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King Arthur (Arthur Pendragon) is a legendary figure used commonly in comic books.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(February 2020) |
King Arthur (Arthur Pendragon) is a legendary figure used commonly in comic books.
King Arthur was first used in New Comics #3 ("The Tale of Sir Gareth of Orkney") and appears alongside his wife Guinevere, his friend Merlin, Sir Lancelot, and Gareth. [1]
King Arthur is present in Batman #36, a possible fantasy entitled "Sir Batman at King Arthur's Court" in which Professor Carter Nichols uses his "Time-Ray Machine" device to send Batman and Robin back in time using "time travel hypnosis" to Arthur's court at Camelot. [2]
King Arthur reappears in Adventure Comics #66, a tale in which Merlin gives the Shining Knight a magical suit of armor (which protects its wearer from all forms of harm), a sword (capable of cutting any substance except the aforementioned suit), and a winged horse named Victory. [3] The Shining Knight later delivers the Holy Grail to King Arthur at Camelot. [4]
In Marvel Family #70, Merlin sends armor to the future, where it is worn by Sterling Morris, a descendant of King Arthur, and sends him back to Camelot. The Marvel Family follow him back in time and find while Arthur is away on a crusade, Queen Guinevere, who was left to rule the Kingdom, has been captured by the Black Wizard, who seeks to seize the Kingdom. Merlin has brought Morris back to rule the Kingdom while Arthur is away. The Marvels rescue Guinevere and retrieve Arthur from the Crusades. Arthur's Knights defeat the Black Wizard's forces and he is captured by Sterling. [5]
Arthur reappears in Brave and the Bold #1, a story where Merlin acts as a guide to young squire Brian Kent, who later becomes the Silent Knight. [6] [7]
In World's Finest Comics #42, comic figures Doc and Fatty travel back to King Arthur's court using a unique device called a "Time-Typer", which is basically a souped-up typewriter. Doc and Fatty meet the King and are told that they need to kill a dragon in order to earn a seat at the Round Table. They later pilot a robot dragon and attempt to scam King Arthur. [8]
Green Arrow and Speedy travel to the jungle planet of Tropicus in World's Finest Comics #52; there Green Arrow meets both King Arthur and Daniel Boone in a story titled "A Sword, a Rifle and a Bow". Green Arrow, King Arthur and Daniel Boone are forced to duel in an alien arena against the best Tropican swordsmen, riflemen and archers. At the end of this implausible story, both heroes are inexplicably returned to Earth, as the capital city of Tropicus is destroyed by a volcanic eruption. [6]
King Arthur also appears in World's Finest Comics #162, a story in which both Superman and Batman are dragged through time to Camelot through the use of a "Time Mist", by a race of nameless purple-skinned shapeshifting aliens, who trick Batman and Superman into helping them overthrow Camelot. The disguised aliens state that Arthur, Merlin and the Knights of the Round Table are actually alien impostors who have driven them away from Camelot. With their help, Arthur and the Knights are defeated; during the fight, Superman is stunned by King Arthur wielding Excalibur and Batman is wounded by Sir Galahad's magic spear. Batman and Superman later aid in their rescue when the deception is revealed (due to the alien King Arthur mentioning electricity) and with the help of the magically empowered knights' powers such as Sir Bors' ring of fire, Sir Bohart's super-speed, Sir Kay's cloak of invisibility and growing powers, Sir Lancelot's invulnerable armor, Gawain's belt that gives him super-strength and Merlin's magic spells, the aliens are ousted from Camelot. At the story's end, Superman and Batman are both knighted by King Arthur. [9]
Arthur makes a tangential appearance in The Demon #1, a story where Merlin enlisted the demon Etrigan in the defense of Camelot, against the coming of Morgaine le Fey, her army of demons, and Arthur's son Mordred. Later, in The Demon (vol. 3) #16-20, Merlin set Sir Percival the Golden Knight to guard the Earthly exit from the Region Beyond, which is located in England. The Region Beyond is where King Arthur had Merlin banish all the dangerous mystical entities native to Great Britain. [10] [11]
An alternate version of Arthur appears in the 1982 maxiseries Camelot 3000 , where characters from Arthurian myth have no contact with DC superheroes in present day. He sleeps beneath Glastonbury Tor, but is awakened in the year 3000 to stave off an alien invasion spearheaded by his sister Morgan le Fay. [12]
An alternate Arthur also appears in the 1992 miniseries Batman: Dark Knight of the Round Table.
