Spoilers for Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony Blade 4 ahead!
Marvel has transformed the Black Knight into one of their best-kept secrets, revealing a bloodline stretching back to Camelot. The character has been undergoing something of a renaissance ahead of his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut this fall in Eternals, and this revelation continues this trend. Readers learn the truth of Black Knight’s lineage in Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony Blade #4, on sale now in print and digital.
Dane Whitman is the third person to take the mantel of the Black Knight. The first was Sir Percy of Camelot and the second was Dane’s uncle Nathan Garrett. After Garrett’s death, Whitman took his gear and embarked on a heroic career. He would serve with the Avengers for many years but has recently been seen as unstable by his peers. His recent mini-series has peeled back the curtain on the character, revealing much about his predecessors and Camelot as well. One of the biggest reveals so far has been that the Ebony Blade, his weapon of choice, carries a curse that feeds on its users' dark impulses, driving them further and further into darkness before consuming them.
In this issue, it is revealed that this curse has afflicted many others through the ages as well. Previously, readers thought only Garrett and Percy had to bear this curse, but many others have too, and they represent a variety of eras, including a Renaissance-era adventurer, a pirate, a sheriff in the Old West, and a World War I era soldiermo. All of these Black Knights attempt to do the right thing, and not give into the darkness. Yet, every single one of them ultimately succumbs, and the last member of the Bloodline readers see is an enchanted Nazi soldier bearing the sword—was this intended to be an illustration of how far the curse can take a person? Just as it appears that the curse will take Dane, he walks away, refusing to be defined by his flaws. While this was the right course of action to take, it enrages Mordred, who seemingly kills the Black Knight.
Writer Si Spurrier and artist Sergio Davila have explored the dark legacy of the previous Black Knights, and in this issue, they expand it even further, showing others the curse has claimed over the years. Every single person seen in this issue was ultimately killed or corrupted. The mini-series has made it appear Dane would succumb as well, but he fought back against it. But unfortunately, he was killed at the moment of his triumph - perhaps the curse got him in the end after all?
Marvel has revealed the curse of the Black Knight stretches across many people throughout many eras, creating a dark lineage that seemingly ends with Dane Whitman. Only time will tell if the other Black Knights will be explored, but readers can see them revealed in Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony Blade 4 by Spurrier and Davila, with inks by Sean Parsons and Marc Deering, with colors by Arif Prianto, Chris Sotomayor and Andrew Crossley, and letters by Cory Petit.