| Black Knight | |
|---|---|
 Black Knight #1 (May 1955) Cover art byJoe Maneely | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Black Knight #1 (May1955) |
| Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Joe Maneely (art) |
| Characters | Sir Percy Nathan Garrett Dane Whitman Augustine du Lac |
| See also | Ebony Blade The Black Knight lineage |
| Black Knight | |
| Series publication information | |
| Publisher | (vol 1) Atlas Comics (vol 2) Marvel Comics |
| Schedule | (vol 1) Bi-monthly (vol 2) Monthly |
| Format | (vol 1) Ongoing series (vol 2) Limited series |
| Genre | (vol 1) Fantasy (vol 2) Superhero, magic in comics |
| Publication date | (vol 1) May – December1955 (vol 2) June – September1990 |
| Number of issues | (vol 1) 5 (vol 2) 4 |
| Main character(s) | (both) Sir Percy |
TheBlack Knight is the alias of several fictional characters appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics.
The first is amedievalknight created by writerStan Lee and artistJoe Maneely, who made his first appearance inBlack Knight #1 (May 1955), during theSilver Age of Comics, when Marvel Comics was previously known asAtlas Comics.[1]The second is asupervillain descendant of the original, created by Lee and artist and co-plotterDick Ayers, who first appeared inTales to Astonish #52 (Feb. 1964).The third, created by writerRoy Thomas, production editorJohn Verpoorten, and artistGeorge Tuska, is the villain's nephew, asuperhero and a member of the superhero team theAvengers, who first appeared inThe Avengers #47 (Dec. 1967). Afourth Black Knight with no revealed genetic connection debuted inThe Black Panther #3 (June 2005), created by writerReginald Hudlin and pencilerJohn Romita Jr. A fifth, Jackie Chopra, was revealed to be the daughter of Dane Whitman.[2]
Dane Whitman appears in the live-actionMarvel Cinematic Universe filmEternals (2021), portrayed byKit Harington.
Marvel Comics' first Black Knight, Sir Percy ofScandia,first appeared in the medieval-adventure seriesBlack Knight #1–5 (cover-dated May 1955–April 1956) fromAtlas Comics, the 1950s precursor to Marvel Comics.[3][4]
Sir Percy's descendant, Professor Nathan Garrett, debuted as the modern-day supervillain Black Knight inTales to Astonish #52 (Feb. 1964). This villainous Black Knight appeared inThe Avengers #6, #14–15 (July 1964, March–April 1965), and in the feature "Iron Man" inTales of Suspense #73 (Jan. 1966), in which he was mortally wounded.
Dane Whitman, Garrett's nephew, made his first appearance inThe Avengers #47 (Dec. 1967) and became a heroic version of the Black Knight in the subsequent issue.[5] Whitman sporadically appeared with the Avengers until becoming a core member, regularly appearing in #252–300 (1985–1989) and #329–375 (1991–1994).
The Gatherers storyline running throughThe Avengers #343–375 (1992–1994) placed the spotlight on the Black Knight, as the book's focus turned toward his tumultuous relationship with the EternalSersi and mysterious connection to the other-dimensional villain Proctor. Whitman later starred in Malibu Comics'UltraForce #8–10 (1995) andUltraForce vol. 2 #1–12 (1995–1996), leading a new team of heroes on a parallel world. Returning to the Marvel Universe proper, Whitman appeared inHeroes for Hire #1–16 (1997–1998) and, later,Captain Britain and MI13 #1–15 (2008–2009). The Black Knight has yet to return to the Avengers, the team with which the character is most closely associated. In 2015, as part of All-New All-Different, a solo series was launched featuring Dane Whitman; however, it was canceled after 5 issues due to low sales.
Whitman and Sir Percy also starred in the limited seriesBlack Knight #1–4 (June–Sept. 1990), written by Roy and Dann Thomas and drawn by successive pencillersTony DeZuniga andRich Buckler. In 1995, Percy had a cameo inNamor #60 as part of the Atlantis Rising story. Whitman and Sersi then headlined the one-shotBlack Knight: Exodus (Dec. 1996), written byBen Raab and illustrated byJimmy Cheung andAndy Lanning. Another Black Knight one-shot starring Sir Percy, written by Thomas and illustrated byTom Grummett andScott Hanna, was published asMystic Arcana: Black Knight #1 (Sept. 2007), the second of fourMystic Arcanaone-shot issues.
