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 ...
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 ...
.
Percival Sheldrake debuted as the Knight in '' Batman'' #62 (December 1950), and was created by
Bill Finger
Milton "Bill" Finger (February 8, 1914 – January 18, 1974) was an American comic strip, comic book, film and television writer who was the co-creator (with Bob Kane) of the DC Comics character Batman. Despite making major (sometimes, signatur ...
and
Dick Sprang
Richard W. Sprang (July 28, 1915 – May 10, 2000)Richard Sprang United States . Cyril Sheldrake debuted as the Knight in '' JLA'' #26 (February 1999), and was created by
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, humanist philosophy and countercultural leanings. Morrison has written extensively for th ...
and Howard Porter. Beryl Hutchinson first appeared as
Squire
In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight.
Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a ...
in the same issue, and became the Knight in ''
Batman Incorporated
Batman Incorporated (also known as Batman, Inc.) was an ongoing American comic book series published by DC Comics, featuring the superhero Batman. Written by Grant Morrison, the series debuted following the events of '' Batman R.I.P'', ''Final Cr ...
'' v2 #09 (March 2013).
Publication history
Percival Sheldrake
The first Knight first appeared in '' Batman'' #62 (Dec 1950/Jan 1951) in a story entitled "The Batman of England!" He is a British vigilante who models himself after the Knights of the Round Table, and also
gentleman detective
The gentleman detective, less commonly lady detective, is a type of fictional character. He (or she) has long been a staple of crime fiction, particularly in detective novels and short stories set in the United Kingdom in the Golden Age. The heroe ...
after the Batman, including having a teenage sidekick, the
Squire
In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight.
Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a ...
. He is Percy Sheldrake, Earl of Wordenshire, and the Squire is his son Cyril. Instead of a Bat-Signal he is summoned by ringing the Wordenshire church bell. The Knight is a member of the Batmen of All Nations—also known as the Club of Heroes—an international team of superheroes whose careers were inspired by Batman's example.
It is later revealed that Percy had begun his heroic career as squire to the
Shining Knight
Shining Knight ( cy, Marchog Disglair) is the name of multiple fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original version was created by Creig Flessel and first appeared in ''Adventure Comics'' #66 (Sep ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. Percy was murdered by the villain Spring Heeled Jack. His son Cyril, the former Squire, assumed the mantle.
Cyril Sheldrake
The second Knight first appears in a group shot of the
Ultramarine Corps
Ultramarine is a deep blue color pigment which was originally made by grinding lapis lazuli into a powder. The name comes from the Latin ''ultramarinus'', literally 'beyond the sea', because the pigment was imported into Europe from mines in Afg ...
at the end of '' JLA'' #26 (Feb 1999). The subsequent appearance of the Corps in ''
JLA Classified
The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived b ...
'' establishes that he is Cyril Sheldrake, who inherited both the title of Earl and that of the Knight when his father was killed by his arch-enemy,
Springheeled Jack
Spring-heeled Jack is an entity in English folklore of the Victorian era. The first claimed sighting of Spring-heeled Jack was in 1837. Later sightings were reported all over the United Kingdom and were especially prevalent in suburban Lo ...
. Worrying he wouldn't live up to his father's formidable reputation as a hero Cyril turned to drink and gambling, even losing Sheldrake castle at one point due to his debts. It was then that a young girl named Beryl rescued him from the gutter (at the behest of her mother) and helped the knight clean up his act offering him a room and even use of her garage as his Superhero HQ. Cyril repaid her kindness by training her to be his squire.
Cyril has since excelled at his task as Britain's primary defender of the innocent and joined several international hero groups (International Ultramarine Corp, Batman Inc., etc.)
Gadgets
The Knight's current motorcycle is named Anastasia, after Dan Dare's spaceship, and has a stylized horse's head. Anastasia has a chemical tracking system built into her "nose". It is also of considerably tougher construction than a standard motorbike, surviving a head on jousting match with a Richard the Third clone suffering no significant damage.
