Be warned, there are SPOILERS for Poison: Let there be slaughter scattered through this story. Stop now if you don’t want something to be ruined.

Every time a Marvel movie comes out, you’re sure to see a random character from the comics covered on the big screen. And while their on-screen counterparts don’t always matter to the story they’re involved in, there are times when a classic character not only gets a lot of screen time, but also a hint of a future within that particular franchise. Such is the case of Detective Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham), the San Francisco detective who sought to find the remains of Cletus Kasadys (Woody Harrelson) victims in Venom: Let There Be Carnage. However, by the end of the film, Mulligan becomes much more than a seasoned cop with a bone that he can chop with Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) by getting some superpowers of his own.

After viewing the latest entry in the universe once known as the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters, you may be wondering something like, “What’s wrong with Patrick Mulligan and how does he fit into the overall system of things?” Well, look Don’t go any further, because we’re about to break his story down into Marvel Comics and why we should all be excited about his future, whatever we call this new world after the closing scene of Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

(Photo credit: Sony Pictures)

What happened to Detective Patrick Mulligan in Venom: Let there be carnage

Stephen Graham’s Detective Mulligan is one of the first main characters we meet in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and from an early age he is linked to the events that play out throughout the film. Mulligan is introduced as a young cop sitting with Frances Barrison (Naomie Harris) when she is transported to the Ravencroft Institute For The Criminal Insane. When trying to escape, Barrison, aka Shriek, uses her sonic scream to attack Graham, who then shoots her in the eye, but not after she has gone deaf in one ear.

Years later, Detective Mulligan contacts Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) about his conversations with Cletus Kasady, hoping to use the convicted murderer’s trust in the reporter to his advantage. One thing leads to another, and Mulligan later believes Brock had something to do with Kasady and Barrison’s escape and begins further investigations, which leads to his being captured by the recently reunited lovers. In the film’s climate battle, Mulligan is apparently killed by Shriek’s sound pressure, but is seen alive and well with blue eyes towards the end of the film, revealing that he may have his own sound powers.

(Image credit: Columbia Pictures)

In the comics, Patrick Mulligan becomes an offshoot of the carnage symbiote named Toxin

Judging by how things went for Detective Mulligan in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, it looks like the character is going down a different path than its Marvel Comics counterpart Toxin, another iconic symbiote. In the comics, Toxin is an offshoot of Carnage, Venom’s descendant, which Toxin Venom’s grandson does when the alien life forms believed in the family construct.

As in any family, the relationship of the three symbiotes is a bit complicated if we’re being honest. Even before Toxin joined Patrick Sullivan, a complicated detective with a myriad of problems both out of and out of his rhythm, Carnage wanted nothing more than to kill his offspring. Fortunately for Toxin, Mulligan, and other characters living in the Marvel Comics universe, Venom stepped in to save the day. But Toxin and Venom weren’t always on the best of terms, either.

(Image credit: Disney)

Toxin has teamed up with Spider-Man in the past and even saved the Web Slinger from poison and carnage

Not long after Toxin first bonded with Detective Patrick Mulligan, he was rescued by Spider-Man and Black Cat when Carnage tried to kill the young symbiote and his host. After that, Toxin began teaming up with Spider-Man, seeing him as a role model and someone he wanted to be more like. This eventually led to Toxin protecting Spider-Man by single-handedly taking on Venom and Carnage in a fight.

It remains to be seen whether the version of Detective Mulligan in Venom: Let There Be Carnage will side with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in the future, as it is not yet known in which direction the character will develop further down the line, especially since its on-screen origin story is very different from the one in the comics.

(Image credit: Sony)

Patrick Mulligan / Toxin is a complicated character who fights crime but also has a taste for people

The best Marvel characters are the ones complicated with a villain gallery of demons and skeletons in the closet, and Patrick Mulligan / Toxin is no different. A relatively no-nonsense police detective with a wife and young son in the Marvel Comics universe, Mulligan is also home to the symbiote Toxin, who, like similar life forms, has murderous instincts and a fondness for human brains. This new identity messes up Mulligan’s life in the comics, ultimately leading him to leave his wife and son behind as he battles crime and super villains on the streets of New York City.

This fight for control is not dissimilar to the fight Bruce Banner wages with The Incredible Hulk. And like Banner / Hulk, Mulligan and Toxin eventually come to an agreement that could make for some great moments if the character is featured in the films for the long term.

(Photo credit: Optimal publication)

And there isn’t too much Stephen Graham

Stephen Graham is one of those actors who immediately interests me in a movie because he’s in it. That fascination for me began after seeing his staggering performance as Andrew “Combo” Gascoigne, a vehemently racist and xenophobic skinhead in Shane Meadows’ 2006 coming-of-age drama This Is England. Politics and Worldview his character are absolutely hideous and he is objectively a bad person, but Graham’s portrayal of a man lost through time is something not to be missed.

And not only in This Is England do we see this intensity of the actor. You see it with his portrayal of Al Capone on Boardwalk Empire and Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano in The Irishman, among other films and shows. There’s even a bit of that silent anger and low-key intensity in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and I can’t wait to see what awaits his character in the future.

Hopefully this is just the beginning of Detective Patrick Mulligan and Stephen Graham’s presence in the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters, or even MCU, if we go in that direction.

