♪ Oh... ♪
♪ Who's the hunter? Who's the game? ♪
♪ I feel the beat call your name ♪
♪ I'll hold you close ♪
-♪ In victory ♪ -
♪ I don't wanna tame your animal style ♪
♪ You won't be caged from the call of the wild ♪
♪ Shooting at the walls of heartache ♪
♪ Bang bang ♪
♪ I am the warrior ♪
♪ Yes, I am the warrior ♪
-♪ Victory is mine... ♪ -
- I know what you're thinking.
What type of maniac wakes up at dawn to punch boulders?
- -I'll tell you who.
My good pal, Knuckles the echidna.
It all began on the Mushroom Planet,
where old Knucks got tricked into helping
the very evil and very filthy
Doctor Mustache escape.
He came to Earth in search of a magic emerald
and picked a fight with moi,
which went very badly for him, by the way.
Hey, wait a minute! This is the wrong footage!
Why are we showing this?
♪♪
-♪ Our house... ♪ -Eventually, we punched out our differences
and teamed up to defeat Robotnik's giant robot
and recovered the Master Emerald,
hence saving the universe.
Hooray! And you're welcome.
And then, Knuckles, Tails, and I became friends
and roommates!
Now, with all the hero stuff out of the way,
Knuckles' only mission is to relax and enjoy Earth,
which might be harder than it sounds.
- -Ha! A new record!
House Wachowski is under attack.
- -Huh?
- -
-Pitiful. -
Huh?
Ha!
- -Ah!
-Whoa! What's going on? -What kinda job is this, Mrs. Wachowski?
- -
-Get it off me! -
Did you call us up
to fix your house so you could hunt us for sport?
No, no, no, no, no! I could see why it might look like that,
but one of our kids gets a little...
Your kid did this?
He's a... really big kid.
With a huge imagination! Thinks he's a warrior.
Always training, questing.
As well as stalking, hunting,
and occasionally terrorizing.
You know how kids are at that age.
You'll be hearing from our lawyers.
I am so sorry.
- Let's pack up. -
-
What?
Victory is mine!
And never has it tasted so sweet.
Mm! One day, I hope to visit
this Cool Ranch of Doritos
and bask in all of its splendor!
-Chip? -
-I'm good. -Hmm.
- -
Oh, boy. Poor guys.
That's the fourth crew this month.
But, I have to say,
Knuckles is in incredible shape.
Do you think he's more cardio or weight focused?
It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter.
He looks fantastic.
Do you think the house is ever gonna get fixed?
The living room is getting pretty cold at night
with that giant hole in the wall.
Boys.
We need to talk about our little red barbarian friend.
I could use some backup.
Knuckles is just having a little trouble
adjusting to his new home. It wasn't easy for me
to understand this planet at first, either.
When did you start getting so wise?
I read a lot of cereal boxes.
Also, I had a family that was patient enough
to let me figure things out,
so we have to do the same with Knuckles.
Let me talk to him when the time is right.
Alright, Sonic.
But, in the meantime, do you mind asking him
-to get our dog off the roof? -
Concentrate, Wolf.
An attack can come from anywhere at any time.
-You must have steely focus. -
-Steelier. -
Steelier... Steelier...
-Steelier! -
You know what?
I think now is a good time for that talk.
Yeah, I think so, too.
Come on, Ozzy! Yeah.
-Good boy! -
Hey, big guy. Mind if I join ya?
Man, this place is beautiful, huh?
-No. -What? Really?
You don't think Green Hills is a beautiful place to live?
-No. -Not even a little?
-No. -Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.
Really look around
and tell me you don't think this is--
-No. -Okay, fine!
We'll circle back to this later.
It's time we had a talk.
You know, hedgehog to echidna.
Listen, moving to a new world was tough for me at first, too.
But trust me. This planet is special.
It's your home now.
An Echidna warrior has no home.
I only remain on Earth because I made a vow to you
and the fox. One I intend to keep.
Hey, I respect that. But we won.
Robotnik's gone, and there's no new battle to fight.
No new quests to embark on.
Which means, for the first time,
you can take a break from being a warrior.
And Earth is the perfect place to do that.
So, relax. Get comfortable.
-Make yourself at home here. -Hm...
Perhaps you are right, hedgehog.
