JAKE PRYOR
REAL NAME: Jacob Pryor
AGE: 27
POWERS: No supernatural powers. As a Black Guardsman, Jake had access to a variety of
normal and paranormal equipment. As a Black/Blue Knight, he used a battlesuit with flight
capabilities and laser weaponry.
APPEARANCE: 6'2", 190 lbs. Sandy blonde hair, strong build.
FIRST APPEARANCE: Guardians #4
BACKGROUND: Most 18-year-olds who don't know what to do with their lives go
to college for the heck of it. Jake Pryor came from the strata of society where college was a pipe-dream. So, rather than end up in a dead-end job or a criminal, he joined the Army. Six years
later, he was a Sergeant on the fast track to another promotion with airborne and Ranger training
under his belt. He was a natural leader and a skilled tactician. Unfortunately, the Army was
down-sizing, and Jake got cut out of the only life he really enjoyed.
Six months later, he was unemployed and bitter, with no hope of things getting better. Drowning
his sorrows one night in a bar, he met a man who offered him a life: money, employment, and a
chance to make America into what it used to be. A place where men like Jake were respected,
not reviled. Desperate, Jake took the opportunity, and became a Black Guardsman. Jake
distinguished himself both as a Black Guardsman and later as a Black Knight, eventually
becoming one of the Black King's most trusted soldiers. However, Jake became increasingly
disillusioned with what he was seeing in the Shadow Empire. Only the death of his commander,
which he blamed on Mindstar, kept him fighting for the Black King. The revelation during the
Battle of Washington that Mindstar had, in fact, not intended to kill his commander, but that the
Black King had conditioned the man to commit suicide if captured, broke Jake's loyalty to the
Shadow Empire. Mindstar, knowing Jake's skills and owing him his life, offered Jake a role in the
Guardians as the Crimson Knight, using a modified version of Jake's Blue Knight III armor. Jake
accepted, hoping to make amends for his misdeeds at the Black King's side.