Black Knight

First Appearance: Black Knight v1 #1 (May 1955).
Appearances: I: Black Knight v1 #1-5, v2 #1-4, Avengers #48, 71, 84, 100, Avengers Annual #16, 20, Dr. Strange v2 #38, 68, Marvel Superheroes v1 #17, Namor #61. II: Marvel Comics Presents #73.
Years Active: 6^th Century C.E.

Sir Percy of Scandia was a member of the court of King Arthur in the 6^th Century C.E. Sir Percy's father was an ally of King Arthur when Arthur was a youth. Sir Percy's father eventually moved his wife and infant son away from Camelot to Scandia and following the advice of Merlin schooled Sir Percy in combat and the knightly forms. When Sir Percy's parents died Merlin summoned Sir Percy to Camelot, where Sir Percy, acting willingly as Merlin's agent, publicly played the fop. Privately, however, he used the identity of the Black Knight (and the enchanted Ebony Blade, a gift to Sir Percy from Merlin) to foil the plots of Mordred and to act against the enemies of King Arthur, most notably the sorceress Morgan Le Fey. Eventually, after Sir Percy had married and raised children, the truth of Sir Lancelot's affair with Guinevere became known, and Camelot was wracked by civil war. Sir Percy attempted to aid King Arthur against Mordred, but he was ambushed by the forces of Mordred before he could reach Arthur; during the battle Sir Percy was stabbed from behind by Mordred and died. In the 20^th Century Sir Percy's spirit has acted as an advisor to various Black Knights.

Black Knight (II) was Eobar Garrington, the ancestor of Dane Whitman whose body Whitman inhabited when he fought during the Crusades; Eobar was active before Whitman arrived, and there is some textual evidence that says that he were distinct men during their time together.