Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)

In an interview with Andrew Freund prior to the release of Thor: Love and Thunder, Natalie Portman agreed with him that this movie is “the gayest movie ever made in the MCU.” And it’s certainly been marketed that way. At an advance screening, director Taika Waititi and Portman called the movie “super gay,” and “so gay.” Waititi and the cast have been hyping queer fans up for the movie, constantly mentioning how queer the film is.

The only problem is, it’s really not. 

Spoilers ahead! Yes, Thor: Love and Thunder is a very cute movie with queer elements. Valkyrie and Korg are canonically gay in this. Valkyrie gets a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment when she kisses a Zeussette’s hand. In a short conversation, Korg mentions Valkyrie’s dead “girlfriend” and reveals he has two dads and comes from a species that’s seemingly all-male and all-gay. Korg also really enjoys Thor’s brief strip show. The movie’s imagery is filled with bright pops of rainbow color. Heimdall’s son has changed his name from Astrid to Axl (and while it’s never specified whether his character is transgender, the name change from the feminine Astrid to the more masculine Axl could be a trans metaphor). A polyamorous pod of space dolphins shows up at one point. And the comedic bit about Thor’s love triangle with his hammers gives off strong homoerotic vibes. Thor: Love and Thunder is often playfully gay and fun. It’s definitely a step in the right direction for queer representation in Marvel movies. 

However, while this may be satisfying queer representation for some viewers, it’s not quite enough for others. Thor: Love and Thunder still doesn’t include enough explicitly queer elements. Although Korg finds a mate in Dwayne the rock (which was a hilarious bit), this happens at the end of the movie without any development. The pair are onscreen together for a very short moment as part of a quick “where are they now?” montage. Romantic intimacy (whether that be physical, verbal, or emotional) between two queer characters is absent from the film entirely. The gay rocks aren’t even allowed to have sex—they hold hands over lava to make a baby. As for queer romantic relationships, the MCU’s Eternals wins on that front with the franchise’s first gay kiss. Had Thor: Love and Thunder not been marketed as so firmly gay, maybe the lack of gay romance wouldn’t be as much of a disappointment. 

After two months of refusing to see this movie, I have decided that it’s finally Morbin’ time. 

In response to the recent onslaught of Morbius memes online, Sony made the hilarious mistake of re-releasing Morbius in theaters last weekend. As anyone with a sense of sarcasm could predict, it bombed at the box office. But this little stunt finally convinced me to watch the movie, if only to laugh at it. And I did laugh—at the terrible script, at the crazy VFX, and at Matt Smith’s quirky dance moves. But something else happened that I didn’t expect—I was surprised by the movie. I was surprised by the queer allegory. 

Now, if I had a nickel for each time a Sonyverse Spider-Man villain movie was turned into a queer allegory, I’d have two nickels. That’s not a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. I’m referring to Sony’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Interestingly, the movie leans heavily into the queerness of Eddie and Venom’s relationship. Whether accidentally or not, Sony has done the same thing with Morbius, but between the protagonist Michael and antagonist Lucien/Milo. 

Five minutes into the movie, a young Michael Morbius meets young Lucien. Both are patients with a debilitating blood disease. They become instant friends, and Michael even renames Lucien Milo—a name he keeps. Then, Michael goes off to find a cure for them. 

Once the two are back onscreen together as adults, the homoerotic undertones are undeniable. Milo is obviously queer-coded, arguably stereotypically. Every moment he’s onscreen he’s wearing outlandish patterns or great styles; he’s swaggering with and without the cane; he’s surrounded by bright colors, and he has a lavish lifestyle. Though the script throws in words like “friend” and “brother” to cover it up, there’s an underlying romantic tension between them (though it mostly comes from Matt Smith’s acting) and a physical affection that continues through most of the movie.