Sir Lancelot (Sonic and the Black Knight)

Sir Lancelot is the alternate reality doppelgänger of Shadow the Hedgehog from the world of Camelot who appears in Sonic and the Black Knight. He is a member of the Knights of the Round Table, a group of knights in the service of King Arthur. Both as quick as Sonic and just as headstrong, Lancelot is the mightiest of the Knights of the Round Table, as well as the one closest to King Arthur himself. Lancelot wields the legendary Sacred Sword Arondight, which is said to never lose its edge.

History
Lancelot, along with his fellow knights Gawain and Percival, was ordered by King Arthur to eliminate Sonic the Hedgehog when he arrived into their world. Lancelot was the first knight Sonic fought, and it was later mentioned by Sonic's sword, Caliburn, that Sonic defeated Lancelot by mere luck. This is somewhat supported by the fact that after beating the game, Lancelot can be fought again. In that fight, he is much harder, being faster than before and wielding Chaos powers, and still retaining the dialogue Sonic, Lancelot and Caliburn used in the original fight, as if this was really the fight itself.

After King Arthur turned out to be an illusion created by Merlin years ago and that it was all a plot orchestrated by Merlina, Lancelot, along with the other knights, set off to use the Sacred Swords to defeat Merlina. After the four swords formed a barrier around the castle and Sonic defeated Merlina, Caliburn revealed that Sonic was the true King Arthur of this world, and Lancelot, along with Gawain and Percival, bowed to Sonic before he went back to his own world.

Powers
Lancelot is wide-known as the strongest member of all the Knights of the Round Table, presumably only second to King Arthur himself, and is a knight of the highest skill and power.

Like most other characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, Lancelot can move at super speeds. Remarked to be just as quick as Sonic[1], Lancelot can move at supersonic speeds, even nearing that of hypersonic speeds. Additionally, Lancelot is also quite acrobatic, being able to execute both swordplay and tricks while in midair.

Much like his alternate reality counterpart, Lancelot is naturally able to perform various Chaos Powers. Chaos Powers that Lancelot can perform include the Chaos Spear, where he forms energy bolts in midair or fire them from his choice of sword or palm at his opponents, and the Chaos Blast, a shockwave of Chaos Energy that decimates everything around him. He is also able to perform Chaos Control without the need of a Chaos Emerald, which lets him bend time and space to his will, allowing Lancelot to warp across space and stop time.

As a member of the Knights of the Round Table, Lancelot is a master of swordsmanship. In battle, Lancelot specializes in a balanced style of swordplay that focuses on speed and power, where Lancelot uses quick sword slashes combined with wide and momentum-fueled swipes for additional force upon impact. Combined with his athleticism, Lancelot can even spin horizontally around in the air while swinging his sword, before bringing his blade down on his foe with greater strength.

Gameplay
Sir Lancelot's gameplay in Sonic and the Black Knight is quite similar to Sonic's gameplay. Just like Sonic, he has a homing attack, and can also use this attack in order to perform an aerial attack. Lancelot's variation of the Soul Surge, Chaos Punishment, makes him vanish and reappear in front of an enemy to slash him. When used with no enemy near, Lancelot will glow blue and fly through the stage.

While wielding his final sword named "Ddraig Goch", Lancelot can also use Chaos Spears by simply slashing with his sword. Also, Lancelot will combine his Chaos Punishment attack with Chaos Blast when attacking an enemy.

Just as Percival and Gawain, he can only be used in the levels Knight's Passage, Shrouded Forest, Great Megalith, The Cauldron and Dragon's Lair.

Also, like the other Knights of the Round Table, Lancelot is permanently set to his character style, which is Knight Style.

Aurthurian Legend
Lancelot is one of the greatest knights of the Round Table from the Arthurian legends. Although he is King Arthur's trusted friend and ally, his affair with Arthur's wife Guinevere eventually leads to civil war and the fall of Camelot.

Lancelot was the son of King Ban of Benwick and Elaine. However, Lancelot was raised by Nimue, Lady of the Lake, a fairy woman. For this reason he was known as Lancelot du Lac, or Lancelot of the Lake (this is referenced in Sonic and the Black Knight by his title, Knight of the Lake). Also, Lancelot's first sword, Arondight was forged by Nimue Lady of the Lake from the stars themselves. Lancelot becomes a Knight of the Round Table and begins an affair with Queen Guinevere. A woman named Elaine of Corbenic falls in love with Lancelot and tricks him into believing that she is Guinevere so that she can sleep with him. From this union, Elaine gave birth to Lancelot's son, Sir Galahad.

Eventually, Lancelot and Guinevere's affair is exposed, and Guinevere is sentenced to death. Lancelot saves her, but in the process killed Gawain's brothers, Gareth and Gaheris (and, in some tellings, Agravain). This turned Gawain and Lancelot into enemies, and split the Round Table, with some knights joining Lancelot and some joining Gawain, leading to a civil war. (In the game, Merlina mentions "Lancelot and Gawain's Rift" in the cutscene before the final battle, in reference to this tale.)

Trivia

 * Lancelot is the only character in the game that wields a sword in a reverse grip.
 * Lancelot calls himself the Ultimate Knight, similar to how Shadow calls himself the Ultimate Lifeform.
 * Ddraig Goch, one of Lancelot's weapons, is Welsh for "the Red Dragon" which is the Welsh flag.
 * Lancelot uses Hover shoes like Shadow (shown in the cutscene before Knight's Passage and during gameplay), despite the Grand Kingdom seeming to lack high technology.
 * Lancelot is the only Knight of the Round Table who drops his sword upon being defeated by Sonic and Caliburn.
 * Lancelot seems to have more manners and honor than Shadow does.
 * Lancelot's strongest sword, Ddraig Goch, has a dragon at the handle whose spines are like Lancelot's hair.
 * When Lancelot starts to run and skates slow his flames are gray, but when he skates really fast it becomes gold/yellow.
 * When Lancelot equips his final weapon, Ddraig Goch, he is able to use Chaos Spears when he slashes his sword and Chaos Blast when he uses Soul Surge. The Chaos Blast is combined with the Chaos Punishment.
 * Lancelot is the only knight when after being defeated, does not show a cutscene that he is defeated.
 * According to Arthurian Legends, Lancelot often borrows other people's armor and weapons so that nobody could tell it was him while wandering around and performing heroic deeds and Black armor is one of his earliest disguises which is also what he wears in the game.
 * Oddly, when the player fights Lancelot a second time, he uses abilities that can only be used with his final sword, Ddraig Goch, but if the player looks closely, he is still using Arondight.
 * According to Aurthurian Legends, Lancelot's mother by adoption was Nimue, the Lady of the Lake. So, in this alternate reality, Amy (as the Lady of the Lake) would be the mother adoption of Shadow (as Lancelot).
 * Jazwares made a Sir Lancelot figure more than three years since the release of Sonic and the Black Knight.