King Arthur

''"King Arthur" redirects here. For the character from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, see King Arfur; for the Sonic the Comic character, see Arthur.''
 * This article is about the character. For the game, see Sonic and the Black Knight.

King Arthur, also known as the Black Knight, is a character from the world of Camelot who appears in Sonic and the Black Knight. Created by Merlin to be the benevolent ruler over his kingdom in the world of Camelot, King Arthur was a beloved ruler over his people, until he was corrupted into an evil tyrant by the Scabbard of Excalibur. He is the primary antagonist in the game, with the true antagonist being Merlina.

History
Several years before the events of Sonic and the Black Knight, King Arthur was created, apparently in secrecy, by the wizard Merlin. Presumably forged from the essence of the Knights of the Underworld, King Arthur was an magical illusion, created with the purpose to rule over the Grand Kingdom as its monarch.

Over time, Arthur proved himself as a wise and just ruler, and he managed to gather a powerful group of noble knights under his service, the Knights of the Round Table. For a time, King Arthur led his kingdom into an era of peace and prosperity, and he was praised by all its inhabitants.

During his noble days, Arthur was given Excalibur, along with the Scabbard of Excalibur by Nimue, Lady of the Lake, as Arthur had proven himself worthy to wield them through his unequalled virtue and chivalry. The magical enchantment of the Scabbard of Excalibur made Arthur immortal, but the power of immortality bewitched and corrupted King Arthur, turning him from a noble ruler into a power-hungry tyrant, becoming the Black Knight. At some point Arthur somehow lost Excalibur, but gained a new sword, called Deathcalibur. Using his dark magic, Arthur began summoning the Knights of the Underworld to do his bidding, and Arthur began plunging his kingdom into horror and chaos. He nevertheless proved to still have strong relations with the Knights of the Round Table despite his change, and they still chose to serve him as well.

At the beginning of Sonic and the Black Knight, Arthur was chasing after the granddaughter of his creator and the Royal Wizard, Merlina the Wizard, for reasons that has not specified. Using Deathcalibur, Arthur summoned the Knights of the Underworld to trap her, but as Arthur apporached her, Merlina used her own magic to summon Sonic the Hedgehog to their world. After Sonic dispatched Arthur's minions, Arthur prepared to battle the hedgehog, but Merlina teleported them both away before the battle could begin. Not distraught by his enemies escape, Arthur met up with Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain and Sir Percival and ordered them to seek out Sonic and Merlina and slay them on sight, while he chased after them himself.

Arthur faced Sonic twice during the game. The first time was shortly after Sonic obtained Caliburn, but as Sonic lacked both the resources, the skills and due to the Scabbard of Excalibur making Arthur invulnerable, Arthur decided to leave after deeming Sonic not worth his time. Much later, the two of them met a second time at Castle Avalon when Sonic sought out Arthur to stop him once and for all, but Arthur dryly remarked thar Sonic had only somewhat improved his impersonation of a knight, but was this time seriously determined to kill Sonic and challenge him to a duel.

After a more heated duel, Arthur was knocked off his horse, but Arthur told Sonic that he could not win as the Scabbard of Excalibur made him immortal. However, as Arthur called upon the scabbard's power, Sonic used the Sacred Swords he gained from the Knights of the Round Table to nullify the scabbard's power. Arthur stood up in disbelief of what was happening, and was defeated when Sonic took the opprotunity and attacked Arthur, felling the tyrant for good.

After being bested by Sonic, Arthur faded away, leaving nothing but the scabbard. When Sonic brought the scabbard to Merlina, she revealed that King Arthur was never there, just an illusion created by Merlin, and it was merely part of her plan to acquire the Scabbard of Excalibur for her own ends.

After the battle with the Dark Queen Caliburn revealed that since he is the legendary sacred sword Caliburn, his duty is to decide who was fit for the crown, thus making Sonic the one worthy to be King Arthur.

Archie Comics
King Arthur made an appearance in the Archie Comics' Archie Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 197 as part of the comic's adaptation of Sonic and the Black Knight.

