Name: Dane Whitman

Superhero Name: Black Knight

Created By: Roy Thomas and John Buscema

Played By: Kit Harrington

Powers: None – all of his powers come from his sword. But, he is a gifted scientist, an expert swordsman, a skilled martial artist, and has a fair amount of knowledge of magic. While armed with his sword, he is also immune to all magic and can cut through nearly anything.

Mini Bio: Dane Whitman grew as a normal person, and only got involved in the hero side of his world when he inherited his uncle’s castle. His uncle, Nathan Garret, had been the Black Knight, a supervillain who wielded a sword known as the Ebony Blade – a sword created in the times of King Arthur, but one of Dane/Nathan’s ancestors – Sir Percival.

Dane decided to take up the Ebony Blade and become the Black Knight, but to fight on the side of good. During this time, he fought alongside the Avengers, and then just with Thor, until the curse of the Ebony Blade hit – turning Dane into stone.

After being restored to life, Dane also learns that there is a second part to the Ebony Blade curse – every time the blade draws blood, it drives its user closer to madness. And if that isn’t bad enough, the Blade also nearly turned Dane into the same metal as itself – meaning he had to wear a metal exo-suit just to move around.

Once cured (again), Dane ended up being given a fake Ebony Blade, which was made by Dracula, which contains a level of intelligence and feeds on blood. The real blade was discovered to be in Wakanda, and after retrieving it, Dane now wields both swords.

First Comic Appearance: Avengers issue 47 (1967)

Most Common Team Ups: Avengers, Defenders, Excalibur

Comic Recommendations: Avengers Epic Collection: Masters Of Evil (1963-1967) by John Buscema, Black Knight (2015) by Frank Tieri, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and the Heroes For Hire (1993-1997) by Joe Bennet