"...ride forth on a jet black steed, murder your enemies in one fell blow, and bring nightmares to every corner of the land. If this sounds good to you, consider the career of black knight." —How to Be a Villain - Neil Zawacki
Exactly what it sayson the Tin.
An enigmatic foe, clad head to toe in armor black as night. Usually ridiculously powerful, he (and it usually is a he) is feared by all who know of him. Wielding a sword, speaking in a low monotone or sinister growl, and looking totally badass while doing it, he is almost always a major antagonist. The Hero probably has a score to settle with him. The mystery surrounding his true identity is often a main plot point. Commonly fills the role of The Dragon in fantasy stories, since when done right, Black Knights are absurdly cool. A Black Knight is usually found in settings in which a Knight in Shining Armor is also present. Frequently, they revel in combat. Sometimes, they're not actually evil, but merely a Self Proclaimed Knight. Sometimes, they're even a girl. Sometimes there's nothing but the suit of armor.
The trope name comes from the black knights of feudal Europe, men who would paint their armor and shields black for a number of reasons. One reason to do this was because they had no liege (making them analogous to Ronin Samurai) or to disguise who it was they served; a knight could move freely and serve his lord's wishes without bringing him blame by painting over his coat of arms, since that was the only way to recognize someone covered head to toe in armor; black was used because it prevented rusting, which made it easier (though still difficult) to travel without a squire *
Having no squire may also explain why such knights are portrayed as never taking off their armor: it's really hard to get all that on and off without help!
. This goes at least as far back as Arthurian legend, making it Older Than Print. Note that, in its original usage, a Black Knight was not necessarily villainous, though he was dishonorable, which in The Dung Ages was barely a step up.
Note that, although being a black knight, this character is still a knight. This places them rather high among the list of potential candidates for Dark is Not Evil, or at least a sympathetic form of villainy. While that can take a variety of forms, they rarely are the Knight in Shining Armor. More likely, they can be anything from a Knight in Sour Armor to a Noble Demon. This character very rarely is a Complete Monster, but also only rarely The Hero. If they are villainous and end up fighting another bad guy, the chances that they are A Lighter Shade of Black in that situation are extremely high. They might also be the holy, chosen guardians of The Sacred Darkness or a Magic Knight who uses that power alongside their sword.
A Monster Knight has a high chance of being a black knight.
If the Black Knight is in service to a female villain, then it may be a case of dark lady and black knight.
Not to be confusedwith thatSonic the Hedgehoggame, although it's also part of this trope.
In Aura Battler Dunbine, Burn Burning became a black knight in the second half of the show after he failed his lord too many times. The OP turned it into a Paper-Thin Disguise for the audience though.
Also deconstructed and subverted at the same time by Suzaku, since he turns into both the Big Bad'sThe Dragon (more than once) and he is more of the bruiser than Lelouch is.
Though in this case, their name is more along the lines of a Chess Motif.
Also in this case the Black Knights are intended to be the knight in shining armor just color coded for irony, although Your Mileage May Vary.
It's not just irony. Lelouch is fully aware they are not exactly "good" but rather "necessary evil against a greater evil".
And the Gawain and again after it's rebuilt as the Shinkiro is a Black Knight(mare).
The Black Knights are color coded to constrat with The Empire, which frequently uses Light Colors in their mecha and uniforms.
Mai-Otome has a Black Knight among the Aswad, and he goes by the name of Rad (a.k.a. Reito).
The Black Knight (and/or Crimsom Knight) from the first episode of The Tower of Druaga is a parody of this kind of character.
In The Five Star Stories, there's only one Black Knight at any one time & he's a sort of Legacy Character. The Black Knight is the person Artificial Human Est sees as the ideal pilot for the Humongous Mecha she's bonded to, Vatshu. When the current Black Knight dies, Est goes Walking the Earth looking for a new one. Most are free agents,n though they usually seem to have an affinity for The Kingdom of Colus.
The Skull Knight of Berserk, though he doesn't actually wear black. Despite his appearance, he's actually one of the nicest guys in the series. Guts himself is called "The Black Swordsman" and gains black armor later on in the series.
More than one character in Marvel Comics is named "The Black Knight." Some are heroes, some villains.
Batman's armor may be a lot less bulky than most, but he still fits (hence "The Dark Knight"). His Tangent Comics incarnation is a literal "dark knight", a cursed suit of armor that stands stalwart against evil.
Disney comics have two Black Knights. One is the Phantom Blot, Mickey Mouse's murderous, sometimes megalomaniac supervillain foe covered completely in an inky black cloak.
