Shining Knight #1

The Last of Camelot

Written by Grant Morrison

Art by Simone Bianchi & Nathan Eyring

Summary: Sir Lancelot's Knights of the Broken Table battle ferociously against the invading Sheeda hordes, bravely falling one by one. Meanwhile, the teenaged Sir Justin and his flying horse Vanguard venture into Castle Revolving searching for the Inexhaustible Cauldron. There he battles a reanimated King Arthur under the control of the Sheeda. Upon uncovering the location of the Cauldron of Rebith and Plenty, Justin discovers his friend Olwen submerged in the mystical fluid contained within the Cauldron. Justin proceeds to battle Gloriana Tenebrae, the Queen of the Sheeda, and takes back Caliburn, Arthur's sword,"The Treasure of Findias." After wounding Gloriana, Justin tosses the Cauldron into the green liquid that flows through time surrounding the Cauldron's resting place. Olwen is revealed to be a fetch, or changling. Vanguard and Justin plunge into the liquid and out of Castle Revolving, ending up in present day Los Angeles. Vanguard, the winged steed, appears mortally wounded after he hits the ground as the police arrest Justin

Sir Justin, a young soldier from a primal Camelot, a globe-spanning kingdom before the Flood, 10, 000 years in our past. When the Sheeda plunder Arthur's realm and set up in the great king's place, an Empire of Death and Evil, Justin is spun through time in a Sheeda castle only to find himself in 21st century Los Angeles, centuries after everyone he knew lies dead. And what's worse, the annihilating Sheeda are back, this time to harvest OUR world. Justin's a commando, a guerrilla fighter in strange and savage enemy territory.

Noteworthy Items:

The opening sequence, the fall of Camelot, parallels that of Jack Kirby's Demon #1.

The knights and king can each represent, roughly, the big 7 of the Justice League.

Castle Revolving is likely a contemporary version of Caer Sidi, the castle of the goddess Arianrhod, which sat at the hub of the "Silver Wheel" in Annwn, the Welsh underworld. It was also called the Castle of Glass, which links it to Ynis Witrin, the Isle of Glass (aka Avalon, and possibly Glastonbury).

Cauldron of Youth is also referred to as the Inexhaustible Cauldron and the Cauldron of Rebirth and Plenty.

“It sang once in Murias, at the Mighty Dagda’s table. It brings the dead to life and heals all wounds.” The Dagda was an Irish god, the chief of the gods, who dragged about a cauldron that could never be emptied. The cauldron was one of 4 Irish treasures.

Olwen - Olwen is the daughter of a giant in the Welsh folktale.

Gloriana Tenebrae = Sheeda Queen = Morgana La Fey?

In the mythology of King Arthur, Morgan le Fay, alternatively known as Morgaine, Morgain or Morgana and a slew of related name variants, is an important female figure and sometime antagonist of Arthur and enemy of Guinevere. In the 12th century Latin Life of Merlin (Vita Merlini) "Morgen" is said to be the first of nine sisters who rule Avalon, The Fortunate Isle or the Isle of Apples (cf. Garden of the Hesperides), where in fact she is the sole sister with a definite presence. Morgan is presented by Geoffrey of Monmouth as a healer and even a shapeshifter. Following Geoffrey of Monmouth, later writers like Chretien de Troyes enlarge on the theme that in time Morgana will heal and cure Arthur on the island of Avalon, reverting to her benevolent role.

About the "Red am I in Battle. Red the ravens that follow at my heels" thing. At the beginning of Shining Knight #1 Morrison mentions the Morrigan predicting the fall of Avalon. The Morrigan was a triple goddess of womanhood, war and destruction -- aka the Raven goddess. I think those words probably had religious significance to Justin. Morrigan is her patron goddess, maybe?

This first issue Shining Knight may be based heavily on Preiddu Annwn (or Annwfn, or Annwvyn), in which Arthur and his knight appear to storm Caer Sidi and steal the Cauldron.

What’s Justin speaking in the end of the issue? Possibly Welsh.