Eternals: Dane Whitman And The Complicated Black Knight Legacy

When the evil Black Knight lay dying after his battle with Iron Man, he summoned Whitman to his side. There, Garrett made a face turn and begged Dane to take the mantle of the Black Knight to restore honor to Sir Percy’s legacy. Whitman created his own costume, adapted some of Garrett’s weapons, saddled up Aragorn and became the new, modern Black Knight.

This all happens in Avengers #47 (1967) by writer Roy Thomas and artists John Verpoorten and George Tuska. In his first adventure, the Avengers mistake Whitman for Garrett and a superhero smackdown ensues. To prove his worth, Whitman infiltrates the Masters of Evil and helps the Avengers. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes offer Whitman membership and the heroic legacy of the Black Knight begins again.

Over the years, Black Knight has appeared in a handful of memorable stories. He was the catalyst of The Avengers/Defenders War when each team raced to find a cure after Whitman turns to stone thanks to a kiss by the Enchantress. Black Knight focused stories were few and far between even though the character was seemingly ever present in Avengers and early issues of Defenders. The first major change to Whitman came in Doctor Strange #68–69 (1984) by Roger Stern and Paul Smith where Whitman finally finds the Ebony Blade, the Merlin-forged sword of Sir Percy.

What is the Ebony Blade?

The Ebony Blade is more of a curse since if the sword draws even a drop of blood, Whitman will be horribly cursed (you can see now why Ali’s Blade asks Dane “are you sure you’re ready for that, Mr. Whitman?” as he examines the legendary sword at the conclusion of Eternals). With this tragic twist, Whitman rejoins the Avengers and becomes a member in good standing until Namor uses the sword to draw blood. Whitman is cursed and begins to transform into the same metal used to forge the Ebony Blade. What’s with Black Knight petrifying? It’s a whole thing.

The sword also gives Dane a kind of functional immortality in that if he dies while holding it, he’ll be resurrected in relatively short order. But of course there’s a drawback there, too, since the Ebony Blade feeds on and amplifies the darker emotions of its wielder, kind of like a reverse-Mjolnir in terms of worthiness.

What is the Black Knight Connection to the Eternals?

At one point in the comics, Black Knight became the leader of the Avengers. At the time, the roster experienced a major shakeup with a number of new members that included Crystal of the Inhumans and Sersi of the Eternals. As members of the Avengers, Black Knight and Sersi became lovers as the Eternal sorceress took a liking to the scion of Camelot. Sadly, a love triangle begins when Whitman develops feelings for Crystal and a whole mess follows.