Knuckles The Echidna - Wikipedia

During conception of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the development team wanted to create a new rival for Sonic.[9] The final design of Knuckles was the result of dozens of possible designs inspired by numerous different animals. In collaboration between the Sonic Team and Sega of America's product marketing manager, Pamela Kelly, the final character of "Knuckles" was chosen.[9][10] The emphasis of the character was to break walls,[11] with the original idea being a 'whirlwind' ability, rather than punching.[12]

Knuckles was created by developer Takashi Yuda and Pamela Kelly who never intended him to be any more than a "supporting character".[13] Knuckles was introduced in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 as an "intimidator" because of his powerful abilities and physical strength.[14] He was given a headlining role in the next game, Sonic & Knuckles, where he made his first appearance as a playable character.[15]

Voice portrayal

Knuckles has been voiced by several different actors over the years. In the Japanese dubs, he was voiced by Yasunori Matsumoto in Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie and by Nobutoshi Canna since 1998, beginning with Sonic Adventure.[1]

In animation, he was voiced by Brian Drummond in Sonic Underground and by Bill Wise in the English dub of Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie.[1]

In the video games, Knuckles was originally voiced by Michael McGaharn in Sonic Adventure, and then by Ryan Drummond in Sonic Shuffle.[3][1] Scott Dreier began voicing the character in 2001, starting with Sonic Adventure 2.[4] He continued to voice the character for three more years until 2004, his final role as Knuckles was in Sonic Advance 3.[4] Dan Green began voicing the character in the anime series Sonic X, he would later take over the role in the video games in 2005, starting with Shadow the Hedgehog.[1] In 2010, he was replaced by Travis Willingham, beginning with Sonic Free Riders.[1] Willingham continued voicing the character until 2018, and his final role as Knuckles was in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.[1] Since 2019, Knuckles has been voiced by Dave B. Mitchell, beginning with Team Sonic Racing.[1] In the live-action subfranchise, Knuckles is voiced by Idris Elba.[5][16][17] In the 2022 Sonic short film, Sonic Drone Home, Knuckles is voiced by Fred Tatasciore.[6] In the Netflix series Sonic Prime, Knuckles is voiced by Adam Nurada,[18] while his Shatterverse counterparts (respectively named Renegade Knucks, Gnarly Knuckles, and Knuckles the Dread) are voiced by Vincent Tong.[19]