The Avengers #48
The Avengers #48 is the pivotal issue in which Dane Whitman fully assumes the Black Knight identity in costume for the first time, completing a character arc that writer Roy Thomas had seeded in the preceding issue and establishing Marvel's third Black Knight as a force for good rather than villainy. Thomas's deliberate decision to rehabilitate a legacy tied to a villainous uncle — and to have the Avengers immediately attack the new hero out of mistaken identity — gave the Silver Age team book one of its more nuanced character introductions, a man defined by atonement rather than by accident or birthright. The issue also introduces Aragorn, Whitman's genetically engineered winged horse, a visual signature that would become inseparable from the character across decades of Avengers stories. Whitman's debut here planted roots that grew into a decades-long Avengers membership, a lead role in 1990s team books, and ultimately a live-action MCU appearance in Eternals (2021).
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
Writer Roy Thomas conceived the Dane Whitman version of the Black Knight as a synthesis of the two characters who came before — the 1950s Atlas Comics Arthurian hero and the modern villain Nathan Garrett — deliberately threading a heroic line between them. In a SYFY Wire interview, Thomas acknowledged he had already dialogued the Iron Man story in which Nathan Garrett died, so he kept that death and handed the mantle to a worthy nephew, noting he worked on the visual concept with John Verpoorten. Regular penciler John Buscema drew the cover but was unavailable for interiors, so George Tuska stepped in as a fill-in penciler and also inked his own work; Thomas later said he would have given anything to have Buscema on the full issue but could not delay publication. Stan Lee edited the issue, which carried a January 1968 cover date but was on sale in September 1967 per Library of Congress periodical records.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Dane Whitman in the Black Knight costume and armor — the third character in Marvel history to use the Black Knight name (Key Collector Comics, Marvel Fandom Wiki, GoCollect).
- Origin of the new Black Knight: Whitman resolves to use his deceased uncle Nathan Garrett's scientific inventions for heroic purposes, a motivation rooted in atonement for his uncle's crimes (Marvel.com, MyComicShop).
- First appearance of the winged horse later named Aragorn — in this issue Whitman calls the horse 'Pegasus'; the name Aragorn is not assigned until Avengers #54 (Marvel Fandom Wiki, Headhunter's Holosuite Wiki).
- Story title: 'The Black Knight Lives Again!' Written by Roy Thomas; interior pencils and inks by George Tuska (fill-in for regular penciler John Buscema, who drew the cover); lettered by Artie Simek; edited by Stan Lee (GCD, CMRO, Headhunter's Holosuite Wiki).
- Flashback cameo by Nathan Garrett, the villainous second Black Knight, who had died in Tales of Suspense #73; cameo appearances by Edwin Jarvis and Toad (MyComicShop, Marvel Heroes Library).
- The issue is part of an ongoing arc in which Magneto has captured Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch to force them back into the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, with the Avengers operating without Captain America following his resignation in Avengers #47 (Key Collector Comics, Complete Marvel Reading Order).
- Whitman would not gain full Avengers membership until Avengers #71; his solo debut followed shortly afterward in Marvel Super-Heroes #17 (November 1968) (Wikipedia, Ultimate Pop Culture Wiki).
- The story has been widely reprinted, including in Marvel Triple Action #40 (March 1978), Essential Avengers Vol. 3 (2001), and Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Vol. 5 (2005), as well as in multiple international editions (Grand Comics Database).
Cast · 24 characters
Full credits
Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Quicksilver escapes from Magneto long enough to alert the Avengers, but he is recaptured. Dane Whitman recalls the death of his uncle, the villainous Black Knight, as he prepares to become the new Black Knight to fight Magneto himself. But when he meets the Avengers, they attack him, not knowing that this new Black Knight is on their side. Meanwhile, in Olympus, Hercules finds that the gods are missing and the Promethean Flame has been extinguished.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).