Flash Thompson

Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962). Flash Thompson is a star high school football player, who mercilessly bullies his high school classmate Peter Parker, but greatly admires Spider-Man, an irony in which the superhero takes some gratification. In time, they become close friends in college after Flash matures and he later discovers Peter is Spider-Man. After graduation, he joins the United States Army, but becomes haunted by his combat experiences, leading to alcoholism. After losing both of his legs in the Iraq War, Flash Thompson turns into the superhero Agent Venom after being bound to the Venom symbiote, which he controls via drugs, as the protagonist of Venom and Venom: Space Knight and a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. After nearly being killed by Red Goblin, Flash recovers using the Anti-Venom symbiote, assuming his current alias of Agent Anti-Venom. Thompson has appeared in several other media adaptations. Notably, he was portrayed by Joe Manganiello in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy, Chris Zylka in The Amazing Spider-Man, and Tony Revolori in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.