The Crystal Knights, or sometimes just "The Knights", are the titular main characters of, well, the Knights of the Multiverse. After meeting through pure, insane coincidences, this rambunctious group of soldiers, royalty, humans, aliens, androids and other strange freedom fighters joined forces to stop the threat of the Heralds of Unicron. Now, they have only two missions: explore the now brought-together Multiverse and deal with the threats that might rise up from its depths, and to take in any lost souls from any world to give them a new home and help them find a new purpose.
They sometimes operate out of the New Photon/Saotome Labs, but they usually spend most of their time enjoying each other's company (usually) in the Glomar mobile home/headquarters.
Team Members[]
- Kamille Bidan
- Starlight Glimmer
- Catra
- Kara In-Ze/Supergirl
- Artemis
- Starscream
- Usagi Tsukino
- Emily Tsurugi-Hono
- Nyoka Kabuto
- Mohm Kabuto
- Roscarl
- Ayako
- Cosmo
- Ana & Yuna
- Agnes Ryuzaki
- Lorelai Heinrich
- Iris
- Sphinx
- Magneto
- Milly
- Meryl
- Freru
- Lulli
- Yumemi Hoshino
- Drum
- Atros
- Lime
- Tobikage
- Chaotique
- Lilulu Kabuto
- Ultraman Astra
- Jinmay
- Robo-Betty
- Sailor Quartet
- Kamille Bidan
- Fa Yuiry
- Mohm
- Asuka Langley Soryu
- Cynthia
- Keiko Kamikita
- Ruri Saotome
- Elpeo Puru
- Molly
- Puru Clones
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- Mazinkaiser
- Rubia (formerly)
- Nita
- Ryoma Nagare
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- Dragon
- Liger
- Poseidon
- Yumemi Hoshino
- Android Keiko
- Combattler Team
- Koichi
- Jenny Wakeman/XJ-9
- Guy Shishioh
- Elements of Harmony
- The Humane Five
- Cyborg Soldiers
- Dr. Kay
- Dr. Gillian
- The Kamen Riders
- Vega
- Jiraiya
- Gene Starwind
- Melfina Starwind
- Class 1-A
- Bebop Crew
History[]
Mini-Series[]
A Chance Meeting[]
Season 1[]
New Friends and Enemies[]
Season 2[]
The War with Zeon[]
Season 3[]
The Guild of the Multiverse[]
Notes[]
The team's name is based off of how much of a major part crystals play in their formation (Crystal Tokyo, hunting for the Rainbow Crystals/Silver Crystal, one of their members being a literal gem, etc.), and the "Knights" part is mostly just to give it a cool-sounding title, though one could make comparisons to Code Geass's own Black Knights.
The team could be considered a modern take on the Breakfast Club (for the founding members, at least), while it later expands into a large ensemble cast, with their numbers reflecting the heroes of the 80's Transformers and G.I. Joe cartoons but having the dynamics of other Found Family-type ensembles like Fairy Tail, the crew of the Arcadia from Captain Harlock, Class 1-A and Team Dai-Gurren of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann; a strange mixture of serious, goofy, innocently sweet, and potentially unstable freaks, weirdos, jerks, misfits, and screw-ups filled with their own personal issues (even some of the more experienced ones) coming together under strange circumstances that were originally hesitant towards one another, but over time form a strong, blood-like bond, with each member being dedicated and loyal to each other to the very end that doesn't care what everyone else thinks about them and choose to live by their own rules, fighting whoever they choose to fight and fighting only for their passions. This is best exemplified by the team's roster, which consists of characters who were anti-heroes or were straight-up villains that might've had some glimpses of redemption in them like Catra and Atros, side characters like Ruri and Mohm, and characters who only appear for at least a couple of episodes or were a one-off character in their respective series like Nyoka, Roscarl & Lorelai (though a handful of characters do still only make only one appearance to keep some sense of tension); and as part of the influence from the 80's Joes and Autobot teams, this allows for a multitude of different combinations of powers and personality types in each episode.
- Also like Fairy Tail, not one character is the central protagonist. While Usagi and Kamille are very prominent figures in the story and get in a lot of the big hits, the entire team is the real main protagonist, with everyone's pasts and bonds with each other being the show's true main focus.
- A main aim for choosing which characters to feature is make a sort of mish-mash of heroic-types, as in the typical powers featured on a superhero team like the JLA or Avengers and protagonists seen in Japanese media, like Henshin Heroes, Magical Girls, Ninjas, ones that use special powered/mechanical/transforming armor, Mecha pilots, plenty of Robot heroes, and even those that don't have powers & instead use tech & guns like the Lovely Angels. This includes typical "heroic" powers like superspeed, invisibility, nigh-invulnerability, & metallokinesis, and elemental powers like manipulating fire, water, lightning/electricity, wind, ice, earth, light, and even magic.
