While Mayor Fink leaves the village to go off on a fishing trip, Knuckles is asked that he take his place. Turns out that not everybody's got what it takes to be a public servant...
"Mayor Knuckles" contains examples of:
- All for Nothing: Knuckles pretty much came into Mayor Fink's office to have him pass this important law:Admiral Beaverton: Peanut better and pickles shall ne'er be packaged in separate containers as they inevitably wind up in the same sandwich.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: When Dr. Eggman teams up with Sonic and his friends to stop Knuckles, Knuckles outlaws boomerangs, hammers, inventions, spin attacks, and mayonnaise.
- Better than a Bare Bulb: This episode has Mayor Fink repeatedly shouting at an open door while expecting for someone to conveniently walk in and cover for him while he goes fishing, that someone angrily walking in after he shouts: "so we can GET THIS STORY STARTED!?"
- Catch-22 Dilemma: When Eggman comes to protest about his trash not being picked up, Knuckles tells him to Take a Number. Eggman then lampshades that there are no numbers left, to which Knuckles says that he'll need to fill out a complaint form to get through to him. Then, when Eggman asks where he can find a complaint form, Knuckles says he'll need to take a number for that.
- The Cuckoolander Was Right: Sticks is the first person in the village to express concern about Knuckles' behaviour as acting mayor, and insists that things will only get worse. She's absolutely right.
- Drunk with Power: Knuckles gradually grows more egotistical as he keeps passing laws. The gang calls him out on it when they confront him.Amy: Knuckles! You’ve gone mad with power!Knuckles: Oh, really? Well, would someone mad with power approve a law giving himself ultimate authority over everything?!Sticks: That’s the dictionary definition of mad with power!
- Enemy Mine: When Knuckles approves too many laws, Dr. Eggman teams up with Sonic and his friends to stop him.
- Eye Am Watching You: Dave attempts to intimidate Knuckles with this, only to poke his eyes out. He then asks Knuckles to pass a universal healthcare law.
- Heh Heh, You Said "X": Subverted:Mayor: Are you prepared to do your civic duty?
Knuckles: (cracking up) You said "civic"! - Hidden Depths: You wouldn't expect Knuckles to be able to write the law which forbids Eggman to use his finger to activate a weapon and stamp it in only two seconds.
- Karma Houdini: Knuckles suffers no repercussions for abusing his power after Mayor Fink returns to his position.
- Loophole Abuse: When Eggman threatens Knuckles with his wrist laser, Knuckles responds by passing a law making it illegal to use your finger to activate a weapon. Eggman instead uses his elbow to activate the laser, but can't aim properly while doing so, and ends up shooting himself in the foot.
- Mayor Pain: By approving almost every proposal without a second thought, Knuckles almost makes the village collapse on itself.
- Motive Decay: Some battles in this series tend to devolve and go off track due to the buffoonery of either the heroes, Dr. Eggman, or sometimes even both. This episode lampshades this:Sonic: Knuckles, you gotta let us fight or else... Eggman's... trash will be collected in a timely fashion?
Tails: Wait, why are we fighting this? - Mundane Made Awesome: Eggman makes Cubot pilot a giant Octopus bot... just to refill the stamp with ink.
- Overly Long Gag: When the village's trash collector requests a few months' worth of a sabbatical, Knuckles stamps his request into the office, asking what's the worst that could happen. After sitting idly by for twelve seconds with nothing happening, Knuckles says "See? No consequences!"
- Punch-Clock Villain: Dr. Eggman is not up to anything particularly evil in this episode, as he just wants to get his trash collected.
- Rule of Three: Knuckles provides an excellent — and literal — example of this:Knuckles: (angrily, while marching into the office) This is an outrage! A travesty! A plooky-polk!
Mayor Fink: A "plooky-polk"?
Knuckles: I made that last one up. Rule of three, Your Majesty. - Serious Business: When Dave wants to outlaw peanut butter and pickles sandwiches (as he thinks it would put Meh Burger out of business and make him lose his job), Knuckles (who approved eveything until now) asks him to leave.Knuckles: Look at you, you who were once so proud. Go now and never return!
- Take a Number: When Dr. Eggman comes to see Knuckles to protest about his trash not being picked up, Knuckles tells him that he has a lot of people waiting, and that he has to take a number. As Eggman points out, the machine is out of numbers. Knuckles then tells Eggman he has to fill out a complaint form, and Eggman asks him if he can get one. Knuckles simply tells Eggman to take a number. This gag happens twice again later in the episode; the first time when Eggman gains control of Knuckles' stamp and looks for the form to strip waste management of vacation time, and the second when Mayor Fink returns and Eggman asks him if he can get his trash collected.
- Take Our Word for It: Knuckles approves mobile sidewalks which we hear several of the characters praise. We never actually see the sidewalks move, as the single time they do appear onscreen they're broken.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: As Eggman lampshades, by blindly approving every proposal (including many of them contradicting each other), Knuckles does a lot more damage to the village in a few hours than he did in years with his "ingenious worthwhile and well-executed plans".
