Venom
Edward Charles Allan Brock
Villain profile
Knull
Knull
The darkness that was there before the light, and took it personally.
Biography
Knull existed in the void before the universe did, and when the Celestials switched the lights on he treated it as an act of vandalism. He decapitated one of them, forged its skull into a hammer and its shadow into All-Black the Necrosword, and set out to unmake creation one world at a time. The symbiotes are not aliens — they are his living darkness, a weaponised extension of a single hateful god, and the Klyntar hive that later preached unity was a religion invented specifically to keep him imprisoned.
It is the best retroactive reveal Marvel has landed this century. Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman dropped Knull into Venom (2018) and instantly recontextualised thirty years of symbiote stories, then paid it off in King in Black (2020-2021), where Knull blots out the sun, buries Earth in living shadow, and takes on the entire Marvel roster at once. He loses to Eddie Brock, of all people — the deadbeat reporter who inherits his throne.
Vital statistics
- Real name
- Knull
- Also known as
- The King in Black, God of the Symbiotes, The Void Knight, Grendel
- Species
- Primordial deity
- Place of origin
- The abyss before creation
- First appearance
- Venom #3 (2018)
- Created by
- Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman
- Affiliations
- The symbiote hive, Cult of Knull
Power grid
Intelligence5
Strength7
Speed5
Durability7
Energy7
Fighting5
Rated 1–7 on the classic Marvel power-grid scale.
Powers
- Living Abyss
His body is the primordial darkness itself, effectively limitless in mass and reach.
- Symbiote Hive Control
Every symbiote in existence is an extension of him and can be commanded or reclaimed instantly.
- All-Black the Necrosword
He forged the first symbiote into a blade that kills gods and Celestials.
- Dragon and Beast Creation
Knull spawns symbiote dragons and monsters from his own biomass at will.
- Planetary Scale Assault
He blankets entire worlds in darkness, converting populations into hosts en masse.
- Immortality
As a concept as much as a creature, he predates death and is not bound by it.
Abilities
- Divine-level combat experience against Celestials and gods
- Manipulator of belief — the Cult of Knull worships him willingly
- Ability to corrupt existing symbiotes and their hosts remotely
- Cosmic-scale strategist patient enough to wait out an eon
Weaknesses
- Intense light and heat disperse his darkness
- Sonics disrupt symbiote biomass
- Fragmented power — every symbiote he loses is a piece of himself elsewhere
- Bound and imprisoned by the Klyntar hive-mind for millennia
Comics history
Cates and Stegman revealed Knull in Venom #3 (2018) via Rex Strickland's account of an ancient symbiote dragon, then built outward: Web of Venom one-shots, Absolute Carnage (2019), and Thor #6 (2020), which confirmed he forged All-Black and armed Gorr the God Butcher by accident.
King in Black (2020-2021) was the payoff — a company-wide event with Knull physically invading Earth, Eddie Brock dying and returning, and the symbiote god finally destroyed from the inside. The story ends with Eddie inheriting the hive and the title, which reframes Venom permanently from anti-hero to reluctant deity.
Allies
- Symbiote dragons
- Cult of Knull
- Carnage (as prophet)
Enemies
- Venom
- Thor
- Celestials
- Silver Surfer
- Spider-Man
Weapons & equipment
- All-Black the Necrosword
- Celestial-skull hammer
- Symbiote dragons
- The living abyss
Trivia
- Knull killed a Celestial, forged its skull into a hammer, and made the first symbiote out of its shadow.
- All-Black the Necrosword — Gorr the God Butcher's weapon — is a fragment of Knull's own power.
- The Klyntar hive-mind's philosophy of unity was invented as a prison to contain him.
- In King in Black he extinguishes the sun over Earth and buries the planet in living darkness.
- He is finally killed by Eddie Brock, who then becomes the new King in Black.
Famous quotes
I am the god of the abyss, and you are a costume.
There was darkness. Then there was light. I have spent an eternity correcting that error.
Every symbiote you have ever loved is a piece of me.
Timeline
- 2018
Revealed in Venom #3, rewriting symbiote history.
- 2019
Absolute Carnage establishes his cult and his prophet.
- 2020
Thor #6 confirms he forged All-Black the Necrosword.
- 2021
King in Black ends with Eddie Brock killing him and taking the throne.
Gallery
Poster art is generated from each character’s signature palette. Drop official art into assets/images/ and set the img field to swap it in.
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Frequently asked
Who is Knull?
A primordial god of the void who predates the universe and created the symbiote race from his own living darkness. Introduced in Venom #3 (2018), he retroactively became the origin point for every symbiote story Marvel had ever published.
Is Knull stronger than Thanos?
In raw scale, arguably — he has killed Celestials, forged the god-killing Necrosword and blacked out a solar system's light. Where Thanos out-plans him, Knull simply out-masses him. Marvel treats him as a cosmic-abstract-tier threat rather than a conqueror.
How was Knull defeated?
In King in Black (2021), by Eddie Brock — who had been ascended to a connection with the entire symbiote hive, then destroyed Knull from within it. Eddie inherited the throne and the title of King in Black in the process.