Knull, God of the Symbiotes, will take center stage in Web of Venom: Empyre's End #1, a just-announced one-shot seemingly bridging the events of Marvel's current summer blockbuster event Empyre with its upcoming Venom-centric story King in Black (opens in new tab), in which Knull comes to Earth. The one-shot will be written by Clay McLeod-Chapman with art from Guiu Villanova, and a cover from Philip Tan, seen here.
Empyre, which is currently in progress, puts Earth in the center of a conflict between the combined Kree/Skrull empire under the leadership of one-time Avenger Hulkling and the Cotati, ancient enemies of the Kree who were all but wiped out in the past. Though Marvel's teaser for Web of Venom: Empyre's End is sparse on text, the one-shot is labelled "a lead-in to King in Black", indicating there will be some crossover between the Kree/Skrull invasion and Knull's arrival.
Knull has played an important role in the background of writer Donny Cates's ongoing Venom run, with Cates also incorporating Knull into his Silver Surfer: Black limited series and Guardians of the Galaxy run. Though Knull's influence and machinations have been felt across those series – and Knull himself appeared in Silver Surfer: Black – Knull himself will finally arrive on Earth in December's King in Black from Cates and his Absolute Carnage collaborator, artist Ryan Stegman.
"As far as event books go, this is the coolest, darkest, most heavy metal, Cthulhu dark horror thing I've ever been able to do," Cates said when King in Black was announced. "I still can't believe that Marvel is letting us go as dark and scary as we're going."
Web of Venom: Empyre's End #1 is due out in October. Look for Marvel's full October 2020 solicitations right here on Newsarama later this week.
