BIOGRAPHY page 1
Dane Whitman was born American, but with strong ties to Great Britain and ancestral lands through his mother’s family. What’s known about his early childhood is unhappy, as his darker memories include his mother’s wake and corporal punishment from his father’s belt. Dane did find young love in high school with his girlfriend Ashima Chopra, but she sadly was diagnosed with cancer just as they were preparing for college. Ashima’s family was moving to London for her treatment, but she took the initiative and proposed to Dane before they left. Dane agreed to marry Ashima, bought a ring and planned to support her through her radiotherapy. In the end, however, Dane lost his nerve and failed to follow through with their plans. He showed promise in studying science at university, found new friends and lost touch with Ashima. Dane eventually received word that Ashima had passed away from the cancer, leaving him with a lifetime of shame and regrets over his actions. [Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony Blade #5]
Dane graduated from college with a masters’ degree in physics and became a research scientist. He shared a love of science with his uncle Nathan Garrett, but they grew apart when Nathan’s ego led him to become a criminal. Even Dane didn’t know Nathan had gone so far as to become a costumed super-villain named the Black Knight. After falling from a great height in his last battle with Iron Man, though, Nathan was mortally wounded. He called to Dane and confessed his sins on his death bed. Nathan knew it was too late for him to find redemption, but he begged Dane to redeem the family name once he was gone. Dane took his uncle’s final request to heart as Nathan Garrett passed away, leaving the family estate and all his holdings to Dane in his will.
As a research scientist, Dane Whitman hoped to make a scientific breakthrough to redeem the family name in public. However, he had also been privately inspired by his uncle’s career as the Black Knight and considered rebuilding the heroic legacy of that name as well. From his uncle’s notes, Dane engineered a new winged horse named Aragorn and experimented with the armor and equipment he inherited at Garrett Castle in the States, outside of Washington D.C. His moment came during an experiment with magnetic frequencies where he intended to contact extra-terrestrial civilizations. Instead, Whitman’s magnetic waves acted as a beacon guiding the displaced super-villain Magneto back to Earth. Dane and his assistant Norris were locked up in the dungeons of Garrett Castle while Magneto and Toad set a trap for their former Brotherhood allies Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, now members of the Avengers.
Hardly trapped in his own castle’s dungeon, Dane Whitman leapt at this chance to adopt the armor of the Black Knight and warn the Avengers about their captured comrades. With sword, lance and winged horse, the new Black Knight took to the skies and flew to Manhattan and Avengers Mansion. However, in his impulsiveness, Dane didn’t think things through. The world didn’t know the criminal Black Knight had died, since Nathan Garrett had escaped from Iron Man in their last battle before passing away later from his wounds. The Avengers saw the Black Knight flying towards them and naturally assumed it was their old foe.
When Hawkeye started shooting arrows at him from the mansion’s roof, Dane soon realized his mistake. A half-baked battle erupted as Dane tried to explain himself, yet his temper and lack of experience with Garrett’s weapons kept accidentally escalating the situation. Things eventually calmed down and a somewhat mollified Black Knight finally explained the Magneto situation to the Avengers. By the time they returned to Garrett Castle, however, Magneto had already fled with his captives. The uneasy alliance between Black Knight and the Avengers ended abruptly as Dane refused to explain why he had adopted his costumed identity and flew away. This was not an auspicious beginning for the Black Knight’s career as a hero. [Avengers (1st series) #47-48]
As he considered his next display of heroism, Dane received a note at Garrett Castle inviting the Black Knight to the new Masters of Evil. A figure called the Crimson Cowl was reassembling Nathan Garrett’s old associates for an attack on Avengers Mansion. Dane went to the meeting, posing as his uncle, to learn the villains’ plans. When he tried to warn the Avengers before the scheduled attack, however, the Cowl anticipated his treachery and sent the other Masters to intercept the Black Knight. The attack on the Avengers went off without a hitch once Dane was disposed of and he later awoke to find the Avengers’ butler Jarvis looking for aid. After gathering his strength, the Black Knight followed Jarvis’s directions and sought out the Masters of Evil. He helped to free the Avengers and joined Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in defeating the assembled villains. [Avengers (1st series) #54-55]
Dane Whitman intended to retire from super-heroics after this, recognizing what a poor showing he had made up until this point. After inheriting the original family castle on the outskirts of London from his uncle’s estate, Dane traveled to England to assess his new holdings. His uncle’s castle in Washington had been rebuilt to the exact specifications as this one and Dane discovered its secret passages as well. He inadvertently lit the Brazier of Truth, calling forth the lost spirit of Sir Percy of Scandia, who greeted his descendent. Percy explained the heroic legacy of the original Black Knight and offered Dane the chance to draw forth the Ebony Blade and wield it as a modern crusader. Percy said Nathan Garrett had failed to unsheathe the blade and it had turned him bitter. Dane Whitman did draw the Ebony Blade and was magically clothed in his armor as the Black Knight. After defeating the blade’s guardian to prove his worth, Dane was ready to return to his career and a knight and hero.
