Warning: This article contains spoilers for Venom: The Last Dance.Venom: The Last Dancefinally introduces Knull, a powerful villain fromMarvelComics, into the universe. With the wait for the film finally over,Venom: The Last Danceends the trilogy in exciting fashion, becoming the best one of the series. Where theVenomfilms are concerned, the first two are often counted as thebest-ranked Sony Spider-Man Universe movies, drastically outranking the poorly received installments ofMorbiusandMadame Web,and this one is no different.
As such, excitement for theSpider-Man-related moviewas higher than it had been for previous entries in the Sony franchise.Venom 3positions a new villain to become the big bad of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe,and the villain responsible for creating Venom and the rest of the symbiotes: the Marvel Comics villain of Knull.
Knull Comics History Explained
Knull’s Comic Book History Has Links To Venom, Spider-Man, & Asgard
Before exploring Knull’s role inVenom: The Last Dance, it is worth exploring his history in Marvel Comics. Knull was initially introduced as an eldritch god of darkness who resided in a primordial void in the Marvel cosmos. Eventually, Knull’s home of darkness was infiltrated by the Celestials, who filled it with light, much to Knull’s chagrin. After waging war to return his home to darkness, he found himself on thehome planet of Gorr the God-Butcherand discovered a power called the Living Abyss. Using this power, Knull created the symbiotes.
Knull’s power led to the creation of a new plant where the symbiotes lived and from which the former’s invasion of the cosmos began.
Knull established a hive mind with his creations, enabling him to control them in an attempt to conquer the universe. Knull created symbiote dragons and began conquering worlds, with two arriving on Earth only to be destroyed by Thor Odinson. The remnants of the symbiote dragons began bonding with hosts across Earth, infesting Knull’s evil hive mind with concepts of morality, nobility, and honor. Eventually, these new symbiotes turned against Knull and trapped him on his homeworld, claiming it for themselves under the name Klyntar.
Venom’s Home Planet & The Klyntar Explained
Venom: The Last Dance features invaders from Venom’s home planet, so here is everything to know about the Klyntar ahead of its release.
Eventually, Knull was freed from his prison due to the conflict between Eddie Brock/Venom and Cletus Cassidy/Carnage. Knull then reinstated his dominion over the symbiotes by destroying Klyntar and rebuilding an army of symbiote dragons. Knull waged war against Earth, bringing him into conflict with heroes like Sentry, set to appear in theupcoming MCU movieThunderbolts*.A lengthy battle eventually saw Knull defeated when the God of Light, his opposite, assumed Eddie Brock’s dead body, giving the former host of Venom the power to destroy Knull in the sun’s core.
After this story, Eddie became known as the God of the Symbiotes, while Venom was passed onto Eddie’s son, Dylan.
Knull’s Powers Explained
The Majority Of Knull’s Powers Stem From Darkness
Concerning Knull’s powers in Marvel Comics, most come from his ability to manipulate the Living Abyss. Using this darkness, Knull created the symbiotes and thus the hive mind to control them, giving him a wealth of powers from each individual being under his control. Similarly,Knull’s own body possesses god-like durability, healing, and strength. Atop his physical attributes, Knull can manipulate dark energy. This enables him to utilize blasts of powerful magic that are capable of overcoming several strong Marvel characters.
Knull’s symbiote abilities offer him the power of flight through giant dragon-like wings.
Knull’s durability is worth another mention, as it imbues him with near-immortality. In Marvel Comics, Knull has existed since the beginning of time and, despite encountering and battling several powerful heroes, has never been killed. Even after Eddie Brock and the God of Light disintegrated Knull’s body, his consciousness lived on inside the symbiote hive mind. This immortality brings Knull a sense of self-sustenance, as he was shown to exist without the need for food or water for millions of years on his home world. Finally, Knull has a certain degree of power over time.
Knull Comics Changes Explained
Venom 3’s Trailer Hints At Some Deviations From Marvel Comics
While the full range of Knull’s power isn’t explored inVenom: The Last Dance, there are some differences between the film’s version of the character and the comics. He is still imprisoned by the symbiotes, but he is not free yet, which is his main motivation in the film.The somewhat self-contained nature of the Sony Spider-Man Universe likely means Knull has not come into contact with other Marvel characters like Thor, the Silver Surfer, and Gorr the God-Butcher.
Venom: The Last Danceinvents the codex as the reason for Knull to target the titular symbiote and Eddie.
Given that Knull’s motivations in Marvel Comics do not go beyond dimensional rule, genocide, and revenge against the Celestials,Venom: The Last Danceinvents the codex as the reason for Knull to target the titular symbiote and Eddie specifically. Admittedly, theMCU has more connections to Knullthan the Sony Spider-Man Universe does even after his appearance, hence the comic changes present inVenom: The Last Dance.
Who Plays Knull In Venom: The Last Dance
He’s A Legend For Franchise Movies
Who was playing Knull was a highly speculated topic of discussion since he first appeared in trailers forVenom: The Last Dance. Norman Reedus was a name thrown around quite often, but now that the film is out, it has been confirmed thatAndy Serkis plays the powerful villain. Serkis already had a familiarity with theVenomfranchise, as the director ofVenom: Let There Be Carnage, and looks to continue to play the character in upcoming Sony films.
Andy Serkis has been a staple of franchise films for decades. He helped pioneer motion capture with his incredible performance as Gollum in theLord of the Ringsfranchise, and gave one of the best performances in all of Star Wars with his limited role inAndor. Knull is just the latest character Andy Serkis has added to his impressive resume of fan-favorite characters.
Why Knull Is Barely In Venom 3
Set-Up For Future Movies
Prior to the film’s release, director Kelly Marcel opened up about howVenom: The Last Dancewould just be the introduction to Knull and that there were plans for the character going forward. This is the exact case with the film, as Knull doesn’t get a lot of screentime. Instead, he has the Xenophages do his bidding for him.
The film starts withKnull trapped after being imprisoned by the symbiotes, and he needs a codex to free himself. A codex is the key to his freedom, and is only created when a symbiote saves the life of its host. Because Venom saved Eddie’s life in the first film, he possesses a codex, which is the reason he sends the Xenophages to Earth. They are tasked with searching for the codex to help him escape.
How Venom 3 Sets Up Knull’s Future
Does He Escape His Prison?
Although Knull is barely featured inVenom: The Last Dance, he is integral to the story and, by the end, is poised to become a larger threat than ever before. The Xenophages are unable to retrieve the codex from Venom, which means thatKnull is still trapped in his prisonby the end ofVenom: The Last Dance.
In the end credits ofVenom: The Last Dance, Knull still threatens the universe, spouting diabolical lines like,“Your planets will be mine. The King in Black is awake, I will kill your world, everyone will burn, and you will watch.“As such, it’s seemingly obvious that Sony wants to have Knull essentially be the Thanos to their cinematic universe. With him still being imprisoned by the end ofVenom: The Last Dance, though, it is unclear how he will escape and become the big bad for future franchise installments.
Venom: The Last Dance
Cast
Venom: The Last Dance is a film directed by an undisclosed director, featuring the character Venom in a thrilling narrative. The movie explores the alien symbiote’s latest challenges and transformations as it navigates through a world full of danger and new adversaries.
