Knuckles the Echidna (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Knuckles the Echidna is one of the two tritagonists (alongside Amy Rose) of the franchise. 
When he first appeared, he was manipulated by Eggman into fighting Sonic. Eggman told him that Sonic wanted to steal Knuckles' Master Emerald, when he only came to stop Eggman.
Knuckles generally gets involved when his Master Emerald is in danger. He is a skilled martial artist who is just as strong as Sonic is fast. Despite his rivalry with Rouge, they have a secret crush on each other.
Knuckles is also a treasure hunter. He once mentioned that treasure hunting is his favorite hobby, after hanging out with Tails and Sonic.
He is a stoic and pure hearted warrior who has dedicated his life to guard the Master Emerald. He is the only survivor the Echidna clan and has promised to guard and protect the Master Emerald with his life. He is the prodigy of Sonic's team, and a trusted friend. However, he is a loner by nature. He is also the former leader of Team Chaotix.
In the Japanese version of the entire series as of 1998, he is voiced by and , and in English, he has been voiced by Michael McGaharn, , Scott Dreier, , , and currently by .
==History==
===Early life===
Knuckles was born and raised on Angel Island. He is the last surviving member of the remainder of the Knuckles Clan, a long-lost tribe of Echidnas, which devoted themselves to protecting the Master Emerald after Pachacamac incurred the wrath of Perfect Chaos who nearly completely wiped them out 4,000 years ago.
Despite his peoples' colorful history, Knuckles' own past was a mystery to him; he did not know how he came to be, nor what other reasons he had for existing, and he believed himself to be the last of his kind entirely. The only thing Knuckles knew that for as long as he could remember, he had been living on Angel Island, protecting the Master Emerald. He did not know why he was compelled to fulfilling this task, only that it was his sworn duty and fate to protect the Master Emerald from anyone who wanted to abuse it. As far as Knuckles knew, this was his purpose in life, and he was content with that.
For much of his life, Knuckles stayed close to the Master Emerald's shrine, steadfastly protecting the Master Emerald while having little to no contact with the outside world. Over time, Knuckles became friends with all the animals and the nature itself on Angel Island.
===Sonic 3 & Knuckles / Sonic 3 Complete===
In Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic 3 Complete, Knuckles is one of the three playable characters, the other two being Sonic and Tails. In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, he is an NPC and the secondary antagonist when playing as Sonic and/or Tails, and in Sonic & Knuckles, he is one of the two playable characters, the other one being Sonic, and the secondary antagonist-turned-anti-hero when playing as Sonic (and in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, also as Sonic and Tails or Tails alone).
In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Knuckles was on his patrol of the island's pillar, watching over the Master Emerald and the seven Chaos Emerald, where a Chaos Emerald started to float and vibrate as tremors began. Then, in an ear-piercing crash and brilliant flash, Knuckles was knocked unconscious. When he came to, Knuckles found the altar partially destroyed and the Chaos Emeralds gone. Shocked, Knuckles investigated the island and discovered was the Death Egg having crash-landed in Angel Island. This made Knuckles recalls a prophecy on murals on Hidden Palace Zone that said a dragon would bring a disaster on the island.
A few days passed, Knuckles patrolled the island while begin to look for the Chaos Emeralds and met a scientist name Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Robotnik told him he was conducting research on the Death Egg to prevent disaster and that the two people named Sonic and his trusted sidekick Tails are coming to steal the Master Emerald. Due to his words, Knuckles believes him and tries his best to stop Sonic and Tails from stealing the Master Emerald and keep them from Robotnik, not realizing that he was being tricked by Robotnik to keep Sonic and Tails at bay, while he rebuilt the Death Egg.
When Sonic finally arrived as Super Sonic with Tails, Knuckles pulled a cheated shot on Sonic causing him to force the Chaos Emerald out of him and turned him back to normal, which Knuckles escaped with and hid away. As Sonic and Tails are traveled across the island, Knuckles attempted to stop them in Angel Island Zone, Hydrocity Zone, Carnival Night Zone and Launch Base Zone with his traps, but were foiled. As Sonic and Tails tried to board the Death Egg at the Launch Base Zone, Knuckles kept them from getting close, until the Death Egg launches causing the column which he was standing on to collapse and he falls into the water, allowing Sonic and Tails to continue.
In Sonic & Knuckles, after the Death Egg crash-landed on Angel Island again, Knuckles briefly visited the Hidden Palace Zone through a giant ring in Mushroom Hill Zone. After securing the hidden object, he left into the forest not knowing that Sonic and Tails are watching.
