Marvel’s decision to connect Dane Whitman (Kit Harington) to Blade (Mahershala Ali) in Eternals could fix a long-standing issue with how the hero and his sword were used in the comics. In the Marvel Universe, Black Knight and Blade briefly served together on the same superhero team, but that was really the extent of their relationship. The idea that Blade will play some sort of role in Dane’s future is an invention of the MCU.

When Blade’s voice was heard saying “sure you’re ready for that, Mr. Whitman?” in Eternals’ post-credits scene, it was implied that Black Knight’s MCU role would be linked to Blade in some way or another. It could be that Marvel will use Blade to teach Dane about the Ebony Blade’s blood curse. Or, its plan may involve Dane learning swordsmanship from him. Either way, Blade’s cameo looks like setup for the two characters to appear together in a future MCU project, whether it be Blade’s solo movie or something else entirely. If Marvel’s intention is to bring Harington’s character into Blade’s corner of the MCU, it would be a huge deviation from the comics. Black Knight is traditionally an Avenger who fights super-powered villains – not vampires.

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Though such a change to his story would be significant, it would fix an old problem with Black Knight’s character that dates back to the 1980s when he was a mainstay of the Avengers. As a heroic warrior and a member of the Avengers, Dane was consistently held back by the Ebony Blade and the nature of its curse. As Black Knight pointed out on numerous occasions, he couldn’t use the sword to shed human blood. For this reason, Dane actively avoided using it in most combat situations. For instance, he once lost a fight with Moon Knight because he was afraid of striking his opponent. The issue with this is that it made Black Knight’s signature sword – and one of the most powerful weapons in the Marvel Universe – seem useless.

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If Black Knight joins up with Blade and becomes a part of the vampire side of the MCU, Marvel can avoid running into the same issue. If Black Knight is fighting vampires instead of human villains, he’ll actually be able to use his sword freely. Cutting and stabbing undead creatures won’t be the same as using it on living beings, which would only ignite the blood curse. By moving in this direction, Marvel can effectively remove all the limitations that the Ebony Blade put on the Black Knight when he was an Avenger.

In fact, this aspect of the sword may be the real reason why Blade sought out Dane in the first place. Since he seems to have knowledge of the curse, he may be aware that fighting vampires is the best use for a weapon like the Ebony Blade. Blade convincing Dane to go down this path after Eternals could risk him not getting his comic counterpart’s role with the Avengers, but battles with vampires and perhaps other undead monsters can still provide him with an exciting future in MCU Phase 5.

More: Eternals: Dane Whitman's Sword Has A Surprising Connection To Spider-Man

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