Phantom Knight

4006889484 14b28ac204 m-1- — Fleer trading card showing Dirk fighting against the Robot Knight, but labeled as "Black Knight"

The Black Knight and Robot Knight are two similar-looking characters that appear in the original Dragon's Lair and are often confused or conflated.

The amalgamated name Phantom Knight appeared shortly after the release of the original game, being used in both the television series and Software Projects's 8-bit home computer version. The Ruby-Spears animated series used this new name and merged the two enemy knight characters into one. Animators' model sheets and the 1983 U.S. Copyright Office registrations for these characters' names and drawings confirm this.^[1]

Dragon's Lair[]

The Robot Knight appears in the Chapel / Robot Knight scene and attacks Dirk by activating electric panels under him. After successfully navigating his trap, Dirk is able to fell him with a single blow of his sword before the Robot Knight can counter-attack.

The Black Knight is clad entirely in black armor and mounted on a black horse, he charges at Dirk the Daring in an area of Singe's Castle where giant thorns rise from the ground, intent on finishing the hero off with his sword as he laughs maniacally.

8-bit version[]

The Robot Knight is referred to as the Phantom Knight, Singe's greatest champion in the manual,^[2] and it appears in the "The Deadly Checkerboard" level.^[3] He sends charges of deadly energy flowing through the squares while occasionally teleporting to another square. Dirk must avoid the energies and approach the Knight before he teleports; when the knight's color changes he becomes vulnerable (he is invulnerable while he is black) and Dirk can kill him in order to head to the exit.

TV series[]

The two characters are merged into the Phantom Knight, who displays traits of both and keeps two aggressive hounds as his attack dogs. The Knight plays a pivotal role in the episode "The Tournament of the Phantom Knight"; he abducts King Ethelred in order to get revenge upon him for defeating him many years prior, when Ethelred was a young prince.

Dirk and his allies venture to the Knight's fortress (east of Havenwood) to save the King. There, the Phantom Knight attempts to hold Dirk off by applying charges to a tiled floor, reminiscent to the level of the original game. By forming a pair of stilts out of enchanted special wood, Dirk is able to safely navigated the bolts on the floor and advance toward the knight. Upon the advice of Ethelred, Dirk disarms the Knight, causing his armor to fall apart and dissipating the phantom, who swears to return again.

Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair[]

The Robot Knight appears in Dragons Lair 3D: Return to the Lair, where he uses the same tactic, but this time Dirk receives the Dragon's Ring Essence for defeating him.

Dragon's Lair comics[]

In the comic series, he is referred to as the Black Knight, and is summoned by The Goon Witch to attack Dirk after he refuses her hypnotic romantic advances.

Trivia[]

In 1984, Marvel Books published a Dragon's Lair coloring/activity book titled Dirk the Daring Battles the Black Knight written by Suzanne Weyn with artwork credited to Don Bluth Studios. In the book, the Black Knight is described as the owner of The Castle as well as the one who orchestrates the capture of Princess Daphne inside the Bubble of Helotry and directs the castle's traps against Dirk. The Knight is described as having "many magic powers with which to confuse his enemies" and "can create images of himself." Throughout the storyline, the Black Knight magically assumes a variety of alternate forms that include the Grim Reaper and a Black Ball. The voice of the Black Knight directs Smithee, who guards the Black Knight's weapons room. The Black Knight is revealed to be frightened by the powers of the Magic Sword and for this reason keeps it guarded by Singe the Dragon.
The Game Boy Color game manual names the "Black Knight" as the head of the "Checkeredboard Floor Knight" stage and the "Phantom Knight" as the rider on horseback.^[4]
The Robot Knight's stage is featured in Cardsmiths' Dragon's Lair trading card series as card #18 ("KNIGHTS AND LIGHTS"), with the description: "Dirk will have to dance and dance to foment a revolution against this last electric knight whose bright sword will light the tiles that Dirk must evade"^[5] "THE BLACK KNIGHT" is featured as card #7 with the description: "The cleverly named Black Knight dons his black armor to come after Dirk while he's in Singe's castle. He's intense, chilling, and you'll need to defeat him with far more than just a flesh wound."^[6]