Black Knight (comics)

Infobox comics set index
code_name = Black Knight


imagesize = 240
caption = "Black Knight" #1 (May 1955). Cover art by Joe Maneely
publisher = Marvel Comics
debut = "Black Knight" #1" (May 1955)
creators = Stan Lee
Joe Maneely
characters = Sir Percy
Nathan Garret
Dane Whitman
Vatican operative
The Black Knight lineage
seealso = Ebony Blade
cat = super
subcat = Marvel Comics
hero = y
villain = y
sortkey = PAGENAMEThe Black Knight is the alias of several fictional comic-book characters that appear in the Marvel Comics universe.

The first is a medieval knight created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Joe Maneely. The second is a supervillain descendant of the original, created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Dick Ayers. The third, created by writer Roy Thomas and artist George Tuska, is the villain's nephew, a superhero and a member of the superhero team the Avengers. A fourth Black Knight, with no revealed genetic connection, debuted in "The Black Panther" #3 (June 2005), created by writer Reginald Hudlin and penciler John Romita Jr.

Publication history

Marvel Comics' first Black Knight, Sir Percy of Scandia, first appeared in the medieval-adventure series "Black Knight" #1-5 (May-Dec. 1955) from Atlas Comics, the 1950s precursor to Marvel Comics.

Sir Percy's descendant, Professor Nathan Garrett, debuted as the modern-day supervillain Black Knight in "Tales to Astonish" #52 (Feb. 1964). This villainous Black Knight appeared in "The Avengers" #6, 14-15 (July 1964, March-April 1965), and in the feature "Iron Man" in "Tales of Suspense" #73 (Jan. 1966), in which he was mortally wounded.

Dane Whitman, Garrett's nephew, makes his first appearance in "The Avengers" #47 (Dec. 1967), and becomes a heroic version of the Black Knight in the following issue. Whitman sporadically appeared with the Avengers until becoming a core member, regularly appearing in #254-297 (1985-1988).

Whitman starred in the limited series "Black Knight" #1-4 (June-Sept. 1990), written by Roy and Dann Thomas and drawn by successive pencillers Tony DeZuniga and Rich Buckler. A "Black Knight" one-shot starring Sir Percy, written by Thomas and illustrated by Tom Grummet and Scott Hanna, was published as "" #1 (Sept. 2007), the second of four "Mystic Arcana" one-shot issue.

Fictional character biographies

Sir Percy of Scandia

The original Black Knight is Sir Percy of Scandia, a 6th century knight who serves at the court of King Arthur as his greatest warrior. Recruited by the wizard Merlin, Percy adopts a double identity, and pretends to be totally incompetent until changing into the persona of the Black Knight. As the Black Knight, Percy wields the Ebony Blade, which Merlin forged from a meteorite. ["Black Knight" #1-5 (May-Dec. 1955), Atlas Comics, the 1950s precursor of Marvel Comics] A constant foe of the evil knight Mordred the Evil (Arthur's traitorous "nephew"), Percy is eventually killed by him during the fall of Camelot when stabbed from behind with an enchanted blade — although Mordred then dies himself of wounds inflicted by Arthur."Marvel Super-Heroes" #17 (Nov. 1968)] Merlin ensures that Percy's spirit will live on by casting a spell that will revive his ghost if Mordred should ever return. Percy's spirit has appeared several times to counsel his descendant, Dane Whitman.

Nathan Garrett

Professor Nathan Garrett, a biologist, is the direct descendant of Sir Percy, and found Sir Percy's tomb and the ebony blade. Garrett's evil tendencies make him unworthy of wielding the sword, and he is shunned by Sir Percy's ghost. An embittered Garrett then devises an arsenal of medieval weapons that employ modern technology and genetically engineers and creates a winged horse called Aragorn. Calling himself the Black Knight, Garrett embarks on a life of crime to spite his ancestor. After a battle with the hero Giant-Man [ "Tales to Astonish" #52 Feb. 1964)] Garrett joins the supervillain team the Masters of Evil at the request of master villain Baron Zemo. After two unsuccessful battles with the Avengers, ["Avengers" #6, 14-15 (July 1964, March-April 1965)] Garrett is mortally wounded while trying to kill the superhero Iron Man. ["Tales of Suspense" #73] A dying Garrett summons his nephew, Dane Whitman, reveals his secret identity to Whitman, and repents for his life of crime. ["The Avengers" #47 (Dec. 1967)] Whitman then adopts the identity of the Black Knight himself. ["The Avengers" #48 (Jan. 1968)]

Dane Whitman

Dane is the current Black Knight who has been a member of the Avengers and is currently one of the core members of .

