| Characteristic | Details |
|---|---|
| Core Identity | Dane Whitman is the heroic Black Knight, a brilliant scientist and master swordsman who wields the cursed Ebony Blade, constantly battling the artifact's corrupting influence while serving as a stalwart member of the avengers and other heroic teams. |
| Full Name | Dane Whitman |
| Primary Aliases | Black Knight, The Pendragon, Eobar Garrington |
| Creators | Roy Thomas, John Buscema |
| First Appearance | The Avengers #47 (December 1967) |
* Key Takeaways:
Dane Whitman, the modern Black Knight, made his debut in the heart of the Silver Age of Comics. He first appeared in The Avengers #47, published in December 1967. The character was created by the legendary writer Roy Thomas and acclaimed artist John Buscema.
Thomas conceived Dane as a way to redeem the Black Knight legacy. The previous incarnation, Nathan Garrett, was a straightforward villain who had fought Iron Man and the Avengers. Thomas, known for his love of comic book history and mythology, saw an opportunity to create a new, heroic character who had to overcome the stain of his predecessor's reputation. This built-in internal conflict—a good man trying to make a villain's identity his own—provided immediate narrative depth. Dane's introduction as a scientist also grounded him, contrasting sharply with the purely mystical or super-powered origins of many of his contemporaries. His journey from a distrusted outsider to a core member and eventual leader of the Avengers became a defining character arc of the 1970s and 80s.
The origin of Dane Whitman as the Black Knight is a tale of inheritance, redemption, and the acceptance of a dangerous destiny. The specifics of this journey differ significantly between the prime comic continuity and his recent introduction into the MCU.
Dane Whitman was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, a brilliant man of science with no knowledge of his family's incredible, centuries-spanning secret. He earned a master's degree in physics and worked as a research scientist. His life changed irrevocably when he was summoned to Garrett Castle, the ancestral home of his estranged uncle, Nathan Garrett. Dane arrived to find his uncle mortally wounded following a final battle with Iron Man. In his last moments, a repentant Garrett confessed his life of crime as the villainous second Black Knight. He urged Dane to take up the mantle and restore honor to their family's name, revealing the lineage that stretched back to Sir Percy of Scandia, a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. Though skeptical, Dane agreed to his uncle's dying wish. Exploring the castle, Dane discovered his uncle's workshop, which included advanced weaponry, genetic engineering projects, and the winged horse Aragorn, a product of Garrett's experiments. He began training to master his uncle's weapons and the art of swordsmanship. His first outings as the Black Knight were met with suspicion from heroes like the Avengers, who reasonably assumed he was the same villain they had fought before. He worked tirelessly to prove his heroic intentions, first helping the Avengers against Magneto and later infiltrating the Masters of Evil. After earning their trust, he was granted probationary status with the Avengers. His true legacy was revealed when he was drawn to the spirit of his ancestor, Sir Percy. It was then that he found the true weapon of the Black Knight: the Ebony Blade. Unlike his uncle's technological lance, the Ebony Blade was an ancient, mystical sword of immense power. Sir Percy's spirit explained that the sword was forged by Merlin from the Starstone meteorite and enchanted to be indestructible. However, Sir Percy's death at the hands of his nemesis Mordred had stained the blade with a blood curse. The curse would slowly corrupt anyone who wielded it, driving them towards bloodshed. Accepting this dangerous burden, Dane officially became the one true Black Knight, a hero armed with a weapon that constantly tested his soul.
Dane Whitman's introduction into the MCU (Earth-199999) is far more subdued and mysterious, serving as a prologue to his heroic future. As seen in the film Eternals (2021), Dane is a history professor working at the Natural History Museum in London, England. He is in a romantic relationship with the Eternal Sersi, who is living among humans under the guise of a museum curator.
Throughout the film, Dane serves as the human anchor for Sersi. He is kind, intelligent, and completely unaware of the cosmic drama unfolding around him. He is baffled by the appearance of the Deviants and Sersi's true nature, but he remains supportive and trusts her implicitly. He provides a crucial link to the humanity that Sersi is fighting to protect.
Hints of his greater destiny are sprinkled throughout the narrative. When Sersi reveals her powers, Dane confesses that his own family has a “complicated” history, suggesting he has some inkling of a hidden legacy but not the full picture.
The true revelation of his future comes in the film's post-credits scene. Troubled by Sersi's abduction by the Celestial Arishem, Dane decides to explore his family's secrets as a means to potentially help her. He is shown in an old study, opening a long, ornate wooden case. Inside rests the Ebony Blade. The blade itself appears menacing, with dark energy writhing around it, and whispers can be heard emanating from it. As a hesitant Dane reaches for the hilt, an unseen voice asks, “Sure you're ready for that, Mr. Whitman?”. This voice was later confirmed by the director to be that of Blade (Eric Brooks), setting up a future connection between Dane and the supernatural side of the MCU.
