History Fridge / ShovelKnight

** Also, why does he [[spoiler: use Relics he shouldn't have on him at that point of the game save a NewGamePlus]]? There's always the fact [[UnreliableNarrator Plague Knight's not being completely honest about what happened during the fight]], which can also be an explanation for [[spoiler:Shovel Knight's behavior]].

* [[spoiler:In Specter Knight's flashbacks as Donovan, only Shield Knight appears, despite the fact Shovel Knight should of been there with her]]. This strange inconsistency could be explained with the same logic concerning [=PoS=] being from [[UnreliableNarrator Plague Knight's point of view]]...[[spoiler:remember, the flashbacks are from Specter Knight's perspective, so it's very likely either he can't remember seeing him or the Enchantress purposely muddled his memories when she was reviving him to ensure he only remembered Shield Knight when he was dying ([[BatmanGambit so he'd act just as she planned]])]].

** Tinker Knight stopped using the Mobile Gear because Plague Knight stole it from him. This also explains why he constantly falls over while fighting Shovel Knight and Plague Knight: he's not as used to moving in battle without the Mobile Gear.

* In ''Specter of Torment'', we clearly see Plague Knight use the Tracer and Cascade Powders, as well as the Impact Fuse (all which need to be purchased from Mona). Yet why does he start ''Plague of Shadows'' with only the basic bombs? Plague Knight makes a comment concerning Percy once launching from a catapult him straight into the ocean, outright stating he can't afford another set of waterlogged bombs. Those waterlogged bombs likely included his more advanced ones, and because he probably invested most of the funds for work on the Ultimate Potion, he only could afford to use the basic Black Powder Bombs used by his minions since he didn't have enough funds to spare to replace the bombs he lost, especially if the incident happened not that long before the events of the game.

** Despite the implication [[spoiler:that both the final bosses of ''Plague of Shadows'' are not actually real, but are a mental manifestation of Plague Knight created by the Serum Supernus]], it doesn't take away any of the horror of the situation since [[spoiler:if Plague Knight failed to defeat the boss (aka remains unconscious), that means the Serum Supernus is free to go haywire and if Mona can't stabilize it herself, kill them both]].

** If you're like most players, you very likely beat ''Shovel of Hope'' on at least one file before starting ''Plague of Shadows''. [[spoiler: Plague Knight's story is Shovel Knight's NewGamePlus.]] Which provides an alternative explanation for his behavior: [[spoiler: A player that took the moral high road in his first playthrough will be inclined to take the JerkAss low road in at least one subsequent replay. Plague Knight being the perspective character at the time gives the player a handy excuse to assume Shovel Knight's JerkAss moments to be non-canon, rather than what the player themselves would've done in that particular replay.]]

** Polar Knight likely brought down all the pillar-sized icicles during the battle with Specter Knight, and in any case[[BossArenaIdiocy they only provide a place to hide from the spikes he reveals and his mostly-grounded fighting style]].

* I always wondered why the annoyingly difficult Spectre Knight, who's level is not only full of insta-death traps but is also obnoxious to fight, is parted with the relatively easy King Knight in "world" 1. That was until I realized the SK is based around '''death''', being like a Grim Reaper of sorts. His stage and especially his fight will most likely kill you a lot (especially on your first play-through) because his motif revolves around it.
* Why is [[spoiler: Shovel Knight]] so smart, unpredictable and reacts to your attacks? Becuase [[spoiler: Shovel Knight]]'s battle style is based on [[spoiler: how a '''player''' would react to a boss' attack]]. Remember that [[spoiler: '''Shovel Knight''' is the default and original player character, so naturally he'd fight like one too]].

* [[spoiler:In Specter Knight's flashbacks as Donovan, only Shield Knight appears, despite the fact Shovel Knight should of been there with her]]. This strange inconsistency could be explained with the same logic concerning [=PoS=] being from [[UnreliableNarrator Plague Knight's point of view]]...[[spoiler:remember, the flashbacks are from Specter Knight's perspective, so it's very likely he can't remember some of the details of the event(which probably among them Shovel Knight's presence during the real event).]]
** Alternately, [[spoiler:the Enchantress being the one that revived him might of purposely muddled his memories so he would only remember Shield Knight ([[BatmanGambit so he'd act just as she intended]]). Either way, it would explain why he doesn't recognize Shovel Knight at all in ''Shovel of Hope''.]]

