The show was created to promote a new Hasbro toy line, that consisted of twelve action figures and four vehicles. Six figures and two vehicles for the hero group; The Spectral Knights. And the remainder made up the Gillian side; The Darkling Lords. The toy line was eventually canceled after poor sales, resulting in both the cancellation of the TV show and spin-off comic series.
The cartoon series spawned a comic book line, published by Marvel. It ran for six issues, before being canceled. While the first issue closely followed the show opener. The following issues consisted of new original stories. Issues five and six were part of a four part story arc, that never saw a conclusion.
In the animated series, Power Staffs had limited use, and would require being recharged in Merklin's domain. When in use, they would manifest in to a physical form. In the comic series, they had unlimited use, not requiring frequent recharge. And would instead either endow their user with their represented power or affect any surrounding crowd or environment.
In the animated series, the animal forms that the Spectral Knights assumed were all blue. While the Darkling Lords forms were all green. In the comic book series, all animal forms were natural colors.
In the show, both Spectral Knights and Darkling Lords had one female member. Galadria who was with the Spectral Knights, and Virulina with the Darkling Lords. Neither had an official action figure release, nor did they have any additional magic. As did the male characters. However, in the comic book series, each would receive a Power Shield from Merklein. Galadria would have the power of healing, while Virulina could inflict plagues upon victims.