WARNING: The following contains spoilers for King in Black: Gwenom vs. Carnage #1 by Seanan McGuire, Flaviano, Rico Renzi and VC's Ariana Maher, on sale now.

Knull's arrival and subsequent takeover of Earth required only a few minutes, leaving most of the population shocked and confused. Even seasoned heroes like Ghost-Spider, who possesses her own synthetic symbiote and the ability to traverse dimensional barriers, are at a loss for what to do in the face of such a sprawling threat.

When fighting seems as if it's hardly an option, a hasty retreat is probably the best course of action. Ghost-Spider's attempt to escape to her own world goes awry, and a Marvel icon provides her with insight that she would have rather avoided learning.

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Ghost-Spider is caught completely off-guard by the monsters now lurking the city streets, so she returns to the home she has made for herself, only for her roommates to become the next in a long line of the dark god's victims. Wracked with guilt and grief over her apparent incapability to handle what is happening, Ghost-Spider uses her teleporter to return to her own world. Something goes very, very wrong in the process, though, and the hero is somehow pulled back to our world, though this time she isn't alone. In the chaos, Gwen drags her world's Mary Jane through the portal with her, the two falling fast to the streets below that are still teeming with Knull's living darkness. They hit the ground hard, Mary Jane near-instantly overcome by the symbiotic ooze, and all that Gwen can do is watch as her friend undergoes a horrifying transformation.

When she rises, a dark voice emanates from her, announcing that Mary Jane is gone, and only Knull remains. As such, it's time for a name change, and that of Knull's favorite child is more than fitting. The transformed Mary Jane comes into view, now sporting red and black symbiotic stripes along with her new fangs and claws, introducing herself as the new Carnage. The look is not only intimidating, but it's a fun nod to the character's longtime habit of calling Peter Parker "tiger." Of course, there's no time for Carnage and Ghost-Spider to discuss the nuances of her costume, but that doesn't mean there isn't time to dig into the revelation that Carnage has found a special place in Knull's void where a heart would be as his most favored creation.

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While Carnage wasn't birthed directly from Knull, it is the direct descendant of Venom, who is undoubtedly one of the strongest symbiotes to ever exist. When Carnage was born while Eddie Brock was escaping from prison, the new symbiote bonded to Cletus Kasady, one of the most prolific and sadistic serial killers the Marvel Universe has ever seen. Aside from wanton death and destruction, Carnage also proved to be capable of crafting and coordinating extremely complex plots. Over the years Carnage has gone from a street-level terror to a national threat, and even spent time as the vessel for the dark god's reawakening as Dark Carnage. All things considered, it's no surprise that Carnage is Knull's favorite, but that doesn't make the fact any less unnerving. If the new Carnage is half the symbiote her namesake was, this could very well be the last fight of Ghost-Spider's life.

KEEP READING: Marvel's Most Powerful Symbiote Is NOT Venom, Carnage or Knull