After 5 months of King in Black, Marvel’s huge crossover event has finally come to an end. King in Black was easily one of the largest (and lengthiest) crossover events in Marvel Comics history. The event was centered around Knull The God of Symbiotes. After being freed from the prison planet of Klytar with help from Carnage, Knull resumed the galactic conquest that he had begun eons ago.
He used his mastery of the symbiote race he once created to consume every living organism in his path in darkness. Knull lived up to his “Lord of the Abyss” moniker by turning both Kree and Skrull voyagers into symbiote hosts. Before the event began, we saw Eddie Brock warn The Avengers of Earth’s impending doom in the Venom title. The Avengers were understandably upset, but our heroes had what they thought was ample time to prepare for the threat. When Knull finally arrived on Earth, The Avengers, The X-Men, and Eddie Brock quickly learned they were not ready for Knull’s forces.
Knull descended upon the Earth with an army of Symbiote Dragons in tow. He came down wielding the first-ever symbiote, the living necrosword All-black. The God of Symbiotes was commanding the largest symbiote force in history. His Symbiote Dragons tore through Earth’s defense easily as the symbiotes began to turn the planet’s heroes into hosts. Many of Earth’s most notable heroes in including Captain America were eventually overrun and converted into servants of Knull. The God of Symbiotes left nothing to chance and even rained Symbiote Celestials down on Earth.
One of the biggest moments in the event was the death of Eddie Brock (yea, he definitely died). Eddie kicked the bucket after succumbing to injuries from being stripped of his symbiote and dropped from multiple stories above the ground by Knull. Spider-Man fashioned a web harness and attempted to save Eddie’s life but he flatlined on Mr. Fantastic’s operating table.
It turns out, Eddie was such a fighter that even death somehow could not stop him from protecting his son Dylan Brock. After death, Eddie ended up in Knull’s hive, The God Hive, a kind of nucleus of the symbiote hive mind. Eddie found and recruited Flash Thompson AKA Agent Venom to help free some of the symbiotes from Knull’s control and create a symbiote resistance. Flash was able to bond with a captive symbiote and take over a dragon creating a White Symbiote Dragon.
Eddie was able to escape the hive and became a champion of The Enigma Force. The Enigma force, also called The God of Light, gave Venom a major power boost. Using this power boost Venom was able to accomplish amazing feats like riding Silver Surfer’s board and wielding Mjolnir. Thanks to the power of The Enigma Force Venom easily defeated Knull by flying him into the sun and disintegrating The God of Symbiotes.
When Venom returned to Earth, he returned as the new King in Black, dominant over every symbiote ever created. Venom’s new upgrade makes him near-omnipotent and the leader of one of the most powerful alien races in existence. His victory over Knull freed the symbiote race from a lifetime of captivity and subservience. Eddie Brock is now essentially a God. He quite possibly is also the strongest being in Marvel Comics after besting the oldest being in Marvel Comics. All hail the new King in Black.
Check out Variant Comics‘ recap for more context!
