Review: BLACK KNIGHT: CURSE OF THE EBONY BLADE #1
In Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony Blade #1 by Si Spurrier, Sergio Dávila, Sean Parsons, Arif Prianto, and Cory Petit (with a main cover by Iban Coello & Jesus Aburtov), the Avengers enlist the assistance of Dane Whitman, the Black Knight. But unbeknownst to Captain America and Thor, Whitman’s power comes at a terrible cost… even if his fellow superheroes think he’s kind of a joke!
Photo: Marvel Comics
An Interesting Introduction
One of the great things about Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony Blade #1 is it serves as a perfect introduction to the character, even if you have never heard of him before!
Photo: Marvel Comics
As you’ll learn in the comic, the Black Knight draws his power from the Ebony Blade. However, in order to be granted fantastic abilities, Whitman must fill his mind with dark thoughts. According to the lore, darkness is the only way to energize the Ebony Blade (as Thor notes, it’s sort of the opposite of Mjolnir).
Photo: Marvel Comics
In order to combat the fact that he must fill his heart with darkness in order to wield the blade, the Black Knight acts with the olde fashioned chivalry one might expect from, say, a Knight of the Round Table.
Poor Dane. Photo: Marvel Comics
However, the chivalrous act makes him something of a joke with the Avengers, creating an interesting tension between the character’s internal emotions and the way he is viewed by others. It’s a fascinating dynamic that this comic begins to dig into, especially through the fictional “listening” app, Listenr.
Text based therapy. Photo: Marvel Comics
However, be advised that this is not a standalone adventure, and you will have plenty of questions by the time you close the issue’s cover – and you can bet you’ll be planning a quest back to your local comic shop next month to pick up Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony Blade #2!
Photo: Marvel Comics
The History of the Black Knight
While you may not have heard of the Black Knight before, he has a long history in Marvel Comics!
Photo: Marvel Comics
If you’d like to see Dane Whitman’s first appearance, check out Avengers #47 (1967) by Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, John Buscema, George Tuska, and L.P. Gregory. In that issue, you’ll be introduced to Dr. Whitman, who reveals that his late uncle Nathan Garrett led a double life, as both a biologist and the supervillain known as the Black Knight.
Avengers #47. Photo: Marvel Comics
In Avengers #48 (1968) by Lee, Thomas, Tuska, and Artie Simek, Whitman takes up the mantle of the Black Knight himself.
Photo: Marvel Comics
But will the Avengers realize that, unlike his supervillain uncle, he has the best of intentions? The answers are waiting for you on the Marvel Unlimited app and Marvel Comics app!
Photo: Marvel Comics
Various Variants
One of the exciting things about Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony Blade #1 is that there are several different variant covers! Depending the number of issues ordered by your local comic shops, the availability (and sometimes the price) of the variants can vary, but that just makes tracking down your favorites that much more exciting.
Photo: Marvel Comics
Here at Marvel Blog, we scored the Peach Momoko variant, and we couldn’t be more pleased!
Quest for the Black Knight
Will you be questing to your local comic book shop in order to pick up Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony Blade #1? Which variant cover did you score?
