Silent Knight as depicted in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #21 (November 1986). Art by Irv Novick (penciller) and Bruce Patterson (inker).
The Silent Knight is a young handsome man named Brian Kent, living in sixth-century Great Britain. At a jousting tournament, the evil Sir Oswald Bane kills Brian's feudal lord father Sir Edwin, claiming it to be an accident. Before he dies, Edwin instructs Brian to continue his rule and look after the people. Sir Oswald hears this and sets Brian under the knightly training of Sir Grot, a friend of Edwin's. Brian excels at his lessons, but fearing that Sir Oswald will kill him if the boy becomes too good, Grot publicly derides the boy as an oaf.
While looking for one of Oswald's prize hawks in the Forest Perilous, Brian finds a trunk with a suit of silver armor, a sword, a red helmet, and shield. He puts the armor on and discovers that it is a perfect fit. He hears travelers being threatened by Sir Oswald's men-at-arms, and comes to their aid, defeating the soldiers without uttering a word. When asked his name, he stays silent to prevent the soldiers from identifying him to Oswald. Hence, he becomes known as "the Silent Knight".[2] He keeps the armor hidden in the Forest Perilous and hides his secret even from Sir Grot.
The Silent Knight also fought outlaws and had adventures involving King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. He also met the evil Morgaine le Fey. Lady Celia who loved the Silent Knight suspected he was seemingly dull Brian, and even after being made to believe he could not be, was constantly troubled by similarities between the pair.
Current status
The Silent Knight made a minor appearance during a time travel storyline.[3]
In the 1990s Hawkman series, Brian is revealed to be a past avatar of the Hawk-God. A further retcon in the 2000s Hawkman implies him to be a past incarnation of Carter Hall.[4]
The Silent Knight assists a time-traveling Superman in destroying a magic artifact. Superman has been warned by Merlin not to let any harm befall the knight and is pleased to learn his name at the end of their adventure, as Superman's adopted surname is Kent. This, and an "inexplicable kinship" felt by Brian imply that he is an ancestor of Superman's adoptive father Jonathan Kent.[5]
In post-Rebirth continuity, the Silent Knight is reimagined as a former friend of Jason Blood who was corrupted after venturing into the Hollow Kingdom and became a conqueror.[6][7]
Powers and abilities
The Silent Knight is a master of the knightly skills of tilting, horsemanship, hawking, fencing, archery, and chivalry. In his origin story, Brian's talent for swordfighting enables him to out-fight some of the king's soldiers. In another story, "The Sword in the Lake", Brian demonstrates great strength when he dives to the bottom of a lake in full armor to retrieve a necklace and resurfaces. He shows loyalty to the knightly code of conduct by never taking unfair advantage of an opponent. For that reason, he never uses a weapon with a greater reach than his adversary's.
References
^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 73. ISBN978-1-4654-8578-6.
^Booker, M. Keith (2014). Comics Through Time: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas. ABC-CLIO. p. 45. ISBN9780313397516.
