Knights of Cybertron
| 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.
Fiction
IDW Generation 1 continuity
The Knights of Cybertron were fabled as the original children of Primus and the other four gods of the Guiding Hand, making them the original Cybertronians. Religion said that after the god, Mortilus, warred with the others ten million years ago, the early Transformers were rendered immortal and wise, and formed the Knights. After creating a paradise on their homeworld, they then left Cybertron to spread enlightenment throughout space, riding living city-ships called Titans You, Me, and Other Revelations that included the likes of Metroplex The Reluctant Specialist and the future Necrotitan. Homecoming The Knights were said to have ruled from the Halls of Order. Ruins
The Knights of Cybertron had five different insignia. These had mostly been forgotten by contemporary Transformers. One exception was the prolific antiquarian Agonizer, who possessed a display of their symbols and theorized the Knights had broken up into five clans during their interstellar travels so they could cover more ground. (He was correct.) An Axe to Break the Ice
Whatever the truth of their origins, the Knights of Cybertron did eventually leave Cybertron to spread enlightenment and discover new worlds, with lore reading that they eventually settled on a planet dubbed Cyberutopia which they had turned into a paradise. The Death of Optimus Prime You, Me, and Other Revelations How Bright Their Frail Deeds
The true nature of the Knights' journey however was depressingly mundane. While one clan had indeed made 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, some ten million years prior to 2018. Detecting that the Knights wanted to both return to Cybertron but also find new worlds, the moon's telepathic field resolved this paradox by presenting itself as a perfect Cybertron, a Cyberutopia. Unaware of the true nature of the world they landed on (neither Cyberutopia nor a hospital, but an automated euthanasia clinic) 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 well into the reign of the Thirteen that Cybertronians would again leave their planet. When the First Cybertronian Civil War broke out, Prima of the Thirteen fancied himself to be the last true Knight of Cybertron. 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 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 came to believe the Magnificence was in actuality one of the Knights of Cybertron. One that had such a powerful urge for knowledge and facts that he did away with his physical body in the process. Whether or not this theory was true was unknown but the Magnificence did have Knights of Cybertron regalia adoring its surface, tying it to Cybertron. The Ties That Bind
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), translates 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: the new home of the Knights. 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 Cybertronians 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 on a planetoid with four Cybertron-like moons, a large city in the distance, and a huge, multi-colored spark that attempted to communicate with him using pure sensation. Skids was forced to return through the portal before he could venture any further. The space bridge later burned itself out, preventing further investigation. This Calamitous Life
The mystery figure known as the Grand Architect used one of the insignia of the Knights as his own – the same one used by the clan that had first landed on Mederi. This gear-like, trilaterally symmetric symbol cropped up at multiple points during the Lost Light's long and eventful journey to "Cyberutopia". Some of its appearances clearly signified the Grand Architect's influence: it was emblazoned on the chests of the bots who worked for him, and it was imprinted into a brain-damaged Grimlock's mind along with the words 'PREPARE - CONFRONT - REPEL'. Animals Kill All 'Cons Other appearances were ambiguous, or linked directly to the Knights: a massive version of it was emblazoned on the dark side of Luna 1, encircled by planetary engines; it was one of the concepts the anomalous spark attempted to communicate to Skids; This Calamitous Life it showed up on the map to Cyberutopia that Thunderclash received through his dreams. The Sensuous FrameA Dance Before Dying
Megatron led a discussion on the symbol with some of the Lost Light's crew, and independently concluded that it might serve as a "coat of arms" for a particular chapter of the Knights of Cybertron. 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 some extra clan symbols 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
When questioned by Nautica, Metroplex would not reveal anything other than the fact that she did not "deserve to know". The Becoming
Live-action film series
The AllSpark had such a great power that Alpha Trion, the custodian of the ancient relics of Cybertron, used a niche group of Cybertronians to create the Knights of Cybertron, their mission being safeguarding the All Spark and prevent it from being used for chaos and destruction.
When the All Spark was lost in space, the Knights were approached by Megatron with a deal: he would surrender himself in exchange for amnesty. The Knights were reluctant to accept, but because they wanted peace for Cybertron, they agreed. They brought all of their members for a meeting, with the exception of the junior member Evac. As the meeting began, it became clear this wasn't a peaceful negotiation, as Decepticons began attacking the Knights. They contacted Alpha Trion, but he was unable to help them, so he transmitted a set of coordinates to Evac to follow that would lead him to Optimus Prime and hopefully the All Spark. Prepare for Battle
Wings Universe
The Knights of Cybertron were a fabled group in Cybertronian history. Sometime after the Great Reformatting, 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
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 and that these gods lived in a city and were known by Omega Supreme. It's not known if this was the writer confusing the Knights with the Hand or if this is deliberate, mirroring how real world religions will get real-world historical details wrong or conflated. (Probably an error)
- 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.