Destiny called the Black Knight back to action for a reason. Mordred the Evil had made a pact with dark forces to bring his spirit back to the Earthly plane. Merlin’s final spells as Sir Percy died were that he or his heirs would always rise to defeat Mordred whenever the fiend returned. Mordred empowered a French blade artist named le Sabre to be his agent, gifting le Sabre with an animated gargoyle to ride and the Ebony Dagger to kill the Black Knight. Dane and Aragorn encountered le Sabre in mid-air and began to joust. The Black Knight recognized the Ebony Dagger from Percy’s tales and realized he was in mortal danger, but Aragorn kicked the dagger from le Sabre’s hands and sent it tumbling to the ground below. The gargoyle was slain and le Sabre was captured, but Dane could not find the fallen dagger, leaving the one weapon that could kill him out in the world for another foe to find. [Marvel Super-Heroes (1st series) #17]
As he renewed his efforts at heroism, the Black Knight attended the awkward wedding of Yellowjacket and Janet van Dyne at Avengers Mansion. [Avengers (1st series) #60] Back at Garrett Castle in England, Dane amused himself by wearing his knightly garb to attend a costumed party held by his English neighbor, Victoria Bentley. Doctor Strange was acquainted with Victoria as well and arrived seeking her magical assistance. He recognized Black Knight from Avengers Mansion and recruited the crusader in a quest against Tiboro and the Sons of Satannish. [Doctor Strange (1st series) #178] The Sons provided Strange with the Crystal of Conquest to oppose the Spell of Fire and Ice, an incantation to bring about Armageddon by unleashing Ymir and Surtur of Norse myth on the Earth. Black Knight and his allies the Avengers kept the Frost Giant of Jotunheim and the Fire Demon of Muspelheim busy until Doctor Strange readied the crystal’s power for a counter spell. Afterwards, Black Knight accompanied the Avengers to Wakanda to recuperate, becoming one of the first outsiders invited by King T’Challa to his hidden land. [Avengers (1st series) #61-62]
Black Knight’s next encounter with the Avengers started off poorly, although he couldn’t have anticipated why. Kang and the Grandmaster were playing the Game of Galaxies, pitting the Avengers against the Squadron Sinister in individual matches with the fate of the Earth in the balance. So, when Goliath was teleported to London to battle his foe the Whizzer, the Black Knight couldn’t have known the consequences of interfering. The Knight struck down the super-villain and was surprised when Goliath yelled at him and snatched his sword away after the damage had already been done. Goliath and the Whizzer were teleported back to Kang’s 41st century citadel with the match over, taking the Ebony Blade with them. [Avengers (1st series) #70]
Dane returned to Garrett Castle and lit the Brazier of Truth to consult with Sir Percy. From beyond the veil of mortal time and space, the first Black Knight was able to observe the wager between Kang and the Grandmaster and relate the consequences of his actions to Dane Whitman. With Percy’s aid, the Black Knight focused on the Ebony Blade that Goliath had taken with him. Through their connection, Dane transported himself from present day England to the future citadel of Kang the Conqueror to reunite with his sword. Suitably armed, the Black Knight then freed the Avengers who were being held in stasis by Kang after their appointed matches.
In two rounds, the Avengers won on behalf of Kang each time. However, because of the Black Knight’s interference, the Grandmaster resolved to give Kang only the power of Life or Death and not both as had been the wager. Kang intended to restore his beloved Ravonna from the brink of death with the power of Life but, when Black Knight and the freed Avengers barged in, his hatred overwhelmed him and Kang chose to receive the power of Death to kill his enemies instead. The Grandmaster was deliberately technical with his wagers, though, and Kang received ONLY what he asked for: the power of Death over the Avengers. The Black Knight, not yet inducted into the team roster, proved immune to Kang’s newfound power and defeated the conqueror. The assembled Avengers quickly voted to correct their oversight after Kang and the Grandmaster were no longer a threat and Dane Whitman was inducted as a member of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Although he accepted the honor, the Black Knight lived in England now and so would only serve when called upon, making him the team’s first deliberate reserve member. [Avengers (1st series) #71]
