History Characters / ShovelKnight

* ForcedIntoEvil: Zigzagged. Almost none of them wanted to work for the Order in the first place, but were either already rather villainous (Treasure Knight being an established pirate), preferred to be left alone to their own devices (Polar Knight, Tinker Knight, Propeller Knight, and Mole Knight), to accomplish their own goals (Plague Knight) or blackmailed ([[spoiler:Specter Knight]]).

* TheUsurper: Was given Pridemoor Keep by the Enchantress. The deposed king can be found within a village near the castle.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In ''Plague of Shadows'', [[spoiler:after being defeated by Plague Knight, she escapes and isn't seen again after that.]]

* ShoutOut: To [[VideoGame/MegaMan Metal Man]]. In addition to the conveyor belts in both characters' stages, [[spoiler:he also has a massive weakness to a gear-shaped weapon.]]

* AudienceSurrogate: Kinda. In Plague Of Shadows, he's basically a player invoking VideoGameCrueltyPotential, attacking Plague Knight when he's vulnerable and leaving the Order to rot. Not to mention, Mona mentions that he just seems to really like destroying stuff, much like how many completionists will destroy anything they can to find all the secrets possible.

* LogicalWeakness: [[spoiler:When fighting him as a boss in Plague of Shadows, one of the most effective strategies is to use a Berserker potion to give Plague Knight collision damage, much like Shovel Knight would suffer from back when he was playable.]]

* WrongGenreSavvy: In Plague of Shadows' opening stage, Black Knight asserts that Plague Knight seeks the Ultimate Potion to win the Magicist's love. [[spoiler: He's not wrong at all about the motives, just the target. [[ThirdActMisunderstanding This causes problems later]].]]

* NoblewomansLaugh: In Specter of Torment, she uses this as her EvilLaugh.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In "Plague of Shadows", [[spoiler:after being defeated by Plague Knight, she escapes and isn't seen again after that.]]

An undead knight who wields a scythe and master of The Lich Yard. He's the protagonist of the "Specter of Torment" DLC.

* AntiVillain: In ''Specter of Torment.'' [[spoiler: He does the Enchantress's bidding not of his own volition, is only doing it to protect [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes Reize,]] and even in his flashbacks he and Luan were only fighting Shield Knight and robbing the tower so they could get the amulet to protect Luan's son from danger.]]

* TheComicallySerious: One of the [[EasterEgg nifty aspects]] of holding a direction in the air while jumping off rails in ''Specter of Torment''? Specter Knight ''does skateboard style tricks'' on his scythe. [[spoiler: And if you equip Donovan's set, he does them ON A SHORT SWORD!]]

* TomTheDarkLord: Specter of Torment reveals his real name is Donovan. Yes, the ghostly GrimReaper's name is ''Don.''
* TragicKeepsake: [[spoiler:The Phase Locket is implied to be this during the ending of Plague of Shadows. Specter of Torment reveals that the locket was a gift from his former companion Luan.]]

A cloaked knight who wears a PlagueDoctor mask. He specializes in chemical warfare of the explosive variety. He's hiding in the depths of The Explodatorium. He's also the protagonist of the Plague of Shadows expansion.

* CantSpitItOut: [[spoiler:Causes the ThirdActMisunderstanding in Plague of Shadows when he can't bring himself to tell Mona what he really thinks of her.]] It's foreshadowed after Plague Knight tries to impress Mona with his dancing skills, but twiddles his thumbs when he's around her.

* ExplosivePropulsion: In Plague of Shadows, he can boost himself mid-air by causing an explosion at his feet.

** Stated to be [[FragileSpeedster physically weak, but he's ''very'' fast]] and moves by jumping frenetically all over his arena. {{Zigzagged|Trope}} within his game mode, where, while his gameplay style makes it difficult to maneuver and gives him less base health (in comparison to Shovel Knight), his potent alchemy skills make up for it with versatile attacks and regeneration potions. This trope also plays into the story line, where nearly every character belittles him in one way or another whether they mean to or not. Even Plague Knight himself believes it. [[spoiler:It's part of what drives him to craft the Potion of Ultimate Power, so he'll be "strong" enough to deserve Mona.]]

* MagicStaff: Plague Knight has one, although he only utilizes it with the Staff of Surging for a RocketJump or the Staff of Striking to swing it like a SimpleStaff.