The "hierarchy" of the team is made up in a very "unique" way, to say the least: the founding members are meant to act as the Five Man Team - to be more specific, Kamille is a levelheaded-type Leader/Smart Guy1, Sunset is the Heart, Catra is the Lancer, Pink is the Big Guy and Usagi is the Hero/Kid Hero1, with Starscream & Artemis being a sort of Sixth Ranger duo along the lines of characters like the Thunder Rangers or RPM Gold & Silver (in the mini-series, at least), and act in a role similarly to the "Original Seven" of Justice League/Justice League Unlimited. When more characters show up and join the team, many of which only had one or two appearances in their original source material (this is mainly so the series has a good number of characters that it can do practically whatever it wants with without trampling too much on their original characterizations), all of them are divided into their own little groups based off of teams and their closest companions from their own home series' (though of course, many of them intersect with one another), mostly to help tie the cast together a little better. These include Catra's based off her few "friends" during her time in the Horde in the original show, Pink's being based off of the OG Crystal Gems, Sunset's being based around the Elements of Harmony, and Kamille's "team" (really, the team's Mecha pilots) is based off of the dynamic of the Gundam Team of ZZ.
- 1To be a little more clear about what this means, essentially Usagi and Kamille are meant to have a power dynamic similar to Aang and Sokka, where Kamille ise the more intelligence guy that usually comes up with strategies and takes charge of the team more often than not while Usagi is more on the front-frontlines and reaching out/connecting with other characters. This is even somewhat incorporated into how they function in the group, with Usagi leaving much of the team's planning to Kamille and the others like Aang often does.
- Usagi's "inner circle" is the only one that is the more unified parts of the team. While most of the group's dynamics and power-types take cues from her mother's team of Sailor Guardians, their overall dynamic and choice of characters are based off of the 00 Cyborgs from Cyborg 009. They also take some inspiration from another famous Shotaro Ishinomori creation, the Kamen Riders; the Showa era Riders especially, with how a majority of them having a "dark" backstory of being created/manipulated by evil forces but instead choosing to use their powers for good.
- 001 - Mohm: "child" that uses an ancillary device to move around & help more, has a few unique hidden talents (though obviously taken to much greater extremes here). Comparable to Kamen Rider 2 in how her design (both in-universe and in the real world) is based off of one of the other main characters and naturally is very close to them.
- 002 - Ayako: acceleration-based capabilites, often seen flying; always prepared to go into a fight but cares a lot about their surrogate family, but has a fiery temper. Comparable to Riderman with how she's the first character in the season that worked for the enemy before choosing the side of good despite her affection for a family member in the group, but was always selfless and kind.
- 003 - Nyoka: enhanced sight & hearing sensors: most passive & kind-hearted member of team. Comparable to Kamen Rider 1 for having been developed to be a weapon but saved just at the last minute deciding instead to use her powers for good.
- 004 - Lorelai: the character meant to be made specially to fight, with the death of a loved one motivating them but has a very warm connection towards the others (although Lorelai's outlook on life is a lot more positive than 004's). Comparable to X Rider in how she fights the same evil that killed her father that, while she didn't always see eye-to-eye with, no doubt loved & fought to make proud; also comparable to Kamen Rider V3 in how she would sometimes let her lust for revenge get the better of her at the start of her journey.
- 005 - Meryl: most soft-spoken member of the group & just wants to help those closest to them; pacifist that dislikes fighting but is a force to reckon with when they do. Comparable to Kamen Rider ZX for how past trauma sometimes causes her to make brash decisions, including fighting the heroes when they first meet, before learning the importance of justice and joining the fight to uphold it.
- 006 - Agnes: pyrokinesis; generally relaxed when not in a serious crisis. Comparable to both Kamen Rider Black/Black RX as she escaped a rather dark fate of servidute while moslty acting humble/sentimental though has hot-blooded tendencies and Kamen Rider J by having her love for her little sister figure being one of her main motivators to fight the forces of evil.
- 007 - Roscarl: the more amiable one that often helps to lighten the mood for her friends, but still has fair share of serious moments (somewhat like the 1960's movie series & TV series where he was literally depicted as a child). Comparable to Sky Rider as she's just a kind-hearted person that wants to help people like her predecessor, though has a rather strong complex about her parental figure.
- 008 - Emily: one of the more experienced fighters of the group that's a strong voach for the rights of an underpriveledged people. Comparable to Kamen Rider Super 1 for being the only one to have been created/given their powers for a more righteous cause rather than just as a weapon, as well as V3 with how close she is to two other MCs of similar origin to the point of being considered family.
- 009 - Usagi: main character with a tender & righteous heart that uses the pain (s)he went through in the past (for Usagi, this comes from both her bullying during her "formative" years in Crystal Tokyo and the ordeals she went through in the Mini-Series) to help others like her. Comparable to Amazon Rider as she got her power by non-mechanical means compared to the rest of the team, as well as how she has to adapt to the culture around her but is very kind & forgiving towards others (as long as they don't mess with her friends). Also similar to Stronger as both eventually get a stronger (heh) super form and have a "sidekick" that's just as much a fighter as they are and V3 for having a dynamic with Atros similar to the one V3 had with Riderman when the latter first became a Rider.
- As a way to help differentiate the types of Droids on the team and put them in their own little groups to (try and) make it a little more accordant, Usagi & Atros's groups are made up of Droids with more "normal" appearances and powers, while others - namely the ones that are taken under Catra, Sunset and Pink's wings - are the more "strange" ones, with the more outlandish designs and abilities.