King Arthur
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- For other similarly-named characters, see Arthur (disambiguation).
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| King Arthur |
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| First seen: Sonic and the Black Knight (2009) |
| Gender: Male |
King Arthur (アーサー王), also known as the Black Knight (黒の騎士), is a character and recurring boss in Sonic and the Black Knight. The major antagonist for the first half of the game, King Arthur is the reason Sonic is summoned to the Arthurian realm by Merlina the Wizard. He is a playable character in the game's multiplayer battle mode.
Contents
History
Many years before the events of Sonic and the Black Knight (and apparently unknown to all except Merlina), the wizard Merlin created King Arthur as a magical illusion to rule over the Grand Kingdom as a just monarch. Gathering around him the Knights of the Round Table, Arthur led the realm into an era of peace and prosperity. It seems, however, that Merlin's plan was too successful. Convinced of Arthur's virtue and chivalry, Nimue, Lady of the Lake granted the King Excalibur, perhaps the most powerful artefact in the storybook world. The King was made immortal by the enchantment of Excalibur's scabbard - a great power which corrupted Arthur from a noble ruler into a demon-summoning tyrant, and plunged the kingdom into darkness and terror. Merlina expresses the opinion that, all things considered, King Arthur was "[her] grandfather's greatest mistake".
After Sonic and Caliburn slay King Arthur on Faraway Avalon, Merlina reveals the secret of Arthur's genesis to the shocked Knights of the Round Table, before taking the Scabbard of Excalibur herself to effect her true plan: placing the Kingdom in magical stasis, to bring about an "eternal realm" which was Merlin's original dream (and in Sonic's words, boring and lame). As the Dark Queen, she is defeated by Excalibur Sonic.
During the game's end sequence, Caliburn reveals that only he is authorized to determine the true king of the realm, thereby meaning it is Sonic who truly deserves the title of King Arthur.
Deathcalibur
Arthur's massive Zweihänder weapon, Deathcalibur is used by the Black Knight not only for conventional combat, but also as a means of summoning the Knights of the Underworld to the Grand Kingdom [1]. The sword focuses many of the King's attacks during the Faraway Avalon battle.
Despite its name, Deathcalibur is not a component of Excalibur nor one of the Sacred Swords. It appears to be as illusory as Arthur himself, dissolving to black mist along with the King after Sonic slays him.[2]
Boss Fights
Sonic faces the Black Knight twice during the game; first in Misty Lake, then on Faraway Avalon.
Misty Lake battle
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Main article: King Arthur (Misty Lake boss) |
- "Now, let us see the power of your so-called sacred sword!"
King Arthur first tracks down Sonic and Merlina shortly after they obtain Caliburn the Sword. However, Caliburn lacks a sharp blade and Sonic lacks any sort of swordsmanship skill whatsoever. Sonic has to chase the King's horse and strike him with Caliburn by shaking the Wiimote when prompted. Although Sonic manages to knock Arthur off his steed, the magic of Excalibur's scabbard means that the King simply shrugs off the damage, and leaves after deeming Sonic not worthy of death by his hand. This is something of a 'tutorial' boss fight.
Faraway Avalon battle
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Main article: King Arthur (Misty Lake boss) |
- "You shall regret the day you ever raised your sword against me!"
Their second clash is a more heated duel on Avalon island, the Black Knight apparently taking Sonic seriously this time. The King deploys a variety of magical attacks, including:
- A magical attack originating from Deathcalibur, which shoots electricity and temporarily paralyzes Sonic.
- Arthur shoots balls of red-black energy at Sonic. These can only be evaded by bouncing them back with Caliburn. This will raise the soul gauge.
- His most powerful attack, but the easiest one to avoid, is when the player lags behind him. He turns around and charges his horse at you, scattering red/black spheres in his wake. This attack can be most easily avoided by simply holding
. - Occasionally the Black Knight's arm and Deathcalibur will appear in front of Sonic from a portal. The attack becomes more destructive if the Black Knight's health is low.
Other appearances
King Arthur has a card in Sonic Tweet, as do other characters of Sonic and the Black Knight. King Arthur appears again in Sonic Runners as a Buddy.
Sonic Tweet card
King Arthur in Sonic Runners
In other media
Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie comics)
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Sonic and the Black Knight (manga)
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Trivia
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- King Arthur's theme song is Fight the Knight by Crush 40, played during both boss fights.
- Arthur is unlocked in multiplayer battle mode by collecting the five Arthurian Legends books, detailing the story of King Arthur, during regular gameplay.
- He is voiced by Gavin Hammon in the English version and by Hidekatsu Shibata in the Japanese version.
- In Arthurian Legend, the Black Knight is actually an enemy that King Arthur faces; which is fitting, considering how it is revealed at the end of the game that Sonic is actually the true King Arthur.
- The Black Knight's armour is not actually black; just a very dark gold. In the game's trailer, it can be seen that Arthur's mail was initially a far more obvious golden colour.
References
| Sonic and the Black Knight | |
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Promotional material |
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