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{{Marvel Database:Event Template
| EventImage              = King in Black (Event) teaser 001.jpg
| ImageSize               = 250px
| EventName               = [[King in Black]]
| Aliases                 = 
| Universe                = Earth-616
| Locations               = 
| Creators                = Donny Cates; Ryan Stegman
| Protagonists            = [[Edward Brock (Earth-616)|Venom]], [[Avengers (Earth-616)|Avengers]], [[X-Men (Earth-616)|X-Men]], [[Fantastic Four (Earth-616)|Fantastic Four]]
| Antagonists             = [[Knull (Earth-616)|Knull]], [[Hive (Symbiotes) (Earth-616)|Symbiote Hive]]
| Others                  = 

| FullSynopsis            = 
===Past===
Decades ago, a teenage [[Namor McKenzie (Earth-616)|Namor McKenzie]] was sent as a diplomatic envoy to the [[Skarka Tribe (Earth-616)|Chasm People]] in a bid to arrange a union between them and the Atlantean Empire. After helping foil a coup against [[Attukar (Earth-616)|King Attukar]] of the [[Skarka Tribe (Earth-616)|Chasm People]], Namor and his future nemesis [[Attuma (Earth-616)|Attuma]] were sent to accompany the elite squad [[Swift Tide (Earth-616)|Swift Tide]] on a mission to retrieve an ancient dark artifact called the [[Unforgotten Stone]].{{r|King in Black: Namor Vol 1 1}} The mission ended in disaster, with the Swift Tide being corrupted into monsters by the Unforgotten Stone's eldritch power,{{r|King in Black: Namor Vol 1 2}} redubbed the Black Tide, and banished to the depths of the Mariana Trench.{{r|King in Black Vol 1 2}}

During the time [[Peter Parker (Earth-616)|Spider-Man]] was the host of the [[Venom (Klyntar) (Earth-616)|symbiote later known as Venom]], a dark entity called [[Mister E (Klyntar) (Earth-616)|Mister E]] attempted to conquer the Earth in service of his lord and master - the dark god [[Knull (Earth-616)|Knull]]. Witnessing a future where he succeeded, [[Nathaniel Richards (Kang) (Earth-6311)|Kang the Conquerer]] attempted to prevent this from coming to pass, recruiting [[Rocket Raccoon (Earth-616)|Rocket Raccoon]] to his cause. Coming into conflict with Spider-Man, Mister E was confused as to why one of its brethren would be subservient to its host and try to stop its plan.{{r|Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black Vol 1 1}} When [[Dane Whitman (Earth-616)|Black Knight]] intervened, Mister E impersonated [[Merlyn (Otherworld)|Merlin]] to lure him into a trap and stole the [[Ebony Blade]] - intent on destroying it out of the belief it could be used to vanquish Knull.{{r|Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black Vol 1 2}} Stealing an experimental Quinjet, Mister E took the Ebony Blade to the [[Rock Trolls|troll]] blacksmith [[Ulicia (Earth-616)|Ulicia]] on [[Knowhere]]; pursued by Kang, Rocket, Spider-Man, the Black Knight, and [[Monica Rambeau (Earth-616)|Captain Marvel]].{{r|Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black Vol 1 3}}

===Present===
====Ravaging the Cosmos====
Unleashed from [[Klyntar (Location)|Klyntar]], Knull and his horde blaze a swath of destruction across the cosmos en route to [[Earth]] - destroying multiple planets,{{r|Incoming Vol 1 1}}{{r|Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 6 8}} waylaying a fleet of [[Alliance (Kree and Skrull Empires) (Earth-616)|Kree/Skrull Alliance]] ships and slaughtering or infecting their crews,{{r|Web of Venom: Empyre's End Vol 1 1}} and settling his eons-old grudge against the [[Celestials (Race)|Celestials]] by killing and/or infecting them with symbiotes.{{r|King in Black Vol 1 1}} Knull dispatched symbiote-dragons across the cosmos to cause as much widespread destruction as possible, one of them attacking [[Spartax (Planet)|Spartax]] and slaughtering two billion of its inhabitants in the space of four standard hours before being slain by the apotheosized [[Peter Quill (Earth-616)|Star-Lord]].{{r|Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 6 10}}

