Knights of Cybertron
From Transformers Wiki
| This article is about legendary group from several continuities. For the namesake group from the Wings Universe, see Cybertronian Knight. |
The Knights of Cybertron are a mythical group that existed on the planet Cybertron. In the present day, they have disappeared, leaving little trace of their existence behind.
Contents |
Fiction
Generation 1 continuity family
2005 IDW continuity
Some time after the creation of Primus and the other four robots who would come to be remembered as the "Guiding Hand," the Knights of Cybertron were the first generation of Cybertronians to emerge from Cybertron's hot spots, marking them as the first true generation of Cybertronians. The Unremembering Little is known about the earliest eras of their history; later mythologies would remember them as having turned Cybertron into a "paradise," a utopia for both the mind and spirit, You, Me, and Other Revelations and ruling the planet from the Halls of Order. Ruins
During the "God War," some twelve million years ago, this peaceful era came to a disastrous end when the ambitious Adaptus turned on his four siblings, a conflict that ended with the rogue Adaptus turning Luna 1 into an electromagnetic weapon designed to wipe the memories of the planet's inhabitants, leaving them disoriented long enough for him to make his escape. The Knights of Cybertron were among those afflicted; in the aftermath, they would come to forget the Guiding Hand, inventing new mythologies that mis-remembered the conflict as having been spurred by Mortilus instead, falsely remembering the kindly robot as a malevolent god of death. The Unremembering Later generations would claim that the "death" of Mortilus had rendered the Knights of Cybertron immortal and wise. You, Me, and Other Revelations Some time afterwards, the Knights of Cybertron left the planet entirely, hoping to spread their "enlightenment" throughout the cosmos aboard a fleet of Titans. The Reluctant Specialist They brought with them the Matrix of Leadership, which they dubbed the "Creation Matrix" for its life-giving properties. Chaos Theory Part 2 The Knights marched under the banner of Adaptus, remembered as the god of transformation, hoping to "change and be changed" by their new adventures. The Return of the King
While the Knights did indeed make contact with alien lifeforms, the extended stay in deep space resulted in those Knights becoming patients zero for a new degenerative disease brought on by extended contact with organic life: atrophosia. Seeking treatment, the Knights made their way to the medical moon of Mederi after two million years of travel. Detecting that the Knights wanted to both return to Cybertron but also find new worlds, the moon's euthanasia protocols resolved this paradox by creating a telepathic illusion of a perfect Cybertron for them to inhabit, a "Cyberutopia." Unaware of the true nature of the world they landed on and in such a state of bliss that they'd forgotten they were dying, the Knights inscribed a map in the crystalline core of the Creation Matrix and sent it back to Cybertron so that the rest of their kind could follow it and join them in utopia – where, presumably, they all died. You Are Here
Without the guiding influence of the Knights however, Cybertron had devolved into a primitive, tribal, society run by various Primes and warlords. Peace eventually came about when the Thirteen Primes emerged to unite the warring factions. The Crucible Heavy Origin Myths Indeed, Cybertronian society had devolved so far that it was not until well into the reign of the Thirteen that Cybertronians would again leave their planet. The First Who Was Named
All the texts and artifacts about the Knights were considered to be dubious following the War of the Primes. The Death of Optimus Prime The Senate, however, knew that they existed and were once in control of the Matrix of Leadership, even being aware that the Knights had referred to the talisman as the "Creation Matrix". Chaos Theory Part 2 As a result of the Knights marching under Adaptus's sigil, the symbols of the other members of the Guiding Hand were conflated as having belonged to other clans of the Knights. An Axe to Break the Ice The Ties That Bind The Return of the King Lore on the Knights had survived on the colony worlds as well with Nautica of Caminus being familiar with them prior to her emigration to Cybertron. The Becoming
Before the Great War, Cybertronian society included a high class elite with the lower castes being subjugated leading to elements of discontent with these classes. When Rung stood up for himself, upper-caste bullies mocked him by asking him if he was a descendant of the Knights. Chaos Theory Part 1 Later that day, upon hearing that Orion Pax didn't believe in the Matrix's divinity, Springarm asked him if he also thought stuff like the Primal Prophecies or the Underbase were made up by the Knights of Cybertron. Orion responded that he didn't even know if he believed in the Knights or not. Chaos Theory Part 2
After becoming on speaking terms with the Omega Guardians, Shockwave incorrectly theorized that the Magnificence was what remained of one of the Knights of Cybertron, unaware that he had actually located Epistemus. The Ties That Bind The Return of the King
