Eternals’ Doctor Strange Reference Might Offer A Big Black Knight Clue

Eternals doesn’t just introduce the 10 titular immortal beings into the MCU, it also sets up a major role for Kit Harington’s Dane Whitman going forward. Whitman is set up as Sersi’s normal human boyfriend, but by the end of the movie it’s become clear that he’s got a superhero destiny of his own. He’s the Black Knight and the inheritor of the mystically powered Ebony Blade, which he’s seen to wield for the first time in the film’s post-credits scene.

We’re left with so many questions about what’s next for Dane yet we’re also wondering how prepared he is to embrace his legacy. He mentions being estranged from his uncle — that would be supervillain Nathan Garrett — but it’s unclear if he’s aware that he’s the descendant of Sir Percy of Scandia, the original Black Knight from Arthurian times. There’s a subtle clue that he is, though, contained in how he refers to Doctor Strange.

When asking Sersi about her powers, Dane questions if she’s a “wizard like Doctor Strange”. On the surface level, this seems like a continuation of a similar gag from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in which Sam and Bucky debate about whether Strange is a wizard or a sorcerer. Sam might think that “a sorcerer is a wizard without a hat”, but in actual fact a wizard is someone who trains to gain magical prowess while a sorcerer typically has innate magical abilities.

Dane is actually correct to label Strange a wizard, then, which may tell us he’s familiar with the distinction thanks to old family stories about Sir Percy. The OG Black Knight was recruited by the most famous wizard in history, Merlin, who gave him the Ebony Blade after he forged it from a meteorite. So it’s possible that Dane knows more about his lineage than it appears. As for how he connects to Mahershala Ali’s Blade, though, you’re on your own with that one.

Eternals is in theaters now.