Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega's all star mascot that long ago went toe-to-toe with Mario, who's fast paced games are the heart of many childhood memories has returned to pop culture in the form of not only new games, but clothing and accessories. When you think about the franchise, there are several characters that come to mind in addition to the title character. His sidekick, Miles Prower, better known as Tails, the evil villain Dr. Eggman. and the last one: Knuckles the Echidna. What's an echidna? An echidna (which is not recognized by spellcheck for some reason) is a spiny anteater that is in the same family as the platypus, which means its an egg laying mammal. This, of course, has no relation to the character himself. Knuckles is an interesting character, the tough guy that, while no means stupid, is very gullible. While not really stated in the first games that he appeared in, its revealed that although he knows Eggman is evil, he quite often gets manipulated by the evil genius. Knuckles is the guardian of the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds, which Eggman is constantly trying to get control of. I titled this "friend or foe" for a reason, since while Knuckles is technically Sonic's friend, they are almost constantly fighting. Like I said, Knuckles, more often than not, tends to get tricked by Eggman into fighting Sonic, sometimes honestly believing that Sonic has stolen the Chaos Emerald or Master Emerald shard. But through thick and thin, Sonic can always count on Knuckles to have his back. Friend or foe? I think Rival is a more appropriate title for him, since he's never truly an enemy. Maybe this should have been titled Knuckles the Echidna: Sonic's Friendly Rival.
Guest post by Peter DelCoro
