BLACK KNIGHT

 

BLACK KNIGHT

Real Name: Dane Whitman

First Appearance: Avengers (Vol. 1) #47, December 1967

Powers: Dane Whitman began his career as the Black Knight by appropriating his criminal uncle's paraphernalia. He rode Aragorn, a horse genetically engineered using eagle DNA to have wings and the ability to fly. His paralyzer pistol released a burst of anesthetic gas that temporarily put victims into a coma. Finally, the multi-purpose power lance contained .45 caliber machine guns, flamethrowers, electrical bolts, concussion blasters, lassos and grappling lines, and white-hot metal rings that encircled an opponent and burned into them. Later, though, he proved himself worthy of wielding the Ebony Blade of the original Black Knight, his ancestor Sir Percy of Scandia. The blade was forged by Merlin himself out of a meteorite, and was physically and mystically honed to be virtually indestructible and capable of cutting through any substance. The sword could deflect blasts of pure energy, or by angling the blade properly he could use it to absorbing energy blasts and re-channel them by swinging the sword. It could also disrupt magic, cutting through mystical barriers and spells. However, the blade also came with a blood curse, compelling anyone who used the blade to kill someone to continue killing more and more.

After spending a great deal of time in the Crusades, Dane returned to the present with a mystical steed named Valinor. The blood curse had risen to great power during his time then, however, and Dane went to Doctor Strange for help. Strange had to turn Valinor into a normal horse (the impure atmosphere of Earth was poison to a steed raised in Avalon), and he dispersed the blood curse's active effects on Dane's mind. Without a horse, Black Knight began using an atomic steed captured by the Avengers, a high-tech flying saddle used by the Knights of Wundagore. As time passed, though, Dane somehow began to be transformed into a living extension of the blade itself -- his body become indestructible, and sharpened so that a single pass of his hand could cut through solid metal. He also began to stiffen, though, and wore an exoskeleton to enhance his body's limited range of movement back to normal levels. Soon even the exoskeleton became ineffective, and Black Knight became a petrified statue. Dane's friend Victoria Bentley attempted to use her meager sorcery skills to reanimate him, using the armor of Sir Percy as a catalyst for her spell. The process went slightly wrong, and Victoria ended up resurrecting Percy himself in Dane's body. The original Black Knight would animate Whitman's body so long as he was wearing his full suit of armor and helmet. Removing the helmet would put Percy into dormancy and allow Whitman to control his own body for a few brief moments until the petrification settled back in, immobilizing him once more. Sir Percy was skilled in using both the Ebony Blade and its magic, and used the power of the sword to return Valinor back to his winged state without any consequences. Eventually, Sir Percy transferred his consciousness directly into the blade itself, an act which enabled Dane and Valinor to continue operating independently, without any inhibiting spells holding them back.The Black Knight decided at this point that the Ebony Blade was too dangerous to continue using, so he constructed an energy blade to use in its stead calling the Sunsword. This sword hilt projected a tight beam of electromagnetic energy approximately two feet long. By modulating the Sunsword's field intensity, Dane could cause it to strike like a razor sharp blade or a cylindrical rod, blunted around all sides. The Sunsword could also conduct a disruptive neurosynaptic charge, scrambling his opponent's nervous system on contact. This could simply create intense pain, cause paralyzing numbness, or even kill a normal person when at maximum intensity. The Black Knight could also jerry-rig the blade's energy flow, reversing it so that the energy fed back and covered his hand in a sheath, increasing the force of his punches and also conducting the neuro-shock this way.

After spending time in the Ultraverse and returning to the Marvelverse just after Onslaught, Dane was chosen by the Lady of the Lake to be the Pendragon of our age. This gave him certain mystical senses, allowing him to detect the presence of sorcery and see through "glamour" illusions cast by magic wielders. He wore an amulet around his neck shaped like a sword crossing a shield. By saying the name of "Avalon!" out loud, the Knight would instantly be clad in a new lightweight but nigh impenetrable suit of armor, wielding the Shield of Night and the Sword of Light. The shield could absorb energy directed at its face, channel the power through his suit, and project it back out through the sword. Saying "Avalon!" again would displace the armor and weapons back to whence they came, a trick which could allow him to instantly reclaim a lost helmet or sword by displacing them, then summoning them again so that they reappeared back in his possession. He also had a new horse, Strider -- a magical steed capable of flying faster than the speed of sound and even sustaining itself underwater.

Later, the Black Knight has abandoned the weapons and paraphernalia he received from Avalon, and once again began employing the Ebony Blade. His heart was transformed to stone by a "lady" he knew (possibly Sersi or the Lady of the Lake) to harden him against the blade's corrupting influence. For a time, the Ebony Blade was replaced with another enchanted sword, one imbued with the fang of a vampire. This copy was nearly sentient, attempting to corrupt Dane with its own bloodthirst and manipulating him into believing he still wielded the Ebony Blade. Eventually, he reclaimed his true sword. He also employed a photonic shield generator in his glove, producing a energy field from the back of his hand to absorb attacks in battle.