====Attack on Earth====
Sensing that Knull's arrival on Earth is imminent, [[Edward Brock (Earth-616)|Eddie Brock]] alerts the [[Avengers (Earth-616)|Avengers]] and takes his son [[Dylan Brock (Earth-616)|Dylan]] to the secret bunker made for Spider-Man by [[Ezekiel Sims (Earth-616)|Ezekiel Sims]]. As hundreds of thousands of [[Symbiote Dragons (Earth-616)|Symbiote Dragons]] fly through space towards Earth, [[Anthony Stark (Earth-616)|Iron Man]] uses derelict warships left over from [[Empyre (Event)|the war]] with the [[Cotati]] as a minefield - only managing to kill a hundred of them. As the [[Avengers (Earth-616)|Avengers]] and [[Fantastic Four (Earth-616)|Fantastic Four]] rush to evacuate Manhattan, the symbiote dragons make landfall and start cocooning the city in living abyss. As [[Stephen Strange (Earth-616)|Doctor Strange]], the [[X-Men (Earth-616)|X-Men]], and numerous street-level heroes join the evacuation effort, Eddie makes his way to [[Cletus Kasady (Earth-616)|Dark Carnage]]'s Spire and connects to it using the Venom symbiote - intending to hack into the Symbiote Hive-Mind and hijack control of the symbiote dragons. Before Eddie can attempt to do so, symbiote-controlled Celestials arrive and Knull emerges demanding to be given the human called Brock in exchange for making Earth's destruction swift and painless. The [[Robert Reynolds (Earth-616)|Sentry]] arrives and attempts to rip Knull in half, but is effortlessly overpowered and torn in half himself. Absorbing the [[Void (Dark Sentry) (Earth-616)|Void]], Knull forcibly bonds symbiotes to most of the remaining heroes and then envelops the Earth in a shell of living abyss. Venom decides to surrender to Knull in order to buy the remaining heroes time to escape, alerting Knull to his location. Knull grabs Venom and takes him to the top of the Empire State Building, where Venom offers to serve him if he spares Earth. Knull refuses and informs Venom that the Brock he wanted was Dylan, ripping the symbiote off Eddie before dropping him.{{r|King in Black Vol 1 1}} Eddie is mortally wounded and left comatose, Spider-Man taking him to the Fantastic Four for medical treatment.{{r|King in Black Vol 1 2}}

Disregarding the evacuation order to attempt a major heist, [[Felicia Hardy (Earth-616)|Black Cat]] is caught off-guard by Knull's attack and barely manages to escape, horrified by witnessing the Avengers' last stand. Making her way to [[Alchemax (Earth-616)|Alchemax]], she recruits [[Doctor Steven (Earth-616)|Doctor Steven]] to provide her with [[Astrobiological Serum]] in order to save Doctor Strange.{{r|Black Cat Vol 2 1}}

The X-Men withdraw from the global defense effort to defend Krakoa, while the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and Black Panther attempt to rally as many allies as they can - including arranging a truce with Namor and sending him to recruit the Black Tide, sending Blade to recruit [[Vlad Dracula (Earth-616)|Count Dracula]], and contacting the [[Wilson Fisk (Earth-616)|Kingpin]] to recruit New York's supervillains. Iron Man captures a symbiote dragon to heal Eddie, but is unable to successfully sever its connection to the Hive Mind; forcing Dylan to reveal his powers to kill it. As Mister Fantastic jubilantly lauds Dylan as their ace-in-the-hole, everyone notices that Eddie has succumbed to his injuries and died.{{r|King in Black Vol 1 2}} His consciousness trapped in the symbiote hive-mind as a [[Glossary:Symbiote Codex|codex]], Eddie is reunited with [[Tyrannosaurus (Klyntar) (Earth-616)|Tyrannosaurus]] ([[Rex Strickland (Earth-616)|Rex Strickland]]) and [[Anti-Venom II (Klyntar) (Earth-616)|Agent Anti-Venom]] ([[Eugene Thompson (Earth-616)|Flash Thompson]]); recruiting them to help retake the Venom symbiote from Knull and destroy the Hive from the inside.{{r|Venom Vol 4 32}}

As [[Glossary:Christmas|Christmas]] approaches, the remaining civilians of [[New York City]] adjust to the new status quo and carry on with their lives - decorating the city and purchasing presents even at the risk of being eaten by rampaging symbiotes.{{r|King in Black: Immortal Hulk Vol 1 1}} The heroes and supervillains of Earth begrudgingly work together to mount a resistance to Knull's occupation of Earth, with [[Victor von Doom (Earth-616)|Doctor Doom]] attempting to persuade Iron Man to share his [[Iron Man's Symbiote (Earth-616)|symbiote]]-augmented [[Iron Man Armor Model 70|armor]] under the pretense of using it to defeat Knull.{{r|King in Black: Iron Man/Doom Vol 1 1}}<!--

