The King in Black, Knull, will be getting his first Marvel Legends action figure and his creators couldn't be happier about it.At Hasbro Pulse Con 2021, Hasbro unveiled an assortment of upcoming products that will lead into the 20th anniversary of Marvel Legends. In addition to retro carded toys of the West Coast Avengers, new MCU-accurate figures of the many Captain Americas and a line of X-Men: The Animated Series-inspired collectibles, the Venom villain will be making his debut in the line. This announcement was exciting for many fans, but seemed particularly noteworthy for co-creators Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman, who posted on Twitter to express their glee.
During the event's livestream, Hasbro marketing team member Dan Yun spoke to Cates about the writer's history with toys and how his love for sculpting helped him get a college scholarship for art, which led to his career in comics. At the end of their chat, Dan had a surprise for Cates, revealing Knull's figure and capturing Cates's first reaction on the broadcast. The writer exclaimed "I'm a very proud dad man, I gotta tell you. That is a killer sculpt. It really is. I love everything about it, it looks great." Cates also expressed his disbelief at the impact of Knull's legacy on Venom, saying "I really never thought in a million years that this bizarre character that I made over like five years ago with Stegman would be like this physical, tangible thing."
In 2002, Toy Biz began Marvel Legends as a spinoff of its successful Spider-Man Classics series, but it quickly eclipsed that line in both scale and popularity. Today, Hasbro honors this legacy with regular Spider-Man themed waves and special releases. While there is no news yet on when or how fans can expect to find Knull, a new throwback Marvel Legends Venom figure that replicates the stylized color scheme of the '90s cartoon intro was also released during Hasbro Pulse Con 2021.
Throughout their run on Venom, with events like Absolute Carnage and King in Black, Eddie Brock faced off against the looming threat of Knull. Created by Cates and Stegman, Knull is an eldritch being of darkness and the god of the symbiotes. His villainous journey culminated in a battle against Eddie and his son Dylan, where the fate of the entire universe was at stake.
Over the summer, Cates and Stegman announced the creation of their own comic book imprint called Kids Love Chains Press. Their first collaboration together will be Vanish, which combines their love of magic and superheroes for a brand new series. At this time, Kids Love Chains Press is available exclusively through Substack, but the creators have stated that there will be physical editions of their books in the future.