Avengers Spotlight #39
Cry Crusader!
A wealthy couple are taking a limo ride back home in Washington, DC. However, their driver gets lost and the end up in a bad part of town and get caught in the middle of a car jacking. Luckily, the Black Knight — aka Dane Whitman — arrives and subdues the criminal, using the high-tech bolo-lance once used by his uncle.[1]
When the police arrive to take the crooks away, they also want to arrest the Black Knight since they are currently investigating a murder where the perpetrator was witnessed wearing medieval clothing. The Knight balks at this but when his Avengers credentials don’t give him any saw he surrenders to the police without incident.
There, he is shown crime scene photos of a pair of thieves who were murdered by a man in a suit of armor and sword for robbing a local church. The Knight professes his innocence, but is still put in a police line up to see if the eye witnesses recognize him. Sure enough, the eye witness tells police that the man who committed the murder was wearing different armor than the Black Knight.
By the time Dane is released from custody his allies Victoria Bentley and Sean Dolan have come to pick him up. Whitman is in a sour mood and returns to his castle on his flying horse. Dane is both understanding and bitter about his treatment at the hands of the police. This is because the Emir of Ghulistan is coming to Washington for a royal visit and the police are on high alert. However, Dane is furious for being arrested as he is still trying to get resettled after being trapped in the form of a metal statue until the spirit of his ancestor lifted the curse on his ebony blade by sacrificing his own spirit.[2]
That’s when Dane is visited by Eleanor Blackwood and her daughter Jenny. Eleanor was at the police station when Dane was brought in because she knows the identity of the church killer. However, when she saw the Black Knight she decided to seek his help instead of the police and followed him home. She explains that the killer is her husband, Arthur Blackwood. Arthur was obsessive about his Christian heritage and after a holy vision he was endowed with an enchanted sword and shield from his ancestors. As the Crusader, Arthur once clashed with Thor — seeing the thunder god as an affront to Christianity. However, Arthur’s was defeated when his faith faltered.[3] After getting the help he needed, Arthur settled down and married Eleanor and helped raise her daughter Jenny. However, Arthur had slipped back to his old self and started up his old crusade against those he saw as heathens.
Hearing all this, the Black Knight realizes that Blackwood is likely going to target the Emir of Ghulistan. Sure enough, when the Knight arrives he is able to prevent the Crusader from murdering the Emir and his family. The Knight — whose ancestors hale from King Arthur’s Round Table and the Crusades — tries to use his pedigree to convince the Crusader to stand down.[4] Unfortunately, Blackwood is so consumed by his religious mania that he refuses to believe what the Black Knight is telling him.
It’s only when Jenny manages to push through the crowd and plead with her father to stop fighting that the Crusader stops himself. Realizing that his family is more important than any religious crusade, the Arthur throws his sword against his shield, shattering both. He is then reunited with his family, telling them that he will devote his entire life to them once he gets out of prison.[5] Watching the Blackwoods as they go, the Black Knight muses that the Crusader’s fanaticism divides the world between believers and non-believers, shaming God in the process.
Recurring Characters
Black Knight, Crusader, Victoria Bentley, Sean Dolan
Continuity Notes
This would be the weapon developed by Nathan Garrett, Dane Whitman’s predecessor who was active as the Black Knight from Tales to Astonish #52 until his death in Avengers #48.
The Black Knight has been through a lot recently, the details:
His Ebony Blade has a blood curse that would make it hungry for blood as soon as it draws any. This curse was awoken when the blade was used to kill the massive sea creature known as Leviathan in Avengers #293.
This caused Dane’s body to slowly turn into a living blade himself, rendering him completely immobilized by said curse. See Avengers #294-297 and Thor #396-400.
Dane’s immobilized body was returned to his castle until his ancestor, Sir Percy of Scandia merged his soul with the sword, freeing Dane from its curse. See Black Knight (vol. 2) #1-4.
These ancestors being Sir Percy of Scandia seen prominently in Black Knight #1-5 who was the first Black Knight during the time of King Arthur, and Eobar Garrington the Black Knight during the Crusade. Dane possessed Eobar’s body from Defenders #11, Marvel Fanfare #52-54, and Avengers #225-226.
The Crusader’s sanity will prove short lived as he’ll come back as crazy as ever in Cage #17.