As Sonic and Tails are continued to explore the island, Knuckles opposed them with traps in Mushroom Hill Zone and Lava Reef Zone. However, as Sonic and Tails arriving in the Hidden Palace Zone, Knuckles faced Sonic in an epic showdown, but was defeated. After his defeat, Knuckles heard an explosion at the Master Emerald Shrine and discovered that Robotnik was stealing the Master Emerald to power the Death Egg. Realizing he was being tricked, Knuckles tries to stop Robotnik, but was electrocuted in the process as the doctor escaped with the Master Emerald. 
Now realizing that Robotnik is the real thief and villain and Sonic and Tails are his true allies who befriends them and guides them to the Sky Sanctuary Zone from where they could board the Death Egg, However Knuckles was too exhausted from the struggles to go from there. Fortunately, Sonic and Tails return the Master Emerald to Angel Island. and Knuckles make peace with Sonic and Tails, apologizing them for being tricked by Robotnik and watched his new friends proudly left the island in the Tornado.
Unfortunately for Knuckles, the peace came to a halt, when a lone EggRobo under orders from Robotnik to eliminate Knuckles, attacked him with a bomb as he was relaxing in the Mushroom Hill Zone with his friends. Though luck or toughness, Knuckles survived the explosion and set off to defeat EggRobo. Knuckles followed Eggrobo to Sky Sanctuary Zone where it grabbed him with its Egg Mobile and brought it before to Mecha Sonic who somehow survived the showdown with Sonic and Tails and had stolen the Master Emerald, threatening to make Angel Island fall once more. 
However, Knuckles escaped the Egg Mobile before Mecha Sonic could kill him, resulting in EggRobo's destruction. As Knuckles fought Mecha Sonic, the robot used the Master Emerald to go Super. Though Knuckles beat it, the fight caused their arena to crumble. Fortunately, Knuckles and the Master Emerald were rescued by Sonic in the Tornado and the two returned to Angel Island with the Master Emerald. Having saved Angel Island again, Knuckles and Sonic departed ways once more.
In Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Knuckles starts his way in Angel Island Zone, and after completing Launch Base Zone, he falls into Mushroom Hill Zone. In Sonic 3 Complete, he has his own intro in Angel Island Zone, which is the same intro as in Sonic & Knuckles (but not in Sonic 3 Complete's Sonic & Knuckles). He then chases EggRobo through twelve zones, from Angel Island Zone to Sky Sanctuary Zone, while in Sonic & Knuckles, he chases EggRobo through six zones (five in the original order of Sonic 3 Complete), from Mushroom Hill Zone to Sky Sanctuary Zone.
===Sonic Triple Trouble===
Knuckles also makes an appearance in Sonic Triple Trouble where he is tricked into help Robotnik making him believe Sonic and Tails are after the Chaos Emeralds. As Knuckles helps Robotnik gather the Emeralds unknown to the four characters Nack the Weasel a treasure hunter who also goes by the nickname Fang hears everything and decides to claim the Chaos Emeralds for profit.
===Sonic Mania \ Sonic Mania Plus===
Knuckles is one of the three playable characters in Sonic Mania, the other two being Sonic and Tails, and one of the five playable characters in Sonic Mania Plus, the other four being Sonic, Tails, Mighty and Ray. Knuckles' story coincides with the events of Classic Sonic & Tails'. While relaxing on Angel Island shortly after the Angel Island incident, Knuckles is knocked over by the Hard-Boiled Heavies and warped to Green Hill Zone by the Phantom Ruby, thus forcing Knuckles to give chase after the chaotic minions.
====As the player====
In the Mania Mode, if the player chooses the option "Knuckles", he is the main protagonist of the game. His abilities are almost identical to those in Sonic 3 & Knuckles \ Sonic 3 Complete, and he starts his first stage in a different position than that of Sonic \ Tails \ Mighty \ Ray after the cutscene in Angel Island. Like in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, he has his own paths that he can traverse through blocked by barriers which are only breakable by him.
In Mirage Saloon Act 1, he has his own version of the first act, which is different from Sonic's \ Tails's Act 1, and into which he falls after being knocked off the tornado by the Heavy Magician. In Titanic Monarch Act 2, he escaped with along Tails and Sonic after defeating Eggman.
In the Encore Mode, Knuckles can be unlocked after Sonic had arrived in Green Hill. He can be played as the primary character or as the player's sidekick, but if he is not one of the main two players, he will only appear as an orange icon with the letter "K" on it. After defeating the boss in Titanic Monarch Act 2, and if the player had collected all seven Chaos Emeralds, he appears in his super form along with Super Sonic, Super Tails, Super Might and Super Ray as they knock Eggman into a rift. After the credits, the five heroes arrive at an ice cream parlor, only to be surprised with a sundae by the Heavy King.
