Who Is Knull in Venom: The Last Dance? Explained

The final trailer for Venom: The Last Dance has been released online. The ending teased the appearance of an incredibly popular comic book villain that shocked fans. So, who exactly is Knull and what does his appearance mean for the movie?

Who Is Knull in Marvel Comics?

Knull is a character created at the start of Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman’s 2018 run of the Venom comic book. First appearing in Venom #3, Knull was made to retroactively deepen the mythos of the symbiotes and their origin in the cosmos. The character is revealed to be the one who created the first symbiote, eventually creating and ruling the entire planet of symbiotes as a single hive mind. Knull’s main weapon of choice, the Necrosword, is the first symbiote he ever created, which the character used to decapitate and kill a Celestial (the giant gods seen in Marvel Studios’ Eternals).

From there, Knull used the Celestial’s body and power to strengthen his sword before it was inadvertently taken from him. The new user of the Necrosword became a god himself, while Knull created his symbiote planet. The all-powerful and all-black Necrosword would eventually be revealed to be the power source of Gorr the God Butcher, the iconic Thor villain brought to life by Christian Bale in the MCU film Thor: Love and Thunder. Knull’s reach and influence span throughout Marvel Comics thanks to Cates’ clever planning and writing, making him a formidable threat not just to Venom but to the entire universe.

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Knull was at the center of a massive Marvel Comic event titled after him called King in Black. The five-issue event series sees Knull invading Earth, using his symbiote hive to take over various Marvel heroes and nearly overrun the planet. Almost all hope is lost, with Eddie Brock even being killed by Knull. Thankfully, Eddie is revived by the Enigma Force, which temporarily transforms him into the God of Light, allowing him to fight on an even playing field with Knull, finally killing and defeating the villain.

Knull’s Role in Venom: The Last Dance, Explained

Knull is an evil and incredibly powerful character, making his appearance in Venom: The Last Dance all the more surprising. While it would conceptually be fitting to put Venom’s greatest foe at the end of a trilogy, the previous films hardly did any setup for the cosmic character. The past two Venom films have mainly been street-level, with hardly any focus on Venom’s origins or the intergalactic side of things.

Moreover, Knull isn’t a threat (if done correctly) that Venom can fight alone. As previously mentioned, Knull is a character with connections to other cosmic Marvel characters featured in the MCU. There was a real opportunity to use the character as a bridge to the MCU, especially considering that Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock was briefly transported to the more popular universe. While it remains to be seen how much of a role Knull plays in Venom: The Last Dance, it does not look like the film will honor the character’s threat in the comics.

Venom: The Last Dance arrives in theaters on October 25, 2024.