Spoilers for previous entries in the Sonic the Hedgehog film series will be left unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
Wade: You're an alien. You're super-powerful. Recently, you saved the world with your friends. What do you like to do for fun?
Knuckles: Vengeance.
Wade: ...I was thinking more like reading, or yoga... (Knuckles grunts)
Knuckles: Vengeance.
Wade: ...I was thinking more like reading, or yoga... (Knuckles grunts)
Knuckles is a 2024 hybrid live-action/animated sci-fi action comedy miniseries spin-off of the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog film adaptations, and is the first live-action television series from the overall Sonic franchise after nearly three decades of animated television series.note The series was developed by John Whittington (who also co-wrote Sonic the Hedgehog 2) and Toby Asher, and sees the return of Idris Elba as the voice of Knuckles the Echidna and Adam Pally as Green Hills Deputy Sheriff Wade Whipple, with guest appearances by Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic, Colleen O'Shaughnessey as the voice of Tails, and Tika Sumpter as Maddie Wachowski. Joining the cast will be Rory McCann, Cary Elwes, Edi Patterson, Julian Barratt, Kid Cudi, Ellie Taylor, and Christopher Lloyd.
The series follows both Knuckles and Wade as the former, having been caught up in the life of a warrior for so long, sets out to adjust to and learn about life on Earth while teaching Wade the way of the echidna warrior, while the latter seeks out to win the bowling-oriented Tournament of Champions and to resolve the baggage behind his family's past. All while the two are both hunted down by both GUN agents and a former protege of Eggman's. The series premiered on Paramount+ April 26, 2024. While billed as an event series, Toby Asher has stated
that additional seasons could happen depending on whether or not there are more stories to tell, while more miniseries based around Sonic characters were likely.
Previews: Trailer, Super Bowl Teaser (not the original link), Behind the Scenes featurette
These tropes don’t chuckle:
- Adaptational Heroism: If his spirit is anything to go by here, Pachacamac is certainly NOT the ruthless and power-hungry tyrant he was in Sonic Adventure, instead being a benevolent, Eccentric Mentor to Knuckles and later Wade.
- Art Evolution: The models used for Sonic, Tails and Knuckles in the series include their more expressive faces from Sonic Drone Home.
- Audible Sharpness: In "The Warrior", when Sonic goes to touch one of the sharpened poles lining the living room-turned-battle-arena, a high-pitched, metallic sound can be heard.
- Breaking Old Trends: For the first time in the Sonic film franchise, Tom Holkenborg isn't on scoring duties, with Tom Howe taking over.
- Barehanded Bar Bending: During a workout session in the trailer, Knuckles is seen bending a barbell (with four weight plates on each end) and casually throwing it aside effortlessly, which is a given due to his enormous Super-Strength.
- Beastly Bloodsports: In the "The Warrior", Knuckles gets Ozzy and the mailman to fight each other in a makeshift arena.
- Black Comedy Animal Cruelty: Downplayed in the "The Warrior". Knuckles, who is ignorant about the modern standards of Earth society, attempts to have Ozzy challenge "his greatest enemy" (the mailman) in a fight to the death, in a very hazardous arena that the echidna set up in the living room. Given Ozzy lets out a whimper and his tail is between his legs, he is feeling discomforted by it. Maddie is understandably alarmed by this.
- Bowling for Ratings: The B-plot of Knuckles has Wade getting kicked off his bowling team and having Knuckles to help him regain his confidence, ultimately participating in a bowling tournament in Reno against Wade's father "Pistol" Pete.
- Call-Back:
- At the end of the first episode, Knuckles gets the same "Do I look like I need your power?" line he used against Sonic in the second film thrown back at him by Agent Mason in power armor.
- Just as in the second film, Ozzy gets dressed up in rather goofy attire. This time by Knuckles who has given the dog a horned helmet as his battle attire.
- Once again, someone faints upon first seeing the alien protagonist. Wade's mom takes it far better than Rachel did, however.
- During the rock opera, the fire demon calls Wade/Knuckles "unskilled, untrained, and unworthy", the exact same thing Knuckles called Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 during their first fight.
- Clarke's Third Law: Discussed in "The Warrior". When he witnesses Agents Mason and Willoughby coming through a ring at the bowling alley, Knuckles asks "What devilry is this?"
- Comically Missing the Point: When Agent Mason counters Knuckles' punch with his own in "The Warrior" he throws back Knuckles' "Do I look like I need your power?" boast. Agent Willoughby then comes behind and complains that they do, because that's why they're there in the first place.
- Composite Character: The Buyer is a genius human inventor with a fatter more bulky body who makes two henchmen go after his enemies which makes him more similar to Robotnik from the original incarnations. But his plan about going after Knuckles and him once working for Robotnik makes him similar to Eggrobo when playing as Knuckles in Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
- Continuity Nod: The first episode shows that Maddie is hiring construction crews to fix the hole in the Wachowski residence created by Knuckles and Sonic's fight in the second movie. Unfortunately, none of said crews get very far because Knuckles keeps mistaking them for attackers and reacts accordingly.