Don Rosa drew a pair of stories featuring a Black Knight actually called that. He was a master thief named Arpin Lusene (better known by his criminal alias, Le Chevalier Noir), modeled after the Gentleman Thief trope. He gets even worse when he actually gets a black suit of armour covered with a substance that destroys anything it touches. (He's very careful when putting it on.)
Captain Rochnan, commander of the Warrior Monks, in Le Scorpion.
Sauron from the intro of The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring film's opening wears a huge suit of armor, roars monstrously, and swings a gigantic mace, sending scores of soldiers flying with each blow. Some would say this is contrary to the books, and that's fine, but TV tropes is not the place.
He is modeled after his former master Morgoth from Silmarillion, and the books (or at least the appendix) did mention him taking part in this particular battle personally, so at least it's fairly justified.
Braveheart has William Wallace duel a character like this at one point, complete with a dramatic identity reveal.
There are two films named Black Knight one from 1954 starring Alan Ladd, and another from 2001 starring Martin Lawrence.
Two of these end up coming into A Knight's Tale. One's the classic trope villain, and the other is..the original King Incognito use.
Interestingly averted in Disney's The Sword in the Stone. The knight wearing all black was shown to be scary, but when it was spread and challenged that Wart (Arthur) had pulled the sword out and put it back; he was the most reasonable and vocal about giving him a chance to show everyone he could do it again.
Rinzler in TRON: Legacy is Clu's champion in the games and races. Clad in black, with a smooth black helmet obscuring his face, Rinzler is the only character Dual Wielding discs. He is extremely fast, agile, and durable. This makes sense, as he used to be Tron, the security program, before Clu enslaved him.
The huge black-armoured warrior in the film adaptation of Solomon Kane is silent, mysterious and nigh on unstoppable. True to the trope, it turns out to be Solomon's horribly disfigured brother inside the armour.
"Le Noir Faineant" (The Black Sluggard) of Ivanhoe. In this case it's not The Dragon but rather a Large Ham.
"Desdichado" (The Unfortunate One) of the same story possibly qualifies.
The notorious bounty hunter Aloysius Knight in the Matthew Reilly novel Scarecrow goes by the call sign "Black Knight", and dresses appropriately. In accordance with the trope, his origin, identity and allegiances are unclear.
The Improfanfic Dark Heart High has Craig Maimsworth, Black Knight!...in training. He's not very good at it. He does wear heavy black armor though.
Lord Soth from the Dragonlance novels is a very good example of this trope being a fallen hero, undead (a Death Knight), the leader of a small army of undead and the second in command to Takhisis and Kitiara before being exiled to Ravenloft.
Later stories introduce the Knights of Takhisis, an entire military order of Black Knights (living, for the most part).
In A Song of Ice and Fire we get to hear of several BlackKnights, called Mystery Knights. Indeed, it seems there was hardly a tourney in which there wasn't at least one participating. One of the most famous, never unmasked, was the Knight of the Laughing Tree.
In Eve Forward's Villains By Necessity, a Black Knight joins the protagonists, who nickname him Blackmail. By the end of the book he's revealed to be a legendary paladin who was part of the team of heroes responsible for tipping the Balance Between Good and Evil to the light, and proves his Dark is Not Evil credentials by sacrificing himself to keep the world from being consumed by the light.
Played in its non-villainous incarnation by Sir Guy Losobal, the Black Knight of Christopher Stasheff's A Wizard In Rhyme series, who serves as an ally to the protagonist in most of the books.
The titular character of Alexandre Herculano's Eurico.
In The Black Company novels by Glen Cook, Croaker temporarily becomes a black knight by donning his Widowmaker armor to damage enemy morale.
Sparhawk's enemies in The Elenium/Tamuli essentially see him as this, due partially to the black Pandion Knight armor, partially to the Pandion order's reputation for casual cruelty, and partially to being Anakha.
Martel fits the archetype better, being a dishonoured former knight-turned mercenary.
Averted in Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There, which uses white and red chess set symbolism and characters. (As well as subverted.)
The Warrior in Jet and Gold from the Hawkmoon trilogy has the appearance of one of these, but is actually fully on the good guys' side (if in an annoyingly enigmatic way).
Gaynor the Damned is a straighter version of the trope who appears in many Michael Moorcock series (although his armour is not black but constantly changing in colour, due to the influence of Chaos).
Berserker in Fate/zero, who is only known as "The Black Knight" since he is wearing the typical black armor. He is also clouded by a fog that obscures his identity and status. His identity is revealed later on to be Lancelot of the Lake, who wanted to descend into madness after the mess that he made in his lifetime as a knight.
