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This Article Contains Spoilers -
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all. |
| “ | I am Knull. God of the void. Slicer of worlds. Long ago, when light invaded my kingdom, my symbiote children betrayed me, and imprisoned me here. At last, a codex is being created. It is the key to my freedom. It will unlock this prison. I order you to search the corners of the universe until you find this key. Find me the codex. And when I escape and annihilate every living planet and destroy my symbiote offspring, I will reward you... with your lives. | „ |
| ~ Knull tells his story and sends his Xenophages to Earth. |
| “ | Your champion has fallen… The planets will be mine… The King in Black is awake… I will kill your world… Everyone will burn… and you… WILL WATCH!!! | „ |
| ~ Knull revealing his plans for the future. |
Knull, also known as the King in Black, is the overarching antagonist of the 2024 Sony's Spider-Man Universe film Venom: The Last Dance, the third and final installment of the Venom trilogy.
He is a primordial deity and the creator of the Symbiotes, who betrayed and imprisoned him on Klyntar. Thereafter, he spent most of his life searching for a key that could free him. Upon discovering the key's location, he sent the Xenophages to Earth to retrieve it so he could continue on with his goal to conquer and destroy the entire universe.
He is portrayed by Andy Serkis, who also played Ulysses Klaue in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Gollum and the Witch-king of Angmar in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Kertasnikir in Netflix's Hilda, Mr. Grin in Stormbreaker, Spike in Flushed Away, Capricorn in Inkheart, Supreme Leader Snoke in the Star Wars sequel trilogy and David Robey in Luther: The Fallen Sun.
Personality[]
Knull is a cruel and sadistic being. His only goal is to destroy everything and shroud it in darkness, aspiring to becoming the most powerful being in the universe. He feels no genuine love for his creations, the symbiotes, viewing them only as creatures to do his bidding. When they inevitably betrayed him, he was furious that they managed to overpower him. This anger reflects his arrogance, as he sees himself as a god who deserves absolute loyalty from all living beings, threatening those who defy him with a fate worse than death.
Biography[]
Pre-Big Bang and Universe's Beginning[]
Before the universe existed, Knull ruled over a realm of darkness. Then, a universe of light emerged, spreading its brightness through his once-pure black domain. In response, Knull created the Symbiotes to help him eliminate all life and shroud the cosmos in darkness. He conquered and destroyed many worlds until the Symbiotes betrayed him, imprisoning him in a Spire throne within the dark world of Klyntar. Even in his confinement, however, Knull retained great power, prompting the Symbiotes to flee.
21st Century[]
After Eddie briefly died in 2018 during his battle with Riot and Carlton Drake, Venom revived him, awakening the Codex within Venom before they proceeded to kill Riot and Drake. Knull sensed the Codex but didn’t know its exact location. In response, he created a new, less sentient species called Xenophages to serve him. The Codex disappeared when Doctor Strange accidentally transported Eddie and Venom to the MCU following the deaths of Carnage and Cletus Kasady, leaving Knull to wait once more for an opportunity to escape.
Venom: The Last Dance[]
Another opportunity for Knull to escape came when Eddie and Venom returned to their universe from the MCU. Knull sensed the Codex’s presence again and began creating portals to various habitable worlds, sending his Xenophages to search for it.
The Xenophage sent to Earth could detect Venom when he activated his suit, as the Codex manifested in that form. It would periodically hunt him down, but would lose track of him when he retreated into Eddie’s body, which also concealed the Codex. However, when a secret special ops group captured Eddie and Venom, the Xenophage realized that one of the humans had the Codex, prompting it to pursue them to their hidden base beneath Area 51.
The Xenophage tunneled into the facility to capture its prey, Venom, while he was able to convince the government scientists and soldiers to release their previously captured Symbiotes, which each bonded with a new host to fight Knull's monster; most were killed by the creature, as its biomechanical nested mouths functioned as a grinder that would essentially liquify any Symbiote it came across, including its host.
Above ground, the Xenophage was able to signal to Knull that it had found the Codex, so Knull portaled more Xenophages as reinforcements. Although powerful experimental weapons and explosive caches were able to incinerate the creatures to the point of nullifying their regeneration powers, three managed recovered, stronger than they were before.
Venom expanded his body to cover the three Xenophages, and despite their efforts, he kept them restrained for long enough to allow a highly corrosive acid and explosives to completely obliterate the creatures, although Venom appeared to die as his self-sacrifice was needed to keep the monsters from escaping. Two scientists (one, Dr. Teddy Paine had bonded to the Agony Symbiote), Eddie Brock, and the Moon family with a few surviving military personnel had managed to survive the battle (also surviving was the Mexican bartender taken into custody, who was held underground deep enough to avoid the explosion).
While Venom's presumed death meant the destruction of the Codex, in Klyntar, Knull declared that Earth was now in greater danger due to the loss of its Lethal Protector. Planning to escape through other means, he proclaimed himself to be the "King in Black" who was even more determined to exterminate all life, while becoming the tyrannical god of a universe composed only of darkness before telling the audience that they'll watch.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Portal Creation: Knull can summon portals to transport his Xenophages from Klyntar to other planets, including Earth.
- Creation of Life: Knull was able to create complicated superpowered lifeforms, even with his abilities stifled by imprisonment.
- Immortality
- Limited Omniscience: He has awareness of all existence, however, when imprisoned, he can only narrow focus to planets with life on them, rather than specific lifeforms, unless provided coordinates by his Xenophages.
Gallery[]
Screenshots[]
Concept Art[]
Trivia[]
- Venom: The Last Dance is where Knull makes his live-action debut, although he loosely inspired the Dark Shadow Lord in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thor: Love and Thunder.
- Interestingly, in Swedish, Knull translates to a vulgar term. It remains to be seen whether his name will be altered in the Swedish dub. It was unchanged in the comics themselves, leading to some memes in Nordic countries.
- This marks Andy Serkis' second portrayal of a Marvel character; he previously played Ulysses Klaue in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Black Panther.
External Links[]
- Knull on the Pure Evil Wiki
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 's Spider-Man Universe Villains
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Venom Venom: Let There Be Carnage Morbius Madame Web Venom: The Last Dance Kraven the Hunter | ||
