Sir Lancelot

"I am Lancelot, King Arthur's closest and most trusted Knight. I am also the greatest of all the Knights of the Round Table. I shall strike down all that dare do harm to my king."

- Sir Lancelot, Sonic and the Black Knight

Sir Lancelot (ランスロット) is a character in Sonic and the Black Knight. He is the alternate reality doppelgänger of Shadow the Hedgehog from the world of Camelot. He is a member of the Knights of the Round Table, a group of knights in the service of King Arthur. Both as quick as Sonic and just as headstrong, Lancelot is the mightiest of the Knights of the Round Table, as well as the one closest to King Arthur himself. He wields the legendary sacred sword Arondight.

History
Lancelot, along with his fellow knights Sir Gawain and Sir Percival, was ordered by King Arthur to eliminate Sonic the Hedgehog when he arrived into their world. Lancelot was the first knight Sonic fought, and it was later mentioned by Sonic's sword, Caliburn, that Sonic defeated Lancelot by mere luck. This is somewhat supported by the fact that after beating the game, Lancelot can be fought again. In that fight, he is much harder, being faster than before and wielding Chaos powers, and still retaining the dialogue Sonic, Lancelot and Caliburn used in the original fight, as if this was really the fight itself.

After King Arthur turned out to be an illusion created by Merlin years ago and that it was all a plot orchestrated by Merlina, Lancelot, along with the other knights, set off to use the sacred swords to defeat Merlina. After the four swords formed a barrier around the castle and Sonic defeated Merlina, Caliburn revealed that Sonic was the true King Arthur of this world, and Lancelot, along with Gawain and Percival, bowed to Sonic before he went back to his own world.

Powers and abilities
Lancelot is widely regarded as the strongest member of the Knights of the Round Table, presumably only second or equal to King Arthur himself, and is a knight of the highest skill and power.

Like most other characters in the series, Lancelot can move at super speeds which is an innate talent that members of the hedgehog species possess. Noted to be just as quick as Sonic, Lancelot can move at supersonic speeds, even nearing that of hypersonic speeds. Additionally, Lancelot is also quite acrobatic, being able to execute both swordplay and tricks while in midair.

Much like his alternate reality counterpart, Lancelot is naturally able to perform various Chaos Powers. Chaos Powers he can perform include the Chaos Spear, where he forms energy bolts in midair or fire them from his choice of sword or palm at his opponents, and the Chaos Blast, a shockwave of chaos energy that decimates everything around him. He is also able to perform Chaos Control without the need of a Chaos Emerald, which lets him bend time and space to his will, allowing Lancelot to warp across space and stop time.

As a member of the Knights of the Round Table, Lancelot is a master of swordsmanship. In battle, Lancelot specializes in a balanced style of swordplay that focuses on speed and power, where Lancelot uses quick sword slashes combined with wide and momentum-fueled swipes for additional force upon impact. Combined with his athleticism, Lancelot can spin horizontally around in the air while swinging his sword, creating stronger sword slashes.

Weapons
Lancelot primarily wields swords similar to broadswords which are either single- or double-edged. When using them, Lancelot wields them with a backhand grip and can channel his Chaos Spears through them as well which let him fire Chaos Spears simply by swinging them. His preferred weapon of choice though, is Arondight, one of the legendary sacred swords, which is said to never lose its edge.

Gameplay
Sir Lancelot's gameplay in Sonic and the Black Knight is quite similar to Sonic's gameplay. Just like Sonic, he has a homing attack, and can also use this attack in order to perform an aerial attack. Lancelot's variation of the Soul Surge, Chaos Punishment, makes him vanish and reappear in front of an enemy to slash him. When used with no enemy near, Lancelot will glow blue and fly through the stage.

While wielding his final sword named "Ddraig Goch", Lancelot can also use Chaos Spears by simply slashing with his sword. Also, Lancelot will combine his Chaos Punishment attack with Chaos Blast when attacking an enemy.

Just as Percival and Gawain, he can only be used in the levels Knight's Passage, Shrouded Forest, Great Megalith, The Cauldron and Dragon's Lair. Like Gawain and Percival, Lancelot is permanently set to his character style in Adventure Mode, which is Knight Style.

Archie Comics
Sir Lancelot appears, along with other Arthurian characters, in the story "Knight Time" from the Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog #197, as part of the comic's adaptation of Sonic and the Black Knight.

In the story, the Black Knight comes to Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain, and Sir Percival, and tells them to slay Sonic, and Merlina on sight. Lancelot, and the others respectfully bow to their lord, though Gawain begins to doubt the king's orders, but Lancelot yells back at him, reminding Gawain that the King's orders are absolute, with Percival on his side. After ending his brief verbal fight with Gawain, Sir Lancelot marches off, in search of Sonic, and Merlina to accomplish his new mission.

