Since then, he has appeared in numerous playable and non-playable roles, as well as in several series of comic books, Western animated television, and Japanese anime, in addition to the feature films Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, he stars in the live action Knuckles television miniseries.

In collaboration between the Sonic Team and Sega of America's product marketing manager, Pamela Kelly, the final character of "Knuckles" was chosen.

[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.

[29] While slower than Sonic, Knuckles is depicted as one of the series's strongest characters and a skilled martial artist: his brawny physique allows him to lift objects many times his size and weight, while his powerful fists enable him to smash boulders and break through solid ground.

[36] At one point, he defeats Chaos,[37] and Eggman tricks Knuckles into thinking that Sonic is trying to collect Emerald shards for his own purposes.

[45] Early in Sonic Adventure 2, Knuckles and Rouge argue over the Emerald;[46] she wants the pieces for her personal collection.

[51] He saves her from falling into a constructed pit of lava;[52] she decides the shards are worthless and dismissively lets him keep them,[53] so he reassembles the Emerald and runs off.

[64][65][66] In another team-based installment, the role-playing game Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, Knuckles is a playable character with a major role in the story.

[67] He is a minor character in Sonic Rush,[28] where he accosts Blaze the Cat under the impression that she has stolen Chaos Emeralds.

[68] In the Nintendo DS version of Sonic Colors, Knuckles arrives at an amusement park Eggman has created after receiving a letter.

[69] Frustrated at having been tricked,[70] he challenges Sonic to a race as a mission,[71] but shortly learns that Rouge wrote the letter inviting him to the park.

[84] Knuckles appears as one of four playable characters in the action-adventure spin-off property Sonic Boom (Rise of Lyric and Shattered Crystal).

Knuckles is initially skeptical of them but soon accepts their help in protecting the Island and its guardian Chaos Emerald from villains Sleet and Dingo.

[94] Later on, the siblings recruit Knuckles to help them deactivate Doctor Robotnik's giant fortress, as it is powered by Emeralds and he can control them.

[95] They succeed, but Sleet and Dingo accidentally break the Emerald, unleashing gradually effective but massive energy upon the planet Mobius, and Knuckles enlists one of his relatives to help them control it, with mediocre results.

The Sonic X version of Knuckles has been described as an "incredibly serious warrior with a deep, fleshed-out backstory" in comparison to the more comedic depictions of the character in recent years.

After returning home for the third season, he joins Sonic on the spaceship, "Blue Typhoon", which is captained by Tails after their planet was invaded by the Metarex.

[citation needed] Knuckles is among the main cast in the Sonic Boom animated series, and had been redesigned for it: now being taller and more muscular than before.

[85] As a somewhat exaggerated reference to his mainstream counterpart's easily deceived personality (as well as being based on the stereotypical team muscles), Knuckles is also portrayed as being somewhat slow-witted and goofy in this series.

After Sonic shatters the Paradox Prism, which results in the creation of multiple parallel dimensions at the expense of his own, multiple versions of Knuckles are made as well; such as Renegade Knucks who is a rebel against the Chaos Council of New Yoke City, the feral and paranoid Gnarly, and the pirate captain Knuckles the Dread.

Co-writer Pat Casey has since stated that they are Echidnas within Sonic's world, thus confirming Knuckles's species does exist within that film's universe.

In the film, it is revealed he is the last of the Echidna Tribe, as the rest of his kind went extinct due to a war between them and the owls, and has a grudge against Sonic since he was Longclaw's apprentice.

In the miniseries, Knuckles (who is struggling to adjust to his new life and home on Earth) takes deputy sheriff Wade Whipple in as his "apprentice", training him in the ways of the Echidna warrior to help him prepare for a bowling tournament in Reno, Nevada where his estranged father will be competing.

"[109] Mega Zone's review of Knuckles' Chaotix praised the introduction of a new protagonist, whom it deemed "rougher and tougher" in comparison to the "spineless" Sonic.

"[113] Knuckles's characterization in Sonic Boom earned praise from Polygon due to how "progressive" he is when mentioning feminism much to the shock of the characters.

[114] Kenneth Shepard from Kotaku felt Knuckles did not have enough screentime in his Paramount+ show, and observed "Elba is providing voice work for roughly 76 minutes and 47 seconds of a 172-minute-long season.

"[115] Rendy Jones at RogerEbert.com praised his characterization in the show, noting the character "diverting his muscle-head dim-witted traits into a confident and jovial guy with a heart of gold—an echidna himbo, if you will.

"[116] In late December 2017, players began to flood the virtual reality video game VRChat with avatars depicting a deformed version of the character called "Ugandan Knuckles".

The character stemmed from a 2017 review of Sonic Lost World by YouTube user Gregzilla as well as from fans of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds streamer Forsen who often make references to Uganda in the chat section of his streams.

[121] In April 2019, Canadian toy company Youtooz launched their line of vinyl collectible figurines with a depiction of Ugandan Knuckles.