====As the player's sidekick====
In the Mania Mode, the player can unlock the feature "& Knuckles", which allows Knuckles to be the player's sidekick. If "Sonic & Tails" is selected by the player, he replaces Tails as Sonic's sidekick. He can also be playable as the sidekick of Tails, Mighty and Ray. However, if the player chooses to play as Knuckles while activating this feature, then two Knuckles will appear. The only stage in which the sidekick Knuckles isn't playable is in Sonic's \ Tails's Mirage Saloon Act 1, though he will reappear after the tornado is shot down.
====As an NPC====
When he is neither selected by the player as the main character nor selected as the player's sidekick, Knuckles makes his brief and only appearance in-game in Sonic's \ Tails's Mirage Saloon Act 1, shortly before being knocked off by the Heavy Magician. He reappears in the cutscene in Titanic Monarch Act 2 if Sonic did not collect all Emerald or when playing as Tails, Mighty or Ray. He later appears in the ending cutscene before the credits if either Sonic or Tails are selected by the player, witnessing the destruction of the Titanic Monarch.
==Personality==
Knuckles is independent, wise, tough and a loner by nature. Unlike Sonic, Knuckles has an authenticable sense of responsibility and duty; he is stern, unmovable and focused on his duty. Due to having lived alone for most of his life, Knuckles is a rather antisocial and reclusive individual. As such, he cares very little about what others think, which makes him bluntly honest, straight-forward and somewhat egotistical.
Knuckles is fiercely loyal to his duty as the guardian of the Master Emerald and does whatever he can do to protect it. He prefers to stay close to the Master Emerald to keep a watchful eye over everything at home. Despite this dedication, Knuckles is willing to leave his duty whenever his help is needed, or when he feels the Master Emerald and Angel Island will be safe. Though Knuckles has found other hobbies, he will never trade away his duties as he is far too devoted to his role as guardian. When not performing his duties, Knuckles prefers spending his time practicing his fighting skills, going treasure hunting, or hanging out with his friends. 
Knuckles is grouchy, serious, arrogant, nervous, and at times rebellious. He is likewise stubborn, headstrong and inflexible, preferring to do things his way, which causes him to argue with his friends. Regardless, he is very strong-willed, seldom wavering in his determination and will not give up on his goals once he has set them. While he is stoic, cool and determined in battle, Knuckles is very easily angered and is hard to reason with when he is angry. This fact causes Knuckles to being known as the "responsible" of the Team Sonic, while Sonic is the "jokester" and Tails is the "nerd".
Despite being grouchy and easily angered, Knuckles is a heroic, brave, good-hearted and selfless teenage who risks his life to save anyone or get them out of trouble, and shows sympathy for people, even if they are a villain or enemy. He is likewise a loyal and caring friend, who is always willing to help his friends out in tight situations and will do anything to protect them. When not angered, Knuckles is pretty educated. He is also very understanding, though he doesn't take kindly to people who disrespect or hurt his friends, or innocents in any way.
Having been living much of his life alone, Knuckles grew up believing in honesty and holds a firm and steadfast belief that there is good in everyone, which always lets him give people second chances. Because of this, despite being grouchy, serious and easily angered, Knuckles is naïve, incredibly gullible, fast about forgiving people and easily misled, having been tricked numerous times by Eggman. This makes Knuckles often come into conflict with himself for not being able to reason if others are deceiving him or not. Over time, however, Knuckles stopped falling for Eggman's lies and is now more aware of the doctor's character and even more suspicious towards his plans. Once he found out he has been tricked, Knuckles can get quite angered, but quickly regains enough of his composure to start working towards a resolution immediately. 
Knuckles' uncompromising sense of responsibility and duty sometimes puts him at odds with Sonic, who is more comfortable with making jokes, even in serious moments. This had led those two to several moments of bickering, arguments, and almost physical fights over the direction of the Sonic Heroes in how to protect the world. While Knuckles' sense of morality and selflessness exceeds his personal feelings, his sense of loyalty is difficult to surpass. He is also capable of learning from his mistakes. Also, despite being just a teenage, Knuckles has a high degree of leadership skills, mostly due to his high sense of responsibility and duty. 
In Sonic Forces, after Infinite defeats Sonic in their first meeting, all the humanity thinks Sonic is dead and everyone starts losing hope and getting into despair. However, Knuckles managers to encourage all the humanity to form a resistance against the Eggman Empire. And all the humanity chooses Knuckles as their leader/commander during the Resistance. Even Sonic choose Knuckles as the leader of the Resistance, after the Resistance discovering Sonic is still alive and rescued him. During this time, Knuckles has proven himself a great leader, focusing on directing civilian authorities in order to keep the citizens safe and off the streets while the rest of the Resistance soldiers focused their efforts on taking out Infinite and his replicas' military assets. 
