Black Knight
| Black Knight | |
|---|---|
  Official artwork of the Black Knight fromFire Emblem: Path of Radiance. | |
| Universe | Fire Emblem |
| Debut | Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (2005) |
| Smash Bros. appearances | Brawl SSB4 Ultimate |
| Most recent non-Smash appearance | Fire Emblem Engage (2023, cameo) |
| Console/platform of origin | Nintendo GameCube |
| Species | Branded |
| Gender | Male |
| Place of origin | Tellius |
| Designed by | Senri Kita |
| Englishvoice actor | Robert Clotworthy |
| Japanesevoice actor | Junji Majima |
| Article on Fire Emblem Wiki | Black Knight |
TheBlack Knight (漆黒の騎士,Dark Knight), real nameZelgius (ゼルギウス,Zelgius), is a major antagonist andIke's rival inFire Emblem: Path of Radiance andFire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.
Origin[edit]
General Zelgius lives a dual life: under his true identity, he is revered as the most esteemed and honorable general ofthe Begnion Empire and is a vassal of Prime MinisterSephiran; and as the Black Knight, he is a mysterious servant of the Kingdom ofDaein whose true identity is unknown even to its king,Ashnard. Both identities are regarded as immensely strong and talented warriors, and as the Black Knight, he also wields a variety of mysterious magical artifacts, including blessed armor that repels weapons that are not blessed themselves;warp powder that allows him to instantly travel anywhere, at the cost of exhausting him; and the divine swordAlondite.
The Black Knight first appears early inPath of Radiance at the outbreak of theMad King's War, when he challenges Ike's father and his own former mentor,Greil, to a duel in order to retrieveLehran's Medallion. He kills the aging and crippled Greil far more easily than he expected, right in front of Ike, and flees the scene whenCaineghis interrupts them; he leaves behindRagnell, the counterpart to Alondite, which the Black Knight had unsuccessfully attempted to goad Greil into using. From this point, Ike's quest for vengeance against the Black Knight is one of his biggest motivations throughout the war, but whenever they meet, Ike is unable to harm him at all with his ordinary swords. Near the end of the game, Ike and the Black Knight face each other at Nados Castle, with Ike now wielding Ragnell; Ike emerges triumphant, and as he escapes the castle crumbles behind him, leaving him to presume that the Black Knight has died. Meanwhile, under his Zelgius identity, he leads a Begnion battalion to reinforce Ike's war effort against Daein in the latter days of the war and is tasked with occupying Daein after its capture, instead of fighting alongside Ike in any of his battles.
Three years later, inRadiant Dawn, the presumed-to-be-dead Black Knight resurfaces in the fight for Daein's liberation fromBegnion as an ally to the Daein freedom fighterMicaiah. After saving her from an ambush by hostile forces, he comes to her aid in the final battle to free Daein. When the war between Begnion and theLaguz Alliance coalition breaks out, Zelgius fights on both sides: as the Black Knight, he continues to serve and protect Micaiah; and as himself, he reluctantly leads the Begnion charge but is embroiled in conflict and infighting with Begnion politicians, and when the Begnion forces experience a schism over the conflict, he sides with EmpressSanaki, Sephiran, and the Laguz Alliance against the politicians. He has become fixated on Ike - who now serves on the side of the Laguz Alliance - as a rival: in the Nados duel, Ike had mentioned that Greil had crippled himself, robbing Zelgius of his desire to face Greil as he had been in his prime, so the Black Knight chose to let Ike win in the hope that he would grow stronger and provide him a future challenge worthy of the prime Greil.
Zelgius survives the judgement of the awakened goddessesAshera andYune, and as the Black Knight appears before Micaiah and unsuccessfully tries to convince her to stop fighting so that he can protect her. In the finale of the game, the Black Knight confronts Ike, Micaiah, and their party in the Tower of Guidance, standing in the way of their climb to its top to face Ashera, and reveals his true identity. Ike and Zelgius duel for the final time: Ike wins, mortally wounding him, and Zelgius dies content that his wish to face Greil in his prime has, by proxy in Ike, been fulfilled. Before and after the duel, Ike and Micaiah see visions that reveal Zelgius's past: he was born in Daein as aBranded, and while that mixed beorc/laguz ancestry gave him both incredible strength and long life, it also made him an outcast among both species. Sephiran (true identity Lehran, an ancient laguz) had taken him in and made him a key player in his plans, winning Zelgius's absolute loyalty with the promise that he would no longer need to be an outcast.
