KNIGHTS OF ROME
Membership: Three unidentified members
Purpose: Protecting Rome against pagan threats
Aliases: None
Affiliations: Rome
Enemies: Amadeus Cho, Dr. Sofia di Cosimo, Bart Gladwell, Hulk (Dr. Robert Bruce Banner), Pope Gregory VIII, Red She-Hulk (Betty Ross), Tyrannus (Romulus Augustulus), United Nations
Base of Operations: A mobile flying fortress above Rome;
active in Rome, Italy (former capital of the Papal States; since at least the 12th century up to the modern era)
First Appearance: Incredible Hulks#627 (June, 2011)
Powers/Abilities: The Knights of Rome wore flying titanium armors equipped with missile guidance systems and gas pellets. At least one of them was a powerful sorcerer that could create magic circles to trap others, used mystic energy to cause massive explosions and invoked the powers of Olympian deities like like Hecate, Jupiter and Vulcan. By invoking Jupiter he could create a massive bird of prey made of mystic energy he could control with his mind to attack his enemies. They had all gained longevity by sacrificing their souls to an unidentified being, but considering their close connection to the Olympian gods it was presumably Pluto.
They used a flying fortress protected by mystic energy shields channeled through Stanetech energy routers that could be turned into a giant mecha.
They were apparently also really good at staying hidden despite their massive flying base (magic probably).
History:
(Incredible Hulks#628 (fb) - BTS) - Over 900 years ago the Knights of Rome became the protectors of the Holy City of Rome against pagan threats.
Pope Gregory VIII excommunicated the Knights of Rome during the 12th century for using sorcery to accomplish their goals. Deeming their mission too important to end like that, the Knights acquired immortality at the cost of their souls so they could continue protecting Rome.
(Incredible Hulks#627) - Three Knights of Rome gassed Tyrannus' secret hideout in Rome and then blew up the building with guided missiles to bury Hulk and Red She-Hulk alive while retrieving Pandora's Urn and kidnapping Tyrannus and Sofia di Cosimo. They vanished as fast as they appeared and Amadeus Cho failed to detect them with any radar, satellite and tracking device he could access due to their supernatural nature. Hulk and Red She-Hulk teamed up to go after them.
(Incredible Hulks#628) - They flew with Sofia, Tyrannus and Pandora's Urn three hundred feet above Rome when they were confronted by a U.N. aircraft under the command of Nato Commander Bart Gladwell because they had stolen Pandora's Urn, which was considered a weapon of mass destruction. The Knights were informed that their missile guidance systems had been disabled and that they should not resist, but one of the Knights just blew up the U.N. aircraft with a mystic blast. The Knights then returned with the urn and their captives to their own flying fortress. Hulk and Red She-Hulk barely managed to catch the crashing U.N. aircraft. Inside their flying fortress the Knights trapped Tyrannus and Sofia in a magic circle and after giving them a short introduction and explanation of their own ongoing existence, demanded to know from Sofia what was inside Pandora's Urn.
Hulk and Red She-Hulk attacked the flying fortress and barely made it through the mystic shield surrounding it by temporarily transforming into their human forms because the original plan to destroy the shield using blessed missiles with Adamantium heads had already failed. Two Knights flew into battle against them, but Hulk knocked them out with ease. The third, and presumably the leader of the Knights, invoked the power of Jupiter (Zeus) to create a giant bird of prey and send it against Hulk, who asked Red She-Hulk to make him mad to make him stronger. Red She-Hulk tried to provoke him, but it was Tyrannus' revelation that he and Betty did more than just dance that drove Hulk over the edge and made him powerful enough to deal with the mystic bird with a little help from Red She-Hulk's special gun given to her by Amadeus Cho. The knight was not done yet and invoked inside the mystic circle the power of Hecate and Vulcan (Hephaestus) to summon something else, but Tyrannus knocked the knight out with his own helmet and then took control over the flying fortress.
Comments: Created by Greg Pak, Tom Grummett & Cory Hamscher.
The Stanetech connection was revealed in #629 when Tyrannus had taken control over the Knights' flying fortress.
Profile by Markus Raymond.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Knights of Rome have no known connections to:
images:
Incredible Hulks#627, p20 (main)
Incredible Hulks#628, p7, p2 (head shot)
Incredible Hulks#628, p6, pan2 (arriving in flying fortress)
Incredible Hulks#628, p13, pan4 (conjuring a giant bird)
Appearances:
Incredible Hulks#627-628 (June-July, 2011) - Greg Pak (writer), Tom Grummett (pencils), Cory Hamscher (inks), Mark Paniccia (editor)
First Posted: 11/25/2025
Last updated: 11/25/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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