Knull (character)
Knull | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | Thor: God of Thunder #6 (March 2013; identity unrevealed) Venom vol. 4 #3 (August 2018; full appearance) |
Created by | Donny Cates Ryan Stegman |
In-story information | |
Species | Elder God[1] |
Place of origin | Primordial void |
Team affiliations | Symbiote Imperium |
Notable aliases | God of the Symbiotes Lord of the Abyss God-Host Grendel (avatar) Exolon God King in Black |
Abilities |
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Knull is a
Knull has been described as one of Marvel's most notable and powerful supervillains.[2][3][4][5][6]
Publication history
The character was first introduced in Venom vol. 4 #3 (Aug 2018), giving a nod to a nameless being appearing in Thor: God of Thunder #6.
Knull returned in King in Black as the main antagonist, which centers on his attack on Earth with his symbiote army.
Fictional character biography
Origin
Knull is a primordial deity that came into being following the destruction of the sixth iteration of the cosmos.
Knull eventually reawakened and discovered he could bond his living abyss to "lesser creatures" and control their new forms as vessels. He created an army of symbiotes with himself in the center of the hive mind and used them to spread across the universe, thus establishing the Symbiote Hive and killing the "light and creation" in the process. He continued killing gods, while also enslaving others. At some point, he was approached by the time-displaced
When one dragon-like symbiote arrived on medieval Earth to claim the planet as part of the Symbiote Hive, the young Thor arrived in aid of the Viking villagers and defeated the dragon, which the villagers called "Grendel", causing the connection between Knull and the symbiote hive mind to break. The symbiotes that were scattered over the universe, now free from Knull's control, began bonding to benevolent hosts and learning about the Light. The symbiotes rebelled against their god and trapped him inside an artificial planet formed of billions of symbiotes, which they called Klyntar — "cage" in their language.[15]
Meeting Eddie Brock
After thousands of years, S.H.I.E.L.D. discovered the body of the Grendel and bonded the pieces of the dragon to soldiers to create Super-Soldiers to fight in the Vietnam War. The procedure was dubbed the Sym-Soldier program. This reawakened Knull, allowing him to take control of the Sym-soldiers who went rogue before being captured by Nick Fury and Logan, except one piece, named Rex, which escaped Knull's control.[16] Years later, Eddie Brock (Venom) unknowingly freed the dragon and, after a battle against Eddie and Spider-Man, the dragon began searching for Rex to free Knull.[17] However, Venom merged with Rex and eventually trapped the Grendel in a blast furnace, incinerating it and Rex both.[18] Afterward, the Maker and Project Oversight retrieve the Grendel's codex from the furnace.[19]
Freed by Carnage
In Carnage Born, after
During "
Conquering Earth and death
At the time when the Guardians of the Galaxy were investigating the death of Zn'rx Emperor Stote during the Galactic Council's meeting at the Proscenium and find that the Chitauri Peacekeeper and the Profiteer were responsible sometime after the events of the "Empyre" storyline, Zoralis Gupa of the planet Silnius takes an urgent call while mentioning to the person on the other side to warn all neighboring systems. He tells Victoria that it's the End of Everything as different planets are starting to die in the planets owned by the Shi'ar, the Kree/Skrull Alliance, and the Zn'rx while rendering the galactic economy fragile enough to go bankrupt. Knowing that she won't make a profit, the Profiteer teleports Peacekeeper and the bio-bomb away. While thanking Zoralis Gupa for fooling the Profiteer with the bluff, Zoralis Gupa states to Super-Skrull and everyone present that something darker than Galactus is destroying the worlds and its name is Knull.[31] Emperor Hulkling dispatched Talos to investigate the Kree and Skrull bases that went dark with Av-Rom, Keeyah, M'lanz, Virtue, and Tarna. Two days later, a Kree/Skrull Alliance armada headed by General Kalamari finds Talos' escape pod. After recuperating in the sick bay, Talos recaps to Kalamari about what happened on his mission that involved an encounter with Knull. Talos then informs Kalamari that his distress beacon on his escape pod is a warning that Knull is coming. Outside the ship, Knull is riding a Symbiote Dragon as he swoops in for an attack.[32]
Sensing Knull coming at the start of the "
The King in Black's true purpose
As the new King in Black, Eddie learns from his future self that the Kings in Black are picked by the Celestials to serve the same purpose as the Beyonders—maintaining the multiverse—but they work from the inside instead of the outside. Knull had refused the work and rebelled against the Celestials.[36]
Powers and abilities
