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, the dark god of symbiotes, has arrived on Earth and is intent on claiming the powers of Dylan Brock for himself as he engulfs the Marvel Universe in eternal darkness. While this naturally puts symbiote-powered heroes like Venom right in the unstoppable villain's path, one symbiote-bonded hero appears to be free from Knull's influence: Ghost Spider. However, as "King in Black" sweeps across New York City, the Gwen Stacy of Earth-65 not only finds herself right in Knull's path but at a severe disadvantage as her spider-sense doesn't work on the dark god or his army.
In King in Black: Gwenom vs. Carnage #1, Gwen is patrolling the streets of Manhattan when Knull's symbiotes strike the city and quickly discovers that her spider-sense cannot detect the presence or incoming attacks from the extraterrestrial invaders. This negation stems from the fact that, unlike Peter Parker's own experience with the Venom symbiote, Gwen permanently bonded with the Venom symbiote from her world to become Gwenom. Constantly keeping her darker impulses in check, Gwen now derives her powers from the bond rather than her original, radioactive spider bite.
The distinction of Gwen's Venom symbiote being artificially created by infusing the Lizard serum with radioactive isotopes and being from Earth-65 rather than the main Marvel Universe kept her safe during "Absolute Carnage". With Cletus Kasady only actively hunting those that had bonded with symbiotes from the extraterrestrial Klyntar race, Gwen managed to stay off his radar while her friends like Miles Morales weren't so lucky. As the god of symbiotes, Knull's powers are more potent, canceling Gwen's spider-sense and, when Gwen does come into contact with the symbiotes sweeping across New York, the villainous god senses the uniqueness behind Gwenom immediately, firmly putting her right in his sights.
As Gwen desperately attempts to escape Knull's attention, battling symbiote monsters across Manhattan, the god breaks out the big guns by summoning a newly empowered Mary Jane Watson from Earth-65 and transforming her into Carnage to confront her old friend and roommate. Knull is eager to learn more about the strange nature of Gwen's symbiote, boasting familiar powers as Venom and with Knull able to connect to her telepathically through it but wholly its own creation that twists the symbiotes he is accustomed to command. And just as Knull and his forces scour Earth to seize Dylan into their symbiote collective, they've just gained their second biggest target in Ghost Spider.
After escaping his own encounter with the Venom symbiote, Peter Parker quickly discovered that his spider-sense was unable to detect Venom's presence or even the most lethal attacks the villain was leveling at him due to the previous symbiosis. Even owing to the vast differences between Gwen's Earth-65 symbiote and the Klyntar, Knull still holds some connection over Gwenom due to their similar make-up and properties.
Telepathically linked to the dark god but without her spider-sense to keep her safe, Ghost Spider is discovering that she will have nowhere to hide as Knull bears down on her for further examination. And now with Earth-65's MJ transformed into a voracious vision of Carnage and stalking Gwen through the streets of Manhattan, terror will wear an all too familiar face as Gwen tries to stay alive through "King in Black".