Knuckles is also very shy around women, which makes him act awkwardly around girls like Amy, Blaze, Shade, or especially Rouge, whom he has a secret crush on. Because of his isolated lifestyle on Angel Island, Knuckles feels very uncomfortable in industrialized or crowded cities and places and being around hi-tech objects or gadgets (mostly because he's not used to).
Knuckles is not afraid to do what's right for the greater good and make the tough choices, even if it might be costly to him personally. This is shown in Sonic Rivals 2, when he was more than willing to fight Rouge (mind-controlled by the Ifrit) to save his world and get the Master Emerald back. Nevertheless, Knuckles will always prioritize civilian lives, as he made question all the humanity was safe from Infinite. 
==Powers and Abilities==
Knuckles has shown some unique abilities over the years. His skills include gliding, digging holes and climbing. Like Sonic has the speed of the wind, Knuckles has the strength of a mountain, even beating Super Sonic with one fist. He has also trained his whole life, and is a master of martial arts, and is extremely skilled. Knuckles is also a good trap master, as seen in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, he was able to set traps in order to successfully catch Sonic. Knuckles knows how to connect with the Master Emerald and it's empathy. He will awaken it when the earth is at a crisis (Same as Sonic), and knows more about the Chaos Emeralds than anyone else. Most of Knuckles' abilities also appear to be rivaled by Rouge the Bat. Rouge is able to fly faster than Knuckles, although Knuckles is faster on foot. Both are also good at finding treasures.
===Powers===
*Superhuman Strength: Knuckles' trademark ability is his Supernatural strength. Possessing lots of power he is strong enough to pulverize massive boulders, punch through solid steel and lift objects several times his size and weight with ease. Knuckles is capable of lifting over 100 metric tons this makes the echidna one of the physically strongest characters in the series. His strength seems to lie in his upper body, particularly in his arms and fists, the former of which boasting enormous strength and latter being as hard as rocks and another testament to Knuckles' strength is that by just punching the ground, he can create fissures, widespread tremors, and even powerful volcanic eruptions. Additionally, he can punch with his fists or throw objects through the air with such force that they ignite from friction, he also can even launch punches with such force that they create explosions of enormous power.
**Superhuman Jumping: Despite Knuckles' main incredible strength lying in his upper body, however, his legs are quite powerful too, as he can jump several stories into the air from a standstill position.
*Superhuman Durability: He also possesses near-maximized physical durability. Testaments to this include him surviving a bomb exploding right in front of him through sheer toughness and him going through atmospheric entry and then landing on the ground unharmed, in addition, despite the force of the impacts his fists receive when punching at high forces, Knuckles is never phased by the recoil, regardless of what he hits or how hard he is hitting.
*Superhuman Speed: Knuckles is able to run at breakneck speeds that almost match Sonic's, who can reach supersonic running speeds he is even able to run fast enough to create afterimages of himself and scale vertical surfaces and ceilings even so, he is not quite as fast as Sonic at his maximum speed, as Knuckles is noted to run fairly slow by comparison he is also fast enough to execute rapid punches in quick succession within a split-second, although he has been noted to have slow movements in combat.
*Gliding: He is an expert at gliding, which he can easily do by using his dreadlocks glide is not a technique that grants Knuckles unbound flight through the air, but rather manipulates one's fall through midair.
*Chaos Energy Sensing: Knuckles possesses the uncanny ability to sense energy, specifically the one produced by the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald or similar ones, such as those contained in the Sol Emeralds.
**Emerald Radar: Thanks to Knuckles' ability to Sense Chaos Energy he can also track down their "signals" like an Tails' Emerald Detector.
*Chaos Control: Like Sonic and Shadow, Knuckles can also harness the power of the Chaos Emeralds to empower himself.
*Master Emerald's Energy Manipulation: As its guardian, Knuckles is also the only person alive who knows how to control the Master Emerald, which allows him to utilize the jewel's different powers or tap into its vast energies to empower himself.
*Spin Attack: Knuckles is also able to perform the Spin Attack, a technique where he curls into a concussive ball or cutting disk and directs himself at his targets just like Sonic. With it, Knuckles can shred or burrow through just about any substance given enough speed. Adept in its usage, Knuckles can utilize several variants of the Spin Attack for both ground- and aerial maneuvers, including the Spin Dash, Spin Jump, and Homing Attack.
