Knuckles the Echidna

Knuckles the Echidna (ナックルズ・ザ・エキドゥナNakkuruzu za Ekiduna?) is a main character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. He is an anthropomorphic echidna and the current guardian of the Master Emerald, a powerful ancient relic which is his solemn duty to protect from anyone seeking to abuse it. He is also the sole remaining descendant of the Knuckles Clan and last of the echidnas on earth. His dominant traits are his super strength, and the two spike-like knuckles on each of his hands, from which his name is derived from, which he can use to dig with and climb walls. He can also trap the wind under his dreadlocks to glide through the air.

A loner by nature, Knuckles is independent, headstrong and serious, yet gullible and short-tempered to a fault. He is entirely devoted to his duty, spending most of his time on Angel Island protecting the Master Emerald, and rarely cares for anything that is of no importance. When his friends and others are in need of his help, however, Knuckles can always be relied on being willing to leave his post and prove himself a faithful and good-hearted hero. He is also one of Sonic's oldest friends and rivals.

Though usually depicted as the guardian of the Master Emerald, in his debut appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 he is described as the guardian of the Floating Island's seven Chaos Emeralds. In Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure he is in possession of the purple Chaos Emerald.

Appearance
Knuckles is an anthropomorphic echidna with red fur that covers most of his body, peach skin on his muzzle, a white crescent-shaped patch of fur on his chest, and purple eyes. He also has seven dreadlock-like spines on his head and a medium-sized, tri-crooked tail.

For attire, Knuckles wears red and yellow shoes, each with green cuffs and a grey, sextuple-bolted plate on top. He also wears large, white, mitten-like gloves with sock-like cuffs and two spiked knuckles on each hand.

Personality
Knuckles is independent, wild, tough, and a loner by nature. Like how Sonic embodies the wind, Knuckles embodies the mountain; stern, unmovable and anchored to his duty. Due to having lived in seclusion for most of his life, Knuckles is a rather antisocial and reclusive individual. As such, he cares very little about what others think, which makes him bluntly honest, straight-forward, and somewhat egotistical.

Knuckles is fiercely loyal to his homeland and does whatever is in his power to protect it. He prefers to stay close to the island's current emerald shrine to keep a watchful eye over everything at his home. Despite this devotion, Knuckles is willing to leave his duty whenever his help is needed, or when he feels the Master Emerald and Angel Island will be safe. Though Knuckles has found other lifestyles appealing, he will never trade away his duties as he is far too devoted to his role as guardian. When not performing his duties, Knuckles prefers spending his time practicing his fighting skills, going treasure hunting, or hanging out with his friends.

Knuckles is usually solemn, stoic, collected, and usually likes to be by himself. He is likewise stubborn, headstrong, and inflexible, preferring to do things his way, which causes him to clash with others. Regardless, he is very strong-willed, seldom wavering in his determination and will not give up on his goals once he has set them. While he is cool and determined in battle, Knuckles has an extremely short and wild temper and is hard to reason with when he is angry. Though his temper has often been known to get him into trouble, Knuckles has also learned to use it to his advantage by channeling it into his fighting skills.

Despite being a silent loner, Knuckles is heroic, brave, kind-hearted, and selfless, risking his life to save anyone or get them out of trouble, and shows empathy for people, even if they are a villain or enemy. He is likewise a loyal and caring friend, who is always willing to help his friends out in tight situations and will do anything to protect them. When not angered, Knuckles is pretty laid-back and never cracks under pressure. He can also be very understanding on the sly and does not take kindly to people who disrespect or hurt his friends, or innocents, in any way.

Having been living much of his life in isolation, Knuckles grew up believing in honesty and holds a firm and steadfast belief that there is good in everyone, which always lets him give people second chances. Because of his lack of social ingenuity, however, it makes him very naive, incredibly gullible, fast about forgiving people and easily misled, which has given him a history of being tricked by Eggman. This has made Knuckles aggressive and suspicious towards anyone he deems questionable. Over time, however, Knuckles has gotten better about this and is more suspicious concerning Eggman's trickery. Once he finds out he has been tricked, Knuckles can get quite angered, but quickly regains enough of his composure to start working towards a resolution immediately.

Though not dull-witted, Knuckles is often prone to rash and ill-advised actions. While not above picking complex strategies, Knuckles often chooses force to be the solution, pushing himself through obstacles while focusing on his goal and ignoring other factors along the way. Similarly, he can also be quite reckless when panicking about the Master Emerald, such being especially evident during the Space Colony ARK incident, where he ended up fighting Sonic for the controls of the Space Shuttle and causing it to crash land as well as abandoning his allies out of a panic due to the Master Emerald shards being lost to space from a collision with a meteor forcing the cargo bay to open. When in his right element however, Knuckles can be quite clever, sharp-witted and sneaky, such as setting several successful traps for Sonic and Tails on Angel Island when they first arrived. He is also capable of learning from his mistakes. Knuckles has also proven himself to have a high degree of leadership skills, most noticeably during his time as the commander of the Resistance. He is noted to be very charismatic with inspirational speeches, and he has a flair of daring plans that provided the Resistance with a much-needed offensive during the War to Take Back the Planet. However, for all his skills as a leader, Knuckles is still easily distracted and prefers to be out on the battlefield rather than in the command center.

Knuckles is said to be shy around women, which makes him act awkwardly around girls like Amy, Blaze, and Rouge. Because of his secluded lifestyle on Angel Island, Knuckles feels very uncomfortable in industrialized or crowded cities and places and being around hi-tech objects or gadgets (mostly because he's not inclined).

Knuckles seems to have lightened up in later games, such as Sonic Generations and Sonic Forces. While he still displays some brooding, headstrong and stubborn attitude, he is shown being better to acknowledge his shortcomings and displays more personal restraint and better social interaction.

Voice Actors

 * Brian Drummond
 * Michael McGaharn
 * Ryan Drummond
 * Scott Dreier
 * Dan Green
 * Travis Willingham
 * Dave Mitchell
 * Idris Elba