The Origin of Aragorn

Technically speaking, Aragorn made his debut in Avengers #48 (Jan. 1968). In that issue, however, the Black Knight called the winged horse Pegasus. Not until later appearances was was the horse renamed Aragorn. The name change made sense, as Aragorn had no relation to the flying horse from Greek mythology. In fact, the Black Knight described his winged stallion as a mutant. The mutation was not accidental but instead resulted from months of research.

Aragorn was in good company. When the original X-Men encountered a technological wizard called the Warlock, he too described his winged horses as mutants—the products of science rather than magic X-Men #30 (March 1967).

This image of the Black Knight riding Pegasus (Aragorn) comes from Avengers #48.