What No One Tells You About Archie Knuckles (ft. Ken Penders) 

I love how the title says 'ft. Ken Penders' like Lowart just dropped a new single and Ken has a verse, lol.

Casually mentioning "Knuckles' egg being laid" made me look back at my monitor like "wtf" before remembering these are supposed to be echidnas

"I'm sure if we give her enough rope, she's bound to hang herself" Iconic line by beloved sonic the hedgehog character, Knuckles the woman respecter

Learning more about Archie Sonic lore is like eating an apple of cursed knowledge and I am here for it.

These videos kinda put into perspective on why Penders is so passionate about ownership of some of these characters and their stories, especially with how this one ended. Not saying I agree with his actions, but it does explain a lot. At least that's what I figure.

Lowart is in his Sonic Era and I'm loving it

Part of the appeal of these Archie Sonic videos, is I have a genuinely hard time discerning when Lowart is giving a real critique and when he's losing his mind. And honestly, I'm here for it. Don't quite know where all that manic energy is gonna go when we get to the Ian Flynn era.

Told Ian this the other day, but I genuinely think this may be your best Archie Sonic video so far. It’s a very detailed exploration of the craziness of the Knuckles series that keeps things fun without simply doing the average “look at how crazy this was” while only presenting the same few things that everybody knows, like so many other videos on the subject do. It offers a lot of willingness to engage with the material, but also isn’t afraid to thoroughly criticize its worst decisions, and in the end, it offers some genuine humanity in understanding its author even if it isn’t necessarily praising all of his creative decisions. Came away from the final bit strangely emotional, even though I’m not even _that_ big of a fan of anything from the future section. This is also just very briskly paced despite its length, I think you hit the perfect balancing act here. Nothing felt as though it dragged, which is impressive considering the volume of material being covered. Excellent job to both of you, looking forward to the next one!

"Suffering Builds Character" is Archie Knuckles in a nutshell. Man was suffering since day one.

It's definitely an interesting way to talk about Penders. Showing the more human side of him and how his work was made. While I personally don't enjoy his work I can at least understand what it must've been like for him. But does this make me forgive his actual problematic stuff? Absolutely not, but this video at least grounds him more than other videos do.

This humanized Ken Penders in a way I haven't seen before and I'm sure there will be more of that in the interview. This whole series has been a humanizing experience for all the comic staff, actually. Im loving the pathos.

This is probably the first time I've seen someone be positive about Ken's fanfic that is 25 Years Later. Ain't hating on ya bro, this was a good video. It's just so odd seeing positive talk about Penders knowing the damage he'd do in the years to come

I'm probably in the minority, but I always loved the way that Mammoth Mogul just swooped in out of nowhere and stole the limelight from Enerjak. When I look back on it, I'm pretty sure I know why I loved it too: the fact that Mogul has absolutely nothing to do with the arrogant Echidnas and all of the history we've been learning about them... but only because they chose to do nothing about him before now. After all, it's not like Mogul is a new threat. To the contrary, the Echidnas should be very aware of his existence. The height of Mogul's power down on the surface of Mobius overlaps with the thousands of years of Echidna history in the sky that the comic has been shoving down our throat for a good long while at this point. They absolutely must know about his immortality and that he's still alive out there but also a fraction of what he once was. Why then is he never mentioned in their histories? The same reason that they never really talk about the wars between Mobians and Overlanders or Robotnik and the Freedom Fighters. The same reason that the Dingoes only matter to the Echidnas when they pop up guns blazing and make themselves a nuisance to them. The same reason they didn't return Elias and his mother for so long. They didn't care. They didn't care about Mogul and the threat he posed so long as it was someplace else. So in their eyes, he's not even worthy of a footnote in history. The Echidna societies, regardless of which one specifically we're talking about, have an arrogant view of themselves. Echidnas only care about Echidna problems, and anything that's not an Echidna problem (yet) is for somebody else to deal with, an issue of outsiders for outsiders. That arrogance makes it satisfying when Mogul shows up out of nowhere saying something like, "Maybe you don't remember me, but I remember you, and I've long waited for an opportunity like this." Because whether its Robotnik or Mogul or whoever, the world and its history outside of Echidna society is vast, and the Echidnas are not isolated from it nor above being drawn into it, no matter how much they delude themselves to the contrary. It's entirely fitting in my eyes that while the Echidnas are most focused on their problems, most distracted by what they percieve to be the biggest and truest threat to their existence, an outside force that exists today partly because of their own choice to neglect it would intervene and throw everything out of whack.

