Black Knight

Black Knight
Stage	Plains, Arena, Tower of Fate: Entrance
Theme	The Rival
Second Theme	The Defender
Weapon	Shovel Blade

“	'For the last time, I answer to no one!'	”

Black Knight (sometimes 'The Black Knight') is one of many Knights that appear in Shovel Knight. He's Shovel Knight's enigmatic yet good intended rival.

You fight Black Knight three times during the course of the game: Once as the end boss of the Plains, once as a wandering boss after you clear the Lost City, and once as the end boss of Tower of Fate: Entrance.

Official Bio

As the Yin to Shovel Knight's Yang, Black Knight calls nobody master. Clad in obsidian armor, he hounds Shovel Knight to the ends of the Earth, spoiling for a battle. Black Knight’s skill with the Shovel Blade rivals that of Shovel Knight, or so Black Knight hopes to prove! While Shovel Knight is confused as to why he has this mysteriously relentless doppelganger, no number of humiliating defeats by Shovel Knight could dampen Black Knight’s spirit: he will always rise up to fight again!

• Pros: persistent, confident, goal-orientated

• Cons: slightly inept, squeaky voice

Dialogue

As Shovel Knight:

Plains of Passage:

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Wandering across the Plains

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At the entrance to the Tower of Fate

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As Plague Knight:

Plains of Passage:

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Wandering across the Plains:

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At the entrance of the Tower of Fate, before fighting Black Knight:

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After defeating Black Knight:

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As Specter Knight

Plains of Passage

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Strategy

The battles in the Plains of Passage and in the overworld are remarkably similar. Black Knight has some of the same moves as Shovel Knight, including the Shovel Drop. However, he can launch a large purple projectile attack, which can be reflected by attacking it directly with the shovel. During the second battle, he will deflect this back at you if you attempt to deflect it, until he lets his guard down, causing himself to get hit.

In the last battle against him, the battle starts similarly, except when using his purple projectile attack he will instead phase across the screen launching them. After a while during the battle, he will grow wings, which will fire thorns upon being released. In this form he will occasionally summon large meteors to strike the earth, with two meteors staying on the ground, that will cause damage to Shovel Knight upon contact. These cannot be destroyed by Shovel Knight, but can by Black Knight, who will occasionally Shovel Drop onto them, causing them to explode. After a while his wings will disappear and he will retake his previous strategies, occasionally growing them again to restart the cycle. He also has a more powerful Shovel Dirt attack, which will launch multiple debris imbued with purple energy; these can be reflected by attacking with the shovel.

Trivia

• One reason for a knight to have black armor was to indicate they served no lord. Given that Black Knight is a wholly independent character, enough so that Shovel Knight notes he does not blindly follow, this is quite fitting.

• Black Knights also appear in various Arthurian Legends, where they are usually depicted as errant knights and rivals to White Knights. They are sometimes associated with death.

• Shovel Knight's Mail of Momentum uses a similar palette to Black Knight's armor.

• • Besides being similar in basic design to their counterparts, (Shovel Knight to Black Knight and Mega Man to Proto Man) with a few added elements such as Proto Man's helmet and shield, and Black Knight's sharper and over-all more menacing armor, the two share the trait of having an intense rivalry with the protagonist of their original games, as well as a prior connection to said rivals. These relations to the protagonists have not yet been elaborated on in-game in either series, although there are comic series and the like for the Mega Man series that provide their own detailed interpretations of Proto Man's connection to Mega Man.

• • Although there has been no proof of this as of yet, there have been speculations by fans that Proto Man was an inspiration for the character Black Knight.

• In the Plague of Shadows the Black Knight is the only character aside from the Wandering Travellers that Plague Knight doesn't try to harvest the essence from.

• • However he becomes a mandatory boss who sticks above the Stranded Ship and never moves. After his defeat, Mona will leave the Potionarium.

• The first dialog between the Black Knight and Shovel Knight is possible a reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail. In the film, King Arthur meets a black knight who guards a bridge. The dialog here is quite similar: "I have no quarrel with you, good sir knight, but I must cross this bridge." Another parallel between the two is the black knight's response to King Arthur: "I move for no man."

Sprites

Gallery