Allow me to meditate on your words of wisdom.
Perfect.
My work here is done. I'm gonna do...
fun things.
Hm...
- -
Yes.
I shall make myself at home.
- -
Right.
Boys! Breakfast is ready!
Good morning, Pretzel Woman.
Morning, Knuckles.
Is that an Iron Throne at our breakfast table?
Good morning!
- -What is that?
It is merely the seat that designates my role
as family champion. If you wish to claim it,
you must simply defeat me
in a ritual battle of trial by combat.
What do you mean, "trial by combat"?
Come, fox. I will show you.
I heeded the hedgehog's advice
-and made myself at home! -
Wow! Love what you've done with the place, Knucks.
It's very, um, Conan chic.
Nope! This is not happening.
We are not turning our living room
into some kind of gladiator fighting pit.
Warrior fighting pit.
-Whatever! And wh-what is Ozzy doing here? -
Ozzy has bravely volunteered for the first match
by challenging his greatest enemy.
Enemy? What enemy?
- -
Is that our mailman?!
Please!
I just wanna go home.
I am so sorry.
That's it! Get down right now.
You are grounded!
♪♪
I have no idea what that means.
Well, I definitely do.
It means no battling enemies.
No leaving your room on quests.
And most of all, no warrior-ing.
How dare you.
In the name of Great Chief Pachacamac,
-I swear you will regret the day you-- -Excuse me?!
-You will regret... -Uh!
-the day you... -Uh!
Knuckles, word of advice.
Do not mess with Maddie
when she's this mad.
Very well, Pretzel Woman.
I will accept my grounding... with honor.
Great. I'm gonna be late for work.
Uh, Maddie?
We may have another issue.
It looks like Knuckles built part of his throne out of...
our car.
Our car...
Oh, gosh. Okay, um,
Tom is out of town...
- -Maybe Wade will pick me up.
Okay.
- - Hey, this is Wade!
I can't answer the phone right now.
I'm training for the biggest tournament of my adult life.
Wish me luck! After the beep. Beep!
- -
♪ Yeah ♪
Alright, Wade.
You got this.
You will bowl a strike right now
because you are an excellent bowler.
But, more importantly, you are a good person.
You help old ladies cross the street.
You leave positive reviews at restaurants,
even when the service is just meh.
You are pretty, yet you are approachable.
But, most of all,
you are an excellent...
-You're gonna choke, loser! -
-
Susie, I have begged you a thousand times,
please do not insult me in the middle of my backswing.
Maybe I wouldn't insult you
if you weren't such a freaking loser!
Well, maybe I wouldn't be such a freaking loser
if you weren't insulting me!
Wade, get it together.
The Renegades need you.
Roll one strike, and we win.
But don't do it for me.
-Do it for you. -
Wade, this is what the Swahili tribesmen call
-"kufafanua wakati." -
"The defining moment."
The moment when you rise up
like the flaming phoenix and scream,
"I am Wade Whipple, and I am an unstoppable warrior."
I am Wade Whipple and I am an unstoppable warrior.
Annihilate this little girl, Wade.
Crush her spirit.
Humiliate her so badly,
her parents won't even look at her again.
Doesn't this seem like we're going a bit far?
Not far enough. You can do this, Wade.
And by do this, I mean crush that tiny girl's skull.
Hey, you can't talk to her like that.
Just who do you think you are?
Oh, I'm so happy you asked.
I'm an acclaimed writer of historical fiction.
-I'm a man who knows his way around a vegetable garden. -
But at my core, I'm someone who uses his keen instincts
to hunt the world's most dangerous animal.
Man.
Jack Sinclair, bounty hunter. At your service.
I'm sorry about my friend. H-He's like that with everybody.
Are we gonna bowl or what?
Squash her like a bug.
Okay, Wade...
-We won! -We won!
No... Wait, wait. Let's wait.
Let's wait before we celebrate.
We don't know if the pin's gonna drop yet!
Go down! It can still go down!
-Come on! Come on! -
-
No!
♪♪
I'm sorry, Jack. I failed you.
- No. -
You didn't fail me, Wade.
You failed the Renegades.
I know, and I will up my game by the Tournament of Champions.
-When we get to Reno, I will be a-- -A warrior?
Yeah, a warrior.
