History Main / KnightInShiningArmor

* ''Literature/DarwinsSoldiers'': Sir William is an English knight.

* Sir Mandorallen from David Eddings's ''Literature/TheBelgariad'' saga (and its sequel, the ''Malloreon'' saga) is a textbook example of the Knight in Shining Armor; he embodies this trope, both outwardly and inwardly. Complete with a tragic chivalric love-from-afar affair. Eddings lampshaded the heck out of the trope, though: Mandorallen is heroic, brave and fearless, unbeaten in combat, honorable, truthful, and so on and so on. The first time in his life that he suddenly felt real fear (when he faced a magical opponent that he couldn't defeat) let to a kind of nervous breakdown, a self-doubt of epic proportions during which Mandorallen developed phobophobia, a paralyzing fear of being afraid. He eventually got over it, with the help of his friends, culminating in a moment when he ''kills a lion with his bare hands''.

-->'''Mandorallen:''' We are some distance from our own forces, your Majesty. I pray thee, be moderate in thine address. Even I might experience some difficulty in facing the massed legions of all Tolnedra.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFlightOfDragons'': Sir Orrin Neville-Smythe is a classic example of this; the aged, but steadfast and noble knight dedicated wholly to justice. The page quote comes from the final battle; Sir Orrin gets set on fire by [[TheDragon Bryagh's]] flame. [[HeroicSacrifice He withstands the heat long enough to hurl the now-flaming sword into the heart of the black dragon]], [[TogetherInDeath then collapses next to his fallen love]].

* ''ComicBook/CaptainAtom'': Captain Atom's daughter [[DaddysGirl Margaret]] ''sees'' him this way. He ''eventually'' [[BecomingTheMask becomes one]].

* ''ComicBook/SevenSoldiers'': Both Shining Knights of the Seven Soldiers of Victory.

* The titular character from ''ComicBook/{{Steel}}'' wears a cape and shining armor, wields a weapon, and is as moral and good as Superman himself.
* DC Comics also had the Silent Knight, a more traditional knight than the Shining Knight, and his adventures took place at King Arthur's Camelot. And in a post-nuclear war apocalypse, there were the Atomic Knights who were heroic individuals who wore plate armour to protect them from radioactive fallout (though in more contemporary comics, the Atomic Knights are a faction of PoweredArmour soldiers).

** Applejack's [[spoiler:completed Fullbring covers her in armor save for her head, and gives her a giant lance/drill combination]].

* KnightInShiningArmor: What Sunset's Bankai turns her into.

* William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, was the younger son of a minor nobleman who went on to serve the royal family of [[UsefulNotes/HenryTheSecond Henry II of England]] and be given the hand and estates of Isabel de Clare, eventually rising to become the right hand man of three successive Kings (Henry II, Richard I and John), and regent to a fourth (Henry III), fighting in battle in his 70's. He eventually came to be known by his contemporaries as "[[SpellMyNameWithAThe The Marshal]]" and "the greatest knight," getting a real life HistoricalHeroUpgrade by featuring in a number of ''chansons de geste.''

* Fruit of the Loom wants you [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEXfKCF78Nc to meet the knights who will give new shirts to people].

** It's worth noting that power armor marked as Brotherhood armor, and thus disguises the player as a member of the faction in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' is notably cleaner looking than any other power armor in the game. Even the same set of non-faction armor will look rusted and dirty by comparison. FridgeLogic is that if your PowerArmor is well maintained, you must be Brotherhood. If your armor is all rusted out, you're probably just a scavenger that got lucky and found a functional suit in a cave somewhere. Guess where most, if not all non-faction power armor can be found.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

An OfficerAndAGentleman is the modern version of this trope -- ''very'' often even their direct genetic descendants as old [[BlueBlood noble families]] are ''grossly'' over-represented in all military academies around the world. With the notable exception of America, of course.

