Knull vs. Marvel Heroes & Villains: Who Would Win and Why?

Knull, known as the Lord of the Abyss, is an elder deity, the God of the Symbiotes. He is one of the strongest beings in the universe who created the likes of Venom and Carnage. With his powers, he can go head-to-head against almost any other Marvel character. Let’s compare Knull with other mighty Marvel heroes and villains to see who would win.
Knull And His Powers
To understand how strong Knull is, you need to know who he is and what abilities he possesses that make him such a formidable supervillain.
He was a primordial deity that came to life after the sixth iteration of the cosmos had been completely destroyed. His name Lord of the Abyss comes from his endless drift in the void before the Celestials came and started creating the seventh Marvel universe.
Knull was dissatisfied and enraged that a new creation had destroyed his endless darkness, so he created All-Black the Necrosword to kill Celestials and many other gods. After being banished deeper into the void, he created the Symbiote race, billions of beings responding to his control – sort of like a hive mind.
When the mind connection to his Symbiotes broke, Knull still influenced many of them. Although his biggest power lies in them, he has so many individual skills; he would still destroy anybody in his path.
Godlike Powers
When I say godlike powers, I mean that you can’t compare Knull’s powers to almost any other being or deity in the universe. First, he’s almost immortal, impossible to kill when at his strongest level. He existed for almost 14 billion years, got stabbed through the head in space, and fell on a planet, but still managed to survive.
What is more, Knull almost has no physiological needs. He can survive in the void of space without aid. King in Black doesn’t eat, drink, or sleep to survive. Although he doesn’t die from injury, he can be hurt. Not for long, however, as he can quickly regenerate himself from injuries that would kill most other deities.
To add to it, it takes a whole lot of power to cause any damage to Knull. He survived Celestial blasts, felt nothing when falling onto a planet from space, and getting stabbed through the had merely knocked him unconscious for a while.
Finally, he can somewhat shape-shift. The most well-known trait that Knull gave his Symbiotes is transforming their mouth into a huge grin full of razor-sharp fangs with a long, snake-like tongue.
Phenomenal Strength
It’s clear that Knull’s powers exceed those we say are superhuman, and his strength is one of those powers too. After Knull had created All-Black the Necrosword, he chopped off the head of a Celestial with a single strike. Not only is that a testament to his strength, but it downright puts him near the top of the most powerful beings in the Marvel universe.
Expert Hand-to-Hand and Weapon Combatant
13.7 billion years of experience sure is enough to become a masterful combatant. Knull never needed the training to adapt and defeat his enemies. He single-handedly slaughtered entire armies of other gods. While his connection to the Symbiotes is active, the hive mind gives him an army of almost invincible beings, all adhering to his will.
Supreme Umbrakinesis
Last but not least, supreme umbrakinesis might be Knull’s biggest power. With it, King in Black can manipulate, create, and forge eldritch darkness. He can manifest the primordial void, forging it into weapons and beings he likes to call the Living Abyss.
The first symbiote he created was All-Black the Necrosword, a living blade forged from Knull’s shadow, which he used to decapitate a Celestial. It is unsure if the blade gave him some of the power and strength to slay a Celestial because after he had lost All-Black, he didn’t manifest that kind of power anymore.
He also created his armor from the void and then embarked on his crusade to destroy and devour the Light, returning the cosmos into his beloved darkness.
Using supreme umbrakinesis, he destroyed billions of stars, planets, gods, and beings. He also used it to create the Symbiote race after discovering that he can infect “lesser creatures,” as he called them, with the living abyss. To simplify, he began giving his symbiotes their hosts, much like Eddie Brock is Venom’s host.
The best part is that all the symbiotes Knull had created respond to the hive mind he controls. That’s how he used them to infect and destroy millions of planets. He eventually lost the connection, setting them all free from the hive mind.
Is Knull Stronger Than Toxin?
Knull is stronger than Toxin because he is essentially his creator. Toxin is another symbiote like Venom, Carnage, Scream, and others. However, he’s not just a regular symbiote. Toxin was born from Carnage as the 1000th symbiote in that lineage, giving him spectacular powers and strength.
Both Venom and Carnage stated that they believed Toxin is the strongest, most dangerous symbiote ever existing in their race – except for their god, Knull.
Although Toxin is the strongest Symbiote, Knull is the guy who essentially created him and all other Symbiotes. While he gave them some of his powers, his abilities exceed any symbiote alone, including Toxin.
Is Knull Stronger Than Thanos?
Knull is even stronger than Thanos because he is above and beyond in terms of powers. Thanos is incredibly strong and has phenomenal powers. Still, he is an Eternal, a being of flesh and bones, capable of dying, feeling emotions, and other human-like weaknesses one might have.
