Who's the better hero: Tails or Knuckles?

[Darth Sonikku]

We all know Sonic is the main hero. His name is in the title of almost every single game he stars in. However, there are always heroes who usually tag along or embark on their own adventures. I'm talking about none other than Tails and Knuckles. Tails has been tagging along with Sonic since Sonic 2 for the Sega Genesis/Megadrive since 1992. Knuckles, our favorite knuckleheaded fighter, has been guarding the M.E. since Sonic 3 and Knuckles. But which one of them is the better hero.

For Tails, he can fly with his two tails. At one point in Sonic 3, he could swim (or at the very least, dogpaddle). He is known to be great with technology and machinery. He is constantly creating and repairing stuff. And of course, he is also famously known for flying the Tornado. Tails is known to be afraid of lightning, ghosts, etc. and can accidentally ramble secrets (Sonic Adventure 2). Overall, he is a great character.

For Knuckles, he can glide in the air, climb up walls, and dig underground. He is also capable of swimming (Sonic Adventure 2). Oh, and did I mention that he has SUPER STRENGTH. No? Well he does! . He is also known as the world's greatest treasure hunter and has extensive knowledge regarding ancient civilizations and the emeralds that Eggman desperately claims. Of course, Knuckles is gullible, easily tricked, conned, etc. and has a short temper. Sometimes he seems to be a bit prideful. In the end, this guy doesn't chuckle. Not when he's pounding you into the dirt. .

In my opinion, I think Tails is the better hero. Sure, Knuckles range of abilities exceeds his. But Tails has more experience in dealing with Eggman and his forces. Almost as much as Sonic himself. Tails forte in machinery/technology can come in handy against Eggman's robotic army and doomsday devices.

However, my question to all of you is this. Who Do You Think Is The Better Hero?

[The Weeb with No Name]

Tails.

Kid guns his way through a government sanctioned maximum security prison just to help out his bro and continues to stick it to the man by rampaging through the streets with enough ordinance to ignite WW3.

Crazy little fucker, he is.

[Badnik Mechanic]

To be honest, I don't think either of them are great heroes.

Tails and Knuckles don't really fit the hero slot these days, they've become characters that are more in a supportive role than anything else, Tails is obvious, he's the mechanical/technical guy, Knuckles... well... I don't really know what his role is anymore, he was the lone guardian of the master emerald, although not a very good one which results in him being a treasure hunter, then he becomes Mr Muscle.

If you're literally asking "Who is the better hero" then I'd probably have to say Tails.

Sole reason being his actions in Sonic Adventure, he actually proves himself as being capable and standing on his own.

Whilst Knuckles has dominance in Sonic & Knuckles, it didn't really take anyone by suprise as he always looked the part as well as doing the part. So I'd say Tails, just because he overcame the underdog status and actually defeated what looks like a major boss.

[Kuzu]

HAHA, Tails & Knuckles aren't heroes they're just Sonic's tagalongs and nothing more.

Guess I'll go with Tails, for the same reasons as Afro, sticking by his bro through and through until the end, it doesn't get anymore boss than that.

[Diogenes]

Neither has really had much time to be a hero in their own right, especially not lately, but if forced to choose, I'd say Tails. Not to bring up the arguments about Knuckles again (though I'm sure we'll be there in a day or two), but he doesn't really do much; he'll show up, maybe smash some things, and that's about where the character ends. Tails, on the other hand, has been an invaluable sidekick, especially once he became the smart guy rather than just another Sonic. He doesn't do the hands-on heroing as much anymore, but there's no denying how much he's helped Sonic over the years.

[Dr. Crusher]

I'll go with Tails.

Having excellent intelligence and a calm state of mind despite being a child says positive things in my book.

Plus, Knuckles is more or less usually concerned with Angel Island and the Master Emerald. Tails, like Sonic (fittingly), doesn't really have specific places in mind and would happily save whatever region/world/universe/etc that was in danger without a second thought. And there was that one time in which he successfully stopped the ongoing threat of a fashion victim and his legion of Metal Sonic Birds. Tails in the past was a huge breath of fresh air in that he subverted the fuck out of the "kids are weak, only the teens and adults can kick ass" rule, and as such it doubles my disappointment that SEGA decides to make him provide that exact role in recent times. Luckily Colours improved him a bit, so it's not all bad news.

