Marvel Rivals: Venom’s Fear of Black Panther Is a Major Developing Storyline

Marvel Rivals is a new take on Marvel lore that already has fans hooked. The base story so far is two variants of Dr. Doom whose work causes a collision of different universes to create the Timestream Entanglement. New worlds, events, and different versions of heroes and villains collide across the multiverse. Some lore is well-explained, while some is being pieced together by fans, including a strange interaction between Venom and Black Panther as the web-slinging symbiote senses something wrong with the King of Wakanda. Though Venom doesn’t know exactly what’s wrong with T’Challa, his symbiote constantly stays alert while near him.

The primary theory is that Knull has infected Bast. In-game lore and player-based research support this idea. Knull is an eldritch god who rules over darkness and is known as the creator of the symbiotes. Initially, Knull wanted to destroy the universe but soon learned it would be better to use these symbiotes to control it instead. Bast is a panther goddess worshiped by Wakanda and its citizens. T’Challa, the King of Wakanda, looks to Bast for guidance and his power.

In one of the lore slides for Marvel Rivals, we see T’Challa kneeling before Bast, but Knull is also secretly present. T’Challa’s blind faith and devotion to Bast can also be seen when T’Challa refuses K’Liluna’s advice and aid. However, Black Panther may come to regret this choice when he notices dark energy around the Hall of Djalia.

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Fortunately, this meeting and a reminder of K’liluna’s words tip T’Challa off that something may be wrong with Bast. This corrupted connection to Bast is likely what Venom’s symbiote picked up on, a natural sense of Knull’s infection. How this will play out in future events will be seen. But Bast’s words, “You are not the only King in Black that I have come to favor,” are both ominous and promising.

The King in Black could refer to Knull or Venom, depending on the timeline and the universes that have been connected. Regardless, it’s pretty obvious Marvel Rivals intends to use Knull in an upcoming event. Players may see new maps, new symbiotic skins, and even new heroes such as fan-favorite Carnage, Scream, Riot, or more.

Knull infecting Bast has huge implications for Marvel Rivals and possibly teases Knull to be the next villain and event for the hero shooter following Dr. Doom’s event. To make this feel even more likely, Klyntar, the planet of the symbiotes and yet another teaser of Knull’s upcoming importance, is one of the available maps in the game’s rotation.

With Bast corrupted by Knull, players have been left wondering what other gods or superpowered entities may face a similar fate. This has the potential to set up future events and new storylines and drastically alter how characters are viewed and behave. Fans will have to wait and see what Marvel Rivals hold in the future, but for now, the two Dr. Dooms are the current threat and antagonists and must be dealt with first.