The Knight Rider That Almost Was
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 12:47 pm
Greetings,
Quite some time ago when I first met Glen, I had this idea stuck in my head to find some sort of way to bring a decent resolution to the original tv series. I had always admired how the plot had developed over time, save for some of the things in season 4 but the way the series ended just didn't bring any real resolution and Knight Rider 2000 was just a tragic disappointment.
After sitting down and really thinking over how to handle this task in a organized manner that would preserve the characters of the show and contain what I felt were the strongest elements from it, I came up with a pitch called Knight Rider: Phoenix.
This was to be a book I was going to co-write with Glen's son and we were either going to create a book or pitch it to a comic book company. Since this idea will never see print or production now, I feel it is safe to share with you.
This was essentially my treatment for how I would have addressed bringing closure to the series and finding a way to make transitioning between an older car (Trans-Am) to a newer one believable.
This was mostly more of a pitch idea then a fully developed treatment, sort of like the bare bones of something bigger but the general plot points and beats are established.
So now I invite you to read over the Knight Rider that almost was.
_____________________________________________________________
Knight Rider: Phoenix
Setting - First we need to realize that like the reset with Batman Begins, you need to toss out the weaker spin off shows and movies and start fresh. This isn’t TKR, this isn’t Knight Rider 2000. For the sake of argument neither TKR nor KR2000 existed and the events that occurred in those storylines are tossed out.
While given an assignment to investigate strange occurrences across the Atlantic, KITT is placed into a specialized cargo container for an oceanic voyage. During the transport, terrorists for reasons unknown attack the vessel carrying KITT and in the chaos, the container with KITT inside falls into the ocean and sinks into depths that for the time are unreachable. In short KITT while preserved is lost to the depths of the forever.
Michael who witnesses the event tries everything in his power to recover KITT’s container but given the current technology there is no vessel that can recover KITT from the trench he’s sank into (The Mariana Trench).
This forces Michael to accept that KITT is lost. In memory of his computerized friend and partner, Michael continues to wear the wrist watch that KITT communicated with him on.
Flashing to 2010, Devon Miles has passed on and in doing so he has passed the torch of leadership to an older Michael Knight. Having lost KITT and realizing that nothing can bring him back, even as far as to try and recreate him from his original blueprints, Michael no longer wishes to go out and hunt down criminals himself without his real partner.
Michael is also older with streaks of gray in his hair and walks with a cane, hinting to his older age. In order to preserve the ideals of FLAG which is still needed to help the needs of the innocent, powerless, and helpless Michael has enlisted the aid of his successor Raven Knight.
Raven drives a car similar to KITT, named KATT (Knight Automated Three Thousand) which is black as well and at the request of Michael does not talk. He is in his late 20s and has wavy black hair and blue eyes and stands about 5’11. He has a build just like Michael did in his younger years and also chooses to sport a black leather coat. Raven also enjoys wearing sunglasses when he’s out on assignment to hide his eyes from his enemies so they can’t recognize him when out of his attire.
KATT is like a cross between a Lamborgini and a corvette. His car is also all black with the tinted black windows but features a blue scanner light and a led system that runs along the body of the molecular bonded shell, which at night looks like blue pinstripes with LEDs that run down the sides of it. (like a scanner light running horizontally but not as thick or as bright)
KATT can perform all the functions that KITT could do and could also perform automated tasks.
Raven is called away on assignment to investigate the disappearances of several lab techs and high profile technicians as well as uncover the links between these disappearances and the theft of several pieces of electronics equipment and specialized materials.
One evening in the dead of night, left by himself Michael is alerted by loud bangs and gunfire which signal an invasion on the mansion. Michael activates several defenses to secure the mansion from the incoming threat but oddly enough his commands are strangely overridden.
Soon Michael is swarmed by several SWAT type soldiers in heavy gear. Michael fights valiantly with his cane to overcome the odds but with his defenses down, but after taking a gunshot wound in the shoulder he is forced to slip into a hidden passage way in his office which leads to a hidden garage in the bowels of the mansion.
Here he tries to get to a vehicle to escape but before he can do so he hears a familiar sound and watches as the thick steel double doors are crushed in by a large speeding gray object. Michael instantly realizes what this object is, or rather the distinction of the invading behemoth of metal and steel.
Against all possible logic, Michael sees Goliath, the big rig fitted with KITT’s molecular bonded shell from cab to trailer, reborn. Michael remembers that both Garthe and Goliath flew over a cliff and sank to the bottom of the ocean but here was this ghost from his past in the middle of his domain.
What’s worse is that the driver who exits the vehicle is none other then Garthe Knight himself. It is clear Garthe somehow survived the fall but he did not come away unscathed. Garthe has a patch over his eye and a large scar running down the left side of his face.
Michael looks up in pure shock but Garthe knocks him out with a swift smack of his cane before he can ask any questions. Garthe looks to a second figure that exits Goliath. This person we have not seen before but from the words exchanged we learn he is Garthe’s true father, whom now apparently was not Wilton Knight as originally believed.
That is the mystery that has been set up that will add instant attention to the progression of “Phoenix” which implies several resurrections. Like a phoenix it is the revival of old enemies, old friends, and secrets long forgotten. How they come to resurface, and why?
Meanwhile while on assignment Raven and KATT investigate the strange objects that have been stolen and several technicians are found missing. By now you have figured out that these things have to do with bringing back Goliath once again from his watery grave and Garthe with him.
Raven follows clues that lead him to discover more about Goliath and who Garthe Knight is and eventually he is able to put the pieces together. This is all a clever form of misdirection by Garthe and his father to occupy Raven while Garthe has taken over FLAG.
Since Garthe and Michael Knight share similar voices, Garthe is able to impersonate Michael to a certain extent and keep Raven in the dark about what has really occurred at FLAG. Likewise with access to FLAG;s technologies he has also found ways to make sure KATT is not aware of what has happened.
Eventually as the story moves along, its revealed that Garthe has bricked Michael up inside an unknown location in the same similar manner as “The Cask of Amontidallo”. While Michael remembers things Garthe told him about his escape from the ocean and how he scarred his face it is also unveiled that Garthe has a plan but it is not his alone.
Raven meanwhile knows Goliath has been reconstructed once again and rushes off to FLAG to protect Michael before Garthe can reach him. (which is of course already too late). When Raven arrives at FLAG, Garthe has a surprise for him.