*Fulgurkinesis: Knuckles possess mystical power to summoning lightning bolts. Knuckles waves his hand, and several lightnings strike his opponent this attack is called Thunder Arrow.
*Geokinesis: Knuckles can command the Earth and the forces surrounding it. He can harness earth elementals to heal himself, and using the supernatural power of the earth to make rocks fall from the sky this attack is called Meteor Crush.
===Abilities===
*Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Knuckles is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant a master in a number of martial arts focusing on hand-to-hand combat, Knuckles makes use of his powerful fists to take on his foes, with his specialty lying in punching moves where he uses his spiked fists for devastating blows, in terms of fighting style he focuses on power, using straight, repetitive and forceful punches, such as power-packed jabs or piercing uppercuts to deal critical blows to his opponents. For stronger strikes, Knuckles tends to build up momentum with his fists by swinging them around, before hitting his opponent in full force. By taking advantage of his burrowing abilities, Knuckles can even hide underground before hitting opponents with an uppercut from below when his opponent least expects it. Despite being a powerhouse, however, most of Knuckles' fighting moves are slow and easy to read
*Wall climbing: He is also a skilled climber his spikes allow him to plant his fists into any surface and scale them.
*Burrowing: Thanks to the spikes on his fists, he is also a skilled burrower he is able to dig like a gopher into any wall or floor and tunnel through subterranean regions at great speed and strength.
*Skilled Swimmer: Knuckles is a good swimmer unlike Sonic , he is able to swim into incredible depths and with both great speed and skill.
==Relationships==
===Sonic the Hedgehog===
Knuckles and Sonic are close friends. They have known each other for a long time, but their relationship is somewhat complicated, as despite being close friends, the two of them are also great rivals. When Knuckles first met Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, they started off as enemies, because of Eggman, who tricked Knuckles into thinking Sonic was trying to steal the Master Emerald. Then, Knuckles mistakenly helped Eggman and tried to keep Sonic from stopping the Death-Egg's re-launch, not aware of Sonic's real intentions. However, in Sonic & Knuckles, when Knuckles discovered that Dr. Eggman had tricked him, the two of them joined forced to keep Eggman and his robots from stealing the Master Emerald, and they developed a close friendship during the game. Since then, Knuckles and Sonic are close friends.
Despite being close friends now, Knuckles and Sonic always had a strong and fierce rivalry with each other due to their differences of personality. While Sonic is arrogant, playful, immature, reckless, irresponsible, cocky and tends to make jokes even in serious moments, Knuckles is grouchy, serious, easily angered, wise, mature and has an authentical sense of responsibility and duty. Those differences cause Knuckles and Sonic to argue a lot. Because of their differences and viewpoints of life, they don't understand each other and don't always see eye to eye. They share a competitive rivalry and often end up fighting when clashing, though their rivalry has become more friendly over time, being now more a play between the two. With Sonic's speed equaling Knuckles' strength in every way, their fights are always climatic.
Another fact that only improves their rivalry is that Knuckles secretly envies Sonic's free lifestyle and self-reliant nature. Sonic meanwhile, always welcomes a challenge from Knuckles and enjoys teasing him for fun because of his serious nature, and will even try getting him angry so he can fight him. 
However, the majority of their fights have been caused by Dr. Eggman, who would trick Knuckles into thinking Sonic (and, sometimes, Tails) is the enemy; though as time passed, Knuckles has stopped falling from Dr. Eggman's lies and is now more aware of his plans. Whenever Sonic discovers Eggman has tricked Knuckles, he always teases him by calling him "Knuckle-head", which Knuckles doesn't take too well, though they always make peace with each other at the end. 
Despite their differences, however, both Knuckles and Sonic respect each other, work well together, and are even willing to risk their lives for each other. A proof of Sonic's respect for Knuckles occurs in Sonic Forces when even after all the humanity discovering Sonic was alive, Sonic still choose Knuckles to be the leader of the Resistance after he was rescued by the Rookie. This shows that even with Sonic teasing Knuckles for his serious nature, he recognizes and respect Knuckles' sense of duty and leadership skills. In Knuckles' first appearances in the series, he did not fully trusted Sonic, whom he was willing to think of as a thief just wanting to steal the Master Emerald. However, over the series, most noticeably after Shadow's introduction as Sonic's rival, Knuckles started trusting more on Sonic, and now the echidna sees the hedgehog not only as a friend, but also as part of his family. A proof of Knuckles' caring towards Sonic occurs in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), when after Sonic's death, Knuckles was sad and also the first one to yell his name in despair. Knuckles also showed no hesitation in reviving Sonic by collecting the Chaos Emerald. Another proof appears in Sonic Forces, when Knuckles says that discovering Sonic was alive was the best new he had in months, and he also showed sadness and reluctance to accept Sonic's supposed death. Also, Knuckles is very loyal to Sonic, and though Knuckles tends to get irritated by Sonic's immaturity and recklessness, he has no problems with Sonic being the leader of Team Sonic. Additionally, Sonic also loves and cares about Knuckles, as seen in Sonic Lost World, when Sonic was crestfallen when he thought Knuckles and Amy had died from the Extractor. 
