Season 3: The Abyss Awakens/Lore

Overview[]

This page will provide a condensed version of the story-line told for Season 3: The Abyss Awakens through Events, Gallery Cards, and Hero Stories. Some of the lore texts may be broken up into parts in order to put the story chronologically. Side-Stories are events which are not directly related to the rest of the storyline and/or could take place at any point during the season.

Main Storyline[]

Queen In Black [Hela Hero Story #2][]

Hela grows angry that Loki has joined the heroes in battle instead of draining the World Tree of its Chronovium-infused sap. She had also hoped some of the heroes would perish in battle so she could claim their soul, but they all persisted. After the battle on Arakko, she decides to make her leave and return her realm, Niffelheim, but hears Knull whispering her name, which she remembers also happened the first time the heroes went to Klyntar. Hela travels to Klyntar to confront Knull. Seeing that they share similar goals, she agrees to work with him and become his "Queen In Black". He asks her to rule of Klyntar in his stead and protect it from the incoming threat of the Phoenix. Knull grants Hela greater power than she has ever had and she awaits the Phoenix's arrival.

Flarkin' Klyntar [Gallery Card #1][]

Knull, aka the "King in Black", was trapped in the core of Klyntar until the Timestream Entanglement awoke him. He was too weak to escape but used his influence to corrupt other gods including Bast. Shuri informed the Guardians of the Galaxy who went to Klyntar and crashed landed on the planet. After meeting up with Venom, they group found the Divine Codex, taken from the dead Celestial above Klyntar. They turned the Codex into a bomb, but Knull survived and continued planning while the heroes moved on to protecting NYC and Krakoa. Now that the Phoenix is heading towards Klyntar, the heroes expect Knull to try to exploit its power so they return to Klyntar.

Song of the Symbiotes [Jeff the Land Shark Hero Story #2][]

The Guardians of the Galaxy, along with Jeff the Land Shark, arrive on Klyntar and are attacked by symbiotes. The symbiotes takes control of all the Guardians quickly but Jeff still attempts to fight back against the symbiote's control. To fend off Knull's commands through the symbiote hivemind, Jeff starts to hum a song and suddenly, the symbiote joins in and hums the song with him. Jeff senses the symbiote also wants to resist Knull so instead of continuing to fight, he lets the symbiote complete its bond. As the symbiote gains access to Jeff's happy memories, it decides to break free of Knull's influence completely. Jeff hums the same song to the Guardians which snaps them out of Knull's control, and they continue on their mission with their new symbiotes.

Milano Repair Logs [Log 1-7][]

This storyline provides details of the Guardians second excursion on Klyntar. The Guardians discuss what happened while they were getting each replacement part for the Milano or a story it reminds them of.

The first part was from a Kree starship, which reminds Rocket of how Star-Lord first recruited him and Groot on the Kree's homeworld, Hala, to fight an invasion by Ultron and the Phalanx, which also led them to Mantis and Adam Warlock.
The second part was the wing of a Symbiote Dragon and Star-Lord recalls that Thor fought a Symbiote Dragon in the Middle Ages and his lightning disrupted the symbiote hivemind, leading to them imprisoning Knull.
While searching for parts, Mantis comes across a group of Hela's ghostly crows. She senses that one of the crows is actually Loki's raven Munin, which was sent by Loki to scout Klyntar. Mantis extracts undead energy from the crows to power their hyperjump engine.
The third part was a shard of Celestial armor, which Adam Warlock recalls is nearly indestructible, only having been damaged by Knull's sword, All-Black, and Thor's old axe Jarnbjorn.
Groot saved a group of symbiotes from a fire, which then led him to where Rocket was being attacked by aggressive symbiotes. They then obtained the quantum circuit board and energy barrier for the ship.
Star-Lord "borrows" Adam Warlock's Karmic Staff to replace their antenna.
The Guardians of the Galaxy were able to scavenge parts from Klyntar's surface to repair their ship, the Milano. Due to the symbiotes latching onto the ship, Rocket planned to "Quantum Swap" their ship with the Celestial Husk using a Nega-Energy Replicator to mimic the effects of Captain Marvel's Nega-Bands. However, to do this, they would need the Celestial's bio-signature, which Venom and Adam Warlock were able to provide in the form of the Celestial Codex. They swap with the Celestial Husk, causing it to crash down on to the surface of Klyntar.

Light In The Darkness [Gallery Card #2][]

Shuri hoped that since the heroes thwarted Knull's plan, his control over Bast would fade, but it did not. Instead, Bast retreated into the Divine Space, a plane where only powerful cosmic beings can traverse. The Phoenix felt Knull's presence, so she entered the Divine Space to quickly get to Klyntar, but instead encountered Bast and other corrupted gods and purged them of Knull's corruption. Since the Black Panther was away, Bast tasked Shuri with gathering warriors to fight Knull, starting with Blade.

Across the Universe [Phoenix Hero Story #1][]

The Phoenix, noticing Knull's return, enters the Divine Space to quickly reach Klyntar. She encounters Bast and other corrupted gods there and purges them of Knull's corruption. Jean and the Phoenix stay in the Divine Space to recover their power, and they rest, Jean sees a vision of scarlet chaos energy, which she could feel the Phoenix fight against but then embrace, forming a scarlet crown on her head. Jean then awakens and, now with their powers recovered, they exit the Divine Space and head towards Klyntar.

Cut To The Chase [Blade Hero Story #1][]

After Blade's capture during the Empire of Eternal Night, he was relentlessly drained of his blood by Dracula. He knew his "eternal" night would not last so he was looking to turn his vampire minions into Daywalkers like Blade, leaving Blade gravely wounded. After being rescued by the Fantastic Four, Reed realized his wounds were too severe for him to treat alone and instead brought him to the the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda to recover. Reed also leaves the Sword of Draucula with Shuri for Blade once he is ready. Shuri decided try an experimental treatment which used an extract of the sacred Heart-Shaped Herb. While the Heart-Shaped Herb was typically reserved only for the Black Panther, these were desperate times, so Shuri gives Blade the serum. Blade appears in Djalia, the Wakandan ancestral plane, and is suddenly attacked by Bast, who attacks his vampiric side. Blade had heard rumors that the Heart-Shaped Herb could cure vampirism but had never been able to get any samples to test it. As much as he would like to be free of his curse, he knows he needs his powers to help protect the world, so he fights back against Bast. Bast injures Blade and when he looks in the pool of blood, he sees his mother, who hands him a silver sword, a manifestation of the light in his soul. He strikes Bast, who disappears, and Blade knows this treatment has failed. As Shuri leaves Blade to rest, the silver sword materializes besides him.

Out On A Blade [Gallery Card #6] (Part 1)[]

When Blade finally awkanes, Shuri asked for his help to help fight Knull on Klyntar. Armed with Dracula's Sword, he sets off for Klyntar, but when he arrives, he finds Hela in charge instead of Knull. Blade finds the Phoenix and teams up with her to fight Hela.

The Phoenix Seven [Gallery Card #3] (Part 1)[]

The Phoenix arrives on Klyntar and begins to battle with Hela, but Hela's new bond with Knull greatly increased her power and she overwhelmed the Phoenix, which sheltered itself inside [[Klyntar: Celestial Husk#Celestial Hand [Mission Area]|an egg]]. The heat of the Phoenix Egg began to drive away the symbiotes on the planet's surface. Some heroes, including Scarlet Witch and Venom, were concerned this would create a rift in Klyntar's surface. Jean Grey did not agree and joined with other heroes to harness the Chronal Energy of a Celestial Codex to expedite the hatching of the egg.

The Celestial Iron Man [Iron Man Hero Story #3][]

Iron Man and Ultron, who have joined the heroes on Klyntar, stumble upon the Celestial Husk, now resting on the planet's surface after Rocket's quantum swap. Tony plans to retrofit the technology of the fallen Celestial but realizes it is lightyears beyond what he could understand. He links a cable from his armor into the Celestial and is flooded with universal knowledge before being pulled out by Adam Warlock, who warns that Tony could become lost in the Celestial's lingering spirit. Before they could disconnect from the Celestial, it speaks to them. It thanks them for coming to end Knull's reign but will not help the heroes, as it fears it would do more damage than good. Adam explains that when Tony first connected to the Celestial, he inadvertently activated a weapon in the Celestial's palm which shattered the Phoenix Egg. The Celestial tells Tony that the only way through the darkest hour would be to embrace it. With this knowledge, he decides not to tamper with the Celestial's technology and figure out a new plan.

The Phoenix Seven [Gallery Card #3] (Part 2)[]

The scattered shards of the Phoenix Force bonded with other heroes, including Wolverine, Emma Frost, Magik, Black Panther, Namor, Black Widow, and Iron Fist, granting them some of the Phoenix's power.

Separation Anxiety [Venom Hero Story #2] / Till Death Do Us Apart [Gallery Card #4][]

During battle, Hela grabbed Venom and imprisoned him, separating Eddie from the Venom symbiote. After the Phoenix Egg shattered, it created a rift in Klyntar like Scarlet Witch and Venom had predicted, releasing Knull who reclaimed his sword, All-Black. A group of symbiotes show up in Eddie's cell and the Venom symbiote explains they were fleeing from the heat of a Phoenix Egg fragment, which Eddie wants to claim to before anyone nefarious can get to it. Eddie frees himself as flames start to burn in the prison and the group of symbiotes cover his hands so he can break the wall into the Venom symbiote's cell. Together as Venom, the symbiote reluctantly goes along with Eddie's plan to acquire the Phoenix Egg fragment. During their escape, Venom collapses due to the blazing heat. The Phoenix Force manifested itself and spoke to Venom, saying she had never seen a bond as strong as between Eddie and the symbiote. She vowed to protect them and when her manifestation dissipated, the shard of the Phoenix Egg was there. Venom claims the shard and gains the power of the Phoenix Force, but they knew they still needed a weapon and knows where to find one.

