Southern Knights
Southern Knights was a black and white indie comic released in the mid-80's when everyone and their brother was hoping to come up with the next Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [1]. It concerned a group of superheroes who protected Atlanta, Georgia from the forces of evil.
The Southern Knights are:
- Electrode (top right): Scientist David Shenk. Wields the power of lightning. Comic book fan. The team would probably be a lot less comic booky if not for his insistence on proper protocol.
- Kristin Austin (bottom right): Clemson grad blessed with Super Strength.
- Connie Ronnin (bottom left): Olympic fencer armed with a "psychic sword" that bypasses armor but does no permanent damage.
- Aramis Merrow (top left): Teenage sorcerer from the days of the Salem Witch Trials, put in magical sleep by his parents and accidentally revived by the Knights when they move into his old house. His magic tended to function of something as a Deus Ex Machina.
- Dragon (do you seriously need him pointed out?): Exactly What It Says on the Tin. His name is Moranderin but he can assume the form of a man named Mark Dagon.
- Bryan Daniels: The team's groundskeeper who occasionally puts on Powered Armor to help them out.
Notable for trying to stay true to old-fashioned superhero ideals while everyone else in the biz was getting all edgy. Near the end of its run the comic featured a multi-issue crossover with the comic based on the Champions game (though, it should be noted, after the makers of the game and comic had split up). The rights to Southern Knights now appear to belong to Heroic Publishing, and can be read free online at Wowio. In 2010, Heroic Publishing reprinted the crossover in the pages of Champions [and two issues of Flare Adventures], ending in the giant-sized 50th issue of Champions. This was done to reintroduce them to newer readers and serve as a test to see if they could debut in a new series.
- Attack Pattern Alpha: When the Knights get into a fight with another hero team called the Crusaders, the Crusaders try this. Unfortunately for them, Electrode's read the comic books that reveal all their strategies. Whoops.
- Christmas Episode: Southern Knights vs. the Grinch.
- Disposable Superhero Maker: Electrode gets his powers from a machine he invented which is immediately forgotten as soon as he puts on a costume. Despite him inventing powersuits for the government too.
- Early Installment Weirdness: The first issue was titled 'The Crusaders', the first two issues were magazine-sized, Aramis showed up in the fifth issue.
- Expy: One of the team's enemies was the crime syndicate VIPER/Viper, which stands out mainly thanks to the crossover with the Champions comic.
- Last of His Kind: Dragon thinks he is. Turns out there's also Serpent, the leader of VIPER/Viper, the dragon Morrigan kills to recharge her powers after escaping the second time, and I believe yet another in a spin-off comic starring Dragon
- Ms. Fanservice: Kristin, as her superhero outfit is usually a tight tee and shorts. Connie was forced into a cleavage-baring dress cut high on the thigh once.
- Our Dragons Are Different: If they really try they can learn to turn into people.
- Take That: Although this comic got it less than the same writer's X-Thieves, they weren't afraid to use it as a mouthpiece to lash out at things that got their goat.
- The Complainer Is Always Wrong: In general when anyone spoke out against the Knights, they seemed to be in the wrong simply because the Knights were the heroes.
- Those Two Bad Guys: Carl and Larry.
- Worst Aid: In one issue Electrode is in a car accident and doctors try to use a "defibrilator" on him when he flatlines. Forgiving the fact that's not what defibrillators are for, it gets downright Narm-y when they realize shocking an electric superhero doesn't do anything until they turn the machine Up to Eleven.
- You Fail History Forever: Generally people accused of witchcraft weren't burned at the stake.
- ↑ even though the Knights predated the Turtles by two years