Appearance

Physical Description

Knuckles is an athletic, 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 crooked tail.
For attire, Knuckles wears red and yellow boots, 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.

Body Features

Knuckles has large fists with spiked knuckles (thus his name), that help him punch things super hard! He has a crescent-shaped marking on his chest. A prophecy foretold of an echidna with a moon shape on his body. For thousands of years, the prophecy was considered to be just a myth, until Knuckles came along, that is. The white crescent on his chest and the red fur on his body is supposed to symbolize Knuckles' dedication to his job, both night and day.

Facial Features

Knuckles has a face similar to that of Sonic. His eyes are large and they dominate most of his face. However, instead of both eyes sharing the same sclera, they are, in fact, separated by a rough brow line. Knuckles' muzzle is long and banana-shaped. He has a triangular nose on the end of the muzzle and his mouth sits below it, offset to the right. Knuckles has a pronounced brow ridge that gives him an angry, or at the very least, sad, look at all times. Unless he's smiling of course.

Identifying Characteristics

Knuckles is identified by his large spiked hands and his seven dreadlocks. Over time, his messy head quills have gathered into seven long dreads that hang to just below his shoulders. They curve forward slightly; the front two on either side are curved forward the most.

Physical quirks

A physical quirk of Knuckles' is his immense strength. He can lift items that weigh several tons, and throw them far distances as well. It is not fully understood where his power comes from, but so far, we know that his mother was in contact with a Chaos Emerald when she was pregnant with Knuckles. The latent Chaos energy in that Emerald must've entered her body and manifested itself in Knuckles. When he was born, he came out kicking and screaming, as most babies are. However, his case was a bit different. Unlike all other echidna babies, Knuckles had to be delivered inside the holy temple of the Master Emerald Shrine. His close proximity to the Master Emerald served as a catalyst for Knuckles' power to come roaring out. His mother knew that she had a unique son, and tried to treat him as best as she could. Unfortunately, she and all other echidnas were wiped out when Knuckles was 18 years old. He had to fend for himself from then on, and gained survival skills that are unrivaled.

Apparel & Accessories

Knuckles can usually be seen wearing his large white gloves, red and yellow boots, short baggy pants, and a brown, yellow, and red tribal coat with tattered fringes that was specially made for him by his mother. Knuckles has worn this outfit for many years, although it has undergone several changes due to growth. When in battle, Knuckles tends to take his coat off and drop it on the ground next to him, possibly to signify that he wouldn't hold back during the fight.

Special abilities

Knuckles is gifted with extreme strength, making him the muscles of Team Sonic. He approaches problems with brute force, and, if necessary, will not hesitate to kill, regardless of his usual non-killing attitude. Knuckles can also move quite fast. His speed is nothing compared to Sonic's but is a force to be reckoned with, especially when considering normal people. Knuckles is also a decent strategist, conferring with Tails to formulate battle plans. Being the Guardian of Angel Island, Knuckles has completely mastered Chaos energy manipulation. He can create weapons out of his life energy. His signature attack is a large sweeping energy beam that he calls "Guardian's Wrath".

Mentality

Personal history

Knuckles the Echidna was born on the 12th of November, 2082 to a family of Echidnas on Angel Island. He was their only child, and he was very, very special. He was the prophesied Guardian of Angel Island, a figure of legend that would be the very last survivor of the Echidna tribe. Knuckles' childhood was quite enjoyable. He was treated with the utmost respect; people bowed down at him when he walked past in the street, people called him 'sir', people gave up their seats to him. Until he was about 13 years old, Knuckles didn't quite understand why he was being treated that way. He found it to be quite silly. As far as he was concerned, he was just another echidna child living the best life on Angel Island. However, once he turned 13, he was informed of his legendary fate.
 
Knuckles was taken to the holy temple of the Master Emerald shrine: the place of his birth. The priest there proceeded to inform him of the Guardian legend, and how Knuckles fit all the criteria. Knuckles was filled with a new sense of importance that boosted his ego to considerable levels. He now appreciated his status of legendariness and treated others with the same amount of respect they gave him. He was widely regarded as a kind and generous person. All that came to a grinding halt in the year 2101, when he was just 18 years old.
 
A mysterious cataclysm messed with the environment, and all the echidnas, save for Knuckles, died of starvation, disease, natural disasters, and other things. Knuckles was immune to the effects of the cataclysm due to his prophesied Guardianship, but that doesn't mean he didn't suffer in some way. He had to endure a year of watching his echidna brethren perish horribly. Some of the last people to go were his parents. With the last of her strength, Knuckles' mother wove him a special cloak, perfectly fit for a Guardian.
"Knuckles, my dear son. Make sure you look over this beautiful island to the best of your ability. Even though your father and I might not last much longer, we want to make our remaining time with you as pleasant as possible. We love you..."
Those were some of the last words that Knuckles can remember from his mother. She died from disease not long after. His father followed suit. The entire echidna tribe collapsed by the time 2102 came around. Knuckles was all alone, and he was left with the task of cleanup.
 
He had to manhandle his brethren's corpses and bury them all. It was hard and disgusting work, but he did it for the honor of the Echidna Tribe. Leftover food would last him about a month before they'd start to go bad. Knuckles built himself a rudimentary shack on the south side of the island and gathered supplies there. Pretty soon, Knuckles was a survival expert. He went about life on Angel Island pretty well, until the loneliness began to set in. He started to go a little insane. With nobody to talk to, Knuckles began to talk to himself. It began with little chats, speaking his mind, but pretty soon it escalated to full-on arguments and conversations...with himself.
 
After about a year, Knuckles began to hallucinate. He supposedly saw his dead mother, his dead father, his old friends, even the priest who informed him of his status. Knuckles had gone crazy! This went on for years, Knuckles speaking to hallucinations of his dead friends and family. It would be a long time before he would speak to anyone else. The lonely echidna went about his life, guarding the Master Emerald against threats and hunting around the Island. Six years after the disappearance of the Echidnas, Sonic and Tails arrived at Angel Island for a mission against Dr. Eggman. Knuckles was skeptical of them but extremely happy to meet outsiders for the first time. He tried to make friends with them, but instead, he just came off as creepy.
 
It wouldn't be until right before Sonic and Tails' departure from the island that Knuckles could finally get through to them. He had finally made friends, for the first time in a long time. After much effort was spent coaxing him to leave his beloved island, they brought him down to the surface and showed him around their city. He was overwhelmed by it all. He couldn't believe that cities of that size could exist anywhere but Angel Island. Knuckles had trouble integrating with normal society but managed nonetheless. Eventually, he even managed to snag a night shift job at a pizzeria. He now spends more time around his friends and those he cares about most, all the while being devoted to his duty as Guardian.

Education

Having been born as a part of the divine Echidna Tribe, Knuckles didn't need to attend school. All echidnas were born with all the education they'd ever need. Despite the fact that they are born with an education, it still needed to be coaxed out of them, so to speak. There were still teachers on Angel Island. Instead of teaching children what they need to know, they taught the children what they needed to do with what they knew. For instance, Echidnan babies were born knowing how to speak, but they couldn't string together proper sentences. The teacher's jobs just helped the kids figure out what to do with the knowledge and how to use it. Knuckles never needed college. He has an average education; nothing too crazy and nothing too low-level.

Employment

Knuckles' job; past, present, and future, is Guardian of Angel Island. Knuckles is immune to most forms of damage, and, like all other Mobians, he ages slower than most known species. He is 38 Mobian years old, which is equivalent to 190 Earth years. Knuckles will protect his island for the rest of his life. If he ever produces a child, that child will become the new Guardian. The job will pass down to them as soon as Knuckles passes away. This job is reserved for those who are directly blood-related to the current Guardian. It will be inherited down the line forever.

Accomplishments & Achievements

Knuckles has accomplished some important things. For an obvious one, he is the Guardian of Angel Island. This job was awarded to him by a prophecy. His offspring will inherit the job when he dies. Another accomplishment of his is that he singlehandedly saved the lives of everyone in South City from the wrath of Mechallix. Unfortunately, in the process, the city sustained some severe collateral damage. Knuckles assisted in the reconstruction project.

Failures & Embarrassments

Just as Knuckles has a few achievements, he has had a few failures and embarrassments. First off, Knuckles had quite an embarrassing first meeting with the rest of Team Sonic. They all met at a restaurant in the center of West City. Knuckles, having spent all of the past six years in isolation, was feeling quite perturbed around all the people in West City. He was constantly on edge and anxious. Sonic tried to settle him down.
 
"It's alright, Knuckles. Nobody's gonna try to hurt you out here. You're with me! It'll be okay."
Sonic told him.
Knuckles calmed down for the time being. Both he and Sonic went to the restaurant, where the remainder of Team Sonic was ready to meet their new member. A patient Tails, an indignant Shadow, a bored Blaze, and an excited Silver were all sitting in a restaurant booth. Finally, Sonic and Knuckles entered the restaurant. They sat down with the others. Silver tried initiating a conversation.
"So, Knuckles, was it? How do you do? I'm Silver. Silver the Hedgehog!"
He extended his hand for a handshake.
Knuckles looked at Silver's gloved hand for a moment, unsure of what to do with it. Finally, he grabbed it and shook it vigorously. His grip was crushing.
"Ow! My hand! Let go of me!"
Silver yelped.
Immediately, Knuckles let go and apologized profusely.
"I'm sorry, Silver. It's...it's been a while."
Silver accepted the apology.
"I get it. Good to meet you. We're happy to have you on the team."
Knuckles was introduced to the rest of the team, and from then on, he was a valuable member of Team Sonic.

Mental Trauma

Knuckles is arguably the most mentally messed up of the entire group. He had to witness his entire race die off slowly and terribly, and to make it worse, he was tasked with body clean up. Seeing the decomposing, lifeless corpses of his friends and family scarred him forever. He had to look into his dead mother's eyes, all the while he lowered her into the ground, along with hundreds of his other brethren. Knuckles isn't even depressed anymore, he's just...broken inside. His entire family is gone, everyone he loved is gone, and now he's thrust into a whole new world. But that was a long time ago. Now, Knuckles is used to everyone around him! He's got several friends and is a valued member of the team! But that doesn't change what happened in the past.

Intellectual Characteristics

Knuckles is courageous, humble, trustworthy, honorable, and he has confidence in reason.

Morality & Philosophy

Being a person of Lawful Good nature, Knuckles believes that in order to do good in the world, certain freedoms must be sacrificed, but the truth is of the highest value and life and beauty of great importance. Knuckles has a strong moral character. Truth, honor, and the welfare of others is all-important. He is convinced that order and rules are absolutely necessary to assure that goodness prevails. However, he is not one to get in the way of another if their goals do not interfere with his. Knuckles' character may be a hindrance to others since he believes that the rules work best when followed exactly. In a situation where a rule needs to be broken, he might object.

person.sexuality

Knuckles is straight. He hasn't had much female interaction, whether it be before the Disappearance, and after. Even during his time with the rest of the echidnas, most females paid little attention to Knuckles. After Sonic and Tails introduced him to the rest of Team Sonic, the only girl there was Blaze the Cat. Admittedly, he was attracted to her, but had to give up the fight after he found out that she and Silver were already in a relationship. Despite the fact that he can no longer continue pursuing her romantically, Blaze holds a special place in Knuckles' heart for being so kind and understanding towards him.

person.gender_identity

Knuckles identifies himself as male and will always be male.

Taboos

Knuckles is mostly a straightforward guy, and as such, most topics would be open to discussion with him. But, he gets very dodgy when being asked questions about his life on Angel Island. Don't forget that Knuckles still lives on Angel Island to this day; he cannot permanently relocate. He doesn't like sharing about his personal life too much, partially because of trying to maintain the secrecy of Angel Island, and partially because it hurts him to talk about the terrible events that transpired on his home island.

Known Languages

Knuckles knows how to speak three languages: Mobian English, Ancient Echidnan, and Interstellar English.

Personality

Motivation

Knuckles' motivation that keeps him going every day is the fact that the culprit of the murder of his race is still out there somewhere. He knows for a fact that the cataclysm was not natural. He doesn't know who did it. Whether it be a weather magician, a genie of some sort, or an actual deity, Knuckles will not rest until he avenges his fallen comrades, and puts a full stop to evil.

Quotes & Catchphrases

Knuckles is a stoic man of few words. Here are some profound statements from the Guardian himself.
 

• "I don't know when, and I don't know how, but I do know that I must protect this island. No matter the cost."


• "You've messed with the Guardian for the last time! So, if you'd like to test your strength, you'll stay right where you are!"


• "I love my job, I love my team, I love protecting my friends. But what I don't love...is all this violence! You've forced my hand! Now face the wrath!"

Savvies & Ineptitudes

Knuckles is a master of Chaos energy manipulation. He can create physical weapons out of his very own life energy. One perk of this is that it doesn't waste his life energy; no matter how much is used. He is also an expert fighter; having been taking care of himself for six years before being found by Sonic and Tails. During those six years, Knuckles taught himself some semblance of fighting skills, and further trained in an ancient Echidnan form of martial arts.
 
On the other hand, Knuckles is prone to breakdown when in a mentally stressful situation. This is why Sonic and the rest of the team are always on standby in case Knuckles needs to tap out.

Likes & Dislikes

Knuckles likes a variety of things, they include peace and quiet, fighting and training, relaxing, shade, guarding the Master Emerald, and eating fruit (especially grapes). He dislikes strong sunshine, being tricked, betrayed, or otherwise taken advantage of, loneliness, fighting/hurting the innocent, anyone who threatens the Master Emerald, and being mocked.

Virtues & Personality perks

Knuckles' core virtues are courage, humility, trustworthiness, honorability, and confidence in reason. A perk of his is that he is a great source of good advice and is one to come to if you need to discuss your problems.