* In hindsight, Mona having a connection to Plague Knight is subtlety hinted at in ''Shovel of Hope'', even if the two are never seen together at all in the campaign. While the biggest hint is the fact her mini-game uses the same beakers used by the Alchemeiser mini-boss of the Explodatorium, it's also implied by of all things by the interface. To explain, characters have their names colored, and Mona's color is a dark green in ''Shovel of Hope''. What's notable about it is it's the ''exact same color as Plague Knight's''. Also, Croaker's pun for her involves calling her a '[[{{Pun}} vial]] woman'. Knowing Mona is an alchemist (which doesn't have a good reputation judging by some dialogue in ''Plague of Shadows'') on top of working with Plague Knight (whom isn't exactly the nicest person ever to put lightly) as his research partner, the pun borders on IfOnlyYouKnew.

* Mona reveals that Plague Knight is capable of making gold himself out of sawdust and mouse skulls, yet [[GameplayAndStorySegregation Plague Knight still has to use treasure from levels to pay for upgrades]]. Why doesn't he use this ability at all? Talking to Chester for the first time has him mention he's suspicious of accepting gold from an alchemist, so likely alchemists being capable of making gold is something of common knowledge, so Plague Knight probably couldn't use that gold regardless with his poor reputation in the area, especially if the seller is someone like Chester.
** This principle also applies to the only other people besides Mona (whom is also an alchemist) Plague Knight can buy things from. Troupple King outright states he only grants his ichors to noble cases, so Plague Knight certainly wouldn't want to risk incurring his anger with fake gold, and this also would apply to the Magicist (one of his colleagues) as well, in this case to keep her trust.

* In hindsight, Mona having a connection to Plague Knight is subtlety hinted at in ''Shovel of Hope'', even if the two are never seen together at all in the campaign. While the biggest hint is the fact her mini-game uses the same beakers used by the Alchemeiser mini-boss of the Explodatorium, it's also implied by of all things by the interface. To explain, characters have their names colored, and Mona's color is a dark green in ''Shovel of Hope''. What's notable about it is it's the ''exact same color as Plague Knight's''.
** Also, Croaker's pun for her involves calling her a '[[{{Pun}} vial]] woman'. Knowing Mona is an alchemist (which doesn't have a good reputation judging by some dialogue in ''Plague of Shadows'') on top of working with Plague Knight (whom isn't exactly the nicest person ever to put lightly) as his research partner, the pun borders on AccidentallyAccurate levels.

* [[spoiler:In Specter Knight's flashbacks as Donovan, only Shield Knight appears, despite the fact Shovel Knight should of been there with her]]. This strange inconsistency could be explained with the same logic concerning [[=''PoS''=} being from [[UnreliableNarrator Plague Knight's point of view]]...[[spoiler:remember, the flashbacks are from Specter Knight's perspective, so it's very likely he can't remember some of the details of the event(which probably among them Shovel Knight's presence during the real event).]]

* In ''Specter of Torment'', we clearly see Plague Knight use the Tracer and Cascade Powders, as well as the Impact Fuse (all which need to be purchased from Mona). Yet why does he start ''Plague of Shadows'' with only the basic bombs? Plague Knight makes a comment concerning Percy once launching from a catapult him straight into the ocean, outright stating he can't afford another set of waterlogged bombs. Those waterlogged bombs likely included his more complex bomb parts, and because he probably invested most of the funds on working on the Ultimate Potion, he was forced to cut costs and just use the simple Black Powder bombs, especially if the incident happened not long before the events of the campaign.
** This idea could also explain why he doesn't have the Vat Arcana at the start of the game. What level does Chester have the Vat Arcana? The Iron Whale, which is ''in the ocean''. Probably, Plague Knight lost it in the same incident he landed in the ocean that resulted in him having to use basic weapons.

* [[spoiler:In Specter Knight's flashbacks as Donovan, only Shield Knight appears, despite the fact Shovel Knight should of been there with her]]. This strange inconsistency could be explained with the same logic concerning ''PoS'' being from [[UnrealiableNarrator Plague Knight's point of view]]...[[spoiler:remember, the flashbacks are from Specter Knight's perspective, so it's very likely he can't remember some of the details of the event(which probably among them Shovel Knight's presence).]]
** Alternately, [[spoiler:the Enchantress being the one that revived him might of purposely muddled his memories so he would only remember Shield Knight (so he'd act just as she intended). Either way, it would explain why he doesn't recognize Shovel Knight at all.]]

** Tinker Knight stopped using the Mobile Gear because Plague Knight stole it from him.

** Treasure Knight most likely decided that shooting gold coins at enemies was a waste of money. Especially now that he has a lot more minions to pay.

