Eternals, Dane Whitman: Secret Family History Explained in Detail

Marvels Dane Whitman, played by Kit Harington, was witnessed teasing his secret family history in the premiere of Eternals.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a new storyline was recently introduced named Eternals. Eternals is the 26th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is directed by Chloé Zhao. Eternals are a team of superheroes who are cosmic beings and have been present on the Earth for thousands of years.

A character in the premiere named Dane Whitman is becoming the topic of discussion. The role is taken up by Kit Harington, who was also called Black Knight in the comics. Professor Dane Whitman is a scientist and a historian who works in Natural History Museum in London.

Dane Whitman, a mortal human, fell in love with an Eternal named Sersi (played by Gemma Chan). During his journey to becoming Black Knight from Dane Whitman, there were various teases about his ancient and mysterious family. Along with teases, hints were there in the premiere setting up a future project in MCU, which might include his debut as the wielder of Ebony Blade.

The relationship of Dane Whitman with Eternal Sersi starts because Sersi was a co-worker of Dane in the Natural History Museum. Sersi’s Eternal husband Ikaris (played by Richard Madden) left Sersi many centuries ago, and recently Dane Whitman became her boyfriend. However, in the premiere, Dane is sidelined when the threat comes upon and Sersi calls all the Eternals to fight that threat.

A noteworthy point, in the premiere, whenever Dane Whitman was given focus, his family’s topic was always discussed around him. Sersi, Dane’s girlfriend, gifts him a family crest ring on his birthday. Sersi knows there is a high possibility of the whole world coming to an end, so she encourages Dane to solve things with his uncle.

Nevertheless, Sersi, along with other Eternals, managed to fight with the threat, stopped the emergence of a celestial being Taimut. But at the end of the movie, Arishem, the creator of the Universe and the Eternals, takes Sersi with him as she stops a cosmic event, the birth of a celestial being. Sersi was with Dane when Arishem took her away.

In the post-credit scene, Dane Whitman tries to go through his secret family’s history and finds a sword to save Sersi. It might become the next debut movie of Dane Whitman as Black Knight, mentioned in Marvel Comics.

Black Knight – Dane Whitman, Marvel Comics Explained

In Marvel Comics, Dane Whitman, shown in the Eternals, is the Black Knight and also the wielder of Ebony Blade. Ebony Blade is a cursed sword that is known as the dark opposite of Thor, God of Thunder’s hammer Mjolnir. The sword only lightens in shadow, which means answers to its wielder’s darkness in his heart.

The darkness of the sword attracts Dane Whitman, who is hungry for bloodlust. Acquiring the sword, Dane would be able to control the pages in Marvel Comics and become a superhero. In Marvel Comics, Dane Whitman was already a member of Avengers, and before the team members went on their different paths, Dane had a brief moment with all of them.

Like in the Eternals’ MCU premiere, Dane Whitman was involved in a romantic relationship with Sersi in Marvel Comics. Dane Whitman became Sersi’s “Gann Josin,” who was the anchor of Sersi when she got an Eternal illness known as Mahd Wy’ry.

In Marvel Comics, Dane Whitman and the Eternal Sersi have drifted apart, and Dane is uncovering the truths of his family history. Along with his own, Dane wants to know about the secret of Black Knight, which was hinted at in the post-credits scene of Eternals.

Dane Whitman’s Secret Family History Explained

In the movie Eternals, when Sersi has solved everything and comes back to Dane Whitman, he tries to confess his family’s secrets he is thinking of sharing with Sersi. But before Dane could go into detail, Sersi was taken by Arishem, the Price Celestial Being. Arishem accepted Sersi’s decision to stop the Celestial Being’s Birth, but he said he would judge whether the people of Earth are worthy of being saved or not.

However, Dane Whitman was about to reveal his family’s secret: Dane Whitman is descended from King Arthur’s Bloodline. He was also going to reveal himself as the Black Knight and his dark, bloody history of him.

In Marvel Comics, Dane Whitman is not the first but the third Black Knight in history. Where the first was Sir Percy of Scandia, who used to do the dirty work of King Arthur so he could be shown pure. The second Black Knight in Marvel Comics was Nathan Garrett, Dane Whitman’s uncle, who also became corrupted and used the Ebony Blade’s power for evil.

The new information has been revealed in the book Curse of the Ebony Blade by Si Spurrier and Sergio Davila, released recently in 2021. The book uncovers the fact that Ebony Blade was in the hands of many of Sir Percy’s descendants, who had darkness in all of their hearts.

Dane got to know that the Blade will resurrect him if he is killed at any point in time only when he is holding the Blade in his hands. This theory applies to all the wielders who are the descendants of the powerful bloodline.

The Next MCU Black Knight: Dane Whitman

In the Eternals movie, it looks that Dane Whitman is ready to wield the Ebony Blade and become the next Black Knight in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the post-credits scene, Dane was witnessed struggling with the decision to open the box, which has his family crest printed on it.

When Dane finally puts his mind together and opens the box, he sees the Ebony Blade sword. Dane gets attracted by the power and darkness of the Blade, and a mysterious voice questions him is he truly ready for it?

The next possessor of the Ebony Blade, Dane Whitman, is from Sir Percy, and King Arthur’s bloodline will taste the power of the Blade. The fact that the Blade is cursed and the cost of using it is high. The more Dane uses the Ebony Blade, the darker he will become filled with rage. A description is written on the box, “Death is his reward,” which hints at the same.

Now, the question is, Will Kit Harington appears as Dane Whitman becoming the Black Knight in the upcoming premieres? And will Dane Whitman break the loop of the dark secret of his family history? Everything is unknown, and until it is revealed, stay connected with us for all the updates regarding the same.