In Howard Pyle's late-19th/early-20th Century versions of the Arthurian mythos, this is the default appearance of numerous opponents of the Knights of the Round Table during their adventures.
In The Once and Future King, King Arthur states that it has always been his dream to dress up as a Black Knight and stand by a bridge, and challenge any knight who comes by to a joust. Later on, in The Ill-Made Knight, he is shown doing just that when Lancelot comes to King Arthur's Court.
Live Action TV
One turns up in Merlin. It turns out to be none other than Arthur's uncle, summoned as a wraith by Nimueh.
Bull Black the Black Knight in Seijuu Sentai Gingaman/the Magna Defender in Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, an Aloof Ally who lost a family member and is out for vengeance against the villains, clashing with the Rangers in the process. Both eventually pass on their powers to the Red Ranger's brother (Hyuuga and Mike, respectively), who becomes a proper Sixth Ranger.
Gosei Knight in Tensou Sentai Goseiger, another Aloof Ally and a Knight Templar - like the Rangers, he wants to protect the Earth; unlike the Rangers he doesn't particularly care for its people. His armor is actually silver, but his attitude qualifies him for this trope.
And from Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger the year before, and also the father of a Red Ranger, as well as the Sixth Ranger the Yamato Tribe's black knight. He's a flashback-only character, but he is important. He tried to overthrow the Yamato King and failed, but was let off in exchange for giving his baby son Geki to the childless king. Not too long after, he once again attempted a revolt (using the loss of Geki to galvanize others), challenging the king to duel. The king spared him when he lost... but he then immediately got himself killed via Backstab Backfire. His last words to his older son Burai were "Avenge me". This was what lead to Burai and the other Zyurangers starting as enemies.
The Green Knight from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight also appears to fit the trope, but with every instance of "black" changed to "green". Except that the Green Knight subverts it by turning out to be an pretty good guy that just wanted to test Gawain's honour.
A few chapters of space marines in Warhammer 40,000 have their Powered Armor painted black. The Raven Guard are the most well known for it, but naturally some divisions of the Dark Angels sport ebony armor.
And on the side of Chaos we have the Black Legion, who fit this trope to a T.
Interestingly, Black Legion Space Marines kind of fit in the old sense that knights would paint their armour black to show they had no allegiance to a lord, but at the same time that's kind of inverted. Many Black Legion Space Marines are former members of other Traitor Legions (probably broken), but they wear the colors of the Black Legion to show their allegiance to the Black Legion and their new leader AbbadonThe Despoiler.
Although originally the armour was painted black in mourning to their lost Primarch, essentially obliterating their former identity.
Altered from the original with Space Marines sent to the secret Chapter [[Deathwatch]] paint their armor black to show unity with their new Chapter while maintaining their home Chapter's markings on their right pauldron. Played straight with the "Black Shields" mentioned in the roleplaying game. Black Shields are marines who arrive at Deathwatch with their right pauldrom painted uniform black to hide what Chapter they where sent from.
Dungeons & Dragons features the playable Blackguard prestige class, which is a kind of always evil fighter with some divine magic spells. A possible background for a Blackguard is to be a fallen Paladin.
In some French sources, "Blackguard" is translated "Chevalier noir", which is the French for "Black Knight".
The Paladin of Tyranny variant of the base Paladin would also fit here. The Paladin of Slaughter, not so much.
The Black Knight's compatriot, General Bertram is also a classic Black Knight. Dressed all in black armour and riding astride a black horse, he speaks only in hisses, has a Mysterious Past that is only hinted at, is armed with the life-draining Runesword, and keeps his face concealed behind his visor. In the sequel he's revealed to be Princess (now Queen) Elincia's Uncle Renning, courtesy of some brainwashing from Izuka.
Before that Black Knight, the first Fire Emblem had Camus, leader of the Black Knights squadron of the Grust army and widely regarded as the most powerful warrior alive (and certainly backs up that reputation in-game). There's also Sirius in the next book, though he's actually Camus Back from the Dead. They didn't retain this name when Shadow Dragon was released in English, and are instead called the Sable Order.
In Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu, the second generation of characters has Aless, the son of the first generation's legendary knight Eltosian. He sports black-ish armor, wields the demon sword Mistoltin, holds a grudge against Celice, and starts out as a mercenary serving the enemy (and eventually defects). Their lineage can be traced back to Hezul, one of the Twelve Crusaders and also a heroic Black Knight.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has a fight against a Black Knight figure (except with gold armor) in the Spirit Temple near the end of the game, as a personal servant to the Big Bad of the dungeon, Twinrova. He is revealed upon defeat to be...a girl — and more specifically, Nabooru, who had been kidnapped by Twinrova.
