WARNING: The following contains spoilers for King in Black #5, by Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Frank Martin, Jason Keith and VC's Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
For millennia, Knull, the god of the symbiotes,was imprisoned by his own creations, but once he was freed at the end of 2019's Absolute Carnage, he instantly made Earth his target. For a long time, the villain traveled across the cosmos, amassing an incredible army of symbiote dragons and dark Celestials to attack the planet. Ever since his arrival in King in Black #1, Knull has proven his frightening dominance: he killed the Sentry and Eddie Brock, he took control over most of the world's heroes and he sealed the entire planet off inside a symbiote.
And in King in Black #5, Eddie returns to life thanks to the Enigma Force, and he faces the villain who has been a dark plague on the Marvel Universe for the past three years. And with his extra power boost, Venom is transformed into a cosmic powerhouse who can wield Thor's hammer and Silver Surfer's board, which allows him to get rid of Knull, once and for all.
Knull first appeared in 2018's Venom #3 by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman. The series revealed that the character was a being as old -- if not older -- than the universe itself, and that he was the creator of the symbiotes and, for all intents and purposes, their god. While it took a long time for the character to arrive on Earth, the threat of Knull has been prevalent throughout the Venom series, and it was clear he was being set up as a huge antagonist for the entire Marvel Universe.
Given his important place in the history of the universe and Marvel's cosmic hierarchy, there was no telling what would happen to Knull beyond King in Black. However, King in Black #5 sees Venom separate Knull from his symbiote before reducing him to cosmic dust in the Sun.
Indeed, most of the issue consists of an extended brawl between Venom and Knull. Thanks to his Captain Universe abilities, Eddie Brock can use Mjolnir and the Silver Surfer's board to create a powerful ax that allows him to rip All-Black the Necrosword off of Knull. Without it, Knull is much more vulnerable, and Venom flies him right into space, taking the fight into the very heart of the Sun. There, the full power of the Enigma Force is unleashed and, combined with the fire and heat of the star, Knull burns to a crisp until he crumbles to ash.
For the past three years, Knull was the biggest looming threat in the Marvel Universe. Through him, Marvel history was altered and redefined, and the cosmic scope of the entire universe was transformed into something even bigger and more mysterious. It seemed as if such an important character would become a recurring threat, but that doesn't seem to be the case at all, for the moment. As King in Black #5 comes to a close, Knull is defeated, and his death leads to Eddie Brock's Venom taking Knull's place as the new god of the symbiotes, something which redefines the superhero's place in the Marvel Universe.
While Knull might appear to be truly gone, a universe-shaking villain as powerful and ancient as him will almost always return, sooner or later, ready to present a new world of trouble to Venom and the rest of Marvel's heroes.