He also employs a squadron of miniaturized
Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...
s under his control. Not only can they be used offensively against a variety of enemies, they can also see in various wavelengths and have been used to follow the trail of a serial killer.
His armor as well as providing protection from attack also contains a variety of visual scanners and communication devices in the visor.
The armor is even capable of moving independently of him; an experiment to make the armor continue fighting even when Cyril was unconscious resulted in it becoming self-aware and attacking. Squire generally handles the communications and computer side of things whilst his American man servant Hank Hackenbacker services and builds the bulk of his vehicles and machines as well as offering annoyingly sage advice when needed.
Allies
* Captain Cornwall and his son Cornwall Boy (sharing unspecified magical gifts)
* Rush Hour 1, 2 and 3 (Anglo-Indian speedsters of the Sikh religion)
* Milk Man (powers unknown but does possess a dangerous bottle of "Gold Top")
* The Fro (man with giant hair do)
* The Distinguished Gentlemen (finely dressed crime fighter)
* Birthday Girl (stark naked super heroine with strategically placed balloons)
* The Mechanic (wears a brown overcoat and a welder's mask, powers unknown)
Batman: Battle for the Cowl
In ''Battle for the Cowl'', The Knight, along with Squire, is a member of the Network, a group of heroes whom the Bat-Family trusted to assist them if the need arose. Knight is seen assisting
Dick Grayson
Richard John "Dick" Grayson is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman and Teen Titans. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, he first appeared in ''Detective Comics ...
(the current Batman, who as of the time was still Nightwing, de facto leader of the Network) in quelling the chaos in Gotham which erupted with the rumors of Batman's death.
Batman and Robin
Knight also appears in ''Batman and Robin'' #7-9, where Batman (Dick Grayson) asks for his help in locating the last Lazarus Pit in order to bring
Bruce Wayne
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
back to life. Knight placed Batman's corpse in the Lazarus Pit before Grayson and Squire's arrival, and he, along with Batwoman, Squire, and Batman, is the first one to see the corpse of Batman (Bruce Wayne) returned to life. However, they soon discover that the corpse was in fact a clone of Batman, and not Batman himself. This copy has a defect, making him mad and impossible to control.
Knight and Squire
Writer
Paul Cornell
Paul Douglas Cornell (born 18 July 1967) is a British writer best known for his work in television drama as well as ''Doctor Who'' fiction, and as the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield.
As well as ''Docto ...
has written a six-issue ''Knight and Squire''
limited series Limited series may refer to:
*Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series
*Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered
*Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...
with artist Jimmy Broxton and cover artist
Yanick Paquette
Yanick Paquette is a Canadian comic book artist. He has worked for Antarctic Press, Topps, Marvel, and DC Comics and since 1994.
Career
In 1996 Paquette drew two miniseries adapted from the TV series '' Space: Above and Beyond'', written by Ro ...
. The first issue was published in October 2010.
As shown in the limited series, the Knight is still based in Sheldrake Castle, Great Worden, Wordenshire, which has been equipped in a similar manner to the
Batcave
The Batcave is a subterranean location appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is the headquarters of the superhero Batman, whose secret identity is Bruce Wayne and his partners, consisting of caves beneath his personal r ...
. The Knight's current motorcycle is named Anastasia, after Dan Dare's spaceship, and has a stylized horse's head. Anastasia has a chemical tracking system built into her "nose". It is also of considerably tougher construction than a standard motorbike, surviving a head on jousting match with a Richard the Third clone suffering no significant damage.
The Knight is portrayed as something of an elder statesman to other British superheroes, including Captain Cornwall (the heir to Merlin's power) and Rush Hour I to III (an
Asian British
British Asians (also referred to as Asian Britons) are British citizens of Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with 6.9% of the population identifying as Asian/Asian Bri ...
family of speedsters). He is also on good terms with some "villains" who duplicate the gimmickry of Batman villains without actually committing any crimes, such as Jarvis Poker, the British Joker. The Knight and Squire have a longstanding enmity with agents of an alternate universe in which Britain is a fascist state.