The Darknuts from Twilight Princess probably count as well. They aren't important in the plot, but one does appear as a mini-boss in one dungeon, their difficulty makes them very imposing when you have to fight multiple ones later on in the game. A confrontation with three four at once even serves as the game's Bonus Boss.
Darknuts in general Legend of Zelda games for that matter, although not all of them wore black armor. Similar figures can also be found in The Wind Waker (the Mighty Darknuts sent to attack Link when Zelda got captured), and a single black Knight enemy (maybe with that as a name) in The Minish Cap.
Sarevok, the Big Bad of the first Baldur's Gate fits this trope very well. He wields a huge sword, and is clad in spiked black armor with a horned full helm revealing only his glowing eyes. His mysterious connection with the protagonist is that he is the player's demonic half-brother. In the expansion for the second game he can join the player's party, though his Black Knight appearance is significantly toned down.
Golbez of Final Fantasy IV could not fit this trope any better. His theme song is titled "Golbez, Clad in Dark". He doesn't actually ever use a Sword, but prefer his magic instead.
Although Cecil, later a paladin, also fits this early in the game.
ExDeath, the antagonist from Final Fantasy V, although like Golbez above he's presented in-story as a magic user (though he does have a sword and does use it in in-game battles). He also deviates a bit from this trope since his armor is actually light blue with gold trim.
Black Shadow of the F-Zero series. Quite silly for a racing game, but brilliant for an Affectionate Parody of western super heroes and or lucha libre.
One of the most memorable scenes in 1983's Dragon's Lair was the duel against The Black Knight, making it the oldest video game example. The Black Knight also appeared in the animated series.
The Black Knight in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. His identity is never revealed, strictly speaking, but the player can piece together the fact that he's the father of the boy who eventually kills him, unbeknownst to either of them. He's also The Berserker and an amnesiac.
Yuber from the Suikoden series dresses in full black armour, is hinted to have a major role in the overall story and remains frustratingly enigmatic. He removes his armour for the third game (ironically so players wouldn't recognize him) but remains an enigma.
A rare good example: Pesmerga, Yuber's opposite number, who fights on the heroes side but is no less of a Black Knight.
In World of Warcraft almost any Death Knight qualifies as a Black Knight, as does the fallen paladin in Stratholme, and almost all blood elf blood knights. The meme is best exemplified by Highlord Darion Mograine however. And.. you know.. the.. um.. Black Knight.
Servant Berserker in Fate/zero, referred to as the Black Knight because no one can figure out his true identity, and in fact specifically has a Noble Phantasm which can distort his appearance. The only hint was that he recognized and held a grudge against Saber (King Arthur), and his ability to use any object as a weapon. In the end, he was revealed to be a guilt-ridden Lancelot.
Saber Alter counts as well, at least aesthetically.
Fallout 2 has secret agent Frank Horrigan, doing the dirty work for the Enclave. This mutated freak comes with a suit of custom power armor too big for a Super Mutant and fully automatic plasma rifle.
Fallout New Vegas has Legate Lanius,, whose armor isn't black but serves the same function. Part of his backstory is that he wears his helmet because most of his face was torn off in a fight with his own clan—when they decided that surrender was preferable to dying to a man.
Revan of Knights Of The Old Republic fits this trope almost perfectly, the only exception being that the player never actually faces him, which is explained in the big reveal when his identity is revealed to be the player himself/herself.
Prince Neidhart the Black from Romancing Sa Ga plays with this trope. He's The Stoic Prince of Rosalia, a White-Haired Pretty Boy who goes into battle wearing a full suit of ornate armor... and he's one of the good guys, despite his cold demeanor. However, he can have a What the Hell, Hero? moment by suddenly slaying the Dragon Knight, if you don't take steps to prevent it.
Oswald the Shadow Knight from Odin Sphere goes without a helmet (being a White-Haired Pretty Boy) but otherwise has the "terrifying, pitiless butcher" part down pat- he's probably the most feared warrior in the world. At least at first- after a Heroic BSOD and discovering The Power of Love he lightens up a bit, but still wears the spiky black armour and wields the sword infused with the power of the underworld. As he's a playable character, he could be the poster boy for Dark is Not Evil.
The Black Knight In Dungeon Keeper is one of the few instances where they actually work for you.