I don't think so, Wade.
Warriors don't get mentally and emotionally decimated
-by young children. - To be fair,
she has the soul of a very old... witch of some kind.
To win in Reno, my team needs the strongest of warriors,
and you, Wade Whipple, are not a warrior.
-You're off the team. -Oh, no, no. Come on, Jack.
Please, I will work harder!
Besides, who are you gonna replace me with in time for the tournament?
Little Susie.
-What?! -She's a fearless,
stone-cold killer on the lanes.
She's 5 years old!
Her hands aren't even big enough!
She puts one hand in one hole!
Plus, her parents are loaded and they're renting a stretch Hummer
-so we can ride to the tourney in style. -Hi.
That sounds very fun and cool.
Yeah. It will be.
Maybe I could go as an alternate.
I'm afraid there's no room in the car for you, pal.
-No room in a stretch Hummer? - That's right.
Now, if you don't mind,
I'm gonna need to collect your bowling shirt.
- -
My job is to make sure things like this don't happen actually
'cause that is theft, technically,
but you can have it back. I'll give it to you.
Hm, she wears it well. Fits her like a glove.
You take care now, Wade.
And if you ever need a bounty hunting,
-call me. -
Such a cool jacket.
I lied to you about the stretch hummer.
We just don't want you there.
You're the worst friend ever, Jack Sinclair!
-Hey, buddy. How's it goin'? -
Leave me be, hedgehog. I took your advice.
And now, I lay banished on the floor of shame,
with nothing to do but plot my revenge.
-Against you. -Whoa-ho-ho-ho!
Lighten up, big guy. Being grounded isn't that bad.
I lived in a cave for seven years.
You can survive a few days in an attic.
Look at all these great options you have. Like...
-comic books! -
-Music! -
Video games! They have come a long way since the '90s.
-Ah! Where have you sent me?! -
And viral dance videos!
- -See what I mean?
Use this time to relax.
You'll be out there warrior-ing before you know it.
Okay, good talk.
The hedgehog could not possibly understand.
-O wise Echidna Elders. -
I seek your guidance in my hour of need.
Please, send me a sign.
- - Are you kidding me?
The Mets lost again?
-Ah! Assassin! -
Relax, Knuckles. It's me.
- Chief Pachacamac? -
It's good to see you, my boy.
Now, put down the rubber chicken
and give your old chief a--
- -
Oh, right.
I'm a ghost...
Thank goodness you're here.
I have completed my quest and found the Master Emerald.
But with my work complete, what becomes of me?
Knuckles! Your quest is not complete.
It's only begun!
You are the last of the Echidnas!
And so, the legacy of our people
is in your hands.
Guide me, O Great Chief.
I want you to train an apprentice
in the ways of the Echidna!
Teach him our customs.
Show him our traditions.
And soon, our tribe will grow once again.
But where will I find such a student?
Right here.
Wade Whipple?
I know this man. He's no great warrior.
Neither were you when we first met.
He may not look like much, but he's special.
-In here. -
He seeks to compete in a Tournament of Champions
in a mystical place called...
Reno, Nevada.
Tournament of Champions.
There is much glory to be found in such a contest!
Train him as a warrior!
The fate of the Echidna
is in your--
-Oh! -
Stupid widow.
-How does this ghost stuff even work? -
-Ah! There we go. -
Our fate is in your hands!
I won't let you down.
Alright, you baby-man.
-It's time to get ripped! -
-♪ Oh ♪ -
-You are strong enough! -♪ Who's the hunter? Who's the game? ♪
- ♪ I don't wanna tame your animal style ♪ -Okay.
-♪ You won't be-- ♪ -
No, I'm not! I'm weak!
Oh, I'm gonna die today.
Oh, help me. Help! Help!
- -
Wade Whipple, this is no time for lying down.
I come to you with an urgent need.
How did you get in here?
A true warrior can conquer any stronghold.
Not even the strongest barrier can contain his might.
Came in through the open window, huh?
Yes. Yes, I did.
You seek to compete in the upcoming Tournament of Champions
in Reno, Nevada.
I will take you there.
This tournament is my destiny.
Yeah. It was mine, too.
Until I lost my spot on the team.
How?
You were bested by a sworn enemy in trial by combat?
I was brutally trash-talked by an 8-year-old girl named Susie.
So, yes. Yeah. The same-- The same thing.
And you do not wish to reclaim your honor?
No, I-I do. I wish to reclaim my honor bad. It's just...
Jack Sinclair was right. I'm...
Not strong. I'm not tough.
I'm not a warrior.
But I am.
I can train you in ways of the Echidna.
Teach you every form of lethal combat.
Show you the secrets to all my strength.
Then, I could use that to challenge Susie
in a trial by bowling combat
and earn my spot back on the team.
Yes. If you take me on this quest to Reno,
I will make you a true warrior!
-As the great Echidna Chief Pachacamac did for me. -Pachacamac.
I think my sister went to sleepaway camp there.
Our destiny awaits, Wade Whipple.
Do we have an alliance?
Wait a minute.
Didn't I hear you were grounded?
There's no way you're allowed to leave home, right?
One cannot ground an Echidna warrior...
For an Echidna warrior has no home.
Alright, that checks out!
Let's do this! Destiny awaits!
- -
Let's go get 'em.
-Alright! -
The warrior training road trip is officially official.
Knucks. Can I call you Knucks?
-No. -How about Knucky?
-No. No. -Knuckington Bear?
-Sir Knucksalot? -No.
Knuck, knuck.
-Knuck, knuck. You gotta say, "Who's there?" -Who's there?
Knuckolas Cage.
Please stop.
So, tell me a little about yourself.
You know, I-I know that you're an alien
and that you're super powerful
and that you've recently saved the world,
et cetera, et cetera.
But let's dig a little deeper, you know? You have any hobbies?
Honor.
Honor is really more of a principle than a hobby.
-Victory. -Hm...
Maybe I should restate the question.
What do you like to do for fun?
-Vengeance. -Gettin' a little dark.
I was thinking more like reading
o-or yoga o-or music.
Yes. The hedgehog spoke of this Earth music.
Tell me, what is it?
Oh, I-- I can't just tell you what it is.
I have to... I have to--
I'll put on one of my classic Wade mixes.
Everyone at the station loves these.
I send out a link every Monday.
♪ Yes you can, can I kick it?
♪ Yes you can! ♪
♪ Can I kick it? Yes you can ♪
♪ Can I kick it? Yes you can! Can I kick it? ♪
♪ Yes you can, can I kick it? ♪
- -
Ha! Kicked!
Not a music guy. Noted.
- -
Well, well, well. Looks like we've got a runner.
- -
Agent Willoughby. We got a problem.
- -It's a code red.
Knuckles has left the Green Hills Zone.
We have to inform Commander Walters.
Don't worry, Agent Fairley.
I've been aware since the second he left town,
and I'm in complete control of the situation.
- - Uh...
Ma'am, you just took our SAT surveillance offline.
- -There's no way anyone in HQ can track Knuckles now e...
except you.
With that device.
♪♪
Uh, what's going on?
Thank you for your work, Agent Fairley.
You are dismissed.
- -
I hear the Mushroom Planet is beautiful this time of year,
my friend! Enjoy!
You're pretty proud of yourself for someone
who just kicked an unsuspecting man in the chest.
-Yeah, I am. -
Right, come on. We've got work to do.
- -
-What is it?
You're disturbing my work.
We have a unique opportunity.
Wanted you to be the first to know.
One of the aliens...
has left Green Hills.
He's in the wild.
Which one?
- Knuckles. -Ah...
The muscle.
His powers are exceptional.
But, without his little friends,
he's vulnerable.
- -
I've been scouring the world for these quills.
They're the key to everything I'm building.
You can build an evil petting zoo for all I care.
As long as you meet our price,
we'll bring you the echidna in 24 hours.
Careful, Agent Willoughby.
You'll need more than arrogance.
I'm sending you something to even the odds.
-Something very special. -
Because anyone who goes against Knuckles...
- -...better be ready
for the fight of their lives.
Grapes was an interesting choice for, uh,
someone who doesn't use their individual fingers.
Hey, when does the training sesh start?
You know, is there some kind of
official warrior training manual
or a pamphlet of some kind?
Maybe some literature I could get a look at?
That was the great Pachacamac once said,
"You cannot train for battle
without first knowing your battleground."
Hm... You wanna see my battleground.
