Knuckles the Echidna

Knuckles the Echidna is a character from Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series. He is a red anthropomorphic short-beaked echidna who is Sonic's secondary best friend and former rival. Determined and serious, but sometimes gullible, he fights his enemies using brute force and strength. His role is established as the guardian of the Master Emerald, a large gemstone which controls the series' integral Chaos Emeralds, and is the last living member of his tribe, the Knuckles Clan.

Knuckles debuted as one of the main antagonists in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994); in Sonic & Knuckles, he first became a playable character. In the games' story, Doctor Eggman tricks him into opposing Sonic and Tails. After antagonizing the duo, he forms a temporary alliance with them after learning of Eggman's trickery. Since then, he has appeared in numerous playable and non-playable roles, as well as in several series of comic books, Western animated television, and Japanese anime, in addition to the feature films Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, he stars in the live action Knuckles television miniseries.

One of the series' most popular characters, Knuckles has appeared in most games in the franchise, including those for the main series and spin-offs. His likeness has been frequently utilized in Sonic the Hedgehog merchandise, with the character also being subject to various Internet memes.