===Miles "Tails" Prower===
Knuckles and Tails are close friends. Due to Knuckles' rivalry with Sonic, Knuckles is closer to Tails than he is to Sonic, which technically makes Tails, Knuckles' closest friend. Unlike Sonic, Tails doesn't have any rivalry with Knuckles, and Knuckles is far more friendly to Tails than he is to Sonic.
When Knuckles first met Tails, in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, they started off as enemies, because of Eggman, who tricked Knuckles into thinking Sonic and Tails were trying to steal the Master Emerald. Then, Knuckles mistakenly helped Eggman and tried to keep Sonic and Tails from stopping the Death Egg's re-launch. However, in Sonic & Knuckles, when Knuckles discovered that Dr. Eggman had tricked him, he joined forces with Sonic and Tails to keep Eggman and his robots from stealing the Master Emerald, and Knuckles developed a bond with both Sonic and Tails during the game, becoming a close friend to both of them. 
Although they don't have any rivalry with each other, however, Knuckles get sometimes irritated by Tails' nerdy behavior, as seen in Sonic Riders, when Tails' long and nerdy explanation of how works an Extreme Gear even makes Knuckles' eyes spin like crazy so angry he was. Despite that, Knuckles has shown several times that he cares about Tails, almost like a little brother. In Sonic Heroes, Knuckles comforts Tails by saving he has nothing to worry about when the fox cub started working about Eggman's plans. In that same game, the two of them were also hanging out together in the Tornado 2, before reuniting with Sonic, which indicates how close Knuckles and Tails are. Similarly, in Sonic Riders, Knuckles angrily defends Tails after Wave insulted the Extreme Gear he made. In Sonic Forces, Tails reveals to admire Knuckles' wisdom and leadership skills, and Tails also loves and cares about Knuckles, wanting to be "friends forever" with him at the end of the game, which Knuckles agrees on with.
Although they are close friends, Knuckles and Tails have fought each other on a few occasions (usually when Knuckles has been tricked by Eggman), but in the end, there are never any resentments between them.
===Amy Rose===
Knuckles and Amy seem to despise each other because Amy usually picks on him. They are also seen to be fighting about Shadow on some terms. Despite this, the two seem to be on friendly terms with each other. They even have a lot in common. For example: They can both get very angry and pushed over the line. Knuckles has strength while Amy has her hammer.
===Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik===
Knuckles' relationship with Eggman is mainly based on Knuckles' naivety, which leads Eggman to trick Knuckles several times into thinking Sonic is the enemy. Knuckles first met Dr. Eggman in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, where Eggman discovers that the Master Emerald can neutralize the Chaos Emerald's powers. Eggman then put himself into the mission of stealing the Master Emerald, so nobody can neutralize the Chaos Emerald's powers, and Eggman could finally conquer the world. Once Eggman learned of Knuckles as the guardian of the Master Emerald, the mad scientist tricks Knuckles by saying that Sonic and Tails wanted to steal the Master Emerald. While Knuckles would be busy fighting Sonic and Tails, Eggman could steal the powerful gem. Due to Knuckles' naive and gullible nature, the echidna ends up falling to the doctor's lies. However, in Sonic & Knuckles, while Knuckles was fighting Sonic and Tails, the echidna is able to see Eggman stealing the Master Emerald. Realizing the truth, Knuckles teams up with Sonic and Tails to defeat the evil scientist and retrieve the emerald. Since then, Knuckles and Eggman have been sworn enemies.
===Rouge the Bat===
Knuckles and Rouge have a love/hate relationship. The two are rivals, and they have been fighting over the Master Emerald ever since the two met, because Rouge is a jewel thief who constantly tries to steal the Master Emerald, and Knuckles as its guardian, tries to protect it. The two of them also have rivalries in treasure hunting and both have a competitive attitude towards each other. The two almost always disagree with each other and end up fighting. However, both know when they have to put their differences aside and join forces for the greater good. Also, despite their fierce and strong rivalry, Knuckles and Rouge don't hate each other, and both consider each other as both a rival and a close friend. Additionally, despite their competitive rivalry, both Knuckles and Rouge have a secret crush on each other, but neither admit it (Knuckles is too shy, and Rouge is too proud).
They first met each other in Sonic Adventure 2, when Rouge stole the Master Emerald. The two of them then started fighting for the Master Emerald. During their fight, Eggman tried to steal the Master Emerald while they were distracted fighting each other. However, Knuckles managed to save the emerald by purposely shattering the Master Emerald in various pieces, which made Rouge very angry. Then, Knuckles and Rouge both started looking for its pieces. When the two met again, they fought furiously. But after the fight, he saves her life after she slips on a narrow beam and was about to fall into a burning of lava. Knuckles rescued her regardless of her trying to steal the Master Emerald. After the rescue, Rouge snatches her hand away and retorts with ungratefulness and teasing. In the end, Rouge gives him the remaining pieces of the Master Emerald and stubbornly complains that They stink like echidnas do!. Knuckles gathers the shards to complete the Emerald and apologies in case he hurt her, and both run off. After helping save the world, Knuckles asks Rouge if she plans to go back to treasure hunting, but she says she plans to take a break since it is too much work with too little pay and says she may have found something better than jewels, assuring Knuckles he’ll see it will work out.
In Sonic Heroes, when they met again, Rouge and Shadow taunt Team Sonic into fighting them. Knuckles seems angry with Rouge's daring behavior. Later on, after Team Dark defeats Dr. Eggman, Rouge comments to Shadow that she would go look for the Master Emerald, since that irritating echidna is here. However, after Sonic Heroes defeats Metal Sonic, she went to Knuckles and coquettishly hinted about going to look for someone else's treasure, referring to Knuckles' Master Emerald. Knuckles smiles and says She never gives up, does she? before running after her. 
In Sonic Battle, Knuckles and Emerl encounters Rouge at times in the game. They met her after fighting Chaos Gamma, when Rouge explains for them that Dr. Eggman has been experimenting with the Chaos Emeralds in robots cores, and that's why it looked like E-102 Gamma. They later met Rouge at her house when Emerl got lost from Knuckles, and ended up at Rouge's house. When Knuckles met Emerl at her house, he suspected Rouge was trying to do something bad to Emerl. However, Rouge explained to Knuckles that Emerl came to her. She later watched them fighting Phi. After the fight, Rouge gives Knuckles and Emerl some Emerald Shards they were looking for, and she has found. 
In Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, Rouge states that Knuckles is cute but not her type. However, Rouge was jealous of his relationship with Shade the Echidna and, when Shade mentions that she is 4,000 years old, Rouge teases Knuckles by saying he loves older women.
In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Knuckles and Rouge (along with Sonic, Tails and Shadow) work together to travel back to their time. However, the two were bitter and competitive allies, and rivaled in who would find the Chaos Emerald to back to their time first, and who is the best treasure hunter. However, after Sonic's death, the two didn't argue on teaming up to collect the seven Chaos Emeralds to bring Sonic back to life. 
In Sonic Rivals 2, Rouge has a mysterious client who told her that if she finds all the Chaos Emeralds, she would be rewarded. Then, she teams up with Knuckles, who is looking for the Master Emerald that is missing. They team updates with a deal - he helps her find out the identity of her client and she helps him find the Master Emerald. When they met Sonic, the hedgehog teased Knuckles and Rouge, asking them if they are on a date. Despite Rouge's crush on Knuckles, she was hostile towards him and didn't not trust him in this game. She, however, supported Knuckles genuinely almost the entire game. When they found out Rouge's client was Eggman Nega, they both decided to stop the Ifrit to save their world. After defeating Ifrit, their alliance ended when Rouge deceived him by stealing the Master Emerald by calling him "dashing and daring" in order to distract him. 
In Sonic Colors, Knuckles explains to Rouge that he is at Starlight Carnival because he received an invitation from Dr. Eggman, but proving that he did not get tricked. Rouge says that the invitation was written by her, causing Knuckles to burst in anger. 
In Sonic Generations, Knuckles and Rouge appears on Sonic's birthday party. They are seen setting the table, eating, smiling and talking to each other in a friendly and lighthearted way. 
In Sonic Runners, when Rouge asks for Sonic's help to resolves a mister, Knuckles teases her by saying she asking help doesn't homens every day. 
In Sonic Forces, Rouge seems happy to be a spy for the Resistance with Knuckles as its commander. She even calls him "boss", showing clear respect towards him.
