Venom: The Last Dance finally introduced Knull to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, and some recently unveiled concept art makes me even more excited about his future appearances. Although he spent most of his time in the shadows – specifically, imprisoned on the symbiote planet of Klyntar – Knull played a pivotal role as the string-pulling arch-villain of Venom’s threequel movie. Thankfully, Venom: The Last Dance did not end in his outright defeat, with director Kelly Marcel stating before it hit theaters that he was too consequential to kill off in the space of a single movie.
Marcel is, of course, right in this. Knull is an eldritch god with a power level tantamount, if not superior, to Marvel’s most powerful cinematic villains. While Venom and Eddie Brock may have foiled his designs and ostensibly left him imprisoned on Klyntar at the cost of Venom’s life, the post-credits scene of Venom: The Last Dance confirmed that he will be returning. This return just got a lot more exciting thanks to a recent reveal that suitably matches Knull’s character design to his terrifying power levels.
Venom 3’s Unused Knull Concept Art Gives A Promising Tease Of What A Freed Knull Could Be Like
Concept Artist Karl Lindberg Unveiled The Initial Designs For Knull
Knull’s minimal screen time in Venom: The Last Dance depicted the father of all symbiotes confined to a throne on Klyntar with his head bowed. These scenes were spine-chilling enough thanks to the muted color scheme and Andy Serkis’ sinister voice, but they barely revealed the powerful arch-villain beyond his distinctive long white hair and a flash of his features in the post-credits scene. Thankfully, concept artist Karl Lindberg has revealed how Knull was originally conceived to look in an image that has been shared by The Direct on X.
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Venom 3 Villain: Knull Powers & Comics History Explained
The final trailer for Venom: The Last Dance has been released, offering insight into the film’s villain: the Marvel Comics character of Knull.
Comparing this to the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it glimpse we saw of Knull in the credits makes me think that the filmmakers actually adhered to this design pretty closely with his features. While the movie’s Knull was obviously devoid of the crimson hues that dominate the concept art, I’m confident that this was a choice designed to convey how the god was in a decidedly dormant state, with the monochromatic color scheme illustrating his current impotence. With the response to this concept art being generally quite positive, I’m also confident that Knull’s color will return with his power.
Venom: The Last Dance’s Knull Story Showed Knull At His Weakest
Knull Was Imprisoned And Hamstrung But Was Still Pretty Powerful
Knull’s SSU debut was him at his absolute weakest. Confined by his creations to Klyntar, Knull’s only recourse is to command a legion of his other creations, the Xenophage, to hunt what seems to be the only codex in the universe within Venom. Unless there are in fact more codexes in the universe, it seems that Knull’s plans were scuppered through the quick thinking and sacrifice of the one symbiote he needed to be unleashed once more. Still, even in his dormant state, Knull was shown to be immensely powerful.
According to Venom, a codex is formed when a symbiote saves the life of its host and their life forces merge – which makes it hard to believe that Venom is the only symbiote carrying one.
Venom’s SSU career has seen him go up against multiple symbiotes, with the most powerful being the “red one,” Carnage. Still, Carnage doesn’t hold a candle to the Xenophage, a race whose entire MO is to hunt and destroy symbiotes with gruesome efficiency. Knull’s control over an army of these beasts drove Venom to the only remaining option available: the ultimate sacrifice. That is also not to mention Knull’s apparent ability to generate portals leading to anywhere in the cosmos. If he is capable of this while bound, I can’t wait to see him unleashed.
Knull’s Marvel Movie Future Has A Prime Opportunity To Show The Villain At His Strongest
Knull Is Capable Of Destroying Marvel’s Most Powerful Heroes
Despite Venom’s sacrifice, Knull would subsequently assure the audience that this would not be the last we see of him – addressing us directly to threaten our annihilation. I am, of course, inclined to believe him, as Marcel herself confirmed his return as a franchise-spanning villain on a par with Thanos. With this established, we haven’t seen a fraction of what Knull is capable of, and it’s safe to assume that Sony will be using the King In Black run of comics as its main source of inspiration given the track record established by Knull’s relatively comic-accurate debut.
Suffice it to say, Knull’s appearance in Venom: The Last Dance has only scratched the surface of what may be about to be unleashed on the SSU.
The first issue of this comic shows how Knull was able to surpass the power of several Celestials, some of the Marvel Universe’s most powerful cosmic beings. He proceeds to make swift work of Marvel’s mightiest heroes including Sentry – Marvel’s answer to Superman. Knull envelopes the earth in symbiotes and establishes himself as an insurmountable threat swiftly thereafter, being defeated only by his godlike opposite: the Enigma Force. Suffice it to say, Knull’s appearance in Venom: The Last Dance has only scratched the surface of what may be about to be unleashed on the SSU.
Sony’s Upcoming Marvel Movie Release Dates
- Release Date
- December 13, 2024
Source: The Direct/X