Salamander
Writer
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To finally codify an in-universe piece of media which my characters often reference.
- Image Credit: Jason Dobkin | QSE4 | Joseph Meehan | Sessue Hayakawa (edited by me) | Star Wars 12
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: N/A
- Media Name: Bright Knight
- Format: Holocomics, Holofilms, Holoseries, Hologames
- Distribution: Common
- Length: Recurring
- Description: Bright Knight is a fictional vigilante appearing in holocomics published by GF Comics. He is the alias of Condal Dunstrum, a Force Sensitive Keshiri and heir to an industrialist fortune. Given to the Jedi Order in infancy, at the age of twelve he survived the Jedi Purge due to his family's intervention. Haunted by the deaths of his fellow Jedi and suffering from survivor's guilt, he developed an armor-clad knight persona in order to fight the forces of evil under the guise of anonymity, and later used his wealth to secretly fund the fledgling Rebel Alliance.
- Author: Cato Sibwarra and Sissk Ossk
- Publisher: GF Comics
- Reception: Bright Knight is among the most iconic fictional characters in popular culture (at least, in the Core Worlds), and is often listed as one of the greatest comic vigilantes ever created. His popularity has spanned centuries, and the character has featured in numerous different forms of media since his original inception in 528 ABY.
Bright Knight originated in comics, though he has appeared in other mediums such as films, animation, and games. Among the most popular of these is Bright Knight: The Animated Series, an animated show which was well-received by critics and audiences alike.
CONTENT INFORMATION
Pictured: Condal Dunstrum's first appearance, Bright Knight #1
Origins of Bright Knight
In the original GF Comics continuity, Condal Dunstrum, the heir of Dunstrum Industries, was born in 31 BBY. Found to be Force Sensitive at a young age, his family reluctantly agreed to send him to the Jedi Order for training. Condal was an average student and had a reputation for being a troublemaker. As a result, he still had yet to be chosen as a Padawan by the time he turned 12 years old in 19 BBY, and the Masters expected that he would be sent to the AgriCorps within the year.
It was then that a tragic series of events would change Condal's life forever. With the execution of Order 66, the Jedi were purged from the galaxy by the clone troopers of the Republic Army. After narrowly surviving execution or capture by the clones at the Jedi Temple, Condal was rescued by none other than his father, Garver Dunstrum. The boy was brought back to his family's estate, where he was kept hidden until things blew over. Later on, Condal would discover that his family made a secret deal with Emperor Palpatine to allow their son to remain in their care, so long as they provided arms and armaments to the Empire.
Condal grew to adulthood in his parents' home, where he was forced to repress all signs of his Jedi training. But the boy never forgot the horrors he had experienced during the Purge, and he continued to train and use the Force in secret. By the time he came of age, Condal had developed a seething contempt for the Empire, which he saw as an even more corrupt version of the Old Republic it had replaced. Donning a suit of armor and adopting the moniker of Bright Knight, he vowed to fight the forces of crime and corruption wherever he found them.
Abilities and Gear
Bright Knight's suit is made from phrik, with some electronic components. His cape utilizes repulsor technology to allow him to fly or glide across short distances. He wears a utility belt and gauntlets featuring various gadgets. The character has been shown to use hand-to-hand, stun blasters, specialized vibroswords, or elaborate traps to incapacitate enemies. He kept his training lightsaber, but rarely uses it in combat, preferring to stun his opponents rather than use lethal force.
Pictured: Two of Bright Knights' adversaries, Galvana and the Reaper.
Villains
Equally as popular as Bright Knight is his extensive rogues' gallery. Among his most famous nemeses are the Arsonist, an anarchist supervillain who wears a black fireproof suit, the Reaper, a Bossk serial killer, and Galvana, a criminal whose Force sensitivity begins to manifest in erratic outbursts. "Fear the Reaper", a comic in which the character's origins were codified, established that he was originally a bounty hunter whose bloodlust was sated by taking dead-or-alive contracts. After an innocent man with a bounty on his head came to Bright Knight for help, the vigilante had to face off against the Reaper - and re-evaluate his own sense of justice.
Making her first appearance in "Once In a Blue Moon", Galvana is a thief and petty criminal whose calling card is her use of electricity to scramble security systems. Like Bright Knight, Galvana is revealed to have been a Jedi Padawan who survived Order 66 by suppressing her Force Sensitivity. Despite this, in times of great stress or strong emotion, she tended to lash out with the Force. Bright Knight attempted to help her learn to control these bursts of raw and devastating power, but Galvana dismissed him for trying to "fix" her. In recent years, writers have depicted Galvana less as a villain and more as a tragic anti-hero with a romantic connection to Bright Knight.
Pictured: Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker and other heroes of the Rebel Alliance, as depicted in Bright Knight #77
Historical Fiction
Due to the story being set during the Clone Wars and later the Galactic Civil War, Bright Knight regularly encountered actual historical figures and events. The character later became involved with the Rebel Alliance, funding their war effort and providing equipment such as weapons and starships. A meeting with Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker prompted Bright Knight to consider becoming a Jedi again (though in the official timeline, he ultimately declined the offer to join the New Jedi Order). The cover of Bright Knight Issue #57 famously featured the armored vigilante locked in a duel against none other than Darth Vader.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Writer Cato Sibwarra and artist Sissk Ossk were hired by GF Comics (at the time a relatively new company) to create a line of comics in the detective genre. The collaboration between the two men resulted in a character named Condal Dunstrum, a hardboiled detective with no powers. The story they submitted to the editor was rejected on the grounds of it being boring and too "self-serious". Ossk then returned to a drawing he had made of a knight in shining armor, reworking the design into the vigilante Bright Knight. They kept the name of Condal Dunstrum for the character's alter ego.
The Bright Knight comics drew a small but devoted fanbase over the next few years. Things really took off with the airing of the animated series, which introduced Bright Knight to audiences outside the medium of comics. Since then he has maintained a high popularity as more media featuring the character has been produced, albeit of varying quality and sometimes with wildly different takes on the characters and setting.
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