I think it's neat how Knuckles begins his story learning from Archimedes that it's more important to priortize your friends, and that your duties don't take precedent. Basically, don't let your job and its expectations get in the way of your loved ones. Locke only learned that lesson on his Deathbed. The very first lesson of this story, is also the last one.

many parts of me hate Penders for all the selfish decisions he made with other writers and to other people, but his stories tell somethig of a man who put his heart in this comic and wanted to tell the story of his father and even his child. and to that extend i can respect him. thank you for this video, it was amazing

It would've been the easiest thing in the world to just dogpile Penders and condemn this entire era of the continuity. I really appreciate your even handed analysis on what made this comic good, bad, and insane.

This video was such an emotional rollercoaster... I can't tell if I want to cry at Knuckles being a good dad or bust out laughing at his weirdly human body during that dating arc.

I have never seen someone enjoy something both ironically AND unironically before. You sir, are a first to me.

Honestly a way more charitable impression of the series than I think it deserves. I also love the wacky off the wall concepts this comic has had but the stuff in the Knuckles comic is more 'uncomfortable weird' rather than 'fun weird' and compounding that, slow and meandering given every arc is stretched over 3 issues. It's weird and awkward while also being slow and boring. Also, low key the most brazen line in the whole video series is when you say the comic is ABOUT to lose its mind AFTER going over the overdose by drug laced chili dog and Nazi echidna political drama stories. Absolutely wild

So in short, even if it wasn’t all planned, Ken Penders ended up creating a hell of a meta textual story about a main character who never got to be the main character because everything around him was under the whim and will of other forces. Be it because of Locke’s control, or be it because of the Ancient Walkers; be it because of the roles of the guardians, or be it because of the sins of Echidna society past; Knuckles’ life is almost entirely defined by outer forces, and instead of acting as a keystone and engineering his present based on all of these shadows of the past, he was just a glorified cog. And in the end, seeing Locke able to at least somewhat apologize for being the arbiter of a lot of that cog-ness is very sombering. Looking at Penders’ online behavior, his choice of revealing what information when, his bringing up of old grudges and his weird sense of entitlement in roping other people and things into his ambitions… it kind of makes sense how he got that way, thinking about it all. Though some of the stunts he’s pulled are still kind of infuriating to think about, it’s hard not to think about exactly what’s been driving him to pull them. If he’s able to put aside setting up all of the extraneous side things for this Lara-Su project of his, if he’s able to get some help with a planner or manager of some kind who can help streamline his ambitions so he can build a proper foundation for his project first before moving on to all of the extra bits of flavor, I think despite everything he might genuinely make something cool. Or at least, I feel like it would only be fair to allow him, at least once, to put out this big brainchild of his so we can at least see what he’s trying to achieve beyond any petty motivations people have retroactively attached to him. I never thought I’d say this, but in a way… I’m kind of rooting for him?

I'm not a huge fan of Ken Penders considering all of the actions he's done in his career. But hearing the story about him and his father made me empathize with him.

This video gave me a look into the Knuckles series that I’ve never had before; I always wrote it off as the overly dramatic subplot with too many echidnas, written by a bizarre mind. But, the ending with Locke genuinely moved me: there was an actual satisfying resolution to a character arc that’s progressed through everything, inspired by Ken’s own life. That’s just… good writing! Thanks for the deep dive, beyond excited for the next one

I have a love-hate relationship with Penders. His work is just so bizarre I can’t help but be interested by it- I love watching videos on him and his creations. I made a 28 minute presentation on his interpretation of Knuckles for a college class a year ago and it didn’t even *scratch* the surface of the absolute insanity you delve into this video.

The hero returned to educate the masses

i gotta say these videos have given me more respect for Ken Penders. I may think a lot of the stuff he put in the comic was weird but hearing his side of the story and just how his life has went has given me a new view point on the man. Thank you

I’m honestly more hyped for the next sonic video than I am for any movie that’s coming out this year

*"oh no"* - some red guy

Hi - I'm Dawn Best and I loved each and every one of these videos. You said something in one of them about not being the target audience for the Sonic/Fantastic Four crossover and I wanted to say "same." ...and yes, I drew the main story of that issue. Hehe.

No. We won't just skip over "Stephenwolf then confronts the Council, who then confronts him with a gun." 😂😂😂😂😂

I think the strangest thing for me is now realizing that Knuckles’ cowboy hat might be the same one he inherited from his racist relative Hawking, given that the OVA continuity is shown to exist as an alternate timeline to the pre-reboot Archie Sonic universe.

58:00 I just realized the entire backstory of Knuckles in the Archie comics is a mix of The Trueman Show and the plot of Sonic Underground.

as someone who relived this comic recently mostly through Thankskenpenders, who pretty much hates this era and every single part of it and its writers with the passion of ten thousand suns, its an interesting contrast to hear the opinion of someone more neutral, someone who just like me liked a lot about it, and didnt just project every single little thing in my own life unto it's characters. Like the different ways you two viewed Locke is pretty much night and day, and yours was so, so much better ever though you both acknowledge that he's a terrible person. Looking forward to seeing your thoughts on the end of this relationship in the main timeline too.

The Rouge music in the romance arc was a great choice.

Man, Penders' downfall to what he is today was WAY too bigger than I imagined.

Does anyone else like the idea of the Chaos Knuckles form? I mean sure it’s a recolor (then again you could say the same about Super Shadow). But still the idea of Knuckles getting his own unique Super form that’s basically a permanent super base form is freaking awesome

Knuckles died for our sins

It's ironic that Penders complained about worrying the book wouldn't continue and his plot threads would be dropped unceremoniously when that's exactly what his BS lawsuit did to Ian Flynn's plot threads...

Ironic. Despite me not being the biggest fan of Knuckles and his whole shebang in this comic, I ended up appreciating the effort Ken went into, even if he tended to do some admittedly sputid shit. Still, I have a soft spot Mobius: 25 Years later and the Rad Red's final talk with his dad.. Almost a shame I didn't really had a talk with my mom when needed most. At the very least, I'm glad that I've read those stories, and maybe, found a sense of closure.

The Knuckles Series should have stick to either Enerjack or the Dark Legion as the Overarching Antagonists.

Look at you, breaking cycles just like Knuckles, and letting Ken Penders be humanized and explain his relationship to his work himself.

Thank you so much for this enlightening deep dive, Dr. Lowart! Your commitment to Echidna Studies is truly inspiring.

Reading Locke and Lara-Le's resolution in 25 Years Later was so great for me as someone who devoted so much time to this comic and I'm sure you felt the same. More than that of course is the subtext, unintentional or not, behind his resolution with Knuckles, and in a twisted way I love it. If anything, I'm glad the 25YL story exists for that scene alone. (and honestly I like the arc in general, uneventful as it s)

Every new nugget of information I learn that I couldn't have known before about this series is fascinating and very eye opening. As always I take the time to admire these sonic comics essays, and thank you for continuing to further my favorite analysis series ever made on RU-vid. I couldn't be happier that someone has committed to seriously intake all that Archie Sonic has to offer.

Major props on how well this video was done. Very unbiased and professional. Finding a lot of positives in these stories that I'd not considered, and not just focusing on the negatives. The mobius 25 years later was one of the first things I'd ever encountered of the Archie comics and it pretty quickly turned me off from the comics. I wouldn't pick them up until later after the megaman crossover and reboot, and at the recommendation of a friend, read through the whole thing. That first read through was a slog. But after watching your video I feel like I have some new perspective. I don't think I really like a lot of those stories still, but I feel like at the very least I understand what they were trying to do.

I can understand how Penders was aggressive and became a Diva with the whole Knuckles thing. But his attitude to other Archie coworkers and his disregard to how other people contribute to the work as a whole is something I can't abide. the fact to this day he keeps insulting the current Sonic writers despite not reading their work is just unprofessional. Though hearing how he did try to make the book relate to the readers was nice, even if his story telling skills were confused. 25 years later is still one of the worst things I ever read, genuinely awful story telling.

You know, over the years I've seen a lot of videos about Archie Sonic, a TON of them about Ken Penders, but it's super refreshing to have a video where it's not endlessly shitting on Penders. Yeah, you're laughing, poking some fun, but it's so rare for anybody to just say "He's only human, there was serious time crunch, he has a life too" and just like, yeah, he's not perfect but for what he did and why, it's completely understandable. I really hope we can start focusing more on how shitty business is rather then mocking individuals for when a product goes wrong in all areas.

Can't wait for him to get to the Ian Flynn era of Archie Sonic. The most competent stories came front that period.

i shouldnt of took a break watching this, now im lost and gotta restart

I'm waiting for someone to call me a pig so I can exclaim, "there ain't an ounce of pork in this bod!"