The original Black Knight isSir Percy of Scandia, a 6th-century knight who serves at the court ofKing Arthur as his greatest warrior. Recruited by the wizardMerlin, Percy adopts a double identity, and pretends to be very incompetent until changing into the persona of the Black Knight.[6] As the Black Knight, Percy wields theEbony Blade, which Merlin forged from a meteorite.[7] A constant foe of the evil knightMordred the Evil (Arthur's traitorous nephew), Percy is eventually killed by him during the fall of Camelot when stabbed from behind with an enchanted blade – although Mordred then dies himself of wounds inflicted by Arthur.[8] Merlin ensures that Percy's spirit will live on by casting a spell that will revive his ghost if Mordred should ever return.[8] Percy's spirit has appeared several times to counsel his descendant,Dane Whitman.
BiologistProfessor Nathan Garrett is the direct descendant of Sir Percy (although it has been implied Percy's nephew Raston inherited the blade), and found Sir Percy's tomb and the Ebony Blade. Garrett's evil tendencies make him unworthy of wielding the sword, and Sir Percy’s ghost shuns him. An embittered Garrett then devises an arsenal of medieval weapons that employ modern technology and has genetic engineers create a winged horse that he namesAragorn. Calling himself the Black Knight, Garrett embarks on a life of crime to spite his ancestor. After a battle with the heroGiant-Man[9] Garrett joins the supervillain team theMasters of Evil at the request of master villainBaron Zemo and like the others spreads Adhesive X over the city, but is first defeated by Thor. After two unsuccessful battles with the Avengers, the second time of which he was broken out of jail byEnchantress,[10] he battledIron Man due toDoctor Doom's mind-control machine (which made supervillains attackMister Fantastic's and theInvisible Woman's wedding, which the affected villains subsequently forget due to a machine created by Mister Fantastic).[11] Garrett is mortally wounded falling from Aragorn while trying to kill Iron Man.[12] A dying Garrett reveals his secret identity to his nephew, Dane Whitman, and repents for his life of crime.[13] Whitman then adopts the identity of the Black Knight himself.[14]
Dane Whitman is the Black Knight who has been a longtime member of theAvengers as well as a member of theDefenders,Ultraforce,Heroes for Hire, andMI: 13. Using his uncle's notes, Whitman wielded the same equipment and created his own Aragorn.[15]
A Vatican Black Knight named Augustine du Lac[16] received the Ebony Blade after Vatican agents retrieved it from an Iraqi vampire nest. In addition, Augustine created his own Aragorn.[17] He is a member of a team of supervillains that invades the African nation ofWakanda. A devout Catholic, du Lac hopes to convert the populace to Catholicism.Black Panther takes the Ebony Blade and defeats him.[18] Augustine's Aragorn was later captured byAlyosha Kravinoff and killed for food.[19]
A teenage female Black Knight later appears in theVengeance limited series as a member of theYoung Masters. Like Garrett, this incarnation is a villain and appears to possess the Ebony Blade. How she came into possession of the sword and what happened to Augustine has yet to be revealed. She was with the Young Masters when they were at an abandonedHydra base in Pennsylvania. While inspecting Bullseye's corpse, they were attacked byLady Bullseye.[20] Later targetingDoctor Octopus for "execution", the Young Masters found themselves battling theSinister Six while being assisted by theTeen Brigade, with Black Knight being assisted in taking downSandman by Teen Brigade memberUltimate Nullifier.[21] While visiting a nightclub, Black Knight encountered Ultimate Nullifier at the time when the Young Masters plotted to recruit a rebornLoki to their side.[22] In the morning, Black Knight showed Ultimate Nullifier a letter that spurred the Young Masters on their quest to kill older villains along with a CIA file discussing genocide on Russian prisoners carried out byRed Skull in World War II Poland. Informing Ultimate Nullifier that she was going to leave the Young Masters and had plans that did not involve evil, she left the Young Masters' base leaving behind the CIA file for Nullifier.[23]
