Meta-Knight

Meta-Knight, as he appears in the story.

**Meta Knight** is a major character in the *Kirby* series, appearing in most of the games, the manga, as well as the anime since his debut in *Kirby's Adventure* in 1993. The intrigue and popularity surrounding Meta Knight within the *Kirby* fandom largely lies in his enigmatic and solitary yet caring nature and his mysterious yet striking likeness to Kirby himself.

Meta Knight is also the leader of an army of soldiers known as the Meta-Knights, and captains a large airship called Battleship Halberd, which may accompany him into the heat of battle. Despite making his debut in *Kirby's Adventure*, his true name was not known in North America until *Kirby's Avalanche* was released in 1995.

Normally the games he appears in usually feature him as a boss for Kirby to fight, but during Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land and after that game, there have been instances where he is playable in alternate modes, or even teams up with Kirby directly to stop evil from taking over dream land. Though most of his actions in the games originate from arguably good intentions, the ways he tries to accomplish his goals are often very extreme and poorly understood by Kirby causing them to fight though they never have any ill-will to one another. He serves as one of the most known characters from the games alongside King Dedede and Waddle Dee. Due to Meta Knight's way of doing things and his oft-hidden intentions, the relationship between Kirby and Meta Knight is unpredictable in nature, and ranges from anywhere between being bitter rivals to being steadfast allies to one another and can change at a moment's notice.

## Physical Appearance

Meta Knight has some of the various characteristics that Kirby has: a spherical body, feet and stubby arms (albeit longer than Kirby's and with actual digits), tall and thin eyes, and also features blushes. Meta Knight also wears his trademark attire; his silver mask and his blue or dark purple Dimensional Cape with gold trimmings, as well as a pair of patched or metallic shoes. He has retractable bat-like wings and flies with them in the games. The wings' first prominent use is in *Kirby Super Star*, where Meta Knight chased Kirby near the end of Revenge of Meta Knight. In *Kirby Air Ride*, he can fly with them whenever he takes part in a race. Meta Knight's weapon of choice is usually Galaxia, a spiked golden sword with an embedded ruby in the hilt.

One of Meta Knight's most well-known traits is the fact that he is almost never seen with his mask off. In a few games, his mask is split into two upon defeat, revealing a face with bright yellow eyes (however, in older games, Meta Knight sported white eyes and pink cheeks, making him appear similar to Kirby). In the event that should he be ever unmasked, he immediately departs from the field of battle.

Meta Knight's similarities to Kirby have led to speculation that he is a member of Kirby's species or is somehow related to them. Despite this, Meta Knight's possesses body parts, such as hands (since *Kirby's Avalanche*) and wings, that no known Kirbys have. Still, a connection is implied in *Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS* and *Wii U*, where Kirby is given an alternate palette that makes him look like Meta Knight. Furthermore, at Palutena's Temple, Pit and Viridi can converse about Meta Knight; they discuss his resemblance to Kirby and question if he also can inhale and copy abilities. However, Meta Knight's relation to the Kirby species has never been officially revealed.

Meta Knight was originally depicted as black, wearing a usually-crimson cape and without any armor besides his mask (with yellow glowing eyes in artwork). In *Kirby's Avalanche*, he had pauldrons, violet shoes, and a brighter skin tone. His design was revised again in *Kirby Super Star*. In *Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land*, he was made bigger than Kirby and given a yellow strap to hold his mask in place. Since *Kirby Air Ride*, official artwork shows his sword reflecting Galaxia's design in the anime. Since *Super Smash Bros. Brawl*, Meta Knight was again re-sized to Kirby's height and (with the exception of *Kirby Super Star Ultra*) the yellow strap was often removed.

His pauldrons always have a yellow lining and often gray in color, but are sometimes dark blue. In *Super Smash Bros. Brawl* and *Kirby's Return to Dream Land*, his left pauldron bears his insignia, which is an "M" in front of an upward-pointing sword. Meta Knight's cape is blue in all instances except *Super Smash Bros. Brawl*, where it is purple. Also, in *Super Smash Bros. Brawl*, his cape has a bat insignia on it. The blushes on his face are almost always clearly pink, though they were toned very light in *Kirby Super Star*.

In *Super Smash Bros. Brawl*, Meta Knight has dark purple feet with violet sabatons over them instead of plain violet feet, giving him a much more complex and well-armored appearance and something that would become part of his design in later *Kirby* games, such as in *Kirby: Planet Robobot*.

In *Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS* and *Wii U*, he wears silver mitten gauntlets over his gloves, a detail seen in official artwork of Meta Knight in *Kirby: Squeak Squad* and *Kirby Super Star Ultra*, and would become a part of his official design in later appearances. His armor also has a number of small but noticeable cuts, nicks and other signs of battle-scars compared to his appearances in the main series.

Meta Knight's mask sometimes gives a yellowish tint to the wearer's eyes. Meta Knight's white eyes turn yellow, and Kirby's blue eyes become green (only seen in *Super Smash Bros. Brawl*).

## Personality

Being a knight, Meta Knight respects a code of chivalry, and almost always offers Kirby a sword whenever he fights against him. He is a fierce and skilled swordsman, as well as a solitary and stoic character. He is often seen alone, and it is sometimes unclear as to what he is feeling or what his motives are. Meta Knight is proud of his abilities, but wants to improve more, as shown in Meta Knightmare Ultra and *Kirby Battle Royale*, where he summons Galactic Nova to challenge the greatest warrior in the galaxy, and enters The Cake Royale along with Axe Knight to increase his strength, respectively, again befitting his honorable personality, Meta knight keeps up a strict training to prepare himself against opponents of future battles, be it on the side of kirby, King Dedede or himself.

In the Revenge of Meta Knight sub-game, he is shown to loathe laziness to the point of trying to take over Dream Land to end its lazy lifestyle, the reason for his abhorrence of laziness can be explained in later games as several times he is the only one to perceive a threat to Dream Land, even before Kirby, with this being part of the beginning of his rivalry with Kirby, who is purposely shown sleeping at the beginning of the games, the two got off on a rather rocky start.

Despite his solitude, Meta Knight is shown to be very caring about those dear to him. When Kirby is destroying the Halberd in the Revenge of Meta Knight sub-game, Meta Knight orders his crew, the Meta-Knights, to abandon ship in hopes that they will not get hurt. Instead of listening to his orders however, most of the crew decides to stay and fight Kirby, to which he then responds with a "thank you, guys" in *Kirby Super Star*, or an "I’m sorry" after saying they’re about to perish and that they can do as they please in *Kirby Super Star Ultra*, meaning that he feels proud due to his crew being there for him in the former game, or guilt due to his crew's undying loyalty to him in the latter. In *Kirby Fighters 2*, Meta Knight is shown to have a very close bond with King Dedede, due to both having the shared aspect of never being able to win against Kirby. Additionally, his flavor text in *Kirby Star Allies* states that he would never forget his connection to his friends.

In games following *Kirby's Return to Dream Land*, Meta Knight seems to be on much friendlier terms with Kirby, now mostly only fighting him when either controlled or possessed, and often helping him. However, he still has his rivalry with Kirby, as seen in *Kirby Battle Royale*, where he and Axe Knight end up in a match against Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee in The Cake Royale, and states that they "had better to do their best." And, despite their rivalry having grown friendlier, Meta Knight appears to dislike the fact that he can never win against Kirby, as shown in *Kirby Fighters 2*, where he teams up with King Dedede in an attempt to win against Kirby for once, and they take desperate measures to do so.

Meta Knight appears to have adapted to Dream Land's peaceful lifestyle, as throughout various recent games, he can be seen reading a book, resting on a hilltop, and polishing his sword. He appears to lack a sense of humor, or at least that of King Dedede's, as in the title screen of *Kirby's Return to Dream Land*, when Dedede makes an amusing face, Meta Knight simply shakes his head in disdain. In-universe, Meta Knight is famous among the residents of Dream Land, and has many fans, including Bandana Waddle Dee, as shown in *Kirby Battle Royale*. According to a Twitter post, there is even a well-known rumor that Meta Knight has a sweet tooth. Additionally, in The Cake Royale, before Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee face Meta Knight and Axe Knight, if the player decides to talk to Microphone Waddle Dee of Channel PPP, he says, "I hope Meta Knight keeps it clean out there. I'm recording every word!" This suggests that Meta Knight sometimes uses foul language.

Interestingly, he never seems to want his face revealed, immediately retreating via his Dimensional Cape when his mask is broken and falls off. The reason for this is never explained.

In the anime, his personality is much different than in the games. He is calm, collected, and is much more clearly on Kirby's side here, because they are both Star Warriors, and Meta Knight needs to help him for the greater good. He is shown to passively observe events, and only interfere when needed. However, his training methods are often harsh and dangerous, often putting Kirby's life in danger, but they always manage to make Kirby stronger. Unlike in the games, he does not seem to hold any opinion towards the laziness of others, and is much less mysterious, as his motives in the anime are rarely ever hidden.

In both the games and in *Kirby: Right Back at Ya!*, he is often seen standing on high areas, platforms, tree branches, and statues. This may either be a strategical move to prevent being attacked before the battle or to get a better view, but the reason is never officially explained.

## Weaponry

### Dimensional Cape

Meta Knight's **Dimensional Cape** (as named in *Super Smash Bros. Brawl*) allows him to manipulate space, and is a powerful weapon in its own right. His signature cape never received its official name, until relatively recently, much like Galaxia.

Meta Knight most commonly wraps it around himself to teleport away. This tends to happen whenever his mask is destroyed and his face is revealed, or when he knows he has been defeated. The cape allows him to warp and teleport short distances, and it can be used to surprise an opponent, catching them off guard by teleporting and attacking from behind. In more recent games, he is seen turning his back to the screen before using it. Meta Knight usually takes it off when fighting Kirby, most likely to avoid hindering his movement.

In *Super Smash Bros. Brawl*, Meta Knight can also use it to ebb out of reality for a short time. In his Final Smash, the cape is used to petrify his enemies and cover the surrounding area in complete darkness, leaving them open to attacks from his sword.

*Super Smash Bros. Brawl* and his trophy in *Super Smash Bros. Melee* suggested that the pair of bat-like wings which grant him flight and gliding capabilities are really an extension of the cape. This is also demonstrated in *Kirby's Epic Yarn*, where the cape is seen fluidly transforming into the wings in Meta Knight's yarn form. This is not consistently the case, however. In older games and in *Kirby's Return to Dream Land*, he is seen throwing his cape aside, revealing that his wings are underneath the cape. However, in *Kirby Super Star* and its remake, Meta Knight throws off his cape, but he uses the cape again after he is defeated. This hints that the Dimensional Cape may be magic in nature, and able to be summoned at any time to escape from tough situations.

### Galaxia

The sword known only as **Galaxia** is a golden blade with a ruby embedded in its hilt, with anywhere from zero to six spikes protruding from its sharp edges. In earlier games, the spikes were absent from Meta Knight's then-unnamed sword.

In the games, Galaxia is capable of shooting out sword beams and standard sword moves. In Meta Knightmare Ultra, it absorbs the energy of a defeated foe, allowing Meta Knight to use special actions like the Mach Tornado, Meta Quick and Heal. Galaxia is used by Kirby when he uses the Master Copy Ability in *Kirby & The Amazing Mirror*.

In *Kirby: Right Back at Ya!*, the sword has sacred origins, having been created by a race of light and a fire god, Photron.