In its post-credits scene, Eternals teases a team-up between Dane Whitman, a.k.a. Black Knight, and Eric Brooks, a.k.a. Blade, opening up the duo's potential beyond simply being supernatural Avengers. Dane was introduced in Eternals, played by Kit Harington, and he is surely bound for more in the MCU following that bombshell post-credits moment. Eric, however, has yet to appear on-screen despite actor Mahershala Ali being confirmed as the new Daywalker and set to star in a new Blade movie within the MCU. He also made his debut in Eternals but in voice only, during that final scene.

Eternals portrays Dane in the earliest stages of his character growth, with the character yet to become the powerful entity known as Black Knight. However, the post-credits scene of Eternals introduced an artifact that signals Dane becoming Black Knight imminently: the Ebony Blade. In the comics, the Ebony Blade is the sword Black Knight uses, and it is a powerful enchanted weapon, albeit bearing a curse from Dane's ancestors. The blade is associated with supernatural forces, from its origins to the powers it possesses, leading to increased excitement from fans regarding the sword's appearance in the MCU.

Related: How Marvel Should Make The MCU Blade Movie

While Blade didn't technically appear onscreen in Eternals, his voice was heard in the post-credits scene. With this off-screen voice confirmed to be Mahershala Ali's Blade by the movie's director, Chloe Zhao, speculation suddenly began on how these two characters would be connected, going further into the MCU's Phase 4 and beyond. Both characters deal with the supernatural elements of Marvel Comics, but they don't have a solid comic connection. This means Blade and Black Knight's MCU team-up has great potential to elevate them above just supernatural Avengers.

Blade & Black Knight's Connection In Marvel Comics Explained

Blade and Black Knight's comic book connection is fairly minimal. Even diehard Marvel Comics fans will have been surprised to hear Blade's voice speaking to Dane Whitman at the end of Eternals, both because of their minor comic connections and the lackluster reception of that specific comic run. The only comic connection of note the two characters share is that they were both of MI13, a paranormal agency in the UK, most notably led by Captain Britain.

The service was created to protect Britain from mystical, extra-terrestrial, and superhuman threats, so both Blade and Black Knight's inclusion on the MI13 team made sense. Black Knight, being from the UK and having an ancient family heritage linked to King Arthur, was naturally a member of the MI13 team. But it was only after the events of Secret Invasion that Blade (originally from the UK in the comics) was brought on board.

The alliance didn't last long, however, after Blade attempted to kill Spitfire, another MI13 member, due to her vampiric connections. Anyway, this comic run is not particularly ideal as a direct inspiration for a live-action Blade and Black Knight team-up, meaning that the MCU's tease of the two characters being connected could lead to not only bigger superhero teams but potentially the MCU's own version of MI13 that improves upon its comic counterpart.

Related: Marvel Phase 4 Is Heavily Setting Up Captain Britain’s MI-13 Spy Agency

Blade & Black Knight Sets Up Possible New MCU Superhero Teams

An image of Blade and Black Knight in Eternals

Blade and Black Knight coming together in the MCU enables Marvel Studios to tell many potential stories concerning new superhero teams outside of the likes of the Avengers. One of these teams could be the MCU's version of MI13. As this team wasn't particularly well-received by comic fans, Kevin Feige may want to reinvent MI13 on screen in a way that audiences do respond to. One thing the MCU, especially Phase 4, has done very well over the years is to take lesser-known or outlandish characters and themes and make them digestible for moviegoers. This could easily be done with MI13, enabling Blade and Black Knight to team up in this way, providing a bigger future than what MI13 from the comics would seem to give the characters.

Another team that could be set up through a Blade and Black Knight team-up is Midnight Sons. There has already been heavy speculation about this team appearing in the MCU given other elements of Phase 4. The Midnight Sons, like MI13, are a team of supernatural superheroes, with the original line-up including Danny Ketch and Johnny Blaze, Doctor Strange, Blade, and Morbius. The Midnight Sons are an inherently darker Marvel team, originally forming to fend off Lilith, Mother of All Demons.

As Marvel Studios tends to make changes to Marvel Comics that benefit the characters and stories onscreen, they could do so by including Black Knight in a Midnight Sons roster despite that character never being part of the team in the comics. With the Phase 4 inclusion of darker sequel Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Blade and Black Knight's connection could be used to bring together these characters as the Midnight Sons to form a darker superhero team than what audiences are accustomed to in the MCU.

Blade & Black Knight Are Bigger Than Just A Supernatural Avengers Team

MCU's Black Knight and Blade.

While speculating on which superhero teams Blade and Black Knight could form is par for the course with modern superhero cinema, it's worth noting that this combination is bigger than simply new team-ups in an already overly team-saturated MCU. It is what the teaming up of these two characters, and any teams that form around them, represents in of tone, stories told, and overall feel of the MCU going forward that matters. While a supernatural Avengers team like the Midnight Sons or MI13 holds potential, it's the way these teams, spearheaded by Blade and Black Knight, will change the spirit of the MCU that is truly exciting.

Related: MCU Theory: How WandaVision Set Up Blade & The Midnight Sons

While the MCU has flirted with darker supernatural elements, mainly in Doctor Strange with the dark dimension, the franchise is still yet to completely commit to this tone. With Phase 4, and the added element of Disney+ shows, Marvel could be starting to lean more into this tone. Both Blade and Black Knight would be perfect for this. With both characters primarily dealing with supernatural elements, Marvel Studios could go deeper into the dark sections of the MCU that they previously wouldn't have through the team-up of these characters.

Going beyond their capacity for the likes of the Midnight Sons being introduced, Blade and Black Knight present an opportunity for the MCU to go into this supernatural side of Marvel, going beyond a singular event. Rather than have one single film or show deal with darker elements before switching back to the conventional MCU tone, these two characters could enable a darker tone to be prevalent for a long period of time, spawning multiple potential shows and movies that exist in the Blade and Black Knight facet of the MCU.

The MCU has definitely struck a balance with its tone since 2008's MCU post-Endgame beyond singular projects or events that make the futures of Blade and Black Knight much bigger than anything introduced in Phase 4 thus far.

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