Ted Knight (DC)

Revision as of 05:03, 5 April 2019

Starman Ted Knight in Starman v2 #72.

Ted Knight is a male comic superhero who features in DC Comics.

Biography

Theodore Knight was a male human who came to operate in the 1940's. (Adventure Comics v1 #61)

From his cousin Sandra Knight, he came to learn of interest in his work by Professor Abraham Davis who had developed a Black-Light Ray. With it, she became a superhero who went by the name of Phantom Lady. Ted was later asked to meet Professor Davis where he was credited in developing a rod that could harness energy though Knight was actually partly responsible for this development. However, Ted decided to let rumours circulate that Davis had created the device in order to hide his own involvement. He was inspired to become a superhero after seeing the rise of others taking on heroic identities to fight crime. (Starman Secret Files and Origins v1 #1) This discovery allowed for the harnessing of radiated starlight through scientific means which Ted used to combat criminals as Starman. (Adventure Comics v1 #61)

For a time, he came into a relationship with Doris Lee for years where he kept his identity of a superhero a secret from her. He provided her an excuse that he was suffering from a medical condition that led to him leaving her during their dates where she came to be frustrated with him. (Adventure Comics v1 #61)

A threat came upon the country's communication grid that was being damaged by the Brotherhood of the Electron led by Dr. Doog. FBI agent Woodley Allen came to see the communication grid's electrical systems being shut down and he called on the aid of Starman to defeat the villain. He discovered the villain's secret cavern headquarters where he discovered the captive Professor Davis whose invention the Ultra-Dynamo was used by the criminal gang in their operations. Doctor Doog attempted to use hypnotism to control Starman's mind but failed with the hero using his gadget to fight off the villain's electrical assaults. The supervillain attempted to flee where he seemingly fell to his death whereupon Ted Knight freed the captive scientist after which they departed the maze-like cavern system. (Adventure Comics v1 #61) He was contacted by Detective Allen who told the mystery man of night of a supervillain by the name of the Light who was abducting people to shrink them and intended to do so to make himself in charge of the nation. Starman confronted the villain on his airship where he was shrunk but managed to turn himself and the other victims back to normal whilst the Light accidently used the shrinking weapon on himself which reduced him to the point that he disappeared from existence. (Adventure Comics v1 #62)

Though his aging had been affected, he was no longer able to still operate as Starman despite his desire to still be the hero. Instead, his son David Knight decided to claim the mantle and succeed his father. (Starman Secret Files and Origins v1 #1)

Overview

Personality and attributes

His actual full name was Theodore Henry Knight. (Starman Secret Files and Origins v1 #1)

He did not consider himself a man of sentiment but rather a person devoted to science. (Starman Secret Files and Origins v1 #1)

Early in his career, he came to have a girlfriend in Doris Lee with the two being involved in a relationship for years but had not been engaged. She was unaware of him operating as the superhero Starman where he claimed his sudden disappearances were due to an illness. (Adventure Comics v1 #61) The death of his wife deeply affected him and he devoted his time more to his work as Starman rather than his children. (Starman Secret Files and Origins v1 #1)

Among his children, he noted that his son David was most like him whereas Jack was more different. Initially, his son Jack adored superheroes and came to learn of all the heroes of that era including his father. This saw him gathering his fathers exploits and putting them in a scrapbook. Ted came to acknowledge that he was not always the most caring of fathers. He came to note that his son's Jack's rebellious nature began to manifest after the boy's mother had died. It was then that Jack turned away from superheroes and even burnt the scrapbook of his fathers exploits. (Starman Secret Files and Origins v1 #1)

One of his cousins was Sandra Knight with the two being close and her knowing about his life of being a superhero when he operated as a masked mystery man. (Starman Secret Files and Origins v1 #1)

To the public, he maintained an image of being a wealthy playboy during the years he operated as a mystery man. (Adventure Comics v1 #62)

Powers and abilities

He was the wielder of the Gravity Rod that was an invention that was a miracle of science which utilised the powerful infra-rays of instant stars to overcome the forces of gravity allowing for flight and able to launch bolts of energy. With it, he could deflect energy blasts at him or emit powerful bolts of energy that could burn through solid objects that were obstacles in his path. (Adventure Comics v1 #61) The stellar energy was able to easily melt through steel. (Adventure Comics v1 #62) It was also capable of receiving signals from an ultra-short wave transmitter from a radio capsule with it vibrating in response. (Adventure Comics v1 #61)

To his allies, he provided a radio-active capsule that could emit signals which his gravity rod could detect allowing him to be summoned to aid them. (Adventure Comics v1 #61)

Ted Knight was noted for being a wealthy individual. (Adventure Comics v1 #62)

Notes

• The Starman Ted Knight was created by Gardner Fox and Jack Burnley where he made his first appearance in Adventure Comics v1 #61 (April, 1941).

Alternate Versions

In other media

Television

Appearances

• Adventure Comics v1:
• Starman v2:
• Starman Secret Files and Origins v1:
• JLA v1:

External Links

• Wikipedia Entry

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