Black Knight (Marvel Comics)
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The Black Knight is the name of several fictional characters, both heroic and villainous, in Marvel Comics' universe. All of these characters have a shared lineage, and all wear similar costumes and use a medieval motif.
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[edit] Sir Percy of Scandia
The original Black Knight was Sir Percy of Scandia, a 6th century knight in the court of King Arthur's Camelot who appeared in the five-issue series Black Knight (May-Dec. 1955), from Atlas Comics, the 1950s precursor of Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Joe Maneely. he was recruited by Arthur and Merlin to battle evil; in a manner not unlike The Scarlet Pimpernel, he adopted a foppish persona as Percy and became a fearless crusader in his secret identity as the Black Knight. As the Black Knight, Sir Percy wielded the Ebony Blade, a magical sword forged by Merlin from a meteorite.
The five-issue series was written by Stan Lee, with art by Joe Maneely in the first three interiors and all five covers. Fred Kida and the team of penciller Syd Shores and inker Christopher Rule drew stories in the latter two issues.
It was later revealed, in Marvel Universe continuity, that after numerous battles with Mordred and Morgan le Fay, Sir Percy retired his dual identity and married Lady Rosamund, only to be murdered by Mordred with a dagger carved from the same meteorite as the Ebony Blade.[citation needed] Mordred was reportedly already dying from wounds received during the Battle of Camlann earlier that day. (The Battle is traditionally set in 537.) Sir Percy was survived by a son, Geoffrey. Lady Rosamund later gave birth to his second son, Edward the Posthumous, who reportedly became ancestor of "a proud lineage".[citation needed]
Later comics revealed that some descendants of Sir Percy adopted the identity of the Black Knight: Sir Raston, active during the late 6th and early 7th century, who eventually became an agent of the time traveler Kang the Conqueror; and Sir Eobar Garrington, a 12th century knight serving under Richard the Lionheart during the Third Crusade.[citation needed]
[edit] The Crusader
Backup feature "The Crusader" starred essentially a 12th-century version of Atlas's Apache Kid — a Caucasian raised in an exotic culture. English boy O'Dare, captured with his mother by Saracens, was raised Muslim and dubbed El Alemain, "The Hawk." Learning in adulthood that he was the brother of the late Frankish noble Sir John O'Dare, he begins fighting for the British king Richard the Lionhearted, wielding the apparently mystical scimitar the Saracen Blade. His two-episode origin was reprinted in Marvel's 1970s black-and-white magazine Savage Tales. The art was by Maneely in the first three issues, followed by John Romita Sr. and Shores/Rule.
[edit] Nathan Garrett
In the Silver Age of Comic Books, the mantle of the Black Knight was revived by Sir Percy's distant descendant Professor Nathan Garrett, who had a brief career as a supervillain beginning in Tales to Astonish #52 (Feb. 1964), initially battling Giant-Man. This Black Knight used science, not magic, wielding a lance that fired bolts of energy. Like the Shining Knight of the Golden Age of Comic Books he had a winged horse, though the Black Knight's mount, named Aragorn (after the Lord of the Rings character), was genetically engineered. He battled Iron Man and The Avengers several times, and joined the Masters of Evil supervillain team. During his last battle, in The Avengers #47 (Dec. 1967), he was mortally wounded. Dying, he summoned his nephew Dane Whitman to their family estate, confessed to his life of crime, and bid Whitman to restore the honor of their shared legacy.
[edit] Dane Whitman
Whitman agreed, and took up the role of Black Knight, going public in the following issue (see cover at right). During his first outing, he was mistaken for his uncle and attacked by the superhero team the Avengers. The mistake was soon realized, and Whitman, pretending criminal intent, infiltrated the next incarnation of the Masters of Evil in order to help the Avengers. Having now fully proven himself a hero, Whitman was eventually inducted into the team. Although he did not join the active membership for some time, he eventually became one of the Avengers' most longstanding members.
[edit] Vatican Black Knight
An unidentified new Black Knight appeared Black Panther #4 (July 2005). This Black Knight is a conflicted member of a squad of international supervillains attacking Wakanda. Unlike his predeccesors, he is a devout Catholic trained and deployed by the Vatican, who has joined the invasion of Wakanda in order to convert the population to Catholicism. The invasion failed, and this false Black Knight's ebony blade ended up in possession of the Black Panther, who has since wielded it against forces who threaten his homeland.
[edit] Other versions
[edit] Ultimate Black Knight
In the Ultimate Marvel universe, the Black Knight is an evidently non-superpowered member of that universe's Defenders, all of whom are likewise lacking in powers except for Giant Man. He's an overweight, forty-something man, who dresses in street clothes with a sword and poorly built armour. He is frequently late or absent from the team because of his job.
[edit] Earth X Black Knight
In the Earth X/ Universe X/ Paradise X series, Ahura (son of Black Bolt and Medusa) grows up to be the Black Knight, heir to Captain Britain, ruler of Britain.
[edit] Other media
The medieval Black Knight appeared in the "Knights & Demons" episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, scripted by Don Glut. Dane Whitman was also to appear, but the story editor rejected it, saying this would make the episode confusing. [1]
Nathan Garrett appears in The Avengers: United They Stand #4, which has him trying to steal a device from AIM to present to Doctor Doom.
