enough money at the production to warrant a sequel.

But this dismissal ignores what might be the best comic character upgrades in history. Despite being iconic, Venom was never all that interesting a character. Yeah he had a backstory and was a shallow representation of succumbing to addiction, but his symbolism was never really fleshed out.

The movie's Eddie Brock is allowed to explore his relationship with the Symbiote, focusing in on the nature of control, co-dependency, and the interaction between the two. It leads to a lot of interesting creative choices and more character development in one film than Venom has received in forty years of comics.