And despite being scared shitless, he still stood up to a gigantic LATEST AND GREATEST CREATION controlled by a severely pissed off Robotnik. And in that case he didn't need a goddamn walker to mess him up. He simply used his own two tails. You know, the trait about him that SEGA have apparently forgot about.

[Kuzu]

Ok we all knowledge Tails is a better hero.

But let's give Knuckles some props too, I mean how many people can stay isolated on an island for so long and NOT go insane from loneliness.

[DaBatGuy]

Tails easily. While Knuckles has proven himself to be a dependable ally for Sonic and friends, Tails has more moments of stepping up to the challenge of defending those in need. From stopping the Egg Walker from nuking Station Square, to protecting Amy and blazing a trail through Prison Island to save Sonic, and even taking a laser blast to protect Sonic(okay, it was just a hypno-beam, but for all he knew it could have been a death ray and Tails didn't hesitate to defend his bro).

Knuckles doesn't have nearly as many blatantly heroic moments although that's mainly due to sheltered personality and focus on his own goals. He's rarely around when people needs saving and while his intentions for protecting the M.E. are noble as the world is screwed if it falls in the wrong hands, his stubbornness and blind determination can sometimes be more detrimental for the heroes that helpful(ie. when he steers the shuttle off course to recover his lost shards). That isn't to say Knux is without heroism, they are just often misguided and unrecognized. He puts complete trust in a total stranger, even letting him alter sacred areas of his home just to protect it from the looming "threat" of Sonic and saved Rouge even after she had been nothing but a despicable, thieving bitch since they meet. Knuckles has the potential to be just as heroic as Tails and even Sonic, his personality and duties just don't give him many opportunities to do so.

[Flyboy Fox]

Tails is the more useful of the two, in as much as he and Sonic are able to tag-team incredibly well and their skills complement each other as well as their personalities do. Knuckles is awesome in his own right, but his ability to smash things can almost be emulated by Sonic's ability to spindash into things. Sonic cannot, however, do anything close to flying (unless you count launching off from something or his super state, naturally).

Who is more heroic is a more difficult question and one that I'm not sure how to answer.

[Kuzu]

Tails is the more useful of the two, in as much as he and Sonic are able to tag-team incredibly well and their skills complement each other as well as their personalities do. Knuckles is awesome in his own right, but his ability to smash things can almost be emulated by Sonic's ability to spindash into things. Sonic cannot, however, do anything close to flying (unless you count launching off from something or his super state, naturally).

Who is more heroic is a more difficult question and one that I'm not sure how to answer.

Well Knuckles is stronger than Sonic physically, so I guess that's something.

[batson]

Knuckles certainly has a more appropriate personality for a hero. Tails, being a little kid and all, can get scared, doubt his own abilities, and depend to much on others (namely Sonic). Knuckles on the other hand seems every bit as confident in himself as Sonic does, he is one badass fighter and knows it damn well, and doesn't seem to need much (if any) emotional support from others.

Im gonna swim against the stream here and give my point to Knuckles.

[Kuzu]

Knuckles certainly has a more appropriate personality for a hero. Tails, being a little kid and all, can get scared, doubt his own abilities, and depend to much on others (namely Sonic). Knuckles on the other hand seems every bit as confident in himself as Sonic does, he is one badass fighter and knows it damn well, and doesn't seem to need much (if any) emotional support from others.

Im gonna swim against the stream here and give my point to Knuckles.

Too bad he never gets a chance to show any of that off, and its not like Knuckles has had many heroic feats, saving Rouge is one of the few I can think off.

[Diogenes]

Tails, being a little kid and all, can get scared, doubt his own abilities, and depend to much on others (namely Sonic).

Sounds like a hero in the making to me!

[Kuzu]

Sounds like a hero in the making to me!

I think that's what he means.

Knuckles already has the qualifications for being a hero, but never gets a real chance to be one.

While Tails is a hero in the making, and has done much more heroic feats by comparison.

[Eternal EX]

As much as I wanna say knux, I'll have to give this title to Tails. I mean for a lil kid who had a very annoying VA, he's one badass. Gun and a mech In Adventure 2, always building stuff, saved a whole city while sonic was away running through a forest and still has time to fly his plane. Knux he has some major redemption thanks to sega.

[Rusty Spy]

Really, I'd say it's equal. Both have their own traits that make them good heroes, but I don't see one being better than the other.

