Real
Name: ? O'Dare
El Alemain
Real
Name: ? O'Dare
Identity/Class: Normal human
Occupation: Soldier
Affiliations: Richard Coeur-de-Lion (leige), the Knights of the Crusades
Enemies: the Duke of Montfort, Saladin
Known Relatives: Mrs O'Dare (mother, deceased), Sir John O'Dare (brother, deceased)
Aliases: The Hawk, the Crusader
Base of Operations: The Holy Lands, c. A.D.1189-1192 century
First Appearance: Black Knight #1 (Atlas, May 1955)
Powers/Abilities: An excellent swordsman, El Alemain wielded the Saracen Blade, a scimitar which might have had magical properties, as it is supposedly "invincible in the hand of a man whose soul is clean".
History: (Black Knight #1-5, ga) After he and his mother were captured by Saracens when he was an infant, the boy named El Alemain (the Hawk) was raised by his captors as a good Muslim, although his visibly different race meant he always felt somewhat out of place. When a plague-ship full of Crusaders ran aground, Alemain discovered that one of the survivors, Sir John O'Dare, a Frankish noble, possessed an amulet matching the one his mother had left him, and the two men realised they were brothers. After Sir John died from his illness, Alemain swore to carry on his work, and changed sides, becoming an ally and confidant of the English King, Richard Cour-de-Lion. This gained him the enmity of the Duke of Montfort, who had plans to kill Richard which were thwarted by El Alemain.
Comments: Thanks to Jess Nevins for allowing me to use information from his excellent Golden Age Heroes Directory and his Guide to Golden Age Marvel Characters. Thanks also to Richard Boucher & Darrin Wiltshire @ PR-Publications for permission to use information from their equally brilliant collection of Golden Age Sites, PR Publications. Their knowledge of Golden Age characters far outstrips my own.
CLARIFICATIONS: None.
Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.
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