Marvel Is Pretending Black Knight’s Best Romance Never Happened

Though not a household name (yet), Marvel’s Dane Whitman aka the Black Knight has a long and storied career. While he’s been an Avenger, arguably his both best characterization and best romance came with his time in Paul Cornell’s Captain Britain and MI:13. However, with Black Knight returning to the limelight once more, his romance with fellow teammate Faiza Hussain seems to have been lost in the shuffle altogether.

One of the few Muslim superheroes, Faiza Hussain first appeared in Captain Britain and MI:13 #1 in 2008. She manifests the ability to control biological organisms on a defensive level, a power Faiza uses to great effect given her medical training. She also is able to wield the sword Excalibur, later her code-name, and becomes the Black Knight’s steward. The pair ultimately become a romantic couple and remained so throughout the series.

Unfortunately, Faiza and Dane’s relationship wasn’t fated to last outside of the confines of Paul Cornell’s beloved series. In Original Sins #2, Dane struggled with the Ebony Sword, and Faiza is mentioned to have left on other adventures, though the specifics of their romance’s end are never stated. Faiza herself does appear in Secret Empire alongside former MI:13 teammate Captain Britain and several other heroes liberating Paris from Hydra forces. Unfortunately, though, she hasn’t appeared since. Meanwhile, in Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony Blade #3, Dane Whitman is forced to confront his complicated past as well as his failed relationships – and Faiza is strangely absent. Instead, the focus is on Dane’s past with the Eternal Sersi along with another character named Ashima. Given their history together, Faiza’s seeming erasure is a frustrating detail.

It’s possible there is an explanation for this oversight. Since Dane’s relationship with Faiza occurred before his troubles with the Ebony Blade, it could be that the cursed sword led to the relationship’s traumatic end. Thus, perhaps Dane Whiteman is purposely repressing his memories with Faiza and only focusing on the more clean-cut elements of his past. Despite this possible explanation, Faiza’s absence remains a troubling one. Not only is Faiza one of the few Muslim superheroes, but her relationship with Dane was a high point of the beloved series. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time a relationship has been largely scrubbed outside of Captain Britain and MI:13 – Blade’s romance with vampire superhero Spitfire is also largely ignored as well.

Ultimately, Faiza’s absence is a frustrating oversight because it removes a grounded and rewarding relationship from Black Knight’s backstory. Hopefully, this will be corrected in future issues. Ideally, Faiza herself could share the spotlight with her former lover as Dane Whitman works to unravel the secrets of the Ebony Sword.

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