On the other hand, Knull existed before the universe in which Thanos exists had ever been created. He is a natural force, a primordial deity that slaughters Celestials with ease. He created an entire race of Symbiotes using only his abilities and the void – something Thanos could only dream about without using the Infinity Gauntlet or some other aid.
The game would be a bit closer with the Gauntlet in Thanos’ possession, but if Knull had the Necrosword, a living blade that decapitates Celestials with ease, it wouldn’t be a matter of who would win, but how fast does Knull want Thanos to die.
Is Knull Stronger Than Franklin Richards?
Knull is stronger than Franklin Richards in terms of raw power. However, it would be the closest fight out of all on this list, seeing that their powers drastically differ, and one wouldn’t have the answers for the other.
An adult Franklin Richards is quite possibly the strongest Marvel character in existence, although many mainstream fans don’t even know it. His “mutation” allowed him to warp reality and create small pocket universes even as a kid.
As he grew older, he learned to harness and control his powers, and his reality-warping skills are something that even Knull has no answer for. His abilities are so powerful he helped restore the Multiverse after it collapsed.
Be that as it may, Knull could catch Franklin by surprise with his primordial god powers. Even if he doesn’t, the fight will turn into a game of durability. We know that Franklin’s powers diminished the more he used them; it’s safe to say that Knull, the god who killed entire armies of gods, would eventually slaughter Richards as well.
Is Knull Stronger Than Odin?
Knull is significantly stronger than Odin because his powers exceed the former King of Asgard by a landslide. We only need to know that Knull’s power exceeds the Celestials, while Odin’s power is below the Celestial level.
Knull single-handedly chopped a head off of a Celestial with a single blow, while Odin had to equip himself with the Destroyer armor, the Odinsword, and harness the power of all souls of Asgard but Thor’s to battle against the Celestials. With all that extra power enhancing his own, he still lost. To his defense, he was outnumbered.
At one point, Thor Odinson battled Knull while being enhanced with the Power of the All-Father (Odin’s power), and Knull still defeated him quite easily.
Is Knull Stronger Than The Living Tribunal?
Knull is weaker than the Living Tribunal, as he is lower in the cosmic hierarchy. The Living Tribunal stands alone atop the hierarchy, seeing even Celestials as mere children.
While Knull can kill Celestials and destroy entire worlds, even universes, the Living Tribunal doesn’t only take care of a single universe – he is responsible for keeping balance in the entire Omniverse.
To put it in perspective, most of our favorite superheroes operate within a single universe. Alternate dimensions create similar yet different universes, and those universes stacked on top of each other create a Multiverse. A larger Multiverse creates a Megaverse, and all the existing Megaverses create the one and only Omniverse – and the Living Tribunal overlooks it.
His powers are unlimited, and he suffers from no emotions, moral values, or deeper motifs – not even rage or vengeance. Instead, he always does what’s best for the greater good, even if that means killing millions to save billions, etc.
I don’t think there’s a being comparable to the power and significance of the Living Tribunal.
Knull might be able to defeat him in theory, seeing that even The Watcher (a being capable of perceiving and seeing multi-eternity) said that Knull could destroy everything he knows. Still, it remains only a theory because the Living Tribunal usually doesn’t interfere if not completely necessary for the existence of the Omniverse.
If he ought to use all his powers, not even Knull would stand a chance.
Is Knull Stronger Than Thor?
Knull is stronger than Thor because although they are both gods, Knull’s powers and abilities are greater than Thor’s. If you needed any proof, you should read the King in Black #3 comic book, where the two go head to head in a bloody, hard-fought battle.
Thor had already battled against Knull as he used his lightning bolts to kill a symbiote dragon under Knull’s control, resulting in the break of connection between Knull and his symbiotes, destroying the hive mind. However, this time, they came face-to-face.
Thor fought hard and formidable, knocking out Knull’s jaw with Mjolnir, but the Lord of the Abyss strikes back and stabs Thor through the chest with All-Black the Necrosword. If it weren’t for Thor’s back-up of other heroes, Knull would’ve easily killed him – with a single blow of a sword.
Who Killed Knull?
Although Knull is one of the most powerful beings we have ever seen in the Marvel Universe, he too has already seen his end – not single-handedly in a one-on-one battle, but he was finally defeated in King in Black #5.
After a long-fought battle, Venom was the one who killed Knull in the end. He used the Silver Surfer’s board and Thor’s mighty Mjolnir to create an ax that had the power to destroy the God of Symbiotes.
He eventually stabs it in Knull’s chest, outright killing him. However, seeing that Knull possesses impartiality, there was a chance he could come back to life. Venom took care of that, too, carrying Knull’s body into the Sun itself, burning it and sealing his fate forever.
Of course, killing the King in Black made Venom the new King in Black, so it remains to be seen how the Symbiotes’ life, hive mind, and hierarchy continue to develop in the future, especially now when the Extreme Carnage event is in full effect.