WARNING: The following contains spoilers for King in Black #1 by Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Frank Martin and VC's Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
In King in Black #1, the symbiote god Knull finally arrives on Earth. For the past year, the cosmic villain has been traveling through the cosmos, amassing a massive army with which he could hopefully take on Earth's Mightiest Heroes. His arrival has been a long time coming, and thanks to Eddie Brock, the Avengers had the time to fortify the planet and prepare for Knull's attack. But the truth of the matter is, despite what Venom and the superheroes knew about the god of the symbiotes, nothing can prepare them for what comes when he finally arrives.
The entire first issue of the event chronicles Knull's attack on Earth, and the Avengers' best efforts to stop him. Unfortunately, the superheroes are ultimately defeated in record time and, as a result, the entire world is now covered in the darkness of Knull's symbiotes.
Since Eddie Brock warned the Avengers of Knull's coming, they had a long time to come up with a plan to defend the Earth. The Kree/Skrull armada that was left behind in the planet's orbit following Empyre was transformed into a space landmine field by Tony Stark and when Knull's symbiote dragons first arrive, the bombs explode. The mines take out plenty of dragons, but their numbers are so great that it barely slows them down.
Soon, a full-scale invasion of Earth begins, and separate teams of superheroes coordinate responses on the ground and in the air -- even the X-Men show up to lend a hand. But all of these teams are overwhelmed by Knull's symbiotes, who fall down from the sky like rain, covering the ground in black liquid. The rainfall is so massive that this blanket of symbiotes starts covering entire cities, while the Avengers and the X-Men continue to fight against a seemingly endless horde of monsters.
Following this attack, Knull finally arrives, flanked by three symbiote-covered Celestials. As the villain reveals himself, the Avengers dispatch the Sentry to try and take Knull out in a quick and efficient manner. However, the god of the symbiotes rips the superhero in half and claims the Void for himself, just as his forces bury and trap the rest of the superheroes.
Then, to secure his victory, Knull orders all of his dragons to merge. As a result, they create a blanket that covers the entire planet, blocking the sun out and plunging the world into darkness.
Essentially, the villain has just covered the entire planet in a symbiote, and he is its master.
Knull's attack and subsequent victory was shockingly short. In the span of a single issue, he arrived on Earth, defeated the Avengers and the X-Men, killed the Sentry and took over the entire planet. If there was any doubt of Knull's power, the character has just proven why he is such a fearsome presence in the Marvel Universe -- and why the Klyntar kept him trapped for thousands of years in the first place.
Now, Knull has won, but this is only the beginning of the event. As the world falls to darkness, hopefully, there are still a few heroes left to fight back. But who?