* OfficialCouple: [[spoiler:With Mona at the end of ''Plague of Shadows.'']]

* PromotedToPlayable: As a result of a fan poll, he is the protagonist of his own scenario, "Plague of Shadows".
* RocketJump: Has two options, he can launch himself into the air using his own explosives, or use the Staff of Surging arcana to magically propel himself skywards.

* TokenEvilTeammate: Less obvious within Shovel Knight's story, but Plague Knight's actually even more evil than his fellow brethren, even willing to turn on them within his own game mode just to collect their essences for his "ultimate potion". [[spoiler: Subverted as he only wanted to make the ultimate potion in order to woo Mona. He can be just as much of a jerk as any of the rest of the Order, but he's no more evil. Personally, he doesn't even care about taking over the world. By the end of Plague of Shadows, he's hailed as a hero alongside Shovel Knight.]]

* UnreliableNarrator: In ''Plague of Shadows.'' Due to his campaign and ''Shovel of Hope'' taking place at the same time, [[spoiler: his run in with Shovel Knight himself seem skewed in his favor; Despite Shovel Knight beating him in a fair fight in the original campaign, ''[=PoS=]'' shows it as Plague Knight winning and Shovel beating him with dirty tactics.]]

* TookALevelInBadass: In ''Specter of Torment'', he's far more dangerous even without the use of his mech and much less clumsy as opposed to being a complete joke in the main campaign and ''Plague of Shadows''. However, as ''Specter of Torment'' takes place before the former two campaigns chronologically, this is an inversion.
* TurnsRed: He will desperately fling wrenches all over the place when damaged enough. [[spoiler:During the second phase of the fight, he will turn the slow-moving missiles of his mecha into bouncing bombs, making the way to the top of his mecha more dangerous]].

* BigEater: Implied when speaking to him at the dinner table in ''Specter of Torment.''

* InformedFlaw: He's said to have the most annoying laugh in the Order, but is one of the few ''not'' to laugh before his boss fight.

* MysteriousPast: His familiarity with the heroes is left ambiguous. As noted in TheRival he and Shovel Knight have met and fought before, with Polar Knight asking he'd join them, even when he's beaten through the entire Order, Polar Knight still extends a hand in allegiance. Shovel Knight's campaign ends with him staring off into the sunset, contemplating, while Plague of Shadows ends with him sharing a campfire [[spoiler:with Black Knight]] with the title being "Reunion." One of his Rail Riders, after you've defeated him in ''Specter of Torment'', says that he's dealing with loss.

* GracefulLoser: When Shovel Knight lifts up The Order of No Quarter then Propeller Knight will compliment him and say that they join together in an adventure one day. In Plague of Shadows he will be a waiter for Plague Knight and Mona while they are on a date on his airship.

* AscendedExtra: He plays a much bigger role in the Specter of Torment campaign.

* CashGate: You have to spend 3000 gems to make everyone leave his shop before he'll challenge you; however, he drops over 5000 when you beat him. [[spoiler:If you chase him around town after beating him, you can get all the gems you spent back as well.]] Subverted in Plague of Shadows, where he just fights Plague Knight outright.

* AscendedExtra: She get's a larger role in Plague of Shadows, being privy to Plague Knight's machinations and interacting more with the story.

A really bored woman who is holed up to the left of the juice bar. You can pay her 100 gold to play a mini-game where you hit flasks at targets. She plays a bigger role in "Plague of Shadows", where it's revealed that she's Plague Knight's accomplice [[spoiler:and love interest.]]

* AscendedExtra: She plays a bigger role in "Plague of Shadows" and even gets a new portrait.

* StatuesqueStunner: She's one of the taller [=NPCs=] in the game, and Plague of Shadows shows that she's also quite shapely. [[spoiler: No wonder Plague Knight has a crush on her.]]
* TinyGuyHugeGirl: When standing up at her full height, she's at least OneHeadTaller than Plague Knight. [[spoiler: They're also Plague of Shadows' OfficialCouple]]

** Once he realizes that Specter Knight is [[spoiler: / Donovan]], he acts much more kind towards him, and expresses concern for his safety.

* MixAndMatchCritters: In Specter of Torment, he has a rhino/turtle creature named "Terrorpin" as a mount that fights alongside him.

** WakeUpCallBoss: To players familiar with ''Shovel of Hope'' and ''Plague of Shadows'', Black Knight and his trusty steed, Terrorpin, are meant to show the players that bosses aren't going to be the same this time around.

* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: One could forgive him for believing Shovel Knight might been Black Knight, but in ''Plague of Shadows'' he confuses Plague Knight for a legendary alchemist hero, even saying "That looks like a face I could trust". Even in ''Specter of Torment'', upon breaking into the castle [[spoiler:he ''still'' manages to confuse the Enchantress for an ally]].

* PlayingWithFire: Can surround himself with a barrier of fireballs.

* BadassGrandpa: Is implied to be an old man according to Plague Knight, who outright calls him a geezer based on his style. Though given his helmet which hides his face, Mr. Hat's real age is left ambiguous.

* BloodKnight: Has apparently battled several other knights to reach you, and believes conflict itself is reason enough for a fight.

* CulturedWarrior: Besides being really good with his rapier and lightning magic he's also well-spoken and erudite.

* TeleportSpam: In ''Specter of Torment'', he loves teleporting around the boss room while spamming electricity balls.

A mage who sells magical relics to Shovel Knight, improving his maximum mana. Reprises this role in ''Plague of Shadows'', which also shows her to be a frequent research collaborator of Plague Knight.

* AllLoveIsUnrequited: She's clearly attracted to Plague Knight, but he's either too dense or just doesn't care since he has eyes for Mona. [[spoiler: at the end of the story, she hooks up with Percy.]]
** Funny enough when talking to her, she will often say Plague Knight would look more charming if he added something to his style, ex: Put a feather on his hood, other times she will flat out state what she likes in a man, ex: Tall, long hair, it gets to the point where Plague Knight couldn’t physically fit that stastandard; [[spoiler:at the end Magicist realizes she was describing a man like Percy, not Plague Knight.]]

* InexplicableTreasureChests: In each Order of No Quarter stage, Chester can be found hanging out inside of blue treasure chests, in which he has found a new Relic that he'll sell to Shovel Knight on the spot.

-->'''Base Game:''' In the village or out in the field, I have all the deals!\\

* {{Expy}}: He appears to be one of Manbo from ''Videogame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening''. A fish who does a lengthy dance sequence before he helps you out. He grants you potions just like Crazy Tracy from the same game.

* NoHeroDiscount: Inverted. He provides Shovel Knight with ichor for free, but Plague Knight has to pay through the beak, since he's a villain. [[note]]Though, from a gameplay perspective this is actually because you're buying '''armor upgrades''' as Plague Knight, rather than single-use potions, since Plague can't use the Armory.[[/note]]

* FelonyMisdemeanor: The reason she wants Shovel Knight to beat up Specter Knight? [[spoiler:The latter refused to watch her dance.]]

* AscendedExtra: More so than even Mona (who had a minigame attached to her in Shovel Knight's campaign), Percy was actually in Shovel Knight's story as an unnamed NPC fanboying over the catapult on top of the Aerial Anvil, ''Plague of Shadows'' gave him a degree of story prominence, a portrait and a better animated sprite.

A strange creature that resides in Mona's laboratory. He is essentially a living music instrument, and is able to read and perform the "useless" pieces of paper Percy throws away.

* IWillFindYou: The whole reason he's searching for red skulls is because he lost his girlfriend a long time ago. By the time we meet him, he's amassed an incredible collection. [[spoiler:Specter Knight can, and if you're anywhere near thorough will, find her skull, but it's not until you buy all of Red's curios that he finally looks at her skull and realizes it's her.]]

* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Implied to become the Troupple Acolyte of ''Plague of Shadows'' with the Dark Acolyte.]]

* SpearCounterpart: Gameplay-wise, Horace is pretty much the ''Specter of Torment'' equivalent to Mona.

* KneelBeforeZod: His ground pound will force his foe to kneel, so he can [[OminousWalk saunter forward]] and [[{{Knighting}} bring his scepter down upon their head]].[[labelnote: In case you're curious...]] He actually just stuns you and bops you on the head, the "Kneeling" animation is just Shovel Knight's stun animation.[[/labelnote]]

* HiddenDepths: While she claims to be a "really bored woman" in Shovel Knight's story, Plague Knight's story reveals that she's secretly Plague Knight's partner in crime, complete with having a secret lab beneath her room (of which Plague Knight heavily takes advantage of). Also, very fond of dancing when she's alone (or ''thinks'' she is) and is really quite good at it.