Real world background
Lancelot is one of the greatest knights of the Round Table from the Arthurian legends. Although he is King Arthur's trusted friend and ally, his affair with Arthur's wife Guinevere eventually leads to civil war and the fall of Camelot.

Lancelot was the son of King Ban of Benwick and Elaine. However, Lancelot was raised by Nimue, a fairy woman. For this reason he was known as Lancelot du Lac, or Lancelot of the Lake (this is referenced in Sonic and the Black Knight by his title, Knight of the Lake). Also, Lancelot's first sword, Arondight was forged by Nimue Lady of the Lake from the stars themselves. Lancelot becomes a Knight of the Round Table and begins an affair with Queen Guinevere. A woman named Elaine of Corbenic falls in love with Lancelot and tricks him into believing that she is Guinevere so that she can sleep with him. From this union, Elaine gave birth to Lancelot's son, Sir Galahad.

Eventually, Lancelot and Guinevere's affair is exposed, and Guinevere is sentenced to death. Lancelot saves her, but in the process killed Gawain's brothers, Gareth and Gaheris (and, in some tellings, Agravain). This turned Gawain and Lancelot into enemies, and split the Round Table, with some knights joining Lancelot and some joining Gawain, leading to a civil war. (In the game, Merlina mentions "Lancelot and Gawain's Rift" in the cutscene before the final battle, in reference to this tale.)

Quotes

 * "The king's orders are absolute, Gawain." - Lancelot to Sir Gawain when Gawain questions the King's orders.
 * "I have found you, apprentice knight, enemy of my King!" - Lancelot's first words during Sonic's first encounter with Lancelot.
 * "I am Lancelot, Knight of the Round Table. I challenge you to a duel!" - Lancelot introducing himself in the first fight against Sonic.
 * "What shall it be? Will you abandon your sword and flee?" - Lancelot when beginning to fight Sonic.
 * "Very well then. Brace yourself, Knave the Hedgehog!" - Lancelot after Caliburn tells him that Sonic's name is Knave.
 * "Knave the Hedgehog, eh? A fitting name, I'd say." - Lancelot teasing Sonic.
 * "Are you truly a Knight? You seem more like a court jester." - Lancelot fighting Sonic.
 * "I was far too careless! Tsk!" - Lancelot after losing to Sonic after their first fight.
 * "We have orders from the king. Have you any last words?" - Lancelot to Merlina the Wizard.
 * "I thought I was the Ultimate Knight..." - Lancelot after losing to Sonic after their second fight.
 * "A battle against a dragon? This is going to be interesting indeed." - After encountering the dragon in the Dragon's Lair.
 * "Anyone who can remain hidden from me can rightfully boast a great deed." - When starting a "find the hidden fairies" mission.
 * "Time to fly!"- During the "Reach the Goal" mission in the Shrouded Forest.
 * "A stone? In the Dragon's lair?!"- When starting the "Reach the Goal" mission for the Dragon's Lair.
 * "For the kingdom and its people!"- Lancelot and Gawain when they retrieve their swords.
 * "Now we shall see what you can do."- Entering into battle against Sonic.
 * "There is nothing that I cannot do."- While fighting during a mission in Great Megalith.

Trivia

 * Lancelot is the only character in the game that wields a sword in a reverse grip.
 * Lancelot calls himself the Ultimate Knight, similar to how Shadow calls himself the Ultimate Life Form.
 * Ddraig Goch, one of Lancelot's weapons, is Welsh for "the Red Dragon" which is the Welsh flag.
 * Lancelot uses Hover shoes like Shadow (shown in the cutscene before Knight's Passage and during gameplay), despite the Grand Kingdom seeming to lack high technology.
 * Lancelot is the only Knight of the Round Table who drops his sword upon being defeated by Sonic and Caliburn.
 * Lancelot seems to have more manners and honor than Shadow does.
 * When Lancelot starts to run and skates slow his flames are gray, but when he skates really fast it becomes gold/yellow.
 * Lancelot is the only knight when after being defeated, does not show a cutscene that he is defeated.
 * Oddly, when the player fights Lancelot a second time, he uses abilities that can only be used with his final sword, Ddraig Goch, but if the player looks closely, he is still using Arondight.
 * Jazwares made a Sir Lancelot figure more than three years after the release of Sonic and the Black Knight.
 * According to Arthurian legend and Merlina, Lancelot is supposed to fight Gawain, which causes a rift between the Knights of the Round Table, ultimately ending the group of knights.