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King Arthur(Arthur Pendragon) is a legendary figure used commonly incomic books.
King Arthur was first used inNew Comics #3 ("The Tale of Sir Gareth of Orkney") and appears alongside his wifeGuinevere, his friendMerlin, SirLancelot, andGareth.[1]
King Arthur is present inBatman #36, a possible fantasy entitled "Sir Batman at King Arthur's Court" in whichProfessor Carter Nichols uses his "Time-Ray Machine" device to sendBatman andRobin back in time using "time travel hypnosis" to Arthur's court at Camelot.[2]
King Arthur reappears inAdventure Comics #66, a tale in which Merlin gives theShining 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 awinged horse named Winged Victory.[3] The Shining Knight later delivers theHoly Grail to King Arthur at Camelot.[4]
InMarvel 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 inBrave and the Bold #1, a story where Merlin acts as a guide to young squire Brian Kent, who later becomes theSilent Knight.[6][7]
InWorld'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-uptypewriter. Doc and Fatty meet the King and are told that they need to kill adragon to earn a seat at theRound Table. They later pilot a robot dragon and attempt to scam Arthur.[8]
Green Arrow andSpeedy travel to the jungle planet of Tropicus inWorld's Finest #52; there Green Arrow meets both Arthur andDaniel Boone in a story titled "A Sword, a Rifle and a Bow". Green Arrow, Arthur, and Boone are forced to duel in an alien arena against numerous Tropican warriors. At the end of the story, both heroes are returned to Earth as the capital city of Tropicus is destroyed by a volcanic eruption.[6]
Arthur also appears inWorld's Finest #162, a story in which bothSuperman andBatman are dragged through time to Camelot through the use of a "Time Mist", by a race of purple 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 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 Arthur wieldingExcalibur and Batman is wounded bySir Galahad's magic spear. Batman and Superman later aid in their rescue when the deception is revealed and with the help of the magically empowered knights' powers such asSir Bors' ring of fire, Sir Bohart's super-speed,Sir Kay's cloak ofinvisibility and growing powers,Sir Lancelot'sinvulnerable armor,Gawain's belt that gives him superhuman strength, and Merlin's magic spells, the aliens are ousted from Camelot. At the story's end, Superman and Batman are both knighted by Arthur.[9]
Arthur makes a tangential appearance inThe Demon #1, a story where Merlin enlisted the demonEtrigan in the defense of Camelot, against the coming ofMorgaine le Fey, her army of demons, and Arthur's sonMordred. Later, inThe Demon (vol. 3) #16-20, Merlin setPercival to guard the Region Beyond, where Merlin banished all the dangerous mystical entities native toGreat Britain.[10][11]
An alternate version of Arthur appears in the 1982 maxiseriesCamelot 3000, where characters from Arthurian myth have no contact with DC superheroes in present day. He sleeps beneathGlastonbury 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 miniseriesBatman: Dark Knight of the Round Table.
King Arthur has appeared inMarvel Comics' comic books various times. Examples include theBlack Knight andCaptain Britain comic book series. The first version of Arthur Pendragon was inBlack Knight #1 (May 1955) byStan Lee andJoe Maneely.[13][14] Captain Britain got his superpowers from the Arthurian magicianMerlyn and his daughterRoma, not attested in the original legends.
King Arthur appears as an unlockable playable character inLego Marvel Super Heroes 2, voiced by Cian Berry.[15]