The Melter is the name of three fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The original Melter, Bruno Horgan , first appeared in Tales of Suspense #47 (Nov. 1963). He was both an enemy to Iron Man and a founding member of the Masters of Evil .
104-771: The character debuted in Tales of Suspense #47 (November 1963) and was created by Stan Lee and Sam Rosen . He was an industrialist who specializes in providing munitions to the United States government . After an initial encounter with hero Iron Man , the character reappears in The Avengers #6 (Jul. 1964) as part of supervillain team the Masters of Evil . A version of the Masters of Evil return in The Avengers #15-16 (Apr.-May 1965), with
208-598: A Marvel Universe supporting character since. The final "Tales of the Watcher" story introduced veteran artist George Tuska as a Marvel regular. Four years later, Tuska would become one of Iron Man's signature artists. Beginning with issue #59 (Nov. 1964), Iron Man began sharing the now "split book" with Captain America , who had guest-starred in the Iron Man feature the previous issue. Jack Kirby , Captain America's co-creator during
312-583: A mystical sword which carried a curse and took the Black Knight mantle to help restore honor. The character has also been a member of the MI-13 , Avengers , Defenders , Ultraforce , and Heroes for Hire at various points in his history. Since his original introduction in comics, the character has been featured in various other Marvel-licensed products, including video games , animated television series , and merchandise. Dane Whitman made his live-action debut in
416-510: A January 1959 cover date . Initially published under Atlas Comics , the 1950s forerunner of Marvel, it fell under the Marvel banner with issue #19 (July 1961), the first with a cover sporting the early "MC" box. It contained science-fiction mystery /suspense stories written primarily by editor-in-chief Stan Lee and his brother, Larry Lieber , with artists including Jack Kirby , Steve Ditko , and Don Heck . Issue #9 (May 1960) introduced Chondu
520-621: A brainwashed minion of Krona . In the unified reality of Earth-2099, an unidentified Melter appears as a member of the 2099 version of the Masters of Evil . Melter appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) tie-in comic one-shot Iron Man: Coming of the Melter . This version is a former inventor who failed to pitch a suit of armor to the United States military. After modifying the design, he attacks Tony Stark and War Machine in
624-468: A cover with a clear plastic overlay, featured Captain America and Iron Man in a single story written by James Robinson and drawn by Colin MacNeil . Another one-shot, Tales of Suspense: Captain America and Iron Man Commemorative Edition (Feb. 2005) reprinted the previous month's Captain America vol. 5 #1 and Iron Man vol. 4 #1. Black Knight (Dane Whitman) The Black Knight ( Dane Whitman )
728-543: A guest stint by George Tuska when Stan Lee took John off the book for one issue to do something else. It was John Verpoorten and I that designed the costume." Following his introduction, the Dane Whitman Black Knight became a recurring character in the superhero-team comic The Avengers , with his first solo story appearing shortly afterward in Marvel Super-Heroes #17 (Nov. 1968). From 1979 to 1980,
832-485: A harmful curse that caused Whitman to eventually abandon it. As of New Excalibur #10, Whitman gained possession of a faux Ebony Blade. For a time, Dane Whitman also wielded Excalibur in his battles against the evil dark wizard Necromon in Hulk (UK) #42-63, but later relinquished it to a reborn King Arthur. Dane Whitman first became the Black Knight to atone for the crimes that his uncle Nathan Garrett had committed using
936-568: A host of other recipients selected by the enigmatic cosmic entity to participate in a tournament to decide its next host. With the onset of the " King in Black ", The Black Knight has his hands full dealing with personal issues stemming from his loss of respect as a hero coupled with psychological issues begotten from bearing the accursed Ebony Blade. When the dark god Knull descended upon the Earth seeking to subsume it, he used his collective mind hive to invade
1040-608: A museum in England chronicling the Black Knights that have existed throughout history. Whitman learns that Sir Percy was not the original Black Knight, but that eight men had held the Ebony Blade prior to him. The Ebony Blade, however, corrupted these men, and Sir Percy was deemed the only one who was noble enough to wield the Blade. Also at this time, Merlin told Whitman that he must not destroy
1144-481: A process called the " Gann Josin ", but this does little to slow the disease – not in the least due to Whitman's resentment at having the bond imposed upon him, and that he had come to the conclusion that it was Crystal he loved. With the bond, the Black Knight acquired more strength, red eyes, and an intimate mental connection with Sersi. Meanwhile, the Ebony Sword comes into the possession of Sean Dolan, " squire " of
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#17328586259461248-435: A professional criminal and embarks on a campaign of industrial sabotage against Stark, hoping to ruin him, eventually encountering Iron Man after Stark is told he could lose his government contracts, though when he first met Stark he succeeded in knocking him out. Despite damaging the hero's armor and forcing Iron Man back, the Melter is defeated when Stark builds a temporary duplicate armor composed of aluminium , but leaps into
1352-460: A roof, but he is stopped by Thor using his uru hammer, which the Melter cannot melt. The Masters of Evil are eventually defeated after Thor transported them and the Avengers to another dimension, with different scientific laws which meant their weapons rebounded. The villains are bound and returned to Earth. The character upgrades his weaponry and battles Iron Man once again, before reappearing as part of