Black Knight was later seen with the Young Masters where they are seen as members of theShadow Council'sMasters of Evil, which is led byBaron Helmut Zemo following Max Fury's death.[24]
Jackie "Jacks" Chopra - Dane Whitman's previously unknown daughter and an Arthurian history buff who shares the Black Knight mantle and the Ebony Blade with her father so that burden of doing so would not be handled alone.[25]
Nathan Garrett and Dane Whitman are part of a lineage of Black Knights stretching back to the 6th century. InNew Excalibur #10, the first part of the "Last Day of Camelot" storyline,[26] it is revealed that Dane has turned Garrett Castle into a Black Knight museum with various exhibits on the Black Knights, including the body of Sir Percy. There is a long line of paintings of the Knights including, according to the curator, "Sir Ralston[sic] and Sir Eobar or lesser known knights like Sir William and Sir Henry."[27]
These Black Knights are:
Later in "The Last Days of Camelot", Sir Percy reveals to Dane that he was not the first Black Knight and that eight knights had carried the Ebony Blade before him, the last being King Arthur's cousin Sir Reginald. Each one had been driven mad by the sword and had to be killed until it was decided there were only three people who could take the sword, but King Arthur and Merlin were needed in other capacities, so the "burden" fell to Sir Percy who accepted despite knowing the risks.[30]
The apparent "Last Knight" isErnst Wythim, a member of the lineage from around 2600 AD.[31]
The Ebony Blade was created by comic book writerStan Lee inBlack Knight Comics #1, published underAtlas Comics in 1955. Its history was later revealed inMarvel Super-Heroes #17 (Nov 1968), written byRoy Thomas. The blade was shown to have been carved from a meteor and enchanted by the wizardMerlin forSir Percy of Scandia, the first Black Knight. Due to all the blood that Sir Percy shed with the blade, it acquired a curse (see below). The sword passed down through the generations until it came to Sir Percy's descendantDane Whitman. Dane used the blade for many years. It passed briefly toValkyrie when Dane's body was turned to stone[32] and his soul sent back in time to the 13th century, but it was soon returned to him.[33][34] Due to the curse, Dane eventually gave up the Ebony Blade by driving it deep into the same meteor that it was forged from, now kept in his castle. Only another deemed worthy would be able to withdraw it.
Sean Dolan, Dane's ex-squire, was able to draw the blade during an attack on Whitman's castle. This transformed Dolan intoBloodwraith. Dolan fought with the curse and was able to give up the sword for a brief time. During this time, it was trapped in theNegative Zone barrier outside ofAttilan. In the meantime, a second Ebony Blade had been brought into this dimension by Proctor, an alternate reality version of Dane.[35] When Proctor was killed, his blade was taken into Avengers custody.
Dolan was drawn to this second Blade, and once again became Bloodwraith.[36]Crystal retrieved the original Blade, and TheVision threatened to destroy it if Bloodwraith did not surrender. Bloodwraith tossed the alternate Blade aside and reclaimed his own. Crystal picked up the second Blade and said it would be important to the future of theInhumans. Bloodwraith was last known to have the Blade in his possession in Slorenia, where he was trapped by theScarlet Witch.[37]
At some pointDracula replaced Dane Whitman's blade with a fake one (see below), and the real Blade came to be inIraq and was secured by the Vatican after it was found byOpus Dei in a purging of a vampire nest. The Vatican sent a new Black Knight assassin (Augustine du Lac) to killBlack Panther, who took it from the Knight for his own uses. Black Panther used the blade in several battles, including theSkrull invasion.
