With Kit Harington's Dane Whitman now established in the MCU, it won't be long until fans meet the full-fledged Black Knight in all his glory. However, one Black Knight villain - the Bloodwraith - could give the movies their first genuinely unstoppable force of evil - one even the Avengers couldn't topple.
With the enchanted sword known as the Ebony Blade and an impressive set of battle armor, Whitman fights both Earthly and otherworldly threats as the Black Knight. Unlike popular Marvel heroes Spider-Man and the X-Men, the Black Knight does not have the most prestigious rogues gallery. Fortunately, one Black Knight villain stands out above the rest - Sean Dolan, aka Bloodwraith. Before Bloodwraith's turn to villainy, Dolan initially served as the loyal squire to Whitman in his crime-fighting activities. However, the friendly relationship between Whitman and Dolan came to an end in the wake of the destruction of Baltic nation Slorenia.
Black Knight's Squire Becomes a Towering Villain
In 2000's Avengers Vol 3 #37 by Kurt Busiek and Steve Epting, Sean finds himself working as a human aid worker in the cleanup of Slorenia, which had been devastated by Avengers' archenemy Ultron. Now in possession of the Ebony Blade, Sean finds himself unsheathing the famous weapon and becoming a godlike villain. Sean is replaced by a towering monstrosity birthed from the dead souls within the ruins of Slorenia. The Avengers are called in response to Bloodwraith's appearance but quickly find themselves greatly outmatched. Any attempt to defeat Bloodwraith via science and technology fails tremendously. Bloodwraith is stopped from attacking the rest of the world by Scarlet Witch - who creates an enchantment that confines the Bloodwraith to the boundaries of Slorenia - but the villain isn't beaten. The Bloodwraith claims Slorenia as its domain, and seemingly resides there to this day, enraging Captain America as the Avengers leave such a major threat unaddressed.
The Avengers Couldn't Beat Bloodwraith
The Bloodwraith and his menace are not only a physical hazard to the Avengers themselves, but the team's esteemed reputation. The Avengers have gradually built up a proven track record with the public in their defeats of insurmountable threats, whether it be Thanos, Kang the Conqueror, or Doctor Doom. Bloodwraith may not be among the Avengers' signature foes, but he is one of their rare permanent losses, as Ultron's actions created a towering specter who essentially made an entire country too deadly to enter. Given that Bloodwraith's attack comes between Ultron devastating a nation and before the 'Kang Dynasty' comic arc, the MCU is actually right on track to introduce him at a comic-accurate period in the Avengers' career.
Black Knight doesn't have the most memorable villains as a whole, but the Bloodwraith was a threat even the Avengers couldn't stop, and is perfect movie fodder for Dane Whitman. As challenging as the MCU's villains have proved, all have eventually been beaten, so it would be fascinating to see the MCU take the same route as the comics, with Earth's Mightiest Heroes forced to surrender an entire nation to a villain they can't beat. Black Knight is a deeply flawed hero whose abilities are steeped in darkness, making him the perfect gateway for the movies to embrace the same darkness the Avengers faced in the comics.
