Knuckles the Echidna

Knuckles the Echidna is a character in the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games, television shows and comics. His (other) nicknames are "Rad Red", "Red Storm", "Knux", and "Knucklehead", though many of these nicknames have appeared only occasionally and many are not recognised by a majority of the fanbase. His creator is Takashi Thomas Yuda.

He is a red echidna (Although in his first appearance, he had a decidedly pinker tone, so one might say it is between red and pink) whose quills look like dreadlocks. He is 16 years old, 3 ft. 7 in. tall, and weighs 88lbs. His birthday is probably February 2nd, the date his first game came out. Two of the knuckles on each of his hands are actually sharp spikes. His name also shows his ancestry, from the ancient Knuckles Warrior Clan which included Pachacamac and Tikal. In the Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis games, Knuckles is 15 years old. However, in the Sonic Adventure games, his age was changed to 16. He is the most powerful member of Team Sonic. He can move faster than Amy but obviously can't beat Sonic in a race. He also has the ability to glide by trapping air under his dreadlocks. He is highly skilled at a high variety of martial art forms. In several storylines, he also possesses Chaos energy abilities, such as opening portals.

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History

Knuckles lives on 'Angel Island', also known as the Floating Island, which hovers in the sky thanks to the power of the Master Emerald, which he is charged with guarding. Knuckles is the last surviving member of the Echidna people who once inhabited the island. Due to his rather remote location and the fact that he rarely strays far from his duty, Knuckles is often alone, and as thus can be quite antisocial and distrusting, but on the other side, he is often quite gullible. One example of this gullibility is the belief that he held throughout Sonic the Hedgehog 3: that Sonic and Tails were attempting to steal the Master Emerald and that the infamous mad scientist Dr. "Eggman" Robotnik was trying to protect it.

Dr. Eggman, of course, had lied to Knuckles, and was planning on using the emerald to power his space station, the Death Egg. In the Hidden Palace Zone of Sonic & Knuckles, Eggman's betrayal was revealed to him very bluntly, in the form of electrocution. Knuckles then joined Sonic and Tails in their quest to stop Eggman.

Knuckles being easily tricked into believing Sonic is the bad guy has become a recurring theme in the Sonic universe. Also, in the Sonic X Cartoon, aside from his gullibility, another running joke seems to be that despite his headstrong and stubborn attitude, Knuckles will very easily crumble under peer pressure; As soon as he says 'No' to something, the rest of the cast will gang up on him and question his abilities until he agrees to do what they wish him to do.

Knuckles has been a (sometimes reluctant) friend to Sonic and Tails since then, sharing many of their adventures, getting tricked by Eggman, and catching the thieving eye (as well as the heart) of a certain white bat named Rouge, who tries to steal the Master Emerald for herself (Sonic Adventure 2). His other friends include Amy Rose and Cream the Rabbit.

Aside from appearances in the main Sonic series, Knuckles featured prominently in Knuckles' Chaotix, a relatively unknown spin-off title developed for Sega 32X. The game also introduced team Chaotix, a group of misfits who essentially do the same thing as Sonic and his friends (saving the day from evil villains).

Like Sonic, Knuckles is able to use the Chaos Emeralds to go Super, changing into Super Knuckles. In Sonic 3 & Knuckles, he is able to use the Super Emeralds to change into Hyper Knuckles. Although Knuckles' Chaotix did feature a similar quest for Chaos Rings, getting them all did not further affect gameplay.

Comics and Cartoons

He is an important character in Archie's Sonic comics and Sonic the Comic (Fleetway) as well. In the former, Knuckles even gains his own nemesis: Enerjak (also known as Dimitri). In the Archie Comic storyline, Knuckles also has a large extended family of numerous grandfathers, all of which are his predecessors. His family also includes the leadership of the evil Dark Legion, a group of technocratic Echidnas. This series also features a female Echidna named Julie-Su, who becomes Knuckles's girlfriend and eventually ends up marrying him. In Sonic the Comic, however, Knuckles is depicted as (at first) being the last of his kind, and bears the burden of guarding the Master Emerald and Chaos Emeralds alone. This did not last; the story "The Homecoming" had an elderly, white-furred echidna named Dr. Zachary appear on the Floating Island. He claimed to be the first of the race to return to Mobius, but later proved to be evil. He apparently perished as he fell from the Island, but later returned, with a part-robot body, working for Dr. Robotnik. It was hinted that he knew where the echidnas had vanished to, but his story was left unfinished at the end of the comic.

The Archie continuity develops a serious amount of Knuckles' character. In it, his exceptional strength and other abilities have an explanation. Before Knuckles was born, his father had a prophetic dream of his son having some major destiny. In order to suit this, Locke modified his DNA with biological experiments. This increased his mastery of Chaos Power, and awakened the ancient genes that, in Knuckles, would manifest themselves as the spurs on his hands and his awesome strength. To make things worse for Knuckles, his father exposed his unhatched egg to the full energy of the Master Emerald. This gave Knuckles so much inherent power that he is, effectively, a living Chaos Emerald.

