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Former member of the Avengers (ninth recruit); former
associate of Defenders; former leader of Ultraforce and Knights of Wundagore; former member of Heroes for Hire.
A descendant of the
medieval heroic Black Knight (Sir Percy of Scandia) and nephew of the
modern-day criminal Black Knight (Nathan Garret), Whitman inherited
the paraphernalia of both and used these weapons as a modern-day,
heroic Black Knight, in which guise he became a recurring ally to his
uncle's old foes, the Avengers.
After rescuing the team from Kang,
Whitman was made a full member but opted for reserve status since he
resided in England at the time.
Whitman was later stranded in medieval
times, where he fought in the Crusades on behalf of King Richard.
Later still, he returned to the 20th century and resumed his Avengers
membership, serving a lengthy tour of duty that was interrupted only
after a curse on his ebony blade gradually transformed him into a
statue.
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He was eventually freed from that state, and soon resumed his
Avengers membership when he was elected to serve as a reservist under
the team's reorganized, UN-sponsored roster.
As several of the active members
departed, the Black Knight upgraded to full-time membership again,
serving a lengthy term as unofficial field leader (under then-chair
Black Widow) which ended when he joined his teammate and sometime
romantic interest, Sersi, in her exile to another dimension. This led
to Whitman being stranded in the alternate reality known as the
Ultraverse, where he became the leader of the heroic team called
Ultraforce. He eventually left the Ultraforce and joined Sersi in
returning to their home dimension, though the couple split up shortly
thereafter. Dane has also been romantically linked to his Avengers
teammate Crystal (often-estranged wife of Quicksilver) and honorary
Avengers member Yellowjacket (reformed criminal Rita DeMara), though
nothing serious or lasting ever came of either relationship.
After returning to his own Earth,
Whitman accepted a position with the corporate-sponsored super-team
known as Heroes for Hire, though he soon left their ranks to mentor
the Knights of Wundagore. Later, Black Knight was partnered with
Firebird on a detached service Avengers assignment, manning a monitor
station outside Slorenia, where the Bloodwraith is imprisoned; the
Bloodwraith is actually Whitman's friend and protege Sean Dolan,
transformed into an insane monster by the original Black Knight's
ebony blade, which Whitman had forsaken due to its mind-warping
enchantments.
Whitman himself currently wields new weapons--the
mystical Sword of Light and Shield of Night--and has a new winged
steed, Strider, all supplied by the mystical Lady of the Lake when she
chose Whitman to serve as the modern-day mortal incarnation of the
Pendragon (King Arthur), champion of the legendary realm of Avalon.
Whitman has used these weapons and his scientific expertise to assist
the Avengers in conflicts with Kang, the Master, Scorpio and Scarlet
Witch, but he has not been active with the Avengers since the group
disbanded and reorganized following its cash with the insane Scarlet
Witch.
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