In combat, the Black Knight is one of the most powerful units in both games. He belongs to the armored unit archetype, but has higher stats and unique traits compared to regular armored units. He has immense strength and defenses, and inPath of Radiance, he has a blessed armor effect which makes him immune to all weapons at the player's disposal up to that point except Ragnell (this effect has faded by the time ofRadiant Dawn). Even when the blessing effect is being bypassed, however, he can still power through opposing attacks and sustain relatively little damage. Like Ragnell, his sword Alondite has the bonus ability to attack over long distances by slinging shockwaves. In both games he possesses a special skill that gives him a chance of triggering an attack that ignores enemy defenses: inPath of Radiance, this is the stockLuna skill that he shares with other armored units, while inRadiant Dawn he has an even more powerful personalized version of Luna calledEclipse. In addition to his recurring boss appearances,Radiant Dawn gives the player the opportunity to control him in three chapters played from Micaiah's perspective, in which he is by far the strongest unit at their disposal. Additionally, after his final defeat inRadiant Dawn, Alondite is given to the player's army and can be used by any advanced sword-wielding ally, with all of the same strength and abilities as before.
InSuper Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]
The Black Knight appears as atrophy and asticker. He is also referenced in the form of the songAgainst the Dark Knight, which plays onCastle Siege.
Trophy[edit]
- Black Knight
One of Daein's Four Riders and wielder of the blessed sword Ettard. Once an apprentice to Ike's father, Greil, the two eventually duel, resulting in Greil's defeat. Thought to be dead after losing to Ike and the blessed sword Ragnell, the Black Knight survives and comes to the aid of Micaiah, the leader of the Dawn Brigade, a band of Daein freedom fighters.
One of Daein's Four Riders and wielder of the blessed sword Alondite. Once an apprentice to Ike's father, Greil, the two eventually duel, resulting in Greil's defeat. Thought to be dead after losing to Ike and the blessed sword Ragnell, the Black Knight survives and comes to the aid of Micaiah, the leader of the Dawn Brigade, a band of Daein freedom fighters.
:Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
:Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Sticker[edit]
| Name | Game | Effect | Fighter(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Black Knight | Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance | SpecialLaunchPower+040 +40 |  |
.png) The Black Knight (Fire Emblem: PoR) |
InSuper Smash Bros. 4[edit]
The Black Knight appears inSuper Smash Bros. 4 in several minor roles. His leitmotif,Against the Dark Knight, also returns inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Trophy[edit]
The Black Knight trophy is exclusive toSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U.
- Black Knight
- Not even the other members of the Daein army know the truth behind this dark knight. He is Ike's rival in Path of Radiance and the sequel, Radiant Dawn. His mastery skill Eclipse is so incredibly powerful, it'd be understandable if you thought his defeat would bring peace to the war-torn land.
- :Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (10/2005)
- :Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (11/2007)
- It's said that the Black Knight's identity is a mystery even to the Daein army who he fights for. In Path of Radiance, he's Ike's mortal enemy, and this enmity continues into Radiant Dawn. His already fearsome strength is bolstered further by the skill Eclipse. He's so powerful that you might even expect him to be the final boss.
- :Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (11/2005)
- :Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (03/2008)
As a costume[edit]
The Black Knight's armor is the basis of a paiddownloadable contentcostume forMii Swordfighters. The Black Knight's color scheme also serves as the basis for one ofIke'salternate costumes.
InSmash Tour[edit]
In Smash Tour, the Black Knight is a red item. A player using the Black Knight at the beginning of a battle will cause theirsmash attacks to have a 30% chance to have 5 times knockback, frequently causing them toone-hit KO for that battle.
InSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
As anAssist Trophy[edit]
The Black Knight appears as anAssist Trophy inUltimate. He moves across the stage slowly, attacking any nearby opponents with his sword,Alondite. He either attacks with a single sword swing or a slow two-hit combo; both attacks are extremely powerful, triggerSpecial Zoom, and can easily KO at low percents. While he can be attacked and defeated, his HP is relatively high, he can't be grabbed, and he only flinches from sufficiently strong attacks.Training Mode describes his Assist Trophy:Slowly approaches, and then executes several extremely powerful slashing attacks.
Black Knight has a spawn chance of38/2086. He cannot be summoned on the following stages in a standard versus match (applies only to the base form unless noted otherwise):
Robert Clotworthy andJunji Majima reprise their roles in both English and Japanese, albeit via recycled voice clips fromFire Emblem Heroes.
In the English version, the Black Knight has three quotes:
- "Here I go." when summoned.
- "Know your place!" when departing.
- "Can't move!" when defeated.
As a costume[edit]
The Black KnightMii costume returns, and is purchasable from the Shop.
Spirit[edit]
The Black Knight also appears as two differentprimary spirits.
Zelgius' Spirit Battle uses aMii Swordfighter puppet fighter wearing the Black Knight Helm and Armor, and is fought on theCastle Siege stage. During the battle, the Mii Swordfighter will feature super armor, referencing the Black Knight's goddess-blessed armor, which features high defense and resistance stats. Also, the Mii Swordfighter's smash attacks will have increased power, referencing the Black Knight's goddess-blessed sword,Alondite, which features high attack stats.
