The Venom story so far that has led us to Venom: The Last Dance

Tom Hardy returns as hapless journalist Eddie Brock in Venom: The Last Dance. It's the third and, if the title is to be believed, final instalment in the successful Sony superhero franchise, unleashing more crazy symbiotic action.

Need a refresher course on the story so far? That's what we've got for you right here. Bring yourself up to speed and book your tickets at the end of this post.

Who is Eddie Brock and how did he come into contact with Venom?

Eddie is an investigative journalist looking into the shady dealings of Life Foundation CEO Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed)
When Eddie is rumbled by Drake's men he loses his job and his girlfriend Anne (Michelle Williams) leaves him

Who was Carlton Drake and what are the symbiotes?

Drake is experimenting with symbiosis, exposing human test subjects to a viscous extraterrestrial substance
When Eddie later breaks into the Life Foundation he is exposed to one of the symbiotes, which takes over his body
Drake sends mercenaries to retrieve the symbiote from Eddie, but it manifests around his body as a monstrous creature that fights off the attackers

What is Venom and how do he and Eddie bond?

The symbiote introduces itself to Eddie as Venom, revealing that a mass of other symbiotes are looking to possess any inhabitants they can
Venom offers to spare Eddie if he helps the symbiotes achieve their goal; in turn, Eddie capitalises on the superhuman attributes the symbiote grants him
The fourth symbiote, Riot, makes its way from Malaysia to San Francisco by hopping from body to body

What was the Riot symbiote and how was it destroyed?

It bonds with Drake, who agrees to take Riot in a Life Foundation space probe to collect the rest of the symbiotes and bring them to Earth
Venom is separated from Eddie but they later reconcile with the former promising to help protect the Earth
Eddie/Venom succeeds in destroying both Drake and Riot
Eddie claims that Venom has been killed but is still secretly bonded to him, although they can now act autonomously of one another
Newly restored as a journalist, Eddie visits notorious serial killer Cletus Cassady (Woody Harrelson) in prison

How did Cletus Cassady transform into Carnage?

When Venom bites Cletus in a fit of rage, he passes a symbiotic element onto him
Cletus then dubs himself Carnage and goes on a violent rampage, eventually freeing his lover and partner-in-crime Frances Barrison (Naomie Harris), later to become the symbiotic Shriek
Venom separates from Eddie and starts to enjoy his own independent existence, crashing nightclubs and other venues

How are Carnage and Shriek defeated?

Venom is overpowered by Carnage but provokes Frances into using her powers to separate Carnage and Cletus
Venom devours Carnage and kills Cletus, while the collapsing cathedral crushes Frances
Eddie/Venom later take a vacation and are seemingly transported into another realm where they see J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) on television