- Contrasting Sequel Main Character: The animal-human duo of Knuckles and Wade is shown to be a direct inversion of Sonic and Tom's dynamic: whereas Sonic is a free-spirited and energetic kid with Tom acting as a level-headed father figure to him, Knuckles is a reserved and comically serious warrior trying to train Wade, a dim-witted Butt-Monkey.
- David Versus Goliath: One clip in the trailer shows Knuckles taking on a thug more than twice his size, and easily winning.
- A Day in the Limelight: Not only Knuckles, but Wade also takes the main role for the series.
- Decoy Protagonist: While the series initially starts with a focus on both Knuckles' story to get used to life on Earth and Wade's story to win the Tournament of Champions, the final two episodes ultimately set up Knuckles as a Supporting Protagonist as Wade becomes the primary focus of the story and character developments once he encounters his father at the Tournament of Champions.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: As shown in "The Warrior", Knuckles is blind to the fact that his tribe's practices wouldn't fly in modern civilization. Like when he forces Ozzy and the mailman to have a fight to the death in a makeshift gladiator pit surrounded by sharp objects.
- Demoted to Extra: While Maddie, Sonic, and Tails are present in the first half of the first episode, they take a backseat to Knuckles and Wade's adventures, with Tom in particular having been Put on a Bus as he was out of Green Hills at the time of the series.
- Denser and Wackier: Being advertised as more of an action-comedy compared to the movies, the series has a lot more comedic moments throughout than action moments, whether it be from Knuckles' Comically Serious personality in his experience of learning about life on Earth, Wade's Butt-Monkey aspects coming in at full slapstick-levels of force as he tries to learn to be a warrior, or GUN Agents' Mason and Willoughby's attempts to be taken seriously in their hunt for Knuckles.
- Eye Am Watching You: Wade's sister Wanda does this to Knuckles. Knuckles later returns the favor after saving her from a chain-wielding thug. Since his glove doesn't have separate fingers, he uses the two spikes on it instead.
- Fish out of Water: The series gives a few glimpses of how Knuckles's warrior lifestyle clashes with the modern-day environment on Earth, like turning the Wachowskis' living room into a gladiator arena.
- Horns of Barbarism: In the first episode, Ozzy wears a stereotypical horned Viking helmet (which is just a costume) as Knuckles prepares him for battle.
- I Am Not Weasel: As shown in a sneak peak for "The Warrior", Knuckles thinks Ozzy is a wolf. He is not wrong, though, as domestic dogs are a subspecies of wolf.
- Logo Joke: In the trailer, the Paramount+ logo is set against a red background before a ring portal shifts it to blue.
- Mailman vs. Dog: In the first episode, Knuckles turns the living room of the Wachowski household into an arena and gets family dog Ozzy to face the mailman in combat.
- Mirthless Laughter: In the first episode, Tails nervously laughs after seeing Knuckles had made a very intense looking throne out of the family car.
- Mythology Gag:
- Wade in this series is a lot like Hawk from Sonic X. Both are overweight men who want to help Knuckles and go on adventures with him. They are Knuckles' counterparts in the human world.
- "The Warrior" opens with Knuckles running an obstacle course outfitted with various hazards commonly seen in the games, such as swinging pendulums with spiked balls and a rotating log lined with spikes. Knuckles' face is also painted on the back of a goal sign, resembling those from the 2D games. It even spins around as Knuckles runs past it, just like in the games.
- Knuckles is at one point shown with flames covering his hands, a power he has used in the games on occasion (such as Sonic Heroes).
- The cowboy hat that Knuckles is wearing as he's riding a motorbike looks identical to the infamous hat he wore in the Sonic OVA.
- Not to mention a poster referencing that again.
- Not to mention a poster
- Episode 2 is set primarily at a ski resort called "Icecap", a name shared with a zone from Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
- Part of the story is set in Reno, bringing the series tradition of casino-themed zones like Casino Night or Carnival Night back full circle to their real-world inspiration.
- The very fact of the series' existence is one. Coming out in the same year as the third movie means that once again we're getting Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
- Sonic's Affectionate Nickname for Knuckles is "Knucks", just as in the games. Wade also tries to use it, but is denied.
- His second suggestion is "Knucky", which was what Rouge called Knuckles in Sonic X.
- Another suggestion, "Sir Knucks-A-Lot," brings to mind Sir Gawain.
- Knuckles' statement that he doesn't make jokes is a reference to his Image Song, "Unknown From M.E.", from Sonic Adventure ("Unlike Sonic, I don't chuckle...").
- Knuckles is shown to be bothered by bright, twinkling lights, which is based on the idle comments he makes in the casino-themed stages in Sonic Adventure and Sonic Heroes.
- Sonic's statement that video games have come a long way since The '90s is a reference to the franchise's debut with the first game in 1991.
- The Flames of Disaster is a name normally associated with Iblis rather than the Echidnas. In fact, the puppet of the fire demon in the episode of the same name bears a strong resemblance to Iblis.
- Pachacamac's role in this series as a Spirit Advisor is ironically the same one that his daughter Tikal had in Sonic Adventure.