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“Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” the sequel to the hit comic book “Venom” from 2018, is tearing the Bay Area apart with bloody glee – and that’s partly down to new director Andy Serkis. The shape-changing master of computer-aided performance recording, who played indelible screen characters in film franchises such as Gollum from “Lord of the Rings”, leader of the “Planet of the Apes” Caesar and the “Star Wars” evil Snoke, is thrilled with of dark destruction like his love for San Francisco.

Serkis recently switched to directing the English heritage drama “Breathe” and the “Jungle Book” adaptation “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle”. Serkis felt more than ready when “Venom” star and compatriot Tom Hardy asked him to direct his second appearance in the dual role of Marvel’s sticky, toothy symbiote and investigative reporter Eddie Brock, whose body the alien antihero shares.

After production for “Carnage” shot indoor and other scenes near London, production moved outdoor shots to San Francisco for a month in early 2020 before the pandemic broke out. Serkis spoke to The Chronicle by phone from New York about the great time he had getting “Carnage” out on the bay.

Venom in Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Photo: Sony Pictures Entertainment

Q: How did you want to distinguish the sequel from “Venom”?

A: The story I inherited from the first film is that two years later we begin to see a strange couple relationship blossom. It was a really enjoyable part of the arc. So we tried to research the relationship between Eddie and Venom, who can’t live with each other, but they can’t live without each other either.

And you have the psychology of Cletus Kasady – the serial killer played by Woody Harrelson – but then reinforced by Carnage, the symbiote that emerges from him. So my challenge was to make a film that should always be a fast roller coaster ride, but with a lot of profound character, underpinned psychologically and emotionally.

Q: How was filming in the Bay Area for you and your crew?

A: We had a ball. We shot there for about three or four weeks. It was the last part of the shoot; we shot at Leavesden Studios in the UK. We landed in San Francisco in the middle of winter, three weeks before COVID closes everything, so we were lucky enough to get ready there.

I love San Francisco as a city. I mean who couldn’t? It’s such a brilliant mix of architecture, positioning, geography, culture … no wonder it’s one of the most filmed cities in the world.

Tom Hardy, background and director Andy Serkis on the set of Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Photo: Jay Maidment / Associated Press

Q: In which places in the city did you shoot?

A: We shot in the Tenderloin District, which is of course also Eddie’s apartment. I can’t be street specific, but we shot a lot in the area. … Woody’s character is tracked down and caught there. There were shots fired and it was all insane – those are the movie shots I’m talking about.

We shot on the Coit Tower. It was wonderful! It’s such an incredible structure and all of these murals inside. In the arches at the top we filmed Tom Hardy on the run from the police and also in the hunt for Carnage.

We erected a statue of Cervantes, the author of “Don Quixote” – the statue of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza are in the film and refer to the story – right in front of the Palace of Fine Arts. I’m not entirely sure where the real statues are in San Francisco (Editor’s Note: They’re in Golden Gate Park), but we moved them. Venom and Eddie get together at the Palace of Fine Arts and find that they are a perfect match, as is Sancho Panza and Don Quixote.

For the climax of the fight at Grace Cathedral, we shot all of the exterior shots in the actual location on Nob Hill, which was amazing. We had a couple of nights up there and we did all the outdoor shots. Obviously they fit into the CG world, but all the panels were shot up there, and the exterior front and the large rotunda window. It is wonderful.

Q: And you turned the anchor brewery into a police station?

A: Correctly! That was very successful and looks great in the film. We had seen a number of other places but I fell in love the instant I saw it. Just the positioning and it’s such a great, great building. It will be pretty unrecognizable because there are police badges and police cars all over the place. You wouldn’t really know it was a brewery.

Q: You also shot a local prison, right?

A: One of the main places we shot was San Quentin. Considering it’s a big prison they were so super friendly and a joy to shoot there. Many employees could actually be seen in the picture, which we are very happy about. They’re really good actors too!

Director Andy Serkis (left) and Woody Harrelson on the set of Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Photo: Jay Maidment / Associated Press

Q: Tom Hardy asked you to direct the sequel?

A: Yes sir. I think it made a lot of sense. We are very similar in that we approach roles and topics that tend to be dark and edgy; Outsider characters. Tom wanted someone who would appreciate and understand it and create the right atmosphere for a fellow actor to work that way.

Q: How did your performance recording background contribute to the way you staged Tom and Woody?

A: We only used motion capture in the early experimental stages to find ways to create a physicality for Carnage. Tom had a very specific methodology anyway that picked up the voice of Venom and then acted on it in an earphone. But it really created the right atmosphere in which to find ways to make these creatures believable and give them a level of reality in the CG process. To make trading easier if you want.

A scene from “Venom: Let There Be Carnage”. Photo: Associated Press

Q: I think October 1st is the fifth announced release date for Carnage. All films have gone through similar uncertainties over the past year and a half, but have the delays taken their toll?

A: Yes, to a certain extent. While I have to say that COVID was a very difficult time – and we basically spent the entire post-production on Zoom – the only bright spot is that we had more time to tweak the visual effects.

Q: You are playing Alfred Pennyworth for The Batman movie next year, and despite being killed, Ulysses Klaue from Black Panther keeps showing up on Marvel shows. But where should your career now lead between acting, directing, mon-capping or whatever?

A: Actually, I’m developing projects that I’ve wanted to do for many years, so there are at least three films that I really want to make.

I want to keep acting and switching from one to the other. I love switching muscles, burying myself completely in a character, and just as much love steering with talented, wonderful filmmakers, working with topics and bringing stories to life.

“Venom: Let There Be Slaughter” (PG-13) in theaters Friday October 1.

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