Tek Knight/Comics

*For the Amazon version of the character, see Tek Knight.*

―Tek Knight in his dream

**Robert Vernon**, better known as **Tek Knight**, is a character in the comic book series *The Boys*. He was a member of Payback who struggled with his sexual psychosis.

## *The Boys*

Tek Knight is a founding member of the super-group, Payback. Prior to his association with Payback, he previously led a group known as the Maverikz (who in turn were savagely beaten by The Boys in issue #31). The current Tek Knight is actually the third person to hold the identity. Two prior incarnations of Tek Knight, both originally called Steel Knight, were introduced in Issues 52 to 54, as well as prior versions of his sidekick Laddio. Greg Mallory says they revamped his "franchise" later. Issue #9 gives his name as Robert Vernon. He is also one of the few Supes that have no powers, relying on technology instead. In recent years, Tek Knight has developed a psychological problem, which causes him to have spontaneous sexual relations with both living creatures and inanimate objects. Tek Knight is one of the primary suspects in the murder of Steve Rubinstein but is revealed to be innocent. He eventually saves the planet by having sex with a giant asteroid hurdling towards Earth, causing it to explode. Fortunately, Tek Knight also dies in the explosion. In truth, he was actually killed by a falling wheelbarrow, and he hallucinated saving Earth from a meteor. An autopsy revealed Tek Knight had a large tumor on his brain, explaining his bizarrely perverted behavior.

## Personality

Tek Knight was one of the few heroes to never engage the Boys' attention, as he never did anything depraved or morally wrong like many other "Heroes". Billy Butcher describes him as boring, and seemed to be a genuinely nice person, though highly homophobic. Soldier Boy states in *Herogasm* that he was one of the only members in Payback to be nice to him.

## Power suit

Tek Knight, devoid of any superhuman abilities, is an ordinary human relying on an advanced power suit and an array of cutting-edge gadgets to engage in combat. Although the suit's abilities are never fully described, the armor allowed him to fly and contained several different types of weapons for battle. He frequently improved the armor, giving it upgrades for battles and to perfect the systems.

* **Flight**: One of the armor's most important features was its propulsion system and subsequent ability of flight.
* **EMP Emission:** Tek Knight's suit can emit an electromagnetic pulse shockwave strong enough to disrupt nearby electronics.

## Weaknesses

* **Limited Durability:** Although his armor granted him superhuman physical attributes, he was just a normal human and without his armor, he could easily be overpowered by other super powered individuals. The Female was able to injure him and break his armor.

## Relationships

* Swatto † - Teammate
* Mind-Droid † - Teammate
* Laddio † - Current Protege

Romantic Relationships* The Talon - Former Lover
* The Boys
	+ Billy Butcher † - Interrogated
	+ Wee Hughie - Interrogated
	+ The Female † - Attacker
* Thomas - Former Butler and Betrayer
* Old Legend - Indirect Enemy

## Trivia

* Tek Knight's relationship with The Talon is based of Batman's and Catwoman's relationship.
* Tek Knight always has a sidekick with the title Laddio, similarly to how Batman always has a sidekick named Robin. Just like how Robin eventually grows up and leaves Batman, so does Laddio, and then just like Batman, Tek Knight selects a new Laddio to continue the cycle.
* Tek Knights relationships with SwingWing is based on Batman's relationship with Nightwing.
* Tek Knight's Car is based on the Batmobile.
* He is based on Iron Man from Marvel Comics and Batman & Blue Beetle in DC Comics.
* his name is also obviously based on Ted Knight aka Starman from DC Comics.