Cavalier (character)

For the Nedor Comics character, see Cavalier (Nedor Comics).

The Cavalier
Cavalier from Detective Comics #81, artist Bob Kane
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Detective Comics #81, (November 1943)
Created by	Don Cameron (writer) Bob Kane (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Mortimer Drake
Team affiliations	Secret Society of Super Villains
Abilities	He is an expert fencer and marksman.

The Cavalier is a fictional supervillain in the DC Comics universe. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #81, (November 1943), and was created by Don Cameron and Bob Kane.

Fictional character biography

Mortimer Drake

Mortimer Drake was a man of exotic and idiosyncratic taste. When he found himself unable to purchase more exotic valuables for his collection legally, he resorted to theft. Donning a costume resembling that of a Musketeer, he called himself the Cavalier. His course of actions ultimately brought him into conflict with Batman and Robin. Drake matched wits against Batman and Robin several times, and escaped them in each encounter, but Batman was able to deduce the Cavalier's identity, leading to Drake's eventual imprisonment.

In Batman Family #10, Batgirl and Batwoman teamed up to defeat the Cavalier. Cavalier couldn't find a way around his code, which prevented hitting females, but after a self-examination he concludes "the devil with gallantry" and hit Batgirl with his fist.

A few issues later in Batman Family #15, Killer Moth bet Cavalier that he could find the way into the Batcave from Batgirl before the Cavalier could get it off of Robin. While Killer Moth was led to a fake cave, Cavalier was shown a large nest, to which the Cavalier came to the conclusion that Robin was an alien bird life form.

Before Crisis on Infinite Earths the Cavalier existed both on Earth One and Earth Two. The stories where he harmed women, something that neither the Earth-One nor Earth-Two versions of him would ever do, can be assigned to the alternate world of Earth-B, an alternate Earth that included stories that couldn't be considered canonical on Earth-One or Earth-Two.

Post-Crisis, Cavalier appeared in Justice League America #43-44 as part of a group of supervillain drinking buddies who were trying to regain their lost items of power. He was defeated by Blue Beetle, who clotheslined him in an alleyway.

During Knightfall, he faced Batman once again but was defeated with ease. Cavalier had become insane and was kept in Arkham Asylum. It remains to be seen how Drake went insane, or if his origin has changed because of the first crisis. The Cavalier was in a closeted gay relationship with Captain Stingaree, another low-level Batman villain.

He appeared in Justice League of America #2 as an informant for Black Lightning within The Society.

His back was broken by Bane in Secret Six #7, but he acted as a bodyguard for Leslie Thompkins in Battle for the Cowl: Gotham Gazette. Both stories were published in the spring of 2009, though their relative chronology has yet to be determined.

Hudson Pyle

In Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #32-34 writer James Robinson and Tim Sale introduced a new Cavalier by the name of Hudson Pyle into the Batman official continuity in his story-arc entitled Blades. Since Blades takes place early on in Batman's career, Hudson Pyle is actually the original Cavalier, and therefore may have even influenced Mortimer Drake.

In Blades, Pyle, an ex-Hollywood stuntman looking for fame, becomes The Cavalier, a masked crime-fighting vigilante that brandishes a razor-sharp sword, quick wit, and handsome smile. It is not long before the people of Gotham fall in love with the new hero. While Pyle's motives and actions are revealed to be honorable, he harbors a dark secret which ultimately leads to his downfall. Pyle is in love with a woman who is being blackmailed by gangsters, and as a result of this winds up being blackmailed as well. In order to save his love, Pyle is forced to commit burglaries and thus loses the confidence of the people.

Pyle soon kills the gangsters. He comes into conflict with Batman, defeating him in a sword duel. He leaves Batman, who is unable to move due to a leg injury and purposely charges nearby police officers. He is gunned down and dies of his injuries.

Blackest Night #1 shows that his remains are in the Justice League's storage facilities for dead super-villains, and his storage drawer opens at the end of issue #3.

Powers and abilities

The Cavalier has no superhuman abilities; he is however, an athlete, a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, and a swordsman. He carries a rapier that emits electric blasts. The feather plume on the Cavalier’s hat is actually a steel tipped dart.

Other versions

Cavalier appears in a 5 page back up story in The Batman Adventures #1. His portrayal is a cross between Robin Hood and Zorro, in stealing from those he perceives rich and slashing his sword in that person's clothes.

Other media

Television

• Cavalier appeared in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "The Eyes of Despero" voiced by Greg Ellis. He speaks in Elizabethan era style (to which Batman remarks "Somewhere Shakespeare is spinning in his grave."). The Dark Knight makes quick work of Cavalier and is then sent to space by Hal Jordan's ring. Cavalier later returns as an inmate of Blackgate Prison in "Night of the Huntress", trying to break out.

Radio

• The Cavalier battled Batman during a brief exchange in the 1994 BBC radio adaptation of Batman: Knightfall. He was one of the escaped Arkham Asylum inmates. After Batman defeats the Cavalier, the foppish rogue says. "You broke my nose, you cad!"

See also

• List of Batman Family enemies

External links

• DCU Guide: cavalier