History NightmareFuel / ShovelKnight

* In the epilogue of ''Specter of Torment'', when the screen pans over the Clockwork Tower, we get to see where the robot rats came from. They're not just mechanical constructs, they were actually made from '''living''' rats being carried over to a machine and undergoing UnwillingRoboticisation, so they're actually {{Cyborg}}s. You can even see their skeletons in the machine through flashing lights as they're being mechanized, so the process must be painful. Given the fact that we also see some Wizzems going through the same process (albeit seemingly willingly) to become Gear Wizzems, it's not unfeasible to think the rest of Tinker Knight's mooks could have gone through similar processes in some way.

* The ending of ''King of Cards''. Shovel Knight's and Plague Knight's campaigns occurred after the Order of No Quarter was founded, Specter Knight's campaign occurred after the Enchantress already established her dominion, but King Knight's occurs as the very first campaign, just before it all goes down-- and the player gets to see it happen. After establishing King Knight as her figurehead, the Enchantress insists he issue a decree for her to send her troops out with, and on his careless wording, the kingdom is ''razed''. From the Enchantress gleefully bombarding the Pridewing, to the Troupple King arriving at the pond to ''hide'' from the danger, to all the betrayed [=NPCs=] taking shelter in the first village, to every Joustus house being ''firebombed'' with Plague Knight at the helm, it is a ''grizzly'' MoodWhiplash and a sobering realization that, despite this having been easily the most comical campaign, it ''always'' was going to end this way.

** Even with this motivation, the issue of the battle could have been tragic. If you remember the cutscene before the battle, you see Plague Knight losing control on the distillation of the potion and Mona running towards him. Then the potion falls, the screen fades to black for a second and when the light comes back, the "Plague of Shadows" is standing in Mona's place...

* While ultimately a ClippedWingAngel, the Grand Triumvirate's exposed face is not a pretty sight. Beneath the likeness of King Pridemoor lies a decomposing skull, with bulging eyes and a wide grin full of rotting teeth. The details on this new face also make the boss' golden sheen appear much more sickly.

** Even worse, you can see abandoned buildings in the background, and one NPC '''confirms''' that the Lich Yard is the remains of the previous Village they lived in, until Specter Knight attacked it. [[spoiler:In the epilogue of ''Spectre of Torment'', you actually '''witness''' said raid]].

