SHINING KNIGHT

Real Name: Sir Justin

Class: Human magic-user, technology user

Occupation: Knight, former assistant to museum curator, janitor

Group Affiliation: formerly Knights of the Round Table, Seven Soldiers of Victory I, All-Star Squadron

Known Relatives: Danette Reilly (Firebrand II, wife, deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Blue Valley, Nebraska, formerly Camelot, 6th Century, New York City, New York, 1940s era

First Appearance: Adventure Comics I #66 (September, 1941)

Powers: The Shining Knight wore enchanted armor that protected him from most forms of attack, including all forms of magic. He wielded an enchanted sword that could cleave through virtually any substance. At some point he had a high-tech retractable shield and helmet attached to his armor. He rode a flying stallion named Winged Victory.

History: (Adventure Comics I #66) - <6th Century> England; Sir Justin was sent on a quest by King Arthur to slay Blunderbore, an ogre of the Northlands. During his quest Justin freed Merlin from imprisonment, and the grateful sorcerer enchanted Sir Justin's sword, armor and steed. During his battle against Blunderbore Sir Justin was caught in an avalanche of ice, putting him in suspended animation.

(Adventure Comics #66-75) - <1941> Sir Justin and Winged Victory's frozen bodies were found by Dr. Moresby, and thawed out. Sir Justin became a champion for justice, fighting crime as the Shining Knight.

(Leading Comics #1) -When criminal mastermind the Hand learned he was dying he broke out a number of criminals, and planned a once in a lifetime crime for each of them, but warned them they'd be opposed by their arch0-enemies, who he'd taunted to top them in the morning's paper. Green Arrow and Speedy, Crimson Avenger, Shining Knight, Vigilante, Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy all responded, taking the Hand's threat seriously. The heroes met in the Gotham City auditorium, where the Han broadcast a video informed them where their arch-enemies would be committing crimes. The mysterymen decided to take care of their own, and report to each other in a week on their progress. Red Dragon and his gang flew to Wamona valley, the home of a tribe of Native Americans. Dragon gunned down their chief, and following Hand's information, told them he was fulfilling the prophecy of the Wendigo, a spirit of the air that would descend from the heavens. The valley had a rich supply of radium, and Red Dragon forced the natives into servitude, mining for him. The Hand led Shining Knight to him, and after convincing the tribe that Dragon was a false god he led them to revolt. The Dragon attacked the rebels with a tank, but the Knight repelled him. He tried to flee in a plane, but the Knight disabled it and brought him to justice. Shining Knight encouraged the tribe to sell the radium at a fair market price, fulfilling the prophecy of a stranger from the sky that would bring them glory. The rest of the villains failed, and the Hand decided to destroy the heroes himself to preserve his legacy. He contacted them via video, and gave them the address of his hideout, daring them to defeat him. Just then he got a call from his doctor that a new surgery could cure him. He realized he'd acted rashly, but his pride demanded he destroy his foes. The mysterymen made their way through all his booby-traps until they penetrated his sanctum. He aimed an electric beam at them, but Vigilante shot it down, electrifying him. The heroes realized the good they did teaming up, and decided to form the Seven Soldiers of Victory.

