The Silent Knight (Brian Kent, cy, Marchog Tewi) is a fictional

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

hero appearing in

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

s published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

. The character first appeared in ''

The Brave and the Bold ''The Brave and the Bold'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983. It was followed by two mini-series in 1991 and 1999, and was revived as an ongoing title in 2007. The focus of the series has varied ...

'' #1 (August 1955) and was created by

Robert Kanigher Robert "Bob" Kanigher (; June 18, 1915 – May 7, 2002)Social Security Death Index, social security #116-07-5117. was an American comic book writer and editor whose career spanned five decades. He was involved with the Wonder Woman franchise for ...

and

Irv Novick Irving Novick (; April 11, 1916 – October 15, 2004) was an American comics artist who worked almost continuously from 1939 until the 1990s. Career A graduate of the National Academy of Design, Irv Novick got his start in the workshop of Harry " ...

. He was one of three

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

characters to premiere in the first issue (the other two being Golden Gladiator and the

Viking Prince The Viking Prince is a fictional Viking hero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #1 (August 1955), and was created by Robert Kanigher and drawn by Joe Kubert. He was one of thr ...

Fictional character biography

The Silent Knight is a young handsome man named Brian Kent, living in sixth-century

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. At a jousting tournament, the evil Sir Oswald Bane kills Brian's feudal lord father Sir Edwin, claiming it to be an accident. Before he dies, Edwin instructs Brian to continue his rule and look after the people. Sir Oswald hears this and sets Brian under the knightly training of Sir Grot, a friend of Edwin's. Brian excels at his lessons, but fearing that Sir Oswald will kill him if the boy becomes too good, Grot publicly derides the boy as an oaf. While looking for one of Sir Oswald's prize hawks in the Forest Perilous, Brian finds a trunk with a suit of silver armor, a sword, a red helmet, and shield. He puts the armor on and discovers that it is a perfect fit. He hears travelers being threatened by Sir Oswald's men-at-arms, and comes to their aid, defeating the soldiers without uttering a word. When asked his name, he stays silent to prevent the soldiers from identifying him to Sir Oswald. Hence, he becomes known as "the Silent Knight". He keeps the armor hidden in the Forest Perilous and hides his secret even from Sir Grot. The Silent Knight also fought outlaws and had adventures involving

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

and the Knights of the

Round Table The Round Table ( cy, y Ford Gron; kw, an Moos Krenn; br, an Daol Grenn; la, Mensa Rotunda) is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that e ...

. He also met the evil

Morgaine le Fey Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan , Morgain /e Morg e, Morgant Morge , and Morgue namong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a powerful ...

. Lady Celia who loved the Silent Knight suspected he was seemingly dull Brian, and even after being made to believe he couldn't be, was constantly troubled by similarities between the pair.

Current status

The Silent Knight made a minor appearance during a time travel storyline. In the 1990s ''

Hawkman Hawkman is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1, published by All-American ...

'' series, Brian, with his hawk-motif armor and trained falcon, was revealed to be a past avatar of the Hawk-God. A further

retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subse ...

in the 2000s ''Hawkman'' implied he was a past incarnation of Hawkman Carter Hall. The version of

Sir Gawain Gawain (), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned under the name Gwalchmei in the earliest W ...

in Ystina's "Ur-Camelot" is referred to in a caption as "the silent knight, attended by his wondrous hawks". The Silent Knight assists a time-traveling

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

in destroying a magic artifact. Superman has been warned by

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

not to let any harm befall the knight and is pleased to learn his name at the end of their adventure, as Superman's adopted surname is

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. This, and an "inexplicable kinship" felt by Brian imply that he is an ancestor of Superman's adoptive father, Jonathan Kent.''

'' #10. DC Comics.

Powers and abilities

The Silent Knight is a master of the knightly skills of tilting, horsemanship,

hawking Hawking may refer to: People * Stephen Hawking (1942–2018), English theoretical physicist and cosmologist * Hawking (surname), a family name (including a list of other persons with the name) Film * ''Hawking'' (2004 film), about Stephen Ha ...

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

and

chivalry Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christianity, Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours we ...

. In his origin story, Brian's talent for swordfighting enables him to out-fight some of the king's soldiers. In another story, "The Sword in the Lake", Brian demonstrates great strength when he dives to the bottom of a lake in full armor to retrieve a necklace and resurfaces. He shows loyalty to the knightly code of conduct by never taking unfair advantage of an opponent. For that reason, he never uses a weapon with a greater reach than his adversary's.

References

*''Adventure Heroes: Legendary Characters from Odysseus to James Bond'', page 236-237 *''Who's Who The Definitive Directory of The DC Universe Volume XXI'', page 3 {{All-Star Squadron Arthurian characters Arthurian comics DC Comics superheroes DC Comics fantasy characters Fictional knights Fictional swordfighters in comics Comics characters introduced in 1955 Characters created by Robert Kanigher Fictional archers