The Black Knight can be obtained byenhancing the Zelgius spirit at level 99.
| No. | Image | Name | Type | Class | Slots | Base | Max | Base | Max | Base | Max | Ability | Series |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 664 |  | Zelgius |  | ★★★ | 2 | 2678 | 8074 | 1406 | 4239 | 1272 | 3835 | Can Be Enhanced at Lv. 99 | Fire Emblem Series |
| 665 |  | Black Knight | | ★★★★ | 2 | 4823 | 12060 | 2328 | 5820 | 1866 | 4667 | Armor Knight | Fire Emblem Series |
Gallery[edit]
The Black Knight as aMii Swordfighter costume
The Black Knight's official render fromUltimate.
The Black Knight slashingLink onTortimer Island.
Artwork of all playableFire Emblem characters and Assist Trophies, as posted on the official JapaneseFire Emblem Heroes Twitter account.
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Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 Japanese | 漆黒の騎士 | Dark Knight |
 English | Black Knight | — |
 French | Chevalier Noir | Black Knight |
 German | Schwarzer Ritter | Black Knight |
 Spanish | Caballero Negro | Black Knight |
 Italian | Cavaliere nero | Black Knight |
 Chinese (Simplified) | Black Knight | — |
 Chinese (Traditional) | 漆黑騎士 | Dark Knight |
 Korean | 칠흑의 기사 | Pitch-black Knight |
 Dutch | Zwarte Ridder | Black Knight |
 Russian | Черный рыцарь | Black Knight |
Trivia[edit]
- On hisSuper Smash Bros. Brawl trophy, the NTSC version's description says that the Black Knight is the "wielder of the blessed sword Ettard", when the blade is only called such in the Japanese version of his origin game; in the West, Ettard was renamed Alondite. This was fixed in the PAL version.
- Even though Zelgius has a spirit battle, Black Knight does not appear as an enemy Assist Trophy in it, being instead represented by the Mii Swordfighter clad in his armor. This makes him one of the two Assist Trophies not to appear in a battle pertaining to his own spirit or its pre-enhanced form (as is the case with Zelgius), with the other beingSpring Man.
| Character Inspirations forMii FighterCostumes inSuper Smash Bros. 4 | |
|---|---|
 Mii Brawler | Akira ·Captain Falcon ·Flying Man ·Heihachi ·Jacky ·King K. Rool ·Knuckles ·Toad |
 Mii Swordfighter | Ashley ·Black Knight ·Chrom ·Dunban ·Gil ·Link ·Lloyd ·Monster Hunter ·Takamaru ·Viridi ·Zero |
 Mii Gunner | Fox ·Geno ·Inkling ·Isabelle ·K.K. Slider ·MegaMan.EXE ·Proto Man ·Samus ·Tails ·X |
| Headgear only | Barbara ·Chain Chomp ·Chocobo ·Daisy ·Inkling Squid ·Luigi ·Majora's Mask ·Mario ·Meta Knight ·Peach ·Red Shell ·Sheik ·Shy Guy ·Spiny ·Super Mushroom ·Waluigi ·Wario ·Zelda |
| Smash Tour | |
|---|---|
| Red items | Back Shield ·Black Knight ·Bob-omb ·Boo ·Bunny Hood ·Daisy (Baseball) ·Darkrai ·Dixie Kong ·DK Barrel ·Energy Tank ·Franklin Badge ·Hammer ·Home-Run Bat ·Kat & Ana ·Latias & Latios ·Magnus ·Majora's Mask ·Mecha-Fiora ·Metal Box ·Mr. Resetti ·Mr. Saturn ·Ore Club ·Phosphora ·Plasm Wraith ·Poison Mushroom ·Rocket Belt ·Sidestepper ·Steel Diver ·Super Mushroom ·Super Scope ·Ultimate Chimera ·Wolfen ·X Bomb |
| Blue items | Ashley ·Boss Galaga ·Bus to the City ·Chain Chomp ·Dillon ·Doc Louis ·Excitebike ·Ghosts (Luigi's Mansion) ·Great Fox ·Isabelle ·POW Block ·Riki ·Snorlax ·Super Star ·Tetra ·Timmy & Tommy ·Tingle ·Yellow Wollywog ·Zinger |
| Green items | Porky Minch ·Proto Man ·Substitute Doll |
| Random events | Banzai Bill ·Flying Man ·Iridescent Glint Beetle ·Kamek ·Koffing ·Metal Face ·Metroid ·Nabbit ·Reaper ·Ridley ·Souflee ·Tac ·Yellow Devil |
 Fire Emblem universe | |
|---|---|
| Fighters | Marth (SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Roy (SSBM ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Ike (SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Lucina (SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Robin (SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Corrin (SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Chrom (SSBU) ·Byleth (SSBU) |
| Assist Trophies | Lyn ·Black Knight ·Tiki |
| Stages | Castle Siege ·Arena Ferox ·Coliseum ·Garreg Mach Monastery |
| Item | Killing Edge |
| Other | Sothis |
| Trophies,Stickers andSpirits | Trophies (SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4) ·Stickers ·Spirits |
| Music | Brawl ·SSB4 ·Ultimate |
| Masterpieces | Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light ·Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem |
