eta Knight is a major character in the Kirby series appearing in most of the games, manga, as well as the anime. The intrigue and popularity surrounding Meta Knight within the Kirby fandom largely lies in his shrouded motives and his striking likeness to Kirby himself. Due to Meta Knight’s way of doing things and his oft-hidden intentions, the relationship between Kirby and Meta Knight are unpredictable in nature, and range from anywhere between being bitter rivals to being steadfast allies to one another and can change at a moment’s notice. He respects a code of honor, and always gives Kirby a sword whenever he fights against him. Meta Knight is a playable character in many spinoffs, and is presented in many of the newer games as a “friend or foe” character.
Meta Knight is the leader of an army of soldiers known as the Meta-Knights, and captains a large airship called Battleship Halberd which may accompany him into the heat of battle. Although Meta Knight first appeared in Kirby’s Adventure in 1993, his name was not known in the U.S. until the game Kirby’s Avalanche was released in 1995.

Meta Knight wears his trademark attire, which is his silver mask and his blue or dark purple Dimensional Cape with gold trimmings, and a pair of metallic shoes. He has the ability to turn his cape into bat-like wings and fly with them in the games. The wings’ first prominent use is in Kirby Super Star, where Meta Knight chased Kirby near the end of Revenge of Meta Knight. In Kirby Air Ride, he flies with them whenever he took part in a race. Meta Knight wields Galaxia, which is a spiked golden sword with an embedded ruby in the hilt.
Meta Knight’s most well-known trait is the fact that he is almost never seen with his mask off. In a few games, his mask is split into two upon defeat, revealing a face near-identical to Kirby’s with misty white eyes and mostly-white facial features. In the event that he is ever unmasked, he immediately departs the field of battle. The similarity of his looks to Kirby has led to speculation that he is a member of Kirby’s species.

Meta Knight unmasked.
Meta Knight’s original artwork depicted him with as black with yellow eyes, wearing a crimson cape and without armor besides his mask. In Kirby’s Avalanche, he had pauldrons, violet shoes, and a brighter skin tone. His design was revised again in Kirby Super Star. In Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, he was made bigger than Kirby and given a yellow strap to hold his mask in place. Since Kirby Air Ride, official artwork shows his sword reflecting Galaxia’s design in the anime. Since Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Meta Knight was again resized to Kirby’s height.
His pauldrons always have a yellow lining and often gray in color, but are sometimes dark blue. In Super Smash Bros. and Kirby Wii, his left pauldron bears a version of his insignia, which is an “M” in front of a downward-pointing sword. Meta Knight’s cape is blue in all instances except Super Smash Bros. Brawl, where it is purple. The blushes on his face are almost always clearly pink, though in one incarnation in Kirby Super Star, they were very light in tone.

Meta Knight’s mask apparently gives a yellowish tint to the wearer’s eyes. Meta Knight’s white eyes turn yellow, and Kirby’s blue eyes become light green (first seen in Super Smash Bros. Brawl) when they wear it. Meta Knight’s eyes also change color when his emotions change in the anime. When they are blue, he feels happy or content. When they turn pink in the anime, he is amused, or something grabbed his attention. When they turn green in the anime, he is in deep thought, focused on something, or solving a problem. When they turn dark red, he is angry or possibly disturbed or suspicious. If they ever flash a mix of colors, he feels all the emotions that he is flashing.

Dimensional Cape:
Meta Knight’s Dimensional Cape cape allows him to manipulate space, and is a powerful weapon in its own right. First named in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, his signature cape never received its official name until relatively recently, much like Galaxia.
It is most commonly used as a pair of bat-like wings which grant Meta Knight flight and gliding capabilities, and Meta Knight can wrap it around himself to teleport away. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Meta Knight can use it to ebb out of reality for a short time. In his Final Smash Attack, the cape is used to petrify his enemies and cover the surrounding area in complete darkness, leaving them open to attacks from his sword.

Galaxia:

Meta Knight wielding his sacred sword Galaxia in Kirby: Right Back at Ya!.
The sword Galaxia is a solid gold blade with a ruby embedded in its hilt, with anywhere between zero to eight spikes protruding from its sharp edges. In earlier games, the spikes were absent from Meta Knight’s then-unnamed sword.
In the games, Galaxia is capable of shooting out sword beams and standard sword moves. In Meta Knightmare Ultra, it absorbs the energy of a defeated foe, allowing Meta Knight to use special actions like the Mach Tornado and Meta Quick.