Knuckle Joe

"“Gonna be the top fighter anywhere!”"

- Knuckle Joe

Knuckle Joe is an enemy in the Kirby series, debuting in Kirby Super Star. He is also a recurring and semi-important character in Kirby: Right Back at Ya!.

Physical Appearance
Knuckle Joe is a small humanoid creature with pointy ears, spiky yellow hair, and eyes similar to those of Kirby. Knuckle Joe wears a blue jumpsuit, white gloves, blue shoes, and a white headband with a red jewel set in it. He is also shown to have two small red shoulder pads, although these are not present in all of Knuckle Joe's appearances.

Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra
Knuckle Joe is an uncommon enemy in this game, and he appears as the only regular enemy in the game that gives the Fighter Copy Ability. As an enemy, Knuckle Joe has several attacks. He may unleash a flurry of Vulcan Jabs, charge up and launch a Smash Punch, or dash forward with three swift punches. If Kirby is above Knuckle Joe, the enemy may jump upward with a Rising Break in an attempt to hit Kirby. As a Helper, Knuckle Joe can use all of the same techniques as Fighter Kirby can, except for Judo Throw. He can also perform Smash Punch underwater, albeit with a much shorter range. A Knuckle Joe with a red outfit appears in Helper to Hero.

Kirby's Super Star Stacker
Knuckle Joe fights Kirby over a star piece in this game. He first beats up Kirby and his friends before the match begins. After being defeated, Knuckle Joe is carted off in bandages by Waddle Dee.

Kirby Mass Attack
Knuckle Joe cameos in Kirby Brawlball as part of Marx's black hole attack.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land and Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition
In these games, Knuckle Joe behaves like he does in Kirby Super Star, and is a very uncommon enemy, only appearing in a few stages. Knuckle Joe appears in the Fighter Combat Chamber in Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition.

Kirby: Triple Deluxe and Kirby: Planet Robobot
Knuckle Joe appears in these games, sporting all the attacks he had in Kirby's Return to Dream Land. Knuckle Joe can leap from the background to the foreground (or vice-versa) in Kirby: Triple Deluxe, though he cannot in Kirby: Planet Robobot.

Kirby Battle Royale
A Knuckle Joe appears as an NPC to talk to in The Cake Royale. He mostly says things relating to the current Copy Ability Kirby has equipped. For some Abilities, he gives minor tips on using them to defeat foes.

Knuckle Joes also appear as audience members in most game modes.

Kirby Star Allies
Knuckle Joe returns in Kirby Star Allies as an enemy and a friend.

In Kirby: Right Back at Ya!
Knuckle Joe is often the source for obtaining Fighter in the anime, as most of Fighter Kirby's appearances are in episodes featuring him. Joe's first appearance saw him looking for the Star Warrior who killed his father. He originally appeared as a ghost-like form, but turned into a Joe with a purple coloration, somewhat resembling his enemy coloration. King Dedede convinced him that Kirby had done the deed and he challenged Kirby to a duel. Kirby didn't fight and was promptly turned into a punching bag. When Joe went for the finishing blow, Meta Knight intervened and told him the truth: Meta Knight challenged and killed his father when he was captured by Nightmare and turned into a monster. He wasn't completely evil —- the love of his son, Joe himself, stopped him from being completely evil. All Joe wanted was revenge, however, and attacked Kirby again. Kirby inhaled his attack and turned into Fighter Kirby. Fighter Kirby used the same attacks he did. Eventually, Joe got so angry, he turned into a monster—a spiked ball similar to Togeira. Kirby changed into Needle Kirby after he swallowed another one of Joe's attacks and used his ability to defeat him.

In his second appearance, he looks like the Kirby Super Star Helper. Here he is a Monster Manager for Nightmare Enterprises. He sent out an innumerable amount of small monsters to Dream Land. Kirby inhaled them all, which exhausted him. Joe released Masher onto Dream Land to deliver the final blow to an already exhausted Kirby. Eventually Kirby and Knuckle Joe team up and beat it. It turns out that Joe is now a Monster Hunter, and that he was after Masher for a while.

In Joe's third appearance he fights against a powered-up version of Masher, Masher 2.0, alongside Kirby. In his fourth and final appearance in the anime, Joe aids Kirby with his attack against eNeMeE.

In the anime, Joe has a tendency to wipe his "nose." Kirby often mimics this, both normally and in Fighter form, despite the fact that neither Kirby nor Knuckle Joe actually has a nose.

In the Super Smash Bros. series
Knuckle Joe appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as both an Assist Trophy and a regular collectible trophy. In this role he attacks opponents by using Vulcan Jab, followed by either a Smash Punch or a Rising Break after being summoned—with both attacks being noted by him shouting their names upon using them. The last two attacks mentioned are basically to instantly KO enemies who happen to be in his way, which more than likely will connect as his fast-paced Vulcan Jab allows little to no time to escape. Knuckle Joe may occasionally fall off the stage and self-destruct without managing to do any damage at all if there are no enemies in close-enough vicinity.

Appearance-wise, this Knuckle Joe wears a blue jumpsuit, which is identical to Kirby Super Star’s Helper version. He also has a very high-pitched voice.

Knuckle Joe reappears as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. His attacks are the same as in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Quotes
"Leave it to me!"

- Knuckle Joe

"Cool sword you've got there. Hope you're putting it to good use. Spin Slash is fairly unbeatable. Be sure to train every day!"

- Knuckle Joe

Related Quotes
"A martial artist known for amazing attacks like the Vulcan Jab. With his bandana, he looks and fights the part of a Muay Thai boxer. When Kirby copies Knuckle Joe, he gains the fighting techniques of a hand-to-hand-combat expert. Knuckle Joe also engages in friendly block-breaking competitions with Kirby. His other famous techniques are the Smash Punch and Rising Break."

- Trophy description

"A martial-arts master, Knuckle Joe can be inhaled by Kirby and his Fighter ability copied. If you summon him, he'll leap toward the enemy nearest you and unleash his powerful Vulcan Jab attack. He'll then finish off his target with a devastating Smash Punch or Rising Break."

- Trophy description

"A fighter sporting a bandanna. After a rapid-fire attack, Knuckle Joe will unleash Smash Punch or Rising Break, both very powerful moves."

- Tip

"He’s eager to prove himself in a legendary tournament and sets off at full speed to find it…wherever it is! He’s up for any battle, no matter how tough!"

- Guest Star ???? Star Allies Go! description

"The ultimate fighter, Knuckle Joe can devastate foes with a barrage of powerful punches and wrestling moves, and can even hurl nearby friends at enemies!"

- Choose your buddy

Trivia

 * Knuckle Joe's appearance in Helper to Hero is the same as it is in Megaton Punch: Blonde hair, like a helper, but red clothing, like an enemy.
 * Along with his father, Knuckle Joe is the only humanoid character with visible ears in Kirby: Right Back at Ya!.
 * Knuckle Joe's Trophy description in Super Smash Bros. Brawl states that "with it's bandana, it looks and fights the part of a Muay Thai boxer". It's currently unknown whether it's true or just additional information.
 * The monster Knuckle Joe transforms into in the anime shares many similarities with Togeira, with several of the same physical characteristics, changing form due to built-up rage, and even giving Kirby the same Copy Ability.
 * In Kirby Fighters Deluxe, Knuckle Joe's headband is used for Fighter's alternate costume.
 * In the anime, Knuckle Joe is one of the characters least often animated with CGI, the only instance being in Masher 2.0.

Other Helper Icons
Knuckle Joe Knuckle Joe Knuckle Joe Knuckle Joe ナックルジョー