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.
King in Black brought Marvel's eldest dark god to the forefront of the Marvel Universe, as the culmination of a universe-spanning campaign of symbiote terror. For a being as ancient and powerful as Kull, he has a plethora of strengths that even the mightiest heroes of the Marvel Universe could only begin to fathom.
Considering his numerous strengths, it's almost shocking that Knull didn't take control of the universe long ago. However, the symbiote god also has some vary particular weaknesses. Now, we're taking a closer look at both Knull and breaking down his strengths, powers, weaknesses.
MARVEL'S OLDEST GOD
As the dark god himself revealed to Eddie Brock back in 2018's Venom #4 by Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Frank Martin Jr., and Clayton Cowles, Knull has existed for longer than almost any being in the Marvel Universe. Hailing from the primordial abyss, Knull drifted aimlessly and peacefully, a living part of Oblivion itself. As such, Knull doesn't have any needs the same way other beings might. He does not need food or water or air to sustain himself. To survive, Knull simply needs to be, which is part of why he's lived so long and covered so much ground within the Marvel Universe.
KNULL's LIVING DARKNESS
Venom #4 showcases the first light of creation at the hands of the Celestials. These cosmic gods and their acts of creation disturbed Knull's slumber and enraged him, while also exposing him to something that had quite literally never existed before: his shadow. Curious, Knull thrust his hand into his own newly-cast shadow, and he pulled out All-Black, the very first symbiote, from within it. This blade of living darkness is what he would use to slay the Celestial known as Knowhere, leaving its body to become dark and twisted in the place between realities while turning its head into a forge for him to hone his new craft. While the living darkness is a part of Knull, the symbiotes which are comprised of it are famous for finding their way to strange worlds and onto even stranger hosts.
KNULL AND THE CODICES
When a symbiote bonds to a host, a small piece of the symbiote is left behind inside of them, a minuscule strand wrapped around their DNA. As explained in 2019's Absolute Carnage #1 by Donny Cates, Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, Frank Martin Jr., and Clayton Cowles, these pieces of the symbiote known as a Codex stay behind even when they become separated from their host. This is what led Cletus Kasady to begin murdering everyone who had ever bonded to a symbiote, as with every Codex available he would be able to release Knull from the dark god's imprisonment. Beyond freeing him from an ancient prison, the natural application of these Codices is almost just as frightening and links them to one of the other most terrifying aspects of Knull and his living darkness.
KNULL'S SYMBIOTE HIVE
Each Codex is made with the intent to collect and transmit information to the Hive, the collected consciousness of all symbiotes. The Hive not only allows symbiotes to continue living on through their Codex after having been killed, but it allows for them to connect with one another on a level unlike almost anything else. The inside of the Hive, as seen recently in Venom #33 by Donny Cates, Iban Coello, Jesus Aburtov, and Clayton Cowles, is a Knull-controlled realm that's between a collective subconscious and an astral plane. While Eddie Brock's physical body died, his Codex continued living and fighting against Knull from within the Hive itself. This is also the way in which Knull can see and hear through every symbiote connected to the Hive, control other symbiotes or manifesting an effigy of himself using any other symbiote's form.
KNULL'S WEAKNESS
As powerful as Knull is, he still has weaknesses. Like all symbiotes, Knull is averse to light, and the brighter it is the more that it burns. Fire, electricity, and high-frequency sounds have also long been weaknesses to symbiotes, though Knull has only been harmed by these when wielded by some truly powerful individuals. During the recent King in Black: Scream #1 by Clay McLeod Chapman, Garry Brown, Rachelle Rosenberg, and Cory Petit, the titular symbiote hero was able to force Knull's retreat after continuously unleashing massive blasts of concentrated Hellfire onto him, which had a noticeable effect.
However, as King in Black #5 proves, Knull is nowhere near as powerful as the Enigma Force, which has given dozens of Marvel characters the power of Captain Universe. Empowering the so-called "God of Light," the Enigma Force can turn a regular human into one of the mightiest heroes in the cosmos, and its champions have has definitively overwhelmed Knull on two occasions.