Speaking of Avengers storyline, the 1990s “Gatherers Saga” by writer Bob Harras and artist Steve Epting featured Black Knight and Sersi facing off against an evil variant of Dane called Proctor, who led a team of villainous Avengers variants in a mad quest to kill every Sersi in the multiverse. Dane would continually battle this curse, but never conquer it for good. But in the 1980s, Avengers writer Roger Stern would reveal that the Ebony Blade was cursed by all the bloodshed by Sir Percy, causing it to slowly corrupt its wielder and fill them with an uncontrollable bloodlust. Dane eventually joined the Avengers in 1969’s Avengers #71, and would serve as an on-again-off-again member of the team for years, at one point becoming Sersi’s lover just like in the MCU. Dane visits his family’s ancestral castle, where he encounters the ghost of Sir Percy and claims the Ebony Blade as his own. It wasn’t until 1968’s Marvel Super Heroes #17, also penned by Thomas, that Dane’s status as a descendant of Sir Percy was revealed. However, he had a secret identity as the Black Knight, fighting against the schemes of Sir Mordred and Morgan Le Fay using the Ebony Blade - an enchanted sword forged by Merlin from a fallen meteorite. (Note: Sir Percy does not appear in any actual Arthurian legends, and was an original creation of Lee’s.) By day, Sir Percy posed as a clumsy and timid nobleman who’d rather strum a lute than wield a sword. He was an actual medieval knight, Sir Percy of Scandia, who fought alongside King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table.

Despite predating Lee’s more iconic characters, the original Black Knight was hardly a traditional superhero. Indeed, Dane Whitman is not the first hero in Marvel history to bear the mantle of the Black Knight.īlack Knight #1 was released in May 1955, written by Stan Lee and drawn by Joe Maneely. And while this is true, appreciating Dane’s full story requires a complete understanding of the Black Knight’s legacy - a legacy that dates all the way back to the reign of King Arthur. For that, looking into Dane’s comic book roots will be required.Ī cursory search will reveal that Dane Whitman’s comic book counterpart is a superhero known as the Black Knight. This visitor has been confirmed by Eternals director Chloé Zhao to be the MCU’s Blade (played by Mahershala Ali), but this doesn’t help clear up the mystery behind Dane Whitman’s past, or the true nature of this mystical sword. Dane is then interrupted by an unseen intruder, who asks him if he’s sure he’s ready. He recites the incantation “Mors mihi lucrum” - Latin for “Death is my reward” - which seems to activate some kind of magic power in the sword. But before Dane can reveal his big secret, Sersi is abducted by Arishem the Judge, leader of the Celestials.ĭane then reappears in the film’s post-credits scene, in which he opens a chest containing an ancient sword.

Dane doesn’t appear again until the ending of the film when he tries to tell Sersi a secret of his own - something about his “complicated” family history. Soon after, the duo is attacked by a monstrous Deviant, prompting Sersi to tell Dane about her true identity as an Eternal. Dane is introduced as a history professor living in London, who also happens to be dating the film’s protagonist Sersi (Gemma Chan).

Marvel eternals