Golden Knight

GOLDEN KNIGHT

Real Name: Golden Knight

Class: Magical construct

Occupation: Guardian

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Beyond Region

First Appearance: Demon III #19 (January, 1992)

Powers: The Golden Knight was a magical construct that was the essence of Sir Percival of the Knights of the Round Table's virtue. The Golden Knight was equipped with a magic suit of armor, shield and Sword of Truth that could shoot beams of light that searched a target's heart and mind to determine if they were possessed of virtue. If the Golden Knight were to be destroyed he would soon reform unharmed.

History: (Demon III #20 (fb, BTS)) - The Beyond Region was a dimension where many terrible beings had been exiled over the centuries by the wizard Merlin. Only an exile who attained true virtue could find the golden path that led to the one exit from the Beyond Region, and the Golden Knight guarded the exit to ensure all who might leave were pure. The Knight was created by Merlin from the essence of purity of Sir Percival of the Knights of the Round Table, who kept the spell needed to exit the Region in a room protected by the Knight.

(Demon III #19, 20) - The Thing-That-Cannot-Die achieved virtue through his brave and selfless actions, and led his friend Jason Blood, whose mind controlled the body of the demon Etrigan, along the golden path until they encountered the Knight. The Golden Knight used his Sword of Truth on Etrigan and the Thing, probing their hearts and minds to see if they were pure, and found only the Thing had attained the virtue needed to leave. Thing initially refused to leave Jason behind, but Jason told him to go and he'd figure his own way out. Jason tried to leap over the Knight, but was stopped by an invisible barrier. Thing, meanwhile followed a bridge into a room where Sir Percival waited for him. He gave Thing a spell and told him to cast it to open a portal out of the Region. Jason engaged the Golden Knight in combat, but was overmatched, and the Knight was about to run him through with a sword when the Thing emerged from Percival's room and begged the Knight to stay his hand. In desperation Jason turned back into Etrigan in his human form, and used Thing's distraction to push the Knight off the bridge he stood on. Thing warned him the Knight would return, and when Etrigan saw he had the spell to leave the Region he bashed the Thing's head in with a rock and took the scroll from him. Etrigan cast the spell just as his half-brother Scapegoat, who wanted Etrigan to stay in the Region as his guest, arrived and the Golden Knight reformed. Scapegoat initially clashed with the Knight, but as the portal out of the Region closed he saw no reason to continue the fight.

(Demon III #36 (fb)) - Lord Scapegoat was so devastated by his brother Etrigan leaving him, that he locked himself in his torture chamber, and told his torturer to flay him for eternity. Etrigan’s departure caused the Region Beyond to become unstable, and beings and aspects of the Region started disappearing from the realm. Wotan and the Wild Hunt stormed Scapegoat’s castle, although Scapegoat didn’t care, and confronted the Golden Knight. Wotan confronted the Golden Knight in combat, and during the confusion the Thing-That-Cannot-Die saw an opening and escaped the Region.

Comments: Created by Alan Grant & Val Semeiks.