Shining Knight (Sir Justin)

Shining Knight
Shining Knight and Winged Victory, from the cover of All-Star Squadron #62 (October 1986); art by Mike Harris and Tony DeZuniga.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceAdventure Comics #66 (September 1941)
Created byCreig Flessel (writer/artist)
In-story information
Alter egoSir Justin
Team affiliationsKnights of the Round Table
Justice Society of America
Seven Soldiers of Victory
Justice League
PartnershipsVigilante
Notable aliasesJustin Arthur
Abilities
  • Superhuman physical abilities
  • Slowed aging
  • Skilled swordsman
  • Master of martial arts and superb hand-to-hand fighter
  • Indomitable will
  • Leadership

Shining Knight (Sir Justin) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, the first of several to use the name Shining Knight. He was created by Creig Flessel and first appeared in Adventure Comics #66 (September 1941).[1] He appeared regularly until issue #125, and off and on until issue #166.[2]

The character appeared on the Justice League Unlimited animated series and the Stargirl live-action series, voiced by Chris Cox in the former and portrayed by Mark Ashworth in the latter.

Fictional character biography

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Sir Justin, the newest member of the Knights of the Round Table in King Arthur's court, was one of many knights who had witnessed the death of Queen Guinevere's cousin Sir Fallon. While searching for Fallon's killer, the ogre Blunderbore, Justin freed the wizard Merlin from a tree. In gratitude, Merlin gave him enchanted armor and weaponry and turning his horse Victory into the winged horse Winged Victory.[3]

When he met Blunderbore at the top of the icy mountains in the northland, the two battled with Sir Justin eventually winning and killing Blunderbore. Before he died, Blunderbore caused in vain an avalanche that buried Sir Justin and Winged Victory. Neither of them died, but instead were frozen in suspended animation. In modern times, Sir Justin and Winged Victory were discovered and released from suspended animation by a museum curator. He decided to fight evil with his skills as a knight and assumes the civilian alias of Justin Arthur. He eventually met heroes like Crimson Avenger and Vigilante and, after meeting other heroes, they formed the Seven Soldiers of Victory.[4] Later, Justin returned to Britain where he served as a bodyguard to the Prime Minister of Britain, and in same time is called by Merlin for some missions asked by King Arthur and Camelot. During his career as a superhero, he met a boy who looked up to him and vowed to be his sidekick, taking the name Squire.

Shining Knight also had a relationship with the second Firebrand, who was apparently killed by the Dragon King. In the last battle with his teammates in the Seven Soldiers of Victory, they fought a powerful energy creature called Nebula Man. In the process, he was displaced in time, lost his memories, and became a janitor at Blue Valley High School until his memories returned.[5]

In Identity Crisis, Shining Knight assists Captain Marvel, Vixen and Firestorm during their battle with Shadow Thief, during which the villain steals his sword and kills Firestorm with it.[6]

Shining Knight appears in Justice League: Cry For Justice as one of several heroes recruited by Jay Garrick to help combat Prometheus.[7]

In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called "DC Rebirth" which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". A statue of Shining Knight was seen.[8]

Shining Knight was glimpsed during Flash's fight with Reverse-Flash across time.[9]

In the pages of "The New Golden Age", Shining Knight (alongside Winged Victory) reunited with his fellow Seven Soldiers of Victory members in Myrtle Beach where they meet up with the Jill Carlyle version of Crimson Avenger. He assists his fellow Seven Soldiers of Victory in fighting Clock King who was using Per Degaton's time machine on the displaced shipwreck that the original Crimson Avenger died on.[10]

Powers and abilities

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Shining Knight is a master of the arts of combat of Arthurian times, skilled in aerial combat, weaponry including art of sword, and hand-to-hand combat. In some comics, it reveals that Shining Knight shown to have superhuman physical abilities, including: strength, stamina, endurance, speed, reflexes, balance and agility. Due to the suspended resuscitation by an iceberg. Sir Justin's aging has slowed down considerably, remaining forever young. He has an indomitable will, indeed even though there are enemies that are much stronger than him, the Shining Knight refuses to give up and continues to fight.

Equipment

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Shining Knight possesses an enchanted armor which protects him from any harm and an enchanted sword that can cut through anything except for Shining Knight's enchanted armor, and is capable of repelling magical attacks, indeed it can to absorb and shoot them.

When Merlin transformed Sir Justin's horse Victory into the winged horse Winged Victory, he became Shining Knight's mode of transportation.

Other versions

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Shining Knight and Winged Victory make cameo appearances in JLA: Another Nail.[11]

In other media

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Television

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Vigilante and Shining Knight respectively as they appeared in Justice League Unlimited.

Video games

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Shining Knight and Winged Victory appear as character summons in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[15]

References

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  1. ^ Markstein, Don. "The Shining Knight". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  2. ^ Benton, Mike (1992). Superhero Comics of the Golden Age: The Illustrated History. Dallas: Taylor Publishing Company. p. 146. ISBN 0-87833-808-X. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  3. ^ Nevins, Jess (2013). Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes. High Rock Press. p. 241. ISBN 978-1-61318-023-5.
  4. ^ Thomas, Roy (2006). The All-Star Companion: Vol 2. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 96. ISBN 978-1893905375.
  5. ^ Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #0-12. DC Comics.
  6. ^ Identity Crisis #5. DC Comics.
  7. ^ Justice League: Cry for Justice #4. DC Comics.
  8. ^ Legends of Tomorrow #4. DC Comics.
  9. ^ The Flash: Fastest Man Alive #5. DC Comics.
  10. ^ Stargirl Spring Break Special #1. DC Comics.
  11. ^ JLA: Another Nail #2
  12. ^ "Shining Knight Voice - Justice League Unlimited (TV Show)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved August 10, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
  13. ^ Zalban, Alex (May 19, 2020). "'DC's Stargirl' Boss Geoff Johns Explains What Changed From The Original "Pilot"". Decider. Archived from the original on May 23, 2020. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
  14. ^ Damore, Meagan (June 30, 2020). "Stargirl Basically Confirmed Justin the Janitor's Secret Identity". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  15. ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
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