Knull vs. Galactus: Can King in Black Defeat the Devour of Worlds?

Knull, better known as the King in Black, rose to prominence due to his status as a symbiote god that basically controls the void. He is one of the most notable Marvel villains in recent history, and there have been plenty of them over the years. One such “villain” is Galactus, who, despite lacking void armies, has something equally deadly at his disposal: the so-called Power Cosmic. If Galactus and Knull were to fight, who would end up victorious? 

 Galactus is more powerful than Knull regarding raw power output, and he won’t have many issues against the King in Black in direct combat. However, Knull has vast armies and resources, which would make things interesting for Galactus. Both Knull and Galactus are practically indestructible and very potent powers. Still, historically, Knull has been defeated by characters weaker than Galactus, most notably Silver Surfer, who has at his disposal a fraction of Galactus’ powers. 

Now, Galactus is one of the most notable powerhouses in Marvel history, so it’s not as surprising that he would manage to take down Knull. If you’re interested in why exactly Galactus would struggle, check our rationale out! 

Both Knull and Galactus have powers to unmake worlds 

Knull has almost complete command over eldritch forces and the void. Knull is the one who keeps creating those pesky symbiotes and is able to dispatch them across the farthest corners of the Universe. He historically killed millions of gods and celestial entities, and he was at one point powerful enough to take down a Celestial and utilize its powers to create his most powerful piece of equipment, the Necrosword.

But this is not everything. Even though it seems like an overkill, Knull can also shapeshift and alter time and reality to an extent. You can easily recognize Knull’s influence over the area by the absence of light and the presence of his grotesque servants of the Void. 

But Galactus has its own lethal powers, the so-called Power Cosmic, that allows him to manipulate reality, time, shape, size, and molecular redistribution. With Power Cosmic, Galactus can create just about any desirable effect.

It is proven that he has enough juice to take on entire planets, Celestials, gods, and other abstract entities, and he is virtually unstoppable due to being a natural constant important for keeping the Universe in check. Galactus can both destroy and create, and although he lacks symbiotes, he does have powerful technologies and weapons at his disposal. 

In terms of raw power output, Galactus does have an edge here both in raw numbers and in feats and considering that Knull was taken down by Silver Surfer (briefly) and Silver Surfer has only a fraction of Power Cosmic, it’s not that much of a stretch to conclude that Galactus would be able to obliterate him more efficiently. 

Galactus 1 – Knull 0 

Both Knull and Galactus are physically impossible to deal with  

When it comes to physical attributes, there’s really not much to compare. Knull and Galactus can lift well over 100 tons, and it’s not like they have to rely on their physical strength to get things done. They can also travel at unimaginable speeds since cosmic conquest is vital to their characters. 

Knull is the primordial god of darkness, which means that he has existed well before the current iteration of the Universe has truly taken hold. He has been alive for billions of years, and there is no sign of him stopping. He cannot be truly killed, but he can be slowed down and incapacitated for longer periods of time. Knull was strong enough to tank Celestial blasts. This didn’t kill him, I repeat again. It only slowed him down. 

Much of the same can be said about Galactus as well. He is older than the current Universe and cannot be truly killed. Since Galactus is necessary for the Universe to function as it should, even if he is damaged to the point of dying, he will return again after some time.  

As you can see, neither Galactus nor Knull would be able to truly eliminate the other, and the fight would depend on who would get incapacitated first. This is why they will share this point. 

Galactus 2 – Knull 1 

Knull has more weaknesses, but he also has Necrosword

Knull is generally weak to light, and his connection to the Headless Celestial can be easily abused, as well as his connection to the symbiotes. Galactus’s weak point, on the other hand, is the fact that he needs to be properly fed to manifest the highest levels of his powers. As soon as Galactus’ hunger starts to rise, he gets progressively weaker until he is almost completely depowered, and creatures far weaker than Knull managed to defeat him in the past. 

It’s far easier to abuse Knull’s weaknesses than to depower Galactus, but there’s a catch. Galactus is highly in-vulnerable to most forms of weapons except incredibly rare weapons that have a mystical and otherworldy origin, and one such sword is Necrosword. In ‘Thor-God of Thunder’ #23, Thor managed to seemingly kill Galactus with Necrosword-infused lighting, which implies that Galactus is not that immune to the effects of this mythic sword. 

Galactus 3 – Knull 2 

This is once again a tie for both Galactus and Knull, as both have pretty glaring weaknesses that offer a semblance of balance when comparing those characters. Ultimately, Galactus wins this one because of raw power. In other aspects, he pretty much ties in with Knull both when you take into account physical attributes and perceived weak points. 

Who do you think would win in this fight? Let us know in the comments below!