===Storm the Albatross===
Storm is Knuckles' arch-rival. When Knuckles first met Storm, in Sonic Riders, Knuckles punched Storm really hard while the latter was trying to commit a theft, which caused Storm to fall from his Extreme Gear. Ever since then, the two have been rivals over who is the stronger mas. When Storm lost against Knuckles in the World Grand Prix, he falsely accused him of cheating by using a special type of gear. In Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, the two also showed a spark of anger when they saw each other. In this encounter, Knuckles thought of Storm as a "meathead" while Storm wanted to settle the score between their teams (Team Sonic for Knuckles, Babylon Rogues for Storm), causing great tension between the two.
==Quotes==
==Theme==
==Trivia==
*Knuckles was supposed to have a Jamaican accent to match his Jamaican appearance.
*The red eyes piercing from the darkness at the end of the final episode of Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM) were a last-minute addition by director Ron Myrick, and were meant to belong to Knuckles himself. However, writer Ben Hurst changed the source of the eyes to Naugus in his draft for the cancelled season 3 for the series. had this happened, it’s a bit likely his portrayal would be like in Sonic 3 & Knuckles where he would start off as an antagonist to a hero. Despite the piercing eyes changed to being belonging to Naugus, the eyes bear noticeable differences from the latter of being conjoined eyeballs as opposed to them being separate.
**Had this appearance of him happened, it would be the first appearance of Knuckles of the Echidna in animated media as opposed to Sonic the Hedgehog OVA. 
***He did however make his appearance in the next DiC cartoon under the name Sonic Underground.
*People often underestimate Knuckles' intelligence, calling him dumb and gullible, due to him getting manipulated by Eggman multiple times. However, Knuckles is actually fairly intelligent, as best seen in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, where he understands the Babylonians' written language.
*Knuckles' favorite anime is One Punch Man as revealed in the Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter Takeover #5.
==External Links==
*
*
*
==Navigation==
fr:Knuckles the Echidna
pl:Knuckles the Echidna
Category:Sonic the Hedgehog Heroes
Category:Science Fantasy Heroes
Category:Action Heroes
Category:Comedy Heroes
Category:Video Game Heroes
Category:Cartoon Heroes
Category:TV Show Heroes
Category:Comic Book Heroes
Category:Crossover Heroes
Category:Internet Heroes
Category:Commercial Heroes
Category:Beat'em Up Heroes
Category:Youtube Heroes
Category:Male
Category:Animals
Category:Anthropomorphic
Category:Honorable
Category:Warriors
Category:Rivals
Category:Brutes
Category:In Love
Category:Teenagers
Category:Strong-Willed
Category:Titular
Category:Vengeful
Category:Honest
Category:Status Dependent upon Player Choice
Category:Fighters
Category:Guardians
Category:Betrayed
Category:Last of Kind
Category:Tragic
Category:Cosmic Entity
Category:Determinators
Category:Arrogant
Category:Protectors
Category:Adventurers
Category:Rescuers
Category:Bond Creators
Category:Archenemy
Category:Nature-Lovers
Category:Type Dependent on Version
Category:Fortune Hunters
Category:One-Man Army
Category:Loyal
Category:Freedom Fighters
Category:Selfless
Category:Wrathful
Category:Global Protection
Category:Legendary
Category:Self-Aware
Category:Envious
Category:Jerks
Category:Wise
Category:Pawn of the Villain
Category:Superheroes
Category:Wrestlers
Category:Charismatic
Category:Wayward Heroes
Category:Monster Slayers
Category:Mischievous
Category:Thrill-Seekers
Category:Dreaded
Category:Sophisticated
Category:Hope Bringers
Category:Lawful Good
Category:Good Vs. Good
Category:Berserkers
Category:Leaders
Category:Strategists
Category:Villain's Lover
Category:Rebellion Heroes
Category:Merciful
Category:Bond Protectors
Category:Optimists
Category:Vigilantes
Category:Mascots
Category:Successful
Category:Hegemony
Category:Role Models
Category:Famous
Category:Mysterious
Category:Cosmic Protection
Category:Pacifists
Category:Localized Protection
Category:Misguided
Category:Antagonists
Category:Supporters
Category:Knights
Category:Orphans
Category:Sidekicks
Category:Liars
Category:Humanoid
Category:Healers
Category:Nurturers
Category:Martial Artists
Category:Cursed
Category:Counterparts
Category:Protectors of Innocence
Category:Nemesis
Category:Damsels
Category:Possessed/Brainwashed
Category:Voice of Reason
Category:Right-Hand
Category:Mascots
Category:Tricksters
Category:Genius
Category:Friend of a Villain
Category:Counter-Terrorists
Category:Pessimists
Category:Philanthropists
Category:Dimension Travelers
Category:Paranormal Investigators
Category:Virtually Resourceful
Category:War Heroes
Category:Provokers
Category:The Messiah
Category:Heroes from the Past