Thus far, the Sony Spider-Man cinematic universe has not had what we’d call a Thanos-level threat… until now. The latest trailer for Venom: The Last Dance introduces Knull, a powerful cosmic villain who has become a major threat to the Marvel Universe in just a few short years. In the film, he’s rumored to be portrayed by Norman Reedus of The Walking Dead franchise. Here’s everything you need to know about the ancient dark being known as the King in Black, the God of the Symbiotes, and Lord of the Abyss.
The First Marvel Comics Appearance of Knull, God of the Symbiotes
Created by writer Donny Cates and artist Ryan Stegman, Knull’s first official appearance was in 2018’s Venom Vol. 4 #3. Technically, he first appeared as a nameless entity in Thor: God of Thunder #6 in 2013, a full five years earlier. In just a handful of years, he became one of Marvel’s most powerful villains, and became one of the arch-enemies of Venom, and to a lesser extent, Thor and the Silver Surfer. As the main antagonist of the crossover event The King in Black, he became a threat practically every hero on Earth had to face.
The Ancient Origins of Knull in the Marvel Comics
Knull is an entity older than time, created after the destruction of the sixth iteration of the cosmos. When the god-like Celestials created the 7th iteration of cosmos, what we think of as the 616 Marvel Universe, they offered Knull the title of “King in Black,” tasked with watching over their new creations. However, when the Light of Creation came through, it devoured his kingdom of Eldritch Darkness, and Knull rebelled. He created a weapon, the Necrosword, also called the All-Black, and used it to murder one of the Celestials. Outraged by this betrayal, the other Celestials banished Knull deep into the Primordial Void. The head of the Celestial he killed went with him.
Using that head, he created the first symbiote, combining it with the remaining Celestial energies within it. The head would eventually become Knowhere, later the home base for the Guardians of the Galaxy. The first symbiotes Knull created in the earliest years were forged in heat and noise. In doing so, he unintentionally gave the symbiotes their weaknesses to high sonic frequencies and fire. These symbiotes were an extension of his own consciousness. Knull forged a symbiote armor and began using All-Black to start killing other gods. At some point, he crash-landed on an unnamed planet where the creature Gorr took the All-Black from the incapacitated Knull and became the God-Butcher. Later, Gorr the God-Butcher became a major enemy of Thor, after killing multiple gods.
Knull vs. Thor and Knull’s Banishment
Over a thousand years ago, a gigantic symbiote arrived on Earth, hoping to assimilate our world into the Symbiote Hive. This is when a younger Thor Odinson came to Earth to battle the symbiote, who was shaped like a dragon, and which local Vikings and villagers called Grendel. A lightning strike summoned by Thor’s hammer Mjölnir shattered the connection between Knull and his symbiote hive mind. Now roaming the cosmos and free from Knull’s control, they began bonding with new hosts and learning about something other than just endless darkness. The symbiotes rebelled against their god and master, containing him inside a world made of billions of symbiotes. They named this world Klyntar, which in their language translates to “cage.”
Knull in the King in Black Crossover Event
After a millennia, archeologists discovered the remains of Grendel. Later, several SHIELD scientists tried to hone its power for military use, but it only served to reactivate their symbiote connection to Knull. Years later, he returned to full strength after a conflict between Eddie Brock, a.k.a. Venom, and Carnage, two symbiotes on Earth. Now at full power once more, Knull destroyed Klyntar, and created a suit of draconic armor for himself. He then created a fleet of symbiote dragons to conquer the universe, starting with Earth. When he attacked the Earth in 2020’s King in Black crossover event, it took Venom, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men together to defeat Knull. But it was Venom who gave Knull the killing blow, becoming the new King of the Symbiotes as a result.
Knull’s Powers and Abilities
As the God of the Abyss, the immortal Knull has superhuman strength and durability. He can fly and has regenerative powers that allow him to heal from almost any injury. Knull has the power to create and manipulate the Eldritch Darkness. He can also create weapons and living creatures out of pure darkness, creatures he can control remotely. Many of the symbiotes he creates have different powers and different shapes, like the dragon symbiotes. As a shapeshifter, Knull can transform his mouth into a set of enormous fanged jaws with an elongated tongue, a trait passed on to his symbiotes.
The Live-Action, Cinematic Future of Knull
So what does this mean for the future of the cinematic Knull? Is he the “big bad” of Venom: The Last Dance, or will he just be teased in a post-credits sequence? It’s been said that Venom: The Last Dance is the final film featuring Tom Hardy as the Eddie Brock persona, so could this be leading to Knull vs. Spider-Man in Spider-Man 4? Knull is too big a villain not to use in a significant way. He’s also a major enemy of Thor, but with the God of Thunder over at Marvel Studios, we don’t see that happening anytime soon.
Speaking to IGN, Venom: The Last Dance‘s director and co-writer Kelly Marcel hinted at a big future for Knull. She revealed, “As the fans know there are many, many more symbiote stories — the universe is wide and rich, and one movie could never do justice to Knull. Beyond this trilogy, there are more stories to explore – God is coming.”
While Knull may not be the main villain in Venom: The Last Dance, Sony-Marvel is setting the scene for him. Marcel notes, “We were always aware of Knull, but knew that we needed to lay the foundation of the Venom character, and his relationship with Eddie, before introducing him. This is just the beginning for Knull… We’re in spoiler territory now, and we hope some of the fun of watching this movie is not knowing what will happen, but trust me, we know full well how important Knull is to the fans, so just as we laid a foundation for Venom, we hope we are doing the same for Knull. The King in Black is way too powerful for ‘one and done.’”
Finally, Marcel offers, “This film introduces Knull, but it just touches the beginnings of his story. Marvel’s greatest film villains are developed over time. Here, Knull is the threat lurking behind the danger that tests the absolute limits of Eddie and Venom’s partnership — but it’s their relationship that remains the heart of this story.”
Andy Serkis plays Knull in Venom: The Last Dance, and we assume they will continue to do so in the future.
We’re very curious as to what the big screen future of the King of the Abyss will be.
Originally published on September 13, 2024.
