Specter Knight

Specter Knight

Series	Shovel Knight (series)
Age	N/A
Birthday	Unknown
Sex	Male
Species	Unknown
Height	6'0"
Weight	N/A
Alignment	Neutral Evil

“	She gave me new life... So that I may take yours!	„
	~ Specter Knight

Specter Knight, real name Donovan Placentaur, is one of the main villains of Shovel Knight, an indie platformer developed by Yacht Club Games. He later became the main character in Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, a prequel to the original game.

Background[]

Donovan Placentaur was once an ordinary thief who worked alongside his partner, Luan. One day, Donovan and Luan decided to try and raid the Tower of Fate, an ominous building said to contain a hidden treasure. During the raid, Donovan found a strange amulet, which took control of him. Despite being warned not to go near it by an adventurer named Shield Knight, Donovan was corrupted by the amulet, and he ended up battling Shield Knight for possession of it. The fight ended with Luan and Donovan dead, and Shield Knight possessed by the Enchantress, the spirit living inside the amulet. The Enchantress used her powers to resurrect Donovan as a specter, and made him a deal. If he could find her eight knights to serve as her Order of No Quarter, she'd return Donovan to his human form. The newly-named Specter Knight agreed to her demands, and gathered seven knights to serve the Enchantress. However, in order to save Luan's son Reize from becoming the eighth knight, Specter Knight was forced to pledge his loyalty to the Enchantress, giving up his chance at revival. Taking his old home, the Lich Yard, as his base of operations, Specter Knight and the rest of the Order of No Quarter worked to help the Enchantress keep her hold over the world.

Powers & Abilities[]

Immortality: Due to his undead status, Specter Knight can't be killed by normal means. However, he can still "die" if he loses his will to live.
Dash Slash: Specter Knight's signature move. While airborne, he can lock onto a nearby enemy or object, rushing towards it at high speeds to slash it with his scythe. This move works well as an attack, and as an enhancement to Specter Knight's mobility, and he can even chain multiple Dash Slashes together.
Undead Summoning: After becoming the Enchantress' eighth knight, Specter Knight gained control over all undead. In battle, he can summon sword-wielding skeletons called Boneclangs to fight for him. He can also absorb any undead he's summoned to restore his will to live.
Levitation: Specter Knight frequently moves by floating through the air. He can also cause other objects to levitate, allowing him to telekinetically control them.
Teleportation: Specter Knight can teleport long distances in the span of a couple seconds
Darkness Manipulation: Specter Knight seems to have control over darkness, seen when he shrouds his battlefield in darkness to make his attacks harder to see.
Weather Manipulation: Specter Knight seems to have minor control over the weather. He can make lightning flash in the distance, and create winds to blow out torches.

Equipment[]

Scythe: Specter Knight's signature weapon, which was given to him by the Enchantress. The scythe is powerful enough to easily slice through cannonballs with one swipe, and it can return to Specter Knight like a boomerang when thrown. Specter Knight can also use it to grind along rails.
Will Skull: A glowing green skull that Specter Knight can absorb energy from, restoring his will to live.
Dread Talon: A clawed gauntlet that lets Specter Knight perform powerful strikes.
Throwing Sickle: A small throwing scythe that returns to Specter Knight when thrown. They can also catch objects and bring them to Specter Knight.
Spider Scythe: A small scythe that rushes along walls, floors, and ceilings.
Chronos Coin: A coin that slows down time around Specter Knight when flipped.
Bounding Soul: A tormented soul that Specter Knight can release as a projectile. The soul bounces off walls and surfaces when it hits them.
Shadow Mirror: A mirror that creates a shadowy copy of Specter Knight when used. The duplicate copies everything Specter Knight does, and can pass through walls, though it uses up Darkness when it performs attacks.
Barrier Lantern: A lantern that surrounds Specter Knight with spinning fireballs, which shield Specter Knight from harm and can be shot off as a projectile.
Hover Plume: A black feather that lets Specter Knight hover for a short amount of time.
Judgement Rush: A jewel that, when held, lets Specter Knight fly towards the nearest enemy for a slash, passing through walls and obstacles in the process.
Skeletal Sentry: A small skull that summons a full-sized skeletal warrior when thrown. This skeleton fires energy projectiles, and will explode to deal heavy damage either after it's fired enough shots, or if Specter Knight commands it to.
Caltrops: Spiked balls that Specter Knight used as Donovan. They deal damage to whoever steps on them.

Feats[]

Strength[]

Fought on par with bulky knights like Polar Knight and Mole Knight.
Can destroy blocks of dirt and dust just by jumping on them.
Slices cannonballs clean in half.
Wounded Terrorpin, a giant rhinoceros-tortoise hybrid.
Can kill dragons on his own.
Nearly killed Nightmare Reize.

Speed[]

Can run up walls with ease.
Dodged the Phantom Striker's lightning.
The most agile of the Order of No Quarter.

Durability[]

Took hits from every member of the Order of No Quarter.
Survived blows from the Enchantress and Nightmare Reize.

Skill[]

Was a renowned thief in life.
Scaled the Tower of Fate with Luan.
Defeated Shield Knight.
Defeated every member of the Order of No Quarter to make them join.
Defeated the Phantom Striker and Baz.
Defeated Reize while he was empowered by the Enchantress.
Led an army of the undead to take over the Lich Yard.
Arguably the best knight in the Order.

Weaknesses[]

Becomes unable to fight if he loses his will to live.
Lack of defense.
All of his Curios take Darkness to use, which he has a limited supply of.
If he's attacked in the middle of using a Curio, the Darkness used for it is wasted.
Can only use one Curio at a time.

Fun Facts[]

Before his name was officially revealed as Donovan, Specter Knight's real name was supposed to be Johnny Specter.