1456-481: A scientific approach and perspective more often than not, despite his ties to the world of magic. He has also demonstrated good leadership skills as leader of both the Avengers and Ultraforce . He has strong strategic and tactical skills. Dane Whitman eventually gained the Ebony Blade, a weapon that had been passed down through the ages from one of his ancestors to another. Although it was incredibly powerful, it carried
1560-526: A spell on the statue, Sir Percy takes possession of Whitman's body to stop the blood curse. He takes a young Irish man called Sean Dolan as his squire. Together they go to Doctor Strange 's house to ask for help in the battle against Morgan le Fay and Mordred , who intended to return to the physical world using Morgan's old castle in Ireland. The witch summoned the demon Balor, but the heroes are rescued by Valkyrie (summoned by Victoria Bentley). After banishing
1664-460: A string of murders related to Dane and his ebony relic. The conflict is quickly broken up by Jackie who returns after finding the mutilated remains of her history teacher. Jackie explains she has been having visions of the past ever since she touched Dane's Ebony Blade, and they all come to realize that the relics created from the same starstone that begot the fabled skein in the first place were not destroyed upon their initial creation. Dane Whitman
1768-573: A three-part Black Knight story set during the Crusades for Marvel Fanfare . The Marvel Fanfare story was extensively delayed, and in the end was published concurrently with the miniseries Black Knight #1–4 (June–Sept. 1990) by husband-and-wife writers Roy and Dann Thomas and successive pencillers Tony DeZuniga and Rich Buckler . This was followed by the one-shot Black Knight: Exodus #1 (Dec. 1996), by writer Ben Raab and penciller Jimmy Cheung . He and other Marvel characters were brought to
1872-502: A villain of that name, complete with winged horse, in The Avengers . There was also a bit of an homage in there to a DC hero I'd liked in the 1940s, Shining Knight . I shouldn't have named his horse Aragorn, though. I wasn't even that great an admirer of The Lord of the Rings . John Buscema , was scheduled to be the artist of the story that introduced Dane Whitman dressed in the Black Knight costume into The Avengers , but that wound up being
1976-456: Is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema , the character first appeared in The Avengers #47 (December 1967). Dane Whitman is the third character to use the codename of Black Knight . He is the descendant of the original Black Knight and is the nephew of the supervillain Black Knight . He inherited
2080-653: Is among the villains at the Bar with No Name who convince Black Cat to lead them. During the AXIS storyline, Melter was among the supervillains who Missile Mate assembled to join the side of Phil Urich (who was operating as Goblin King) and the remnants of the Goblin Nation upon claiming that Roderick Kingsley "abandoned" them. Melter was among the villains who appeared as a member of Swarm 's Sinister Six when they attacked Spider-Man and
2184-468: Is an excellent swordsman, whose skills have allowed him to defeat Swordsman in combat. He is also an excellent fighter, being able to hold his own against such skilled fighters as Captain America and Wolverine . He is an expert horseman as well. Whitman is a scientist, having earned a master's degree in physics, while being proficient in a wide array of advanced sciences and technologies, including genetic and mechanical engineering. Whitman maintains
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#17328586259462288-552: Is armed by what he believes was the Ebony Blade, which strongly encourages him to kill, but is later revealed to be a fake created by Dracula; this fake possesses an intelligence and feeds on blood. Whitman also is revealed to have a literal stone heart, given to him by Sersi to keep him "above it all" and uninvolved. Whitman battles the Skrull forces in London , showing a new informal and wisecracking personality (a deliberate defence against
2392-642: Is contacted by the more ruthless iteration of Earth's mightiest after singlehandedly tearing down a KKK operation. He was specifically nominated by Cain Marko because they needed the help of his Ebony Blade to slay the dragon Sadurang, a leftover from Malekith's War of the Realms. Sometime after the Avengers reasserted their presence in the world, the Phoenix Force would descend after the attempted takeover by Moon Knight and his patron deity Khonshu . Dane would be amongst
2496-509: Is driving him mad, but Whitman refuses. Despite his assurance that he is fine, his home is seen covered in slash marks, with Whitman himself curled up on the floor in a mentally unhinged state. He is also seen threatening to slay Rebecca with the Blade, but she remains unaware of the danger. Around this same time, Whitman returns to action as the leader of Euroforce, a team of European superheroes. Though he claims to not be bitter about being excluded from Captain America's new team of Avengers, it
2600-537: Is implied that Whitman's deteriorating mental state had been the reason that he was passed over for membership. As part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel event, the Black Knight arrives on Weirdworld after killing Carnivore while losing control to the Ebony Blade, which causes him to flee from the scene of Carnivore's death. Upon arriving on Weirdworld, he kills King Zaltin Tar to establish New Avalon and builds an army with
