Claim: Flash Thompson and Peter Parker become friends in college.

Corporal Eugene `` Flash '' Thompson is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . He 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 , though he and Peter become close friends in college . After graduation , he joins the United States Army and is haunted by his combat experiences , leading to alcoholism . After losing both of his legs in the Iraq War , he was bound to the Venom Symbiote as Agent Venom , a superhero and the first to control the organism .   The character has appeared in several other media adaptations , usually in his earlier bullying incarnation . In film , he is portrayed by Joe Manganiello in Spider-Man , Chris Zylka in The Amazing Spider-Man , and Tony Revolori in Spider-Man : Homecoming .