Meta Knight (or Sir Meta Knight) is a major character in the Kirby series appearing in most of the games, manga, as well as the anime. What makes Meta Knight both mysterious and fascinating is his likeness to Kirby himself. His mysterious nature and popularity has led to him being a playable character in many spinoffs as well as of a "friend or foe" character in many of the newer games. Kirby and Meta Knight range from being bitter rivals to dedicated allies depending on what he does in the games. His true relation to Kirby has yet to be revealed.
His intentions are often unknown (as he constantly switches from the role of a hero to a villain), but what is known is that he is the leader of the Meta-Knights, an army of soldiers, and owns a large battleship called the Halberd which may accompany him into the heat of battle. Though Meta Knight first appeared in Kirby's Adventure in 1993, his name was not known in the U.S. until Kirby's Avalanche was released in 1995.
Meta Knight wields a godlike power sword, wears a blue cape, and a silver mask. He also has shiny, metallic, purple shoes, and glowing yellow eyes. His sword, whether it be the Galaxia or the Master, is seemingly made out of gold, with small spikes coming off of the edge of it and a ruby embedded in the handle. Another interesting quality of Meta Knight is that he has the ability to turn his cape into bat-like wings. His wings were first used prominently used in Kirby Super Star, where he used them to chase Kirby nearing the end of Revenge of Meta Knight. His wings were later used in Kirby Air Ride whenever he took part in a race.
In a few games, his mask is removed upon his defeat, revealing a face near-identical to that of Kirby's. The only difference is that Meta Knight's facial features are mostly pure white. This has led to endless speculation concerning them and their presumed species.