- In the final episode, the final battle between Knuckles and the Buyer outside of a casino at night invokes Tails's final boss fight against the Egg Walker, just outside Casinopolis, in Sonic Adventure.
-
Non-Singing Voice: Wade's singing voice in Episode 4 is provided by Michael Bolton of all people. - Noodle Incident:
- After Knuckles attacked the repair crew, Sonic points out it's the fourth time that has happened during that month.
- One of the Whipple family Shabbats apparently ended with a live goat on the table, if Wade's flashback is to be believed.
- After the final battle with the Buyer, one of the Tournament of Champions commentators reveals that the last time an extraterrestrial entered a bowling tournament was in 1974, but he wasn't red.
- Not So Above It All: One brief scene in the trailer shows Knuckles downing a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos while relaxing under a tree, not quite what you would expect from an echidna warrior.
- Pass the Popcorn: In the last scene of the trailer, Knuckles and Wanda drink coffee as they watch Wade get dragged away by a motorcycle.
- Playing with Fire: In the final episode, after receiving a Heroic Second Wind, Knuckles' fists are set aflame from the power from his heart, dubbed the Flames of Disaster according to the Vision Quest Wade went through in the fourth episode.
- Powered Armor: The two agents that confront Knuckles in the trailer are shown wearing metal exoskeletons powered by Knuckles’ quills, allowing them to match him in combat.
- Product Placement:
- At one point in the trailer, Knuckles relaxes under a tree, unloading a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos into his mouth.
- Sonic tries getting Knuckles to play with his Meta Quest 3 in the attic.Knuckles: Ahhh! Where have you sent me?
- Reactive Continuous Scream: Wade and Pachacamac do this when they meet in Wade’s Vision Quest in the fourth episode.
- Real Men Take It Black: The fourth episode shows Knuckles drinking coffee straight from the pot without a reaction to the taste.
- Repurposed Pop Song: The trailer is set to a dramatic remix of “Knuck If You Buck” by Chadd Woo, for obvious reasons.
- Ruder and Cruder: Compared to the movies and especially the games (for the most part), the series falls more under Shadow the Hedgehog's level of swearing for a PG rated series, with a bit of usage of "damn" and "hell" throughout like said game and even a "pissed" gets dropped at one point.
- Savage Spiked Weapons: In "The Warrior", Knuckles has created a spiked club out of a baseball bat and nails, which he has given to the mailman to use as a weapon for his gladiator match against Ozzy.
- Shout-Out:
- In "The Warrior", Maddie refers to Knuckles as a "little red barbarian".
- Also in "The Warrior", Maddie refers to Knuckles's makeshift throne as "the Iron Throne".
- Sonic comments that the warrior fighting pit is "very Conan chic".
- Wade's suggestions for a nickname for Knuckles include "Knuckington Bear" and "Knuckolas Cage".
- In "Don't Ever Say I Wasn't There For You", Knuckles glides in front of the full moon with Wade on his back in a shout-out to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
- In "The Shabbat Dinner", when Knuckles is fighting a thug in what looks like Wade's old bedroom, there are posters for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Total Recall, The Ren & Stimpy Show, The Addams Family, Speed, Beavis And Butthead Do America, and more.
- If you look closely, you can see Wade's bed is decorated with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles bedding. Wade is also shown wearing a TMNT T-shirt under his morning robes in the trailer's final shot.
- In "What Happens in Reno, Stays in Reno", there is a pair of ESPN commentators at the bowling tournament. Specifically, they are from ESPN 8: The Ocho - the version introduced in DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story before being defictionalized.
- Spirit Advisor: Pachacamac's spirit acts as this to both Knuckles in the first episode and Wade in the fourth. The second instance has him assume the form of a bowling alley manager for Wade's Vision Quest.
- Vision Quest: In the fourth episode, after being knocked out via an electric cage Jack trapped him in, Wade undergoes one of these while unconscious, guided by Pachacamac in a retelling of Knuckles' past to help him to find his true strength... Through a musical stage play depicting said past with Wade as Knuckles and Jack as Longclaw.
- What the Hell, Hero?: In the first episode, Maddie calls out Knuckles for turning the living room into a gladiator arena (and one that’s very hazardous at that) and getting Ozzy to fight their mailman in it. Perfectly understandable, as this would be illegal in modern Earth society.
- Written-In Absence: Due to James Marsden not being a part of the cast, Tom is out of town during the events of the series.
- You Are Grounded!: Maddie gives this to Knuckles for turning the living room into a gladiator arena and forcing Ozzy to fight the mailman in it.Knuckles: You cannot ground an echidna warrior!
- You Have Failed Me: In "Reno, Baby!", the Buyer is prepared to dispose of Willoughby and Mason for failing to capture Knuckles, but reconsiders when Willoughby explains that she has a vested personal interest in seeing Knuckles disposed of after G.U.N. reassigned her to observing him and his friends rather than destroy them to protect the human race. The Buyer, sympathizing with her because Knuckles and company were responsible for his boss Robotnik's disappearance, opts to give her and Mason another chance, albeit amending their deal so that his payment to them would be allowing them to live.
"Oh snap! Someone’s about to get slapped!"
