Black Knight (Sir Percy)

Black Knight
Black Knight vol. 1, #1 (May 1955). Cover art by Joe Maneely.
Publication information
Publisher	Atlas Comics Marvel Comics
First appearance	Black Knight vol. 1 #1 (May 1955)
Created by	Stan Lee Joe Maneely
In-story information
Alter ego	Sir Percy of Scandia
Team affiliations	Knights of the Round Table
Abilities	Master swordsman, horseman and hand to hand combatant Talented poet, singer and musician Invulnerability Wears impenetrable body armor and helmet Wields enchanted Ebony Blade

Sir Percy of Scandia, also known as the original Black Knight, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was a medieval knight created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Joe Maneely.

Marvel Comics' first Black Knight, Sir Percy of Scandia, first appeared in the medieval-adventure series Black Knight vol. 1, #1-5 (May-Dec. 1955) from Atlas Comics, the 1950s precursor to Marvel Comics.

The five-issue series was written by Stan Lee, with art by Joe Maneely in the first three interiors and all five covers. Fred Kida and the team of penciller Syd Shores and inker Christopher Rule drew stories in the latter two issues.

Sir Percy appeared in Mystic Arcana, representing the element of earth.

The original Black Knight is Sir Percy of Scandia, a 6th-century knight who serves at the court of King Arthur Pendragon as his greatest warrior and one of the Knights of the Round Table. Recruited by the wizard Merlin, Percy adopts a double identity, and pretends to be totally incompetent until changing into the persona of the Black Knight. As the Black Knight, Percy wields the Ebony Blade, which Merlin forged from a meteorite. A constant foe of the evil knight Mordred the Evil (Arthur's traitorous "nephew") and Morgan le Fay, in time Sir Percy retired his dual identity and married Lady Rosamund.