Upon learning the blade was fake for a second time, Dane Whitman retrieved the real blade from Black Panther'sWakandan nation where he was presented it by QueenOroro T'Challa.[38]
DuringWar of the Realms event whenMalekith attacked Black Knight,Union Jack, andSpitfire, he acquired the Ebony Blade and was ready to kill them until the War Avengers arrived.[39]
InKing in Black, it is revealed that the wizard Merlin had lied about how a wielder uses the cursed sword.Knull, primordial dark god of allsymbiotes, revealed it only gives its true power to those who prove to be the most "baneful" and hate-filled of individuals, not those who are pure in body and mind; it takes one who is able to come to grips with their own faults and push on despite them to utilize what the evil deity described asWorld Ender.[40]
The sword also gives its users a state of resurrective immortality; if the wielder were to fall in battle, a blood offering of sorts can be used to restore them to life.[41]
The Ebony Blade is a powerful enchanted weapon. It is said to be indestructible, and only the extremely powerful Iron Ogre, a magic creature, could split it in half.[42] The blade has many mystical or quasi-mystical capabilities, including the ability to:
Dane Whitman discovered most of these abilities through scientific testing of the Blade. Additionally, the Blade bonds to its wielder in such a way that the wielder can summon it back to himself or herself using a mystical ceremony if it is ever lost, even if it is in a different time period. The Blade cannot be used against its owner, as seen when Caden Tar tries to use it to kill Dane Whitman, but cannot pierce his skin.[43] The Blade formerly rendered its wielder invulnerable to everything except another weapon carved from the same meteor, such as theEbony Dagger.
Other notable wielders of the Blade include Whitman's ancestorsSir Percy of Scandia, Eobar Garrington,Valkyrie, andAres.
The Ebony Blade was afflicted with a blood curse due to all the bloodthe original Black Knight had spilled.Dane Whitman eventually purged the Blade of its curse atDoctor Strange's behest by plunging it into the Brazier of Truth while Strange bathed them both in magic fire. The curse returned, however, when theSub-Mariner used it to kill his wifeMarrina Smallwood. The curse seems to affect different people in different ways. It turned Dane into a statue, it amplified Proctor'sgann'josin-based powers, and it granted Sean Dolan great physical powers asBloodwraith.
The Blade was sometimes known to subtly compel Dane to do things or go places that were tied to its previous wielders, as well. It was revealed by the symbiote god Knull that its power relies on the curse. As it thrives on the negative proclivities of flawed and imperfect wielders to maximize on its inherent power. Something that only the unworthy can utilize as its edge dulls when wielded by a chivalrous soul.
On occasion, the Ebony Blade appears in two separate comic series simultaneously, most notably in 2006 when it was in use by Dane Whitman (Black Knight) in theNew Excalibur series whilst it was in use in aBlack Panther ongoing by another Black Knight and subsequently Black Panther.
In a 2006 interview, when addressing a question about the confusion of the Ebony Blades appearing in two comics, Marvel Comics' editorNick Lowe had this response:
The Black Knight in Black Panther wasn't ya' boy, Dane Whitman. It was an imposter who stole the sword from Dane. Now, since the imposter wasn't an idiot, he knew that if he outright stole the sword, Dane would come looking for it. So he replaced it with a different sword, so Dane didn't even know it was missing.We're touching on this inNew Excalibur #14–15.[44]
At the end of those issues no full explanation was given. Whitman was shown to have sensed that his Ebony Blade was not the real one and left to find the original, then being used by Black Panther. Though bothCaptain Britain[45] andPete Wisdom[46] knew the location of the real blade, Whitman had somehow forgotten it was fake during his next comic appearance inCaptain Britain and MI-13 #1.
WriterPaul Cornell revealed a full explanation within the Captain Britain series, havingDracula replace Dane Whitman's blade with a fake version at some point betweenThe Avengers vol. 3 #37 andNew Excalibur #10. This fake blade has a vampire fang within it, which has shown some signs ofsentience as people have talked to the blade directly. This mystical sentience has acted in the same fashion as the original's curse; convincingly enough to fool Whitman. Even after Whitman first realized it was fake inNew Excalibur, it affected his memories so that he forgot, meaning he thought he held the real one by the time ofCaptain Britain and MI-13.
Upon learning that the blade was fake for the second time in #7 of that series, Whitman retrieved the real blade from Black Panther'sWakandan nation where he was presented it by QueenOroro T'Challa.[38]
Dane Whitman appears inEternals (2021), portrayed byKit Harington.[55]
There are several collected editions of the comic issues featuring the different incarnations of the Black Knight:
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