Garthe reveals that he discovered Michael and Devon’s dirty little secret and rebuilt KARR to add to his arsenal and to deal with Raven to show him what true power was. During a dramatic confrontation, armed with new weapons such as laser cannons and roof mounted rocket launchers like those on Bond’s car in Tommorow Never Dies, KARR succeeds in nearly destroying KATT.
Raven flees in KATT, before it is too late with KARR in hot pursuit of him. Thanks to KATT’s stealth technology however, KARR soon loses the trail. Raven then retreats to the only place he knows is safe for him, knowing for the moment he’s too far outgunned to take on Garthe and his father.
Raven is also deeply concerned in finding Michael. Enter the female lead, Raven’s girlfriend Skye Barstow the daughter of Bonnie. She is a slender, statuesque blonde reflection of her mother with an ample bust and all the attractive features that demand attention.
Skye like her mother is an extremely smart and well skilled technian who was partly responsible for the development of KATT, which was believed to be the successor to KITT’s design. She helps Raven get back on his feet and together they attempt to repair the heavy damage to KATT as much as possible. KATT is so heavily damaged because the weapons Garthe gave KARR have the ability to seriously damage the molecular bonded shell, which is still the same formula Garthe stole from years past.
It appears that over time, there was a critical weakness in the formula that allowed it to become more less vulnerable and the weapons developed by Garthe and his father were specifically designed to counteract the shell’s weaknesses. This explains why Raven was investigating the missing techs and the missing items, Garthe was not only rebuilding Goliath but he was also building other things as well to specifically counter FLAG’s defenses and weaponry with his father’s resources.
We’ve now reached the second act of the story. Having been forced into hiding, Raven remembers that Michael never removes his wrist watch. Although Michael chose to keep the significance of the watch a secret for the most part, Skye and Raven uncover through the FLAG online network the incident with KITT and all the data necessary to find him.
With technology now further developed, Skye finds that the government is working on a new underwater vessel in conjunction with FLAG to explore the depths of the ocean. This was one of Michael’s attempts to recover KITT before but without the proper resources his idea was abandoned.
While Raven and Skye are missing, Garthe discusses his plans with his father. We learn that Garthe was not Wilton Knight’s son, but rather that Wilton’s brother Dathan Knight gave up his child to Wilton so he could have a son. Garthe was in fact Dathan’s son all along and Dathan like Garthe was imprisoned when he chose to cross his brother and break the law.
Dathan reveals that it was his original idea to create KARR and that Wilton stole the concept and founded FLAG but Dathan left his mark on the project which caused KARR to become dangerous and eventually led to him being impounded. It is understood now that KARR was rebuilt with his original CPU specifically by Dathan so that Dathan could finish what he started years ago. Goliath was Garthe’s vehicle and KARR was Dathan’s instrument of destruction.
Meanwhile Raven and Skye find the location of the underwater vessel and use it to arrive where KITT was lost and recover the cargo container. When they bring the box inside their massive ship, they open up the container and find that KITT is covered in barnacles that leaked into the crate and coated in salt water debris but under the grime and grout, his body is still very much in tact but not a pretty site.
KITT can be revived and with a race against time to find Michael Knight, the only way for them to do so was to activate the tracker inside KITT. After some hours of hard work polishing and scraping away the debris in a montage sequence, finally the battery inside the gleaming black Trans Am is charged and KITT’s red scanner comes to life.
KITT’s confused and rightfully so plagued with the memories/data of being encased inside the sea faring casket which gives him a sense of claustrophobia. Long story short, Raven explains who he is and what has happened and that KITT needs to try to re-activate his wrist communication with Michael.
KITT is able (on the surface, outside of the ship) to trace the signal in Michael’s watch. Soon after Michael is rescued from his bricked up prison and he too needs time to recover from near starvation and dehydration.
Meanwhile Garthe and Dathan seek to use a government satellite to control the weapons defense systems in space and commander them to terrorize the people on earth by firing on them from space with high tech lasers.
-ADD LATER-
-Garthe and Raven break into government facility and steal satellite device.
-Goliath’s trailer is swapped out for a modified tanker trailer which allows him to fire surface to surface missiles like a submarine with tubes running across the top
-KITT fails to stop Garthe in Goliath after he’s sealed inside a tunnel from Goliath’s missiles. KITT must overcome his claustrophobia to escape and this allows Michael and KITT to rediscover their bond as partners.
-KATT is repaired and takes on Dathan inside KARR. In the battle Skye is critically injured. Raven is forced to leave the fight to save her life rushing back to their secret hideaway.
-KITT is preoccupied fighting Goliath. When Raven leaves the scene, KARR and Goliath attempt to gang up on KITT and Michael.
-KITT and Michael are also forced to flee.
-Back at the secret hideaway, Raven rushes to get medical help to save Skye but he returns to find she has died attached to a specialized machine similar to The Matrix in which a cable is jacked into the back of her skull.
-As Raven mourns the loss of Skye, KATT comes alive with Skye’s voice. Raven discovers that Skye knew her body was doomed to expire so she downloaded her consciousness into KATT so that Raven would not be alone.
-Michael learns of the flaw in the molecular bonded shell and that the molecules break down over time and when shells of like combinations impact one another it becomes explosive and no longer a barrier of protection.
-KATT and Raven use a Star Trek VI strategy and find a way to destroy KARR by exploiting weaknesses in his tailpipe which causes a chain reaction and destroys KARR internally which in turn sets Dathan Knight on fire before KARR explodes into a hellish blaze, never to return because this time his CPU is lost in the carnage.
-Garthe devises a trap to destroy Michael and KITT forever, using a missle to destroy a vital bridge that KITT must cross in order to reach him, knowing that KITT cannot survive the impact of the fall.
-As Garthe opens fire on the bridge, to his surprise KITT turbo boosts into the air and goes through a slight conversation. KITT has been upgraded with the same look at his Trans Am design but now has more grooves inside of his shell which reveal that KITT can now fly from concealed engines and slide out wings.
-Landing safely along the ground converting back int his full car-mode, the battle continues between Michael and Garthe. KITT uses oil slicks in an effort to overturn Goliath and smoke screens but all are proven useless, even KITT's new weaponry doesn't put much of a dent in Goliath's bohemoth structure.
-KITT flies into the sky to stop a specialized missile created to propel the stolen government satellite into orbit. KITT uses his scrambler in flight to send the missile flying back towards its source which impacts into Goliath’s new tanker trailer devastating it from the inside out.
-Garthe panics and separates the trailer from the front of his cab. Garthe swears that one way or another he will beat both KITT and Michael Knight. Garthe seeks to ram Goliath’s remaining truck into a nuclear reactor and set off a massive explosion that will destroy the city and everyone in it its blast radius.
(if this is a way to move the Knight Rider Series beyond Kitt/Michael)
-Garthe tries to head towards the nuclear facility in an effort to destroy it, forcing Michael to speed ahead and stand in his way. This creates that same scenerio of "chicken" from the Goliath episode where once again egos and structures will be tested.
-KITT and Michael realize that this is their last stand and knowing that fate has played its hand, in a massive blaze of glory with guns and laser cannons blazing, KITT’s body is shredded to bits while his weapons (head on) tear Goliath’s shelled cab to shreds until both powerful icons of Knight Industry history collide into each other's now unstable MBS shells, exploding in a massive display of self sacrifice and finalized victory.
-Raven and KATT attend the funeral of Michael Knight and the memorandum of KITT. Neither Michael’s body nor KITT’s CPU is ever recovered from the wreckage. Garthe Knight perishes with Goliath once and for all in the head on collision.
-Raven and KATT carry on the new Knight Rider legacy and build their own stories to tell.
-END-
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Unfortunately I do not have my alternate version but I also wrote a version where Michael and KITT do not perish in the end. Instead Michael downloads KITT's basic program into a ipod device then ejects out of the t-top roof into the air at the last second before the car slams into Goliath.
With KITT's new modifcations, the entire seat ejects, complete with parachute allowing Michael to land safely far away from the intial explosion below.
Goliath, the Trans Am, and Garthe all perish in a final cataclysmic eruption of fiery debris.
Back at the facility, KITT is downloaded into a sleek black concept camaro, restored good as new complete with the red scanner we all recognize as his signature look. This was to be Skye's gift to Raven that she had been working on while he was on assignment, now given to Michael and KITT.
The final sequence shows Michael and Raven discussing that they should change the phrase from "One man can make a difference" to "One team can make a difference."
Michael and Raven want to find out how fast their cars can go and which model is the better design in which KATT makes a comment about men and their testostrome needs for speed...then she makes a comment about how women are better drivers anyway because they stay focused on the road.
KITT replies to KATT something along the lines of, "While your previous statement intrigues me I believe the proper response would be...put your rubber where your voice box is."
Both Raven and Michael share a nod then line up outside the mansion on a straight away road heading towards the horizon then take off into the sunset, pulling back to wilton's infamous words but this time spoken by Michael who changes "one man can make a difference" to "one team can make a difference" and instead of his name, mentions Raven Knight.
Lastly I have an expanded version of the first half of the treatment here but it was never finished.
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Knight Rider Phoenix - Expanded Treatment
Setting - First we need to realize that like the reset with Batman Begins, you need to toss out the weaker spin off shows and movies and start fresh. This isn’t TKR, this isn’t Knight Rider 2000. For the sake of argument neither TKR nor KR2000 existed and the events that occurred in those storylines are tossed out.
The Inciting Incident (Flashback) – During a mission to a foreign territory like Brazil or some other oceanic trek where KITT is not able to simply drive to, KITT is transported in a very special container for the trip on a unique Knight Industries ferry like boat. Devon has sent Michael to investigate some suspicious activity which has prompted this very necessary precaution.
Suddenly in what appears to be a terrorist inspired plot, the ferry is attacked by heavily armed sea craft and in the melee of the carnage, KITT’s container plummets into the ocean. Michael tries everything he can to stop the specialized storage unit from sinking into the water but his efforts are hopeless. He is forced to watch as KITT is sent to a water grave into the depths of the ocean, which not only is in the middle of no where but also happens to lead him to descend not to the ocean floor but into an extremely deep and unreachable Mariana Trench.
Without the deep diving technology to reach KITT’s container, Michael is forced to accept that while KITT is preserved inside the storage unit, he is unreachable and therefore lost forever to him. Michael blames himself for not being quick enough or alert enough to stop the terrorist attack on the ferry and in memory of KITT, Michael wears his two way radio as a symbol of the friend that has been lost to him.
KITT is gone and Michael is without a partner. Devon and Bonnie try to create other versions of KITT by attempting to duplicate his CPU and preserve his voice but in the end Michael knows that it is not his friend, it is not the real KITT who had evolved to understand in his AI ways levels of human emotion that made him so lovable as a partner and a close friend.
The Future of FLAG – Transporting to the year 2010, not much as changed with the world, evil still exists and the need for the Foundation for Law and Government still exists. Devon Miles is now gone and without KITT, Michael takes his place. Michael now has gray streaks through his hair and a shaggy beard growing in and walks with a cane. He has become the founder who sits behind the desk and no longer the hot shot crime fighter with the fancy toys and the dashing good looks.
Again Michael, although the new founder of FLAG still wears his two way wrist communicator with KITT and although it cannot reach KITT whom is still preserved under the depths of the ocean, this connection will become gravely important as the story unravels.
Enter Raven Knight. Raven is the successor to Michael Knight who drives a black car of his own known as K.A.T.T. (Knight Automated Three Thousand). Raven is in his late 20s and has wavy black hair and blue eyes and stands about 5’11. He has a build just like Michael did in his younger years and also chooses to sport a black leather coat. Raven also enjoys wearing sunglasses when he’s out on assignment to hide his eyes from his enemies so they can’t recognize him when out of his attire.
KATT is like a cross between a Lamborgini and a corvette. His car is also all black with the tinted black windows but features a blue scanner light and a led system that runs along the body of the molecular bonded shell, which at night looks like blue pinstripes with LEDs that run down the sides of it. (like a scanner light running vertically but not as thick or as bright)
KATT also does not talk, at Michael’s request due to his choice to bury the memories of his past and try to get on with his life. KATT can however perform all the functions that KITT could do and could also perform automated tasks.
The Inciting Incident (Current Time) – While Raven is off on an assignment to investigate some large purchases being made and several key items being stolen from various facilities, back at the newly designed FLAG headquarters in the dead of night, Michael is awoken to the sound of a large object slamming head first into the far east wall of the proximity.
Soon the mansion is under invasion by heavily armed masked men in SWAT like gear, obviously bent on forcing their way into the heart of the building. Michael activates the defense systems and windows and doors are covered by thick sheets of metal and various bars but the invading force is like a swarm of bees coming in one after the other swarming the parameter.
They eventually break their way into the complex which forces Michael, because of his frailties to try and get to safety as men burst through the door of his office and attack him. Michael is still fairly quick on his feet and takes down several of the intruders with his trusty cane but with so many men flooding the building they eventually open fire on him and injure his left shoulder with gunfire.
Michael manages to slip into a hidden passage inside what used to be Devon’s office and travels down secret flight of stairs to the bowels of the mansion. As he attempts to get into one of the spare cars in the garage area of the facility, he hears that familiar sound…yet he can’t seem to remember where he’s heard it before.
A roaring squeal like thunder crackling closer and closer…suddenly as if he were trapped into a nightmare, plunged back into his past he sees the mammoth front view of Goliath slam through two large metal doors and crash head on into the garage.
This sends Michael scrambling to reach one of the vehicles to escape but roof mounted missiles on top of Goliath fire on every possible escape vehicle in the vicinity reducing them to rubble. Michael is left to wonder two questions. Is this really Goliath he’s looking at now and who is driving it?
Slowly the driver of Goliath exits the massive big rig and steps to the floor. He appears as a shadow as rays of moonlight and roaring fires begin to expose the details of his clothing. The figure grabs Michael and jerks him to eye level telling him how weak he’s become. It is at that moment we can see that this figure is wearing an eye patch and has a noticeable vertical scar running down from the top of his eye to the base of his cheek. We recognize who he is not by the details of his face but by what Michael says…
Which is simply, “Garthe?”
Before Michael can respond he’s knocked out cold by a striking blow from Garthe Knight’s cane. With Michael collapsed at his feet another figure comes out of the passenger side of the truck and looks around to the carnage. We do not see who this person is, only what Garthe hears him say.
The figure replies to Garthe after looking down to Michael, “Finally son, you will have back what was unlawfully stolen from you. You will have your legacy.”
Who is this guy? Why is he calling Garthe his son? How did Garthe survive the fall off the cliff and how come Goliath is not at the bottom of the ocean like KITT?
That is the mystery that has been set up that will add instant attention to the progression of “Phoenix” which implies several resurrections. Like a phoenix it is the revival of old enemies, old friends, and secrets long forgotten. How they come to resurface, and why.
Meanwhile while on assignment Raven and KATT investigate the strange objects that have been stolen and several technicians are found missing. By now you have figured out that these things have to do with bringing back Goliath once again from his watery grave and Garthe with him.
Raven follows clues that lead him to discover more about Goliath and who Garthe Knight is and eventually he is able to put the pieces together. This is all a clever form of misdirection by Garthe and his father to occupy Raven while Garthe has taken over FLAG.
Since Garthe and Michael Knight share similar voices, Garthe is able to impersonate Michael to a certain extent and keep Raven in the dark about what has really occurred at FLAG. Likewise with access to FLAG;s technologies he has also found ways to make sure KATT is not aware of what has occurred.
Where is Michael? – We return to a very dark and cold place where very little light can be seen, peeking through cracks in what appears to be a catacomb like place found in the bowels of ancient architecture. Here we see a blurry transition as Michael recalls how he has ended up where he is now. His memories paint the picture.
Garthe explains to Michael after he has chained him to the wall that he managed to survive the fall off the cliff due to Goliath’s watertight seal. He sank to the bottom of the river and used the air that he could to survive and when that air ran out he released a special mechanism that popped off the driver’s side door of Goliath and allowed him to float to the surface but the impact of the drop cost him his eye and disfigured his face with a scar to remind him of how Michael “beat him” again.
Garthe explains that he wants Michael to suffer as he once did, recalling his time in the African Jungle prison but that having come close to death, he had discovered a more fitting way to extract his revenge after reading Edgar Allen Poe during his recovery after the accident.
It was here Garthe explains to Michael his fascination with the story The Cask of Amontadillo and proceeds to explain the story while literally bricking Michael up inside a wall underneath the foundation of a undisclosed location. Garthe explains that while Michael will have a decent amount of air to breathe that will sustain him for at least a couple weeks, courtesy of some oxygen tanks he has placed, the darkness will drive him completely mad and eventually the rats will eat away at him as he stays there chained and helpless where no one can hear his cries for help.
So when we see Michael presumably several days later, Michael is indeed starting to become haunted by the demons of his past as Michael Lang and other various flashback events as well as his failure to stop KITT from falling into the ocean.
Meanwhile we return to the mansion where Garthe flips through the main computer of FLAG to see what sorts of technology he can steal or take advantage of. Now his accomplice and reason for his return is revealed to be a man named Dathan Knight, the brother of Wilton Knight.
Garthe as it turns out was actually Dathan's son whom he gave to Wilton to watch over becuase in secret Wilton desired a boy to pass his legacy on to and was unable to produce one.
As fate would have it Dathan was also the original inventor of KARR's CPU and recognizing the potential his concept had, he had plans that opposed the desires of his law abiding brother.
Dathan's plans were foiled however and he was banished away before he could inflict the harm he had planned but not before putting in a special sequence of code in KARR's programming that would keep his unit unique to his own characteristics which would eventually turn sinister much to the disappointment of Wilton.
Reunited now several years later, Dathan realizes that Michael Knight had encountered KARR twice before and he was certain after surveying the wreckage that they had recovered KARR's CPU in tact.
Sure enough Dathan eventually finds what he's been after and the central reason he has come to invade the Knight Foundation and use his son as his pawn in order to reclaim KARR's CPU and rebuild his precious creation...master and creation united once more.
Looking over the history of KARR and how he was a formidable opponent against KITT in the past, Dathan savors the common traits of vengeance. Any enemy of Michael and KITT was his ally and with KARR’s power at his fingertips, Dathan spotted an opportunity.
He found his way to take care of Raven when the time was right. Raven and KATT were after all the only thing that could threaten the power Dathan had attained and Garthe couldn’t keep Raven in the dark forever.
As Garthe looked over the plans for KARR with Dathan, they knew full well they had the entire battalion of resources of FLAG at their command Garthe also noticed a new weapons system involving one thing he had an affinity for…missles.
He ponders to himself then declares that he will make Goliath even stronger and prove once and for all that Goliath is the hand of fate and Garthe was its master. Garthe had FLAG but as most villains relate he wanted even more power…absolute power.
Together father and son would rule the world each with their own engines of destruction and nothing would stand in their way. What was old was new again and what was lost would be reclaimed.