In #4, shortly after his father's death, Cyril sank into a drunken state, before being rescued by Beryl. During this period he was briefly a villain, paying off gambling debts to a criminal named Mad Hat Harry.
=Issue #1
=
Knight and Squire are enjoying a night in the pub, called "The Time in a Bottle", with various other superheroes and their villainous counterparts. Squire meets a handsome wannabe villain, Shrike, but the evening is interrupted when the binding spell protecting the pub's clientele from harming each other is undone. Violent chaos ensues as old scores are settled in the one neutral location in the land. Knight and Squire must find who counteracted the magic and end the mother of all meta pub punch-ups.
=Issue #2
=
After detecting dark dimensional energy from a village in Dorset, Knight and Squire go in civilian guise to root out its cause. They quickly discover a cabal of racist
Morris dancers
Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers, usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords and handkerchiefs may ...
hoping to bring about a "yesteryear" Britain free of bloody foreigners and homosexuals.
=Issue #3
=
C.O.R. Labs (Council for Organised Research) not only perfects the art of human cloning but decides to try and resurrect ancient English king Richard the Third, complete with memories. Knight and Squire have a bad feeling about the project and resolve to keep an eye on it. Meanwhile, it is clear Richard is still the power-hungry mad man depicted by Shakespeare, as he quickly kills Professor Meriweather, the head of the project, and proceeds to clone yet more despotic monarchs. Each are determined to carve up Britain into their own feudal territories.
=Issue #4
=
Shrike flies in to castle Sheldrake to visit Squire (Beryl) and hopefully pick up where they left off in issue 1. Meanwhile, Cyril Sheldrake and his loyal man servant/tech genius Hank are working on a new project to upgrade the knight armor's A.I.
After a copy of Cyril's mind is transferred to the suit, it awakens believing itself to be the real Knight and attacks the "fake".
=Issue #5
=
Jarvis Poker, the charming and completely benign "supervillain", goes on an ineffectual crime spree which succeeded in making the public laugh at his antics. Beryl figures out from her previous conversation in the Time in a Bottle pub that Jarvis is dying and this is his last "hurrah".
Rather than stop him, Knight and Squire resolve to give him a great send off by convincing the media he's a dangerous criminal and plotting the crime of the century. Next he "attacks" the Lincoln Arts Centre holding the contestants of the Britovision Song Contest hostage. The heroes arrive to make a good show of stopping Poker.
=Issue #6
=
Jarvis Poker has been taken hostage by the Joker, who despises Tribute acts. He decides to cause some real chaos and goes on a killing spree targeting British heroes dragging Jarvis along for the ride. Next he attaches mind controlling joker masks to innocent people to cause further mayhem. Meeting at Stonehenge, Knight rallies the British heroes (and villains) to action, reminding them not to hurt the mind-controlled slaves. Squire is able to get a secret message to Jarvis and under duress leads the Joker to the source of magic.
Batman Incorporated and death
After joining the
Batman Incorporated
Batman Incorporated (also known as Batman, Inc.) was an ongoing American comic book series published by DC Comics, featuring the superhero Batman. Written by Grant Morrison, the series debuted following the events of '' Batman R.I.P'', ''Final Cr ...
global initiative, Knight had his neck broken in combat with a giant clone of Damian Wayne, a henchman of a global crime organization led by
Talia al Ghul
Talia al Ghul ( ar, تاليا الغول; ) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman. The character was created by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Bob Brown (comics), ...
.''Batman Inc.'' v2 #6 (2013)
He has a state funeral back in London, his coffin draped in the Union Flag is paraded through the streets while huge crowds of mourners line the procession path. The
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
talks about the possibility of resurrecting him.
Beryl Hutchinson
Following the death of Cyril Sheldrake in ''Batman Inc.'' v2 #6 (2013), Beryl Hutchinson takes on the mantle of the Knight in #9.
In other media
The Percival Sheldrake incarnation of Knight makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' episode "Powerless!" as a member of the Batmen of All Nations.