King Arthur (Marvel Comics)

Arthurian legend

Arthur Pendragon is the son of King Uther and Igraine. The wizard Merlin had Arthur brought up by the knight Sir Ector and his son Kay. When Uther died from an illness without being able to see his son, Merlin held a contest in London where whoever pulls Excalibur from the stone will become the new king. When Arthur found the sword in the stone while going to retrieve a recently knighted Kay's sword, he showed it to Kay where Sir Ector alerted those partaking in the contest of it in order to see if Arthur was the one who pulled it from the stone. When everyone else failed and Arthur pulled the sword from the stone, Arthur was automatically made the next king and reunited with his mother. In his difficult beginnings as the ruler of Camelot, King Arthur had to unite the kings of Britain in order to fight off the Saxons. He even gained Merlin as his mythical advisor and protector. After he unknowingly seduced Morgause, he had a vision that his unborn son would rise up and destroy him. This ended up resulting in the birth of Mordred as Merlin worked to prepare King Arthur for the day this prophecy happens. Following a fight with the Romans, King Arthur's half-sister Morgan le Fay became one of the fiercest foes of King Arthur, Merlin, and all of Camelot. When it came to the Battle of Camlann, King Arthur and Mordred faced each other where both of them became badly wounded. In his dying breath, King Arthur instructed Sir Bedivere throw Excalibur into Lake Benoye. At first he was reluctant, Sir Bedivere threw it toward the lake where it was caught by the hand of the Lady of the Lake. After a night has passed, nine women dressed as queens came and loaded King Arthur's body onto a barge and rowed it across the lake as Merlin showed them the way into Avalon.^[1]

Miscellaneous tales

As King Arthur humbled Merlin, Sir Mogard got jealous of King Arthur liking Merlin. When Sir Mogard called Merlin a fraud, he was humbled when Merlin animated a suit of armor as his Black Knight.^[2]

King Arthur granted Sir Percy refuge when his lands in Scandia were taken over by the Baron of Emscore. He was present when Merlin gave Sir Percy the armor where he became the Black Knight. Sir Percy helped King Arthur in his fights against Mordred's secret henchmen and an army of Vikings. King Arthur watched the jousting match between Sir Percy and Mordred which ended with Sir Percy winning.^[3] Sir Percy later assisted King Arthur in the battle of Camlaan.^[4]

Deposed Roman emperor Tyrannus sought to raise an army and take over England. When Sir Percy defeated him, King Arthur and Merlin banished him to Subterranea.^[5]

Encounters with time-travelers

Kang the Conqueror traveled to the time of King Arthur in his plot to take over Camelot. After he defeated the false Merlin, he fought King Arthur and his knights in single combat where he managed to defeat them with his lance. Upon finding out about Kang the Conqueror's plot, Uatu the Watcher alerted Human Torch and Thing where they went back in time and drove off Kang the Conqueror.^[6]

When a bunch of Makluans invaded Camelot, Sir Percy summoned Excalibur (consisting of Dane Whitman, Dazzler, Juggernaut, Nocturne, Pete Wisdom, and Sage) helped in the fight against the Makluans and then accompanied Merlin to Camelot to warn King Arthur about the Makluan threat. Sage was able to get Merlin to conjure a Formosian herb which knocked the Makluans unconscious. Afterwards, Excalibur was returned to their own time.^[7]

While traveling though the forest near Camelot, King Arthur, Merlin, and the knights encounter the time-traveling Thunderbolts (consisting of Boomerang, Centurius, Fixer, Mister Hyde, Moonstone, Satana, and Troll). When King Arthur questions them how their tower came into his kingdom, Satana claimed that an act of sorcery keeps their tower away from their real home. Merlin noticed that one of them had the Ebony Blade in their possession as King Arthur demands that they hand it over and leave Camelot at once. A fight began when Mister Hyde assaulted Sir Galahad and Moonstone used a tree to knock down some knights. Merlin defeated the Thunderbolts with his magic as King Arthur has the Thunderbolts remanded to the dungeon. After King Arthur vanquishes the monsters in the dungeon and Merlin sends the Thunderbolts and their tower back to their own time, King Arthur thanks Merlin and states that Camelot will always be by the side of a great wizard like Merlin.^[8]

