Head: Golden Compass Scoresby
Body: AIM Soldier (dyed)
Boots: Crimson Guard


Knighthawk and Doc in the old days...

By way of background, Knighthawk's pre-military career included a year on the high seas working, he thought, on a simple private freighter. He viewed the manual labor and rigorous schedule as a great training device for the career he sought in the Armed Forces. Thus, when the personal invite to join the crew of the Deadly Nightshade arrived, 17 year old Tristan Knight jumped at the chance. At first, the job went just as he might have expected. But soon he began noticing an unusual amount of armament onboard, and found it especially disconcerting at how many of his fellow crew members wore disguises - always. It turns out that Renaldo "Doc" Fortunato had not been referred Knight's name simply as a fine young lad capable of performing the manual labor. Instead, Fortunato had been scouting Knight from his days as a premier high school athlete, and his noteworthy academic accomplishments were also a big draw (Doc fancied himself quite the amateur philosopher, and always preferred to recruit intelligent types who could engage in debates to pass the free time).

In any event, it turned out that Doc's real interest was in recruiting someone with the underlying skills to become his right-hand man...but not in the shipping industry. No, Doc Fortunato wasn't a simple freighter captain, he was a pirate...but with a twist. Turns out Doc Fortunato was a wealthy (former) shipping magnate who had went from the boardroom to the bridge after becoming disillusioned with the greed and inhuman behavior he encountered in every part of his life. He gave it all up, mostly, reserving a large amount of his investments to liquidate for the necessary overhead of his new project, the Deadly Nightshade, and all later incarnations of that fine ship. But Fortunato did not set sail under the figurative skull and crossbones for the purpose of profit and treasure. Instead, he set out to become a Robin Hood of the high seas, and he quickly made a name for himself targeting high profile victims (most notably those extremely wealthy corporations who were making a virtual killing outsourcing their production to countries with cheap labor and horrid working conditions). He rarely engaged in the use of deadly force, though when it was involved, it was usually when other pirate vessels became his target.

Doc obtained much success in this new career, armed with the best weaponry money could buy, a fine crew and some great tech gear (turns out Doc's moniker comes not from his "amateur" interests in philosophy or psychology, but instead from his PhD in robotics). One weapon that set Doc's operation apart was the presence of an onboard fighter plane (which could be launched from a secret tube) as well as the use of some primitive jet packs which Doc had designed himself. Boarding parties jumping quite literally from ship to ship, supported by air cover fire made the operation especially successful. Blackjak was most often the pilot of choice for the fighter, though he was also the best jetpack operator, and had developed quite the reputation as a gunslinger, in his own right.

For his part, Knighthawk learned many forms of combat, and was trained informally as a pilot as well. He especially took to the close quarters combat techniques, and developed an affinity for all forms of bladed weapons, and also showed an impressive level of aptitude with small firearms as well. If there is a simple reason why Knighthawk has escaped being labeled as having a "shady past" it is for a simple and well documented reason - he refused to participate in any mission which targeted a civilian vessel. When Knighthawk first discovered the real nature of the operation, he continued on with his training, only so long as he believed that other pirate vessels were their target. When Doc made it clear the next mission was to target a legal domestic corporation, Knight (who had by then become known as Knighthawk) jumped ship (literally - using a jetpack), found and landed on the target vessel, and helped prepare and defend the ship against Doc's attack. This decision, and the manner in which Knighthawk backed it up, drew attention in all forms, from all over the globe. It was certainly a part of his dossier when he became an officer in the Army Rangers, it was a known factor when he was recruited to the G.I.Joe Greenshirts (just before the disbandment of that unit), and it was very well known and appreciated by the EXCAL directors when he was recruited to become one of the organization's first Paladins.

Ironically, the decision made by Knighthawk on that fateful day was appreciated most by none other than Doc Fortunato himself. Despite the loss of the Deadly Nightshade in the attack which Knighthawk thwarted, and despite his subsequent arrest regarding the same, Doc learned a real lesson that day - temporary as it may seem. Due to his willingness to completely cooperate with authorities, to pay restitution for all prior attacks, and to serve a form of "public service" by dedicating his time, skill and resources to the fledgling EXCAL organization (with his "probation officer" to be none other than Oliver Queen), Doc was essentially acquitted of the charges levied against him. He joined EXCAL's Paladin Knight Program as a trainer of sorts, and his first nominee to the program was none other than Knighthawk. The rest of that story has been told, but while Doc played his part and served his time, he still believed his greater calling would be found on the high seas.

When the Deadly Nightshade II was born, it had the added element of being a completely submersible submarine, in addition to the other capabilities of its predecessor. But Doc at this point had no crew, and a guilty conscious prevented him from placing other fine young men in harm's way, or in the way of the law. And Doc certainly had no love for pirates in general, at least not the type he did not hand-pick himself to be of this special mold. So Doc did what any PhD of robotics ought to do - he made himself a crew of his own.

When that ship sank...also at the hands of Knighthawk, Doc moved on to bigger and better schemes, and the Deadly Nightshade III was the first known pirate airship recorded by man. Doc's all robotic crew now included fighter drones, and a dropship that was 100% seaworthy and submersible. By mere illusion of brute force, Doc was able to raid his usual targets by sea, and added the capability of pirating the new breed of airships being rampantly developed by world militaries and corporations alike.

Knighthawk and Doc today...

While Doc and Knighthawk have become adversaries, there is a mutual respect that has not left either man. Doc's pupil certainly has surpassed his own skill in many ways, but the old man still has a few tricks left up his sleeve. Add in the fact that Doc has continued to aid Knighthawk in a surprising number of missions (off the record of course) and this is truly a unique, if frowned upon, friendship. Within EXCAL, it is known that most Paladins should maintain a hands-off approach with Fortunato, unless he is literally caught in the act. Otherwise, only Knighthawk has full license to bring him in as needed. This of course has Tigh in a continued state of indigestion, and is one of the few remaining areas where Knighthawk and Tigh do not see eye to eye. Honestly it is one of Knighthawk's few known blindspots or flaws, but he has thus far managed it well.

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