This article contains spoilers for King In Black #1 by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman.
Knull, the God of the Symbiotes, has successfully conquered Earth in King In Black #1, proving himself more than a match for even the mightiest Avengers. Over the last few years, writers Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman have redefined Venom’s mythology. They’ve revealed the monstrous symbiotes – most famously associated with Venom and Carnage – were actually created by a terrible being named Knull. He lived in the void before the Big Bang, and ever since creation dawned he has fought against the light.
Donny Cates’ Silver Surfer: Black revealed Knull is the greatest villain in the entire Marvel Universe. He ruled when the universe was young, exerting all his effort to snuffing out light and life alike. And he wielded All-Black, the Necrosword, a blade of sheer darkness capable of killing even a Celestial. Had he not been imprisoned at the heart of the Klyntar homeworld for billions of years, life would never have been allowed to flourish across the cosmos. Unfortunately, he has recently been freed – and in King In Black #1 he arrives on Earth. The Avengers are used to alien invasions, which frankly seem to be a dime a dozen in the Marvel Universe. But they’ve never faced anything like this before.
The Avengers put together a smart strategy quickly. Venom has briefed them on Knull’s plan of attack, that he will travel through space to attack Earth with a horde of symbiote dragons. But even Iron Man’s planetary defenses cannot hold this army back, and the battle is soon taking place on the ground. A group of street – level heroes with electricity and magic – based powers are assembled to conduct evacuations in New York, with the X-Men’s Storm attempting to use her own lightning to disrupt the bond between Knull and the symbiotes. When Knull arrives himself, the X-Men bring in their big gun, the Sentry.
And then it all goes horribly wrong. Knull defeats the Sentry with horrific ease and then returns to Earth to defeat the heroes in New York. His symbiotes swarm over them, capturing the likes of Captain America, Wolverine, Luke Cage, Black Cat, and Ms. Marvel. And then Knull seals his victory by shrouding the entire sky with symbiotes, cutting the Earth off from the rest of the universe. “This sky of yours,” he declares. “No more distractions… no more of your sun… no more stars. No more light.” It’s the perfect inversion of the Genesis narrative in the Bible, with Knull standing as the anti-creator. And just as God declared creation to be good, Knull makes his own judgment. “Isn’t this so much better?“
Alien invasions are commonplace in Marvel Comics. Consequently, it takes a lot to make stories of this kind work, an issue that undermined this year’s Empyre event. But Donny Cates has been building up to King In Black for years, and this first issue proves just how high the stakes really are. With Earth’s Mightiest Heroes already defeated, it is hard to see how the surviving superheroes can possibly dethrone the King In Black.
