SHINING KNIGHT II (Sir Justin of Camelot)	BIOGRAPHY
Created by Henry Lynne Perkins and Craig Flessel

Shining Knight (Sir Justin)

PERSONAL DATA

Real Name: Sir Justin of Camelot
Aliases: Justin Arthur
Occupation: Protector of the Realm, Knight of The Round Table; Adventurer, assistant historian
Citizenship: Presumed British citizen
Marital Status: Presumed Single
Known Relatives: None
Base of Operation: Camelot, later New York City and London, later mobile
Group Affiliation(s): Knights of The Round Table, Law's Legionnaires/Seven Soldiers of Victory I, All-Star Squadron
Gender: Male
Height: 6'
Weight: 185 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blond
First Appearance: Adventure Comics #66/2 (September 1941): "The Shining Knight"
Creators: Henry Lynne Perkins and Craig Flessel

OVERVIEW

Sir Justin of Camelot was given a flying horse and enchanted sword by the sorcerer Merlin as a reward for his valor in serving King Arthur. Centuries later he reappeared in America's time of need when threatened by the Axis menace. His valor and morality were an example to all, and caused Firebrand to fall in love with him. He joined the Seven Soldiers of Victory, and has survived relatively youthful to this day. Recently he fought the menace of the Dragon King, who (it seems) had killed Firebrand, enlisting old friend Pat Dugan to help him.

HISTORY

Journeying to Camelot to join the fabled Knights of the Round Table, young Sir Justin saved an old man from highwaymen. To his amazement, the knight found out that he had just saved Merlin, the court wizard to King Arthur. In gratitude, Merlin enchanted Justin's armor and transformed his horse, Victory, into a winged horse, often called a Pegasus.

During the Sixth Century AD, Camelot was under attack from within and without, and Sir Justin was given the quest to slay an Blunderbore, an ogre that had been menacing the northern kingdoms. Finding and battling the ogre, both fell into an icy crevasse, and Justin found himself in suspended animation for nearly 1,300 years.

As the glacier in which he was entombed floated southward, in the summer of 1941, he was freed from his icy tomb by Professor Moresby, an archaeologist and historian for a New York City museum. Slowly acclimating himself to life in the 20th Century, Justin and Winged Victory fought crime in the tradition of the Knights of the Round Table, even joining a group of adventures called The Law's Legionnaires, and later still helping to form the All-Star Squadron, where he met his love, Danette Reilly, also known as Firebrand.

Finding his native land at war, Justin pledged his services to King George and was assigned as the personal guard of Prime Minister Winston Churchill as he traveled. While in London, during a bombing blitz, he saved a young man, Percival Sheldrake, who was also the Earl of Wordenshire. Seeing his need to serve, Justin made Percival his Squire, and adventured with him, training him while he was in England. Returning to America, The Squire served as a special agent to the Prime Minister's office.

After the War, Justin was summoned back to his proper time by Merlin, but felt he had much to offer the modern world, so elected to stay on there, visiting Camelot from time to time. During this period, he also worked with another sidekick, Sir Butch. During one such time-travel visit, he joined the other knights in seeking the Holy Grail, which would help defend Camelot against the invading armies of Morgan LeFey. After much trial, Justin found The Grail, only to see Camelot fall.

In 1948, Justin and the other members of the Seven Soldiers of Victory were thrown into a time-vortex while defeating the Nebula Man, and The Shining Knight found himself in China, serving Genghis Khan. Rescued after a few weeks by the heroes of both the Justice Society and the Justice League, The Shining Knight and Winged Victory found themselves once again lost in time, more than forty years after they had left. Seeking a way to return to Camelot, since Merlin could no longer bring him back, he aided the Justice Society in defeating a plot by Vandal Savage to take over Camelot. At least temporarily, Justin could traverse the timestream, aiding Abby Cable in searching for her time-lost husband, the Swamp Thing.

Recently, the Shining Knight went undercover to foil the plots of the Dragon King, who was responsible for the death of his war-time love, Firebrand.

POWERS AND WEAPONS

Sir Justin himself has no natural super-abilities, but his armor is enchanted to be lightweight, and nearly impervious to harm, and extremes of heat and cold. His mystical blade is also lightweight, and can cleave through nearly anything. His horse, Winged Victory, is very intelligent and can fly carrying the weight of several adults.

CHRONOLOGY

For a definitive list of appearances of Shining Knight in chronological order click here

PROFILE REFERENCES

Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #20 (October 1986)