The Perfect Villain For Insomniac's Venom Game Isn't…

Summary

Insomniac Games has experienced leaks regarding its upcoming Marvel titles, including details on the canceled game Spider-Man: The Great Web and the upcoming game Venom: Lethal Protector.
Venom: Lethal Protector will serve as a shorter adventure to bridge the gap between numbered Spider-Man entries and will feature Venom teaming up with other webslingers to save New York City from Carnage.
While Carnage is a fine choice for an antagonist, the inclusion of the villain Knull in Venom: Lethal Protector would subvert expectations and provide a grander finale for the Symbiote storyline.

Among the recent leaks suffered by Insomniac Games, there was an especially high concentration of licensed Marvel titles. Details on Marvel's Wolverine were plentiful, but Marvel's Spider-Man also had its share of leaks split between multiple games. Besides more vague things like Spider-Man 3’s projected release date, there were more specific details about a couple of spin-offs. One was a canceled live-service game titled Spider-Man: The Great Web, but the other title, Venom: Lethal Protector, sounds like it's still on the way.

This game is intended to serve the same purpose as Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, being a shorter adventure to introduce one new playable character and bridge the gap between numbered Spider-Man entries. As the title indicates, the powerful Symbiote Venom returns in his classic Lethal Protector antihero role, and will team up with some webslingers to save New York City from Carnage. While it makes sense to tie off the Symbiote storyline before pulling on different plot threads in Spider-Man 3, Insomniac has the chance to give Venom and the Symbiotes a fittingly grand finale if it shifts focus to a greater threat than Carnage.

Venom: Lethal Protector Could Incorporate Venom’s Newer Nemesis Knull

Hidden deep in the slides and artwork leaked for Spider-Man: The Great Web is a hypothetical roadmap presenting a year's worth of seasonal content. Notably, the first season is focused on Venom, supported by the multiple art pieces showing him, laying the groundwork for the fourth season to involve Knull. Even though The Great Web was canceled even before Insomniac's leak, any work and planning that's gone into it could be reused in future Spider-Man titles, and the next game’s spotlight on Venom invites Knull's arrival as well.

Who Is Spider-Man and Venom’s Villain Knull?

Knull is a recently-unveiled arc villain from the Spider-Man and Thor comics that is directly tied to every Symbiote-based character. Among his many powers, Knull is chiefly the god of darkness, and is capable of shaping primordial darkness, which he calls the “living abyss,” into Symbiotes. While he is technically a Spider-Man comic character, Knull’s fiercest opposition usually comes from the Eddie Brock version of Venom, whose human and Symbiote components cooperate to fend off and destroy Knull. Introducing a cosmic deity into a Marvel's Spider-Man spin-off may seem out of line, but preparations have already been made to fit him in.

How Knull Can Subvert Expectations For Carnage In Venom: Lethal Protector

Compared to Knull, Carnage seems like a better fit for Venom: Lethal Protector's main villain. While the Carnage Symbiote is often portrayed as one of Venom's offspring, it tends to bond with the deranged mind of serial killer Cletus Kasady so well that Carnage refers to himself in the singular instead of the standard Symbiote plural. Like how Venom represents the worst parts of Peter Parker, Carnage represents what Venom's average host could become if they shed their humanity entirely. That makes Carnage an ideal antagonist for stories that want to portray Venom as the hero, but that doesn't mean Knull is out of the question.

Knull and Carnage Can Work Best As A Team

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 already has references to Knull hidden in plain sight. Civilians infected with Venom's Symbiotes can gain spiral sigils identical to those found on Knull's thralls, and the same symbol is on the meteorite the Symbiotes used to land on Earth. Furthermore, both Venom and Carnage’s plans to infect New York align more with Knull's goals than their own. Factoring in that Carnage has served as Knull’s herald before makes it increasingly likely Knull will either appear or be acknowledged as the source of the Symbiote invasion, possibly with his divine origins downplayed. Defeating Knull would give the story a good excuse to rid the setting of Symbiotes before Marvel's Spider-Man 3, so players shouldn't be surprised if they reach Venom: Lethal Protector’s final hours and find themselves staring down the King in Black.

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