Black Knight

Origin

Born and raised in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Dane Whitman attended university as a young man, eventually obtaining a Master's degree in physics. The descendant of a long line of heroes who took up the mantle of the Black Knight, Whitman assumed the role after his uncle Nathan Garrett had resurrected the name to partake in villainy. Garrett was seriously wounded in a fight with Iron Man, and on his deathbed expressed his wish that his nephew should restore the family legacy by making the Black Knight a hero once again. Initially resistant to this idea, Whitman eventually took up the mantle to fight the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, whom he had accidentally summoned to Earth, and soon established himself as a hero.

Creation

Whitman was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema.

Major Story Arcs

The Avengers

In his early adventures, the Black Knight is frequently mistaken for his villainous uncle, which allowed him to infiltrate the Masters of Evil. This act of espionage leads to him helping the Avengers to defeat the Masters of Evil, and earns him the respect of the Avengers, who invite him to join them as a provisional member. He declines the offer, and travels to England where he has inherited a castle. In the castle, he is contacted by the ghost of his ancestor Sir Percy Scandia, the original Black Knight. He is found to be worthy of wielding the Ebony Blade, and returns to America with it. In America, he finds the Avengers have become subject to the will of Kang, who has been given the power to control all Avengers by Grandmaster. Not an Avenger himself, Black Knight is able to defeat Kang and free the others from his power. Again he is offered membership in the Avengers, and accepts.

Avengers-Defenders War

Black Knight joins the Defenders, and is seemingly killed when he kisses the Enchantress and turns to stone. His petrified state is the impetus for the Defenders becoming involved in the search for the shards of the Evil Eye which causes the Avengers-Defenders War. His soul is revealed to have travelled back to the twelfth century, where he inhabited the body of one of his ancestors. He remains in the past for some time until he is rescued by the Avengers, who travel back in time to bring him back to the proper era. He returns after defeating Fomor and sealing the portal between Earth and Avalon.

Under Siege

Black Knight briefly leaves active duty with the Avengers when he learns that the Ebony Blade has a blood curse that is twisting his mind every time it draws blood. He is able to remove the curse by removing the tethers holding Sir Percy's soul on Earth. He then returns to fight alongside the Avengers when they come under siege from the newly-reformed Masters of Evil. He and Captain America are captured by the villains, but eventually manage to free themselves. They rejoin their team members and are able to defeat the Masters of Evil.

Operation Galactic Storm

As a war brews between the Kree and the Shi'ar, Black Knight is assigned to Team Kree, an Avengers delegation that attempts to negotiate peace with the Kree faction. Though the peace negotiations are successful, much of the Kree Empire is destroyed by a bomb detonated by the Skrulls. Black Knight joins several other team members in an effort to destroy the Kree Supreme Intelligence, which is revealed to have been responsible for the war and the bomb. They succeed in apparently destroying the Intelligence.

Bloodties

Black Knight joins several of his Avengers teammates in travelling to Genosha to challenge the despotic ruler and aid in the attempted recovery of Luna, the daughter of Crystal and Quicksilver. He fights alongside his allies, and wounds Exodus with his sword. Later, he performs cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a severely wounded Quicksilver, saving his life.

Sersi

The Black Knight becomes attracted to Eterenal and fellow teammate Sersi, who is, unbeknownst to him, mentally unstable due to the secret actions of a mysterious man called Proctor. Sersi returns his affections and the two eventually decide to bond by sharing a mental link the Eternals use as a form of matrimony; a bond they call the Gann Josin. Though it is usually forbidden for an Eternal to enter into the Gann Josin with a human, the bonding of the Black Knight and Sersi is permitted by Ikaris, then the acting Prime Eternal, because he sees their bonding as an attempt to help stabilize Sersi. It soon comes to light that Proctor is a version of Black Knight from an alternate reality who has traveled into the mainstream Marvel Universe reality to seek revenge on the Sersi of that reality. He does this because his reality's Sersi had an intimate relationship with him but later rejected him leaving him alone, his mind twisted by their bond created by the Gann Josin. Proctor finally meets Sersi in battle and Sersi kills him. Needing a change in her life, a fresh start; Sersi soon after decides to leave the the mainstream Marvel Universe for the Ultraverse. Though their Gann Josin bond was now severed, the Black Knight accompanied her to the Ultraverse because he still had feeling for her and out of a sense of duty to her. He also went with Sersi to prevent his feelings for Crystal destroying her relationship with Quicksilver.

Black September and Aftermath

In the Ultraverse, Black Knight becomes the leader of the Ultraforce and fights alongside them for some time. Eventually Sersi's mental stability is restored, and the pair attempt to return to their native universe. They briefly become trapped in the twelfth century, where they fight against Apocalypse and meet Bennet du Paris, who they befriend. When du Paris is put into suspended animation by Apocalypse, Black Knight organizes an honour guard that will protect his body until he awakens. He and Sersi attempt to travel to their native time period, but are mysteriously separated, and their gann josin bond is also broken. In the correct time period but alone, Black Knight learns of the Avengers' apparent deaths at the hands of Onslaught. Later, he is selected to act as the Pendragon for his age, and gifted with new Avalonian weapons. He joins the Heroes for Hire for a time, and with them fights the High Evolutionary and discovers the New Men at Wundagore Mountain. He leads the New Men for a while, but ultimately returns to the Avengers.

Secret Invasion

Having dropped out of heroism to look into allegations that his Ebony Blade was fake, Black Knight returns during the Secret Invasion and becomes a member of MI: 13. His Ebony Blade continues to cause him trouble, frequently urging him to kill. It is ultimately revealed that the Blade is indeed a fake, constructed by Dracula and designed to feed on blood. He ignores the Blade's suggestions, and is among those who battle the Skrulls in London. He becomes close with Faiza Hussain, a medic who saves his life and discovers the fact that his heart is still petrified stone, and after the conclusion of the war he makes her his squire. Also after the war he travels to Wakanda to reclaim the true Ebony Blade from Black Panther.

Powers and Abilities

Black Knight has no exceptional superhuman abilities; he possesses the normal physical attributes of an athletic man of his age. He possessed enhanced physical skills when mentally bonded to Sersi, and as Pendragon possesses the ability to see through magical illusions. He is a fighter of exceptional skill, particularly when it comes to swordsmanship. He is skilled with horses. He is notably intelligent, particularly in areas of science and especially in physics. He also possesses good tactical and strategic skills. He wields the Ebony Blade, a powerful sword, as well as a photonic sword, the Sword of Light, and Shield of Night.

Weapons

The Black Knight is trained and skilled with many weapons, most of them being the medieval type. He is particularly skilled with and has wielded several swords including the Ebony Blade, a weapon forged from an meteorite which is capable of cutting through almost any substance, the Sword of Light, which was bestowed upon Dane by the Lady of the Lake, and even a modern "photonic" sword, a blade constructed of solid, laser-like light.

Alternate Versions

Earth-374

In this reality, Black Knight was rejected by Sersi and becomes known as Proctor. He forms a group called the Gatherers, who aim to destroy all Sersis in all universes. To this end, he crosses over into the main universe.

Earth-398

Black Knight is a member of the Queen's Guard in Morgan le Fay's self-created universe.

Marvel Zombies

On Earth-2149, Black Knight is zombified.

Earth-9997

Black Knight is the son of Black Bolt and Medusa, and possesses powers similar to Black Bolt's.

Other Media

Animation

The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

Black Knight makes a cameo appearance in the episode "Come the Conquerer".

Video Games

Avengers in Galactic Storm

Black Knight appears as a playable character.