Knull, God of the Symbiotes, has conquered Earth in Marvel’s King In Black event – but how is he so powerful, and can he be beaten? It’s quickly becoming clear Knull should be considered one of the most dangerous threats of all time. He ruled the cosmos when the universe was young, successfully delaying the evolution of life itself by millennia until he was driven back by a time traveling Silver Surfer. Now he has escaped, and he has cut a bloody swathe across the heavens, one that led him straight to Earth.

The Avengers may be Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but they have found themselves completely out of their depth in King In Black. Their biggest gun, the Sentry, was literally torn apart in a brutal act of revenge for his once doing the same to Knull’s servant Carnage. And though Thor managed to actually break Knull’s jaw, he was stabbed through the chest with All-Black, a weapon that can kill even a god. “You know the pain of All-Black, don’t you,” Knull hissed at Thor. “Well… now you’ve had the honor of being killed by its creator.” Thor would have died had he not been saved by Tony Stark, who had taken possession of the power of a Celestial as a distraction.

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But just how has Knull proved so powerful, and how can he possibly be defeated? King In Black #3 may have offered a shocking theory – by hinting Knull could be the yin to the One-Above-All’s yang.

One Power Stands In Opposition To Knull

The Avengers themselves don’t know it, but King In Black #3 appears to be the turning point in the war against Knull. The story is framed by blue text boxes representing the thoughts of the Silver Surfer, revealed to be a Herald once again – but now of an as-yet-unidentified force he believes stands in opposition to Knull. “For every darkness, there is a light,” the Silver Surfer reflects. “An opposite. An equal. There is another. An opposite of Knull. A God of Light.” According to the Silver Surfer, all the powers that have to date managed to harm even Knull – like the might of All-Father Thor or the son of Eddie Brock, Dylan – are tied to some greater being.

The Silver Surfer has a unique knowledge and experience of Knull. In Silver Surfer: Black, Norrid Radd was transported back to the days when the universe was young. There, he found a cosmos out of balance, with the darkness triumphant, and Knull attempting to extinguish all life and light. Knull may well have succeeded had the Silver Surfer not bound himself to life itself, and used that power to repel him for a time. It is reasonable to assume this experience – which turned the Surfer’s skin black – was what bound him to the entity he now serves as a Herald.

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Knull’s Real Purpose on Earth

The Silver Surfer’s reflections provide a fascinating lens through which Knull’s actions can be understood. According to the Silver Surfer, there are two entities – a God of Light and Life, and a God of Death and Darkness. There is naturally a sort of balance between the two, and Knull’s goal is to tip this balance in his favor. Earth is presumably the center of the God of Light’s power – after all, so many of its avatars and agents appear to be connected to this planet. Thus, before he came to Earth, Knull first cut a bloody swathe across the galaxy, killing billions on dozens of worlds in order to tip the balance in his favor. And when he arrived on Earth, Knull’s first act was to cover the world in a dome of symbiotes that cut the planet off from the life-giving energy of the sun – and that also apparently acts as a barrier to his opposite number, the God of Light.

This mostly explains why certain forces have been able to harm Knull; because there are tied to creation itself. The Silver Surfer wields the Power Cosmic, the background radiation of the universe that prompted the evolution of the first living organisms. Thor is now the All-Father of Asgard, possessing the power of a creator god. And Dylan is an intriguing anomaly; the son of a man bonded with a symbiote, a child whose very existence defies the creator of the symbiotes. The only anomaly is the Black Knight, whose Ebony Blade can apparently harm Knull as well; but that may well be somehow tied to the Silver Surfer, whose skin has turned black after Silver Surfer: Black.

What Is The Force That Opposes Knull?

All this naturally raises one final question; what is the force that opposes Knull? The most likely candidate is the One-Above-All, Marvel’s ultimate equivalent of God. The One-Above-All is a mysterious cosmic entity who is believed to be responsible for the development of all life in the Multiverse; he is the ultimate God of Light and Life, superior in power to even the All-Fathers. What’s more, he has claimed to build with many hands – meaning he is likely the ultimate source of all superheroes on Earth, the “Godpower” the Fantastic Four theorized all superhumans are connected to.

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It is possible the One-Above-All lives in a sort of symbiosis with the life he has created; that the more life and light flourishes, the more powerful he becomes. If this is the case, then back at the dawn of time – back when there was only one universe, before the Multiverse itself had been formed – he would have been at his weakest. If Knull was the yin to the One-Above-All’s yang, then logically he would have been at his strongest back in those distant days; until the Silver Surfer unleashed the full might of the Power Cosmic, seeding life across the universe, banishing Knull, and strengthening the One-Above-All.

This theory would account for Knull’s power, simply because he would be Marvel’s ultimate villain, a being who personifies death and darkness itself. Fortunately, it looks as though the coming of the Silver Surfer will involve the breach of the symbiote dome over the Earth – and if that is the case, precious light and life will be restored, and Knull’s greatest enemy – his opposite number, perhaps the One-Above-All himself – will be able to join the battle. He may well be the only one who can stop the King In Black.

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About The Author


Thomas Bacon
(4894 Articles Published)

Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers, as well as a Peer Mentor for new writers and a member of the Care Team, offering support and a listening ear to members of the Comics group. A lifelong fan of major franchises including Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Marvel, Tom is delighted his childhood is back – and this time it’s cool. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon.

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A graduate of Edge Hill University, Tom remains strongly connected with his alma mater as a volunteer chaplain. He’s heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he’s into British politics too.

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