Marvel Comics is on the verge of crossing a boundary that fans have long theorized about over the years. Now, it is doing so by bringing together two powers of destruction that do not often share the limelight.
Thanos and Knull, the titans of destruction in the Marvel universe, are finally being set on a collision course. Not in the films, not in a multiverse, but on the comic pages, and the consequences are colossal.
Marvel Prepares A Thanos–Knull Showdown
Although casual fans might only think of Thanos as a part of the MCU and Knull as a part of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, both characters are present in the canon of Marvel Comics. Weirdly enough, they have never met, even though they are similar in terms of their power and influence on the cosmos. That changes with the launch of Marvel’s new Knull series, and the tease alone has sent shockwaves through the fandom.
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The King in Black is reintroduced in Knull #1, written by Al Ewing and Tom Waltz and illustrated by Juanan Ramirez, in radically different circumstances. After Eddie Brock loses the symbiote crown, Knull is brought back by default, a dark failsafe activated whenever there is no King in Black. This is not the god-like Knull that fans remember. He comes back feeble, degraded, and horrifyingly exposed. Hela, the Asgardian Goddess of Death, takes advantage of that weakness and seizes Knull.
She drains his power in a calculated attempt to make herself Queen in Black. In a chilling display of manipulation, Hela engineers Knull’s escape while keeping him unaware that his freedom is part of her long game.
When Knull recovers, she intends to suck him even more dry and make him a living battery for her own rise. Then there is the last-page twist that alters all: Hela decides she needs help guiding Knull’s growth. And she knows exactly who to call.
When Thanos Enters The Equation
The moment Hela decides to include Thanos, the stakes are immediately increased. The Mad Titan is not only one of the most notorious cosmic threats of Marvel, but his previous relationship with Hela provides a very personal twist to the arrangement. She does not want Thanos to kill Knull; she wants him to “shepherd” him. What that actually means is anyone’s guess.
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Thanos might act as an ally, quietly guiding Knull to more power without realizing that he is being used to fulfill Hela’s goal. Or he might be a competitor, pushing Knull to evolve through conflict, pain, and survival, exactly the kind of crucible that breeds gods. Both of these are risky. But both are also thrilling. The sheer size of this moment is what makes it so compelling. Thanos is a symbol of rational destruction, which is motivated by philosophy and necessity.
Knull is a representation of primal, primitive anarchy, darkness that preceded the creation itself. Their unification is not only a show but a confrontation of ideologies, origins, and ways of destruction. For Marvel Comics, this is not a crossover tease. It is a saying that cosmic villain narration has not exhausted its frontiers. And for fans, it’s the promise of something rare: a meeting that feels earned, overdue, and genuinely unpredictable.
