WARNING: MINOR SPOILERS FOR MARVEL STUDIOS ETERNALS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
We finally got around to watching Marvel Studios' Eternals this weekend and noticed that Kit Harington had a big presence but small role in the movie. Game of Thrones fans will know Harington as the hero in the show known as Jon Snow who battles both the living and the undead for control of the Seven Kingdoms that make up the land of Westeros. After such a huge role in a hit television show it seemed odd that this was just a cameo with the actor just playing the boyfriend of one of the Eternals in this movie?
Eternals starts off with Harington's character, credited as Dane Whitman, dating the character Sersi having no clue she is a thousands of years old superhero that has been defending Earth's population since the dawn of time from alien predators that have a hunger for human flesh. When one of these monsters suddenly reappears after centuries of being dormant, Whitman (Kit Harington) gets caught in the middle as Sersi reunites with other Eternals to defeat it in the streets of modern day London. Sersi and her superhero companions then depart to search the globe for more of these alien monsters, known as Deviants, leaving Whitman behind.
OK that was just a short cameo by a celebrity who wanted to appear in a Marvel superheroes movie. But wait! Though he doesn't really have a role in the adventure, Whitman has a continuing presence throughout the movie. There is a scene when he calls Sersi on her phone to check in on her. Then at the conclusion of the movie he reunites with Sersi after the threat to the planet has concluded to resume his relationship with her. As the movie concludes, Whitman is shown taking a stroll through a park with Sersi telling her he has a secret to share about his own family heritage. What is up with that?!
Then there is an end credits scene with Whitman unveiling a sword. He reads Latin words carved in the box holding the sword. “Mors mihi lucrum,” meaning “Death is my reward.” The sword has an eerie darkness to it and gravitates to his outreach hand as Whitman says “I’m sorry, I have to try” while reaching for it. But before he can touch it, an offscreen voice asks, “Sure you’re ready for that, Mr. Whitman?” It is the voice of Mahershala Ali who has been cast as Blade the Vampire Hunter for a future Marvel movie.
There we have it! Kit Harington prominence in the Eternals is not to play a part in the plot of the movie but rather to tease him for the introduction of a new superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in an upcoming movie or television series. Will that be in Blade, an Eternals sequel, maybe the Moon Knight Disney Plus television show or a yet to be announced Marvel movie or television series?
While we may not know when Harington will reappear within the Marvel Cinematic Universe there are enough clues to know which hero he will become. With being identified as Dane Whitman in the credits and the scene with the sword, Harington has to be bringing the character Black Knight from comic book pages to the screen. So, who is the Black Knight?!
The Black Knight was a character created by Stan Lee and artist Joe Maneely in the 1950s before Marvel began publishing superhero stories and was known as Atlas Comics. The Black Knight was a comic book series about Sir Percy of Scandia who participated in medieval adventures battling the adversaries of King Arthur. Percy wielded the Ebony Blade, a magical sword created from the Starstone meteorite by Merlin in stories revolving around him being one of King Arthur's knights.
As comic book stories evolved from being about cowboys and knights to superheroes and monsters, the Black Knight was reintroduced as a new character created by Stan Lee and Dick Ayers that had ties to the original character from Atlas Comics but now as a villain for Marvel. Nathan Garrett was portrayed as a descendent of Sir Percy who took on the title of Black Knight as he battled Iron Man in trying to implement a number of schemes and villainous plots. Garrett is eventually killed from wounds inflicted by Iron Man but is able to pass on the Ebony Blade to his nephew Dane Whitman encouraging him to use the magical sword to restore the family's honor.
Thus, Black Knight's third iteration became a hero. Dane is just a regular guy without any special powers or attributes who unexpectedly gains possession of a mythical, magical sword from the days of King Arthur and uses it to become a hero. Whitman has been featured in Marvel Comics Defenders and Heroes for Hire series and was the de facto leader of the Avengers for a period of time. He even dated Sersi within the pages of Marvel's comic books which ties a connection to his appearance in Eternals.
How does Black Knight fit into the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? I've been a fan of the Black Knight from his appearances in Defenders and Avengers comic stories; but his magic sword only takes him so far when it comes to tackling foes that present a global or do I dare say galactic threat level like the Celestials present. Will he continue to be a part of the Eternals storyline in potential sequels or will he be heading along a different storytelling path?
With Black Knight now introduced, the only member of the original Defenders crew that seems to be missing from the cinematic universe is Namor the Submariner. With the Avengers essentially disbanded, I'd be GEEKED if Marvel announced an upcoming Defenders superhero team movie with Dr. Strange, The Incredible Hulk, Namor, Valkyrie and Black Knight. I have a feeling though we'll next see Dane Whitman playing a role in the Blade movie. Especially, with the dark curse storylines of the Ebony Blade that have been in recent comic book stories. I do have a hunch though we'll be seeing a connection to Shang-Chi as a future Eternals connection to circle back to the current movie that started this discussion.
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