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Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman's King in Black event in Marvel Comics was only a few years ago, but it already feels like a momentous time in comic book history. And frankly, that's what a huge, company-wide crossover should feel like. They should all turn us into old people saying, "You just had to be there." Now, the work that Cates and Stegman did on Venom and later on in King in Black has now been immortalized in Magic: The Gathering's upcoming Universes Beyond set, entitled Marvel's Spider-Man. 

There's a card in the Marvel's Spider-Man set called Grendel, Spawn of Knull. Venomheads (I have no idea what Venom fans are actually called) will recognize Grendel as a catchall name for the symbiote dragons that first debuted in Cates and Stegman's Venom run, before going on to wreak havoc across New York City in King in Black later on. There is a particularly great tie-in story to King in Black from Planet of the Symbiotes #2 by Marc Bernardin and Kyle Hotz where American Kaiju (Godzilla with an American flag emblazoned on his chest - look it up if you don't believe me) fights off hordes of Grendel dragons. Pure symbiote goodness. Check it out below.

Naturally, Grendel, Spawn of Knull is a black card, calling out the role that the dragons played in King of Black, of course. It's refreshing to see that the Spider-Man MTG set pays homage to the rich lore that Cates and Stegman developed for Venom in recent years. Because let's be real, Spider-Man comics flirt with body horror every now and then (I see you, Spiders-Man, Savage Spider-Man, and that time Peter was running around with eight limbs in The Amazing Spider-Man #101), and Venom has given both creators and fans the chance to indulge in all the goopy, cosmic weirdness that would feel out of place in a typical Spidey story. 

Magic: The Gathering x Marvel's Spider-Man will be released on September 26, 2025. 

The gaming industry has come a long way since Pong blew all our minds in the 70s. We've got everything you need to know about the next big thing in games. Of course, Grand Theft Auto VI is going to be the big game of 2026, but there are plenty of other games coming out between now and then. Here is our starter guide for every gamer:

• All upcoming games in 2025 and beyond
• Gamify My Life, our weekly gaming column designed
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• How to play every GTA game in order
• Why the GTA 6 budget isn't as crazy as you think
• The Magic: The Gathering x Spider-Man crossover set wouldn't exist without the Spider-Verse

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