| “ | Gentlemen, if it has a hole... I can fuck it!
―Tek Knight in his dream
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” |
Robert Vernon, better known as Tek-Knight, is a technology-powered superhero and a supporting antagonist in the comic book series The Boys. He was a member of Payback who struggled with his sexual psychosis.
Background[]
Tek-Knight is a founding member of the super-group, Payback. Prior to his association with Payback, he previously led a group known as the Maverikz (who in turn were savagely beaten by The Boys in issue #31). The current Tek-Knight is actually the third person to hold the identity. Two prior incarnations of Tek-Knight, both originally called Steel Knight, were introduced in Issues 52 to 54, as well as prior versions of his sidekick Laddio. Greg Mallory says they revamped his "franchise" later. Issue #9 gives his name as Robert Vernon. He is also one of the few Supes that have no powers, relying on technology instead.
At some point, Tek-Knight developed a psychological problem which caused him to have spontaneous sexual relations with both living creatures and inanimate objects. Tek-Knight was one of the primary suspects in the murder of Steve Rubinstein but an investigating by The Boys revealed him to be innocent, with his former protege SwingWing being the true culprit. Despite attempting to receive medical help for his compulsive sex addiction he was unable to bring it under control, resulting in his eviction from Payback and alienation from all of his friends and associates.
After his issues were made public, a humiliated Robert Vernon gave up being Tek-Knight. While walking through the streets of New York City (to the jeers of onlookers) he saved a woman and her baby from being crushed by debris from an immense, planet-destroying asteroid on a direct collision course with Earth. Reclaiming the mantle of Tek-Knight, he destroyed the asteroid by flying into space and having sex with it until it exploded; he died happily knowing that he had finally become a hero and saved the world.
In truth, he sacrificed himself saving the woman and her baby from being crushed by a falling wheelbarrow at a construction site and took the hit instead, and what followed was his dying hallucination. An autopsy revealed he had a large tumor on his brain, explaining his bizarrely perverted behavior.
Personality[]
Tek-Knight was one of the few heroes to never engage the Boys' attention, as he never did anything depraved or morally wrong like many other "Heroes". Billy Butcher describes him as boring, and seemed to be a genuinely nice person, though highly homophobic. Soldier Boy states in Herogasm that he was one of the only members in Payback to be nice to him.
Tek-Knight has been shown to be extremely aggressive to those who have betrayed him, as shown when he was fuming when he read the newspaper on how his butler Thomas outed him for attempting to literally ear rape him. It's also shown when he almost immediately attempted to engage into combat with Butcher & Hughie when he found them in his hideout a second time.
Power Suit Capabilities[]
Tek-Knight, devoid of any superhuman abilities, is an ordinary human relying on an advanced power suit and an array of cutting-edge gadgets to engage in combat. Although the suit's abilities are never fully described, the armor allowed him to fly and contained several different types of weapons for battle. He frequently improved the armor, giving it upgrades for battles and to perfect the systems.
- Flight: One of the armor's most important and recognizable features was its propulsion system and subsequent ability of flight.
- EMP Emission: Tek-Knight's suit can emit an electromagnetic pulse shockwave strong enough to disrupt nearby electronics.
- Fire Manipulation: When Tek-Knight was about to kill Hughie in The Boys issue #9, He attempted to turn on the suit's Flamethrowers before the Female came and destroyed his suit.
- Electricity Manipulation: When Tek-Knight was about to kill Butcher in The Boys issue #9, He attempted to turn on the suit's Tasers before the Female came and destroyed his suit.
Weaknesses[]
- Limited Durability: Although his armor granted him superhuman physical attributes, he was just a normal human and without his armor, he could easily be overpowered by other super powered individuals. The Female was able to injure him and break his armor before he had time to react.
Relationships[]
Allies[]
Romantic Relationships[]
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Enemies[]
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Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Tek-Knight is a parody of both Batman from DC Comics and Iron Man from Marvel Comics.
- His relationship with The Talon is based of Batman's and Catwoman's romantic relationship.
- Tek-Knight always has a sidekick with the title Laddio, similarly to how Batman always has a sidekick named Robin. Just like how Robin eventually grows up and leaves Batman, so does Laddio, and then just like Batman, Tek-Knight selects a new Laddio to continue the cycle.
- Tek-Knights relationships with SwingWing is based on Batman's relationship with Nightwing.
- Tek-Knight's Car is based on the Batmobile.
Commentary[]
- His name is also possibly a play-on-words for Ted Knight, the original Golden Age Starman from DC Comics.