* ForcedIntoEvil: Zigzagged. Almost none of them wanted to work for the Order in the first place, but were either already rather villainous (Treasure Knight being an established pirate), preferred to be left alone to their own devices (Polar Knight, Tinker Knight, Propeller Knight, and Mole Knight), or blackmailed ([[spoiler:Specter Knight]]).

* NeverMyFault: He largely blames [[spoiler:Shield Knight]] for his current condition, failing to realize [[spoiler:that she was the one who warned him to not go after the Amulet he was seeking, as well as that he offed himself and Luan due to being blinded by his greed]].

* {{Adorkable}}: His interactions with Mona once their feelings become more overt. Especially if you try to dance in front of her after learning how to from the troupple king, where he does ShyFingerTwiddling instead.

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Its mentioned at one point (after he defeats Treasure Knight) that as an alchemist he could just craft all the gold he wanted out of sawdust and mouse skulls, however in actual gameplay he still needs to scour for treasure in order to buy things like bomb upgrades and armor ichor.

** To [[VideoGame/MegamanClassic Bass]] from the MegaMan franchise. Both are TheDragon to the main antagonists, secretly wish for their own freedom, [[spoiler: and eventually rebel to help the protagonists while settling a personal score]]. His appearance [[spoiler: as Donovan]] is also highly similar to [[VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork Bass.EXE]].

* PlayingWithFire: Magma, technically. He coats himself in it and lobs balls of it.

** And on a funnier note he doesn't visit Pridemore Keep to recruit King Knight. He's sent there because King Knight is screwing around and behind schedule with Pridemoor's renovations. Specter Knight is sent there to slap him around and get him back on schedule, not unlike the reason Vader was sent to the second Death Star in ''Episode VI'' [[spoiler:and the first in ''Rogue One'']].

** To [[VideoGame/MegamanClassic Bass]] from the MegaMan franchise. Both are TheDragon to the main antagonists, secretly wish for their own freedom, [[spoiler: and eventually rebel to help the protagonists while settling a personal score]]. His appearance [[spoiler: as Donovan]] is also highly similar to [[VideoGame/MegaManNTWarrior Bass.EXE]].

[[caption-width-right:250:[[labelnote:Click]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/06b_donovan.png[[/labelnote]] to see his original self.]]

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[[caption-width:250:[[labelnote:Click]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/06b_donovan.png[[/labelnote]] to see his original self.]]

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** And on a funnier note he doesn't visit Pridemore Keep to recruit King Knight. He's sent there because King Knight is screwing around and behind schedule with Pridemoor's renovations. Specter Knight is sent there to slap him around and get him back on schedule, not unlike the reason Vader was sent to the second Death Star in ''Episode VI''.

* {{Expy}}: Of [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic Mega Man]]. Both wear blue, have default weapon, and while Mega Man copies abilities, Shovel Knight uses relics found in stages.

* {{Expy}}: Of [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic Bass]] and [[Videogame/MegamanClassic Proto Man]]. A black-armored [[TheRival rival]] to a blue-armored hero, similar, but upgraded, forms of attack as said hero, is fiercely independent [[spoiler:, and is actually an allie to the player's side, not the main antagonist's]].

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's pretty insufferable in his opposition of Shovel Knight, he openly mocks Plague Knight not unlike the stereotypical JerkJock, and according to Reize, he's even been terrorizing the land aside. [[spoiler: But all the he does he does because he's determined to protect Shield Knight, while being shamed by his own cowardice to actually physically oppose the Enchantress. The outcome is a fervent desperation to keep her from being attacked -- really all he knows ''how'' to do.]]

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Accidentally referring to the Encantress as [[spoiler: Shield Knight]] in front of Specter Knight leads to [[spoiler: Specter Knight's attempted rebellion against her, which ultimately culminates in the loss of his free will and any hope of returning to life.]]

* TheBattleDidntCount: After being defeated by Plague Knight, she claims that she doesn't really care if he takes her essence and that killing him would be a terrible waste of such a useful alchemist. Seeing what she was capable of when fighting Shovel Knight, she very well wasn't being facetious and really was holding back.

* ButtMonkey: He's one of the easier bosses in the game, at least two Order members don't really seem to take him seriously, and [[spoiler:in both Shovel Knight and Plague Knight's epilogues, they're forced to scrub the floor for the king. To rub salt in the wound, Plague Knight, who had betrayed him, is being knighted in the same room as him.]]

