Knuckles the Echidna

**Knuckles the Echidna** a red-quilled echidna, is a character from the **Sonic the Hedgehog** series of video games and related media. First introduced in **Sonic the Hedgehog 3**, his existence was heavily advertised in the promotional material leading up to its release. The popularity of Knuckles met with such success that in the lock-on capable second half of the game released less than six months later, they gave the character second billing, calling the title **Sonic & Knuckles**. Since his introduction, Knuckles maintains a strong fan following, and appeared in nearly every main Sonic title since.

## Appearances

### **Sonic Underground**

* Returning to the classic Robotnik-tricks-Knuckles origin, **Sonic Underground** was the first Western animated series to feature the echidna, once again the guardian of the Floating Island and the Chaos Emerald inside. While Dr. Robotnik and his cohorts Sleet and Dingo try to get the emerald for their own purposes, Knuckles eventually realizes his folly and joins up with Sonic, Sonia and Manic and defeats the doctor, getting him off his island. Knuckles becomes a permanent ally of the team, even though he spends most of his time on the island in solitude, even if Sonia wishes otherwise.

* Curious enough, not much is said of Knuckles' ancestry, the idea of Knuckles being the last of his kind completely absent, removing one of the major plot points that other media had been using in regards to Knuckles' character and story arc. The only hint of any lineage is when Knuckles speaks to his great-grandfather Athair, who becomes a part of the Chaos Emerald Crisis three-parter. In Flying Fortress, Sonic and his siblings call Knuckles for help when they suspect Robotnik has gotten hold of a separate Chaos Emerald, evidenced by the sudden appearance of a flying fortress. Able to destroy the fortress but unable to reclaim the emerald, they soon discover that the emerald has broken due to the clumsy nature of Robotnik's henchmen. In the subsequent parts of the saga, Knuckles looks to Athair for advice, in which he is told he must make a bargain with the dictator if he is able to get to the broken emerald and restore it. Placed into a role where he must surrender his friends to Robotnik to save the planet, Knuckles at the last minute rescues Sonic and the rest from the robotocizer, the four able to put a stop to a Chaos-powered Dingo and return the emerald to normality.

### **Sonic the Hedgehog (Anime)**

* While this two-part direct-to-video anime was produced with the supervision of Sonic Team, Knuckles is presented with a simpler backstory, omitting all references to Angel Island and the Chaos Emeralds. Instead of being the guardian of the Master Emerald, he is a worldly treasure hunter who seeks out adventure wherever it hides. While he and Sonic the Hedgehog seem to have a rivalry, Knuckles is far more laid back about their relationship, going as far as calling himself Sonic's best friend. Being levelheaded, he is portrayed as far less naive than his gaming counterpart. He is also never seen without wearing his trusty hat, even if it happens to be on fire.

* Becoming involved in the story by chance, Knuckles' happens to be burrowing about the Land of Darkness in search of treasure when he spots Sonic and Miles "Tails" Prower going up against Black Eggman. Swooping in at the last minute, he is able to help the duo defeat the presumed-rogue robot, and joins up with Sonic and "Tails" as they enter the heart of Eggmanland. Present as Sonic goes up against his robotic duplicate Hyper Metal Sonic, him and "Tails" return to South Island when Sonic is presumed dead, Knuckles helping to repair the broken Tornado. When everyone learns that Sonic is indeed still alive, Knuckles also plays a part in the battle that takes place in the arctic regions of Planet Freedom, being the one who, at the end, holds Sonic back as Hyper Metal Sonic meets his final fate.

### **Sonic X**

* Caught up in the Chaos Control wave that sends the rest of the main cast to planet Earth, Knuckles finds himself on a unfamiliar planet as **Sonic X** begins, without Angel Island to guard. While he eventually finds Sonic and company on the planet, he tends to avoid them whenever possible, instead going off on his own, determined to find the Chaos Emeralds so he can return home. In the aftermath of the events in "The Birth of Super Sonic," Knuckles does not find himself back on his home planet, but his purpose in life is restored when, after another burst of Chaos Control, more elements from his home appear, including Angel Island. Quick to rush off and return to his duties as guardian, he initially continues to avoid the rest of the main cast, being thrown right back in during the series' adaptations of **Sonic Adventure** and **Sonic Adventure 2**.

* Though at first reluctant, Knuckles also plays a major role in the second series of the animated show. Back on their home planet, the cast becomes involved in the battle with the Metarex, and in order to pursue the alien species into space and also recover the Chaos Emeralds must use the Master Emerald to power the spaceship. Convinced by the female cast of the series to help them out, Knuckles and the Master Emerald also become important as the troops rally together on their final assault against the Metarex.

* Since the series was produced under the supervision of Sonic Team, Knuckles tends to stick close to his video game persona, although certain characteristics such as his anger and gullibility are enhanced during the series.