Saturday Showcase: the Black Knight

    Today's Saturday Showcase features one of my favorite Avenger's from the '80's - '90's.  Dane Whitman, also known as the Black Knight.  I know, I know, some of you are thinking, wait, wasn't the Black Knight a bad guy? Yes, he was, sort of.  You see, Dane is the 3rd person to be known as the Black Knight and he was by far the best.

   He is and always will be one of my favorite Avengers.  He was a member of the team back when it was constant battles against aliens and magic.  A lot of his missions leaned toward the magic side since his sword was enchanted.  The Ebony Blade gave him great power but it also came with a curse.  That was one of the things that attracted me to the character.  I mean, to use his power comes with a price but he still wanted to "avenge" the innocents of the world to set the name of Black Knight back in the history books as a hero and not as the villain that his uncle was.

    Even though, Dane was popular in the '80's - '90's, he actually was introduced in the '60's.  Dane version of the Black Knight made his first appearance in December of 1967 in the Avengers #47.  He was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema.

   At first, the Avengers were hesitant to fight alongside a Black Knight, but in the battles they shared, they realized that Dane's heart was pure and that he was on the side of Justice.  Dane proved to be a valuable member of the Avengers, even taking down Kang the Conqueror will others could not.

    Dane continued fighting with the Avengers, but that was not the only team that he would come to know and love.  He was also a member of the following teams.

MI-13

Defenders

Ultraforce

Excalibur

Heroes for Hire

    Dane is a team player no matter the team, but he is of noble blood and that is his true calling.  Dane was thought to be dead for years only to resurface in recent years, where he had to face off against some of those he called friends because the Ebony Blade had corrupted him and forced him to commit a crime while a member of the Avengers.  In the end, the Avengers realized it was his curse to bear, and left their friend at New Avalon to fulfill his destiny.

   Who knows what the future has in store for Black Knight fans.  I can only hope that we see him in film or TV soon.  I know he made an appearance in an Avengers cartoon as well as a great playable character in Avengers Alliance but I think he is destined for more.  Since he is such a well "traveled" Avenger, maybe some one will wise up and write him into the Infinity War 2 script.

Until next time, get your READ on!