Knight Watchman (AKA: Reid Randall) is a fictional

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

from the ''

Big Bang Comics ''Big Bang Comics'' is an American comic book anthology series, designed to be an homage to Golden Age and Silver Age comics. Most stories in ''Big Bang Comics'' take place either on "Earth-A" during the 1960s, or on "Earth-B" during the 1940s ...

'' universe, residing on Earth A during the

Silver Age of comics The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books, the Silver ...

. He first appeared in ''Berzerker'' #1 (February 1993), and was created by writer/artist Chris Ecker. In the fictional history of Big Bang Comics, his first appearance was in ''Deductive Comics''.

Fictional character biography

Knight Watchman is based in Midway City (not to be confused with the city featured in ''Doom Patrol''), where he fought crime for fifty years while maintaining a career as a fashion designer. Reid Randall's crimefighting life started after receiving a telegram saying that his brother, Ted, was in the hospital, leaving no one to run the family business, a garment factory. Back home, his mother told him that Ted had gambling debts, and the people he owed wanted to take the business. The beating Ted had received was a warning; next time the factory would be destroyed. Later that evening a hood tells Ted to sign over the business; Reid walks in and the hood runs out. Later Ted and Janet (Ted's wife) are killed by a car bomb. Reid swears to find the men responsible, make them pay, and rid the world of their kind. Knight Watchman trained in ninjutsu with

Hamato Yoshi Splinter, often referred to as Master Splinter or Sensei by his students/sons, is a fictional character from ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' comics and all related media. A mutant rat, he is the grave and stoic sage of the Turtles, their ninj ...

. As time goes on, he becomes more of an

antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero or two words anti hero) or anti-heroine is a character in a narrative (in literature, film, TV, etc.) who may lack some conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism and morality. Al ...

. By the time ''

'' had entered the modern day (the 1990s), Knight Watchman is reluctant to come out of retirement despite attempts by

Ultiman Ultiman is a fictional character published by Big Bang Comics. First appearing in ''Big Bang Comics'' #1 (Spring 1994), he was created by Gary Carlson and drawn by his partner Chris Ecker, among others. There are two existing versions of Ultiman. ...

to place Randall back in the cape. Reid's nephew, Jerry Randall, becomes Knight Watchman's sidekick, Kid Galahad. As he grows up Jerry becomes a hero in his own right as Galahad (a reference to

Dick Grayson Richard John "Dick" Grayson is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman, Teen Titans and Justice League. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, he first appeared in ' ...

's career as

Robin Robin most commonly refers to several species of passerine birds. Robin may also refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), inclu ...

and

Nightwing Nightwing is a superhero alias used by multiple characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. The most prominent bearer is Dick Grayson, the original Robin, who adopts the Nightwing identity to assert his independence from Batman. ...

). After Reid retires, Jerry fills both roles; as the publicly known and liked Galahad during the day, and as the mysterious and feared Knight Watchman at night. Reid later came out of retirement at the age of 55 when Jerry was hospitalized with a broken leg. Although in comics continuity, Knight Watchman exists in Earth-A (

Silver Age The Ages of Man are the historical stages of human existence according to Greek mythology and its subsequent interpretatio romana, Roman interpretation. Both Hesiod and Ovid offered accounts of the successive ages of humanity, which tend to pr ...

), Knight Watchman appeared alongside the Earth-B

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...

heroes in the TV movie ''Knights of Justice''.

Enemies

Knight Watchman has an assortment of enemies: * Baron Fledermaus * Cheshire Cat * El Diablo * Faulty Towers * Grandfather Clock is a supervillain that commits time-based crimes. He is loosely based on

Clock King The Clock King is the name of three supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first Clock King debuted in ''World's Finest Comics'' #111 (August 1960), and was created by France Herron and Lee Elias. The Clock ...

. * Mr. Mask is a supervillain that can reshape his clay-like face. He is based on

Clayface Clayface is an alias used by several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Most incarnations of the character possess clay-like bodies and shapeshifting abilities, and all of them are List of Batman family enemies ...

. * Pink Flamingo is based on both Joker and

Penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

. * Quizmaster is a former quiz show question writer and is based on

Riddler The Riddler (Edward Nigma, later Edward Nygma or Edward Nashton) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, and debuted in ''Detective Comics'' #140 in O ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Knight Watchman webpage on International Superheroes

Image Comics superheroes Big Bang Comics