Unexpected antihero.Towering cannibal monstrosity.Daddy.These are but a few of the words used to describe Eddie Brock’s ooey, gooey symbiotic alter ego Venom after the fan-favorite character clawed his way to box office dominance earlier this year. Not only have Eddie Brock and Venom become one of the most-shipped couples on Tumblr, but the Marvel Comics’ antihero has positioned himself to be the unlikely centerpiece of Sony’s apparently Spider-Man-less cinematic universe. It’s a scenario that few expected but one that Venom co-creator Todd McFarlane is totally fine with.While stopping by our Los Angeles studio to promote Venom‘s release on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital HD, McFarlane sat down with me to talk about why Venom is such an enduring character, why his existence does not need to be defined by Spider-Man, and much more.[brightcove video_id=”5982229164001″ brightcove_account_id=”3653334524001″ brightcove_player_id=“rJs2ZD8xâ€]For naysayers pointing to Venom‘s critical lambasting, McFarlane pointed to the numbers and reminded us that sometimes it’s about having fun rather than pushing the cinematic envelope.“Venom…[isn’t] necessarily meant to be a high award-winning, elite…it’s a thrill ride, it’s a roller coaster,” McFarlane said. “We’re here to just have fun and the numbers have now proven that there’s lots of people that want to have fun with these movies.â€Indeed for people looking for a reprieve from the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s brand of interconnected action-comedy, Venom may have felt like a breath of fresh air.”It doesn’t matter that it’s not part of the formula,” McFarlane said. “Because you guys think that there’s a formula called ‘superheroes’ here, and then there’s geekdom superheroes. It’s actually way bigger than you think. They’re just hungry for this type of material”Venom is available on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital HD now. Read our review of the movie here.

Additional Jesse B. Gill and David Palmeri

Images: Sony