-END-
Quite some time ago when I first met Glen, I had this idea stuck in my head to find some sort of way to bring a decent resolution to the original tv series. I had always admired how the plot had developed over time, save for some of the things in season 4 but the way the series ended just didn't bring any real resolution and Knight Rider 2000 was just a tragic disappointment.
After sitting down and really thinking over how to handle this task in a organized manner that would preserve the characters of the show and contain what I felt were the strongest elements from it, I came up with a pitch called Knight Rider: Phoenix.
This was to be a book I was going to co-write with Glen's son and we were either going to create a book or pitch it to a comic book company. Since this idea will never see print or production now, I feel it is safe to share with you.
This was essentially my treatment for how I would have addressed bringing closure to the series and finding a way to make transitioning between an older car (Trans-Am) to a newer one believable.
This was mostly more of a pitch idea then a fully developed treatment, sort of like the bare bones of something bigger but the general plot points and beats are established.
So now I invite you to read over the Knight Rider that almost was.
_____________________________________________________________
Knight Rider: Phoenix
Setting - First we need to realize that like the reset with Batman Begins, you need to toss out the weaker spin off shows and movies and start fresh. This isn’t TKR, this isn’t Knight Rider 2000. For the sake of argument neither TKR nor KR2000 existed and the events that occurred in those storylines are tossed out.
While given an assignment to investigate strange occurrences across the Atlantic, KITT is placed into a specialized cargo container for an oceanic voyage. During the transport, terrorists for reasons unknown attack the vessel carrying KITT and in the chaos, the container with KITT inside falls into the ocean and sinks into depths that for the time are unreachable. In short KITT while preserved is lost to the depths of the forever.
Michael who witnesses the event tries everything in his power to recover KITT’s container but given the current technology there is no vessel that can recover KITT from the trench he’s sank into (The Mariana Trench).
This forces Michael to accept that KITT is lost. In memory of his computerized friend and partner, Michael continues to wear the wrist watch that KITT communicated with him on.
Flashing to 2010, Devon Miles has passed on and in doing so he has passed the torch of leadership to an older Michael Knight. Having lost KITT and realizing that nothing can bring him back, even as far as to try and recreate him from his original blueprints, Michael no longer wishes to go out and hunt down criminals himself without his real partner.
Michael is also older with streaks of gray in his hair and walks with a cane, hinting to his older age. In order to preserve the ideals of FLAG which is still needed to help the needs of the innocent, powerless, and helpless Michael has enlisted the aid of his successor Raven Knight.
Raven drives a car similar to KITT, named KATT (Knight Automated Three Thousand) which is black as well and at the request of Michael does not talk. He is in his late 20s and has wavy black hair and blue eyes and stands about 5’11. He has a build just like Michael did in his younger years and also chooses to sport a black leather coat. Raven also enjoys wearing sunglasses when he’s out on assignment to hide his eyes from his enemies so they can’t recognize him when out of his attire.
KATT is like a cross between a Lamborgini and a corvette. His car is also all black with the tinted black windows but features a blue scanner light and a led system that runs along the body of the molecular bonded shell, which at night looks like blue pinstripes with LEDs that run down the sides of it. (like a scanner light running horizontally but not as thick or as bright)
KATT can perform all the functions that KITT could do and could also perform automated tasks.
Raven is called away on assignment to investigate the disappearances of several lab techs and high profile technicians as well as uncover the links between these disappearances and the theft of several pieces of electronics equipment and specialized materials.
One evening in the dead of night, left by himself Michael is alerted by loud bangs and gunfire which signal an invasion on the mansion. Michael activates several defenses to secure the mansion from the incoming threat but oddly enough his commands are strangely overridden.
Soon Michael is swarmed by several SWAT type soldiers in heavy gear. Michael fights valiantly with his cane to overcome the odds but with his defenses down, but after taking a gunshot wound in the shoulder he is forced to slip into a hidden passage way in his office which leads to a hidden garage in the bowels of the mansion.
Here he tries to get to a vehicle to escape but before he can do so he hears a familiar sound and watches as the thick steel double doors are crushed in by a large speeding gray object. Michael instantly realizes what this object is, or rather the distinction of the invading behemoth of metal and steel.
Against all possible logic, Michael sees Goliath, the big rig fitted with KITT’s molecular bonded shell from cab to trailer, reborn. Michael remembers that both Garthe and Goliath flew over a cliff and sank to the bottom of the ocean but here was this ghost from his past in the middle of his domain.
What’s worse is that the driver who exits the vehicle is none other then Garthe Knight himself. It is clear Garthe somehow survived the fall but he did not come away unscathed. Garthe has a patch over his eye and a large scar running down the left side of his face.
Michael looks up in pure shock but Garthe knocks him out with a swift smack of his cane before he can ask any questions. Garthe looks to a second figure that exits Goliath. This person we have not seen before but from the words exchanged we learn he is Garthe’s true father, whom now apparently was not Wilton Knight as originally believed.
That is the mystery that has been set up that will add instant attention to the progression of “Phoenix” which implies several resurrections. Like a phoenix it is the revival of old enemies, old friends, and secrets long forgotten. How they come to resurface, and why?
Meanwhile while on assignment Raven and KATT investigate the strange objects that have been stolen and several technicians are found missing. By now you have figured out that these things have to do with bringing back Goliath once again from his watery grave and Garthe with him.
Raven follows clues that lead him to discover more about Goliath and who Garthe Knight is and eventually he is able to put the pieces together. This is all a clever form of misdirection by Garthe and his father to occupy Raven while Garthe has taken over FLAG.
Since Garthe and Michael Knight share similar voices, Garthe is able to impersonate Michael to a certain extent and keep Raven in the dark about what has really occurred at FLAG. Likewise with access to FLAG;s technologies he has also found ways to make sure KATT is not aware of what has happened.
Eventually as the story moves along, its revealed that Garthe has bricked Michael up inside an unknown location in the same similar manner as “The Cask of Amontidallo”. While Michael remembers things Garthe told him about his escape from the ocean and how he scarred his face it is also unveiled that Garthe has a plan but it is not his alone.
Raven meanwhile knows Goliath has been reconstructed once again and rushes off to FLAG to protect Michael before Garthe can reach him. (which is of course already too late). When Raven arrives at FLAG, Garthe has a surprise for him.