Rather than basing their quality as a hero on what they HAVE done, I'm seeing it more as what they CAN do and what their characters as a whole are capable of.

While Tails has the intellect and potential to be just as good as Sonic through his machines, he's still only an 8 year old kid, and thus the mentality of one. Like batson said, he gets scared, doubts his own abilities, and depends too much on others. Even though SA1/2 showed that Tails can really be a force to reckoned with if he really believed in himself, he still has a lot of growing up to do to really live up to his full potential.

Knuckles on the other hand has the ability and the mental maturity to put his strength to it's full potential, but simply doesn't have the motivation. He has his own agenda and is perfectly fine leaving the heroing to Sonic. While he's more than willing to help, the Master Emerald and the safety of his island are a priority.

So TL;DR

Tails

+ Potential strength through machines and smarts

+ Always tagging along wanting to help

- Lacks mental maturity to use his strengths to their full potential

Knux

+ More than enough physical ability

+ More than capable of putting that strength to good use

- Lacks to motivation to do so for anything other than his own goals

[batson]

Too bad he never gets a chance to show any of that off, and its not like Knuckles has had many heroic feats, saving Rouge is one of the few I can think off.

Well there was also the events in Knuckles Chaotix. But then again, that was a team effort.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

To be fair, if Knuckles ever let the Master Emerald get in the wrong hands it could be catastrophic.

But while that's said and done, I'd say Tails due to the freedom he has in traveling the world. That, and how many heroes have disarmed WMD and would be willing to plow through one of the worlds most heavily fortified military bases just to save a friend...at the age of 8?

I'm one who sees Tails' age as bonus points, as you don't see youths that young doing really dangerous shit like that compared to teens and adults. Then again, there's anime...

[Kuzu]

To be fair, if Knuckles ever let the Master Emerald get in the wrong hands it could be catastrophic.

But while that's said and done, I'd say Tails due to the freedom he has in traveling the world. That, and how many heroes have disarmed WMD and would be willing to plow through one of the worlds most heavily fortified military bases just to save a friend...at the age of 8?

I'm one who sees Tails' age as bonus points, as you don't see youths that young doing really dangerous shit like that compared to teens and adults. Then again, there's anime...

Even so, Tails is still younger than most shonen protagonist.

[Timper the Wolf]

I'm caught in the middle here. I'd love to say Knuckles but I may pick Tails.

Tails is a pilot, can build and repair lots of stuff. He's had his fair share of fighting badniks along side Sonic for years now. Knuckles does have to focus on Angel Island and the Master Emerald after all. But he is strong and does help Sonic fight too. Yeah, so I have to go with Tails. He has helped Sonic in a lot of ways.

[SheepishJ]

This is a tough one though I'm going with Tails also. On the basis that Tails is always around helping to save the world ect, which would technically make him a better hero at this point.

Yeah I'm going by numbers.

[Dr. Crusher]

I'm one who sees Tails' age as bonus points,

Agreed. That's (one of the reasons) why he's so elite. He does all that shit whilst barely reaching double digits. If he had been a regular teen/adult like the rest, he probably wouldn't have been as cool to me. Tails is one of those exceptions in which, if a bad guy is foiled by him, you DON'T go "Lol he got beaten by a kid."

It's one reason why I'm not a fan of those fanfictions that assume he has to "grow up" to be badass. He can already destroy your robots and halt your schemes. Puberty is not required.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

It's one reason why I'm not a fan of those fanfictions that assume he has to "grow up" to be badass. He can already destroy your robots and halt your schemes. Puberty is not required.

Would it be a bad thing if he did grow up and become more of a badass through puberty? Hell, he could likely compete with even more powerful forces if he grew up, and he's already powerful at the age of 8.

[The Weeb with No Name]

I had an idea where Tails and Robotnik wage robotic war against each other for the fate of the world cuz Sonic caught hepasiphilaids and can't do it.

[Dr. Crusher]

Would it be a bad thing if he did grow up and become more of a badass through puberty? Hell, he could likely compete with even more powerful forces if he grew up, and he's already powerful at the age of 8.

Well... it depends on whether his junior badassery was acknowledged. Most of said fanfiction portray him to have been a total weakling beforehand.

And of course, that's assuming he's not turned into a generic brooding loner... blasted fanfiction.