2704-745: Is involved in the Avengers' attack of the Kree Empire during the Operation Galactic Storm , forming part of the team that went to the capital world in Hala. At the end of the mission, tormented by the genocide inflicted by the Kree Supreme Intelligence on its own people, he and other Avengers follow Iron Man to kill the entity. The Black Knight is the one that struck the mortal blow on the Supreme Intelligence. Captain America leaves
2808-546: Is resurrected. In the final assault, Whitman and King Arthur succeed in killing Necromon, but Camelot is destroyed. During these events, Black Knight and Captain Britain are briefly kidnapped by the Grandmaster to participate in the original Contest of Champions. Whitman eventually returns to the 20th century and his original body is restored. He is accompanied by a gift from Amergin: a black, winged horse called Valinor, named after
2912-556: Is revealed that Whitman accidentally entered Weirdworld, along with a HYDRA submarine, from 1945. The members of Hydra on board the submarine became the group known as the Fangs of the Serpent to the inhabitants of Weirdworld. As the Uncanny Avengers arrive to arrest Whitman, he unites the armies of the land to fight against them. Eventually, he is defeated and a truce is made: Rogers will take
3016-466: Is revived by Whitman's uncle Nathan Garrett who becomes the supervillain the Black Knight II . After being mortally wounded during a battle with Iron Man , he escapes to his estate, summons his nephew to confess his crimes and asks him to restore honor to their family legacy and atone for Garrett's misdeeds, giving Whitman the weapons that he used for crime. Whitman becomes the Black Knight, using
3120-411: Is using inferior materials, with the defense contracts awarded to his competitor Tony Stark (the alter ego of hero Iron Man ). Discovering that one of his faulty devices is capable of generating a beam capable of "melting" anything composed of iron , Horgan redesigns the device so that it can be strapped to his chest, and after donning a costume adopts the alias the Melter. As the Melter, Horgan becomes
3224-528: Is wandering in the coast of Cornwall. Merlyn needs the hero for the defense of Otherworld, his realm, that is being attacked by the Nethergods. The Black Knight is attacked many times by creatures invoked by the sorcerer Mordred but he finds Captain Britain, who is amnesiac. On the road to Otherworld, both heroes are assisted by the old witch Sarah Mumford, the Walker Vortigern , an old king of Britain, and
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3328-635: The Black Lama , the Melter joins fellow villains Whiplash and the Man-Bull to form the team the Death Squad and attempt to kill the hero; upgrades once again and attack before being defeated; and reappears, with many other villains, as an employee of criminal mastermind Justin Hammer . At Hammer's direction the Melter and fellow villains have a series of encounters with Iron Man in an unsuccessful attempt to neutralize
3432-677: The Evil Eye . Meanwhile, Whitman chooses to stay in the 12th century and is cared for by fellow Defender, the Valkyrie. Whitman then battles the Fomor, alongside the time-traveling Avengers. He then employs the Evil Eye to seal the portal between Earth and Avalon . Some time later, still in Garrington's body, the wizard Merlyn takes Whitman as his champion. He is commanded to find the hero Captain Britain , who
3536-551: The Gann Josin and his Ebony Blade's curse, Proctor now travels the multiverse with the aid of the Gatherers and a captured Watcher named Ute on a mission to kill the Sersi of every reality. Ultimately, in the battle of the Avengers against the Gatherers, Sersi slays Proctor with his own Ebony Blade, but is still afflicted by the madness Proctor instilled in her. A mortally injured Ute uses
3640-491: The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Eternals (2021), portrayed by Kit Harington . Dane Whitman debuted in The Avengers #47 (December 1967), created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema . Thomas commented on the character's conception, "The Black Knight was a combination, visually, of the Black Knight that Stan Lee and Joe Maneely made up in the mid-1950s, with the concept Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had done as
3744-558: The Silver Age of Comic Books before changing its title to Captain America with issue #100 ( cover-dated April 1968). Its sister title was Tales to Astonish . Following the launch of Marvel Legacy in 2017, Tales of Suspense was once again resurrected at issue #100, featuring the Winter Soldier and Hawkeye in a story called "The Red Ledger". Tales of Suspense and its sister publication Tales to Astonish were both launched with
3848-524: The Ultraverse was affected by a reality-warping event called Black September , after which Dane Whitman become the leader of Ultraforce. As leader, Dane Whitman brought Ultraforce in line, adopting new methods, bringing new members, managing the team and having a romantic tension with fellow member Topaz After various adventures with Ultraforce, the Black Knight and other heroes of Ultraverse fought against an Alien robot, Maxis. Immediately after defeating
3952-543: The Young Masters before being invited to live on the mutant nation of Krakoa . However, he is imprisoned for spying on Professor X before Sabretooth teaches him and the other prisoners to astral project into artificial bodies and escape. During this time, Melter befriends Orphan-Maker , who mistakes him for the Human Torch . Roderick Kingsley later sold the original Melter costume and gear to an unnamed criminal. Melter
4056-475: The fictional location of that name . Once in modern times again, Whitman learns that the Ebony Blade is cursed: every time it draws blood, it drives its user closer to madness. Whitman frees Sir Percy's spirit from the Earthly plane, purging the blood curse from the sword. Whitman resumes active duty with the Avengers, helping his teammates Wasp and Captain Marvel experiment with their powers, and battles against
