Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics | Tagged: doctor doom, father christmas, hp lovecraft, iron man, king in black, knull, marvel, namor, Santa Claus

Marvel Brings Cthulhu and Santa Claus Into King In Black Continuity

In the finale of The King In Black #2 published by Marvel Comics, Tony Stark as Iron Man goes inside a Knull Dragon and bends it to his will courtesy of Extremis.

Before returning to tell all of his accomplishment, transformed by the Knull dragon into a new kind of being – if you got that bit.

Only for Eddie Brock to kick the bucket, symbiote and all. Well, today's The King In Black: Doctor Doom & Iron Man looks further at the Iron Man that Tony Stark has become, as he encounters Victor Von Doom atop a consumed Manhattan.

Well, it is Christmas. Even if Tony Stark cannot quite believe his internal cameras. Well, the solicitation did describe that they would have to "battle an all-too-familiar specter of the holiday season-albeit one now twisted and controlled by the recent invasion of Earth by the symbiote homeworld."

In the Marvel Universe, it is believed that Odin inspired the legend of Father Christmas. Still, the character was once defended from Adolf Hitler by Franklin Roosevelt sending Sgt. Nick Fury, Captain America, and Bucky Barnes to rescue him. Decades later, Santa took his revenge, saving New York City from a clone of Hitler, the Hate-Monger (a clone of Hitler) when his sleigh – seen only as an unidentified flying object – soared through the air at unprecedented speed, distracting one of the Hate-Monger's pilots, who crashed into the Hate-Monger's nuclear bomb, in Nick Fury: Agent OF SHIELD #10. You'd have thought that someone might have mentioned it to Tony Stark. Cerebro found Santa Claus to be "the most powerful mutant ever registered," though he hasn't yet turned up on Krakoa that we know of. He also aided Generation X when fighting against the youth-abducting Nanny and Orphan Maker. He worked with She-Hulk fighting crime and gave her the gift of human transformation again. More recently, he was also captured alongside Captain Marvel by Grave Valentine and Toxie Doxie. But Tony Stark is oblivious.

And we get to hear of Latverian Christmas traditions for the first time.

However, all this tomfoolery does let us see the Dragon Symbiote Iron Man use his new abilities for the first time.

Heavy wife morphing, but also some kind of dark energy manipulation.

Might Iron Man be able to use this against Knull itself? But there are other old forces at work, as well. The King In Black: Namor find some other old gods to reference.

R'lyeh? Is this an integration of HP Lovecraft's work and The Call of Cthulhu into the Marvel Universe backstory? This again has happened before in Marvel's Conan comic books. During the Hyborian Age, circa 10,000 BC, Cthulu slept in R'lyeh, according to the eldritch language chant of the Dagon worshippers, from Savage Sword Of Conan #176.

To avenge himself from Captain Dalvalte who tortured him, left him for dead and stole his daughters, Reimos allegedly entered in contact with many Old Ones, the Black Gods of R'Lyeh, who offered him his spider-infested castle.

But now Marvel has made Knull and his symbiotic relics on Earth a part of that Conan history as well? It does appear that way…

KING IN BLACK IRON MAN DOOM #1
MARVEL COMICS
OCT200529
(W) Christopher Cantwell (A/CA) Salvador Larroca
Iron Man has risked everything to save Eddie Brock, but now he's left with nothing but guilt. As longtime 'frenemy' Doctor Doom shows up with both counseling words and ulterior motives, they'll be forced to battle an all-too-familiar specter of the holiday season-albeit one now twisted and controlled by the recent invasion of Earth by the symbiote homeworld. As Iron Man and Doom fight as temporary allies, their unexpected encounter both with each other and a horrifying inversion of yuletide joy may ultimately reveal to them the true meaning of Knull-mas. Rated T+In Shops: Dec 30, 2020 SRP: $3.99

KING IN BLACK NAMOR #2 (OF 5)
MARVEL COMICS
OCT200534
(W) Kurt Busiek (A) Ben Dewey (CA) Leinil Francis Yu
The Young Namor, Attuma and Dorma get to accompany the Swift Riders on a mission, see them in action and learn from them. But the mission involves Russian alchemists in 1930s Murmansk, a dangerous mystic relic, and a catastrophe that brings to life the most menacing threat that Atlantis has ever faced! Now all of undersea civilization is imperiled, and only three youngsters can save it! Rated T+In Shops: Dec 30, 2020 SRP: $3.99

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