Vices & Personality flaws

A major flaw of Knuckles' is that he is prone to extreme emotions at the worst of times. He basically has PTSD. Sometimes, he can be triggered while fighting an enemy, and throw the whole 'no killing' rule out the window. Usually he can reel himself in after a bit of time.

Personality Quirks

Knuckles has a real good way to circumvent panic attacks or the onset of his PTSD. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and transports himself to a different place in his mind. This is the perfect way to calm himself down and distract him from the imminent situation.

Hygiene

During his six years of isolation on the island, Knuckles' hygiene wasn't the best. He had access to clean running water in the form of rivers and he had leaves to wash himself with. He was able to stay kinda clean, but it wasn't satisfactory. After his discovery by Sonic and Tails, they took him to Tails' house, where he was able to take a prope bath for the first time in a long time. Nowadays, Knuckles can keep himself very clean.

Social

Birthplace

Master Emerald Shrine, Angel Island

Current Residence

Knuckles' House, Angel Island

Contacts & Relations

Knuckles doesn't have many contacts. His phone is virtually empty, when it comes to phone numbers and social media. He has the number for Sonic, Tails, Shadow, Silver and Blaze. Those are his only friends, really. He does follow Silver's Twitter account, and occasionally checks his timeline. Knuckles often calls Sonic just to catch up, or, very rarely, set up a time to hang out. They usually just meet up to shoot the scheisse and play video games. Knuckles enjoys these hangout sessions, but Sonic sometime doesn't have the time to do it, most likely due to being out with AJ.

Honorary & Occupational Titles

Knuckles is known by several names.

1. Knucklehead


2. Mr. Guardian


3. Cutie


4. Spikefist McPowerslam


5. Big Red

Wealth & Financial state

Knuckles isn't wealthy by any definition of the word. In fact, he gets monthly care packages from AJ, delivered to Angel Island on his and Sonic's biplane, called the Tornado. These care packages are filled with luxurious foods, drinks, several hundred Rings, and a few books to read. Knuckles has a TV in his house, which has a direct link to FoxCom. AJ hooked him up with the best connection that he could give; just a little favor from friend to friend. Knuckles is very grateful.

Family Ties

Unfortunately, Knuckles has no family ties. His entire family is deceased. However, he is considered family by the members of Team Sonic, who have all been together for many years and could totally be considered a family.

Religious Views

Knuckles is probably one of the most religious people on the planet. But, it isn't the way you think. He isn't a hyper-religious people-converting Karen like most others. He belongs to the religion of Chaos. The Echidna Tribe were firsthand witnesses to the God of Creation Chaos's awakening, and as such, their beliefs in this religion were cemented. He is the one true deity of creation and deserves the utmost respect.

Social Aptitude

Knuckles' social aptitude is actually pretty good for a person that had 6 straight years of isolation. At first, he was a nervous wreck, flinching at every single sudden movement, and being a bit overenthusiastic when meeting new people. But over time, and with more exposure to people, Knuckles settled down into his new way of life. His wild (slightly insane) old way of life was no more. He had successfully integrated with society.

Mannerisms

When speaking to someone, Knuckles doesn't usually look them in the eye. He has no idea why not, and it's kinda distracting for others. He also has a tendency to hide things in his dreads for later use. I know it sounds like something from cartoon, but I'm serious! He stores small to medium-sized items in his quills and will reach into them to grab 'em later!

Hobbies & Pets

On Angel Island, there is a massive variety of life. Knuckles has decided to take in a wild red fox that used to come by his house every morning and sit patiently waiting for fruit. Knuckles took pity on the little fox and brought him into his house. The fox's name is Miles. Miles comes by Knuckles' house every morning and stays with the echidna until sunset. After that, he barks at Knuckles, which is a signal that he's about to leave. Knuckles gives the fox a small bunch of fruits, usually grapes, and lets him go. Miles reappears in front of Knuckles' door every morning at the same exact time. Like clockwork.
 
Knuckles likes to wake up every morning, let Miles in, and curl up in his hammock while watching TV. Miles sits on the floor next to him and the two just bond with each other in silence. Knuckles cares for Miles very much and considers him a family member. Even though Miles is just a little red fox, he fully understands the relationship that he and Knuckles has. And to that end, Miles will stay loyally by Knuckles' side for the rest of his life.

Speech

Knuckles' way of speech isn't too different from Sonic's. He uses word shorteners and slang often and he speaks in a commanding tone, regardless of mood. His voice is deep, but it can rise in pitch quite substantially if needed. He isn't exactly a conversationalist, so his words can come out a bit clunky.