Summary
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 who wants to abuse it. He is also the sole remaining descendant of the Knuckles Clan and last of the echidnas on earth.
A loner by nature, Knuckles is independent, headstrong and serious, yet gullible and short-tempered to a fault. He is fully devoted to his duty, spending most of his time on Angel Island protecting the Master Emerald, and rarely cares for anything that is not important. 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 true and good-hearted hero. He is also one of Sonic's oldest friends and rivals.
Powers and Stats
Tier: 7-B | 5-A, likely High 5-A | 5-A, likely High 5-A | At least 4-A to 2-C | At least 2-C | 7-C, possibly Low 7-B
Name: Knuckles the Echidna
Origin: Sonic the Hedgehog (Debuted in Sonic the Hedgehog 3)
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Classification: Anthropomorphic Echidna, Guardian of the Master Emerald
Powers and Abilities: Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Combat skills/Martial Arts, Ability to sense emerald power, Can use the Master Emerald and control its powers, Can glide through the air and dig through the ground, Can punch the ground hard enough to create a shock wave that trips opponents or cause a small volcanic eruption, Limited Electrokinesis (Can summon lightning bolts), Limited Geokinesis, Fire Manipulation | All of his previous abilities on a dramatically enhanced scale, True flight, Chaos Energy Manipulation, Soul Mutilation | All of his abilities increased to an even greater scale than his Super form, Can breathe underwater, Can create a shock wave strong enough to destroy any normal enemies around him by gliding into walls (Nicknamed "Gliding Shock Wave Attack" by fans), Afterimage Creation. | Superhuman Physical Characteristics, can climbs using his knuckles, Enhanced Senses (Smell and hearing), Fire Manipulation, Ice Manipulation, Can punch the ground hard enough to create a damage dealing shock wave
Attack Potency: City level (A consistent rival of Sonic, and has proven himself able to match Dreamcast Sonic in combat) | Large Planet level+ (Scales to Modern Sonic who defeated Eggrobo which created a mini-star that collapsed into a blackhole), likely Dwarf Star level (He is stronger than before and is still a rival to Modern Sonic who gets more powerful every second and also defeated a clone of Zavok who is stronger than Base Sonic) | Large Planet level+, likely Dwarf Star level (Scales to Mania Sonic who one shot Chaos 0) | At least Multi Solar System level to Multi-Universe level (As he uses the same power source, he can compare to other Super forms) | Multi-Universe level via power-scaling (Uses the same power source as Hyper Sonic) | Town level (Shattered an asteroid with a casual punch, his punch yielding this much force), possibly Small City level (In the opening of the TV show he caused a volcano to erupt by just punching the ground which would require 3.9 megatons of force)
Speed: FTL (Can run as fast as Base Sonic in Sonic Riders when their hover boards run out of air, Sonic's top running speed in Sonic Riders is 150 and Knuckles speed is the same and Base Sonic is considered "faster than light" in an official source so Knuckles scales to him) | FTL (Can keep up with Mania Sonic) | MFTL+ to Infinite (Equal to Super Sonic who fought Solaris in a timeless void) | At least MFTL+ to Infinite | High Hypersonic (Can keep up with Sonic and co. but is noted to be the slowest of the team)
Lifting Strength: Class 10+ or higher (Physically stronger than Shadow, who can overturn buses with one hand) | Higher | Class M
Striking Strength: City Class | Large Planet Class+, likely Dwarf Star Class | Large Planet Class+, likely Dwarf Star Class | At least Multi-Solar System Class to Multi-Universal | At least Multi-Universal | Town Class, possibly Small City Class
Durability: City level | Large Planet level+, likely Dwarf Star level | Large Planet level+, likely Dwarf Star level | At least Multi-Solar System level to Multi-Universe level | At least Multi-Universe level | Town level, possibly Small City level
Stamina: Very high, among the highest on Sonic's team | Limitless in Super Form
Range: Standard melee range | Several kilometers | At least several kilometers | Standard melee range
Standard Equipment: None | Chaos Emeralds | Super Emeralds
Intelligence: Book smart (seems to have extensive knowledge of ancient civilizations, as he was able to translate an ancient language in the Gigan Rocks), skilled combatant, though a little naive (trusts individuals like Eggman despite him tricking him many times).
Weaknesses: His attacks are readable | The Hyper form has a time limit based on how many rings the user has unlike the Super Form which can last for as long as the user wants.
Notable Attacks/Techniques:
Knuckles:
- Punch Attack: Knuckles' triple punch combo.
- Drill Claw: A downward flaming attack at the foes.
- Deep Impact: Knuckles performs a punch which is so powerful that it causes friction with the air, creating a small explosion.
- Maximum Heat Knuckles Attack: Knuckles strikes his enemies with a high-speed homing attack after charging his power.
- Gliding Shock Wave Attack: Hyper Knuckles hits a surface while gliding, causing an earthquake that destroys everything within range.
Boom Knuckles:
- Ground Pound: Knuckles delivers a full-powered punch directly into the ground. The force from this blow creates rippling shockwaves of destruction which can send surrounding enemies like Stuffer Bot and Badniks flying
- Enerbeam: Knuckles can emit a tether made of several energy bolts intertwined to form a solid whip from the his wrist which can extend and contract when necessary. As a tool, the Enerbeam can latch onto targets to pull them in, lasso enemies, or let the user swing from point to point. Alternatively, it can be used as a make-shift rope. This makes the Enerbeam a versatile tool for both navigation and combat.
Key: Dreamcast Knuckles | Modern Knuckles | Mania Knuckles | Super Form | Hyper Form | Boom Knuckles