Out On A Blade [Gallery Card #6] (Part 2)[]

When the Phoenix Egg shattered, some of the Phoenix Force was absorbed into the Sword of Dracula. This power was still not enough for Blade to defeat Hela, so as a desperate move, Blade bit her and drained some of her blood. This boosted his power enough to make Hela flee for the time being.

Divine Balance [Gallery Card #7][]

Jean Grey and Scarlet Witch are able to unify their seemingly opposing powers, bathing Knull in the glow of chaos and creation. While Knull is temporarily distracted, All-Black reminds him of his mission. Knull knows the Phoenix Force was fractured so he strikes at the Phoenix, severing Jean and Wanda's bond. Knull continued to defeat all who opposed him, even those with fragments of the Phoenix Force. Defeated, Wanda utters one last spell of protection for the one hero left who may stand a chance.

Kings In Black [Gallery Card #8][]

Venom, wielding Dracula's Sword infused with the Phoenix Force, begins to fight against Knull.

Phoenix Endsong [Gallery Card #9][]

Venom fails to defeat Knull and retreats, however Rocket has a new plan for how they could defeat Knull. Rocket explains that if Phoenix were to die, they would be reborn in the White Hot Room. Rocket plans to use portable versions of the same technology that he used to to quantum swap the Milano and the Celestial Husk, Nega-Energy Replicators, to swap the Phoenix and Knull after the Phoenix is reborn in the White Hot Room, annihilating Knull with light. Jean agrees to go through with the plan.

The Deepest Bond [Rocket Raccoon Hero Story #2] (Part 1)[]

Rocket begins to tinker with the second Nega-Energy Replicator but in his focus, he doesn't realize the ground under him is starting to shift. Scarlet Witch tries to warn Rocket but it is too late as he is trapped in the jaws of a symbiote dragon. Scarlet Witch is able to destroy the dragon with a spell but not before it gravely injures Rocket and damages his cybernetic implants, which likely only his creator could fix. Suddenly, the same symbiote Rocket had bonded with earlier reappears after sensing his need, bonding to Rocket once again and healing his wounds, then repurposes parts of Rocket's blaster as temporary replacements for his implants. Revived and confused, Rocket makes a few finishing touches on the Nega-Energy Replicator and goes to find Jean Grey and Venom to enact their plan.

Klyntar: Throne of Knull Ending [Conclusion #2][]

While not stated in any lore text, in this ending after a match, we see Rocket's plan work as Knull gets swapped into the White Hot Room and disintegrates.

Nowhere Left To Run [Gallery Card #10][]

The Eighth City was once a prison, but has since become a refuge for those cast out of heaven, led by a figure called "Dizang". Hela arrives at the Eighth City asking for sanctuary, and while Dizang recognizes she is dangerous, he allows her in. She is secured in a cell with a mystical seal and explains she she formed an alliance with Knull, but after being defeated by Blade, she feared his retribution and fled. However, she felt her new powers fade, meaning Knull had been defeated. She asks to be freed but Dizang tells her she must remain there until she can be trusted, and he has a feeling that her own kin will come to deliver justice soon.

The Deepest Bond [Rocket Raccoon Hero Story #2] (Part 2)[]

Back on Earth in the Baxter Building, Rocket explains to Reed Richards what happened on Klyntar and how the symbiote fixed him. Reed speculates that the symbiote must have previously bonded to someone who knew the process Rocket underwent and knew him intimately. Reed explains that by accessing the codex the symbiote left in Rocket, he could see the genetic imprint of the symbiote as well as every other host it has bonded to. He identifies some DNA which is a match for Earth otters, which Rocket immediately realizes could only be Lylla, his old friend from Halfworld. Rocket now becomes determined to find Lylla, no matter the cost.

Side-Stories[]

Stark Warning [Gallery Card #5][]

Reed Richards sends a message to Doctor Doom to try to convince him to stop his scheming and help put reality back together. Reed explains that he would have expected Doctor Doom to help fix the universe, even if only to prove himself superior, but instead he is scheming with Dracula, taking chronal energy from Krakoa, and sending Doombots to recover a Celestial Codex and the Phoenix Force while the heroes fight against Knull. Reed warns Doctor Doom to stop standing in the heroes way as they try to fix his mess or he will be sure to regret it.