During his final year, King Arthur and his knights encounter a time-traveling Iron Man and Doctor Doom. As King Arthur heard their stories and deliberated on how to deal with them, Doctor Doom escaped into the night an allied with Morgan le Fay. Upon being told about Morgan le Fay by King Arthur, Iron Man joined forces with him as Morgan le Fay used a fragment of Excalibur to raise an army of warriors that were slain by Excalibur which Doctor Doom led into battle against King Arthur, Iron Man, and the knights. After Iron Man confronted Morgan le Fay and forced her to withdraw the spell enough to cause the remaining warriors to drop down dead, King Arthur watched as Doctor Doom flew away. Iron Man and Doctor Doom later returned to the present.^[9]

Legacy

After King Arthur's body was buried in Avalon, dark forces later stole it and hid in a location. However, they could not contain his spirit.^[10] Captain Britain later came under the attack of the same dark forces where he was assisted by King Arthur's ghost who took him to where his body is.^[11]

Merlin later enlisted Black Knight, Captain Britain, and Jackdaw into overcoming the Watchers at King Arthur's resting place so that he can help in the fight against the forces of Necromon. Once that was done, King Arthur's skeleton soon got coated in flesh as he returns to life. Black Knight pledges his allegiance to King Arthur as he hands him Excalibur.^[12] King Arthur was able to return Captain Britain and Jackdaw to their home as he prepares to help Camelot fight the forces of darkness.^[13] The two of them arrived in Camelot where they see the forces of Camelot fight the forces of Necromon. King Arthur used Excalibur to shatter Necromon's weapon as his knights help to defeat Necromon. Before dying, Necromon ripped out the portculis and threw it to the bridge that was keeping Camelot in Otherworld. With Camelot lost, King Arthur reunited with Merlin as Vortigern of the Proud Walkers proposed to King Arthur to use his lands to rebuild Camelot. King Arthur accepted. When King Arthur asked for Black Knight to be a prince in his new kingdom, Black Knight declined stating that he has to return to Earth.^[14]

During the "Chaos War" storyline, Amatsu-Mikaboshi led his alien god army into invading Otherworld where they fought King Arthur, his knights, and every one of his allies.^[15]

After the Red Lord got trapped in the god Manchester, King Arthur and his knights celebrated this occasion. Eventually, King Arthur and his knights regretted doing nothing against the Manchester Gods. When the Manchester Gods were taking over more of Avalon, Master Wilson held a parley with King Arthur, Merlin, Dagda, Lady of the Lake, and Captain Britain where the parley found no compromise between both sides as the war begins. King Arthur called everybody to arms as the Lady of the Lake is approached by Loki for a chance to see the Holy Grail. She turned him down. In the fight against the Manchester Gods, King Arthur and his army were able to drive them back.^[16] As King Arthur's forces are at Hadrian's Wall fighting to hold the Manchester Gods back, Merlin thinks that the wall won't hold much longer. Suddenly, the Manchester Gods retreat. Loki and his daughter Leah appeared and revealed that they blew up one of their buildings which they drew their power from as Plan B as Plan A would involve them releasing the Red Lord.^[17] As King Arthur meets at the Round Table with Merlin, Lady of the Lake, Dagda, and Captain Britain, Herne the Hunter arrived telling them that the Manchester Gods have breached the wall after their buildings that connected Otherworld to Britain were destroyed. The Manchester Gods' emissary Engel showed up wanting to form a peace treaty. Eventually, King Arthur signed a peace treaty with Master Wilson which turned Otherworld into a more democratic domain. The treaty allowed King Arthur to remain king of his domains and be given representation in Otherworld's future parliament.^[18]