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Knull is the God of the symbiotes and has been wreaking havoc across the Cosmos since the Universe first came into being. On a quest to return the universe to darkness, Knull waged war against some of the most powerful beings in the Marvel universe, including Celestials, Gods, and entire planets, before he even created the symbiote. His live-action debut was teased in the final moments of 2024’s Venom: The Last Dance, with fans diving into the character’s comic roots.
From his first introduction in the pages of Venom #3 (by Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Frank Martin, and VC Clayton Cowles), Knull is instantly established as a threat, being able to defeat Venom and Miles Morales with just a symbiote projection of himself. While this was the reader’s first introduction to The King In Black, Knull’s battles across history have shaped the Marvel Universe in ways that are still being uncovered.
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10 One of Knull’s First Victims Was Miles Morales
Creative Team: Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Frank Martin, and VC Clayton Cowles
In Knull’s first appearance, after being awakened by Carnage, he creates an extension of himself through the Grendel and finds Eddie Brock to reconnect Venom to the hive and bring him under his control. The King in Black nearly succeeded but was stopped when Miles Morales intervened, and Knull turned his attention to the wall-crawler.
In this first introduction, Knull destroys a whole section of New York with his symbiote dragon, beats Miles unconscious, and rips Venom from Eddie Brock before ever breaking out of his prison. While Miles and Eddie survived, Donny Cates clarified that his new villain wouldn’t be taken down easily. This issue set the tone for the entire King in Black event, showing readers why the arrival of Knull would be so devastating.
9 The Symbiotes Rebel Against Their God
Creative Team: Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Frank Martin, and VC Clayton Cowles
When Knull first created the symbiotes, he discovered he could control them entirely and sent them across the galaxy to bring worlds into the hive. The symbiotes found their way to Earth, where they encountered Thor, who broke their connection to the hive. Without Knull’s influence, the symbiotes bonded with new hosts and were exposed to the light, rebelling against Knull and trapping him in the Klyntar prison.
This defeat by his creations was an earth-shattering revelation to the lore of symbiotes. It further establishes the immense power of Knull, as it takes an infinite horde of symbiotes just to keep him contained. Before this, readers knew Klyntar as just the symbiotes’ homeworld, but learning that it had just been a lie told by the symbiotes changed everything and made the threat of Knull that much greater.
8 Knull Battles with S.H.I.E.L.D.
Creative Team: Donny Cates, Juanan Ramirez, Felipe Sobreorp, VC Clayton Cowles
The one-shot Web of Venom: Ve’nam revealed that SHIELD recovered one of the primordial symbiote dragons that came to Earth and used it to create symbiote soldiers to fight in the Vietnam War. Knull influenced the symbiotes through his connection to the symbiote Hive and used them to reassemble the Grendel and plan his escape.
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This issue changed what readers previously knew about the history of symbiotes, placing them on Earth and with SHIELD long before Peter Parker ever brought Venom back from space. While Knull does not appear in this issue, he was the one controlling the symbiote soldiers, and through them, he nearly brought down SHIELD and changed the course of the Vietnam War. Ve’nam is essential in Knull’s eventual breakout from prison, with SHIELD providing him with the means to take Earth.
7 Knull, the God Butcher
Creative Team: Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Frank Martin, and VC Clayton Cowles
When the Celestials first brought light to the void, Knull created the first symbiote, All-Black, the Necrosword. Knull used this sword to wage war on the light in the universe, and while battling a group of Gods, he fell to an unknown planet. Gorr would find Knull’s dormant body and claim the Necrosword for his quest for revenge against the Gods.
While readers don’t see the full extent of this fight, it is a pivotal moment in both Knull’s history and the trajectory of Marvel Comics. This battle directly leads to Gorr gaining the power to kill Gods and becoming one of Thor’s greatest villains while also being the catalyst for the symbiote’s creation. Knull’s early defeat only made him stronger and shows how Knull has been responsible for countless horrible things across the Marvel universe.
6 The King in Black Battled Celestials During The Universe’s Creation
Creative Team: Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Frank Martin, and VC Clayton Cowles
While Knull has killed an unfathomable number of people and powerful beings, his first victims were the Celestials. When the Celestials began spreading light throughout the universe, Knull waged war against them, and, using All-Black the Necrosword, he committed the very first murder and beheaded one of the Celestial Gods. Knull would be banished to the void for his crimes, which only made him grow stronger for his return.
This early fight with the Celestials establishes Knull as one of Marvel’s strongest villains and its first. Knull was the first being to bring evil into the world and used his darkness to infect the Celestial’s creations, making everything terrible and an extension of him. With this first victory, Knull forged the Necrosword and built his power in the void, making him unstoppable.