** And that's not the worst yet! In his DLC, he not only tries to make himself perfect via the "Ultimate Potion", he [[TheStarscream beats the rest of the Order]] to get his hands on it. [[spoiler: And when he makes the potion? It forms into the "Plague of Shadows", the FinalBoss of his campaign,]] which starts as a MirrorBoss of his original fight, and then transforms into an EldritchAbomination in its second phase. Plague Knight's deeds, however, are softened by his motive: [[spoiler: he's in love.]]
** Even with this motivation, the issue of the battle could have been tragic. [[spoiler: If you remember the cutscene before the battle, you see Plague Knight losing control on the distillation of the potion and Mona running towards him. Then the potion falls, the screen fades to black for a second and when the light comes back, the "Plague of Shadows" is standing in Mona's place...]]
** [[spoiler:Though the entire fight with the "Plague of Shadows" and the "Corrupted Essence" is a nightmare Plague Knight is having thanks to the potion's power, it doesn't exclude the FridgeHorror of the situation: there's an unstable potion of unfathomable power that has enough power to level the Tower of Fate and has a high chance of exploding...]]
* The Lich Yard's first [[TheStinger stinger]]? [[Funny/ShovelKnight Hilarious.]] The second one? [[spoiler: Spectre Knight rushes to the chest with his relic, and digs through it, realizing that the Phase Locket is missing. [[NotSoStoic He breaks composure]], and lifts the chest, before slashing it in half, enraged]]. The third? [[spoiler:The village there is attacked by a legion of undead, with the villagers fleeing for their lives. Phantom Striker appears and attempts to hold them off, but he doesn't succeed]].
** The story implications of Specter Knight's campaign causes a gargantuan CerebusRetcon for that second one - [[spoiler: that amulet is the last keepsake Specter has of his time as a human,]] so what was originally a funny moment of rage abruptly turns into a fit of genuine, if violent, anguish.
* [[BigBad The Enchantress]]. She's an absolute KnightOfCerebus, who is never played for laughs, and is very dangerous and willing to hurt people to achieve her goals. She's the reason that the Order's in control of their respective areas, and she is not to be underestimated. [[spoiler: Oh, and she's also hijacked Shield Knight's body.]]
** Specter of Torment also gives you a front row seat to how depraved she really is. [[spoiler:She blackmails Specter Knight into serving her twice over, turns Reize BrainwashedAndCrazy just to replace a Dark Acolyte, effectively forces the Order of No Quarter to serve her on pain of death, later turns Reize into a monster to punish Specter Knight for getting cold feet, and see that whole "depopulated village" thing above? TheStinger shows that while Specter Knight was just running the villagers out of town, the Enchantress ''was actively nuking people and ordering her minions to attack civilians''.]]
* The final boss of ''Specter of Torment''. [[spoiler:It's a brainwashed Reize [[OneWingedAngel turned into a gargantuan knight monster]] (appropriately named "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Nightmare Reize]]"). The tortured face it makes during the fight and especially when you defeat it implies the transformation is ''very'' painful]].
* In the epilogue of ''Specter of Torment'', [[spoiler:when the screen pans over the Clockwork Tower, we get to see where the robot rats came from. They're not just mechanical constructs, they were actually made from '''living''' rats being carried over to a machine and undergoing UnwillingRoboticisation, so they're actually {{Cyborg}}s. You can even see their skeletons in the machine through flashing lights as they're being mechanized, so the process must be painful. Given the fact that we also see some Wizzems going through the same process (albeit seemingly willingly) to become Gear Wizzems, it's not unfeasible to think the rest of Tinker Knight's mooks could have gone through similar processes in some way.]]
* The ending of ''King of Cards''. Shovel Knight's and Plague Knight's campaigns occurred after the Order of No Quarter was founded, Specter Knight's campaign occurred after the Enchantress already established her dominion, [[spoiler: but King Knight's occurs as the very first campaign, just before it all goes down-- and the player gets to see it happen. After establishing King Knight as her figurehead, the Enchantress insists he issue a decree for her to send her troops out with, and on his careless wording, the kingdom is ''razed''. From the Enchantress gleefully bombarding the Pridewing, to the Troupple King arriving at the pond to ''hide'' from the danger, to all the betrayed [=NPCs=] taking shelter in the first village, to every Joustus house being ''firebombed'' with Plague Knight at the helm, it is a ''grizzly'' MoodWhiplash and a sobering realization that, despite this having been easily the most comical campaign, it ''always'' was going to end this way.]]
-->[[spoiler: '''King Pridemoor:''' [[IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight Have you learned nothing about being a king? Please...]] [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas What would your mother think!?]]]]
-->[[spoiler:'''King Knight:''' '''[[BigShutUp SIL]][[FaceHeelTurn ENCE!!]]''']]
* Reize's ending in ''Showdown''. His adventure has been an upbeat jaunt, complete with him adopting the Baz as his mentor. In his ending, once the mirror is broken, he reunites with the Baz, who [[spoiler:suddenly vanishes in front of him. As does everyone else he comes across as he goes running, including his own father and his father's friend, while the land goes dark around him. None of what happened is real, and he is promptly forced back under the Enchantress's control]].

-->[[spoiler:'''King Knight:''' '''[[BigShutUp SIL]][[FaceHeelTurn ENCE!!]]''']]

-->''[[spoiler: [[IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight Have you learned nothing about being a king? Please...]] [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas What would your mother think!?]]]]''
-->'''''[[spoiler:[[FaceHeelTurn SILENCE!!]]]]'''''