4160-461: The "Ebony Blade's" suggestions), and quickly bonds with medic Faiza Hussain , with whom he appears to have romantic tensions. Following the Skrull war, he makes her his squire . After discovering that he did not have the real Ebony Blade, he goes to Wakanda and is given the real Blade back. He still retains the fake, vampiric sword. After recovering the sword, Whitman helps the team in the fight with
4264-484: The 1940s Golden Age of comic books , had drawn the character as part of the superhero team the Avengers earlier that year, and was now illustrating his hero's solo adventures for the first time since 1941. Issue #63 (March 1965), in which editor-scripter Stan Lee retold Captain America's origin, through #71 (Nov. 1965) featured period stories set during World War II , and co-starred Captain America's Golden Age sidekick, James Buchanan Barnes aka Bucky . Sharon Carter
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4368-688: The Avengers and most of the other major heroes have apparently perished in their battle with Onslaught while he was gone, including Crystal. Whitman then learns that the Lady of the Lake has selected him as the Pendragon for his age. She bestows upon him new mystical equipment from Avalon : a suit of armor, the enchanted flying horse Strider, the Shield of Night, which absorbs energy, and the Sword of Light, which returns that energy in
4472-500: The Avengers because of these events, and the Black Knight eventually becomes the de facto field leader of the Avengers. During this time, he becomes romantically involved with his teammate Sersi (of the Eternals ), but is also attracted by Crystal , one of the Inhumans ' royal family. The Avengers are attacked numerous times by alternate versions of themselves, called the Gatherers, led by
4576-605: The Avengers mansion and fleeing to the Brooklyn Bridge . She used the Gann Josin bond to call Whitman to aid her and they battle the Avengers together – until the sight of her attacking Crystal enables the Black Knight to break the Gann Josin' s hold on him temporarily. Then it is revealed that it was Proctor who caused the Mahd W'yry disease in Sersi. Whitman also discovers that Proctor is an alternate universe counterpart of himself. Having been rejected by his own Sersi and twisted by
4680-578: The Avengers when they expand their roster to include satellite teams around the world. Whitman is sent to the Slorenian border, where the Bloodwraith has used the Ebony Blade to absorb the souls of the entire population after they have been killed by the android Ultron . After the "Kang War" arc, the Avengers disband these global teams. Whitman reappears in New Excalibur in the mid-2000s. He has opened up
4784-500: The Black Knight also appeared in a black and white feature in the Marvel UK comic Hulk Weekly , where the feature was to be the longest-lasting of the comic's UK-originated material, appearing in the majority of the title's 63 issues. It was written by Steve Parkhouse with art by Paul Neary and John Stokes . During the mid-1980s his popularity in The Avengers led to fan requests for his own miniseries , but Marvel instead scheduled
4888-455: The Black Knight arrives at the Miami Beach of this universe. Here he meets the young heroes Prime and Prototype , members of a local superhero team called Ultraforce . Whitman impresses them and tells his story. He becomes a member of Ultraforce and begins the search for Sersi. After being tricked by the god Loki , Whitman meets Sersi again, but she was possessed by the seventh infinity gem,
4992-499: The Black Knight's body is catered back to England where he is unexpectedly resurrected by a blood offering to the enchanted steel by Jackie Chopra; an Arthurian history buff he'd brought on as a liaison to better understand his familial history. Whitman has a panic attack while the two are having lunch due to the trauma of dying and resurrecting. After sending his ersatz therapist away for a bit, he decides to contact his predecessor Sir Percy to inquire about how what happened happened. It
5096-467: The Black Knight; he becomes angry by Whitman's abandonment of Lady Victoria and transforms himself into the Bloodwraith when he could not endure the sword's curse. In a three-man fight with the Black Knight and Deadpool , Bloodwraith accidentally kills Lady Victoria. The mental health of Sersi becomes worse with time. When she is framed for the murder of two policemen, Sersi snaps completely, destroying
5200-430: The Blade also shows this by not allowing any harm to come to Whitman. As the Avengers leave, leaving behind an expert on the Black Knight who came with them to look after Whitman, it is concluded that Whitman had been maintaining his sanity better than everyone had thought. Whitman concludes that for now ruling New Avalon is good, and the story ends on a light tone, Whitman not being persecuted as he has suffered enough under
5304-474: The Blade as he had previously been told to do. It is not clear whether he has access to his Avalonian equipment at present. In New Excalibur , Whitman is invited to join the team, but after the second adventure with them he refuses, as he believes that his Ebony Blade is not the real one and he needs to find the original. Whitman returns to join MI-13 as part of the Secret Invasion crossover event. He
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#17328586259465408-531: The Blade's spell. During " Secret Empire ", Black Knight returns to Europe to help Euroforce fight HYDRA groups following their conquest of the United States. The group is imprisoned by HYDRA until they were freed by the Champions of Europe. In " The War of the Realms " event, the Black Knight, Union Jack, and Spitfire are defeated by Malekith the Accursed. Before he can slay them, he is attacked by Captain Marvel and
