He is the King in Black. The god of the abyss. The guy who literally forged All-Black the Necrosword in the heat of a dying Celestial’s head.
But if you watched Venom: The Last Dance, you might’ve walked away feeling a little... confused? Honestly, maybe even a bit let down. Fans spent months theorizing about how Knull, the definitive Venom The Last Dance villain, would change the landscape of the Sony Spider-Man Universe (SSU). Instead, we got a powerful entity sitting on a throne for 90% of the runtime.
It's a weird choice. Sony has this habit of introducing massive, multiversal threats and then keeping them behind a glass wall. Knull isn't just a "bad guy." In the Marvel comics, specifically the legendary run by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman, Knull is a literal primordial deity who existed before the Light of the Universe. He’s the reason the symbiotes exist in the first place, though he didn't exactly create them to be "lethal protectors." He created them to be tools of cosmic genocide.
So, why did the movie treat him like a post-credits teaser that happened to last the whole film? Let’s get into the weeds of what actually happened with the antagonist of Tom Hardy's swan song.
The Reality of Knull as the Venom The Last Dance Villain
Basically, Knull is trapped. That’s the core plot driver of the movie. Long before Eddie Brock was eating tater tots in San Francisco, the symbiotes—the Klyntar—rebelled against their creator. They realized he was a monster. They swarmed him, forming a living cage that became the planet Klyntar.
To get out, Knull needs the Codex.
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This is where the movie gets heavy on the lore. A Codex is created when a symbiote saves its host’s life, merging their DNA into a singular key. Because Venom revived Eddie at the end of the first film, they are the only ones in the universe who possess this "get out of jail free" card for the King in Black.
It's a high-stakes premise. But the actual "villainy" we see on screen isn't Knull swinging a sword. It’s the Xenophages. These are essentially Knull's hunting dogs—blind, terrifying, and nearly unkillable creatures sent to Earth to track the Codex. While Andy Serkis (who voiced and provided mo-cap for Knull) brings a sinister, gravelly weight to the role, he’s functionally a general sending soldiers to do his dirty work.
The movie spends a lot of time telling us Knull is coming. It doesn't show him doing much. For a character that decapitated a Celestial, seeing him mostly in shadow is a bit like ordering a Wagyu steak and getting a plate of very high-end sliders. Good, but you wanted the main course.
Why Sony Chose This Version of the King in Black
You’ve gotta look at the business side of this. Sony is trying to build a "Sinister Six" or a "Spider-Verse" without actually having a central Spider-Man to anchor it yet. By introducing Knull as the Venom The Last Dance villain, they are planting a flag.
Director Kelly Marcel has been vocal in interviews about how Knull is "too big" for just one movie. She compared him to Thanos. If you kill Knull in Venom 3, you’ve wasted the biggest card in your deck. So, the decision was made to make him a looming threat. A shadow over the shoulder of the entire SSU.
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- The Power Gap: In the comics, Knull is powerful enough to wipe out the Avengers. Eddie Brock, even with Venom, is an ant compared to him.
- The Narrative Constraint: This was billed as the "Last Dance." The focus had to stay on the relationship between Eddie and Venom. If Knull shows up and starts tearing apart Las Vegas, the emotional core of Eddie saying goodbye to his "other" gets lost in the CGI noise.
- The Future: By keeping Knull alive and angry at the end of the film, Sony keeps the door open for Venom 4, Spider-Man 4, or a Sinister Six crossover.
Is it frustrating? Yeah, kinda. It feels like a prologue to a movie we haven't seen yet. But from a studio perspective, it’s the only way to keep the franchise’s heart beating after Tom Hardy hangs up the leather jacket.
The Xenophages: The Real Muscle
Since Knull is stuck in the cosmic version of a timeout, the Xenophages provide the actual tension. These things are nightmare fuel. They can regenerate, they track the "Codex" signal whenever Venom is fully transformed, and they have these wood-chipper mouths that turn symbiotes into dust.
Seeing the Venom The Last Dance villain through his proxies changes the vibe of the movie. It turns it into a road trip horror film. Eddie and Venom can't just fight their way out of this one. Every time Venom "pops out," it’s like lighting a flare in the dark for these monsters. This creates a genuine sense of vulnerability that was missing from Let There Be Carnage. Carnage was just a bigger, redder Venom. The Xenophages are something else entirely. They are the apex predators of the symbiote world.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Ending
There’s a massive misconception that Knull was "defeated" at the end of The Last Dance.
He wasn't. Not even close.
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The destruction of the Codex (which I won't fully spoil the mechanics of here, but involves a lot of acid and sacrifice) only ensures that Knull stays locked in his cage for now. The final shots of the film make it very clear: Knull is awake. He knows where Earth is. And he’s definitely not happy about his dogs getting melted.
The real threat of the Venom The Last Dance villain is that he is inevitable. The movie ends on a bittersweet note, but the cosmic horror element remains. Knull’s goal hasn't changed; he just lost his easiest path to freedom.
Understanding the Impact: Actionable Insights for Fans and Collectors
If you're trying to make sense of where the SSU goes from here, or if you're a collector looking at the "Knull effect" on media, keep these points in mind:
- Read the Source Material: To truly understand why the fan community is so obsessed with Knull, pick up the King in Black trade paperback. The movie barely scratches the surface of his lore, including his connection to the Silver Surfer and the origin of the Necrosword (which Hela used in Thor: Ragnarok, though the MCU and SSU versions are currently legally distinct).
- Watch the Post-Credits: Don't leave early. The stingers in The Last Dance are more than just jokes; they provide the only real clues as to how Knull might bridge the gap between Sony's universe and the MCU, especially given the "piece of Venom" left behind in No Way Home.
- Track the Cameos: Pay attention to the characters in the secret government facility (Area 51/Rex). Several of them have deep ties to Knull in the comics, particularly those related to the "Sym-Soldier" programs. These are the characters likely to lead a spin-off or a "Secret Wars" style event.
- Manage Expectations: View The Last Dance as a character study of Eddie and Venom, with Knull acting as the catalyst for their growth, rather than a traditional superhero showdown. If you go in expecting Endgame levels of combat with the big bad, you’ll be disappointed. If you go in expecting a tragedy triggered by an ancient god, it hits much harder.
The SSU is in a weird spot. Knull is a villain who demands a massive stage, and right now, he's standing in the wings. Whether Sony actually lets him step into the spotlight or keeps him as a perpetual "coming soon" attraction remains the biggest question in comic book cinema. For now, Knull stands as a testament to what makes Venom great: the fact that even a "Lethal Protector" is terrified of what's lurking in the dark.