* The ending of ''King of Cards''. Shovel Knight's and Plague Knight's campaigns occurred after the Order of No Quarter was founded, Specter Knight's campaign occurred after the Enchantress already established her dominion, [[spoiler: but King Knight's occurs as the very first campaign, just before it all goes down-- and the player gets to see it happen. After establishing King Knight as her figurehead, the Enchantress insists he issue a decree for her to send her troops out with, and on his careless wording, the kingdom is ''razed''. From the Enchantress gleefully bombarding the Pridewing, to the Troupple King arriving at the pond to ''hide'' from the danger, to all the betrayed [[=NPCs=]] taking shelter in the first village, to every Joustus house being ''firebombed'' with Plague Knight at the helm, it is a ''grizzly'' MoodWhiplash and a sobering realization that, despite this having been easily the most comical campaign, it ''always'' was going to end this way.]]

* In the epilogue of ''Specter of Torment'', [[spoiler:when the screen pans over the Clockwork Tower, we get to see where the robot rats came from. They're not just mechanical constructs, they were actually made from '''living''' rats being carried over to a machine and undergoing UnwillingRoboticisation, so they're actually {{Cyborg}}s. You can even see their skeletons in the machine through flashing lights as they're being mechanized, so the process must be painful. Given the fact that we also see some Wizzems going through the same process (albeit seemingly willingly) to become Gear Wizzems, it's not unfeasible to think the rest of Tinker Knight's mooks could have gone through similar processes in some way.]]

* In the epilogue of ''Specter of Torment'', [[spoiler:when the screen pans over the Clockwork Tower, we get to see where the robot rats came from. They're not just mechanical constructs, they were actually made from '''living''' rats being carried over to a machine and undergoing UnwillingRoboticisation, so they're actually {{Cyborg}}s. You can even see their skeletons in the machine through flashing lights as they're being mechanized, so the process must be painful. It's not unfeasible to think the rest of Tinker Knight's mooks could have gone through similar processes in some way.]]

** And that's not the worst yet! In his DLC, he not only tries to make himself perfect via the "Ultimate Potion", he [[TheStarscream beats the rest of the Order]] to get his hands on it. [[spoiler: And when he makes the potion? It forms into the "Plague of Shadows", the FinalBoss of his campaign,]] which starts as a MirrorBoss of his original fight, and then transforms into an EldritchAbomination in its second phase. Plague Knight's deeds, however, are softened by his motive : [[spoiler: he's in love.]]

* The final boss of ''Specter of Torment''. [[spoiler:It's a brainwashed Reize turned into a gargantuan knight monster. The tortured face it makes during the fight and especially when you defeat it implies the transformation is ''very'' painful]].

* Plague Knight. He's crazy, and in his DLC, he not only tries to make himself perfect via the "Ultimate Potion", he [[TheStarscream beats the rest of the Order]] to get his hands on it. [[spoiler: And when he makes the potion? It forms into the "Plague of Shadows", the FinalBoss of his campaign,]] which starts as a MirrorBoss of his original fight, and then transforms into an EldritchAbomination in its second phase. Plague Knight's deeds, however, are softened by his motive: [[spoiler: He's in love.]]

Shovel Knight may be a cute throwback of a game, but it also has the [[NightmareFuel less cute part of NES era games]].

** Even worse, you can see abandoned buildings in the background, and one NPC '''confirms''' that the Lich Yard is the remains of the previous Village they lived in, until Specter Knight attacked it. [[spoiler:In the epilogue of ''Spectre of Torment'', you actually '''witness''' the said raid]].

** The story implications of Specter Knight's campaign causes a gargantuan CerebusRetcon for that second one - [[Spoiler: that amulet is the last keepsake Specter has of his time as a human,]] so what was originally a funny moment of rage abruptly turns into a fit of genuine, if violent, anguish.

* The Lich Yard's first [[TheStinger stinger]]? [[Funny/ShovelKnight Hilarious.]] The second one? [[spoiler: Spectre Knight rushes to the chest with his relic, and digs through it, realizing that the Phase Locket is missing. [[NotSoStoic He breaks composure]], and lifts the chest, before slashing it in half, enraged]]. The third? [[spoiler:The village there is attacked by a legion of undead, with the villagers fleeing for their lives. Phantom Striker appears and attempts to hold them off, but it's implied he doesn't succeed]].

