The roster of Marvel’s most terrifying and overpowered villains just crowned a new champion, with the confirmation thatThe Devourer in Blackis on his way. Merging two supervillains, the heroes don’t stand a chance.
Along with the news thata brand new Spider-Man 3099will be traveling through time to prevent the death of Spider-Man 2099’s future, Marvel has revealed the mastermind behind the entire event. Too evil to imagine, this new supervillain is namedAbyssus, a twisted fusion ofGalactuswith Knull, The King in Black and God of Symbiotes.
This cosmic nightmare will make its debut inThe End 2099, a five-issue limited series from Marvel beginning this December. While the origins of this twisted fusion are not yet clear, its absurd power earns a direct gamble with Mephisto, as the official plot synopsis reveals:
Along with the first From the ashes of the Age of Heroes, a new generation of vigilantes, like Spider-Man 2099, Nova 2099 and Red Hulk 2099, emerged in the dystopia that followed to forge a bright new future—a future that has come to an end in the face ofABYSSUS, a horrifying fusion of a KNULL-INFECTED GALACTUS!
As the Devourer in Black descends upon the world, a deal is struck with the devil—literally—as Mephisto bets the fate of 2099 in a brutal battle of survival, pitting the warriors of 2099 against fan-favorite characters from across the multiverse–like Age of Apocalypse’s Wolverine, Cyclops and Marvel Girl from Chris Claremont and John Byrne’s era of Uncanny X-Men, House of M’s Wanda Maximoff and so many more—each battling for their own universe’s survival!
Galactus And Knull Combine To Form The Future ‘Devourer in Black’
The five-issue series is the creation of2099veterans Steve Orlando and Ibraim Roberson, uniting heroes and villains from the 2099 future, the 3099 future, and various worlds across the Marvel Multiverse. But who can pull the strings of this massive battle? Orlando explains the answer is simple: the Devil himself, and a merging of two cosmic titans.
“With all existing 2099 timelines united into the one, true, Universe-2099,the stakes are higher than ever when Abyssus, the Devourer in Black, comes to dinner!But not all is as it seems! Mephisto, 2099’s dark dealmaker, pivots from annihilation to a war of champions–with 2099’s greatest battling Abyssus' finest, plucked from the multiverse!”
What cosmic corruption has led to Galactus being “infected” by Knull’s symbiote power? Will the combined form be equal parts World-Eater and Symbiote God? These questions and more will have to wait until December, whenThe End 2099officially begins.
This Knull-Infected Galactus Makes More Sense Than Fans Realize
At first glance there may seem to be little in common between the modern Knull, the finger-tenting, Symbiote-dominating,uber-villainous King in Black, and the emotionless, classic cosmic giant Galactus. Butthe two have grown closer and closer in nature and ambitions over the past decadeof Marvel Comics canon.
WhileFantastic Four: First Stepsdepicted him as a hungering cosmic being, the true comic canonpositions Galactus as a cosmic force of nature. A force that consumes one universe, only to create another, and repeat the cycle. Knull was also present when the universe was made, born of the void Galactus seeks to create.
The jury is still out on how voluntary their alliance may be (“infection” doesn’t sound mutually beneficial), butOrlando’s description of"Abyssus, the Devourer in Black, coming to dinner"feels oddly faithfulto both. After all, if Galactus is doomed to hunger and feast, why can’t Knull help him enjoy playing with his food?