Dai Atlas and the Circle of Light believed in the Knights and their example, which more cynical Autobots like Prowl thought was an excuse to duck out of the war. Dai Atlas was, however, a true believer: even his name, in old Cybertron (Dei Atlas), translated into "God Map". The Death of Optimus Prime
In modern times, Megatron told Optimus Prime that if he won the war, he would bring about a rebirth of the Cybertronian race and create a new golden age that would put the works of the Knights of Cybertron to shame. Chaos Theory Part 1
After the war ended, the Matrix's map was discovered. Drift, a disciple of the Circle of Light, believed it pointed to the legendary Cyberutopia. Rodimus seized on this, believing that if they found the Knights they could restore the culture and Golden Age that the war had destroyed. He gathered a team of like-minded Autobots to search for Cyberutopia, taking the Lost Light as their flagship. The Death of Optimus Prime
Tyrest believed that he found the location of the Knights and Cyberutopia after he drilled a hole into his head but was unable to pass through the space bridge to this location. He believed that by using a universal killswitch to kill everyone Cybertronian that was "constructed cold" he could atone for his previous sins in life and pass through the portal. The Divided Self While circumstances prevented Tyrest from crossing over, Skids discovered he could do so, and found himself in the mind of Adaptus. Though the god tried to communicate with the Autobot, even revealing his sigil, the theoretician soon ran back through the portal which burnt itself out shortly afterwards. This Calamitous Life The Return of the King
When questioned by Nautica, Metroplex would not reveal anything to her about the Knights other than the fact that she did not "deserve to know". The Becoming
Even after adopting the persona of the "Grand Architect", Adaptus continued to utilize his insignia. The Return of the King The Lost Light's repeated encounters with the sigil, alongside the other four emblems, led the crew to theorize that it was the coat of arms for a particular chapter of the Knights. How Bright Their Frail Deeds
After Team Rodimus had been exiled, How Bright Their Frail Deeds the new bridge crew examined Rodimus' map to Cyberutopia with Thunderclash scribbling the symbols of the other four gods around the target planet. The crew theorized that the many hieroglyphs they had seen represented the various clans of the Knights of Cybertron converging on Cyberutopia. Filling in the Blanks
Team Rodimus soon found their way to Mederi, where they discovered the fate that had befallen the Knights. You Are Here When they later confronted Adaptus, he bluntly stated the Knights, as the stories recounted them, didn't exist, having always been more myth than fact. The Return of the King
Wings Universe
The Knights of Cybertron were a fabled group in Cybertronian history. Sometime after the Great Transformation, Alpha Trizer formed the Cybertronian Knights as a special unit to defend Cybertron, naming the unit in honor of the original Knights. Apelinq's personal logs
2019 IDW continuity
The Knights left Cybertron aboard the Titan Tempo. The Change In Your Nature Part Five
Live-action film series
Knowing the great power that the AllSpark possessed, Alpha Trion appointed a small group of Cybertronians as the Knights of Cybertron, tasked with preventing the AllSpark from falling into Decepticon hands.
After Optimus Prime sent the AllSpark into space, the Knights were approached by Megatron with a deal, offering to surrender himself in exchange for amnesty. The Knights were reluctant to accept, but because they wanted peace for Cybertron, they agreed. All of their members gathered for a meeting to discuss the deal, with the exception of junior member Evac. As the meeting began, Megatron revealed it to be a trap, and his Decepticons launched a surprise attack. The Knights contacted Alpha Trion, but he was unable to offer any assistance, and the Knights were completely wiped out, leaving the absent Evac as the only one to survive. Prepare for Battle
Notes
- The Knights were thought up by Mike Costa as a "sketchy" post-Chaos idea, but he couldn't get much enthusiasm for the idea. He handed the concept to James Roberts.[1]
- The Robots in Disguise story "Primus: All Good Things" has the Titan said to be part of the Guiding Hand's fleet. While this was probably a case of John Barber mixing up the Knights with the Hand, it could be said to mirror how real-world religions will get historical details wrong or conflated (a recurring theme in the latter half of IDW's first continuity).
- The Senate were descendants of "the Progenitors". What relation the Progenitors have to the Knights is unknown.
- In the movie universe they are said to be marked with glyphs similar to the ones found on the AllSpark they have sworn to protect.
- Optimus Prime #18 identifies Prima as the "last true Knight of Cybertron," though given the circumstances it's not immediately clear if Prima really is a member of the Knights who opted to stay behind on Cybertron, or if he merely selfishly co-opted the name following their departure.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Knights of Cybertron (ナイツ・オブ・サイバートロン Naitsu obu Saibātoron)
