Spoilers for Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony Blade #2 ahead!
Marvel Comics has just introduced a new type of sorcerer. While Marvel have always claimed to be set in "the world outside your window," it's also a world with gods, monsters, mutants, alien invaders, time travelers, and androids. While the Marvel universe is, therefore, immediately recognizable to readers – even Brexit has happened in Marvel Comics – it is also quite different. The citizens of New York have a habit of being able to swiftly resume their normal lives even when half the city has been consumed in symbiote goo.
Nowhere is the difference between the Marvel universe and the real world better demonstrated than in magic and sorcery. In the Marvel universe, it's not uncommon to see Doctor Strange strolling down the streets of Greenwich Village making arcane gestures and muttering incantations to himself. The Avengers come to be associated with highflying vehicles designed by Tony Stark, but they also include a Norse god who flies by swinging his enchanted hammer.
Now, Marvel has introduced a new type of sorcerer. Black Knight: Curse of the Ebony Blade #2, written by Si Spurrier and with art by Sergio Davila, sees Dane Whitman discuss the legends of Camelot with a young researcher who called herself Jacks. Though the Black Knight does not know it, Jacks possesses some basic magical power of her own. In one scene, she stumbles upon the body of one of her professors – killed because of his knowledge of Camelot – and she touches his blood. This triggers a mystical experience in which Jacks interacts with events in the days of Camelot itself. There appears to be a sense in which her very spirit is drawn into that distant era, for she interacts with Merlin's familiar. Intriguingly, the familiar describes Jacks as a "Time Seer."
This type of magic has not been seen before in the comics, although of course, it is worth noting Merlin and his familiar were aware of it. It is likely that this power has simply never been noticed before, simply because it isn't as spectacular as some of the abilities demonstrated by the likes of Doctor Strange and his future MCU villain, Baron Mordo. It's difficult to say whether the blood was a necessary part of the magic, or whether Jacks' vision was triggered by the stress of discovering the body. It is also unknown whether she can possibly control this power, choosing exactly what time and place to glimpse in her visions.
Still, it is easy to see why Si Spurrier has come up with the concept of a Time Seer. This type of magic is the perfect way to explore the secrets of the past, allowing him to "show, not tell." Such visions are perfect for the comic book medium, which is of course visual in nature.
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April 26, 2021 at 05:31AM
