Queen in Black: Defenders of Light and Dark (2026 series) #3

Hela has stolen the dark power of Knull to become the Queen In Black, but Knull has responded by becoming a god of light. Hela's forces of aliens merged with Klyntar Symbiotes have invaded Earth, and Knull's armies of light are on their way. While many heroes defend Earth and 2 strike forces have been sent against Hela and Knull directly. Team Light (Beta Ray Bill, Dagger, Photon and Sunfire) attack Hela in Earth orbit while Team Dark (Agent Anti-Venom, Cable, Cloak, Darkstar and Iron Man) face Knull outside the Solar System. But Cable and IM have a risky Plan B in reserve.

This issue begins with Hela, Asgardian goddess of Hel, and Team Light. In particular with the grudge match between her General Tyr, Asgardian god of War, and Beta Ray Bill, honorary Asgardian alien with the power of Thor  Tyr is about to land the killing stroke of his sword when Dagger intercedes with her newly-acquired (last issue) sword of light. This gives Bill time to recover and send his foe to Valhalla or Hel. And all the Symbiotes Hela had with her have also been dealt with leaving her to face Team Light alone. So Bill contacts his spaceship Skuttlebutt and tells it to contact Team Dark and tell them it's time for Plan B.

On the edge of the Solar System Team Dark are having some success against Knull's light Symbiotes but Cable and Iron Man are only just holding their own against Knull himself. Tony Stark in his Knullbuster armour gets the Plan B message, and he reluctantly allows Cable to go ahead.

But we go back in time to a meeting in Avengers Mansion when Cable and IM assembled the teams and told them what Plan B was. They've arranged a chain of teleporters across various realities to bring Hela and Knull together to fight each other (as we've also learned in QIB#4, published at the same time).

Now we see the plan put into action. 4 of the Dark team frontal rush Knull while Cloak sneaks up behind him and engulfs them all in his cloak which sends them to the Darkforce Dimension. Knullbuster, Cable and Anti-Venom hold the foe still while Darkstar fends off denizens of the realm she gets her power from until the next teleporter shows up, Amelia Voght in the Astral Plane. She sends them, including Cloak, to meet Magik who takes them through 1 of her portals to her realm Limbo. Unfortunately the creatures here hate light and so immediately attack Knull, and our heroes have to protect him until Magik takes them through another portal to the Moon where they're met by Manifold who provides a passage for them to Earth orbit and Hela & Team Light (leaving Magik behind with him).

Knull breaks free and swears revenge on his captors. But Hela doesn't give him a chance because she sends tendrils of her attire with Symbiote heads to attack him. Both teams of heroes stand back to watch the 2 villains hopefully kill each other. Knull manages to pierce Hela through with his All-Light sword but she survives and reminds him that before she became Queen In Black she was a Goddess Of Death. Her Symbiote tendrils engulf him and pull him into her until he's completely subsumed. Then all the heroes attack her. She fights back until Beta Ray Bill strikes with the Twilight Sword and his hammer Stormbreaker. And Hela's spirit goes back to Hel?

The heroes congratulate each other. But Hela's body remains and out from it bursts Knull, back as King In Black but with his light powers as well. He blasts them all, and claims that he *allowed* them to bring him to Hela and let her consume him. All so he could take her power from the inside and join Dark to Light to become King In All.

The he leaves them in Hela's command vessel and heads out to *end everything*. But he's surprised to see the Earth totally covered in black.

See QIB#4 for what this means.

And of course to be concluded in QIB#5.