Garthe reveals that he discovered Michael and Devon’s dirty little secret and rebuilt KARR to add to his arsenal and to deal with Raven to show him what true power was. During a dramatic confrontation, armed with new weapons such as laser cannons and roof mounted rocket launchers like those on Bond’s car in Tommorow Never Dies, KARR succeeds in nearly destroying KATT.
Raven flees in KATT, before it is too late with KARR in hot pursuit of him. Thanks to KATT’s stealth technology however, KARR soon loses the trail. Raven then retreats to the only place he knows is safe for him, knowing for the moment he’s too far outgunned to take on Garthe and his father.
Raven is also deeply concerned in finding Michael. Enter the female lead, Raven’s girlfriend Skye Barstow the daughter of Bonnie. She is a slender, statuesque blonde reflection of her mother with an ample bust and all the attractive features that demand attention.
Skye like her mother is an extremely smart and well skilled technian who was partly responsible for the development of KATT, which was believed to be the successor to KITT’s design. She helps Raven get back on his feet and together they attempt to repair the heavy damage to KATT as much as possible. KATT is so heavily damaged because the weapons Garthe gave KARR have the ability to seriously damage the molecular bonded shell, which is still the same formula Garthe stole from years past.
It appears that over time, there was a critical weakness in the formula that allowed it to become more less vulnerable and the weapons developed by Garthe and his father were specifically designed to counteract the shell’s weaknesses. This explains why Raven was investigating the missing techs and the missing items, Garthe was not only rebuilding Goliath but he was also building other things as well to specifically counter FLAG’s defenses and weaponry with his father’s resources.
We’ve now reached the second act of the story. Having been forced into hiding, Raven remembers that Michael never removes his wrist watch. Although Michael chose to keep the significance of the watch a secret for the most part, Skye and Raven uncover through the FLAG online network the incident with KITT and all the data necessary to find him.
With technology now further developed, Skye finds that the government is working on a new underwater vessel in conjunction with FLAG to explore the depths of the ocean. This was one of Michael’s attempts to recover KITT before but without the proper resources his idea was abandoned.
While Raven and Skye are missing, Garthe discusses his plans with his father. We learn that Garthe was not Wilton Knight’s son, but rather that Wilton’s brother Dathan Knight gave up his child to Wilton so he could have a son. Garthe was in fact Dathan’s son all along and Dathan like Garthe was imprisoned when he chose to cross his brother and break the law.
Dathan reveals that it was his original idea to create KARR and that Wilton stole the concept and founded FLAG but Dathan left his mark on the project which caused KARR to become dangerous and eventually led to him being impounded. It is understood now that KARR was rebuilt with his original CPU specifically by Dathan so that Dathan could finish what he started years ago. Goliath was Garthe’s vehicle and KARR was Dathan’s instrument of destruction.
Meanwhile Raven and Skye find the location of the underwater vessel and use it to arrive where KITT was lost and recover the cargo container. When they bring the box inside their massive ship, they open up the container and find that KITT is covered in barnacles that leaked into the crate and coated in salt water debris but under the grime and grout, his body is still very much in tact but not a pretty site.
KITT can be revived and with a race against time to find Michael Knight, the only way for them to do so was to activate the tracker inside KITT. After some hours of hard work polishing and scraping away the debris in a montage sequence, finally the battery inside the gleaming black Trans Am is charged and KITT’s red scanner comes to life.
KITT’s confused and rightfully so plagued with the memories/data of being encased inside the sea faring casket which gives him a sense of claustrophobia. Long story short, Raven explains who he is and what has happened and that KITT needs to try to re-activate his wrist communication with Michael.
KITT is able (on the surface, outside of the ship) to trace the signal in Michael’s watch. Soon after Michael is rescued from his bricked up prison and he too needs time to recover from near starvation and dehydration.
Meanwhile Garthe and Dathan seek to use a government satellite to control the weapons defense systems in space and commander them to terrorize the people on earth by firing on them from space with high tech lasers.
-ADD LATER-
-Garthe and Raven break into government facility and steal satellite device.
-Goliath’s trailer is swapped out for a modified tanker trailer which allows him to fire surface to surface missiles like a submarine with tubes running across the top
-KITT fails to stop Garthe in Goliath after he’s sealed inside a tunnel from Goliath’s missiles. KITT must overcome his claustrophobia to escape and this allows Michael and KITT to rediscover their bond as partners.
-KATT is repaired and takes on Dathan inside KARR. In the battle Skye is critically injured. Raven is forced to leave the fight to save her life rushing back to their secret hideaway.
-KITT is preoccupied fighting Goliath. When Raven leaves the scene, KARR and Goliath attempt to gang up on KITT and Michael.
-KITT and Michael are also forced to flee.
-Back at the secret hideaway, Raven rushes to get medical help to save Skye but he returns to find she has died attached to a specialized machine similar to The Matrix in which a cable is jacked into the back of her skull.
-As Raven mourns the loss of Skye, KATT comes alive with Skye’s voice. Raven discovers that Skye knew her body was doomed to expire so she downloaded her consciousness into KATT so that Raven would not be alone.
-Michael learns of the flaw in the molecular bonded shell and that the molecules break down over time and when shells of like combinations impact one another it becomes explosive and no longer a barrier of protection.
-KATT and Raven use a Star Trek VI strategy and find a way to destroy KARR by exploiting weaknesses in his tailpipe which causes a chain reaction and destroys KARR internally which in turn sets Dathan Knight on fire before KARR explodes into a hellish blaze, never to return because this time his CPU is lost in the carnage.
-Garthe devises a trap to destroy Michael and KITT forever, using a missle to destroy a vital bridge that KITT must cross in order to reach him, knowing that KITT cannot survive the impact of the fall.
-As Garthe opens fire on the bridge, to his surprise KITT turbo boosts into the air and goes through a slight conversation. KITT has been upgraded with the same look at his Trans Am design but now has more grooves inside of his shell which reveal that KITT can now fly from concealed engines and slide out wings.
-Landing safely along the ground converting back int his full car-mode, the battle continues between Michael and Garthe. KITT uses oil slicks in an effort to overturn Goliath and smoke screens but all are proven useless, even KITT's new weaponry doesn't put much of a dent in Goliath's bohemoth structure.
-KITT flies into the sky to stop a specialized missile created to propel the stolen government satellite into orbit. KITT uses his scrambler in flight to send the missile flying back towards its source which impacts into Goliath’s new tanker trailer devastating it from the inside out.