Knull possesses superhuman strength and durability.[37][38][39] He is depicted as an immortal being.[40][6] He is able to generate and manipulate eldritch darkness, as he can manifest darkness to create weapons and living creatures, whom he calls the "Living abyss."[41][42][43][44] He is able to forge different types of symbiotes with various abilities, such as dragon-like symbiotes.[45][46] He can remotely influence and control the symbiotes he creates.[47] Knull is also a shapeshifter, being able to turn his human-like mouth into fanged jaws with an elongated tongue — a feature passed on to the symbiotes.[48] With his regenerative healing factor, Knull can recover quickly from injuries.[49] Knull also has the ability to fly.[50]
He is an expert combatant, utilizing All-Black to kill
Despite his severed connection to the symbiotes, his influence can still be observed as when
Reception
Critical reception
Ian Cardona of
Knull received particular attention in Sweden and Norway, due to the word knull being the noun form of "fuck" (referring to copulation), in Swedish and Norwegian.[61][62][63]
Accolades
- In 2015, Screen Rant included Knull in their "20 Most Powerful Marvel Villains" list.[3]
- In 2018, IGN included Knull in their "Marvel's most powerful symbiotes" list.[2]
- In 2020,
- In 2020, CBR.com included Knull in their "Spider-Man: The Best New Villains of the Century" list.[65]
- In 2021, Screen Rant included Knull in their "16 Most Powerful Cosmic Characters In Marvel Comics" list[44] and in their "Marvel: Venom’s Main Comic Book Villains Ranked From Most Laughable To Coolest" list.[66]
- In 2022, Bustle included Knull in their "50 Most Powerful Characters In The Marvel Universe" list.[5]
- In 2022, Collider ranked Knull 2nd in their "9 Most Powerful Symbiotes In the Marvel Universe" list.[43]
- In 2022, Screen Rant included Knull in their "Marvel Comics: 13 Most Powerful Symbiotes" list,[67] in their "10 Best Cosmic Villains Not Yet In The MCU" list,[68] and in their "10 Marvel Comics Gods Who Should Join The MCU Next" list.[69]
- In 2022,
In other media
Television
Knull appears in the
Video games
- Knull and Ancient Venom (Venom possessed by Knull) appear as playable characters in Spider-Man Unlimited.
- Knull appears as a playable character and boss in Marvel: Future Fight.
- Knull appears as a card in Marvel Snap.
- Knull appears as a playable character in Marvel Contest of Champions.
- Knull appears as a playable character in Marvel Puzzle Quest.[72]
- Although not appearing directly in the 2023 game Spider-Man 2, Knull is referenced through the presence of the character's spiral brand on the symbiote enemies seen throughout the game, and meteorite which brought the symbiote to Earth.[73]
References
- ^ Spider-Man/Venom Free Comic Book Day #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^ a b Schedeen, Jesse (19 October 2018). "Marvel's most powerful symbiotes". IGN. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
- ^ a b c Dyce, Andrew (2015-07-25). "20 Most Powerful Marvel Villains". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ a b England, Matthew (2020-06-28). "10 Marvel Gods With The Highest Kill Count, Ranked". CBR. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
- ^ a b "The 50 Most Powerful Characters In The Marvel Universe, Ranked". Bustle. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ a b Llewellyn, Michael; Huston, Gabrielle (2018-10-16). "Venom: The 15 Strongest Symbiotes". TheGamer. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
- ^ a b King in Black #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Venom Vol 4 #4
- ^ Venom Vol 5 #18
- ^ Cates, Donny (26 July 2018). "Yep! The severed celestial head in VENOM #4 would someday erode and decay and become Knowhere! Good catch!". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
- ^ Thor: God of Thunder #6. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Silver Surfer: Black #1-2. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Silver Surfer: Black #5. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Venom vol. 4 #4. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Web of Venom Ve'nam #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Venom vol. 4 #1-3. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Venom vol. 4 #5-6. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Venom vol. 4 #7. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Web of Venom Carnage Born #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Web of Venom Cult of Carnage #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Absolute Carnage: Separation Anxiety #1. Marvel Comics
- ^ Absolute Carnage: Scream #1. Marvel Comics
- ^ Guardians of Galaxy vol. 5 #3. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Web of Venom: Wraith #1
- ^ Absolute Carnage #5. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Incoming #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Venom vol. 4 #21. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Venom vol. 4 #22
- ^ Web of Venom: The Good Son #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 6 #8. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Web of Venom: Empyre's End #1. Marvel Comics.
