In Black Knight, the world that was created after the comet collision also consists of mutants, and Sa-wol is one of them.
Forty years ago, when a comet collided with the Earth, it changed the world in several ways. Today, only 1% of the world’s population survives, and the pollution levels are so high that oxygen needs to be supplied to people.
Cheonmyeong Group uses the Air Core to convert a material called oxyanium into oxygen. That is not all that oxyanium can do. There are rumors that oxyanium is also linked to a mutation in humans, which does not seem too far-fetched in this world.
What makes Sa-wol different?
When Seol-ah is not home, 5-7 and the other men sent by Ryu Seok come to kidnap Seul-ah, not knowing that Sa-wol is also there. Sa-wol comes to Seul-ah’s rescue, and in the resulting struggle, Seul-ah is shot.
The kidnappers also shoot Sa-wol in the head before leaving. 5-8 then arrives at the scene, and to his surprise, he finds Sa-wol alive. He gets Sa-wol treated, and while he is recovering, 5-8 notices a scar on his foot, which shows that Sa-wol’s bones are made of metal.
When the bullet is taken out of Sa-wol’s head, 5-8 also discovers that the bullet bounced off his head because of his metallic bones. Furthermore, Sa-wol’s wounds, which should have killed him, heal so fast that he is able to leave the place all on his own sooner than anyone expected.
5-7 then meets Grandpa, who has been looking after Sa-wol and his friends for years. Grandpa tells him that Sa-wol’s father used to work in an oxyanium mine, where there was plenty of radioactive material. That is why Sa-wol is a mutant.
The price paid by mutants
It turns out that Ryu Seok, the CEO of Cheonmyeong Group, is dying, and he needs mutant blood to be cured. He has been kidnapping refugee teenagers whose parents worked in oxyanium mines and using them for experiments.
He has also started kidnapping the teenagers living in the General District. Seul-ah was one of the targets because her father was a manager in an oxyanium mine.
A child can only be a mutant if they were born after their parents started working in the mines, and that is why they do not target Seol-ah, who was born before her father was stationed at the mine.
When 5-8 discovers that children whose parents worked in the oxyanium mines are being kidnapped, he knows that Sa-wol will also become a target. At the same time, Sa-wol asks 5-8 to train him to win the Deliveryman Recruitment Tournament.
5-8 decides to take this chance to use Sa-wol to find the other missing children if necessary. Sa-wol is trained by 5-8 and his group of deliverymen and manages to win the tournament.
However, during the third round of the tournament, a scar on Sa-wol’s forehead reveals that his bones are made of metal and that he is a mutant.
His mentor, who is also a part of 5-8’s group of deliverymen, hides the scar with a bandage, but Sa-wol takes the bandage off when he wins, and the whole world finds out that Sa-wol is a mutant.
On top of that, Ryu Seok discovers that Sa-wol is an exceptionally healthy mutant. Ryu Seok uses his blood to run tests on a person who has the same symptoms as Ryu Seok. With Sa-wol’s mutant stem cells, the person is miraculously cured within seconds.
This leads to Ryu Seok capturing Sa-wol instead of killing him for revolting with the other deliverymen. Ryu Seok then receives a direct blood transfusion from Sa-wol and is alive even after getting shot in the head, just like Sa-wol.
5-8 saves Sa-wol from Ryu Seok, but does not allow him to return to work even after three months. The deliverymen also save the kidnapped mutants. It is because of Sa-wol that the world discovers that the rumors are true and that mutants exist.
Also Read: Grandpa: Black Knight character explained