5512-402: The Ebony Blade back to Earth and Whitman will be free to rule New Avalon. However, Rogers is possessed by the Blade and attacks his teammates. Meanwhile, the son of the king that Whitman overthrew to become the new lord gathers the Fangs of the Serpent to attack Whitman. After their defeat, Rogers and Doctor Voodoo agree that the only person who can bear the toll of the Ebony Blade is Whitman, and
5616-526: The Ego gem and attacked him. When he approached her, she recognized him and stopped. However, she was still being controlled by the Ego gem and captured him and Ultraforce for Loki. Black Knight and the rest of the team escaped. In a dispute between Loki and the Grandmaster for the possession of the Infinity Gems , the heroes of Ultraforce were put against his counterparts of Earth-616: the Avengers . The Black Knight
5720-540: The Grandmaster calls that round of the game a draw since the Avengers did not defeat their opponents on their own. Since Whitman is not a full Avenger at the time, Kang has no power over him and so Whitman is able to defeat him with relative ease. Whitman then officially joins the Avengers in recognition of his aid. Later, the Ebony Blade is used by the Olympian war god Ares to put out the Promethean Flame and turn most of
5824-529: The Melter being jailed after Iron Man drenches him with water, preventing his beam from working. The Radioactive Man was deported back to China, while the Black Knight and Melter are placed in a cell with bars chemically treated so they cannot be melted. The Masters of Evil have a second encounter with the Avengers after the Black Knight and Melter are broken out of jail by the Enchantress and Executioner. The Melter nearly finishes Iron Man after welding his boots to
5928-576: The Melter being jailed. The Melter reappears to battle Iron Man in Tales of Suspense 89-90 (May-Jun. 1967), and then The Avengers #54-55 (Jul.-Aug. 1968) as part of the next version of the Masters of Evil (formed without the villains' knowledge by the robot Ultron ) and again in The Avengers #83 (Dec. 1970). The character becomes a perennial villain in the title Iron Man , appearing in issues #72 (Jan. 1974); #92 (Nov. 1976) and #123-124 (Jun.-Jul. 1979) and #127 (Oct. 1979). After another attempt to sabotage
6032-399: The Melter was never a major player." Long-time Marvel writer Roger Stern recalled: ...Mark Gruenwald had compiled a list of villains who were either less than inspired or had outlived their welcome. I picked the Melter because he was such a doof. There had been maybe one good Melter story...which had been repeated over and over again by various writers. Mind you, there's nothing wrong with
6136-437: The Mystic as an anthological-story character; he would be reintroduced as a supervillain in the 1970s. Issue #39 (March 1963) introduced the superhero Iron Man , created by editor and plotter Lee, Lee’s brother scripter Lieber, and artists Heck and Jack Kirby. He starred in generally 13-page but occasionally 18-page adventures, with the rest of Tales of Suspense devoted to the anthological science fiction and fantasy stories
6240-438: The Olympians to crystal. The Black Knight travels to Olympus with other members and helps defeat Ares. Whitman is an early member of the Defenders . He was traveling with the Enchantress to the realm of the Asgardian sorceress Casiolena, to a parallel dimension. However, they were captured and imprisoned by the witch. When the Defenders also are trapped by Casiolena, the Black Knight and a newly invoked Valkyrie joins them in
6344-399: The War Avengers. Later, he helped Punisher and his kill crew when they were attacking the Dark elves and some trolls. During the " Empyre " storyline, Black Knight tells Captain America that he has been focusing on becoming a hero again after fighting the Giants and Dark Elves. He joins other Avengers in the fight against the Cotati in the Savage Land. Later in " Savage Avengers ", Dane
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#17328586259466448-401: The ages until he is found and revived by Magneto . Sersi creates another portal, this time to the correct time period, and she and Whitman depart the 12th century. Whitman and Sersi are somehow separated in transit, which rips their Gann Josin bond apart. Whitman finds himself back in New York in the proper time, but without Sersi. He is soon dealt another shattering blow when he learns that
6552-430: The battle against Casiolena. However Whitman becomes the first casualty of the Defenders, after he is treacherously converted to stone by a kiss from the Enchantress . Doctor Strange tries to revert the spell without success. Whitman's spirit is drawn to the 12th century by the sorcerer Amergin the Druid , and he takes spiritual possession of his ancestor, the Crusader Sir Eobar Garrington, until Garrington dies due to
6656-471: The blood curse becomes so virulent that it will draw blood from anyone even touching the Black Knight. After the Avengers were disbanded, Whitman joined Thor to defend Asgard from an invasion of the Egyptian God Seth. After the battle, the curse converted the Black Knight to a statue of stone again. The statue is brought by the Avengers to the knight's castle in England, under the care of Lady Victoria Bentley, an old friend of Whitman. After Lady Victoria tries
6760-414: The body of Captain Britain. Merlyn appears to help the knight and traps Mandrac inside the earth - Merlyn rescues the spirit of Captain Britain from Netherword and defeats Modred , who was attacking him and the knight. In the Otherworld dimension, the Black Knight and Captain Britain go to save Camelot from the attacks of the Nethergod Necromon. In the process, Merlyn reforges the Ebony Sword and King Arthur