Like Sonic and Tails, Knuckles is depicted as having a grand destiny to reach a "divine status". There are even some theories that suggest that Knuckles is the legendary figure Enerjak, a title claimed by his great-uncle. Knuckles has undergone many tribulations, including dying only to come back without his powers.

For some reason, his gullibility seems to have all but diappeared.

Love life

Like his rival Sonic, Knuckles has had a history of girlfriend relationships. In the Archie Comics storyline, Knuckles fell for a female Echidna named Julie-Su. In the Sonic Underground TV series, Knuckles showed possible love interests in Sonic's sister, Sonia the Hedgehog. In the video games since Sonic Adventure 2 and in the anime Sonic X, Knuckles is known to have a crush on Rouge the Bat, though he doesn't show it. In fact, he usually shows the others nothing but hatred for Rouge, although he does fall victim for Rouge's flirting and her abnormally large breasts. He tends to show embarrassment at this; he would rather deny his love than make it his downfall.

Personality

He is gullible, honest, independent, stubborn, and loyal to his duty. In Sonic X, he is less hard-headed and if people gang up on him, he will do as they say. He is also embarrassed more easily, especially when tricked by Dr. Eggman which has happened several times. Knuckles is also a sort of brother figure to Tails, rather like Sonic, but Knuckles is more of the serious type. Overall, he usually doesn't smile and is very serious about his duty of being a guardian of the Master Emerald.

Abilities

Knuckles can dig, climb, glide, punch, and, in some places, has Chaos-absorbing-powers.

Knuckles can sense the master emerald and the chaos emeralds from a great distance.
In Sonic 3 and the Archie Comics, Knuckles can power up into Hyper Knuckles.
In the Archie Comics, Knuckles is a living Chaos Emerald.
In Sonic Adventure and Sonic X, Knuckles needs the shovel claw to dig.
If Knuckles has the fighting/hammer gloves in Sonic Adventure, it makes him stronger.
The sunglasses (a power-up in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle) allow him to see invisible objects.
The Air Necklace (in Sonic Adventure 2) allows him to breath underwater.
The Emerald Radar (in Sonic Adventure/Sonic Adventure 2) allows Knuckles to locate Master Emerald fragments based on its color: grey is nowhere near, green is close, yellow is very close, red is right around you.
In Sonic Heroes, Knuckles can use a move called the 'Triangle Dive', in which the three characters hold hands and float gently to the ground. Using this move and huge fans, it is possible to go up instead of floating down.
In the game, Shadow the Hedgehog, Knuckles can punch and homing attack.

Super/Hyper Knuckles

Like Sonic and Shadow, Knuckles has the ability to power up using the Chaos Emeralds. When he does this, he becomes either Super or Hyper Knuckles. His appearance in these forms varies. As both, Knuckles has appeared in a hot pink form, an indication of his power increasing. However, in Hyper form he has also appeared with a pelt that flashes the colors of all the Chaos Emeralds. However, these forms are only present in Sonic 3, Sonic and Knuckles, and the Archie Comics continuity.

Possibly related, though unknown, is Knuckles' green color during a period of the Archie Comics storyline. In this form he is certainly more powerful than normal, able to take on a Super-powered Tails without going Hyper-he was unstable at the time.

Quotes

Hmph, is that all you've got? (Sonic Adventure)
Gimmie the emeralds you have, right now! (Sonic Adventure)
Huh! That's... a Chaos Emerald! (Sonic Adventure)
It's up to me to find the missing pieces of the Master Emerald. (Sonic Adventure)
I am one with the Master Emerald. (Sonic Adventure 2)
Stop fooling around and give me back my emerald! (Sonic Adventure 2)
We're with you till the end. (Sonic Heroes)
Nobody messes with the power of my fists! (Sonic Heroes)
Stone Fists! (Sonic Battle)
Alien scum! (Shadow the Hedgehog)

Relations

Family

Though in the games and TV series Knuckles is depicted without family, he does have relatives in the Archie Comics Universe. These are as follows:

Brotherhood of Guardians - Predecessors/Grandparents
Dimitri/Enerjak - Great Uncle
Athair-Great Grandfather (Also featured in Sonic Underground, Voiced by Sean Connery).
Lara-Le - Mother
Wynmacher - Stepfather
Kneecapeon "Kneecaps" Mace - Half Brother
Julie-Su- Third-Cousin/Wife (alternate/possible future)
Lara-Su- Daughter (alternate/possible future)
Kragok- Third-Cousin
Lien-Da/Kommisar - Third-Cousin
Locke - Father