** Griffith may be the leader of a mercenary company, and of common birth, but he very convincingly plays the role of the perfect knight. Most people say that the first time they saw him was like looking at a storybook hero come to life. He's AFatherToHisMen, wins battles for TheGoodKingdom of Midland, saves Princess Charlotte when she loses control of her horse, and shows impeccable manners at social functions. It also helps that he's a PrettyBoy who wears shining armor and rides a white-caparisoned horse. BehindTheMask he is a more morally ambiguous and sometimes ruthless character. At the end of the Golden Age he pulls a FaceHeelTurn, and in the Millennium Falcon Arc he becomes a VillainWithGoodPublicity by returning to save Midland while cranking his Knight in Shining Armor act UpToEleven.

* The recurring ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGummiBears'' character Sir Victor, the White Knight, is a classic Knight in Shining Armor. However, it turns out that he is actually the estranged brother of the series' BigBad, Duke Igthorn, and lives in constant fear that he would [[InTheBlood turn evil like the rest of his family]] (before AnAesop is delivered to him, anyway) and rights wrongs as perceived [[TheAtoner atonement]] for his house's ill deeds.

** Though outside of High Rock, the [[UnevenHybrid Bretons]] are better known for their magical prowess, he Bretons actually have a strong chivalric tradition and most city states have their own knightly order to that end, as most prominently seen in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]''. (Knights of the Rose in Wayrest, Knights of the Dragon in Daggerfall, as well as various Templar Orders such as the Order of the Hour who are dedicated to Akatosh, the God of Time, and the Knights Mentor, dedicated to the God of Knowledge.) Due to High Rock's [[DeadlyDecadentCourt cutthroat politics]], how noble these knights actually are can vary wildly.

** The Skull Knight doesn't do a lot of lady-charming, preferring to act as a MysteriousProtector to Guts and Casca, but he's perhaps the closest thing so far to a Knight in Shining Armor in the ''Berserk'' universe, particularly when he [[spoiler:[[BigDamnHeroes saves Guts and Casca from being finished off by Femto (Griffith's Godhand self) and the Godhand at the end of the Eclipse]]]]. Fan rumor is rampant that the guy is [[spoiler: Emperor Gaiseric, the guy who unified Midland]], who may have gone through [[spoiler:a similar ordeal when Void was incarnated as a Godhand]], explaining [[spoiler:his stone-cold hate for the Godhand in general]]. And the guy is a complete badass to boot.

** Jedi in general are a mix between (highly idealized versions of) knights and samurai. However, how much "knight" and how much "samurai" actually varies between cultures. Corellian Jedi, according to ''The Essential Guide to Warfare'' and ''Videogame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', are actually a lot closer to European knights than the mainline Jedi, being descended directly from those who swore oaths of fealty to a Jedi Lord during the darkest days of the [[Literature/DarthBane New Sith Wars]]. They're noted for being ''very'' inflexible about the law and justice.

''[bag snatcher throws down the bag and flees, onlookers applaud]''

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}''

* ''Manga/KatekyoHitmanReborn'' mentions this trope verbatim; with the way that Tsuna is constantly afflicted with the DulcineaEffect, the current Arc's BigBad Byakuran even {{lampshades}} this by mocking Tsuna, asking him if he's trying to be Uni's knight in shining armor.

* ''Anime/{{Monster}}'' has the female heroine, Nina Fortner, fantasize that her secret admirer must be her "prince on a white horse." When she is rescued by Tenma, she assumes the latter must be him. In reality, the anonymous "romantic" emails that have been sent to her were from [[spoiler:her twin brother Johan.]]

* [[CowardlyLion Antoine D'Coolette]] eventually grows into this in ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog''. He's very chivalrous and proper and an expert swordsman. This culminates in issue 234 where he grapples with Metal Sonic and nearly dies all in the name of service to the king.

* Gladion in ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrail'' aspires to be this, and he admires the [[Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland White Knight]] in being a chivalrous character. Unfortunately, the story deconstructs a lot of things that goes wrong with this, ranging from the training and nights Gladion slept in hotels, the fact that Gladion keeps seeing Lillie as a helpless princess stuck in a tower, or the fact that most of the problems could've been avoided if he told his mother about what happened with Lillie, Nihilego and Type: Null so much sooner.