6864-472: The comic normally ran. After debuting with bulky gray armor, Iron Man was redesigned with similar but golden armor in his second story (issue #40, April 1963). The first iteration of the modern, sleek red-and-golden armor appeared in #48 (Dec. 1963), drawn by Ditko (though whether he or Kirby, singly or in collaboration, designed it, is uncertain). From #53-58 (May-Oct. 1964), the cover logo was "Tales of Suspense featuring The Power of Iron Man". Two months before
6968-458: The company Stark International in Iron Man #166 (Jan. 1983), the character reappears in Marvel Two-in-One #96 (Feb. 1983) before being assassinated during the Scourge of the Underworld storyline in The Avengers #263 (Jan. 1986). As writer Mike Conroy stated "Bruno Horgan was one of those villains who suited simpler times...Times moved on, though, and Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's creation didn't. Despite numerous upgrades to his weaponry,
7072-656: The debut of the sorcerer-hero Doctor Strange , Lee, Kirby and scripter Robert Bernstein , under the pseudonym "R. Berns", introduced a same-name criminal scientist and Ph.D. , Carl Strange. Making his sole appearance in the Iron Man story "The Stronghold of Dr. Strange" in Tales of Suspense #41 (May 1963), the character gained mental powers in a freak lightning strike. The Mandarin debuted in issue #50 (Feb. 1964) and would become one of Iron Man's major enemies. The Black Widow first appeared in #52 (April 1964) and Hawkeye followed five issues later. The first Marvel superhero work by future company editor-in-chief Roy Thomas
7176-408: The elf Moondog, the last two sent by Merlyn from Otherworld. On the road, they are attacked by the Iron Ogre, a magic creature invoked by the Evil Walker Cormac. The Ogre bests the heroes and destroys the Ebony Blade. Only a precise arrow shot by the elf Moondog stops the creature. Cormac sends Goblins to battle the heroes and briefly captures Moondog. Meanwhile, when the Black Knight is devastated by
7280-425: The evil mutant Apocalypse alongside his ancestor's best friend Bennet du Paris, the mutant who would later become Exodus . Apocalypse tries to get du Paris to kill his friend, but du Paris refuses. Judging him weak, Apocalypse puts du Paris in a state of suspended animation. Out of respect for his ancestor's friendship with du Paris, Whitman organizes an order of knights to guard du Paris' body, which they do through
7384-422: The form of Swordmaster's own personal boogie man. Learning to use his inner darkness in such a way to unlock new powers within his signature weapon that he'd never learned to use before. After helping out the Avengers in resolving a mysticism based problem at Central Park, Dane is summarily cut down by a mysterious assailant using the Obsidian Dagger; the opposing weapon of the Ebony Blade. A little while afterward
7488-525: The form of an energy projectile. The newly empowered Black Knight helps the Heroes for Hire defeat Nitro , then accepts Iron Fist 's offer to join the newly formed team (due primarily to his concern over former teammate and friend Hercules , who has been drinking heavily out of grief for the Avengers' deaths). Whitman eventually learns what happened to Sersi when she reappears asking for help to defeat yet another of her old enemy Ghaur 's nefarious schemes with
7592-499: The fourth version of the Masters of Evil when they invade Avengers Mansion . When the Sub-Mariner uses the sword to kill his wife Marrina , who had become a monster, the blood curse is revived. The curse begins to transform Whitman's body into the same mystic metal as the blade. He is forced to don an exoskeleton when the curse's creeping paralysis begins to affect his mobility. He also shows signs of mental instability. Ultimately,
7696-675: The help of the Eternals. After the team-up, Sersi and Whitman decided to be separated. Later, the Heroes for Hire find themselves in the midst of a major conflict in the High Evolutionary 's city of Wundagore . During this time, Whitman fought again with Quicksilver for the affection of the inhuman Crystal, but she rejected both of them. The Black Knight leaves Heroes for Hire to assist the Knights of Wundagore along with Quicksilver and later returns to
7800-469: The help of two warriors named Shield and Spear. Black Knight has the army built in anticipation of the arrival of the Avengers Unity Division , who are seeking to bring him to justice. After struggling to maintain his sanity, Whitman is forced to battle the Uncanny Avengers, led by the aged Steve Rogers, who wish to arrest him for killing a criminal when he was still part of the Avengers team. It
7904-554: The hero. After another attempt to sabotage the company Stark International the character makes a brief appearance with other villains in an unsuccessful attempt to kill Fantastic Four member the Thing . Eventually, the Melter manages to augment his melting ray's power to its peak, but before he can employ it, he is surprised and murdered by the Scourge of the Underworld , who is disguised as
8008-542: The hopes of using the publicity to sell his armor to the highest bidder. However, the pair defeat Melter and destroy his armor. Tales of Suspense Tales of Suspense is the name of an American comic book anthology series, and two one-shot comics , all published by Marvel Comics . The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for such artists as Jack Kirby , Steve Ditko , and Don Heck , then featured superheroes Captain America and Iron Man during
8112-436: The horse Aragorn for his mount. He uses the genetic techniques of his uncle to give the horse wings. During his first outing, he is mistaken for his uncle and attacked by the Avengers though they eventually realize their mistake. He later infiltrates the Masters of Evil , proving his worth to the Avengers who offer him provisional membership. Shortly afterwards he inherits Castle Garrett and travels to England. He encounters
