Marvel's New Thanos-Level Villain Is Here

Published Sep 30, 2026, 6:58 PM EDT

Nicolas Ayala is a Senior Writer for the Comics team at ScreenRant, with over five years of experience writing about Superhero media, action movies, and TV shows. 

The most powerful Marvel villain alive is officially replaced with an unexpected character who usurps his throne. The title of the Marvel Universe's most powerful villain is continuously stolen back and forth by multiple titans. Whether it is Doctor Doom siphoning the godlike energies of the Beyonders or Thanos seizing the Infinity Gauntlet and the Heart of the Universe, supreme power is inherently unstable. And since these villains are constantly busy overthrowing one another, none of them ever gets the chance to truly grow into their power. Their brief tenures are tainted by paranoia and hubris, always haunted by another scheming antagonist who's already waiting to tear it away.

That said, Thanos and Doctor Doom are almost always at the top due to their uncanny ability to outwit and defeat beings vastly more powerful than themselves. Neither the Mad Titan nor the Monarch of Latveria rely solely on brute force. Their true lethality lies in their terrifying intellect and their ruthless ambition. Once a regular human being, Doctor Doom managed to collapse and rewrite the entire Marvel multiverse. Meanwhile, Thanos has outsmarted the literal abstract concepts of the cosmos.

Thanos and Doctor Doom are currently out of commission in the Marvel Universe, and their replacement just joined them.

Sleeper Is The New King In Black

Queen in Black #5; Written By Al Ewing; Art By Iban Coello, Paco Medina, And Guru-eFX

Earth fights back against Knull and Hela across the pages of Defenders of Light and Dark, Venom, Venom Unchained, and Queen in Black. After the Defenders successfully lead Knull to kill Hela and Mary Jane transforms Earth into Venomworld, Earth's entire population overwhelms Knull's mind, defeating him once and for all. As is usual for the King of the Symbiotes, Knull survives and retreats to his home. However, Knull is shocked to be welcomed by the new King in Black: Sleeper, the adorable symbiote cat who now sits on his throne, commanding the deadliest symbiotes in the Marvel Universe.

Knull's ultimate fate is unknown, and this is probably not the end for the original King in Black. Still, Knull suffers his biggest defeat since before the creation of the universe, even more humiliating than Eddie Brock's victory at the end of King in Black. Now, Knull is evicted from his throne by the cutest symbiote alive, stripped of his light powers, and devoid of his army of symbiotes. Although Knull's eventual return is inevitable, it will likely take a while for him to recover from this beating.

Knull's Reign Ends In 2026

The Most Powerful Versions Of Knull Are Defeated Roughly At The Same Time

Earth-616's Knull isn't the only version of the villain meeting his defeat this year. While Marvel's main Knull reached unprecedented strength levels after absorbing the power of Lightforce from the Spear of All-Light, a variant of the King in Black chose Godzilla as his harbinger of destruction and personally defeated dozens of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe. The two Knulls achieved feats such as killing Thanos and overwhelming Earth's Mightiest Heroes, but the bill eventually comes due for both. The former is defeated by Venomworld, and the latter loses control of Godzilla as he faces the vengeful wrath of the Avengers of Doom.

Knull's defeats across the multiverse give him necessary breathing room. Simultaneously, defeating Knull across the multiverse serves as a vital reset valve given how it saves one of Marvel's top cosmic threats from the inevitable fatigue of unchecked power inflation. Villains built on overwhelming power risk becoming stale when their only trajectory is endless power-ups, as constantly raising the stakes eventually makes them feel repetitive. Most importantly, depowering Knull forces him to rebuild his strength gradually, which teaches him how strength must be achieved through effort instead of stealing other characters' power.

What do you think about Knull's latest comic appearances?

Queen in Black #5 is now available from Marvel Comics