*** In the first book, he plays the trope Straight. thanks to his primarily idealistic nature, ChronicHeroSyndrome, and non-romantic variant on TheDulcineaEffect. It doesn't always pan out very well, such as when he's playing BullyHunter on behalf of Luna Lovegood (it doesn't help if the bullies don't quite get why he's going after them) and anger issues, but he's always trying and will always help, no matter the cost. More than one character remarks that he is far too sweet and kind for his own good, and he stands out in a primarily jaded and cynical cast. As noted in the sequel, his PowerOfTrust brings out better natures in those who didn't even know they had them. Even his darker moments don't quite tip him over the edge. Indeed, his good heart is key in the first book's climax when he's relied upon by arch-schemer Doctor Strange to resist TheFinalTemptation. For his actions, he is also Knighted as a member of the Order of the Garter.
*** Near the start of the sequel, in the ''[[DarkestHour Forever Red]]'' StoryArc, the trope is Deconstructed. His impulsive leap back into the Red Room for to try and talk Maddie, a LivingWeapon and [[spoiler: Jean's [[SeparatedAtBirth stolen-at-birth]] twin sister]] around ends in disaster: he sees her (correctly) as a TragicVillain and [[ArmourPiercingQuestion what he says]] has a real impact and makes her think. [[RealityEnsues But a lifetime of ingrained obedience and programming isn't so easily overturned]], and instead he spends days being horribly tortured, a mere prelude to a TraumaCongaLine that includes [[spoiler: his BlankSlate body (his mind having been removed for safe-keeping by [[HeelFaceTurn Maddie]]) being turned into [[LivingWeapon 'the Red Son']], used to pull a coup and construct an aggressive new Russian Empire, and repeatedly raped by Yelena Belova, [[EvilCounterpart the Red Room's Black Widow]], in her twisted take on the Black Widow/Winter Soldier dynamic]]. This leaves him on the brink of a SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum, and even after he's talked down, he's left [[ShellShockedVeteran horribly traumatised]] and deeply bitter.
*** Yet despite the above, the trope is steadily Reconstructed in more nuanced fashion. He is still dedicated to helping a newly reformed Maddie, [[JerkassRealization he is horrified when he's confronted by Cedric Diggory and realises how he's been treating/terrorising his fellow students]] and his bitterness mainly turns him into a KnightInSourArmor. As Strange says, he is ''still'' the person who will ''always'' do what is right rather than what is easy, and it's why he's TheChosenOne. He even states that as heroes go, Harry is unique. The ''Bloody Hell'' arc shows him as this once more, rescuing [[CourtlyLove Carol]] [[FightDracula from Dracula]] (who wants her [[spoiler: SuperSoldier blood]]). He faces Dracula twice - once in a literal suit of armour - but despite [[PhysicalGod horribly outmatched]] again, he plans ahead, gets help, and (eventually) succeeds. All while resisting the temptation to tap into his [[RealityWarper reality warping]] SuperpoweredEvilSide. He continues to Reconstruct the trope, in [[GuileHero appropriately]] [[CombatPragmatist nuanced]] [[TaughtByExperience fashion]], and when in [[PoweredArmour a personal silvery-white suit of Iron Man armour]], Coulson codenames him 'Agent Galahad'.

* Prince Merik Nihar of ''Literature/TheWitchlands'' is a {{Deconstruction}}. Merik is a kind, noble, self-sacrificing man who doesn't hesitate to literally fly headfirst into trouble if it means saving others. Unfortuanately, ''because'' he's so noble and heroic, he's grown conceited and firmly convinced that he's Nubrevna's only hope for a better future.

** Jorah Mormont is not nearly as straight an example as Barristan Selmy (indeed, his armor's a rather dull, functional grey, reflecting his pragmatism), but he's definitely got his moments. Also {{reconstructed}} in his case, as he began the series as a rather self-centered manipulator (selling out the Targaryens, to whom he had sworn an oath, to Varys and King Robert in exchange for a pardon). But when he finds someone truly worthy of his loyalty, and whom he also loves (Daenerys) he drops it immediately, BecomingTheMask and a rock-hard Targaryen loyalist, not to mention upright, kind, and honest, while still being acceptably pragmatic and ruthless towards the Targaryens' enemies.