====Aftermath====
... -->

| Part1                   = King in Black Vol 1 1
| Part2                   = King in Black Vol 1 2
| Part3                   = King in Black Vol 1 3
| Part4                   = King in Black Vol 1 4
| Part5                   = King in Black Vol 1 5 

| CustomSection1          = Prelude
| CustomText1             = 
* {{c|Atlantis Attacks Vol 1 5}}
* {{c|Web of Venom: Empyre's End Vol 1 1}}

| CustomSection2          = Tie-ins
| CustomText2             = 
* {{c|Avengers Vol 8 45}}
* {{c|Black Cat Vol 2 1}}-[[Black Cat Vol 2 3|3]]
* {{c|Daredevil Vol 6 26}}-[[Daredevil Vol 6 27|27]]
* {{c|Deadpool Vol 8 10}}
* {{c|Fantastic Four Vol 6 29}}-[[Fantastic Four Vol 6 30|30]]
* {{c|Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 6 10}}
* {{c|King in Black Handbook Vol 1 1}}
* {{c|King in Black: Black Knight Vol 1 1}}
* {{c|King in Black: Black Panther Vol 1 1}}
* {{c|King in Black: Captain America Vol 1 1}}
* {{c|King in Black: Ghost Rider Vol 1 1}}
* {{c|King in Black: Gwenom vs. Carnage Vol 1 1}}-[[King in Black: Gwenom vs. Carnage Vol 1 3|3]]
* {{c|King in Black: Immortal Hulk Vol 1 1}}
* {{c|King in Black: Iron Man/Doom Vol 1 1}}
* {{c|King in Black: Marauders Vol 1 1}}
* {{c|King in Black: Namor Vol 1 1}}-[[King in Black: Namor Vol 1 5|5]]
* {{c|King in Black: Planet of the Symbiotes Vol 1 1}}-[[King in Black: Planet of the Symbiotes Vol 1 3|3]]
* {{c|King in Black: Return of the Valkyries Vol 1 1}}-[[King in Black: Return of the Valkyries Vol 1 4|4]]
* {{c|King in Black: Scream Vol 1 1}}
* {{c|King in Black: Spider-Man Vol 1 1}}
* {{c|King in Black: Thunderbolts Vol 1 1}}-[[King in Black: Thunderbolts Vol 1 3|3]]
* {{c|King in Black: Wiccan and Hulkling Vol 1 1}}
* {{c|Miles Morales: Spider-Man Vol 1 23}}
* {{c|Savage Avengers Vol 1 17}}-[[Savage Avengers Vol 1 19|19]]
* {{c|Spider-Woman Vol 7 7}}-[[Spider-Woman Vol 7 8|8]]
* {{c|S.W.O.R.D. Vol 2 2}}-[[S.W.O.R.D. Vol 2 4|4]]
* {{c|Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black Vol 1 1}}-[[Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black Vol 1 5|5]]
* {{c|Union Vol 1 1}}-[[Union Vol 1 2|2]]
* {{c|Venom Vol 4 31}}-[[Venom Vol 4 34|34]]

==Recommended Reading==
* ''[[Absolute Carnage]]''
* ''[[Empyre (Event)|Empyre]]''
* {{c|Incoming Vol 1 1}}
* {{c|Ravencroft Vol 1 5}}
* {{c|Silver Surfer: Black Vol 1 1}}-{{c|Silver Surfer: Black Vol 1 5|5}}
* {{c|Venom 2099 Vol 1 1}}
* {{c|Web of Venom: The Good Son Vol 1 1}}
* {{c|Web of Venom: Wraith Vol 1 1}}

| Notes                   = * A trailer was released by Marvel on YouTube to promote this event:
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" widths="300" hideaddbutton="true">
KING IN BLACK Announcement Trailer Marvel Comics
</gallery>
* The event was first teased in the free <i>[[Empyre (Event)|Empyre]] [https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/89889/empyre_magazine_2020_1 magazine.]</i>
* Marvel reprinted the recommended issues leading to the event in {{c|Knull: Marvel Tales Vol 1 1}} and in the ''[[True Believers Comic Books#2020|True Believers: King in Black]]'' line.
| Trivia                  = * The title of "King in Black" is a reference to [[Hastur]], the [[Wikipedia:King in Yellow|King in Yellow]] (the central character of the [[Hastur Mythos]], and a [[Cthulhu Mythos]] character). Knull was first named as such in {{c|Silver Surfer: Black #2}}.
| Links                   = 
}}
[[Category:Venom Storylines]]
[[es:Rey de Negro (Evento)]]