* HonoraryUncle: Luan considered him this to his son. [[spoiler: His son is Reize.]]

* InTheHood: Comes with his Grim Reaper look.

* {{Ninja}}: Has a NinjaRun, can run up and somersault off walls, weapon held in a reverse grip, and his aerial attacks have a SingleStrokeBattle look to them. [[spoiler: his former self even more so. His outfit having a face mask, sword sheath placed on his lower back, and his preferred secondary weapon is caltraps.]]
* NinjaRun: Has a loose version of this as his running animation. [[spoiler: played completely straight as his former self: Donovan.]]

* EveryoneCanSeeIt: During ''Plague of Shadows'' its mentioned how everyone can see how Plague Knight has a crush on the Magicist[[spoiler:, this is subverted, however, since he doesn't have a crush on her, he actually loves Mona.]]

** Stated to be [[FragileSpeedster physically weak, but he's ''very'' fast]] and moves by jumping frenetically all over his arena. {{Zigzagged|Trope}} within his game mode where while his gameplay style makes it difficult to maneuver and gives him less base health (in comparison to Shovel Knight), his potent alchemy skills make up for it with versatile attacks and regeneration potions. This trope also plays into the story line when nearly every character belittles him in one way or another, whether they mean to or not. Even Plague Knight himself believes it. [[spoiler:It's part of what drives him to craft the Potion of Ultimate Power, so he'll be "strong" enough to deserve Mona.]]
** Also mocked for being a Coward by some of the Knights in the Order of No Quarter, despite this the only thing Plague is reluctant about is his feelings, in combat proper he isn't intimidated by a single foe, he snides insults on all of them as a matter of fact.

* ProgressivelyPrettier: His playable version, Plague Knight is shorter, his colors are more vibrant and his cloak has more details, compare to his original Boss Version, he is taller, is more threatening looking and his colors are more bleak.

* SpinAttack: His Spin Burst upgrade launches him forward like a cannonball, slamming into and damaging enemies.

* TokenEvilTeammate: Less obvious within Shovel Knight's story, but Plague Knight's actually even more evil than his fellow brethren, even willing to turn on him within his own game mode just to collect their essences for his "ultimate potion". [[spoiler: Subverted as he only wanted to make the ultimate potion in order to woo Mona. He can be just as much of a jerk as any of the rest of the Order, but he's no more evil. Personally, he doesn't even care about taking over the world. By the end of Plague of Shadows, he's hailed as a hero alongside Shovel Knight.]]

* UnreliableNarrator: In ''Plague of Shadows.'' Due to his campaign and ''Shovel of Hope'' taking place at the same time, [[spoiler: his run in with Shovel Knight himself seem skewed in his favor; Despite Shovel Knight beating him in a fair fight in the original campaign, ''PoS'' shows it as Plague Knight winning and Shovel beating him with dirty tactics.]]

* {{leitmotif}}: ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdVfnKCYdJ8 An Underlying Problem]]'' (his stage theme) and ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri3UljPGpkk The Claws of Fate]]'' (his boss theme).

* MysteriousPast: His familiarity with the heroes is left ambiguous. As noted in TheRival he and Shovel Knight have met and fought before, with Polar Knight asking he'd join them, even when he's beaten through the entire Order, Polar Knight still extends a hand in allegiance. Shovel Knight's campaign ends with him staring off into the sunset, contemplating, while Plague of Shadows ends with him sharing a campfire [[spoiler:with Black Knight]] with the title being "Reunion." One of his Pail Riders, after you've defeated him in ''Specter of Torment'', says that he's dealing with loss.

* EvilCounterpart: To Phantom Striker. Both use fencing as their preferred combat style and are both are associated with elements of the the sky (Propeller Knight for wind/air and Phantom Striker with lightening). Both were approached by Specter Knight to join the Order of No Quarter, both were beaten by Specter Knight, but Phantom Striker refused, while Propeller Knight submitted.

** To Propeller Knight. Both use fencing as their preferred combat style and are both are associated with elements of the the sky (Propeller Knight for wind/air and Phantom Striker with lightening). Both were approached by Specter Knight to join the Order of No Quarter, both were beaten by Specter Knight, but Phantom Striker still refused to join, while Propeller Knight submitted.