King Arthur has appeared in Marvel Comics' comic books various times. Examples include the Black Knight and Captain Britain comic book series. The first version of Arthur Pendragon was in Black Knight #1 (May 1955) by Stan Lee and Joe Maneely. [13] [14] Captain Britain got his superpowers from the Arthurian magician Merlyn and his daughter Roma, not attested in the original legends.
King Arthur appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 , portrayed by Cian Berry. [15] In a bonus mission narrated by Gwenpool, King Arthur wants to make himself look more kingly and plans to slay a dragon. In order to find one, he and Merlin travel to the basement of Garret Castle only for them to fight Morgan le Fay and Kree Sentry-459. King Arthur can be unlocked by helping him fight several groups of enemies that are dressed as dragons.
Guinevere, also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First mentioned in popular literature in the early 12th century, nearly 700 years after the purported times of Arthur, Guinevere has since been portrayed as everything from a fatally flawed, villainous and opportunistic traitor to a noble and virtuous lady. Many records of the legend also feature the variably recounted story of her abduction and rescue as a major part of the tale.
Galahad, sometimes referred to as Galeas or Galath, among other versions of his name, is a knight of King Arthur's Round Table and one of the three achievers of the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. He is the illegitimate son of Sir Lancelot du Lac and Lady Elaine of Corbenic and is renowned for his gallantry and purity as the most perfect of all knights. Emerging quite late in the medieval Arthurian tradition, Sir Galahad first appears in the Lancelot–Grail cycle, and his story is taken up in later works, such as the Post-Vulgate Cycle, and Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur. In Arthurian literature, he replaced Percival as the hero in the quest for the Holy Grail.
The Lady of the Lake is a name or a title used by several either fairy or fairy-like but human enchantresses in the Matter of Britain, the body of medieval literature and mythology associated with the legend of King Arthur. She plays several important roles in many stories, including providing Arthur with the sword Excalibur, eliminating Merlin, raising Lancelot after the death of his father, and helping to take the dying Arthur to Avalon. Different sorceresses known as the Lady of the Lake appear concurrently as separate characters in some versions of the legend since at least the Post-Vulgate Cycle and consequently the seminal Le Morte d'Arthur, with the latter describing them as a hierarchical group, while some texts also give this title to either Morgan or her sister.
Excalibur is a 1981 epic medieval fantasy film directed, cowritten and produced by John Boorman, that retells the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, based loosely on the 15th-century Arthurian romance Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory. It stars Nigel Terry as Arthur, Nicol Williamson as Merlin, Nicholas Clay as Lancelot, Cherie Lunghi as Guenevere, Helen Mirren as Morgana, Liam Neeson as Gawain, Gabriel Byrne as Uther and Patrick Stewart as Leondegrance. The film is named after the legendary sword of King Arthur that features prominently in Arthurian literature. The film's soundtrack features the music of Richard Wagner and Carl Orff, along with an original score by Trevor Jones.
The Knights of the Round Table are the legendary knights of the fellowship of King Arthur that first appeared in the Matter of Britain literature in the mid-12th century. The Knights are an order dedicated to ensuring the peace of Arthur's kingdom following an early warring period, entrusted in later years to undergo a mystical quest for the Holy Grail. The Round Table at which they meet is a symbol of the equality of its members, who range from sovereign royals to minor nobles.
