Ever since his introduction inSonic & Knuckles, Knuckles the Echidna has remained one of the most popular characters in theSonic universe. He’s generally depicted as a rival to Sonic, but while the Blue Blur has impressive speed, Knuckles has remarkable strength. He has been portrayed with various personality traits, ranging from a wise and Stoic warrior to a goofy, meathead bodybuilder.
However, one thing that remains consistent is his strength, and Knuckles is strong. Even without additional power sources like the energy received from the Chaos Emeralds, Knuckles has been shown to perform impressive feats, from smashing through mountains to punching out super-powered beings. Of all the versions of Knuckles out there, these are the strongest.
8Chaos Knuckles
Born To Dominate
One of the more popular iterations of the Sonic franchise is the comics, of which there are plenty, some of which are published by Archie Comics. Knuckles is a recurring, essential character, as anyone trying to obtain the Chaos Emeralds must deal with him at some point. Sometimes the villains are powerful, forcing Knuckles to seek other methods of fighting back, including experimentation.
Thanks to him being infused with Chaos energy before birth, Knuckles achieved a vastly powerful form known as Chaos Knuckles. In this light-green form, Knuckles has limitless power with all of his natural abilities increasing many times over and gaining even greater abilities. However, like the true warrior he is, he sacrificed this power and his own life to save another.
7Super Knuckles
Emerald-Powered Puncher
Like many members of the Sonic cast, Knuckles can draw upon the power of the Chaos Emeralds. Despite being the guardian of the Master Emerald, he rarely uses the power for himself, only resorting to it in dire situations. The first time this form is seen is in Sonic & Knuckles after gathering all the Emeralds as Knuckles.
He starts glowing a pristine pink and gains near godlike power. He has all the strength and abilities of his base form, but they’re now super-enhanced, and he becomes invulnerable. Super Knuckles is a rare form indeed because it’s almost too powerful.
6Sir Gawain
A True Warrior
Sonic And The Black Knight was a weird entry in the series since someone decided to give Sonic a sword and toss him into an alternate dimensionbased on Arthurian legend. This dimension comes with related alternates of Sonic’s friends, including Knuckles. He makes his debut as Sir Gawain, a knight serving King Arthur.
As Sir Gawain, Knuckles retains all his usual strength and resilience, but now has the additions of high-quality armor and dual boomerang blades. He’s now a skilled warrior in more ways than one, and his blades give him greater range and thus more power.
5Adventure Knuckles
Ravaging With Radar
The short-livedSonic Adventureseries is also quite divisive among the community, but a common consensus is that Knuckles’s missions are the worst. They require him to go to large areas using a hot-cold radar to find tiny shards of the Master Emerald. However, Knuckles is quite mobile and has all the skills that make him an effective explorer and fighter.
What ultimately makes him even more powerful are the upgrades he collects, including enhancements to his fists, the ability to breathe underwater indefinitely, and sunglasses that allow him to see secret things. Fully geared up, Knuckles is ready for any adventure.
4Mecha Knuckles
Robotic Boxer
Going back to his roots, Sonic had a short but successful run on the Game Boy Advance with the 2D platformerAdvance series. It allowed you to play as Sonic and several of his friends, including Knuckles, as they fought their way through different levels and enemies. A surprising introduction came from a boss known as Mecha Knuckles.
Looking almost exactly like the real thing, this mechanical doppelgänger possesses all the powers and strength of real Knuckles, backed by machine parts. He can also shoot giant missiles out of his body, so there’s that.
3Classic Knuckles
The One And Only
When Knuckles first appeared in Sonic & Knuckles, he was presented as a rival and even enemy to Sonic. He makes his entrance during the introduction, where Super Sonic is flying towards Angel Island. As he arrives, he’s ambushed by Knuckles in his base form, who punches him so hard that it knocks all the Chaos Emeralds out of Super Sonic, causing him to revert.
From this moment, we know that Knuckles is a serious fighter and a force to be reckoned with. When we finally got to play as him, we could experience all his power for ourselves and have a fun time gliding around, too.
2Heroes Knuckles
One Of The Team
Sonic Heroeswas another foray into the realm of 3D platforming, which had a mixed reception. In this adventure, you control Sonic and his friends as a trio rather than as individuals. Sonic Team consists of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, and you can freely switch between them to use their corresponding abilities.
Knuckles was certain in fighting and destructive power to remove obstacles and clear out enemies. Even though his abilities were more limited, he still retained his punching strength and could spike his teammates with devastating fireballs. More impressive is that he can trigger various degrees of volcanic eruptions by slamming the ground.
1Sonic Boom Knuckles
Lovable Meathead
Here we come to the Sonic universe’s resident meme lord, Sonic Boom Knuckles. This is arguably one of the most severe deviations from the original Knuckles design to date. Even though Sonic Boom is one of the worst-received games in the Sonic franchise, the show sharing its name has enjoyed moderate popularity, mainly due to Knuckles.
He’s depicted as the stereotypical muscle-head who is physically strong but traded his brain for a rock with a face on it. Despite this, he’s a competent fighter with enough strength to punch apart an asteroid, quite literally. Boom Knuckles… approved!
