The Return of Knuckles

As Sonic the Hedgehog 2 takes cinemas by storm in the coming weeks, I thought it was time to discuss one aspect I’m most excited about.

Knuckles the Echidna is back!

But he never left I hear you say, he’s been ever-present in all of Sonic's games and media, from Forces to The Sonic Boom animated series to Mania and the current ongoing comic series.

But in reality, the Knuckles we knew and loved has been missing for about 20 years.

When Knuckles debuted in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 back in 1994, he became an instant favourite. Part of that was that his design was focus tested early on and taken from a number of designs, developed and fine tuned until he was appealing to the target audience, much like Sonic himself.

But it was more than that. Aesthetics were one thing, but Knuckles came with an air of mystique and depth that had hitherto been unseen in the series. The prospect of a rival to Sonic who had been convinced the blue blur was bad was genuinely intriguing, and as Knuckles subjected Sonic to several tricks and traps, I was desperate to show him Sonic wasn’t the enemy.

Knuckles’ back story in Sonic 3 was thus: He was the sole survivor of a lost race of echidnas, and now the sole guardian of the Floating Island and the chaos emeralds which resided upon it. By pure chance, the Death Egg, blasted out of space in Sonic 2, crash lands on Knuckles domain and Dr Robotnik warns Knuckles of the blue menace coming their way to steal those emeralds.

While not coming into direct confrontation, Knuckles hinders Sonic in various ways. At the end of Sonic 3 he falls off a platform as the Death Egg blasts off, putting his duel with Sonic on hiatus.

Knuckles was an instant hit. Not only in the third Sonic game but in various media adaptations too. The mystery of the Echidna race wound up in both Archie and UK Fleetway comics.

So popular was Knuckles that he headlined the second part of the Sonic 3 story, Sonic & Knuckles, becoming playable with his own set of levels and even being usable in Sonic 2 via the lock-on cartridge.

In S&K, Knuckles would have his redemption arc, being betrayed by Robotnik and helping Sonic in the games latter half.

While the mysteries of the Floating Island and the lost race remained, Knuckles was popular enough to get top billing in 32X exclusive Knuckles Chaotix. While narratively it served little purpose, it did expand the characters appeal.

Outside of games, Sonic the Comic absolutely nailed the character, making it, in my mind, the most accurate representation of him. It masterfully delved into the questions Knuckles faced without giving them answers that would potentially disrupt the series canon. The only hint you had about the lost race was that the echidnas were dressed in Mesoamerican garb, something that would appear quite prescient given it tied in with future game interpretations.

Knuckles next mainline game was Sonic Adventure which saw him redesigned along with the rest of the cast. Here, we finally found the answers to his past and closed that particular arc.

Unfortunately it was downhill from there.

Sonic Adventure 2 re-tread Knuckles broken Master Emerald story, but still had him as the jewel's ultimate protector. In the finale he helps defeat the final boss by reciting Tikals prayer, which I thought was a lovely touch.

But after that, he lost his depth. From Heroes on, he was just another friend Sonic had for the ride. At first I recall forum posts asking why he wasn’t protecting the Master Emerald, why was he just cruising along with Tails in his plane? But soon people ceased caring.

Knuckles went from being Sonic’s fierce rival, to another tag along.

The Sonic Boom reboot made things worse and while I appreciate aspects of the character, it's not the Knuckles from the games and not the one that took Sonic fans hearts in the late 90s.

Since the arrival of Shadow in Sonic Adventure 2, Knuckles even lost that rival status, and with his story having come to an end for all intents and purposes, he basically became another Sonic tag-along, a red, muscly Tails almost.

But that looks to change with his introduction to the Sonic Cinematic series. It was quite amusing to see my kids reaction to the first trailer as they gasped “but isn’t Knuckles a good guy?”.

It demonstrates how his back story has been so forgotten, or even been untouched by the younger generations of Sonic fans.

Knuckles portrayal looks spot on, his voice provided by Idris Elba is nigh on perfect, and while I’m sure his exact background will differ greatly, it will be fantastic to delve into the series most fleshed out character once more.

And with a Knuckles series said to be on the way, our time with the newly rejuvenated red, dreaded one looks to be very promising indeed.