Warning: This article contains spoilers for Venom: The Last Dance.best-ranked Sony Spider-Man Universe movies, drastically outranking the poorly received installments of Morbius and Madame Web, and this one is no different.

As such, excitement for the Spider-Man-related movie was higher than it had been for previous entries in the Sony franchise. Venom 3 positions 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 in Venom: 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 the home planet of Gorr the God-Butcher and 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.

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 the MCU movie Thunderbolts*. 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 ed 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 in Venom: 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 with other Marvel characters like Thor, the Silver Surfer, and Gorr the God-Butcher.

Venom: The Last Dance invents 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 Dance invents the codex as the reason for Knull to target the titular symbiote and Eddie specifically. ittedly, the MCU has more connections to Knull than the Sony Spider-Man Universe does even after his appearance, hence the comic changes present in Venom: 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 for Venom: The Last Dance. Norman Reedus was a name thrown around quite often, but now that the film is out, it has been confirmed that Andy Serkis plays the powerful villain. Serkis already had a familiarity with the Venom franchise, as the director of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and looks to continue to play the character in 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 the Lord of the Rings franchise, and gave one of the best performances in all of Star Wars with his limited role in Andor. 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 how Venom: The Last Dance would 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 with Knull 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 in Venom: 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 that Knull is still trapped in his prison by the end of Venom: The Last Dance.

In the end credits of Venom: 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 of Venom: The Last Dance, though, it is unclear how he will escape and become the big bad for future franchise installments.

Sony's Marvel Movie Release Dates

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  Venom: The Last Dance

  

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  Kraven the Hunter

  

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