In Mitsumete Knight, Wolfgario the Ravager, leader of the enemy army Valpha-Valaharian, totally embodies this trope. Wearing full armor, and his identity being a mystery that's crucial for the plot? Check. Speaking with an imposing tone and looking and sounding badass and cool? Check. Wielding a sword? Check, and it's a BFS. Ridiculously powerful? Check, he's the strongest enemy in the whole game. Major antagonist who's not really evil? Check. The only single difference is that he wears red armor instead of black.
Legend of Dragoon features the Black Monster, a mysterious shadowy figure in black armor who burned down the protagonist's hometown; naturally, said protagonist has sworn revenge. It's later revealed that the Black Monster is in fact Rose, the woman who taught Dart how to use his Dragoon powers.
In Dragon AgeAwakening, any character that wears the Armor of the Sentinel will look the part of a Black Knight. The flavor text implies that the armor itself may have somehow been tainted when its original wearer slew the Archdemon Dumat.
The Gatekeeper in Prince of Persia Classic, who replaces the Politician of the original.
...who is actually called the Azure Knight. Funnily enough, he's an evil version of the game's resident paladin Siegfried.
Maximo features a few Black Knights (Animated Armor variety) as enemies in the final few levels. They come complete with a resonant intonation of "No man shall pass." To add to the Shout Out, they even fall to pieces when they're defeated.
A black knight appears early on in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. This knight is a soul-eating golem built out of the corpse of a former mute murderer, built to protect his creator's daughter. As such, despite his menacing appearance he's hardly evil, but you end up having to fight him anyway, after the protagonist kills his ward while under the influence of an evil mask.
It is possible to both fight and dress as a Black Knight in Kingdom Of Loathing. Wearing the outfit gives you a total boost of +21 to your Muscle.
If pinball games count, the 1980 game Black Knight, and it's 1989 "sequel" Black Knight 2000.
When you think about it, you pretty much are one in Conduit 2, seeing as the Destroyer Armor is all black and red armor covering you from head to toe. The concept art also depicts it with an energy sword that doesn't show up in the actual game. Also, the Mooks can Shout Out "You're not my father! You're not my father!!"
Leon of Yggdra Union, although he's not really mysterious. He is also recruitable in its prequel, Blaze Union.
In the original campaign Neverwinter Nights, the female Paladin Aribeth progressivly becomes one after her fiancé execution and is a boss in the later parts of the game. She appears again, after her dead, in the expansion pack, where the player can recruit her and make her shift back to becoming again a Paladin or remain a Blackguard.
Black Knights in Dark Souls usually serve as a sort of optional minibosses, being fast and very tough, especially at low levels, and being slightly off the main path. They are also all Animated Armor, their occupants having been burned alive when their lord Gwyn linked the flame.
Dirk Gassenarl in Valkyria Chronicles II. He's ridiculously powerful, rarely speaks in battle, and serves as The Dragon to Baldren Gassenarl. In a true Darth Vader-esque fashion, he's Avan's long lost brother, Leon Hardins— or what's left of his shattered psyche.
In Mount & Blade you can actually be a black knight, with some editing of the equipment list. A full set of black armour is on said list, but not marked as "sellable", meaning you won't find it unless you change the relevant flag. The black armour is the strongest and heaviest in the game, and you can wear it while riding the best horse in the game, an armoured charger, which is black.
Tales Of Phantasia has Mars, a minor villain at the beginning of the game who fits the trope's physical description well, also intent on unsealing Dhaos. Travelling to the future however reveals that black seems to be Euclid knighthood's standard armour colour.
In Questof Camelittle, the main villain is a Black Knight who calls himself "Big Bad." He's also served by four other Black Knights, named as the Sloth Knight, the Blast Knight, the Spike Knight, and the Assault Knight.
Family Guy parodied this up the yin-yang in its "Mr. Saturday Knight" episode. Particularly memorable is the scene where The Black Knight shaves his beard while still wearing his helmet.
He cuts himself shaving like this.
In the cartoon series Arthur And The Square Knights Of The Round Table, the Black Knight was lackey to the witch Morgana le Fay, and always managed to ruin her evil schemes through his incompetent bungling.
Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, son of Edward III of England is known as The Black Prince because he was wearing a black armour. And from a French point of view, he was of course, a bad guy.
The Knights Hospitallers typically wore black or very dark armour on their campaigns. Given their rampant badassery, they were true Black Knights.
The US Army academy's college football team is nicknamed the Black Knights. They have a long-standing Interservice Rivalry with Navy's Midshipmen, but in keeping with the tendency for a black knight to be a villain and for the villain to lose, they rarely come out of their clashes on top.
