Knuckles the Echidna

"I'll probably be on this floating island forever, guarding the Master Emerald again. I may not know the whole story behind this, but perhaps it's better that way."

- Knuckles the Echidna


 * "Knuckles" redirects here. For other meanings of the word, see Knuckles (disambiguation)

Knuckles the Echidna (ナックルズ・ザ・エキドゥナ) is a red 16-year-old anthropomorphic echidna, who is both physically powerful and highly resilient. He has a white crescent symbol on his chest. He is the last guardian of the Master Emerald, a powerful ancient relic which is his solemn duty to protect from anyone who wants to steal it. For a long time, he was thought to be the last of the echidnas, until the Nocturnus Clan was revealed to still be active.

Knuckles' name is derived from the four knuckles&mdash;two on each hand&mdash;which are actually sharp spikes. According to official Sonic Team polls, Knuckles is the fourth most popular character in the series, behind Tails, Shadow, and Sonic.

His first game appearance was in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, released on February 2, 1994 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. He was described as being 15 years old when he made his debut, but since Sonic Adventure, he is now given the age of 16. Knuckles has two spikes on each hand, and his dominant trait is his strength and that can be used to dig. He can also glide by trapping air under his dreadlocks, can climb up walls with ease, and is very skilled at a wide variety of martial art forms.

Conception and creation
During conception of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the development team wanted to create a new rival for Sonic. The final design of Knuckles was the result of dozens of possible designs inspired by numerous different animals. The emphasis of the character was to break walls. Knuckles's shoes are based on the colors of the Jamaican flag, and his appearance is overall Jamaican. In fact, he was originally to speak with a Jamaican accent.

Early History
Knuckles was born and raised on Angel Island, an island which hovered in the sky thanks to the power of the Master Emerald. He is the last surviving member of the Knuckles Clan, a long-lost tribe of Echidnas, which were devoted to protecting the Master Emerald after the catastrophe where the Chief Pachacamac incurred the wrath of Perfect Chaos, who nearly completely wiped out the Knuckles Clan 4000 years ago. Following the rival clan, the Nocturnus Clan, disappearance, the survivors of the Knuckles Clan dedicated themselves to protect the Master Emerald, and Knuckles is latest and last of these guardians.

Despite his peoples' colorful history, however, Knuckles' own past was a mystery to him; he did not know how he came to be, nor what his purpose in life was and he believed himself to be the last of his kind entirely. The only thing Knuckles knew about himself was that for as long as he could remember, he had been living on the floating island, protecting the Master Emerald. He did not know why or how he was compelled to fulfilling this task, only that it was his sworn duty to protect the Master Emerald from anyone who wanted to abuse its power. As far as Knuckles knew, this was his purpose in life and he was content with that.

First Encounter with Sonic
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 distrusting, but on the other side, he is often naive, which lends to his gullibility. 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. Robotnik was trying to protect it.

Dr. Robotnik, 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, Robotnik's betrayal was revealed to him very bluntly, as Dr. Robotnik had broken into the Master Emerald chamber. After an altercation with Sonic, and then witnessing Robotnik stealing the Master Emerald, Knuckles attempts to reclaim it. Knuckles gets electrocuted by Robotnik, and after he recovered, he realized that Sonic was on his side. He aided Sonic by granting him passage to a teleporter that would lead them to the Sky Sanctuary, by smashing walls that blocked a transporter module. After teleporting to the location, he then activated the bridge that allowed Sonic to continue further, but was unable to provide any more assistance due to exhaustion. After the Death Egg was destroyed and the Master Emerald was retrieved, Knuckles saw Sonic and Tails off, thankful for their help.

Unfortunately for Knuckles, the peace did not last for very long, as a surviving EggRobo from the Sky Sanctuary managed to ambush the echidna while he relaxing with his animal friends. It turned out that the robot was working with Mecha Sonic&mdash;who survived Sonic's earlier battle with it&mdash;in an attempt to capture Knuckles, and presumably use the Master Emerald for their own ends. However, right after being captured by the EggRobo, Knuckles managed to evade Mecha Sonic's attack at the last second, resulting in EggRobo's destruction, and he then fought against Mecha Sonic. He managed to briefly defeat it, but Mecha Sonic reactivated and then used the Master Emerald to power up to its super form. Knuckles eventually managed to defeat Mecha Sonic in the ensuing battle and save the Master Emerald, with Sonic saving him when Sky Sanctuary was destroyed along with Mecha Sonic.

Joining the Team
Knuckles then joined Sonic and Tails in their quest to stop the villain. Knuckles has been a (sometimes reluctant) friend to Sonic and Tails since then, sharing many of their adventures, getting tricked by Dr. Eggman, and catching the thieving eye of a certain bat named Rouge, who tries to steal the Master Emerald, for herself (Sonic Adventure 2).

Knuckles has a variety of different costumes in the game.

Having His Own Game
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 comical misfits.

Super Transformation Revealed
In Sonic & Knuckles/Sonic 3 & Knuckles/Knuckles in Sonic 2, 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.

Steel-Fisted Hero
Knuckles appears as a playable character in Sonic Heroes, as the power member of Team Sonic. Knuckles, along with Sonic and Tails, chased Dr. Eggman throughout the world in an attempt to prevent him from using his new "ultimate weapon". However, at the Final Fortress, they met with Team Dark, Team Chaotix, and Team Rose and found out that Metal Sonic was the real mastermind behind the plot, and had locked the real Eggman in a cell and impersonated him all the time. The other teams gave them their Chaos Emeralds and distracted Metal Sonic, who had transformed into Metal Madness, while Team Sonic used the Chaos Emeralds to turn Sonic into Super Sonic, also resulting in Tails and Knuckles gaining Super Shields. Then they set off to the skies to fight against Metal Sonic. Knuckles is last seen in the game running with Sonic and Tails as they head off to find a new adventure.

