Eternals post-credit scene and Kit Harington’s Black Knight blade, explained

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that a bunch of Eternals take center stage in EternalsHowever, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s latest movie is concealing another super hero. After all, that is exactly why they invented post credit scenes.

Marvel Studios revealed the first cast for Eternals, the studio let everyone know that Kit Harington would be playing Dane Whitman, the alter ego of the superhero known as the Black Knight: a not-so-capable descendant of an Arthurian knight who comes into possession of his ancestor’s cursed sword. Harington’s potential role in this character and other possibilities. Eternals 2The credits begin to roll and you will see the MCU, including the Black Knight movie spinoff, as well as other aspects of it. Let’s break it down.

[Ed. note: This piece contains spoilers for Eternals.]

Dane Whitman: Who are you?

Harington’s Whitman doesn’t have the most screentime in EternalsAs the Nice Human Museum Guy, the millennia old Sersi is currently dating. In reality, the film is a split. She jets across the globe to put the Eternals team together again, and he stays in England.

Still, Sersi encourages him to reach out to his estranged uncle when she realizes the world might be ending, and in the film’s final scenes, Dane hints to her that he’s recently discovered an old family secret. Eternals doesn’t go all the way to superhero status with Dane, but the film’s post-credits scene points directly to Dane having a later reveal as the Black Knight.

What does Eternals’ post-credits scene mean?

The movie’s first scene gives us a glimpse into the future. When the Eternals return to their buried spaceship and start pawing through a millennia’s worth of trophies and keepsakes, Thena (Angelina Jolie) picks up a sword, and is asked whether it’s the Ebony Blade. No, she says, it’s just Excalibur. Only

In the scene after credits, you will see the Ebony blade. After Dane starts to tell Sersi about his complicated family legacy, she’s snatched away by the big red robot Arishem. Dane, in the scene after credits, is furious as he tries to get open a large, elaborate wooden box. He finally decides to open the box, and a roaring sound and whispering voice emerge. He reads the Latin words carved in the box: “Mors mihi lucrum,” meaning “Death is my reward.” In the box is a long, black sword, with a blade writhing with a kind of living darkness that gravitates toward his outreached hand, like iron filings attracted to a magnet. He says “I’m sorry, I have to try,” as he reaches for it.

But before he can touch it, an offscreen voice asks, “Sure you’re ready for that, Mr. Whitman?” and the screen cuts to black.

What is the Black Knight?

Long before Dane Whitman took the helm of the Black Knight, the title was first held by Sir Percy of Scandia, a beloved member of King Arthur’s court. Percy was created in 1955 by Stan Lee, Joe Maneely, an artist, during which Marvel Comics still called itself Atlas Comics. Superhero comics were also in their post-war slump. Percy allowed for adventures books such as The Black Knight#1: To muscle their way to the newsstands.

Lee and Maneely’s Sir Percy was a self-deprecating magician, humorist, and a favorite of King Arthur, who offered his appreciation by gifting Percy the Ebony Blade, a powerful sword created by Merlin from the Starstone meteorite. Or at least that’s how the legend goes.

Like any good Medieval tale, the sword’s true creator and how it derives its power is a matter of intrigue and inquest, and as a medieval knight, Percy wasn’t exactly ready to rub shoulders with the modern superheroes that drove Marvel Comics to popularity a decade later.

Supervillain, the second Black Knight and first superheroic era entrant, was in fact the second Black Knight. Stan Lee and Dick Ayers created Nathan Garrett, a criminal and scientist. He was also a modern descendent from Sir Percy. Garrett became so upset when his evil acts made him unworthy of wielding Percy’s magic sword that he manufactured his own tech-enhanced medieval weapons (including a genetically engineered winged horse to ride) and used them to fight Iron Man, mostly.

The third Black Knight is Garret’s nephew, Dane Whitman, the character who appears in Eternals. The Black Knight assumed the Legacy of Sir Percy after being visited by the ghost. He defeated the Ebony Blade’s protective curse and was able to defeat it. He’s a regular human guy without any powers, who comes into possession of an Arthurian-era sword … and becomes a superhero. He is an ordinary human guy who can non-lethally defeat bad people, but his entire schtick revolves around a knifed weapon. Many carefully constructed combat situations.

What’s the Ebony Blade?

Image: Si Spurrier, Sergio Dávila/Marvel Comics

The Ebony blade is a powerful weapon that can protect the user from certain death, and make mincemeat of almost any enemy. The Excalibur (which Eternalsrefers in the same sentence) is straight-A student from the Enchanted Sword Family, while the Ebony blade is the brooding cousin who sits by herself at family gatherings.

This powerful sword is cursed by a terrible little secret. You will become more bloodthirsty the more you shed blood. Only the purehearted can wield the sword. At least, that’s what the legend has been for many years.

Dane suffers from being passed around to different writers who don’t seem to know exactly what to do with him, and that has led him to play a lot of different roles. As a Defender, Ultraforce member, or MI-13, the Black Knight was a part of many organizations. He’s stepped up to be the leader of the Avengers, a pseudo ambassador to the United Nations, and yes, even boyfriend to Sersi the Eternal.

He doesn’t feel well defined because he’s not, which should work out for Marvel Studios. He’s never had a successful standalone series, except maybe this year’s Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony BladeA comic by. It revealed that Sir Percy was wrong to suggest that the Legend of the Ebony Blade might be less heroic than he originally thought.

With Curse of the Ebony Blade, writer Si Spurrier and artist Sergio Dávila leaned into the darker elements of Dane Whitman’s psyche, and his bond with a sword that’s fueled by negative emotions. Jackie Whitman was introduced in this series, the Whitman daughter he didn’t know he had. Jackie took over the Black Knight title alongside Whitman. While Curse of the Ebony Blade was a limited issue series, there’s still hope that the Black Knight will cement his role in the Marvel Universe — especially now that he has a foot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.