With the return of Kirby in Kirby and the Forgotten Land on Switch comes the return of Meta Knight, Kirby's sometimes-friend and sometimes-foe, and also a mentor figure to Kirby in the animated series. Having first appeared in Kirby's Adventure on the NES back in 1995, he has been a frequent player in the pink marshmallow's tales. The ever-brooding warrior is the perfect foil for his fellow cheery, childlike Star Warrior.While little is known about the motives for his actions, he does provide some often entertaining memes that can make Meta Knight stand out on his own. Here are some examples where Meta Knight not only makes viewers laugh with hilarity, but also warms their hearts, and captures their existential angst.
8 Meta Knight Is No Borb
On the internet, Meta Knight is known by another name: Borb. According to KnowYourMeme.com, this is derived from a comic posted by KC Green on the website US Gamer. In this comic, King DeDeDe tries to teach sweet innocent Kirby curse words, and when Meta Knight intervenes, DeDeDe calls him a bad orb, only for Kirby to butcher it and say “borb” instead.
In response to Meta Knight insisting that he is “no borb,” Kirby posts pamphlets of “Borb” all over town, including on one blank-faced Kappy Town Resident. This comic is not only some humor at Meta Knight’s expense, but it also shows how he at some points has taken on a more fatherly role to the childlike pink ball.
7 Meta Knight Is Sick Of It
As the immortal John Cleese once said, “virtually nobody knows what they’re talking about.” That feeling is captured here in Deviant Art User mdpikachu’s parody of motivational posters. Here, Meta Knight from Kirby: Right Back At Ya has had enough of people’s shenanigans.
He gives a facepalm to rival that of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, echoing many individuals’ sentiments that the entire world has gotten even more ridiculous. The facial expressions of Kirby and Tiff hammer home how flabbergasted Meta Knight is.
6 Meta Knight Ruins Friendships And Smash Bros.
Meta Knight saw his Super Smash Bros. debut in Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Wii fifteen years ago. With his debut came a number of abilities that wound up making him overpowered, giving even the most seasoned Smash player a run for their money when someone close to him as a character. This led to many fights among Brawl players, as is the case here by Reddit user mayonnaiseisgreat (but still not an instrument, sadly.)
Meta Knight was determined to be so overpowered, that it even resulted in the character being outright banned in the competitive Smash Bros. scene. He would return in future installments, but his glide would be tweaked so that players would be less likely to spam the ability.
5 Meta Knight Needs A New Mask
When players unlock the Colosseum in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, they have the opportunity to take on Meta Knight. Upon defeating him, a cinematic cutscene plays of Kirby slicing Meta Knight’s mask, briefly revealing the face beneath before he vanishes. This cartoon posted by Reddit user dryo_overlord is a solid depiction of what Meta Knight would do afterwards.
Given that Meta Knight is full Mandalorian about people seeing him without his mask on, he is more than happy with the local shopkeeper assuming he is his pink counterpart. Since he also knows the exact price for fixing his mask, it looks like he has done this before.
4 Meta Knight Legally Changes Name To Fort Knight
Maybe not everybody knows who Meta Knight is, but at this point, everyone and their grandmother know what Fortnite is. The free-to-play game from Epic Games is massively popular among kids and adults alike, with every major company trying to cash in on the craze with cameo appearances, ranging from Spider-Man to Uncharted’s Nathan Drake.
It is no surprise that Meta Knight would want to get in on the craze by changing his name to boost his appearance in the Google Search. The idea of a game where Meta Knight goes into a government office to make a legal request is silly in itself, but his action pose in the office drives the irony of it.
3 Meta Knight Listens To Raz: NO CAPES!
One thing that is undeniable about Meta Knight is that he has style: the mask, the sword, and the way he swoops into battle, and also his cape. When he gets into battles with Kirby, the cape doesn't play a role, except for helping him disappear after he is defeated. Hal Laboratories must have listened to The Incredibles’ Raz when she said, “No capes.”
While it is mostly just decoration in the Kirby games, Meta Knight's cape plays a more prominent role when he fights in the Smash Brothers franchise. He is able to momentarily disappear and teleport to surprise his foes. He should remember to keep it away from jet engines, though.
2 Meta Knight Tries Not To Be Vulnerable
Meta Knight makes himself out to be a brooding, fierce warrior, but often in life, the toughest exteriors are covering a soft marshmallow center. That is the case with this cartoon credited to train dad in smash hell, and posted by Reddit user JustSnom.
When fellow Smash Bros. competitor and Fire Emblem character Lucina makes a cute marshmallow version of Meta Knight being grumpy, Meta Knight simply calls it fine, but he can hardly control how choked up he is by this touching act.
1 Meta Knight: Warrior And Grammy Winner
This meme from Twitter user AlwaysJort is simple enough. It is Right Back At Ya’s Meta Knight Holding a Grammy, and saying “Give Me My Grammy.” Meta Knight just recently became a Grammy winner of sorts. Composers Charlie Rosen, the brains behind the 8-Bit Big Band, and Jake Silverman (a.k.a. Button Masher), recently won the award for best Arrangement, Instrumental, or A Cappella for their cover of Meta Knight's Revenge from Kirby Super Star on the SNES.
Everyone knows who the real winner is, though. As if Meta Knight’s greatness was not unparalleled already, he is now in the canon of legendary musicians.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is out now for the Nintendo Switch.