Dealing with Shadow
In Shadow the Hedgehog, he helps out in the Glyphic Canyon, Central City and the Black Comet stage in which the player can choose to help him get to the Center of the Comet so that he can attempt to destroy it with his bare hands. He also appears in the Black Comet Egg Dealer boss battle. He appears in the Last Story cutscenes and is the first to be paralyzed by Black Doom. Nonetheless, he eventually manages to escape with the other characters while Shadow pursues Black Doom and later fights him, sealing themselves in a sanctuary. After Shadow destroys the Black Comet, Knuckles proceeds to chase Dr. Eggman, presumably having overheard the latter's comments about trying to sneak away and steal the Chaos Emeralds.

No Longer the Last
He has an important part to play in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood for the Nintendo DS, in which he encounters an extant tribe of Echidnas (the Nocturnus Tribe) who had warred with his people (the Knuckles Clan Echidnas) in ancient times. On Voxai Colony Alpha like the rest of team he is under the Overmind's control saying the following "Must protect Overmind" until he is freed. When Knuckles gets captured by Ix the history of the Nocturnus Clan is revealed. At first it seems like Knuckles is going to join Ix but declines, saying that he stole the Master Emerald, that it does not belong to him and he will find a way to help Shade's Clan his own way before fighting Ix. In the game, Knuckles is a playable character, although he is not available for the second to final battle (he is containing the power of the Master Emerald, and in the final battle it's Super Sonic versus Super Ix). He is of the Power Class, which means that he can hit hard and pierce armor. He also has a wide range of navigational skills, as he retains the ability to glide, climb and destroy obstacles from previous games. He is the second strongest in therms of attack and has the second highest defense in the game, losing both titles to E-123 Omega.

My Alternate Arabian Sailor Self
In Sonic and the Secret Rings, Knuckles took on the persona of Sinbad the Sailor from Arabian Nights. He is sought out by Sonic and Shahra as they need his help to stop the Ifrit Golem, one of the Erazor Djinn monsters. After freeing him from his prison, he tells them they can use his water blue World Ring to weaken the Ifrit Golem, but they had to take it back of the band of pirates who stole it from him. He is last seen following Sonic on his last adventures through the Arabian Nights as Sonic sought out a way to return home. He also appeared as a playable character in Party Mode.

The Ambidextrous Knight
Knuckles is in Sonic & the Black Knight. He is portrayed as Sir Gawain of the Knights of the Round Table, and uses the Galatine, two swords. He is guarding the cave when Sonic approaches him. Gawain thinks he is stealing the Dragon's treasure and attacks. After being defeated, he attempts suicide to avenge his honor since he failed his king's orders, but Sonic asks him if there is more to being a Knight than serving a king. He later helps with stopping Merlina's corruption of the Kingdom. Other than looking like Knuckles, Sir Gawain seems quite gullible like Knuckles originally was, and defends the dragon's treasure, a parallel to Knuckles because he defends the Master Emerald. His Soul Surge is Gail Meteor.

Hot on Blaze
In Sonic Rush, he had a few minor appearances. The first was when Cream introduced him to Blaze. He got the wrong idea when Blaze told him that she did not have any Chaos Emeralds (they were Sol Emeralds) and he attempted to attack her, but ended up being buried under some rocks. His second appearance was when he was saved by Sonic and Tails. He told them what happened and then got angry and destroyed the boulder allowing Sonic and Tails to continue on. The third appearance was when he caught up with Blaze wanting payback, but he was distracted by Amy long enough for Cream to fly Blaze away. The last appearance was when he was with the others. He had no hostile intentions towards Blaze at that time (implying that he had been informed about Blaze and why she was there). Knuckles joined the others in giving Blaze the support she needed to recharge the Sol Emeralds.

Colorful dis-respect
Knuckles is a supporting character in the DS version of Sonic Colors and his role mainly consisted of being antagonized and singled out by his own friends. He seen in a confrontation with Orbot and Cubot and then challenges Sonic to a race. After losing against Sonic, Knuckles talks to them. Tails asked him if Eggman tricked him into entering the Intergalactic Amusement Park. Knuckles denies this several times despite Sonic and Tails' skepticism. Knuckles is then seen again arguing with Rouge. Sonic cuts in and tells Knuckles to calm down. Knuckles yells saying that Rouge is always up to something. Rouge asks Knuckles if he got an invitation from Eggman, Knuckles replies that Eggman's invitation was about his amusement park and so that is why Knuckles in at his Interstellar Amusement Park. Rouge tells him that he did get tricked because that invitation was written by her. Rouge then runs off with Knuckles very irritated and Sonic trying to console him by saying that at least he was not tricked by Eggman but that did not make Knuckles feel any better.

Conforming Two Sonics
Knuckles appears in the console version of Sonic Generations. Knuckles and the others were celebrating Sonic's birthday party. Suddenly, the Time Eater captures him and ends up in Sky Sanctuary. If Classic Sonic rescues Knuckles, asks him if he "gained weight" as Classic Sonic rubs his stomach somewhat sadly in response. If Modern Sonic rescues Knuckles, he thanks him, but says he did not need any help and states it's good to have his sanctuary back. In the Center of Time, he was alongside Amy encouraging both Sonics in their latest endeavor against both Classic and Modern Dr. Eggman. After they were defeated, Knuckles and the others returned back to the right time where they continue celebrating.

Knuckles also appears in a Green Hill mission where he races Classic Sonic and in a Sky Sanctuary mission where he digs up medals for Modern Sonic.

As a powerful athlete
Knuckles also appears in the game Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games. In the game he is a power-type character. His main rival is Wario. Knuckles signature move is the Screw Driver on the Wii and Spiral Uppercut for the DS version.

SEGA cameo
He also makes a cameo appearance in Sega Superstars Tennis in the Green Hill court, and in Super Smash Bros. Brawl (in the unlockable Green Hill Zone stage where he, Tails, and Silver run through the shuttle loop in the background).

A Real Power Racer
Knuckles appears as a playable character in the racing game Sonic &amp; SEGA All-Stars Racing. His All-Star Move is Emerald Power, which allows Knuckles to glide above the track and unleash an earthquake that stuns all opponents.

In the console versions, Knuckles is playable from the start, but in the DS and iOS versions, the user needs to pay 500,000 SEGA miles to play as him.

He returns as a racer once again in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, though he's changed his quad for a strange backward trike influenced by himself in this game.

Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie)
As in the games, the Archie Comics version of Knuckles is the guardian of the Master Emerald. However, in the Archie Comics, he is actually the latest in a long line of Guardians, collectively known as the Brotherhood of Guardians.

In the Archie Comics, the echidnas eventually returned from their mysterious disappearance (the only continuity in which they have done this en masse), and Knuckles was reunited not only with his people but his large family as well.

Knuckles has many enemies in this continuity, including the echidnas of the Dark Legion and the super-powerful Enerjak (an identity he was once brainwashed into assuming himself). He also has a long-standing love interest in the form of a former Dark Legionnaire Julie-Su, and the two of them have a daughter named Lara-Su in various alternate futures.

Many echidnas believe that Knuckles is a legendary Avatar, destined to deliver the world from suffering.

Fleetway's Sonic the Comic
In the UK publication Sonic the Comic, Knuckles is not only the guardian of the Master Emerald but the Chaos Emeralds and the Floating Island as well. Although he was duped by Doctor Robotnik during the comics adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, he remained skeptical enough to conceal the fact that he possessed the Grey Emerald, which could control the other Emeralds and which he eventually used to defeat Robotnik after being betrayed.

His uncertainty of the fate of his own people greatly affected him, even more so when the only other echidna he met (Doctor Zachary) proved to be a genocidal madman.

In this continuity, Knuckles was in fact over 8000 years old and had been the leader of the echidna armies under Pochacamac, fighting the Drakon Empire. However, he retained no memory of this, having presumably survived to the present day by being in suspended animation.

Personality
Knuckles is a coldly honest, independent, tough, somewhat gullible and short-tempered echidna, with a one-track mind. Like how Sonic embodies the wind, Knuckles embodies the mountain; stern, unmovable and anchored to his duty. Due to having grown up on the isolated Angel Island and having been devoted to his sworn duty of protecting the Master Emerald for as long as he can remember, Knuckles has lived much of his life in seclusion and has become a rather antisocial, reclusive individual and a loner by nature. As such, he cares very little about what others thinks, which makes him bluntly honest and somewhat egotistical in the face of others.

Knuckles is fiercely loyal to his homeland, and does whatever is in his power to protect it and the Master Emerald. He prefers to stay close to the island's current emerald shrine to keep a watchful eye over everything on his home in order to maintain peace. Despite this, however, Knuckles is often willing to go with Sonic and company on their adventures whenever his help is needed, or when he feels the Master Emerald and Angel Island will be safe. Though Knuckles has been known to find other lifestyles appealing, he would never trade away his duties as he is far too devoted to his role as guardian of Angel Island and the Master Emerald. Whenever he is not focusing on his duty, Knuckles spends his time practicing his fighting skills, going treasure hunting or sometimes go hanging out with his friends

Knuckles is most of the time very serious and usually likes to be by himself. He prefers to do things his own way and is stubborn and headstrong in his choices, which often causes him to clash with others' decisions, especially with Sonic. Though he is cool and determined in battle, Knuckles also has a very short temper and sometimes aggressive behaivor which can easily flare up when Knuckles thinks he has been insulted, tricked or is just confused. Though Knuckles' wild-temper has often been known to get him into trouble, such as in his interactions with Rouge the Bat, he has also learned to use it to his advantage by channeling it into fighting whoever might be threatening his friends or his home.

Despite being a silent loner, Knuckles is also heroic and kind-hearted, as proven in Sonic Adventure 2 when Knuckles wanted to hunt Rouge down for stealing his Master Emerald. When he finally found her, the two engage in a fight, during which Rouge trips causing her to fall into lava, but is saved by Knuckles before she does, and he even apologized to her if he hurt her. Also in Sonic Rush, when Blaze got away from Knuckles when he was going to hurt her, when she got away along with Cream, Cream told her, "Don't get this wrong Blaze, but Knuckles is actually a nice guy!" and in Sonic Rivals 2, Knuckles seems to be more caring to Rouge than she is to him, like when they got separated Knuckles said, "I hope Rouge is alright!" He is seen also coming to the rescue of Shade the Echidna in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood when she almost falls off Angel Island as a result of an explosion caused by Ix. This occurred even before Knuckles and Shade became allies. Overall, despite his temper and tough facade, Knuckles is a loyal friend and a good-hearted guy, who is always willing to help out his friends in tight situations.

Since meeting with Sonic, Knuckles has had a strong rivalry with the blue hedgehog. The two of them initially started as antagonists, due to Dr. Eggman's trickery, but after Knuckles realized that Eggman had fooled him, he and Sonic came to have a more friendly relationship. Despite being more friendly towards each other, however, Knuckles still held an inhospitable attitude towards Sonic, due to their different points of view and natures. This however stem from the fact that Knuckles is sometimes jealous of Sonic's independent nature and freedom, finding it enviable, though he would never admit it. Over time, Knuckles' relationship with Sonic has improved and he has come to see Sonic as both a rival and his best friend.

Often, Knuckles displays a distrusting demeanor towards strangers and people he thinks has questionable motives, making him rather aggressive towards the person(s) in question; this behaivor is not without its reasons however. Having been living on the isolated Angel for much of his life, Knuckles Island grew up believing in honesty, but because of his lack of social ingenuity, it make him very naive and extremely gullible. Since he has a history of being easily tricked by Eggman - namely into believing Sonic is the bad guy - it has become a recurring theme in the Sonic series, even to the point of being a running gag, particularly when Sonic shouts, "Way to go, Knucklehead!". Over time, however, Knuckles has gotten better about this and is more suspicious concerning Eggman's trickery. Despite being is simple-minded, but not necessarily dull witted, Knuckles is not one for choosing complex strategies and often choosing force to be the solution, pushing himself through his troubles while focusing on his original goal and ignoring all other factors or questions along the way.

Despite his long history of being tricked by Eggman, however, Knuckles holds a strong and steadfast belief that there is good in everyone, which is the reason he has given Eggman so many chances over the years and why he tried to appeal to Pir'Oth Ix rather than fighting him. Once he finds out he has been tricked, however, Knuckles can get quite angered, but quickly regains enough of his composure to immediately start working towards a resolution and will stop at nothing to punish the perpetrator as evidenced by Sonic & Knuckles when he helped Sonic gain entrance to Sky Sanctuary and in Sonic Adventure when he helped subdue Chaos 4.

Knuckles is said to be shy around women in his bio in Sonic Jam, which can be backed up by the way he acts awkwardly around girls like Amy, Blaze, and Rouge. He especially does not like being made to blush due to Rouge's flirting.

Because of his secluded lifestyle on Angel Island, Knuckles feels very uncomfortable in industrialized or crowded cities and places, being around hi-tech objects or gadgets(mostly because he's uninclined) and he downright hates peer pressure.

Knuckles seems to have mature somewhat in Sonic Generations. While he still displays some aggressive, headstrong and stubborn behavior, he is shown being better to acknowledge his shortcomings and displays more personal restraint and better social interaction. He still displays some rivalry towards Sonic and tries to hide his feelings of being impressed with Sonic's abilities by saying phrases like, "You weren't half-bad." or "Thanks for the help, not that I needed it!".

Strength
Knuckles' trademark ability is his immense amounts of superhuman physical strength, so vast that it enables him to accomplish incredible feats, such as shattering boulders to smithereens, punch holes through thick steel and lift objects several times his own size and weight. His super strength seems to lie in his upper body, particularly in his arms and hands. Knuckles' strength is believed to be equal to Sonic's speed, which would make him able to lift and press 100 metric tons, making him physically stronger than all other characters in the series.

Another testament to Knuckles' monstrous brute strength is that he is able to split the hydrogen in the air by punching, strike out with his fists or throw object through air with such force that he can make them ignite fire and punch the ground with enough strength to cause fissures, tremors and even kick up small volcanic eruptions over a wide area. Knuckles is as well strong enough to hold out against an army of robots without rest.

Physical Abilities
Like most other character in the series, Knuckles is shown to be very fast on his feet, being able to run at remarkable, near-superhuman speeds, though he still not quite as fast as Sonic, Tails or Shadow. Additionally, his high speed does not seem to extend to his upper body, and he has been noted for having slow movements in combat. Over time, Knuckles began to lose some of his speed, but also gain a lot more power.

Knuckles also possess near-maximized phycial endurance to match his strength, and is capable of taking as much major punishment as he is able to deal out.

Unlike Sonic, Knuckles is a very experienced swimmer, due to his interest of being a treasure hunter, and can swin to incredible depths and with both great speed and skill.

Knuckles is also shown to have sharp reflexes and acrobatic skills, being able to do special tricks and movements while in mid-air, though he is not nearly as acrobatic as Sonic or Shadow are, nor can he jump very high. To make up for his lack of agility, however, Knuckles possesses a wide range of movement abilities. By stretching his arms and legs outwards while airborne, Knuckles can catch the wind under his dreadlock-like spines, allowing him to glide long distances through mid-air and can do so with great control over his movements. Also, by using the spikes on his fists, Knuckles can attach himself to walls and climb up any kind of surface with ease, no matter the material.

Knuckles is also a proficient burrower, able to dig into any wall or floor and excels at tunneling through subterranean regions with great speed.

Besides physicals strengths, Knuckles is also expert treasure hunter, which is shown during his several hunts for Emerald Shards, and can be considered one of the best treasure hunters in the world. While not exactly highly intelligent, Knuckles is well-versed in ancient cultures, ruins and legends, and is very knowledgeable on the subject, such as when he was able to translate the ancient texts at Gigan Rocks with little effort.

Knuckles is also one of the few who knows how to access and utilize the powers of the Master Emerald, allowing him to harness the powerful emerald's various abilities. He can also sense the Chaos Energy of the Chaos Emeralds from a distance, or objects similar to them, such as the Sol Emeralds. Like Sonic and Shadow, Knuckles can also harness the power of the Chaos Emeralds to empower himself.

Combat Skills
Being the guardian of the Master Emerald and Angel Island, Knuckles is a very powerful and fierce fighter. He is a master of a wide variety of martial arts, focusing on hand-to-hand combat, and is capable of taking on even the most powerful of opponents without rest, such as when he was able to take down several of the military trained Nocturnus Clan soldiers, before being defeated by Shade.

Techniques and Moves
Knuckles' various moves and techniques revolves around his trademark Punch Attack, where he attacks his opponents with various punching combos. His Spiral Upper allows him to strike foes above him with a spinning uppercut, and his Drill Claw sends him spiralling down on his foes from above. For wider impacts, Knuckles can use his Hammer Punch or Knuckle Slam to create wide tremors or explosions that effect everything within their effect range.

Knuckles has also been shown being able to use Sonic's trademark Spin Attack and Spin Dash to curl himself up and spin into a spiky ball when in motion that can damage, destroy or mow down many obstacles or foes. He does, however, not use these moves or their variants, such as the Homing Attack, as often as Sonic or Shadow does.

When gliding, Knuckles can also use his Grinding Knuckles Attack in conjunction with his movements, using the spikes on his fists to damage any foes he comes into contact with during his descend. With his Maximum Heat Knuckles Attack, Knuckles glides through air at high speeds, destroying any foes within his attack range.

Fighting Style
When in battle, Knuckles makes most use of his powerful arms and fists to take on his foes, with his specialty lying in punching moves where he uses his spiked fists to their fullest. In terms of fighting style, Knuckles' focuses specially on power, using strong and powerful punches, such as powerpacked jabs or piercing uppercuts, to deal damaging blows to his opponents. Once he catches an opponent in his combos, he keep them trapped by keeping up his strikes, not allowing his opponents a chance to counterattack. For stronger strikes, Knuckles tend to build up momentum with his fists by swinging them around, before hitting his opponent with full force.

Despite being a powerhouse in close combat, however, as stated by Sonic, Knuckles' fighting moves are slow and easy to read, making Knuckles more vulnerable to those who give themselves time to read his moves.

Miscellaneous Skills
Knuckles has been shown to possess some mystical abilities of his own on several occasions, such as in Sonic Battle and Sonic Adventure 2, possibly due to his close connection to the Master Emerald. In Sonic Battle, Knuckles displayed some limited geokinetic abilities, such as harnessing elemental earth energies to protect or heal himself, or calling forth meteor-like rocks from above to strike his opponents, which is described as "supernatural control of earth". Also, in Sonic Adventure 2, he can call forth lightning bolts of Chaos Energy to strike and stunt his opponents.

Knuckles has also proven himself to be a skilled Extreme Gear in the Sonic Riders series, having shown himself a worthy competitor against many of the world's best Extreme Gear riders. To best put his skills in perspective, Knuckles was able to beat Storm the Albatross in a race, who is a part of the world's best Extreme Gears, the Babylon Rogues. When riding his Extreme Gear at high speeds, Knuckles can bash his way through certain obstacles effortlessly, and, when someone gets near him on their Extreme Gear, he can engage in close combat with his opponents, without losing control over his Extreme Gear.

Transformations
Like Sonic and Shadow, Knuckles has the ability to power up into stronger forms of himself, usually by using Chaos Energy from the Chaos Emeralds and Super Emeralds. These transformations grants Knuckles overall improved physical abilities, such as greater strength and speed, and abilities he did not have access to before.

Super Knuckles
With the seven Chaos Emeralds, Knuckles is able to become Super Knuckles. When Knuckles is in his Super form, he gains invincibility and all his powers and natural abilities are enhanced up to their full limit. Super Knuckles is several times faster and more powerful, and can climb walls twice as fast and fly. He however need rings to maintain this transformation.

Hyper Knuckles
Knuckles can also transform into an extended version of Super Knuckles, called Hyper Knuckles with the seven Super Emeralds. In this form Knuckles is faster and stronger than Super Knuckles and he can destroy all on-screen enemies by gliding into a wall, causing the stage to shake. He also have the ability to fly at a fast speed without staying in the air long enough to reach the speed when he is in normal form. Hyper Knuckles is also incapable of drowning. Like Hyper Sonic, Hyper Knuckles has an after image effect when moving.

Relationships
''[Note: Relationships unique to the Archie Comics version of Knuckles, including family members, are listed at Knuckles the Echidna (Archie character). See also: Knuckles the Echidna (disambiguation)]

Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic is Knuckles's good friend and rival, They have known each other for a long time, but their relationship seems to be somewhat complicated. The two do not understand their differences and they often cause fights, Sonic being cool and cheeky and Knuckles being tough and serious. It is also mentioned in Sonic Heroes that Knuckles is somewhat jealous of Sonic's freedom and carefree attitude.

Knuckles is often tricked by Dr. Eggman into believing that Sonic is the bad guy. That causes them to get into fights and Sonic teases Knuckles whenever this happens, in which Knuckles does not take it very well. However, since then he has gotten better with this and is more aware of Dr. Eggman's plans. With Sonic's speed paralleling Knuckles' strength in every way, their fights are always climatic. (A similar rivalry is existent with Shadow in both Sonic and Knuckles, as all three have fought each other numerous times.)

The rivalry has all but disappeared in some continuities and in others it is a sort of game between the two, actually serving as the plot for the game Sonic Rivals, where Dr. Eggman (really Eggman Nega in disguise) captures Tails and the Master Emerald and turns them into cards. Knuckles tells Sonic that he must get to Eggman first and save the Master Emerald, so Sonic decides that they should race each other, which Knuckles agrees on.

Overall, Sonic and Knuckles are good friends and help each other in many situations. The two show teamwork in battle as seen in Sonic Heroes and in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).

In Sonic Generations, it is shown that Knuckles is actually impressed by Sonic and has belief in his abilities, but does not directly want to admit it. This is shown when Knuckles responded, "Thanks for the help, not that I needed it!" after Modern Sonic saves Knuckles and also when Knuckles told Sonic when he was not "half bad" after fixing the time, beating Time Eater and saving his friends. If Classic Sonic saves him, then he compliments Sonic by responding, "Thanks Sonic, you did a good job back there", which implies that he will sometimes admit, although he also asked if Sonic gained weight.

Dr. Eggman
Knuckles is constantly tricked by Dr. Eggman. In Sonic 3, Eggman had tricked him saying that Sonic's the enemy who is stealing the Chaos Emeralds, and because of Knuckles' simplicity he had believed Eggman and played various tricks on Sonic as well as fighting him. Knuckles has also been tricked by Eggman in Sonic Advance 2. Knuckles was tricked by Eggman again in the TV show Sonic X, but as the games pass by, Knuckles has stopped falling for Eggman's tricks, as mentioned in the guide for Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity. Knuckles has also shown a rough attitude towards him in the Sonic Rivals series.

Rouge the Bat
Rouge the Bat is Knuckles' rival. Knuckles and Rouge have been fighting over the Master Emerald ever since the two met. Rouge was designed to be Knuckles' compatibility just like how Shadow was designed to be Sonic's compatibility when it comes to basic rivalry and skills.

In Sonic Adventure 2, when Knuckles purposely shatters the Master Emerald to save it from Dr. Eggman, Knuckles and Rouge both go looking for its pieces. Eventually, Knuckles has to hunt Rouge down for the remaining pieces, and the two have their final confrontation at the level, Meteor Herd. But during their fight, he saves her life instead after she slips on a narrow beam and was about to fall into a burning pit of lava. After the rescue, Rouge and Knuckles share a long moment gazing at each other, before 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 glances over to her, muttering, "I'm sorry if I hurt you...", and runs off. Before the scene fades out, Rouge gives a thoughtful smile over her shoulder before exiting.

In Sonic Heroes, at the end of Team Dark's story, Rouge commented that she would go look for the Master Emerald, "since that irritating echidna is here." However, in the last scene, she went to Knuckles and coquettishly hinted about going to look for someone else's treasure. Knuckles smiles and says "She never gives up, does she?"

In Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, codex states that, "there's a sort of unstated connection between Rouge and Knuckles that neither are overly willing to explore." Rouge even admits that Knuckles is cute but just not her type during the game.

In Sonic Rivals 2, the two are teamed up. Rouge's reason for this is because she had a mysterious client who told her that if she found all the Emeralds, she would be rewarded. She teamed up with Knuckles in search for the identity of her client.

In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Rouge fights Ifrit to get Knuckles back to normal. Throughout the game, Rouge is hostile towards Knuckles and is shown to not being able to trust him, whereas Knuckles cares for her safety at some points in the game. However, Rouge also assisted Knuckles as a teammate. When Silver shouted at Knuckles during their "talk" with Eggman, Rouge supports Knuckles. In the end of the game, Rouge flatters him by calling him "dashing and daring" in order to distract him so that she can steal the Master Emerald.

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 tells him that the invitation was written by her, causing Knuckles to burst in anger.

In Sonic Generations, Knuckles and Rouge oddly seem to be friendly to each other at the party, as they are seen setting the table, eating, smiling and talking to each other.

Friends/Allies

 * Sonic the Hedgehog (best friend, rival)
 * Miles "Tails" Prower (good friend)
 * Amy Rose
 * Cream the Rabbit
 * Cheese the Chao
 * Vector the Crocodile
 * Espio the Chameleon
 * Charmy Bee
 * Blaze the Cat
 * Silver the Hedgehog
 * Shadow the Hedgehog
 * Rouge the Bat (also rival)

Rivals

 * Wario (in the Mario & Sonic series)
 * Rouge the Bat (friendly rival)
 * Blaze the Cat (formerly)
 * Sonic the Hedgehog (friendly rival)
 * Storm the Albatross (rival in strength)

Enemies

 * Doctor Eggman
 * Metal Sonic
 * Fang the Sniper

Trivia

 * According to the Sonic 3 manual, Knuckles' favorite food is grapes. This is referenced many times in the games.
 * In Sonic Generations, once the Sky Sanctuary and Knuckles are restored, you can see grapes growing on a tree behind Knuckles. This is an Easter Egg for Knuckles as grapes are his favorite food.
 * Strangely, in Sonic 3, Sonic & Knuckles, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles, the cutscene Knuckles is slightly pinker than the playable Knuckles. This is due to the palettes conflicting with the HUD items, the playable Knuckles was able to be perfected so this would not happen.
 * Knuckles has been tricked six times all together in the TV shows he stars in. Twice in Sonic Underground, and four times in Sonic X.
 * In Sonic 3 & Knuckles, finishing the game with only the Chaos Emeralds leaves a picture of the character's Super form on the Game Select screen. If the game is completed with Knuckles, an image of Super Knuckles is shown. In this image, he appears to be the same color as Knuckles, but with a bright purple aura.
 * Due to space limitations, in Sonic Drift 2, Knuckles' name is spelled "Knucles".
 * In the Mega Drive games he is playable in, the letters K.T.E. (Knuckles the Echidna) are by his life icon, instead of "Knuckles" because the name display could not support more than than five letters, like on "Sonic" and "Tails".
 * Knuckles's eye color has varied in the Sonic series, changing from blue to purple. In Sonic Battle, he is actually portrayed with both eye colors (blue for the fighting and purple for the cutscenes.)
 * He and Shadow were originally confirmed to appear in Sonic Unleashed.
 * Knuckles' music was one of the reasons for the "Mild Lyrics" warning in Sonic Adventure 2. "Unknown From M.E.", "Deeper" and "Kick the Rock!" were among them.
 * Knuckles and Amy are the only 2 Sonic characters who appeared to have "aged"; Knuckles going from 15 to 16, and Amy going from 8 to 12.
 * Knuckles is the only playable character in Sonic '06 who does not finish a level/boss/town mission. Despite this, Knuckles does have a victory pose. This can be seen if the player glitches the levels to the end with Knuckles, the victory pose is almost identical to his Sonic Adventure 2 victory pose.
 * During multiplayer on Sonic Heroes, the white crest symbol on Knuckles' chest will disappear while he is taunting the opponent.
 * In Sonic Rivals and Sonic Rivals 2, the player can unlock an Eggman costume for Knuckles.
 * Knuckles could be considered the only non-hedgehog playable character in Sonic Rivals. However Metal Sonic should count as well, due to being a robot.
 * Knuckles' socks have been miscolored five times:
 * In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic Triple Trouble and Sonic & Knuckles, Knuckles' socks were colored yellow during cutscenes as it interfered with the HUD palette.
 * And in Sonic Drift 2 and Sonic 3D Blast, Knuckles' socks were colored blue.
 * In the 2D games, the crest on Knuckles' chest is colored peach. But in Sonic Adventure and afterward, it's colored white.
 * One of Knuckles' nicknames is "Knuckle," as stated in the Japanese manual of Sonic 3.
 * In Sonic Battle, Sonic once calls Knuckles a "spiky-headed mole". This is a pun on how echidnas and moles have the same burrowing prowess. It is also be a play on the Japanese term for echidna, which literally translates as "needle-mole".
 * He is also mistakenly referred to as a mole in the Sonic OVA movie.
 * If the player pauses at the right moment, in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 or Sonic and Knuckles when the sign twirling in the air, the Knuckles color will be blue instead of red.
 * Super Sonic is invincible to any damage, but somehow Knuckles knocked the Chaos Emeralds out of him in Sonic 3 and Knuckles. This indicates that Knuckles is the only one powerful enough to knock him out of super form.
 * In Sonic 3 and Knuckles, if one glitches Knuckles into Sonic's part of the level, Tails will still fly him up so he can defeat Dr. Robotnik. It is the only time this can be done without a cheat.
 * In Sonic Colors, Knuckles is the only one of the "Side Quest" characters to have five poses. All the others have four.
 * Knuckles' and Blaze's current English voice actors are married.

Solo

 * In Sonic Adventure, Knuckles' theme song is called "Unknown From M.E." It is a mix of hip-hop, jazz, pop, and R&B. This song was performed by Marlon Saunders and Dred Foxx. This theme also appeared in Sonic and the Black Knight when Sir Gawain appears and when the Medal Of Gawain item is equipped.
 * In Sonic Adventure 2, Knuckles' theme song is also known as "Unknown From M.E." but has a faster pace and a greater focus on pure rap, and performed by Marlon Saunders and Hunnid-P.
 * Knuckles also has his own percussion theme in Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

Shared

 * In Sonic Heroes, Knuckles' team, Team Sonic, theme tune is called "We Can," and actively mentions him in the lines; 'And Knuckles by our side, makes this a safer ride.'
 * In Sonic Riders, Knuckles' theme, shared with Sonic and Tails, is an instrumental called "High Flying Groove."

Gallery
For more images, see: Knuckles the Echidna/Artwork.

Memorable quotes

 * "Still got it!" - Winning in Sonic Rivals 2.
 * "Ah finally..." - Restoring the Master Emerald in Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "As far back as I can remember, I've been living here on this dark island... Always guarding the Master Emerald from anything that could harm it. I don't know why I was given this job... Why it was my fate... Destined to be here... forever!" - Knuckles thinking about his life at the beginning of his story in Sonic Adventure.
 * "The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power. Power is enriched by the heart. The controller is the one who unifies the chaos. Only you can do this. STOP THE CHAOS EMERALDS!" - Knuckles pleading with the Master Emerald to neutralize the power of the Chaos Emeralds in Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "It's closer..." - When the Emerald Radar turns red.
 * "I found 'em!" - When finding the three pieces of the Master Emerald in Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "Yeah, I feel good!" - After getting a B Rank.
 * "What do you think you're doing Shadow!?" - Knuckles when Shadow destroys a G.U.N. robot or soldier in Shadow the Hedgehog.
 * "Hey good going." - Knuckles when Shadow defeats a Black Arms alien in Shadow the Hedgehog.
 * "Hand it over Eggman. I'm losing my patience." - Knuckles demanding Eggman to give him the Emerald Detector in Sonic Rivals 2.
 * "No time for games..." - Knuckles when he is about to use a special attack in the 2-Player mode of Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "Get down!" - Knuckles after unleashing the Hammer Punch special attack in the 2-Player mode of Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "Take this!" - Knuckles after unleashing the Thunder Arrow special attack in the 2-Player mode of Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "Take that!" - Knuckles after unleashing the Power Flash special attack in the 2-Player mode of Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "Look who's calling who a thief." - While Eggman was stealing the Master Emerald and Rouge called him a thief in Sonic Adventure 2
 * "I will protect the Master Emerald." - When starting a multiplayer stage in Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "That's a good one, YOUR Emerald. Talking to you is a waste of time!" - Knuckles before his second fight with Rouge in Sonic Adventure 2
 * "Just enough to pass." - Getting an E Rank in Sonic Heroes.
 * "Whew, that was tough." - Knuckles when defeating Metal Overlord in Sonic Heroes
 * "Well if I can't convince them, then I'll just let my fist do the talking!" - Being the last one still on the field when facing Team Rose in Sonic Heroes
 * "No way!" - When Knuckles tries to dig on something like metal or steel in Sonic Adventure
 * "Did she say red mutt?" - After Wave calls him a red mutt before leaving with Storm on the Babylon Garden in Sonic Riders
 * "Stone Fists! - After wining a fight in Sonic Battle
 * "It's not me! Blame Sonic!" - When talking to Rouge in the Japanese version of Sonic Battle
 * "I feel some strange energy..." - While walking around in the Space Colony ARK right before Sonic Chaos Controls in front of him in Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "As much as I hate to admit it, I think Tails is right about this." - Knuckles after hearing Tails' plan to defeat Perfect Chaos by helping Sonic go Super in Sonic Adventure
 * "We've no time to waste. We've got to defeat it now!" - Knuckles' frustration with Solaris ready to consume time itself in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).
 * "I'll probably be on this floating island forever. Guarding the Master Emerald, again. I may not know the whole story behind this. But perhaps it's better that way. I am at peace once more." - Knuckles thinking once again about his role as Guardian of the Master Emerald in the ending of his story in Sonic Adventure
 * "I'm unstoppable!" - When Knuckles speeds up in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games on the Wii
 * "Don't get in my way!" - When starting a race in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
 * "Anytime! Babylon Rouges!" - When finding the Babylon Rouges in MeteoTech
 * "Let's go... Yah!!" - About to perform a Gravity Dive in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
 * "It's a pretty famous ruin among us treasure hunters." - Knuckles explaining the Gigan Rocks to Sonic, Tails, and Amy in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
 * "Stooop! I get it, okay?! It just floats and that's good enough﻿ for me!" - Knuckles asking Tails to stop explaining how an Extreme Gear floats in Sonic Riders
 * "I sure don't wanna fall off." - Knuckles when the player turns the camera too much in Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure DX.
 * "A trap!? What have you done Eggman!?" - Knuckles confronting Dr. Eggman at the top of Crimson Tower in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity.
 * "Outta my way!" - When attacking in Sonic Riders and Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity.
 * "It's over..." - Knuckles after dying in Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "Yeah! This is perfect!" - After getting an A Rank.
 * "I am one with the Master Emerald" -Starting a treasure hunt on 2-Player mode of Sonic Adventure 2
 * "My emerald, my destiny" Getting a piece of the emerald on 2-Player mode of Sonic Adventure.
 * "If that's what you thought, you should've given me them in the first place." Knuckles after Rouge gives him the pieces of the Master Emerald in the Last Story in Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "I didn't use all my strength!" when getting a D-rank in Sonic Heroes or getting 2 stars in Sonic and the Black Knight.
 * "Stop attacking the good guys!" Knuckles when Shadow destroys a G.U.N robot or soldier in Shadow the Hedgehog.
 * "I must...protect...the Master Emerald..." - Knuckles, after losing to Rouge in their first, and only, battle on the ARK, in Sonic Adventure 2.
 * "Alien Scum!" - Knuckles when Shadow defeats a Black Arms alien in Shadow the Hedgehog.
 * "Damn! A dead end! Looks like we have to take our chances with the tornado!" - Knuckles, after arriving to a tornado in Glyphic Canyon in Shadow the Hedgehog.
 * "Hmph. I'm just warming up!" - Sonic Heroes.
 * "Thanks, Sonic! You did a good job back there! Hey, did you gain weight?" - Knuckles after Classic Sonic rescues him at Sky Sanctuary in Sonic Generations.
 * "Thanks for the help. Not that I needed it! But it's good to have my sanctuary back." - Knuckles after Modern Sonic rescues him at Sky Sanctuary in Sonic Generations.
 * "I'll handle the treasure hunting!" - Knuckles before the Sky Sanctuary mission with Modern Sonic begins.
 * "Come on Sonic, smack him!" - Knuckles cheering Sonic to keep going in Sonic Generations.
 * "Help! We're being sucked in!" - Knuckles when he gets sucked into the tornado in Shadow the Hedgehog.
 * "Shut up" - When the commentator in Sonic And Sega All Stars Racing talks to much.