The man, the myth, the legend, etc – Meta Knight, to me, is an enigma. First introduced in Kirby’s Adventure as one of the 7 bosses holding a piece of the Star Rod, he has since appeared as both friend and enemy, as well as his own weird, anti-hero type thing.

Often when his actions bring him against Kirby, he believes he has just reasons for doing so, and does not mean any harm… mostly. I’m not going to defend him trying to take over Dreamland in Kirby Super Star (even though it’d be pretty fun), but he genuinely thought that what he was doing would be the best option to keep the land safe, due to the inhabitants lack of defensive action and “lazy lifestyle” (as he saw it).

That’s the most extreme example of course, but a good one to set the tone of his general mindset. He takes the most extreme option, often refusing to elaborate on what the hell he’s doing, and causes many errors in communication. In Kirby: Squeak Squad, he snatches the chest that Kirby believes his beloved slice of cake is in, which ends in the two battling for it. It’s later revealed that the chest contained an entity known as Dark Nebula, and he stole the chest to prevent Kirby and Daroach (the secondary antagonist of the game) from releasing it.

He takes on a more typical hero role in later games, starting in Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, where he faces off against his mirror counterpart (and loses) in an attempt to save the Mirror World. In Kirby’s Return to Dreamland and Kirby Star Allies, he joins Kirby’s party to aid him in defeating each games’ respective foe. And in Kirby: Planet Robobot, he even lets Kirby take control of his battleship (after he’s freed from mechanization) using his Robobot Armor.

Of course, sometimes he just wants to fight. That’s it. He will show up and fight Kirby because he wants to test both of them.

Meta Knight has been possessed 4 times throughout the series: in Kirby’s Epic Yarn by Yin-Yarn, in Planet Robobot after being mechanized by the Haltmann Works Co., in Star Allies by the Jamba Hearts, and in Kirby Fighters 2 via a cursed mask. Notably, he was not possessed in Kirby and the Forgotten Land. resisting Fecto Forgo through “sheer force of will.” After getting possessed so many times before, I like to think he developed some sort of training or meditation as a defense; powerful as he is, he knows he needs to be in control.

He cares a lot about his image, and only lets people see what he wants them to, to the point where he flees when his mask shatters. He wants people to see that he’s level-headed and in control, even when he’s losing containment. He trains hard and fights even harder, but always seeks a fair fight (often offering Kirby a sword of his own). One of his major goals is to become the best swordsman he can be – in a (admittedly non-canon) subgame, he wishes to fight the ‘Greatest Warrior in the Galaxy’ for the title (and wins).

Yet he is also, fundamentally, very silly. In the same sub-game, he fights against his own crew and ends up sinking his ship, for no apparent reason besides… he could? In the descriptions for desserts themed after him at the Kirby Cafe, he is shown to have a sweet tooth, especially for chocolate; all in all, there is the chocolate fondant he secretly stores in his cape, the affogato he ‘abruptly’ eats when he wakes up, the parfait he indulges in every night, and the matcha mousse he’s “convinced [is] important.” Most strikingly, though, is his battleship – which has a giant figurehead of his mask on the front.

I feel like people embrace too much of one or the other though. There has to be a balance, y'know? He may be extremely silly sometimes, but it's balanced out because nobody around him realizes it. His confidence and demeanor makes up for his sometimes ridiculous actions, and in the end, his friends only really see the cool guy he wants them to. And I think that's okay! Because this persona isn't really a lie, it's just a stretch of the truth. While he isn't always calm, cool, and collected, he often is! That's what makes him so enigmatic to me. He's this tough guy that can do such incredibly stupid things with total confidence that it winds back around to being cool again.

I have a pretty big Meta Knight figure collection (as well as a few keychains, pins, and plush, which I may photograph later)! You can see a full list of my collection here.

Also, special shoutout to Rhylem of The Halberd! They’ve got what is perhaps the largest Meta Knight collection in the world and has documented every piece of it! Finding information on certain figures (especially ones that are older or not widely sold in the US) can be really difficult, and I’ve used their archive as a guide when I couldn't find something on MFC. I have a lot of respect for them as a collector and archivist, and you should definitely check them out!