5 Knull Has Destroyed Countless Planets
After escaping his banishment to the void, Knull uses the Necrosword to lay waste to the light and return the Universe to darkness. Countless beings fell to the Necrosword, with Knull claiming to use it to choke the life out of a billion stars. Knull’s violent conquests were eventually stopped after his fall but quickly resumed after the creation of the symbiotes.
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With Knull appearing in Venom: The Last Dance, here are some facts that some people might not know about the King in Black.
Readers have only gotten glimpses of Knull’s fight for control of the universe but have seen the effects throughout numerous Marvel titles. All-Black the Necrosword is an extension of Knull himself and corrupted Gorr as he killed entire pantheons of gods and their worlds, adding to Knull’s immense body count. There is also no telling how many worlds Knull had taken over before his fall, making the full extent of his violence unfathomable.
4 The Silver Surfer Faced The King In Black
Creative Team: Donny Cates, Tradd Moore, Dave Stewart, and VC Clayton Cowles
The sentinel of the spaceways first faced Knull nearly a billion years ago after falling into a black hole to save the Guardians of the Galaxy. The Surfer realizes that darkness is spreading across the universe and discovers a dark planet where he first encounters the King in Black. Knull and the Surfer fight an epic battle across the stars, with the cosmic hero only able to escape with the help of Ego the Living Planet, and Galactus. This early encounter with Knull would be essential for his eventual defeat in King in Black by giving the Silver Surfer the power of the light.
Also written by Donny Cates, the five-issue miniseries gives readers a glimpse into Knull’s prime when he fought cosmic beings and took over planets. It also gives the Silver Surfer a crucial role in the history of symbiotes. Tradd Moore’s colorful and psychedelic art makes the fight between Knull and the Surfer one of the most beautifully epic battles the Surfer has ever fought.
3 Thor Liberates the Symbiotes
Creative Team: Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Frank Martin, and VC Clayton Cowles
When Knull began expanding his reach through his symbiote children, he was drawn to Earth by the light of Thor. Knull sent one of his Symbiote dragons, the Grendel, to defeat Thor and cover the Earth in darkness. Thor defeated the Grendel, with his power so great that Knull himself admitted it was a power that he had never felt in all the worlds he had conquered.
Knull’s defeat on Earth was so devastating that it is the reason why symbiotes are weak to lightning and loud sounds, with them still being able to remember the roar of Thor’s thunder. The battle between Thor and the Grendel was so epic that it inspired the tale of Beowulf, still being told to this day. This early defeat may have stopped Knull and caused his imprisonment, but it also put Earth in his path to seek revenge on humans and their protector.
2 Knull Kills The Marvel Universe
Creative Team: Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Frank Martin, and VC Clayton Cowles
Once freed from his prison with his sights set on Earth, Knull could easily defeat the world’s heroes and bring them into his symbiote army. Upon his arrival, Knull ripped the Sentry in half, turning the Avengers and the X-Men into symbiotes to join his army. The King in Black also got revenge on one of his oldest enemies, Thor, by stabbing him through the chest with the Necrosword.
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With all the devastation leading up to Knull’s arrival, his first attack on Marvel’s heroes more than lived up to expectations. Knull instantly sets the status quo that no one in the King in Black event is safe and that none of the Earth’s heroes have the power to stop him. Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman pull no punches in this epic culmination of their Venom run, showing the full might of Knull’s powers and putting the Marvel Universe in one of its most hopeless periods.
1 Eddie Brock Becomes The King in Black
Creative Team: Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Frank Martin, and VC Clayton Cowles
After killing Eddie Brock and defeating the Earth’s heroes with his army of symbiote dragons and Celestials, Knull’s victory was nearly inevitable. The King in Black was only able to be defeated by Eddie being resurrected with the Enigma Force and granting him the power of the light. Venom and Eddie defeat Knull using their new powers and become the new King in Black.
This final showdown between Venom and Knull culminated multiple years of storytelling and cemented King in Black as one of the best events Marvel has ever done. The fight takes up the entire issue, with Venom savagely attacking Knull with an axe made from the Silver Surfer’s board and Thor’s hammer until flying Knull into the sun and vaporizing him. Venom and Knull’s showdown is not only Knull’s best fight but also one of the best fights in Marvel history, changing the universe’s trajectory forever.
Venom
Venom is a sentient alien symbiote from the planet Klyntar that has appeared in the Marvel universe since the mid-1980s. Numerous heroes have played host to Venom over the years.
“}]] Knull is an elder God and has defeated some of the most powerful characters in the entire Marvel Universe in a few unforgettable comic book fights. Read More