Knuckles the Echidna (Archie)

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series published by Archie Comics, Knuckles the Echidna is the eighteenth guardian of the Floating Island. He lives on the planet Mobius on the flying landmass known as Angel Island. He is supported by the Chaotix, and often works together with Sonic the Hedgehog and the Freedom Fighters. This version of the character was created by Ken Penders and he first appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog #13.

Knuckles' Past
Knuckles initially lived alone, his objective in life being to protect Angel Island and safeguard the Master Emerald, until he learned of his noble heritage and the whereabouts of his people. His place in life was established centuries before his birth, as a descendant from Edmund, the first Guardian. This continuity was the first to talk about Knuckles' relatives by introducing a group made up of his ancestors known as the Brotherhood of Guardians.

Knuckles' father Locke married Lara-Le from the House of Arian. After Knuckles was born, and without the knowledge or consent from his wife, Locke subjected Knuckles' egg to large doses of Chaos radiation in order to create a Guardian that surpassed the abilities achieved by his ancestors. After Knuckles hatched from his egg, he quickly showed intellect and abilities that were very abnormal in children his age. Locke wanted to begin Knuckles' training as a Guardian at age three, but Lara-Le didn't want Knuckles to be raised this way. The dispute ended their marriage. Locke won custody of Knuckles when he was five, and retreated to the Floating Island. Like his childhood friend Princess Sally Acorn, Knuckles would be to an extent secluded as a child, learning history, mathematics, geography, sciences, and other issues a guardian would need to know in order to perform his job effectively. When Knuckles was ten, Locke journeyed to the Forbidden Zone with the confidence that Knuckles could be the next Guardian. Locke then joined the Brotherhood in Haven.

Present
Years later, Knuckles became the Guardian as his father had hoped. With Princess Sally no longer able to see Knuckles now that Robotnik took over her father's city, his only friend would be the cockatoo Catweazle. Later on he became friends with Vector, Espio, Mighty, and Charmy&mdash;soon to be members of the Chaotix. He was also mentored by Archimedes, a fire ant, since Guardians had previously relied on fire ants for this purpose. The Guardian eventually met Sonic the Hedgehog, with whom he formed a rivalry that gradually became mutual respect and friendship. Knuckles later found confrontation with Enerjak, who would turn out to be Dimitri, his great uncle. Later, Knuckles found himself confronted by the Dark Legion, a group founded by Dimitri's descendants, including his female arch-nemesis Lien-Da. In addition, he found himself facing such challenges as going through Roboticization to battle Mecha Sonic and being set the task of recovering the Sword of Acorns. During the latter, he unknowingly met a relative of his friend Tails in the form of Merlin Prower.

Since then, Echidnaopolis was restored to the Floating Island. Knuckles then learned of his ancestry and reunited with family. Even so he still struggled with his personal life. He had to bear the weight of being a living Chaos Emerald, not to mention being part of a prophecy that said he was destined to help save the world, while trying to be a normal teenager. His time was occupied with quests and battles, among them numerous confrontations with the Dark Legion, taking over as Mitre of the Lost Tribe of Echidnas from his great-grandfather Athair, joining Sonic and Tails in a battle against Mammoth Mogul, and fighting the Overlander known as Hunter. Knuckles was then forced to deal with the disappearance of Echidnaopolis' population, a result of a discharge from the Dark Legion's Quantum Beam.

Knuckles later undertook an evolution that changed his pigment, and awakened greater powers. Using his new power, he joined forces with the Dark Legion in several efforts to alter history. After failing, he used his power to reverse the effects of the Quantum Beam himself. He died in a battle against Mammoth Mogul to protect his former enemy Dimitri, and then later came back to life after rejecting the ability to become one with the Chaos Force. Because of this, Knuckles lost his powers after he thwarted an earthquake on the battlegrounds with the Xorda. This confirmed his legendary status, according to the prophecy of the Ancient Walkers, the Avatar (aka Knuckles) would bypass death and deliver the world from its suffering.

After Rebirth
After the battle with the Xorda and Sonic's transportation to the other side of the galaxy, Dr. Eggman was able to take over Angel Island and back the oppressive Dingo regime. Because of this, Knuckles was not allowed to return to Angel Island for a long time after Robotnik seized control of it. Knuckles eventually gained the approval to go back from Sally after Sonic's return. In the heat of the ensuing battle, Knuckles regained his powers and the people praised him as the Avatar. After realizing that the rest of the world suffered like his people, Knuckles gained the will to extend his services beyond the Angel Island, much to the disapproval of his father Locke. Since that time, Knuckles and the Chaotix have lived in Knothole, working together with the Freedom Fighters. This choice resulted in Knuckles becoming involved in battles against the likes of the Destructix and Ixis Naugus. He also accompanied Sonic, Tails, and Merlin to the Bem homeworld of Argentium to rescue Tails' parents Amadeus and Rosemary Prower, and thus was among the first Mobians to learn of the threat posed by the Black Arms, a warlike race of aliens who had visited Mobius once and were likely to return at any time.

Locke approached Knuckles again sometime before the Argentium mission, arguing with him to return to his duties as Guardian of Angel Island. From this conversation, Knuckles learned that the Echidnas were still threatened by the Dingoes under General Kage and that the Dark Legion had been split into civil war, with the two factions led by Lien-Da and an Echidna resembling his late nemesis Kragok, though the latter appears to actually be his old ally Remington, Kragok's biological son. Despite this information, he refused to return to the island, feeling that his responsibility to Mobius as a whole was greater. Unknowingly, he left an opening for Dr. Finitevus, who convinced Locke to entrust Angel Island to his care and that of the Destructix while he went to look for the missing Brotherhood of Guardians. Locke had no way of knowing Finitevus' true intent: to recreate Enerjak using the energy contained within the Emerald.

When Sonic was implanted with a remote control device that forced him to act against his will on Robotnik's orders, Knuckles was responsible for subduing him and destroying the device. Since it was located in Sonic's ear, Knuckles solved the problem with an uppercut, though Sally later admonished him for the potentially lethal tactic. Not long afterwards, Knuckles held off Snively Kintobor while Sonic helped Shadow the Hedgehog search Gerald Kintobor's journal for answers to his past, a quest that Knuckles deeply sympathized with. Knuckles then became the only member of the Chaotix to avoid capture by Eggman's forces when Knothole came under attack by the villain's Egg Fleet. With the help of Sonic, Tails, Amy Rose, and NICOLE, he was able to quickly liberate his comrades from their Egg Grape Chamber prison and transport them to a new home. Knuckles wasn't in the city of New Mobotropolis long, however, leaving the city on his own and heading to Angel Island just before Tails' parents began their reformist revolution. Despite Julie-Su's protests, he claimed that New Mobotropolis' need for his help wasn't urgent and that it would be a good time to patch up things with his father and help Locke out with the Echidnas.

Time as Enerjak
Knuckles disappeared during this mission, a circumstance made more ominous by Enerjak's return. Upon arriving on Angel Island, Knuckles was beaten and taken captive by the Destructix and Scourge the Hedgehog, who delivered him to Dr. Finitevus, Lien-Da, and his old friend Remington (who not only didn't recognize Knuckles, but who had taken over as Grandmaster of the Frost Legion after learning of his origin as the son of Knuckles' old rival, Kragok). After Finitevus informed Knuckles that 90% of the Echidna people had been killed by Robotnik, Knuckles drew the powers of the Master Emerald into himself, setting off a brainwashing spell trap set by Finitevus, and transformed into a new-and-improved Enerjak. Using his new found powers, he banished the Dingoes to Sandopolis, restored the Dark Legionnaires to their normal forms&mdash;including Remington's lost memories&mdash;and sent all the Echidnas but Lien-Da and a few loyalists to Albion. Teleporting to New Mobotropolis, he easily overcame NICOLE's forcefield and confronted the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix. It was only when Julie-Su, heartbroken and vengeful, tried to attack him and avenge Knuckles, whom she believed dead, that Enerjak removed his helmet to reveal himself as Knuckles, to the horror and shock of all his friends, Julie-Su and particularly his mentor Archimedes, who had witnessed the horrible events leading up to his transformation.

As his friends tried to come to grips with Knuckles' change, the new Enerjak revealed his plan to rid Mobius of technology and bring peace once and for all to the planet. When his friends tried to convince him that he wasn't acting like himself, and that his methods were far too extreme, he attempted to undo Julie-Su's cybernetics just as he had those of the Dark Legion, only to come under attack from the returning Sonic. After this surprise attack, Sonic was not able to match Knuckles at all, at which point Shadow, GUN's newest agent arrived and fought Enerjak alone after removing his power inhibitors. Though Shadow was able to match Enerjak's might, he could not keep such a monumental effort up and soon tired. As Enerjak seemed to have the upper hand, Dr. Eggman arrived and teleported Enerjak away to his new Egg Grapes, made specifically to contain Enerjak. Knuckles' situation was made even more grim when his father, abducting Julie-Su and Sonic for the purpose of enlisting their aid, revealed that he couldn't undo Finitevus' spell on his son, and that his solution to defeating Enerjak was to use a Brotherhood-made weapon, to kill him.

Robotnik's modifications to the Egg Fleet proved faulty very quickly: immediately upon recovering from the shock of being transported, Knuckles broke free of his prison and proceeded to lay waste to New Megaopolis. Easily wiping out Robotnik's ground forces, Enerjak then struck a final blow by turning the missiles of the Egg Fleet back against them, destroying them utterly. While Robotnik fled to safety, Enerjak returned to Angel Island in order to recover after losing a great deal of power. Seeking Dr. Finitevus, he commanded his "benefactor" to replenish his power, only to be interrupted by the arrival of Sonic, who had just destroyed the weapon Locke had been attempting to recover. Leaping atop the Master Emerald, Sonic drew power from it, and Finitevus stopped Enerjak from attacking him as he became Super Sonic; the doctor was apparently pleased as he saw his own corrupted energy neutralized by Sonic's power. The battle began in earnest as Super Sonic attempted to break Knuckles free by taunting him, goading him with the usual banter between them. Unfortunately, Finitevus' magic proved too strong, and Knuckles continued to attack his former friend.

Meanwhile, back on Angel Island's surface, Finitevus revealed to Julie-Su that he had "locked" his hex by making it so that it could only be broken by someone sacrificing their own life. Julie-Su and Archimedes were both willing, but it was Locke who stepped in to save his son. Returned to normal, Knuckles found his father dead and in a rage attacked Dr. Finitevus, eager to punish him for all his crimes. The mad doctor escaped, and Knuckles, motivated most likely by guilt at having lost his father because of his past decisions, swore that he would remain on Angel Island to guard the Master Emerald-for the rest of his life.

Returning to the Team
Knuckles was soon talked out of his course of action by Rouge the Bat, who found him sulking as he observed the Chaotix at work building a bridge between the new Shrine Isle-the Master Emerald Shrine on its own small island-and the mainland of Angel Island. Having just flown over Albion and visited General Helmut Von Stryker amongst the Dingoes, Knuckles' feelings of guilt had increased to the point where he felt his people were better off in Albion, where they would be safe from him. Rouge quickly antagonized his decision to take up the old Guardian traditions, pointing out that they had resulted in the apparent destruction of the Brotherhood and that he had no way of knowing how things would have turned out had he remained on Angel Island instead of fighting on the surface. She also pointed out that with the Warp Ring Locke had passed to Julie-Su, who in turn had passed it to him, he could move back and forth between the fight with Robotnik and Angel Island, fulfilling both his obligations. Thus assuaged, Knuckles happily rejoined the Chaotix, unaware that Rouge only motivated him to do so in her own interests.

Albion Attack

 * For more info, please see Albion Attack.

Prior to the Albion Attack, Knuckles was informed by Sonic about Sally getting roboticized into Mecha Sally. Because of this, Knuckles was furious and wanted to do something about this. From there, Knuckles was unseen until the Albion Attack, where he received a message from Remington about Albion under attack from the Dark Egg Legion. Furious, Knuckles headed towards the island only to find it completely isolated. He then found T-Pup and later on, Team Fighters–Sonic, Tails, and Amy– unconscious. Confused at why they were put by each other, the team ventured the island even more only to find an old friend on Knuckles': Thrash the Devil, who had put all of the echidnas of Mobius into somewhere "unknown." Agitated, Knuckles attacked Thrash at first sight. (StH #232, #242, #243, #244)

Possible Futures
A variety of Knuckles from alternate futures also exist. These include a future where Knuckles apparently gives rise to a race of mechanical Echidnas called Brass Knuckles, who later menace the Freedom Fighters of the Galaxy. Another future Knuckles is one who goes insane after absorbing a massive amount of Chaos energy and becomes leader of the Dark Legion. In order to protect their daughter Lara-Su from the knowledge of what her father had become, Julie-Su told her that Knuckles had been killed by Constable Remington. After Lara-Su traveled back in time and tried to thwart the alleged assassination, her mother revealed to her the true fate of her father.

The main future Knuckles appears in Mobius: 25 Years Later. This Knuckles is a powerful political figure in his role as Guardian, and is paired with Julie-Su. Due to their shared opinion that commitment matters more than ceremony, the two are not officially married, but have a daughter named Lara-Su. In this future, Knuckles and Sonic have had some bad shared history, leading to repeated disputes between them. Among these is an incident where, after becoming Chaos Knuckles once more, Knuckles attempted to remake Mobius as he saw fit following his defeat of Dr. Eggman. Before he could carry out his plan in full, Sonic stopped him with an alien device, thus robbing Knuckles of his right eye. Refusing to have it replaced with a cloned organ, citing religious beliefs, Knuckles instead had a cybernetic right eye implanted that allows him to see in all spectrums.

Together with Sonic, Knuckles was brought into the confidence of Rotor and Cobar, who discovered the imminent collapse of Mobius' timeline. Putting aside their differences, Knuckles and Sonic agreed to work together in hopes of saving their shared planet. Before setting out on this mission, Knuckles granted his daughter Lara-Su's request to become the next Guardian, something he had refused for some time beforehand. This decision resulted from the realization that he was giving Lara as little choice over being a Guardian as his late father Locke had given him. However, Lara sneaked aboard his transport, and when Sonic was sent into the past using the Tachyon Displacement Chamber, Lara-Su disappeared as well.

In the alternate Mobius: 25 Years Later, Knuckles retains his memories of the original timeline due to having been next to the Tachyon Displacement Chamber when it went off. This time around, Knuckles became chief enforcer to Shadow the Hedgehog, who became the despotic ruler of Mobius. Among his assignments were capturing not only the returning Lara-Su and Sonic, but also Tails. Held captive, the trio had to convince Knuckles that Shadow's rule was not the best thing for Mobius. Knuckles soon revealed to the three, and Rotor, that he didn't take them prisoner for real, and that he had planned the fake arrest from the very beginning so that he, Tails, Lara-Su and Sonic could rebel against King Shadow together. The plan went off flawlessly.

Personality
Like his video game incarnation, Knuckles is honest, independent, headstrong, devoted to his duty and often gullible. He is very serious and usually likes to be by himself, but can be relied upon to help out whenever the planet needs saving. At times he seems jealous of the freedom that Sonic has, but is always ready to help his friends when needed. He also maintains close ties to his friends and family, though at times such relationships are tense.

However, Knuckles also faces a number of problems unique to the comics. Here, Knuckles is not the last of his kind, but comes to realize that he is a mutant among the Echidna people. Worse yet, he must come to grips with the fact that he is part of a prophecy that says he will help save the world, all while dealing with the pressures of being a teenager.

The comics also address how miserable Knuckles' existence has been. From day one, Knuckles has lived a life different from that of any normal Mobian. Combined with all the suffering he has been put through, this has led him to despise the legacy he is forced to carry. At one point, Knuckles determined that the Guardian line would end with him, so that no child of his would have to suffer through the same things he did.

Despite these setbacks, Knuckles remains stalwart. For a time, he was incredibly depressed, having lost his enhanced abilities and his homeland upon returning from the afterlife. Upon regaining both, he realized that Mobius as a whole needed him more than Angel Island, and he dedicated himself to protecting the entire planet.

Love Life
In the comics, Knuckles developed a relationship with Julie-Su, a former Dark Legion member that defected to be with him. The two are linked by a sixth sense known as the Soultouch, which showed them that they were destined to be together. Because of their similar personalities, the two are very close. The creators of the comic have stated that Knuckles and Julie-Su will never have an actual marriage in the comics, likely stemming from the fact that, like Sonic getting married, this would ruin the series. However, several possible futures have been shown where the two live together, but are bound by commitment rather than legality.

Rouge the Bat has also made advances towards Knuckles, but due to his connection to Julie-Su and Knuckles displaying vehement dislike for her, it is unlikely that this will go anywhere. As if that weren't enough, Rouge has demonstrated that she has no romantic feelings for Knuckles; she simply wants to use him to get to the Master Emerald. These factors are likely to put an end to her membership in the Chaotix, since she joined them to help stop a plot by Dr. Eggman.

Abilities
Due to having altered DNA from his father's genetic experiments, Knuckles has strength far beyond that of an average Mobian. Knuckles also commands many of his abilities from the video games, including the power to glide and amazing burrowing ability.

In addition, exposure to the Master Emerald's radiation while still in his egg, combined with the DNA of his Guardian predecessors, has given Knuckles Chaos abilities far beyond that of almost any being on Mobius. Among the powers Knuckles has been granted by these energies are the ability to rapidly recover from any injury, the power to open portals to other places, the ability to generate matter from thin air, and various others, however, he's only used some abilities as Enerjak or Chaos Knuckles.

Transformation
Like Sonic, Knuckles has a variety of powered-up forms that he can assume, among them Hyper Knuckles, Chaos Knuckles, and Super Knuckles.

Alternate selves
Like several characters in the Archie Comics continuity, Knuckles has been depicted as having multiple counterparts in other realities. Among these counterparts are Anti-Knuckles, a version of Knuckles from the Anti-Verse, which is the evil version of the main Sonic universe. Anti-Knuckles, like Knuckles, guards the Master Emerald, but is otherwise vastly different from his main universe counterpart. In his dimension, he lives on the undersea Sunken Island, home to the city of Atlantinopolis. This version of Knuckles has an Irish accent, wears a beret, and as opposed to his classic counterpart, is pacifistic. Only matters of great importance are likely to get him into a fight, but when he does, Anti-Knuckles is no pushover. Anti-Knuckles does share his Mobius Prime counterpart's trusting nature, which led Evil Sonic to fooling him into journeying to Mobius Prime. After Anti-Knuckles saw his error, he became a fierce opponent to the miscreant Evil Sonic.

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

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

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

Presumably, countless other counterparts of Knuckles from other dimensions exist. However, since having Knuckles join numerous counterparts of himself in battle would be cliché after the plot was used with Sonic and Tails, it is unlikely that a large number of these counterparts will ever appear.

Family

 * Jordann - Paternal Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather
 * Kayla-La - Paternal Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandmother
 * Byron - Paternal Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather
 * Angel-La - Paternal Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandmother
 * Brotherhood of Guardians - Predecessors/Grandparents
 * Edmund - Paternal Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather
 * Steppenwolf - Paternal Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather
 * Moonwatcher - Paternal Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather
 * Harlan - Paternal Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather
 * Rembrandt - Paternal Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather
 * Aaron - Paternal Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Granduncle
 * Jordan - Paternal Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather
 * Mathias - Paternal Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather
 * Hawking - Paternal Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather
 * Tobor - Paternal Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather
 * Spectre - Paternal Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather
 * Thunderhawk - Paternal Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather
 * Sojourner - Paternal Great-Great-Great-Grandfather
 * Janelle-Li - Paternal Great-Great-Grandmother
 * Athair - Paternal Great-Grandfather
 * Sabre - Paternal Grandfather
 * Lara-Le - Mother.
 * Locke - Father (Deceased)
 * Lara-Su - Daughter (possible future)
 * Wynmacher - Step-father
 * Knecapeon Mace - Half-brother
 * Julie-Su - Soul mate

Friends

 * Mighty the Armadillo
 * Vector the Crocodile
 * Espio the Chameleon
 * Charmy Bee
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Miles &quot;Tails&quot; Prower
 * Amy Rose
 * Shadow the Hedgehog
 * Bark the Polarbear
 * Bean the Dynamite
 * Sally Acorn
 * Bunnie Rabbot
 * Antoine D'Coolette
 * Rotor the Walrus
 * Dulcy the Dragon
 * Julie-Su (Love) (Archie)

Enemies

 * Dimitri/Enerjak (formerly)
 * Kragok
 * Lien-Da/Kommisar
 * Dr. Finitevus
 * Scourge the Hedgehog
 * Dr. Eggman
 * Robotnik Prime
 * Mammoth Mogul
 * Sonic the Hedgehog (formerly)
 * Miles "Tails" Prower (formerly)
 * Kage Von Stryker
 * Hunter
 * Monk (bullied Knuckles in the past)
 * Espio the Chameleon (while he was working for the Iron Dominion)
 * Snively
 * Thrash the Tasmanian Devil

Trivia

 * A cancelled storyline shown on Sonic HQ depicted a possible plot line in which Knuckles would have left the Chaotix to go on a world-wide martial arts pilgrimage. He also did this to prevent the Master Emerald from being sensed when it activated his Chaos Knuckles powers. This would lead him to the temple of Monkey Khan, where he would train before falling under the control of the Iron Queen. This would lead him to battle a similarly controlled Monkey Khan, until he achieved a functionally omnipotent status by absorbing power from the Master Geode.