** Mole Knight's excavation isn't very far along when he's recruited, while in Shovel Knight's story he's much deeper into the earth, probably deep below where he can access the slime blocks he drops.

** The Lichyard's new song is perhaps one of the most upbeat and joyous, which seems a little odd considering it's Specter Knight's stomping grounds, one would think it would be the most somber remix. But this makes sense when you consider the town's still there and it's not a haven for the undead yet, the tragedy has yet to occur and the song sounds ''[[IncrediblyLamePun lively]]''.
** King Knight's takeover of Pridemoore keep is still in progress when you go set him straight, with the walls still made out of stone instead of having been turned into solid gold, so the remains of the old monarchy are still there, making the song sound more jubilant and regal than after the pretender's takeover of the throne when the song is more serious.

* The Phase Locket [[spoiler:presumably gained the "phasing" power after Specter Knight purified Reize. It originally could bring someone back to ''life'', but now it's a ''ghost'' of its former power.]]

** Actually, it was '''confirmed''' that it used to be a village. One of the [=NPC=]s mentioned she lived in her village before Spectre Knight attacked, and that she narrowly escaped it. The epilogue for ''Specter of Torment'' actually shows the attack.

** [[spoiler: It seems that he knows his father is gone, but not that it was because of Donovan... or that Specter Knight is his "uncle".]]

** [[spoiler: There might be some FridgeBrilliance connected with this, if with abit of WMG. When making Donovan into her Specter Knight, the Enchantress says "When Eight Knights kneel before me, it will gain the power to restore life". You can get the Phase Locket pretty early on in both Shovel Knight's campaign, the only one besides Specter to have the Phase Locket long enough in the story. The locket regained it's full power when Specter Knight said he'd be the Eighth Knight, meaning that potentially a case of ExactWords could be in play. Think about it: What does Shovel Knight do before he faces the Enchantress? Defeat Eight Knights, whether in their home territories or in the BossRush right before her room. Technically speaking, the "make eight knights kneel before me" could be read as "defeat eight knights before you return to me". For all we know, Shovel Knight might've fulfilled the Locket's conditions once more and Specter Knight still might have a chance of being fully restored.]]

** [[spoiler: There might be some FridgeBrilliance connected with this, if with abit of WMG. When making Donovan into her Specter Knight, the Enchantress says "When Eight Knights kneel before me, it will gain the power to restore life". You can get the Phase Locket pretty early on in both Shovel Knight's campaign, the only one besides Specter to have the Phase Locket long enough in the story. The locket regained it's full power when Specter Knight said he'd be the Eighth Knight, meaning that potentially a case of ExactWords could be in play. Think about it: What does Shovel Knight do before he faces the Enchantress? Defeat Eight Knights, whether in their home territories or in the BossRush right before her room. Technically speaking, the "make eight knights kneel before me" could be read as "defeat eight knights before you return to me". For all we know, Shovel Knight might've fulfilled the Locket's conditions once more and Specter Knight still might have a chance of being fully restored.]]

* Mona reveals that Plague Knight is capable of making gold himself out of sawdust and mouse skulls, yet [[GameplayAndStorySegregation Plague Knight still has to use treasure from levels to pay for upgrades]]. Why doesn't he this ability at all? Talking to Chester for the first time has him mention he's suspicious of accepting gold from an alchemist, so likely it'd be more hassle to use crafted gold than just using real gold, especially if the seller is someone like Chester.
** This principle also applies to the only other people besides Mona Plague Knight can buy things from. Troupple King outright states he only grants his ichors to noble cases, so Plague Knight certainly wouldn't want to risk incurring his anger with fake gold, and this also would apply to the Magicist (one of his colleagues) as well, in this case to keep her trust.

* in ''Plague of Shadows'', why does the Troupple King serve as Plague Knight's Armor Upgrade Shop instead of providing consumable ichor potions like he does for Shovel Knight? First, he knows that Plague Knight is an alchemist, and likely has the whole health restoration thing covered (which he does with his Health Tonics.) Second, Plague Knight wears robes, not armor, so dying the cloth with magical fluid would be a lot more effective and useful than trying to stick armor onto the outfit and weigh Plague Knight down.

** Also, Croaker's pun for her involves calling her a '[[Pun vial]] woman'. Knowing Mona is an alchemist (which doesn't have a good reputation judging by some dialogue in ''Plague of Shadows'') on top of working with Plague Knight as his research partner, the pun borders on AccidentallyAccurate levels.