WARNING: The following contains spoilers for King in Black #2, by Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Frank Martin, and VC's Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
Right from its opening moments, the crossover event King in Black has proved that Knull, the dark god of symbiotes, has lived up to the years of hype as he leads his army into an invasion of Earth. Powering through the orbital defenses established by Iron Man, the symbiote army has made landfall in New York City and subjugated any opposition that stands in its way. And as Knull continues to expand his reach over the planet while searching for Dylan Brock, he reveals that several familiar faces have suffered a fate worse than death as he unveils his twisted take on the Avengers.
Captain America led a joint coalition of heroes to combat the symbiote army in the heart of Manhattan as the invaders descended into the city. While heroes like Doctor Strange and Storm initially managed to hold their own against the rising tide of symbiotes, they were both eventually overwhelmed after being singled out by the symbiotes as Knull issued his demand of Brock being remanded into his custody. With only Iron Man, Spider-Man and Black Cat managing to avoid being forcibly absorbed into the symbiotes, Captain America and the rest of his crew were corrupted. As Spider-Man recovers Eddie Brock from his own harrowing, face-to-face encounter with Knull, he discovers his old friends have already been transformed into something dark and twisted.
Gathering up Eddie after his frenemy falls from the top of a building onto a car in the streets below, Spidey's rescue nearly comes to an abrupt end as he barely dodges a crimson concussion blast. Turning around, Spider-Man sees that Cyclops has become a twisted vision of himself, bonded to a symbiote and grinning murderously as he rises from the symbiote residue spreading across the streets. He is joined by similarly transformed incarnations of Captain America, Ms. Marvel, the Thing and Storm as they advanced menacingly towards the friendly neighborhood webslinger. The possessed heroes bear Knull's red emblem across their chest and the ominous spiral seen throughout the crossover event Absolute Carnage on their forehead.
As Spider-Man escapes the scene with Eddie in tow while the Human Torch sacrifices himself to cover his escape, the rest of the heroes react poorly to the fate of their comrades. Black Cat is determined to free Strange from Knull's clutches, assembling her usual crew to undertake the heist of a lifetime. Professor X and Magneto react to the loss of the X-Men present at the battle much angrier, denying requests for additional aid from Krakoa. And all the while, the transformed heroes remain on the loose in service of their dark, new master.
It's unclear how of their old memories the possessed heroes retain after being absorbed by Knull's symbiotes, but they have demonstrated that they are still quite capable of tapping into their powers. With someone possessing as keen a tactical mind as Captain America and Cyclops and with the magical expertise of Doctor Strange, Knull and his symbiote collective have just become more powerful than ever by what they potentially absorbed from the heroes.
Knull has already proven himself to be unstoppable but the dark god has just gained his own dark version of Earth's Mightiest Heroes...and the world just might pay the price.