Alternate Selves

Like several characters in the Archie Comics continuity, Knuckles has been depicted has having multiple counterparts in other realities. Among these counterparts are Anti-Knuckles, a version of Knuckles from the Anti-universe, which is the evil version of the main Sonic universe. Anti-Knuckles, like Knuckles, guards the Master Emerald, but in his dimension he lives on the undersea Sunken Island. This version of Knuckles has an Irish accent, wears a borret, and as opposed to his classic counterpart, is pacifistic. Only matters of great importance are likely to get him into a fight, but when he does, Anti-Knuckles is no pushover. Anti-Knuckles at first maintained an isolationist position on his world, until Evil Sonic tricked him into going to his counterpart's world. After Anti-Knuckles saw his error, he became a fierce opponent to the miscreant Evil Sonic.

Knuckles also has a counterpart named Tuxedo Knux, from a Sailor Moon themed version of Mobius. This version of Knuckles wears the tuxedo, cape, and mask of character Tuxedo Mask, and his weapon is also a thrown rose. This version is also the boyfriend of Sally Moon, that dimension's Sally Acorn.

Two other versions of Knuckles come from alternate futures. In the future from which Knuckles' daughter, Lara-Su, made her first appearance, Knuckles went insane after absorbing a massive amount of Chaos energy. Julie-Su lied to her daughter about her father's fate, saying that he had been killed. In reality, Knuckles had become the leader of the Dark Legion, leading them in place of Enerjak. Another future version of Knuckles, from the Mobius: 25 Years Later storyline, is also different. This Knuckles is Julie-Su's husband, but not civilly, because Knuckles "believes in commitment and not ceremony." He too is Lara-Su's father, but one she actually knows. The two constantly bicker, as Lara wants to become the next Guardian, but Knuckles doesn't want her too. This Knuckles also has a cybernetic right eye, as a result of Sonic attempting to stop him with a device he didn't know how to work during one of Knuckles' more insane modes. Knuckles also doesn't get along at all with Sonic, with untold amounts of bad blood between them. Knuckles also serves a more political function as Guardian of Angel Island.

It can be assumed that other versions of Knuckles exist, but they have not been encountered. In fact, of the members of Team Sonic-Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles-Knuckles is the only one not to have teamed up with innumerable other selves to combat a massive threat. This is likely because the plot would be cliche, since it would be the third time it was used.

The Battle

Ever since Knuckles' introduction, nearly every Sonic continuity featuring him has had the most cliche scene in Sonic history: the recurring and unfinished battle between Sonic and Knuckles. Because of their differences, the two are constantly getting into arguments, which then devolves into outright fisticuffs. However, something always serves to interrupt the battle before it's end, thus putting the fans in suspense as to who is the more powerful of the two (however in the Sonic X episode "Sonic VS Knuckles" Sonic seems to have the upper hand.) Rather like the idea of one or more of the characters settling down and getting married, the end of this battle, and the final victor, is one of those things that is never likely to happen.

The battle has appeared in the games, comics, and TV series. It occurs in practically every game since Knuckles' introduction, ending in Sonic Adventure 2. It has also appeared in both Fleetway and Archie's Sonic comics, the latter even featuring a battle between Sonic and Knuckles' powered-up selves, Super Sonic and Hyper Knuckles. It has also occured during Knuckles' introductory episode of Sonic Underground and several times throughout Sonic X.

Secrets

Although Knuckles first appeared later, you can actually play as him in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 by simply using a Sonic and Knuckles game cartridge, inserting a Sonic 2 cartridge in the top of Sonic and Knuckles, and then turning on the system. Instead of Sonic and Miles "Tails" Prower, it will say Knuckles the Echidna in Sonic 2, and a 3-D Knuckles will appear. The gameplay goes exactly the same except Knuckles performs shorter jumps than Sonic, but can still glide. However, he will not lose Rings when doing a Chaos Emerald Challenge.
Knuckles was originally supposed to be green, which likely led to his temporary color change in the Archie Comics.
Knuckles' white birthmark was inspired by the swoosh symbol by Nike.
Knuckles was originally going to be Jamaican.

Theme Songs

In Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, Knuckles' theme song is called 'Unknown from M.E.' It is a rap song.
In Sonic Heroes, Knuckles' team, Team Sonic's, theme tune is called 'We Can', and actively mentions him in the lines; 'And Knuckles by our side, makes this a safer ride.'

Voice Actors

In Sonic X and every new Sonic game beginning with Shadow the Hedgehog, Knuckles is voiced by Dan Green.
In Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Heroes and Sonic Battle he is voiced by Scott Drier.
In Sonic Shuffle, he is voiced by Ryan Drummond
In Sonic Adventure, he is voiced by Micharl McGaharn.
In Sonic Underground he was voiced by Ian James Corlett.
In Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie (Sonic Anime) he is voiced by Bill Wise.