Warning, this article contains spoilers for King in Black: Planet of The Symbiotes #1!
The King in Black has no shortage of lackeys, and none are to be taken lightly. Even his legion of Grendel dragons were the stuff of legend during Medieval times; after Thor destroyed one, its body infected the minds and bodies of humans in Denmark. Since then, Knull’s legacy of darkness has spread throughout the history of humanity. His origin as the universe’s first occupant and the legend of his power has touched Earth for generations. So much so that there are an entire church and belief system dedicated to the Lord of the Abyss. Many have worshiped the dark God throughout the years, but none were more devout than Cortland Kasady.
Ki, long dead, was the ancestor of Cletus Kasady, the man who became a servant of Knull as Carnage. Driven to madness by Knull, Cortland is acknowledged as “the new world’s first serial killer.” The King in Black also claims the man murdered more in his name than any of his servants, despite his millions of years of existence. Time and age have reduced Cortland to brittle bones and cobwebs in a casket, but as readers learned with Venom, Knull’s creations live on until he is finished with them.
Knull recently revived his greatest disciple as the symbiote villain Plague. In King in Black: Planet of the Symbiotes #1 by Frank Tieri and Danilo Beyruth, Plague proved he is Knull’s most dangerous follower by sucking the life out of those who opposed him. He is Knull’s will incarnate, the perfect weapon in every way. He enjoys killing even more than Carnage and is the ember that sparked the massive chaotic inferno that is the Kasady bloodline.
As depicted in Ruins of Ravencroft: Carnage by Frank Tieri, Angel Unzueta, and Guiu Vilanova, Cortland Kasady was a perfectly sane man in the 1660s who came to the New World with his family. They chose to live near the grounds that would later become the notorious Ravencroft Institute. Kasady’s wife, Molly, fell into the clutches of the Church of the New Darkness. The church was really a cult formed by those who worshipped Knull, and while Cortland was able to spare his wife, he could not escape without being corrupted by his new master.
Kasady quickly became Knull’s most valuable soldier. He slaughtered countless innocents to appease his god. The man was so ruthless that his master took notice. Hundreds of years later, Cortland’s descendant Cletus became another of Knull’s top performers, called to return to the legacy of his ancestor. A serial killer himself, Cletus eventually became Carnage, the disciple that ultimately freed Knull from Klyntar. Though Carnage was killed prior to Knull’s occupation of Earth, the Kasadys are far from done serving their lord. Cortland’s violent history and ability to suck the life from other lifeforms make him the greatest solider in The King in Black‘s dark army.