- ^ King in Black #3. Marvel Comics.
- ^ King in Black #4. Marvel Comics.
- ^ King in Black #5. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Venom vol. 5 #18. Marvel Comics.
- ^ King in Black #1
- ^ Silver Surfer: Black #2
- ^ Corley, Shaun (2020-12-07). "King in Black: Every Power Knull Has Used So Far". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ Venom Vol 4 #10
- ^ Venom Vol 4 #4
- ^ Silver Surfer: Black #2
- ^ a b Oddo, Marco Vito (2021-10-16). "9 Most Powerful Symbiotes In the Marvel Universe, Ranked". Collider. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ a b Harn, Darby (2021-05-16). "The 16 Most Powerful Cosmic Characters In Marvel Comics, Ranked". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ Venom Vol 4 #2
- ^ Dodge, John (2020-11-14). "Venom Just Became Marvel's Game of Thrones in Space - Complete With Dragons". CBR. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ Venom Vol 4 #4
- ^ Silver Surfer: Black #5
- ^ Venom Vol 4 #4
- ^ King in Black #1
- ^ "VENOM BOIZ! w/Donny Cates: Venom (2018) #1 Director's Commentary". 22 June 2019.
- ^ Thor: God of Thunder #24. Marvel Comics.
- ^ The Mighty Thor #700. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Thor vol. 5 #6-12. Marvel Comics.
- ^ War of the Realms #6. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Thor vol. 5 #14. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Secret Wars #8. Marvel Comics.
- ^ "Venom Writer Confirms Origin of Venom's Iconic White Spider Symbol". Comic Book Resources. 4 January 2019. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^ Annihilation Conquest: Wraith #2. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Cardona, Ian (2018-06-27). "Venom: Marvel Begins to Reveal Everything About the God of the Symbiotes". CBR. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ Johnston, Rich (2018-06-30). "The Rather Sweary True Meaning of Knull". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on 2020-07-02. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ^ Dahlskog, Noréa (2020-07-02). ""Knull is coming" – akta er för Marvel Comics superbov" ["Knull is coming" – watch out for the Marvel Comics supervillain]. Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2020-07-02. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ^ Støre, Maria (2020-07-03). "Marvel Comics: "Knull is coming – 2020"". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ^ Dunphey, Charles (2020-07-08). "Ranking The 19 Most Powerful Marvel Cosmic Characters". CBR. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ Zachary, Brandon (2020-04-30). "Spider-Man: The Best New Villains of the Century (So Far)". CBR. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
- ^ Atchison, Drew (2021-06-29). "Marvel: Venom's Main Comic Book Villains Ranked From Most Laughable To Coolest". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ Beaty, Drew (2021-06-10). "Marvel Comics: 13 Most Powerful Symbiotes". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ "10 Best Cosmic Villains Not Yet In The MCU". ScreenRant. 2022-11-18. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ Prom, Bradley (2022-07-19). "10 Marvel Comics Gods Who Should Join The MCU Next". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
- ^ Gaudreau, Jared (2022-01-09). "The Black Knight's 10 Strongest Villains". CBR. Retrieved 2022-10-24.
- ^ Draven, Derek (2021-04-01). "Venom: The 20 Most Powerful Symbiotes, Ranked". CBR. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
- ^ Piecing Together Marvel Puzzle Quest: Knull (King in Black)
- ^ Baggett, Christopher (October 24, 2023). "What Marvel's Spider-Man 2's spiral symbiote logo means". Dexerto. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
External links
- Knull on Marvel Database, a Marvel Comics wiki
- Knull at Comic Vine
- Knull at Marvel.com
- Knull[permanent dead link] at Comic Book Database
- Knull: Everything You Need to Know About Marvel's Symbiote God at CBR