King Arthur is a 2004 historical adventure film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by David Franzoni. It features an ensemble cast with Clive Owen as the title character, Ioan Gruffudd as Lancelot and Keira Knightley as Guinevere, along with Mads Mikkelsen, Joel Edgerton, Hugh Dancy, Ray Winstone, Ray Stevenson, Stephen Dillane, Stellan Skarsgård and Til Schweiger.
Morgaine le Fey is a supervillain appearing in DC Comics, based on Morgan le Fay, the mythical sorceress and half-sister of King Arthur. She debuted in The Demon #1, and was created by Jack Kirby.
Merlin is a 1998 two-part television miniseries starring Sam Neill as Merlin, recounting the wizard's life in the mythic history of Britain. Loosely adapted from the legendary tales of Camelot, the plot adds the antagonistic Queen Mab and expands Merlin's backstory before the birth of King Arthur.
The Knight of the Sacred Lake is a historical fantasy novel by Rosalind Miles. It was first published in 2000 by Simon & Schuster in the UK followed by Crown Books in the US. The book is a retelling of the Arthurian legend and follows the lives of Queen Guinevere, consort of King Arthur and her struggles with the king's nephews Agravain and Gawain; the queen is torn between her love for her husband, her land, and her lover, Lancelot. The book was part of a series, The Guinevere Novels, and was followed by The Child of the Holy Grail. Reviewing the book, Publishers Weekly described it as "a lush, feminist take on the English epic".
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is a Japanese anime series based on Arthurian legend. Produced by Toei Animation, the series consists of 30 half-hour episodes released between 9 September 1979 and 3 March 1980. The series achieved great popularity in its non-English translations.
Knights of the Round Table is a 1953 British adventure historical film made by MGM in England and Ireland. Directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman, it was the first film in CinemaScope made by the studio. The screenplay was by Talbot Jennings, Jan Lustig and Noel Langley from Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, first published in 1485 by William Caxton.
Camelot 3000 is an American twelve-issue comic book limited series written by Mike W. Barr and penciled by Brian Bolland. It was published by DC Comics from 1982 to 1985 as one of its first direct market projects, and as its first maxi-series. It was also the first comic book series to be printed on Baxter paper instead of newsprint.
Stories involving the mythical wizard Merlin have been popular since the Renaissance, especially with the renewed interest in the legend of King Arthur in modern times. As noted by Arthurian scholar Alan Lupack, "numerous novels, poems and plays center around Merlin. In American literature and popular culture, Merlin is perhaps the most frequently portrayed Arthurian character."
Arthur Rex: A Legendary Novel is a 1978 novel by American author Thomas Berger. Berger offers his own take on the legends of King Arthur, from the heroic monarch's inauspicious conception, to his childhood in bucolic Wales, his rise to the throne, his discovery of the great sword Excalibur, his establishment of the Knights of the Round Table, his long and honorable reign, and his heroic death in battle against the evil Mordred, his bastard son.
The Matter of Britain character Morgan le Fay has been featured many times in various works of modern culture, often but not always appearing in villainous roles. Some modern stories merge Morgana's character with her sister Morgause or with aspects of Nimue. Her manifestations and the roles given to her by modern authors vary greatly, but typically she is being portrayed as a villainess associated with Mordred.
Artus - Excalibur is a musical loosely based on the legends of the 5th/6th-century British monarch King Arthur and his fabled sword, Excalibur. The score is by Frank Wildhorn, with lyrics by Robin Lerner, book by Ivan Menchell, and arrangements and orchestrations by Koen Schoots. The musical had its world premiere at the Theater St. Gallen in St. Gallen, Switzerland on March 15, 2014.
Unholy Grail is a horror comic book series written by Cullen Bunn and illustrated by Mirko Colak, published by American company AfterShock Comics. The colorist is Maria Santaolalla, and the letterer is Simon Bowland.
Merlin is a legendary character who has appeared multiple times throughout comic books especially in DC Comics and Marvel Comics.
