Article Lead Image

Photo via kkkid69420/Reddit

Is Knuckles the Echidna about to die of old age? This meme demands an answer

How long does an echidna live, anyway?

 

Jay Hathaway

Internet Culture

Posted on Feb 3, 2017   Updated on May 25, 2021, 1:51 am CDT

Is Knuckles the Echidna, a beloved character from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, about to die? There’s a meme on the loose this week that’s got everyone sad about the imminent loss of a childhood fave.

See, echidnas tend to live around 16 years, and Knuckles turned 16 on Feb. 2. He’s an old, old man in echidna years, and therefore not long for this world.

The news spread in the form of this meme:

 

onsizzle.com

 

And some people were in tears about it, literally or figuratively.

Extremely sad news for fans of the popular Sonic teammate, who made his debut as a playable character in the 1994 game Sonic and Knuckles. 

Waaaait a minute. 1994? And he’s still 16? This math does not check out. Knuckles should be an impossible 23 years old now, or he should already be dead. There must be some explanation…

There you have it, straight from the official Sonic the Hedgehog Facebook page: meme magic keeps Knuckles perpetually a teenager. (Arguably, it keeps all of us perpetual teenagers.) Knuckles lives on the floating Angel Island, where he’s the last of a clan that guards the Master Emerald. All those other magical echnidas are dead, but not your boy.

Knuckles today, Knuckles tomorrow, Knuckles forever.

Share this article
*First Published: Feb 3, 2017, 6:19 pm CST