Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony Blade resurrected a villain who’s older than the Avengers and most of its members to wage a mystic war on Earth.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony Blade #2, by Simon Spurrier, Sergio Davila, Sean Parsons, Arif Prianto and VC’s Cory Petit, on sale now.
The Marvel Universe is full of nasty mystical enemies, from Baron Mordo to Nightmare to Dormammu to Malekith. While Doctor Strange usually handles most of these kinds of threats, he’s not the only Avenger or Marvel hero who has to face the dark side of magic.
And in Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony Blade #2, one of Marvel’s oldest villains, Mordred, returns seeking a deadly cache of weapons, which could give him the upper hand against the Avengers or any other heroes who try to stop him.
Issue #2 finds Dane Whitman learning many dark secrets about his past. He’s been resurrected after getting decapitated by a hooded assailant while fighting alongside the Avengers, and as he speaks to the ghost of his ancestor Sir Percy, he discovers the Black Knights are descendants of King Arthur and that they’ll be revived upon death once they hold the Ebony Blade in hand.
This shakes things up for Dane, the latest Knight, as it becomes apparent that Merlin chose his family’s bloodline because of its tendency towards anger, rage, depression and agony, which can activate Ebony Blade’s power. This is why a brokenhearted Dane is such a dangerous weapon right now, especially since he’s gaining a greater understanding of the Ebony Blade’s curse.
As he learns here, other weapons were made from the Ebony Starstone that was used to make the blade, too. The stone was the basis for chalice that could imbue knowledge, a shield that can’t be broken and a staff with unlimited wisdom. When Percy chose the sword that he’d eventually pass down to Dane, Merlin was thought to have destroyed the other weapons. However, they survived in the mystical river of blood, and the staff was actually found by the assassin, who’s none other than Mordred. He turned it into the dagger that killed Dane and wants all the other weapons to wage war on Earth.
Created in 1955 by Stan Lee and Joe Maneely, Mordred wreaked havoc during the times of Camelot by going after hid dad Arthur and his aunt, Morgan Le Fay, in a quest for power. He was thought to be dead but is back on his new mission, which means Morgan might not be too far behind.
Dane already senses he’d need stronger allies than the Avengers, and — while he has Elsa Bloodstone — his academic colleague, Jacks, could be the key. She’s a Time Seer and was able to spot a bunch of medieval Avengers Merlin and Arthur used back in the day, so Black Knight might well be calling them for backup.
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