Seeing the part where the comic turns into 1930s gernany, i couldnt help but think about the legendary Nazi Sonic fanart that was actually put in published material.

As much as I despise what Ken Penders does today and he has way too much of an ego for his own good and has drawn and said some...questionable things, I am glad that you are not echoing everyone else about him as the internet seems to create this hivemind incentive to parrot things others say, especially if negative, as if it is unquestionable fact. When, in reality, there is more to it that simply gets ignored.

The ending of this video struck my heart in a way that I didn’t expect. My dad had a tumor a while back and was sick for a whole year. He thankfully ended up recovering, but it reminded me how fragile life is. I never thought I’d relate this hard with Ken Penders.

It amazes how every single echidna is red. It's like if before Shadow and what not, if every hedgehog that wasn't a Sonic from an alternate universe was blue. The all looked like Sonic, had about the same proportions but only had minor differences.

I can't wait to see the next video!! It's really a blast to see all of the research and dedication you have for this comic that even I can't put

Loved every bit of this video just as much as the previous ones in the series. Im a huge fan of how you take your time and break down sections of the comic and share your thoughts and emotions. Cant wait to hear your thoughts on the Ian era and Sonic Universe!

I loved your other 2 vids! Im glad im seeing this upon release!

This has been a fascinating and through look at the whole of archie sonic and I'm absolutely living for it!!! Cannot wait for the next video!

If we don't learn from our past mistakes, we pay twice. The brotherhood is the epitome of this.

This was great, you made experiencing Archie Sonic much much easier. Thank you for all that you’ve done and will do

*Nice to see a video that goes truly in depth with the Archie Sonic lore.* Always a fun watch 👌😌

I really like thoses moments between Knuckles and his daughter, it's just touching.

4:10 I only know of this character because of the fanfic called recursion error where souron is fated to die by absorbing chaos emeralds while helping sonic.

I appreciate all the heart you put into these videos! I grew up with the Sonic & Knuckles comics and have to 100% agree with your take so far. The comic was absolute madness but some of the themes and stories hit HARD, even all these years later.

I just read issue 165 for the first time (started with 160 after your watching your review series), and oh my god the backup story of that issue was SO cathartic after hearing how terribly handled Locke was as a character! I'm not going to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, but it felt GOOD.

The FMA 2003 piano song at 1:37:26 got me feeling sad for a character I didn't know from a comic I didn't read.

YES! I’ve been waiting for this.

Banger after banger! Keep it up my man!

thumbnail make me laugh bc it reminded me of these "don't dead open inside" kinda graphics

This is gonna be good!! Love your channel

i want to thank you for doing the gods work and putting the (lovable) mess of Archie Sonic/Knuckles in a accessible and enjoyable format 👍 feel free to take your time with the next part , i know its a lot of work and you DO deserve to do it slowly or take a break you have already made 3 long videos that i have enjoyed every single second of it and i wouldnt mind waiting a few months for the next part because as i said after all that hard work ( in order to let people who havent experienced Archie sonic to finally appriciate it and fans of Archie sonic to celebrate it ) you deserve to take a break

IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS YOOOOOO SO EXCITED TO WATCH

This was...wild. Man, this just feels like a comic filled with tons of cool ideas that it ultimately never properly executes or delivers on. What with the interesting but fragmentary lore, it feels like this story might actually be better received today, when series like FNAF and (arguably) Dark Souls have popularised the idea of "theorycrafting" and normalised the idea that fans can and will piece together a coherent narrative from tiny, hidden pieces.

I've been loving every one of these videos so far and this one was a lot more thoughtful and kind than I expected. Not a tone I see on Penders' Knuckles very often, but it sure gave me a different perspective that I really appreciate having. Everyone who worked on this book over the years was so human and had such human reasons for doing things the way they did.

48:09 Wait...a Sonic character that was built as a bioengineered super weapon of Chaos Energy that gets studied to be used as a method to give the big bad an edge...that...that should be Shadow. Heck that WAS Shadow which lead to both the Shadow Android project by Eggman and what Metal Sonic would sort of do in Heroes.

