Marvel Introduces a New King in Black (& It’s Not Who Anyone Expected)

The “Queen in Black” storyline raced to its ending this week, and when the smoke cleared, there was a new King in Black. The entire finale seemed a little confusing unless a person read all three titles that were released this week surrounding the finale. That is because the ending played out in Queen in Black #5 by Al Ewing, Iban Coello, and Paco Medina, Venom #262 by Ewing and Carlos Gomez, and Queen in Black: Venom Unchained #3 by Charles Soule, Juanan Ramirez, and Jethro Morales. The three issues showed the battle from Mary Jane and Venom’s point of view, from Eddie Brock’s point of view, and from the POV of the heroes fighting Knull and Hela. Through all three issues, moments from the others played out from the different POVs.

By the end, there was a new King in Black, and that moment happened in Queen in Black #5, although it was set up in Queen in Black: Venom Unchained #3. The new King in Black is the symbiote known as Sleeper, and here is how it all went down.

Sleeper Is the New King in Black

When the “Queen in Black” storyline began, Eddie Brock was in prison after his stint in which he tried to control Carnage and ended up being betrayed by the serial-killing symbiote. By the end of that storyline, the villain involved, Torment, was dead, and Eddie Brock was in prison. In the first issue of Queen in Black: Venom Unchained, Eddie was trying to figure out how he could get out of prison, especially after an attorney said he could get out if he could figure out a way to save the world. With Knull coming, he felt he could help, but he had no symbiote. That is when Sleeper showed up at the prison and offered Eddie a deal.

The entire Queen in Black: Venom Unchained was a mystery. Why was Sleeper helping Eddie Brock? The first thing that happened when Sleeper helped Eddie break out of prison was that the symbiote left him. However, before going anywhere, Sleeper left Eddie with enough of a symbiote host to help in the fight, and Eddie ended up saving his son Dylan, who was captured during the fight on Earth. That left Eddie trying to figure out what Sleeper was up to, and this was finally revealed in the final issue of that series.

Sleeper was Venom’s seventh spawn, and both Eddie Brock and Venom felt it was safer to leave the infant symbiote at Alchemax for its safety, with the promise that they would only study it in a non-invasive fashion. The first person who Sleeper bonded with was Eddie Brock in an attempt to save Venom. Sleeper ended up saving Eddie’s life in the end and then left Earth to explore the cosmos, using the now brain-dead Tel-Kar as a mindless puppet host. When Sleeper returned to Earth, he saved Dylan Brock and ended up taking the form of a cat. Most recently, Sleeper had bonded with Rick Jones, but he has since retaken the form of a cat, which is where he was when Queen in Black: Venom Unchained began.

By the end of that series, Mary Jane and Venom had turned the entire planet Earth into a symbiote to protect it from Knull, and then when Knull withdrew after losing the battle, he found his throne was not waiting for him. Sleeper manipulated Eddie into calling out for Venom, and when Venom left Mary Jane to return to Eddie, Sleeper then disappeared. The last pages of Queen in Black: Venom Unchained showed what happened to Venom. However, the last page of the main Queen in Black miniseries had one iconic shot. Sleeper told Knull it had stolen the power of the Chainbreaker from Dylan Brock and used it to call an army to serve it. Sleeper is the new King in Black, with some very familiar symbiotes surrounding its throne.

What Happened to Everyone Else in “Queen in Black”

The “Queen in Black” storyline seemed almost rushed to an ending in the final week, with three courses of action happening at the same time in three different books. What ended up happening was rushed through, but everyone got an ending, even if it wasn’t explained very well. Knull murdered Hela, ending that battle when the heroes decided to let the two villains fight each other and just deal with the one left over in the end. However, when Knull killed Hela, the heroes couldn’t stop Knull, and he headed for Earth. That is where Mary Jane and Venom took over to protect it, and Mary Jane beat Knull by unleashing the thoughts of all humans onto him.

Mary Jane was cured, which is why she no longer needed to remain bonded to Venom. As for Venom, he left Mary Jane at the encouragement of Sleeper and ended up rebonding with Eddie Brock, bringing Venom and his main host back together again. Earth was saved, and Knull is still powerless thanks to Sleeper, the cat who sits on the throne. There is no telling what will happen next, but it seems like a fresh start for Mary Jane, who is no longer a superhero, and Venom, who is back where he belongs. As for Sleeper, what it does with this new power and ranking will be a story for another day.

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