8216-483: The last of his power to create a gateway into another universe where Sersi could be free of the madness and restore her mind. Whitman decides to leave with her, partly because he does not want to come between Crystal and her husband Quicksilver and partly because he feels responsible for what happened to Sersi. The pair are transported to the Ultraverse (home of the Malibu Comics characters). They are separated and
8320-579: The loss of his sword, he meets the Lady of the lake , who gives him the magic sword Excalibur . With the sword, Whitman defeats Cormac. In the meantime Captain Britain is killed by the White Rider, one of the servants of the Nethergod Mandrac, at the door of the passage of Otherworld Whitman and his companions finally cross the doors of Otherworld and fight Mandrac, Lord of the Slain, who was in possession of
8424-436: The most pure-hearted beings' eligibility to use it. That all those times he went ballistic were of his own volition, the blade merely exacerbating these qualities to strengthen itself, as that was its true function. With some convincing from the young heroine Aero however, Dane is able to come to grips with such insights and learn to own his faults in order to help save all of Shanghai from an enclave of Symbiote Dragons taking
8528-584: The mysterious Proctor. The relationship between The Black knight and Sersi soon comes under strain, as Sersi proves increasingly unstable and more aggressive, so when the Avengers travel to the planet Polemachus and the tyrant Anskar killed an innocent girl, Sersi killed him immediately. Her fellow Eternals, led by Ikaris , pay a visit to the Avengers and tell them that Sersi was affected by the Mahd W'yry , an incurable disease. In an attempt to stabilize her, and because she asked, Ikaris mentally bonds Sersi and Whitman with
8632-472: The name. The character also made several posthumous appearances in the titles Fantastic Four ; X-O Manowar/Iron Man: Heavy Metal ; and The Avengers . Another character using the name "Melter" debuted during the Dark Reign storyline in the limited series Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1 - 5 (July-Dec. 2009). Bruno Horgan is driven into bankruptcy when a government safety inspection team proves that he
8736-399: The name. He started out with his uncle's non-magical tools: a javelin that fired energy blasts, a suit of body armor, and a genetically-engineered winged white horse named Aragorn . The power lance is an invention of his late uncle Garrett's. Whitman would make use of the former Black Knight's signature weapon designed through his expertise in mechanical automation as an alternative to using
8840-456: The next version of the Masters of Evil, although the villains are defeated when betrayed by the Black Knight . The Masters of Evil - with the Melter - also accidentally encounter the Avengers during a parade and during the battle are defeated when surprised by the superheroines the Lady Liberators . The Melter has several battles with Iron Man: at the direction of other-dimensional villain
8944-423: The psyche space of the fallen hero in an attempt to claim his fabled blade from the stars. Revealing the swords true nature as an evil blade which amplifies the negative qualities in callow individuals already prone to hatred, violence and negative aspects not the other way around. The revelation shakes Whitman to his core, as he is forced to realize the sword was never corrupting him and that Merlin lied about only
9048-568: The robot, the armada of the Tulkan aliens attacked New York with his powerful elite. Whitman led the victory against the aliens. After the flight of the Tulkans, the robot Maxis becomes more benevolent, and created an interdimensional portal. Whitman returned to Earth-616 with other exiles through this portal. He and Sersi briefly reunite to return to the Marvel Universe, but something goes wrong along
9152-450: The ruler of New Avalon, a kingdom he has claimed in the reality known as Weirdworld . The ongoing series was cancelled with issue #5 in 2016, as Marvel was unhappy with its sales. The writer of the series, Frank Tieri, then considered it a standalone limited series and expressed his feelings over the series being cut short. Black Knight is notable as the first "All-New, All-Different Marvel" comic book series to be cancelled. Dane Whitman
9256-436: The series were Frank Giacoia (as "Frank Ray") and Joe Sinnott , though Don Heck and Golden Age Captain America artist Syd Shores inked one story each. Tales of Suspense became Captain America with #100 (April 1968). Iron Man appeared in the one-shot Iron Man and Sub-Mariner #1 (April 1968), and then debuted in his own title with Iron Man #1 (May 1968). A Tales of Suspense one-shot (Jan. 1995) which had
9360-490: The sewer, though Stark is unaware whether he was killed or not. The Melter reappears as an employee of master villain Baron Zemo (who has upgraded the melting beam to affect all metals) as part of supervillain team the Masters of Evil . He helps spray Adhesive X over the city. The Melter meets Iron Man as the Avengers first meet the Masters, but Iron Man knocks him away using his magnetic repulsor. The Masters were defeated with
9464-515: The short-lived Ultraverse imprint. The Black Knight appeared in the Ultraforce team book volumes 1 and 2 and related titles in 1995–96. Then the character became part of the teams: Heroes for Hire (1997), Excalibur (2003), MI-13 (2008) and Euroforce. In July 2015, it was announced that Frank Tieri and Luca Pizzari would be launching a new Black Knight series as part of Marvel's post-" Secret Wars " relaunch. This series features Whitman as