Who was here when this video was called "The archie knuckles video (ft. ken penders)" and had a different thumbnail?

ive been enjoying this series a lot, and i legit sat up straight when i got the notification

Honestly I swear he’s getting more and more unhinged by the video and I am loving it. I kinda relate to that getting invested in a story that shifts constantly and lies to you constantly, a story that you have hope for but still disappoints you but gives you hope back with a true masterpiece before ripping it away all over again as you try and work out if you’re supposed to care about these characters if the story even cares about these characters and just when you start caring you realize that the story doesn’t any significance gets undone as the entire tension and lead up just becomes meaningless but you still cling to a fragile fraction of hope

First i want to say how much Ive loved these videos. as an Archie reader from a young age its cathartic to see validation for both the good and the bad i experienced in this series. But what I want to air out is how of two minds I often am on Ken Penders. I appreciate you highlighting the struggles both emotional and bureaucratic he went through during this era and I have great sympathy for that. But on the other hand this is still the man who justifies Lockes abuse retroactively which could teach a very harmful message to kids.still the same man who wrote a romance between a man and a child in Geoffrey and Sally then doubled down on it with the "wish i could have written them having sex" thing. Which i did read as a kid and its disturbing to me that his writing made me and kids like me invested in a love triangle with a grown man. Still the man who claimed being asexual was worse than being any other sexuality and wouldn't write an asexual character for their lack of having powerful relationships. (as if friendship is lesser) This hurts me on a personal level as a member of that community. Still the man who used that holocaust poem as an aesthetic to make his comic seem more important and deep with no regard for how disrespectful it was. This is still the man who shits on his fellow writers like Ben Hurst (who he still speaks ill of after hes passed away) and Ian flynn constantly, out of jealousy and bitterness towards fan reception.And ultimately this is the man who killed the comic when he took nearly half of its cast (including ones like scourge who are both still sonic and had a new name and design he didnt make) and now leaves them to sit collecting dust when there were readers who cared about them. It is not necessarily your responsibility to disclose these things of course but for those watching these videos without that context it feels important to share. thank you if you're reading this im really looking forward to the next one.

Thank you for these well researched videos about Sonic!

Espio's horn being so high up on his head makes me so uncomfortable

you said "let me just try to break it down" while Pumpkin Hill played in the back and I honest to god thought you were going start rapping about the echidna's backstory

40:06 Got the biggest laugh flash ever

I love these videos. Crazy that I checked the channel earlier today to see if I had missed an upload and you happened to upload a few hours after that.

Is that a Star Trek shuttle at 29:56 the Chaotix are using? lol

Locke is actually a pretty cool villain, I like the idea of Knuckles having a psychotic, morally ambivalent dad and it would have been cool to set them up as opposing forces.

I get so excited when these videos come out

Another great video. The amount of time it takes to makes these kinds of videos are insane, and I love it. Can't wait for the next part! Maybe when this retrospective could be complete, there could be a compilation/supercut (but those are just my thoughts).

Can I just say, as a kid whose only connection to Archie Sonic was longing for the comics whenever I saw them advertised in my mother's old Archie comic books and having no idea how to procure them myself, this whole video series has been such a fantastic trip of nostalgia for a series I was never directly into as a kid (though I was a major Sonic game fan for many years). Thank you so much for doing these videos, they've been a blast to watch and listen to, and I love how thoughtful (and hilarious) your commentary has been throughout!

thank you for this honestly this series has brought me back to my childhood I began reading the comic in 2003 when I was 7 and my older cousin had the past comics and then I began collecting up until issue 211 honestly I’m excited for the next part and EAGERLY WAITING! thank you so much!

this video was incredible, the final part of the story made me genuinel tear up just hearing about it. im very excited for the next part

king shit, Lowart! Loved this video and was looking forward to it since I was one of those kids that chose to grab the knuckles comics over everything else at the newsstand for YEARS, so seeing someone unravel the madness that is "had a bad dream, better microwave the baby" into a coherently appreciable plot thread was a treat!

Great series of videos

These long videos have been wonderful.

"We had to he stole. Kill him your Yo-Yo."

This was a very good video! Most times the plots of Archie are dismissed or generally disregarded, but I like how you evaluated it as fairly as possible (even if it got very painful)

god i just rewatched the first two videos of this AND the knuckles lesson video yesterday. how do you do it

Seeing how amazingly you handled this REALLY makes me want to see your opinions on the Sonic Universe comics. Imo, they’re some of the best the series offers.

here we are boys 56:05 BETTER MICROWAVE MY SON EGG ngl i always saw Ken Penders as someone who ruined Sonic ... but after reading the final Knucles story, i shed some tears i don't fully agree on what he did what the characters and story but i see some different points

This is like Christmas in May-June to me. Always a joy when these pop up.

Penders be Like: oops all echidnas