Knuckles the Echidna

One of the main characters of Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. He's really cool, stoic, badass, friendly, ass-kicking and a true hero. Knuckles shares many similarities to Piccolo from DBZ. Both are loners who don't talk much but are honest, they are both heroes who were villains when they first appeared, but turned good. They both have a friendly rivalry with the protagonist (Sonic and Goku, who are also very similar) and also became good friends with a cheerful kid (Tails and Gohan). Both protect their homeland which means everything to them. Another character similar to Knuckles is Gaara from Naruto. They were both villains by for a very short time but became heroes afterwards. Both are very good friends and former rivals of the protagonist (Sonic and Naruto). They are also both red headed.