Vatican Black Knight

An unidentified Black Knight is a member of a team of supervillains that invades the African nation of Wakanda. A devout Catholic, this Black Knight hopes to convert the populace to Catholicism. He is defeated by the superhero the Black Panther, who retains the Black Knight's ebony blade. ["Black Panther" vol. 3, #4 (July 2005)]

The Black Knight lineage

Nathan Garrett and Dane Whitman are part of a lineage of Black Knights stretching back to the 6th century. In "New Excalibur" #10, the first of the "Last Day of Camelot" storyline, [comicbookdb|type=storyarc|id=2115|title=The Last Days of Camelot] it is revealed that Dane has turned the Garret Castle into a Black Knight museum with various exhibits on the various Black Knights, including the body of Sir Percy. There is a long line of paintings of the Knights including, according to the curator, "Sir Ralston ["sic"] and Sir Eobar or lesser known knights like Sir William and Sir Henry." ["New Excalibur" #10 (2006)] These Black Knights are:

*Sir Raston ("Ralston" appears only in "New Excalibur" #10) Sir Percy's nephew and became the Black Knight after him. He lived in the Dark Ages but was recruited into the Anachronauts by Kang the Conqueror and travelled through time. [ [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/anachron.htm#Sir Sir Raston] at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe]
*Sir Eobar of Garrington was the Black Knight during the Crusades [ [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix2/garringtoneobar.htm Sir Eobar] at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe]
*Sir William is depicted fighting in the trenches of World War I
*Sir Henry is depicted as a swashbuckling figure

Later in "The Last Days of Camelot" Sir Percy reveals to Dane that he was not the first Black Knight and that eight knights had carried the Ebony Blade before him, the last being King Arthur's cousin Sir Reginald. Each one had been driven mad by the sword and had to be killed until it was decided there were only three people who could take the sword but King Arthur and Merlin were needed in other capacities, so the "burden" fell to Sir Percy who accepted despite knowing the risks. ["New Excalibur" #12 (2006)]

The apparent "Last Knight" is, Ernst Wythim, a member of the lineage from around 2600 AD. [ [http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/lastknight.htm The Last Knight] at the Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe]

Other versions

The Avengers: United They Stand

Nathan Garrett appears and attempts to steal a device from the organization AIM. ["The Avengers: United They Stand" #4]

Earth X

In the Earth X series, Ahura - the son of Black Bolt and Medusa - becomes the Black Knight. ["Earth X" #1-13 (1999-2000)]

Marvel Zombies

Dane becomes one of the dozens of super-powered zombies that are laying siege to the castle of Doctor Doom. The zombies have detected delicious humans hiding inside, all of whom ultimately escape.

Ultimate Black Knight

In the Ultimate Marvel universe, the Black Knight is a member of the would-be superhero team the Defenders.

In other media

Television

* The Nathan Garrett version of the Black Knight appeared in the Captain America/Avengers portion of "The Marvel Superheroes" as a member of Baron Heinrich Zemo's Masters of Evil. He appears solo in an episode of The Invincible Iron Man segment.
* 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 was rejected to avoid confusion. [ [http://www.tv.com/spider-man-and-his-amazing-friends/knights-andamp-demons/episode/223004/summary.html TV.com episode entry] ]

Notes

References

* [http://www.comics.org/ The Grand Comic Book Database]
* [http://www.atlastales.com Atlas Tales]
* [http://www.maelmill-insi.de/UHBMCC/ The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators]