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Back in 1994, everybody knew what was cool. Sonic, the blue blur, the fastest hedgehog on the planet, was undeniably cool. But with the release of Sonic 3, a newcomer arrived who would redefine cool in the Sonic universe forever: Knuckles the Echidna. He was red. He was mean! He had those cool spikes on his knuckles (hence the name)!
Today, Knuckles is still a beloved character in the Sonic franchise, arguably even as popular as the series' titular character. Let's take a look at some little-known facts about this speedy red mammal and get to know the red rusher just a little bit better.
Updated on April 29, 2023, by Will Quick: The Sonic universe has a huge roster of characters, but Knuckles remains one of the most popular as one of the earliest additions to the Sonic series. He made a successful debut in the Sonic 2 movie, which was helped by Idris Elba's voice acting. Even though he's been around since the first Sonic games, there is still a lot you may not know about the spiky-gloved echidna, and here's where you can find out more.
16 Knucles Has An Affinity For The Earth Element
The cast of Sonic characters doesn't usually possess magic or elemental powers, but Knuckles has always had an affinity for Earth. He's amazing at digging and climbing and has no problem lifting or breaking through rocks. However, Knuckles's connection to this element is deeper than it appears.
Knuckles was one of the playable characters in the Gameboy Advance game Sonic Battle. In addition to being a strong and heavy fighter, he also has an ability that allows him to throw rocks at opponents. When this skill is assigned to the air, Knuckles is able to call down boulders to strike the ground in front of him through sheer willpower alone.
15 Knuckles Has A Rarely Seen Super Form
Among all of Sonic's abilities, his power to turn into a golden Super Sonic by using the Chaos Emeralds is one of his most memorable. When this power was discovered, it was revealed that other characters also had the power to achieve super forms, Knuckles included. When he uses that power, he becomes Hyper Knuckles.
As Hyper Knuckles, the echidna begins flashing a bright platinum color with increased strength, speed, and durability. The thing is that despite how powerful this form is and Knuckles's connection to the Emeralds, this form has only ever been seen in Sonic 3 AKA Sonic & Knuckles.
14 Knucles Has A Robot Twin
Of all of Dr. Eggman's robotic creations, Metal Sonic is easily his most dangerous and most popular. Possessing all the speed and skills of Sonic with the enhanced strength of machinery, Metal Sonic is a constant threat. Considering this, Eggman didn't stop at Sonic and decided to make a robot version of Knuckles called Mecha Knuckles.
In the GameBoy Advance game conveniently named Sonic Advance, characters are all forced to fight what looks like their friend Knuckles. After hitting him a few times, his metallic form is revealed, and he starts shooting missiles out of his chest. It's an intense battle, but there's never been a strong rivalry between Knuckles and his robotic double.
13 The Power Punch Reference In The Movie
When it was revealed that Knuckles was going to be in the Sonic movie sequel, everyone got hyped. He'd be teaming up with Eggman, fighting Sonic, and just showing off his immense strength. After he realizes the true villain, he teams up with Sonic and Tails to come up with the best plan ever: Punch Eggman really hard.
They succeed with Knuckles punching the evil scientist so hard that the Master Emerald ejects out his body. Believe it or not, Knuckles did something similar to Super Sonic in Sonic 3 after he arrived at Angel Island, and Knuckles knocked the Chaos Emeralds out of him in the opening scene.
12 How Does Knuckles Glide?
To those who only know about echidnas from Sonic games, they can't glide through the air. Still, this is one of Knuckles' defining abilities, much like Tails' flying. And like Tails' flying, there is a scientific explanation as to how a wingless mammal can glide through the air.
The explanation offered is that Knuckles can manipulate airflow that allows him to directionally fall through the air. He does this by trapping air underneath his dreadlocks which have been described as acting similar to a flight or wingsuit.
11 Knuckles Is The Last Of His Kind
Ever wonder why you don't see another character like Knuckles speeding around the Sonic universe? The answer is simple: Knuckles is the only remaining descendant of the Knuckles Clan, a group of echidnas that lived 4,000 years ago in what appears in the Sonic games as the Mystic Ruins.
The tribe was almost completely wiped out by Chaos when Pachacamac, the clan's chief, tried to steal the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emeralds from the Altar of Emeralds. After this, the remaining members dedicated their lives to protecting the Master Emerald to prevent a future disaster. Eventually, they all died out, with the exception of Knuckles.
10 Knuckles Originally Spoke With A Jamaican Accent
If you look carefully at Knuckles's red, yellow, and green shoes, you'll notice they actually resemble the Jamaican flag. This is not by accident, as Knuckles overall appears and shoes were modeled to make him a Jamaican character.
Not only that, it was originally intended for Knuckles to speak with a Jamaican accent. As if that's not bad enough, Knuckles's original name was actually "Dreds," a reference to his dreadlocks. Seems like they made the wiser choice by naming him after those spikes poking out of his knuckles, though.
9 Knuckles Was Meant To Be Just A Supporting Character
Knuckles is arguably the most successful creation of developer Takashi Yuda, who has said in interviews he never intended for Knuckles to be anything more than a "supporting character."
Of course, if you want a character to just play a supporting role, it's usually a good idea not to design them to be even cooler looking than the main character of the franchise! Everything about Knuckles: his spikes, his speed, and his loner mentality make him one of the slickest game characters of all time. Second banana? Not a chance.
8 Knuckles Used To Look More Like A Dinosaur
When Knuckles's character was in development, there were eight designs for him that were shown to kids to determine which would be their favorite. The one closest to the Knuckles we know today was the winner.
However, as a result of the popularity of Jurassic Park around this time, one of the other seven designs was a reptilian dinosaur! Though it wasn't chosen in the end, they did carry over the dinosaur tail to Knuckles's final design.
7 He's Very Trusting
Since he's lived the majority of his life alone, Knuckles isn't really used to dealing with other people - so he assumes the best in people. He's extremely gullible, far too quick to forgive, and a strong believer in second chances.
All of this has led to him repeatedly being tricked by Eggman. It makes sense when you think about it if you don't live around other people (or, in this case, Echidnas), you're going to have a much harder time picking up on social cues and knowing how to read people. Poor Knuckles.
6 Despite His Attitude, Knuckles Is Awkward Around Women
As was mentioned previously, Knuckles has been a loner most of his life and doesn't have a ton of experience around other people or animals. This manifests itself particularly clearly in his interactions with women, and he's painfully awkward around any of the ones in the Sonic universe, like Amy, Blaze, or Rouge.
You really wouldn't think a cool dude like Knuckles would have trouble with the ladies, but hey, the guy's a beginner. Although he'd probably do a lot better if he just showed them his cool Jamaican shoes.
5 Knuckles Is As Strong As Sonic Is Fast
While he's not as fast as Sonic, Knuckles is actually as strong as Sonic is fast. That's pretty remarkable, considering Sonic often just appears as a blur. Add to that the fact that Knuckles is still pretty fast himself, and you've got one heck of a powerful echidna.
Since Sonic's foot speed ranges between Mach 1-5, that would mean Knuckles can lift somewhere in the area of 100-500 metric tons. Which begs the question, dear reader, do you even lift?
4 He's A Skilled Treasure Hunter
Knuckles is a top-notch treasure hunter and even possesses something called "treasure sense," which is not unlike Spider-man's spider-sense, only for...well, you know, treasure.
In the Sonic universe, Knuckles is known as quite possibly the best treasure hunter on the planet. He is able to sniff out nearby treasure and dig it out of the ground at lightning speeds. This is particularly useful when looking for Emerald shards or other shiny goodies.
3 Knuckles Is An Expert Swimmer
Sonic has always felt out of place in the water. His speed diminishes, and suddenly, you're spending most of your time looking for air bubbles instead of rushing forward into the unknown.
Not Knuckles, though. The red echidna is a masterful swimmer, a skill that goes along with his love of treasure hunting. He's able to swim deep and maintain a level of speed Sonic could only dream of. Long story short, if you're having a pool party, maybe just lose Sonic's invite in the mail.
2 He Originally Had The Nike Swoosh On His Chest
Do you know that crescent moon on Knuckles's chest? Well, imagine if it was a little bit more... swooshy. Like a swoosh. Got it? Okay. Now imagine it's the Nike swoosh because that almost happened. Sega had a deal in place with Nike to put their logo on Knuckles's chest, which would have made for some seriously next-level in-game advertising (pun intended).
Imagine if this had gone through and Knuckles had spent his entire in-game life joined at the hip with Nike. Feels kinda gross, although we bet he would have appreciated the free shoes.
1 The "Grapest" Echidna
According to the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 manual, Knuckles does have a favorite food, and, if you couldn't guess from this entry's terrible title, it's grapes.
Honestly, it's just nice to see a member of the Sonic team actually eat something healthy, unlike chili dogs. Seriously, how does Sonic run after eating those things? At least one member of the crew got the memo about eating clean.