-Garthe panics and separates the trailer from the front of his cab. Garthe swears that one way or another he will beat both KITT and Michael Knight. Garthe seeks to ram Goliath’s remaining truck into a nuclear reactor and set off a massive explosion that will destroy the city and everyone in it its blast radius.
(if this is a way to move the Knight Rider Series beyond Kitt/Michael)
-Garthe tries to head towards the nuclear facility in an effort to destroy it, forcing Michael to speed ahead and stand in his way. This creates that same scenerio of "chicken" from the Goliath episode where once again egos and structures will be tested.
-KITT and Michael realize that this is their last stand and knowing that fate has played its hand, in a massive blaze of glory with guns and laser cannons blazing, KITT’s body is shredded to bits while his weapons (head on) tear Goliath’s shelled cab to shreds until both powerful icons of Knight Industry history collide into each other's now unstable MBS shells, exploding in a massive display of self sacrifice and finalized victory.
-Raven and KATT attend the funeral of Michael Knight and the memorandum of KITT. Neither Michael’s body nor KITT’s CPU is ever recovered from the wreckage. Garthe Knight perishes with Goliath once and for all in the head on collision.
-Raven and KATT carry on the new Knight Rider legacy and build their own stories to tell.
-END-
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Unfortunately I do not have my alternate version but I also wrote a version where Michael and KITT do not perish in the end. Instead Michael downloads KITT's basic program into a ipod device then ejects out of the t-top roof into the air at the last second before the car slams into Goliath.
With KITT's new modifcations, the entire seat ejects, complete with parachute allowing Michael to land safely far away from the intial explosion below.
Goliath, the Trans Am, and Garthe all perish in a final cataclysmic eruption of fiery debris.
Back at the facility, KITT is downloaded into a sleek black concept camaro, restored good as new complete with the red scanner we all recognize as his signature look. This was to be Skye's gift to Raven that she had been working on while he was on assignment, now given to Michael and KITT.
The final sequence shows Michael and Raven discussing that they should change the phrase from "One man can make a difference" to "One team can make a difference."
Michael and Raven want to find out how fast their cars can go and which model is the better design in which KATT makes a comment about men and their testostrome needs for speed...then she makes a comment about how women are better drivers anyway because they stay focused on the road.
KITT replies to KATT something along the lines of, "While your previous statement intrigues me I believe the proper response would be...put your rubber where your voice box is."
Both Raven and Michael share a nod then line up outside the mansion on a straight away road heading towards the horizon then take off into the sunset, pulling back to wilton's infamous words but this time spoken by Michael who changes "one man can make a difference" to "one team can make a difference" and instead of his name, mentions Raven Knight.
Lastly I have an expanded version of the first half of the treatment here but it was never finished.
_____________________________________________________________
Knight Rider Phoenix - Expanded Treatment
Setting - First we need to realize that like the reset with Batman Begins, you need to toss out the weaker spin off shows and movies and start fresh. This isn’t TKR, this isn’t Knight Rider 2000. For the sake of argument neither TKR nor KR2000 existed and the events that occurred in those storylines are tossed out.
The Inciting Incident (Flashback) – During a mission to a foreign territory like Brazil or some other oceanic trek where KITT is not able to simply drive to, KITT is transported in a very special container for the trip on a unique Knight Industries ferry like boat. Devon has sent Michael to investigate some suspicious activity which has prompted this very necessary precaution.
Suddenly in what appears to be a terrorist inspired plot, the ferry is attacked by heavily armed sea craft and in the melee of the carnage, KITT’s container plummets into the ocean. Michael tries everything he can to stop the specialized storage unit from sinking into the water but his efforts are hopeless. He is forced to watch as KITT is sent to a water grave into the depths of the ocean, which not only is in the middle of no where but also happens to lead him to descend not to the ocean floor but into an extremely deep and unreachable Mariana Trench.
Without the deep diving technology to reach KITT’s container, Michael is forced to accept that while KITT is preserved inside the storage unit, he is unreachable and therefore lost forever to him. Michael blames himself for not being quick enough or alert enough to stop the terrorist attack on the ferry and in memory of KITT, Michael wears his two way radio as a symbol of the friend that has been lost to him.
KITT is gone and Michael is without a partner. Devon and Bonnie try to create other versions of KITT by attempting to duplicate his CPU and preserve his voice but in the end Michael knows that it is not his friend, it is not the real KITT who had evolved to understand in his AI ways levels of human emotion that made him so lovable as a partner and a close friend.
The Future of FLAG – Transporting to the year 2010, not much as changed with the world, evil still exists and the need for the Foundation for Law and Government still exists. Devon Miles is now gone and without KITT, Michael takes his place. Michael now has gray streaks through his hair and a shaggy beard growing in and walks with a cane. He has become the founder who sits behind the desk and no longer the hot shot crime fighter with the fancy toys and the dashing good looks.
Again Michael, although the new founder of FLAG still wears his two way wrist communicator with KITT and although it cannot reach KITT whom is still preserved under the depths of the ocean, this connection will become gravely important as the story unravels.
Enter Raven Knight. Raven is the successor to Michael Knight who drives a black car of his own known as K.A.T.T. (Knight Automated Three Thousand). Raven is in his late 20s and has wavy black hair and blue eyes and stands about 5’11. He has a build just like Michael did in his younger years and also chooses to sport a black leather coat. Raven also enjoys wearing sunglasses when he’s out on assignment to hide his eyes from his enemies so they can’t recognize him when out of his attire.
KATT is like a cross between a Lamborgini and a corvette. His car is also all black with the tinted black windows but features a blue scanner light and a led system that runs along the body of the molecular bonded shell, which at night looks like blue pinstripes with LEDs that run down the sides of it. (like a scanner light running vertically but not as thick or as bright)
KATT also does not talk, at Michael’s request due to his choice to bury the memories of his past and try to get on with his life. KATT can however perform all the functions that KITT could do and could also perform automated tasks.
The Inciting Incident (Current Time) – While Raven is off on an assignment to investigate some large purchases being made and several key items being stolen from various facilities, back at the newly designed FLAG headquarters in the dead of night, Michael is awoken to the sound of a large object slamming head first into the far east wall of the proximity.
Soon the mansion is under invasion by heavily armed masked men in SWAT like gear, obviously bent on forcing their way into the heart of the building. Michael activates the defense systems and windows and doors are covered by thick sheets of metal and various bars but the invading force is like a swarm of bees coming in one after the other swarming the parameter.
