SIR REGINALD

Real Name: Sir Reginald (see comments)

Identity/Class: Human (citizen of Camelot, Briton; 6th century)

Occupation: Knight

Group Membership: Knights of the Round Table

Affiliations: Formerly King Arthur, Merlin, Sir Percy of Scandia

Enemies: King Arthur, Merlin, Sir Percy of Scandia

Known Relatives: King Arthur Pendragon (cousin), extended family via Arthur

Aliases: Black Knight

Base of Operations: Camelot, Britain

First Appearance: New Excalibur#12 (December 2006)

Powers/Abilities: Sir Reginald was a strong and capable knight, skilled in swordplay and presumably horsemanship.

He wielded the Ebony Blade, composed of an unidentified, apparently extraterrestrial metal further enhanced by Merlin’s spells, the combination of which renders it indestructible and able to cut through any substance up to foot-thick steel; to disrupt, deflect, and/or neutralize most forms of energy, including magical; and to form a mystical bond with its wielder which allowed him to transport himself through arcane ritual across space and time if separated from
the Blade. Merlin’s spells rendered the Black Knight immune to death as long as he held the Blade; however, the spells were ineffective against a weapon carved from the same metal as the Ebony Blade. The Blade influenced Sir Reginald toward bloodshed, and once blood was spilled its influence increased, culminating in driving Sir Reginald mad.

Height: 6' (by approximation) (see comments)
Weight: 185 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Unrevealed

History:
(New Excalibur#12 (fb)) - After Merlin created the Ebony Blade, he entrusted it to one of Camelot's most noble knights, but despite this Black Knight being a good man, in a relatively short time the cursed blade drove its wielder insane, overwhelming him with bloodlust, and eventually he had to be slain to stop his rampage.

   This process repeated itself with each subsequent new wielder, each honorable and decent, and each new Black Knight inevitably falling to the blade's corrupting influence, until they were eventually put down, in at least one instance by King Arthur himself with the assistance of Sir Percy of Scandia.

   Finally Arthur's own cousin, Sir Reginald, was chosen by Merlin to be the eighth Black Knight to take the enchanted sword...

(New Excalibur#12 (fb) - BTS) - but even he lost himself to the curse, and had to be killed. Thus the Ebony Blade was passed on to the next Black Knight, Sir Percy, the only man deemed both noble enough to stand any chance of resisting the curse for any length of time, and expendable enough to risk losing to that curse. 

Comments: Created by Frank Tieri, Michael Ryan and Rick Ketchum.

   Sir Reginald is one of the eight guys pictured, but we have zero clues as to which one, barring that it's not the guy pictured below, who looks to be second from the right in the above image. I'm tempted to assume the helmetless guy in the middle is Sir Reginald, but that's really pure speculation.

   Reginald might strike an American writer as a typical English name, though it's actually long fallen out of fashion. More importantly, it's an unfortunate choice for a 6th century Arthurian knight, since it didn't exist at the time. The names origins in Britain are rooted in the Vikings bringing the name Rögnvaldr over during invasions a few centuries later, and then the French-speaking Normans bringing Reynold as a name, which in Latin became Reginaldus, which became Reginald. Mind you, Sir Percy is equally anachronistic. I guess we should assume that whatever translation magic was allowing the Excalibur members to communicate with Arthur's court (they wouldn't be speaking anything resembling modern English) was also translating names into best modern equivalents.

   This profile was completed 09/03/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 20th anniversary 's celebratory event.

Profile by Loki.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Sir Reginald has no known connections to:

Prior Black Knights

 

Prior to Sir Reginald, seven noble knights were chosen to become Merlin's Black Knight and carry the Ebony Blade. Each in turn was driven mad by its curse and had to eventually be killed to stop their blood fueled rampages. One was personally slain by King Arthur and Sir Percy of Scandia.

 

   Only Reginald was identified, and there are no clues to any of the other prior Black Knights' names

  

--New Excalibur#12

 

images: (without ads)
New Excalibur#12, p12, pan1 (Sir Percy's eight predecessors as Black Knight)
New Excalibur#12, p12, pan2-3 (corruption and death of prior Black Knight)

Appearances:
New Excalibur#12 (December 2006) - Frank Tieri (writer), Michael Ryan (pencils), Rick Ketchum (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)

First Posted: 09/06/2021
Last updated:  09/04/2021

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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