| Spider-Man |  Holy crap, he's gonna kill Jameson. I have to stop him!  |
| Spider-Man | I... do have to stop him, right? |
| Black Knight | Yes!!! |
Appearing in "The Sword and the Spirit - Part Two"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Symbiote Hive (Main story and recap)
Other Characters:
- Spider-Man's Symbiote
- Avengers (Mentioned)
- Don Quixote (Referenced)
- Merlin (Mentioned)
- God (Yahweh) (Invoked)
- The Daily Bugle
- Ned Leeds (Freed from Mister E's control)
- J. Jonah Jameson
- Neil deGrasse Tyson (Mentioned) (Leaves)
- Robbie Robertson
- Betty Brant
- Kang the Conquerer (Nathaniel Richards)
- Rocket Raccoon
Races and Species:
Locations:
Items:
- Black Knight's Armor and Ebony Blade
- All-Black (Only in recap)
- Knull's Symbiote-Armor (Only in recap)
Synopsis for "The Sword and the Spirit - Part Two"
At the Ravencroft Institute, Spider-Man muses to himself how bad his day is going as the Shadow Slaves created by the dark entity known as Mister E escape into the countryside. Annoyed, Spider-Man gives the Black Knight a rundown of what little he knows and asks why he came; the Black Knight responding that he had a vision of Merlin warning him that something bad was about to happen. As Spider-Man dismisses the existence of Merlin and mocks the Black Knight for seriously believing he exists, Merlin suddenly appears behind him - catching Spider-Man off-guard. As Spider-Man is taken aback by his Spider-Sense not warning him, Black Knight asks why Merlin is here in person when he previously reached out via a dream-vision. Merlin retorts that matters are progressing too quickly and that the Black Knight is needed at the Avengers Mansion immediately. Turning to Spider-Man, Merlin tells him to hurry to the Daily Bugle headquarters, as Ned Leeds - transformed into one of Mister E's Shadow Slaves - has been sent to assassinate J. Jonah Jameson.
At the Daily Bugle, Jameson furiously fires his science editor Neil deGrasse Tyson for being unable to explain the mystery eclipse, sneering to Robbie Robertson that Tyson is definitely going to end up a failure at a nowhere job. As he demands to know what's taking Ned and Peter so long, Robbie reminds him that the Ravencroft Institute is more than an hour away, chiding him for being reasonable. Indignant, Jameson calls to his secretary Betty Brant and asks if he isn't a reasonable man; Betty taking the opportunity to tease her boss, who is cheerfully oblivious to her sarcasm.
Outside the Daily Bugle, Ned struggles against the offshoot of Mister E bonded to him, demanding that it get out of his head and leave him. The shadow-entity mocks his efforts to resist it when he has so much rage buried inside him, mockingly stating it knows what he really is, and Ned succumbs to the entity once more.
Inside his office, Jameson attempts to call the President of the United States, bickering with a bureaucrat on the other end of the line. Betty informs him that he's running late for an editorial meeting; Jameson hanging up and replying that the meeting starts when he gets there, ergo he's not late. Ned leaps through the window, horrifying Betty and Jameson when they recognize his voice. Jameson flees, pursued through the maze of cubicles by Ned and declaring that whatever's happened to Ned it's obviously Spider-Man's fault. Cornering him in the staircase, Ned snarls that Jameson is pathetic for blaming every bad thing that happens to him - and in general - on Spider-Man when the vigilante has saved him countless times. Moving in for the kill, Ned gloats that this time Spider-Man isn't there to save him... just as Spider-Man crashes through the skylight and slams into him, knocking Ned down the stairs as Jameson furiously berates him for destroying the skylight.
At the Avengers Mansion, the Black Knight assures Merlin that he's alone and that he can show himself. As Merlin appears, the Black Knight asks if he knows what's happening to the Sun, and Merlin replies that a great evil is abroad that only a weapon of immense power such as the Ebony Blade can vanquish. Hesitantly, the Black Knight asks if this great evil has a name, and Merlin grimly replies that it is a primordial god of darkness called Knull. Merlin states that Knull is currently imprisoned, but that he has foreseen that Knull will escape and bring ruination to the universe unless stopped. Positing that the Ebony Blade may be able to harm Knull, Merlin asks the Black Knight to give it to him so that he can augment it to be able to kill Knull once-and-for-all. The Black Knight holds out the Ebony Blade, but as Merlin reaches out to take it he pulls it back and demands for Merlin to say his real name. Merlin reveals himself to be Mister E in disguise and vanishes. Brandishing his sword, the Black Knight demands for the entity to show itself, Mister E emerging from the Ebony Blade itself and taking it from him. Stating that everything it said about Knull was true, Mister E impales the Black Knight on the Ebony Blade and gloats that it easily took over the sword once stabbed by it; vanishing as it says that it and its Shadow Slaves have plans for the weapon.
In the Daily Bugle's printing room, Spider-Man and the Shadow Slave-controlled Ned Leeds fight amidst the churning machinery, the Shadow Slave incredulous as to how Spider-Man is able to bypass its intangibility. As Spider-Man quips a response, the Shadow Slave realizes it's due to the symbiote that Spider-Man has obliviously bonded to and mocks him for not realizing the true nature of his costume. Leaping onto the printing press, the Shadow Slave separates from Ned and vanishes into the shadows, Spider-Man saving Ned just in time to prevent him from being crushed. Regaining consciousness, Ned informs Spider-Man that the Shadow Slave is headed to the Avengers Mansion to rejoin with Mister E, and Spider-Man is horrified to realize that the Black Knight was lured into a trap.
At the Avengers Mansion, the Black Knight regains consciousness to find Kang the Conquerer standing over him. As the Black Knight tries to stand to confront the time-travelling super-villain, Kang tells him to not move. As the Black Knight continues to struggle, an irritable voice snaps at him to listen to Kang, and the Black Knight to and he turns to see a bipedal raccoon wearing a jumpsuit. Delirious, the Black Knight cheerfully states that he's just hallucinating before collapsing from blood loss. As Rocket Raccoon asks if he's dead, Kang replies that the Black Knight is still alive - if barely - and Rocket tells Kang to help get the Black Knight medical attention before things get worse; both oblivious to Mister E watching from the shadows.
Solicit Synopsis
See Also
- 3 image(s) from Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black Vol 1 2
- 2 reprint(s) of Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black Vol 1 2