Sir Bruce (also known as Sir Breuse sans Pitie)[2] was a knight who was imprisoned in a tapestry with his army by Merlin.[3] He later came back to life and mistook Peter's latest date for a maiden he fell in love with millennium ago. The Ghostbusters had to keep him outside the castle until sunrise in order to trap him.[4] They succeed in doing so and trapped him.
History[]
Sometime in the Arthurian era, circa fifth century A.D., Merlin imprisoned Sir Bruce in a painting and his minions in other works of art, as well. The curse anchored them to the tapestries forever. Bruce was occupied with his love of Queen Guinevere, consort of King Arthur. In the 20th century, Sir Bruce was freed when his painting was unveiled at the Cloisters in New York at 7:30 pm during a full moon. Now free of Merlin's curse, Sir Bruce kidnapped Dr. Doris Tibbs, who bore a strong resemblance to Guinevere. To compound matters, the Cloisters was transformed into Sans Pitie Castle and Dr. Tibbs was slowly changing into Guinevere in the Special Exhibits Room.
Since the curse was tied to the Moon somehow, it was deduced that Sir Bruce could only be trapped at sunrise. Ray Stantz and Winston Zeddemore rode Unicorns, beasts hated by Bruce, to distract and draw him into the open. However, Bruce realized the ruse and retreated, resisting the pull of the team's Proton Streams. With time running out, Peter Venkman disguised himself as Merlin and chased Bruce back outside into the sunlight. The team confined the weakened Bruce in four streams and trapped him. Sir Bruce's minions were re-imprisoned in their paintings and statues, the Cloisters was returned to normal, and Dr. Tibbs was back to normal with some minor memory loss.
Based on Folklore[]
In Arthurian mythology, Sir Bruce (also known as Sir Breuse sans Pitie, Breunis Saunce Pit, Bruns Saunce Pit, Bruns Saunce Pité, and Bruce Without Pity) is a rogue knight infamous for using dirty tricks and tactics. He is never brought to justice, hence giving leeway for his introduction in "Hard Knight's Day."
Trivia[]
- Sir Bruce is the first but not the last painting anchored manifestation the Ghostbusters have to deal with. In Ghostbusters II, the main villain is Vigo the Carpathian, also anchored to a painting with magic.
- On page nine of Ghostbusters Issue #1, a painting of Sir Bruce hangs in the bathroom of Jim Silver.
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ Marsha Goodman (1986). Episode Call Sheet and SAG Report - "Hard Knight's Day" (1986).
- ↑ Sir Bruce (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Hard Knight's Day" (1987) (DVD ts. 7:19-7:24). Time Life Entertainment. Sir Bruce says: "Know ye all that I am Sir Breuse sans Pitie."
- ↑ Sir Bruce (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Hard Knight's Day" (1987) (DVD ts. 7:24-7:26). Time Life Entertainment. Sir Bruce says: "Now free from Merlin's curse!"
- ↑ Ray Stantz (2009). The Real Ghostbusters - "Hard Knight's Day" (1987) (DVD ts. 11:36-11:39). Time Life Entertainment. Ray says: "So we all have to do is keep Sir Bruce out until the sun rises."