They eventually break their way into the complex which forces Michael, because of his frailties to try and get to safety as men burst through the door of his office and attack him. Michael is still fairly quick on his feet and takes down several of the intruders with his trusty cane but with so many men flooding the building they eventually open fire on him and injure his left shoulder with gunfire.
Michael manages to slip into a hidden passage inside what used to be Devon’s office and travels down secret flight of stairs to the bowels of the mansion. As he attempts to get into one of the spare cars in the garage area of the facility, he hears that familiar sound…yet he can’t seem to remember where he’s heard it before.
A roaring squeal like thunder crackling closer and closer…suddenly as if he were trapped into a nightmare, plunged back into his past he sees the mammoth front view of Goliath slam through two large metal doors and crash head on into the garage.
This sends Michael scrambling to reach one of the vehicles to escape but roof mounted missiles on top of Goliath fire on every possible escape vehicle in the vicinity reducing them to rubble. Michael is left to wonder two questions. Is this really Goliath he’s looking at now and who is driving it?
Slowly the driver of Goliath exits the massive big rig and steps to the floor. He appears as a shadow as rays of moonlight and roaring fires begin to expose the details of his clothing. The figure grabs Michael and jerks him to eye level telling him how weak he’s become. It is at that moment we can see that this figure is wearing an eye patch and has a noticeable vertical scar running down from the top of his eye to the base of his cheek. We recognize who he is not by the details of his face but by what Michael says…
Which is simply, “Garthe?”
Before Michael can respond he’s knocked out cold by a striking blow from Garthe Knight’s cane. With Michael collapsed at his feet another figure comes out of the passenger side of the truck and looks around to the carnage. We do not see who this person is, only what Garthe hears him say.
The figure replies to Garthe after looking down to Michael, “Finally son, you will have back what was unlawfully stolen from you. You will have your legacy.”
Who is this guy? Why is he calling Garthe his son? How did Garthe survive the fall off the cliff and how come Goliath is not at the bottom of the ocean like KITT?
That is the mystery that has been set up that will add instant attention to the progression of “Phoenix” which implies several resurrections. Like a phoenix it is the revival of old enemies, old friends, and secrets long forgotten. How they come to resurface, and why.
Meanwhile while on assignment Raven and KATT investigate the strange objects that have been stolen and several technicians are found missing. By now you have figured out that these things have to do with bringing back Goliath once again from his watery grave and Garthe with him.
Raven follows clues that lead him to discover more about Goliath and who Garthe Knight is and eventually he is able to put the pieces together. This is all a clever form of misdirection by Garthe and his father to occupy Raven while Garthe has taken over FLAG.
Since Garthe and Michael Knight share similar voices, Garthe is able to impersonate Michael to a certain extent and keep Raven in the dark about what has really occurred at FLAG. Likewise with access to FLAG;s technologies he has also found ways to make sure KATT is not aware of what has occurred.
Where is Michael? – We return to a very dark and cold place where very little light can be seen, peeking through cracks in what appears to be a catacomb like place found in the bowels of ancient architecture. Here we see a blurry transition as Michael recalls how he has ended up where he is now. His memories paint the picture.
Garthe explains to Michael after he has chained him to the wall that he managed to survive the fall off the cliff due to Goliath’s watertight seal. He sank to the bottom of the river and used the air that he could to survive and when that air ran out he released a special mechanism that popped off the driver’s side door of Goliath and allowed him to float to the surface but the impact of the drop cost him his eye and disfigured his face with a scar to remind him of how Michael “beat him” again.
Garthe explains that he wants Michael to suffer as he once did, recalling his time in the African Jungle prison but that having come close to death, he had discovered a more fitting way to extract his revenge after reading Edgar Allen Poe during his recovery after the accident.
It was here Garthe explains to Michael his fascination with the story The Cask of Amontadillo and proceeds to explain the story while literally bricking Michael up inside a wall underneath the foundation of a undisclosed location. Garthe explains that while Michael will have a decent amount of air to breathe that will sustain him for at least a couple weeks, courtesy of some oxygen tanks he has placed, the darkness will drive him completely mad and eventually the rats will eat away at him as he stays there chained and helpless where no one can hear his cries for help.
So when we see Michael presumably several days later, Michael is indeed starting to become haunted by the demons of his past as Michael Lang and other various flashback events as well as his failure to stop KITT from falling into the ocean.
Meanwhile we return to the mansion where Garthe flips through the main computer of FLAG to see what sorts of technology he can steal or take advantage of. Now his accomplice and reason for his return is revealed to be a man named Dathan Knight, the brother of Wilton Knight.
Garthe as it turns out was actually Dathan's son whom he gave to Wilton to watch over becuase in secret Wilton desired a boy to pass his legacy on to and was unable to produce one.
As fate would have it Dathan was also the original inventor of KARR's CPU and recognizing the potential his concept had, he had plans that opposed the desires of his law abiding brother.
Dathan's plans were foiled however and he was banished away before he could inflict the harm he had planned but not before putting in a special sequence of code in KARR's programming that would keep his unit unique to his own characteristics which would eventually turn sinister much to the disappointment of Wilton.
Reunited now several years later, Dathan realizes that Michael Knight had encountered KARR twice before and he was certain after surveying the wreckage that they had recovered KARR's CPU in tact.
Sure enough Dathan eventually finds what he's been after and the central reason he has come to invade the Knight Foundation and use his son as his pawn in order to reclaim KARR's CPU and rebuild his precious creation...master and creation united once more.
Looking over the history of KARR and how he was a formidable opponent against KITT in the past, Dathan savors the common traits of vengeance. Any enemy of Michael and KITT was his ally and with KARR’s power at his fingertips, Dathan spotted an opportunity.
He found his way to take care of Raven when the time was right. Raven and KATT were after all the only thing that could threaten the power Dathan had attained and Garthe couldn’t keep Raven in the dark forever.
As Garthe looked over the plans for KARR with Dathan, they knew full well they had the entire battalion of resources of FLAG at their command Garthe also noticed a new weapons system involving one thing he had an affinity for…missles.
He ponders to himself then declares that he will make Goliath even stronger and prove once and for all that Goliath is the hand of fate and Garthe was its master. Garthe had FLAG but as most villains relate he wanted even more power…absolute power.
Together father and son would rule the world each with their own engines of destruction and nothing would stand in their way. What was old was new again and what was lost would be reclaimed.
-END-