In this version, Dane is not yet the Black Knight. He is a man on the precipice of discovery, about to take his first step into a larger world by claiming a powerful and clearly dangerous birthright. His origin is not about redeeming an evil uncle, but about uncovering a hidden, heroic, and cursed lineage to save someone he loves.
The capabilities and personality of Dane Whitman are a unique blend of scientific acumen and ancient warrior tradition, though the balance of these traits is presented differently across the comics and the MCU.
Personality Dane is fundamentally a hero: noble, courageous, and deeply committed to doing the right thing. He is highly intelligent and analytical, often approaching problems from a logical, scientific perspective. However, his life is tinged with a deep-seated melancholy and internal struggle due to the constant influence of the Ebony Blade's curse. He is perpetually on guard against his own darker impulses, making him seem brooding or distant at times. Despite this, he is a loyal friend, a capable leader who has commanded the Avengers, and possesses a dry wit. He is a man caught between two worlds—the rational world of science and the chaotic world of magic—and this internal conflict defines him. Abilities
Equipment
As Dane's journey has only just begun in the MCU, his abilities and equipment are largely undefined, based almost entirely on his brief appearance and the post-credits scene in Eternals.
Personality
The MCU's Dane Whitman is presented as a grounded, empathetic, and highly intelligent academic. He is patient and understanding, taking the revelation of his girlfriend's true nature and millennium-long existence in stride. He shows courage in his desire to help Sersi, despite being a normal human with no powers. His defining characteristic thus far is his humanity and his role as an observer on the edge of a much larger, more dangerous world.
Abilities
Equipment
One of the most bizarre and character-defining arcs for the early Black Knight occurred in The Avengers #71 (1969). After being tricked by the Asgardian villainess The Enchantress, Dane is turned into a stone statue. His physical body remains petrified at Avengers Mansion, but his spirit is magically transported back in time to the 12th century, during the time of the Crusades. There, his spirit inhabits the body of his ancestor, Eobar Garrington. Living in the past, he fights alongside Richard the Lionheart and battles the evil mutant Apocalypse's first Horseman. This storyline was crucial as it disconnected him from the Avengers for a long period but deeply enriched his backstory, connecting him viscerally to his own lineage and establishing his long history of conflict with Kang the Conqueror, who was also involved in the time-traveling affair.
Arguably the most important storyline for Dane Whitman's character development, this sprawling epic ran through The Avengers in the early 1990s (approx. issues #343-375). During this time, Dane was the field leader of the team and was deeply in love with his teammate Sersi. However, Sersi began suffering from a form of Eternal madness called the Mahd Wy'ry, making her unstable and dangerously powerful. The primary antagonist was Proctor, a twisted version of Dane from another reality whose own Sersi had driven him mad. Proctor assembled a team of “Gatherers”—survivors of worlds destroyed by their Sersis—and set out to kill Sersi in every reality. The arc tested Dane's leadership, his love for Sersi, and his own sanity. He was forced to bond with Sersi via the Gann Josin to stabilize her, and ultimately had to battle a version of himself who represented all his darkest fears. The saga ended with Dane and Sersi leaving Earth-616 to explore another universe, concluding a defining chapter of his life.
After years of relative obscurity, Dane Whitman was revitalized in Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk's acclaimed 2008 series, Captain Britain and MI13. During the Secret Invasion event, the Skrull army invaded Earth, targeting England for its magical resources. Dane joined MI13, the British intelligence agency for all things weird and magical. In this series, Dane fully embraced his role as a mystical warrior. He chose to wield the Ebony Blade despite its curse, recognizing it was the only weapon sufficient to repel the invasion. A key moment saw him questioning the blade about its true nature, only for it to reveal it was not inherently evil, but simply imperfect. This series solidified Dane's place in the magical corner of the Marvel Universe and established a strong working relationship with characters like Captain Britain and Faiza Hussain.
This five-issue miniseries by Simon Spurrier and Sergio Dávila provided the most in-depth exploration of the Ebony Blade's curse to date. Following the events of King in Black, where Dane played a key role in fighting Knull's forces, the series delves into the psychological toll the sword takes on him. It establishes that the curse doesn't just crave blood; it feeds on the wielder's negative emotions, twisting their perception to justify their most violent impulses. The story introduces a new character, Jacks, a young history student who is revealed to be Dane's long-lost daughter. It also retcons the origin of the blade's curse, linking it to the wielder's inability to let go of their inner darkness. This storyline is essential reading for understanding the modern interpretation of Dane's core conflict.