Meta Knight

Meta Knight appeared in 1993 video game called Kirby's Adventure. Meta Knight, also titled as The Lone Swordsman in Kirby Star Allies, is a major character in the Kirby series, appearing in most of the games, the manga, as well as the anime. The intrigue and popularity surrounding Meta Knight within the Kirby fandom largely lies in his shrouded motives and his mysterious yet striking likeness to Kirby himself. Meta Knight is also the leader of an army of soldiers known as the Meta-Knights, and captains a large airship called Battleship Halberd, which may accompany him into the heat of battle. Although Meta Knight first appeared in Kirby's Adventure in 1993, his true name was not known in North America until Kirby's Avalanche was released in 1995.

Meta Knight has some of the various characteristics that Kirby has: a spherical body, feet and stubby arms (albeit longer than Kirby's and with actual digits), tall and thin eyes, and also features blushes. Meta Knight also wears his trademark attire; his silver mask and his blue or dark purple Dimensional Cape with gold trimmings, as well as a pair of patched or metallic shoes. He has retractable bat-like wings and flies with them in the games. The wings' first prominent use is in Kirby Super Star, where Meta Knight chased Kirby near the end of Revenge of Meta Knight. In Kirby Air Ride, he can fly with them whenever he takes part in a race. Meta Knight's weapon of choice is usually Galaxia, a spiked golden sword with an embedded ruby in the hilt.

One of Meta Knight's most well-known traits is the fact that he is almost never seen with his mask off. In a few games, his mask is split into two upon defeat, revealing a face similar to Kirby's with bright yellow eyes (However, in older games, Meta Knight sported white eyes and pink cheeks). In the event that should he be ever unmasked, he immediately departs from the field of battle. His similarity to Kirby has led to speculation that he is a member of Kirby's species. Despite this, Meta Knight's fingers - a bodily feature that other Kirby's lack - have been present since Kirby's Avalanche, but fans have also speculated that Meta Knight could be a grown-up version of Kirby's species, meaning that the species changes appearance during the growth phase. This is further implied in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U where Kirby is given an alternate palette that makes him look like Meta Knight. Furthermore, at Palutena's Temple, Pit and Viridi can converse about Meta Knight; they discuss his resemblance to Kirby and question if he also can inhale and copy abilities. However, what Meta Knight's relation to the Kirby species is has never been officially revealed.

Meta Knight was originally depicted black, wearing a usually-crimson cape and without any armor besides his mask (with yellow glowing eyes in artwork). In Kirby's Avalanche, he had pauldrons, violet shoes, and a brighter skin tone. His design was revised again in Kirby Super Star. In Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, he was made bigger than Kirby and given a yellow strap to hold his mask in place. Since Kirby Air Ride, official artwork shows his sword reflecting Galaxia's design in the anime. Since Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Meta Knight was again re-sized to Kirby's height and (with the exception of Kirby Super Star Ultra) the yellow strap was often removed.

His pauldrons always have a yellow lining and often gray in color, but are sometimes dark blue. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Kirby's Return to Dream Land, his left pauldron bears his insignia, which is an "M" in front of an upward-pointing sword. Meta Knight's cape is blue in all instances except Super Smash Bros. Brawl, where it is purple. Also, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, his cape has a bat insignia on it. The blushes on his face are almost always clearly pink, though they were toned very light in Kirby Super Star.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Meta Knight has black shoes with violet sabatons over them instead of plain violet shoes, giving him a much more complex and well-armored appearance.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, he wears silver mitten gauntlets over his gloves, a detail seen in official artwork of Meta Knight in Kirby: Squeak Squad and Kirby Super Star Ultra, and would become a part of his official design in later appearances. His armor also has a number of small but noticeable cuts, nicks and other signs of battle-scars compared to his appearances in the main series.

Meta Knight's mask sometimes gives a yellowish tint to the wearer's eyes. Meta Knight's white eyes turn yellow, and Kirby's blue eyes become green (only seen in Super Smash Bros. Brawl). His eyes also change color with his emotions in the anime. When they are blue, he feels happy or content; pink, he is amused, or something grabbed his attention; green, he is in deep thought, focused on something, or solving a problem. When they turn dark red, he is angry, or possibly disturbed or suspicious. Should they ever flash a mix of colors, he feels all the emotions that he is feeling.