Much like in the game, King Arthur was a king in the Medieval Zone, and was served by three Mobian knights and had the ability to summon dark knight-like creatures from the rifts of shadows that he created. One day, the Royal Wizard, Merlina did something to call King Arthur's wrath upon her and the angry king personally chased after her on his flying horse. During the chase he summoned his monster knights to aid him and they surrounded Merlina, but she used her magic to summon Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic defeated all the creatures and moved in on King Arthur, but just before the two of them could fight, Merlina stopped Sonic and they disappeared in a whirlwind of smoke and dust. Having lost his targets, King Arthur rode his horse to a nearby cliff where Sir Gawain, Sir Lancelot and Sir Percival were waiting. King Arthur then ordered them to seek out Sonic and Merlina and to slay them on sight while he gave chase, and flew away to find Sonic and Merlina.

First Battle
The first battle against the Black Knight is apart from other boss battles as it takes place on a short stretch of terrain (unlike the "circular" battlefields of the Knights of the Round Table or the seemingly endless Faraway Avalon in the second Black Knight battle). It can be considered a "tutorial" for boss battles, though it isn't labelled as one, and it takes three hits to 'defeat' him.

Second Battle
In the second battle, when Arthur faces Sonic, he has a wide variety of attacks. These include:


 * A magical attack originating from Deathcalibur, which shoots electricity and only paralyzes Sonic.


 * Arthur shoots balls of dark energy at you. These can only be evaded by shooting them back with your sword. Upon doing so, you will raise your 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; this can be accompanied by the previous attack.


 * Occasionally, the Black Knight's arm and Deathcalibur will appear in front of Sonic from a portal. The attack is different depending on whether the player has already dealt damage to the Black Knight or not.

Trivia

 * A black knight is a stock literary character, typically a villain. It is a knight who has no liege-lord or does not want to be identified and so does not bear any heraldic standards. Several black knights appeared in the tales of King Arthur.
 * While he is the titular Black Knight, Arthur's armor is actually gold, though a very dark gold.
 * King Arthur's theme song is "Fight the Knight", a song by Crush 40 for the two boss fights Sonic has with him. In the 1st boss battle against him, the song is instrumental. The song in the 2nd boss battle against him has lyrics.
 * King Arthur is unlockable in battle mode by collecting the five books detailing the story of King Arthur during regular gameplay.
 * The Black Knight is the only multiplayer character in Sonic and the Black Knight that is not a recurring Sonic character or at least a character who is portrayed as one. He is also the only one who is incapable of jumping as well as the slowest (even though all characters don't run in multiplayer mode).
 * Sonic's battle with the Black Knight at Avalon may have referenced Arthur's end in the Arthurian legends where Arthur is taken after being mortally wounded by his son Mordred.
 * Strangely, the Black Knight never faces Sonic in battle face-to-face, always dashing away, even though in the second battle, he hypocritically states "It appears you are only good at one thing: running away."
 * King Arthur/The Black Knight slightly resembles Sauron from the Lord Of The Rings series

Quotes

 * "I shall give chase."
 * "Spread out and go after them. Slay them on sight."
 * "Now, let us see the power of your so-called sacred sword!"
 * "Pursue me at your own peril, weakling!"
 * "A fool of a knight, not even worth slaying!"
 * "It seems your impersonation of a knight has improved, somewhat."
 * "Then let us have a another look at that unsightly swordsmanship."
 * "You shall regret the day you ever raised your sword against me!"
 * "There is no escape!"
 * "I shall blast you into dust!"
 * "You blue pest! Roar Deathcalibur!"
 * "I am immortal! You can not defeat me!"
 * "How can this be?!"
 * "Haaaa!"
 * "Nooo!"
 * "Very well." - When being selected in Battle Mode.
 * "I accept." - When being selected in Battle Mode.
 * "Must I even join this?" - When being selected in Battle Mode.
 * "Those bring their swords to bear against me will regret it." - When being selected in Battle Mode.
 * "I will show you my true power!" - When being selected in Battle Mode.
 * "Time for battle!" - After being accepted as the character being played in Battle Mode.
 * "Your very presence offends the eye." - After Sonic fails a counter attack.
 * "You shall regret, challenging me" - Spoken before battle in Battle Mode.