In the latest issue of Marvel's King in Black, Spider-Man is charged with a dying Venom to protect his son Dylan at all costs.
Warning! Spoilers for King in Black #2 from Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman
While the first issue of Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman's King in Black was incredibly intense and dark, the second issue does little in the way of making anything brighter or hopeful. Several of the Marvel Universe's heroes and heaviest hitters have either been killed or turned by Knull the Symbiote God, joining his legions of symbiotes. Not only that, but Eddie Brock's Venom symbiote was ripped away by Knull himself, before being thrown off the side of a skyscraper, without his powers. With things now looking incredibly grim, Spider-Man agrees to what may be Venom's final words and last request: making sure Venom's son stays safe.
In the first issue of King in Black, the Marvel heroes were arguably more prepared for Knull's invasion than any other otherworldly attack that had come in the past. However, in spite of all of their plans and defenses, Knull's power was simply too great, unlike anything they've ever encountered before. In the aftermath, Knull covered the entire planet with his symbiotes, killed the Sentry, and corrupted several other heroes under his influence such as Captain America, Dr. Strange, The Thing, and many more. Additionally, he also disposed of Eddie Brock as previously mentioned, taking the Venom symbiote at the issue's end.
Now in King in Black #2, Spider-Man has fought his way to where Eddie Brock landed, and he's not looking good. While Spider-Man screams for someone to help him with the critically injured Brock, many of his fellow heroes have become Knullified and are closing in. Short on options, Spider-Man has no choice but to web Brock up and try to move him. Thankfully, Spider-Man got some much-needed assistance from the Human Torch and one of his nova blasts, effectively sacrificing himself to Knull's horde so that Spider-Man could make his escape with Eddie. However, before all of that happens, Brock only has one thing on his mind beyond his broken body: his son Dylan.
Despite his inability to finish the words of what could be his final request, Spider-Man and readers both know what Eddie wants. Brock wants Spider-Man to make sure that his son Dylan is kept safe from Knull. As a result, as soon as Spider-Man gets Eddie to safety with the heroes who are still in the fight, he goes to collect Dylan who's been hiding in a secret bunker, taking him to see his father. Meanwhile, the other heroes come up with a plan to save Eddie, believed to be the only one with a chance at stopping Knull. However, a symbiote is going to be the only thing able to save Eddie, so that's exactly what Iron Man goes to retrieve, using Extremis to try and rewrite the DNA of one in order to rip it away from Knull's control. However, Knull proved to be too strong and his control still held, forcing Dylan to reveal his new powers, completely destroying and atomizing the symbiote before it could do any damage. While Reed Richards now believes that Dylan is the key to saving the world from Knull, Eddie Brock has seemingly died at the end of this second issue.
With Venom gone, his son Dylan is perhaps the only way to save the Marvel Universe thanks to his control over symbiotes. As a result, Spider-Man may have just received one of the biggest responsibilities he's ever had, being tasked to protect one of the most important and critical powers in existence found in Venom's son. Subsequently, it doesn't seem like it will be a responsibility he'll be taking lightly as Cates and Stegman's King in Black continues from Marvel Comics.
