You could create a chubby, socially awkward subterranean Utopia from all of the fanboy ejaculate fired across theaters and computer rooms this past weekend as the Spider-Man 3 trailer made its way past optic nerve centers. For a good reason, I suppose. It’s a pretty cool trailer if not a little too "kitchen sink" for a film opening next summer. It’d have been even more laden with characters and eye candy if Eddie Brock’s transformation into Venom had made it into the final cut. Allegedly.

A handful of readers have sent in links and word about the YouTube footage of an early version of the trailer, material I assume and sort of hope gets taken down by Sony’s legal eagles but felt compelled to share for the people who still live in a world where Todd McFarlane is a comic book God and the idea of Carnage and Ben Reilly are still neat possibilities that lie ahead.

Of course, it’s 2006 and those guys suck but you get my point. Venom is going to look amazing onscreen but I think he’s probably the character that ushers this film into its next phase of existence where it’s all about one-upping the previous installment visually. I hope they prove me wrong. Sam Raimi did it with the second film, one I had no doubt in my mind was going to be piss compared to the first. As it turned out, despite the lack of Willem Dafoe’s brilliance, it made mincemeat out of the original and had 200% less Macy Goddamm Gray.

I wanted more Gwen Stacy in the trailer and I really hope Mary Jane gets blown off a bridge in her stead in Spider-Man 3, but it’s a fine trailer. I can’t muster a money shot like some of the people whose response to the trailer bordered on life changing, but I appreciate it and will be smiling ear to Wop ear when the film is released.

In the meantime, enjoy the almost-Venom until everyone sees it leave the Internet like some postmodern Video God.