9568-588: The sky. He tosses Melter and then rescues him, to the irritation of the bystanders. The Bruno Horgan incarnation of Melter wields a ray gun that melts objects by disrupting their molecules . The second Melter possesses these abilities innately. In the Heroes Reborn universe created by Franklin Richards , Bruno Horgan/Melter appears as a member of Loki 's Masters of Evil . Melter appears in JLA/Avengers #4 as
9672-643: The spirit of Sir Percy of Scandia there and is given the Ebony Blade . He then encounters Doctor Strange and helps fight the extra-dimensional threat Tiboro . While still a provisional Avenger, he helps them in a battle against Kang the Conqueror . Kang was given the power of death over the Avengers by the Grandmaster as a prize for winning a recent game that Whitman has become unwittingly involved in. When he assists Goliath (Hawkeye) in defeating his chosen opponent,
9776-513: The students of the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. After Hellion defeated Swarm, Melter and the other villains surrendered. Melter and Killer Shrike later beat up Ringer to serve as Black Cat's warning to anyone who steals from her. When Iron Man returns to his brownstone in his beaten-up armor, he finds that Melter has melted his Dodge Aspen and starts to taunt him. After punching Melter, Iron Man picks his body up and flies it into
9880-421: The vampires that wanted to invade Britain. At the end, he begins a relationship with Faiza Hussain. During the events of Original Sin , a historian named Rebecca Stevens learns that Whitman had violently attacked and nearly killed a new version of Savage Steel due to the influence of the Ebony Blade. Rebecca pleads with him to turn over the sword to S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Avengers, reasoning that its bloodlust
9984-400: The villain's laboratory assistant. The Scourge destroys the latest melting ray right afterwards. The second Melter, Christopher Colchiss , first appeared in Dark Reign : Young Avengers #1 (July 2009) and was created by Paul Cornell and Mark Brooks . He is a mutant with similar abilities to the original Melter, but is able to affect organic matter. Throughout his appearances, he joins
10088-422: The villains, Sir Percy's spirit merges with the Ebony Sword, canceling the curse and returning Whitman to his normal state. The Black Knight begins a relation with Victoria Bentley and keeps Sean Dolan as his squire. After rejoining the Avengers, Whitman is a major member of the team. In this time he develops a weapon that projects a sword-like sheath of energy as a replacement of his Ebony Blade. The Black Knight
10192-404: The way. Instead of returning to the Marvel universe's present, they end up in the 12th century and Whitman once again finds his spirit in the body of Sir Eobar Garrington. His consciousness is buried under Garrington's, however, and Sersi is forced to pass Garrington's soul onto the next plane (with his permission) to restore Whitman's consciousness. Whitman finds himself embroiled in a conflict with
10296-500: Was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts to a rich family. In his youth, he studied physics. Whitman is best known as the modern-day Black Knight, continuing a legacy that began in medieval England. The first Black Knight , Whitman's ancestor Sir Percy of Scandia, lived during the reign of King Arthur. Percy's murder at the hand of his nemesis Mordred began a string of successors, all of them Percy's descendants. The Black Knight's legacy
10400-522: Was his scripting the Iron Man story "My Life for Yours" in #73 (Jan. 1966), working from a plot by editor Lee as well as a plot assist from Marvel secretary-receptionist Flo Steinberg . From #49–58 (Jan.–Oct. 1964), one anthological story each issue acquired a framing sequence and ran as "Tales of the Watcher ," narrated by the namesake cosmic witness introduced in The Fantastic Four #13 and used as
10504-627: Was introduced in issue #75 (March 1966) and later became a love interest for Captain America. The Red Skull , Captain America's major nemesis in the World War II era, was revived in the present day in issue #79 (July 1966). MODOK first appeared in #94 (Oct. 1967). Kirby drew all but two stories, for which Gil Kane and John Romita Sr. each filled-in. Several stories were finished by penciler-inker George Tuska over Kirby layouts, with one finished by Romita Sr. and another by penciler Dick Ayers and inker John Tartaglione . Kirby's regular inkers on
10608-532: Was left as a wild card in the competition. Loki won but when the six original gems were reunited, the combined sentient power of the Gems was revealed as the entity Nemesis. The entity began to create a mixed reality when she combined elements of Ultraverse and Marvel. Both teams joined forces against Nemesis and The Black Knight struck a blow to Nemesis with a Nazi Ebony Sword that scattered the Infinity gems. Because of this,
10712-632: Was present with Hobgoblin (who was actually Roderick Kingsley's butler Claude) when he led his forces into fighting the Goblin King 's Goblin Nation. After Hobgoblin was killed by Goblin King, Melter was among the villains who defected to the Goblin Nation. Following Spider-Man 's victory over the Goblin King, Melter was among the former Hobgoblin minions at the Bar with No Name where they encounter Electro . Melter
10816-454: Was revealed that there are many hidden powers which the Ebony Blade possesses that Dane's ancestor had not told him about. One such case being that those of Arthurs noble bloodline can draw upon the power of self-revival should they perish in battle. But before the spirit could reveal how he died despite this aspect of the weapon, Dane's home is broken into by the monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone ; another "Avengers Adjacent" who had been following
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