WARNING: The following contains spoilers for King in Black: Black Knight #1, by Simon Spurrier, Jesus Saiz and VC's Cory Petit, on sale now.
Over the course of his superhero career throughout the Marvel Universe, the Black Knight has served on many different superhero teams. After making his debut as Black Knight in 1968's Avengers #48, Dane Whitman went on to serve with everyone from the Defenders and Heroes for Hire to the short-lived Ultraforce and even as an operative with the MI-13.
And as the fantasy-oriented superhero finds himself caught in the middle of the crossover event King in Black, he jumps into an impromptu team-up with a very different Marvel ensemble of heroes: Sword Master and Aero of the Agents of Atlas.
Initially, Dane Whitman starts the issue in relative seclusion, kept company only by the spirits of his ancestors that have passed down the legacy of the mythical Ebony Blade down through his familial line for centuries. Wary of his own history and the inherently corruptive powers of the Black Knight's signature sword, Dane begrudgingly decides to join the fray and help stop Knull and his vast army of symbiotes from conquering the planet. As Dane gears up for battle, his ancestor's ghost notices that he has visibly unresolved issues about his own place within the superhero community, especially in comparison with his former teammates as part of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
However, Dane doesn't immediately rally with the rest of the Avengers and Defenders in the streets of New York City where the action of King in Black is primarily located but instead to the Chinese city of Shanghai. An aerial confrontation with one of Knull's symbiote dragons whisks Dane away to the other side of the world where he is abruptly separated from the Ebony Blade in the skirmish. As Dane regains his bearings, two Agents of Atlas come to his aid: The air-bending Chinese superhero Aero and the Chinese warrior Sword Master, armed with the legendary Fuxi Sword, a cosmic weapon that shares several similarities to the Ebony Blade and is especially effective against the symbiotes.
Both Aero and Sword Master made were developed for the Chinese market in association between Marvel and the Chinese media company NetEase. Sword Master was created by Gunji and Shuizhu while Aero was created by Zhou Jiajun and Xu Ming, with both superheroes making their debuts in digital comics published in China. North American comic book readers were introduced to the pair during the 2018 crossover event War of the Realms, where they joined up with the latest iteration of the Agents of Atlas that formed to defend Asia from Malekith's invading armies from across the Norse realms. The team continued on after this, recently taking on Namor during the miniseries Atlantis Attacks.
Aero and Sword Master prove themselves more than capable of running alongside Black Knight, with the two Agents of Atlas leading the charge as Knull's forces descend upon Shanghai. Helping Dane recover his Ebony Blade while facing a kaiju-sized incarnation of Knull himself, the trio of superheroes are able to drive the symbiotes out of Shanghai for now, largely thanks to Sword Master and the Black Knight's cosmic blades. And with Black Knight heading to New York to help the heroes make their last stand against Knull, the on-again/off-again Avenger might find himself in new team-ups as King in Black continues to up the ante around the Marvel Universe.
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