Get ready to have your mind blown.
-Knuckolas Cage. -
-This is my battleground. -
This is not a place of battle.
♪♪
It is a playground for adult idiots.
What's up?
Okay, granted, the quests you're usually on
might be a little more... high stakes.
But trust me. Many a battle
has been won and lost between these very lanes.
Plus, bowling is a beautiful game.
-Come on, I'll show you. -
♪ Non, rien de rien ♪
♪ Non, je ne regrette rien ♪
-♪ Ni le bien ♪ -
-♪ Qu'on m'a fait ♪ -
♪ Ni le mal ♪
♪ Tout ça m'est bien égal ♪
- - Ha!
You smashed those pins with no mercy.
I'm beginning to understand your interest in this game.
Yeah. You know,
there's another reason I love bowling so much.
It's kind of a big reason.
My dad.
See, my dad taught me everything I know about bowling.
Taught me how to get the perfect spin on my shot.
Taught me how to nail a 7-10 split.
Taught me which Buffalo wings would give me indigestion
and fill me with regret in the morning.
He was the best bowler ever.
What happened to him?
TJ Maxx.
Is that the warrior who slayed him?
A fearsome name indeed.
It's a discount department store.
One moment, we were in the men's department
looking for warm-ups.
Next moment, he was gone.
He abandoned me.
He abandoned my family.
But, sometimes,
when I'm between those lanes, it's like we're together again.
Just playing my favorite game with my dad.
So bowling is the thing
that makes you feel at home in this world?
Yeah. I guess it is.
- -
Oh, awesome! We got here just in time!
Come on!
Amazing.
It glows with the power of a falling galacti-star.
Actually, I think it's glowing with the power
from the laundromat next door.
Grasp it.
Feel its power course through your ginormous hands.
Take aim at your pins and...
What?!
We gotta get you to Reno, man! Wow!
Jack Sinclair's gonna flip when he sees this. Yes.
It is nothing an apprentice like you
cannot achieve in due time.
You think I could do that?
Thanks for believing in me, Knuckles.
You know, most people think I'm just kind of a joke.
I do not make jokes, Wade Whipple.
I make warriors.
- -
What devilry is this?
Sorry, this lane is reserved.
-What's up, Knucks? -
Okay, so this is because Knuckles is grounded, right?
-Who's the idiot? -Does it matter?
-Get down! -Whoa!
- -
I get it! Rules are rules! If he's grounded,
don't let me get in the way of disciplining him!
Don't try anything, echidna. You're coming with us.
-You think you can take my power? -
-
-Do I look like I need your power? -
What are you talking about? Of course, we need his power.
It's the whole reason we're here, to get his power
-and sell it for lots and lots of money. -I know that!
I was just trying to have a cool catchphrase moment until you--
- -
Look alive!
- -
Knuckles!
- -
Ha! It worked!
- -
Yeah! I thought you'd be tougher, Knucks!
- -
-Whoa!
Wade! Do something!
I told you this was a battlefield!
-Ah! -
-
Fools! You thought you could kidnap me?
- -
-I am an Echidna-- Whoa!
- -
Right, let's go. We got him.
Cool. But, to be clear, you didn't save me.
I sacrificed myself, which created a distraction
which resulted in a diversion, which...
Alright, let's call it a team effort.
♪♪
Oh, no.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
They have Knuckles, and it's all my fault.
I have to do something. I have to help him. I...
♪♪
- -
...have an incredibly dumb idea.
♪ Oh... ♪
♪ Oh-oh-oh ♪
♪ Who's the hunter? Who's the game? ♪
♪ I feel the beat call your name ♪
♪ I hold you close in victory ♪
♪ I don't wanna tame your animal style ♪
♪ You won't be caged from the call of the wild ♪
♪ Shooting at the walls of heartache ♪
♪ Bang bang ♪
♪ I am the warrior ♪
♪ Well, I am the warrior ♪
♪ And heart to heart, you'll win ♪
♪ If you survive ♪
♪ The warrior ♪
♪ Shooting at the walls of heartache ♪
♪ Bang bang ♪
♪ I am the warrior ♪
♪ Well, I am the warrior ♪
♪ And heart to heart, you'll win ♪
♪ If you survive ♪
♪ The warrior ♪
♪♪