* In the epilogue of ''Specter of Torment'', [[spoiler:when the screen pans over the Clockwork Tower, we get to see the where the robot rats came from. They're not just mechanical constructs, they were actually made from '''living''' rats being carried over to a machine and undergoing UnwillingRoboticisation, so they're actually {{Cyborg}}s. You can even see their skeletons in the machine through flashing lights as they're being mechanized, so the process must be painful. It's not unfeasible to think the rest of Tinker Knight's mooks could have gone through similar processes in some way.]]

* In the epilogue of ''Specter of Torment'', [[spoiler:when the screen pans over the Clockwork Tower, we get to see the where the robot rats came from. They're not just mechanical constructs, they were actually made from '''living''' rats being carried over to a machine and undergoing UnwillingRoboticisation, so they're actually {{Cyborg}}s. You can even see their skeletons in he machine through flashing lights as they're being mechanized, so the process must be painful. It's not unfeasible to think the rest of Tinker Knight's mooks could have gone through similar processes in some way.]]

* In the epilogue of ''Specter of Torment'', [[spoiler:when the screen pans over the Clockwork Tower, we get to see the where the robot rats came from. They're not just mechanical constructs, they were actually made from '''living''' rats being carried over to a machine and undergoing UnwillingRoboticisation, so they're actually {{Cyborg}}s. You can even see their skeletons as they're being mechanized, so the process must be painful. It's not unfeasible to think the rest of Tinker Knight's mooks could have gone through similar processes in some way.]]

* In the epilogue of ''Specter of Torment'', [[spoiler:when the screen pans over the Clockwork Tower, we get to see the where the robot rats came from. They're not just mechanical constructs, they were actually made from '''living''' rats being carried over to a machine and undergoing UnwillingRoboticisation, so they're actually {{Cyborg}}s. You can even see their skeletons as they're being mechanized, so the process must be painful. It's not unfeasible to think the rest of Tinker Knight's mooks could be mechanical in some way.]]

** Specter of Torment also gives you a front row seat to how depraved she really is. [[spoiler:She blackmails Specter Knight into serving her twice over, turns Reize BrainwashedAndCrazy just to replace a Dark Acolyte, effectively forces the Order of No Quarter to serve her on pain of death, later turns Reize into a monster to punish Specter Knight for getting cold feet, and see that whole "depopulated village" thing above? TheStinger shows that while Specter Knight was just running the villagers out of town, the Enchantress ''was actively nuking people and ordering her minions to attack civilians''.]]

* [[BigBad The Enchantress]]. She's an absolute KnightOfCerebus, who is never played for laughs, and is very dangerous and willing to hurt people to achieve her goals. She's the reason that the Order's in control of their respective areas, and she is not to be underestimated. [[spoiler: Oh, and she's also hijacked Shield Knight's body.]]

** Even worse, you can see abandoned buildings in the background, and one NPC '''confirms''' that the Lich Yard is the remains of the previous Village they lived in, until Specter Knight attacked it.

* The Lich Yard's first [[TheStinger stinger]]? [[Funny/ShovelKnight Hilarious.]] The next one? [[spoiler: Spectre Knight rushes to the chest with his relic, and digs through it, realizing that the Phase Locket is missing. [[NotSoStoic He breaks composure]], and lifts the chest, before slashing it in half, enraged.]]

* The Lich Yard's first [[TheStinger stinger]]? [[Funny/ShovelKnight Hilarious.]] The next one? [[spoiler: Spectre Knight rushes to the chest with his relic, and digs through it, realizing that the Phase Locket is missing. [[NotSoStoic He breaks composure]], and lifts the chest, before slashing it in half, enraged.]]

* The Lich Yard's first [[TheStinger stinger]]? [[Funny/ShovelKnight Hilarious.]] The next one? [[spoiler: Spectre Knight rushes to the chest with his relic, and digs through it, realizing that the Phase Locket is missing. [[NotSoStoic He breaks composure]], and lifts the chest, before slashing it in half.]]