(Leading Comics #2) - Sylvester Pemberton's father brought him to a bank to learn about finance, even though he protested that it was interrupting his anthropology studies. Criminals Captain Bigg, Brain, Falseface, Hopper and Rattler posed as city workers, and broke a water main. The hydraulic pressure wrecked the bank's wall, and they robbed it, affording their escape by changing clothes and impersonating police officers. Sylvester told Pat that there had to be some mastermind behind such a crime, and team-up of notorious criminals, so they resolved to call a meeting of the Sreven Soldiers of Victory. The Soldiers followed a trail of gunpowder the criminals' truck left behind, and it led to a train station. They discovered film reels from the crooks mastermind, the Black Star, who directed them to split up for his planned crime wave. The Soldiers split up to the locations the villains were headed. Shining Knight went to New Orleans to pursue Falseface. Falseface and his crew disguised themselves as memorial statues to commit a robbery. With all the bizarre costumes at Mardi Gras they blended right in. Dressed as clowns they attempted a train robbery, but the Shining Knight was had arrived and foiled the crime, even though the gang escaped. They later posed as Mardi Gras officials and told the Knight they were awarding him best costume. They led him to their hideout and opened a trap door that dropped the Knight and his steed Victory in a net. They covered him in lime, which started to harden, and Falseface told the Knight he' soon be a statue. They left for the big score, and Shininbg Knight managed to free himself and leap into a water tank that dissolved the lime. J.J. Ennis called a meeting of Mardi Gras officials to make sure they could keep his valuable Star Sapphire safe during the celebration. Falseface and his gang posed as police officers guarding Ennis' house and held up the officials. The Shining Knight was expecting them, and quickly rounded up the hoods. The other criminals failed, but Black Star had that planned all along. One Mr. Wilkins knew his secret, and told the assembled Soldiers that he once worked at a chemical firm that discovered a ray that could enlarge any organic life. They decided it was too dangerous to exist, so they hid each of the radium-elements needed to make the beam, and hid them in a useless object. Their clerk Mowse had observed them, and took the identity of the Black Star to reassemble the elements, using his henchmen's crimes as a distraction. Black Star used the ray on himself, and challenged the Soldiers to meet him at his castle. The heroes fought their way past giant birds, rabbits and insects before confronting the villain. Stripesy knocked him cold, and he fell in front of the black light ray, being enlarged until his body crashed through the earth and he was crushed by his own weight. The Seven Soldiers were thrilled by another victory for justice.

(Leading Comics #3) - Oliver Queen and Roy Harper were testing out a two-way radio when Roy saw men dressed as Alexander the Great, Nero, Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun and Napoleon robbing a national bank. The villains of history disabled Roy, and Khan made off with his two-way radio. Oliver came to Roy's aid after they disappeared, and from the two-way transmissions they realized the men weren't dressed as historical characters, they actually were them. They called a meeting of the Seven Soldiers, and the radio revealed that the men had been plucked from the past by mad scientist Dr. Doome, who was building a time machine to penetrate the future and rule the world. To complete it he needed several rare metals, and dispatched his partners to find them. The Soldiers split up to tackle each of the historical figures. Genghis Khan and Doome's goons went to Alaska on a boat to steal a platinum shipment, and when the Shining Knight arrived in Alaska he met a down on his luck fisherman named Bill Bates, who bet his fellow fisherman he could catch a fish as big as any they'd ever seen. The Knight took an interest in him, and pledged to help him. One of the betters once saw a whale, and even though the Knight knew whales were mammals he resolved to help Bates catch one. The Knight pursued Khan's ship on his flying steed, and sent Bates to stand by in his boat. Shining Knight found Khan's ship hidden in an icy crevasse, but when he confronted the villains they thrashed him, and sunk him in the icy waters, but he used his sword to scramble to the surface. The Knight speared a whale, and it crashed Khan's ship, and he returned to his own time to avoid imprisonment. The Knight gave Bates the whale to win his bet. After all the villains were foiled the Soldiers tracked Doome to his headquarters, and he used his time machine to flee into the past. The heroes followed, finding themselves in 1200 BC during the Greek sack of Troy. Doome had convinced the legendary Ulysses that the Soldiers were enemies, and he sent his troops against them. When Ulysses saw how valiantly the Soldiers fought he knew they could not be villains, and ordered his troops back. Doome fled to the present, and Speedy had the presence of mind to take a time scepter with him, so the Soldiers returned to their own time. In desperation Doome tried to send himself into the future, but without the rare metals he still needed the machine exploded. The Soldiers were unsure if he made it, but knew that if he did there would be heroes like them in the future to take care of business.

(All-Star Squadron #1-13) - The Shining Knight joined the Seven Soldiers of Victory, and later the All-Star Squadron.

(Justice League of America #100-102, Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #9) - <October, 1948> The Seven Soldiers of Victory were displaced throughout time after a battle with the Nebula-Man. The Knight was transported to the days of Genghis Khan for a few weeks, after which he was brought to the modern era by the Justice League of America.

(Crisis on Infinite Earths #4, 5) -

(Showcase '93 #9) - Shining Knight confronted and defeated crimelord Mason Boone in front of a crowd of onlookers. Many of the crowd had been personally harmed by Mason, and they howled for his blood. The Shining Knight told them the modern world seemed as dark as the medieval world that he belonged to, and he refused to sink to Mason's level. He said he called himself a hero, and if hero's didn't do the right thing than no one would. His speech inspired at least one young boy in the crowd.

(Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #11) - Blue Valley, Nebraska; Shining Knight learned that the Dragon King slew his true love Firebrand. The Knight sought revenge, but was defeated by the Dragon King and subjected to a brain-washing process. The Knight's will was too strong to be utterly subverted, but the process left him an amnesiac. He took a job at Blue Valley High as school janitor.

(Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #7, 8) - The Shining Knight's memory was jogged by the appearance of Star-Spangled Kid and S.T.R.I.P.E. at Blue Valley High.

(Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #10, 11, 12) - The Knight put on his armor, saved the Star-Spangled Kid from the clutches of Dr. Graft, and killed the monstrous Skeeter. Shining Knight, Star-Spangled Kid and S.T.R.I.P.E. attacked the Dragon King's lair only to be captured.

(Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #13) - The Shining Knight, S.T.R.I.P.E., and Star-Spangled Kid escaped and foiled the Dragon King's master plan to conquer America. The King and Shining Knight fought high in the air on their respective steeds, and during the battle Dragon King fell to his death. The Knight headed off to Detroit, to investigate rumors of a new Crimson Avenger patrolling the streets.

(JSA: Our Worlds at War #1) - During the Imperiex War Shining Knight was called in as a JSA reserve on a mission to disrupt Imperiex’s link to his ship’s power supply. The JSA not only cut off Imperiex from his power, but they managed to blow up his ship as well.

(JSA #49-51) - Shining Knight was called in as a JSA reservist to battle Obsidian, who’d possessed hundreds of people in L.A. and made them into an army of shadow-soldiers. Obsidian was defeated when Green Lantern Alan Scott stripped him of his powers. Shining Knight aided the JSA in defeating Obsidian’s ally Mordru.

(Identity Crisis #5) - Shining Knight, Vixen, Firestorm and Captain Marvel questioned Shadow Thief about Sue Dibny’s death. The villain snatched Shining Knight’s sword and impaled Firestorm, causing his nuclear energy to leak out, and he died.

(Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Superman-Prime #1) - An army of Earth’s heroes, including Shining Knight, appeared to take Superboy-Prime down during the Sinestro Corps invasion of Earth. The heroes focused on wrecking his armor, because after a year on Oa, and away from a yellow sun his Kryptonian body still wasn’t at full strength, and his armor collected sunlight. Superboy bragged that once the sun rose on Earth he’d be at full power. Superboy was battered by Wonder Girl and Wonder Woman, who blamed him for Superboy’s death, as well as Supergirl and Power Girl, who blamed him for the death of the Superman of Earth-2. As the fight went against him, Superboy broke down in tears. He tried to wipe them away, saying that it was impossible for boys to cry, and then whining that no one ever thanked him for sacrificing his Earth to save the multiverse. The battle lasted until dawn, and he flew into the sunrise. As he achieved full power he declared himself the one, true Superman. The Guardians arrived with Sodam Yat, the new Ion, and pitted him against Superboy-Prime.

Comments: Created by an unnamed writer and Creig Flessel

In the pre-Crisis DC Universe the Shining Knight lived on Earth-2.

Shining Knight's marriage to Firebrand II was confirmed by The DC Comics Encyclopedia.

Shining Knight received a profile in Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #20. He received a profile in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #1 under the All-Star Squadron entry. He received a profile in Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #20 under the Seven Soldiers of Victory entry.

Shining Knight's appearance in Leading Comics #2 was reprinted in Justice League of America #111 and #112.

A photo of Shining Knight and the Seven Soldiers of Victory was seen in the JSA Museum in JLA / JSA: Virtue and Vice. JSA #47 showed a solo photo of Shining Knight hanging in the JSA Museum.

The Shining Knight had cameos in DC Comics Presents #38, Firestorm II #6, 22 & Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #0.

The post-reboot Legion of Super-Heroes learned about superheroes of the past from reading ancient comic books. Legion of Super-Heroes V #6 showed Legionnaire Chameleon transforming into several superheroes from the past, including Shining Knight.

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