Here Comes the Son

Here Comes the Son
Knuckle Joe duels with Kirby to prove he is not a monster.
Details
First aired	February 9, 2002 November 9, 2002
Episode #	19
Episode # (US)	17
Copy Ability (Abilities) featured	Fighter, Needle
Monster(s) featured	Needle Knuckle Joe
Character(s) featured	Kirby, Knuckle Joe, Meta Knight

Episode order
← Flower Power	Dedede's Snow Job →

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Here Comes the Son is the 19th (17th in the 4Kids broadcast) episode of the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! series. In this episode, Knuckle Joe ventures to Dream Land on a mission to hunt down the Star Warrior who killed his father. Initially thinking him to be Kirby, he wreaks havoc in Cappy Town searching for the pink puffball. King Dedede points Knuckle Joe to Kirby's location, and Kirby proceeds to be thrashed by Knuckle Joe before being interrupted by Meta Knight, who reveals himself to be the one Knuckle Joe is after. Meta Knight then explains to Knuckle Joe the circumstances that led to his father's death, and warns the kid that his rage is transforming him into a monster, which occurs briefly during a rematch with Kirby, who soundly beats him and snaps him out of it. Knuckle Joe then makes amends with Kirby, leaving through the Night Mare Enterprises Teleporter from whence he came and promising to return to fight alongside him one day.

This episode marks the debut of Knuckle Joe as a character in the series, and marks the debut of the Fighter Copy Ability in the series.

Characters

The following characters appear in this episode:

Cast of "Here Comes The Son"
Character	Selected quote	Notes
Primary characters
Kirby	"Mmm-poy!"	Kirby is trying to say "Okay!"
Knuckle Joe	"Get ready...cause now I'm comin' to get ya!"
Meta Knight	"There is no reason to battle with Kirby, my friend. The one you seek...is me."
Secondary characters
Blade Knight	(no dialogue)
Buttercup	(no dialogue)
Cappy villagers	"Uh, I dunno!"
Chef Kawasaki	"That kid's tougher than my Salisbury steak!"
Chief Bookem	"Hmm...so you allege that the citizens of Cappy Town are conspiring against you. Hmm...and why exactly do you want to meet with Kirby?"
Doctor Yabui	(no dialogue)
Doron	"Uh-uh."
Escargoon	"That's a relief. I just had the rug shampooed and the bed deloused in my room!"
Gengu	"Uhh...I haven't seen him today!"
Gus	"Huh? Uhh...Kirby don't come round here, much. He don't need gasoline."
Hana	(no dialogue)
Honey	(no dialogue)
Iro	(no dialogue)
King Dedede	"Sorry to interrupt your snack, but we got a surprise for you!"
Knuckle Joe's father	(no dialogue)	Appears in a flashback.
Mabel	(no dialogue)
Mayor Len Blustergas	"Check!"
Melman	(no dialogue)
N.M.E. Sales Guy	"Warning! You have entered the Night Mare Enterprises web server and I want to know why."
eNeMeE\|Nightmare	"Are you injured?" laughs "Then take some of this, and your fading life will be restored!"	Appears in a flashback.
Professor Curio	"Hrmm..."
Samo	"Sorry, pal, we don't stock it. How about a Shirley Temple?"
Spikehead	(no dialogue)
Star Warriors	(no dialogue)	Appear in a flashback.
Sword Knight	(no dialogue)
Tiff	"Warn everybody there's a tough guy looking to fight Kirby!"
Tokkori	"Kirby! This place looks like the produce department!"
Tuff	"Sorry, Kirby, but we don't have time to explain!"
Tuggle	"I don't know! He rarely shops here because he doesn't have any money!"
Waddle Dees	(no dialogue)

Locations

Plot synopsis

Knuckle Joe arrives in Dream Land's star system.

The episode opens in the depths of cyberspace, as a flash of light moves across the digital circuitry and channels until reaching an entryway with the Night Mare Enterprises emblem inset. Once inside, the light materializes fully into Knuckle Joe, as he begins to mess with the terminals inside. This intrusion into the N.M.E. web server is noticed by the Sales Guy, who intercepts Knuckle Joe and questions his intentions. Knuckle Joe then replies he wishes to travel to Dream Land and defeat the Star Warrior there, prompting the Sales Guy to direct him to the appropriate location. Knuckle Joe emerges in outer space, overlooking the same starry expanse that Kirby did when he first arrived in his Starship.

Meanwhile, down in Dream Land, as Kirby is gathering snacks, the Night Mare Enterprises Teleporter at Castle Dedede activates on its own, interrupting the residents with a loud shockwave as Knuckle Joe enters through. Everyone rushes toward the throne room to find out what happened. King Dedede sends his Waddle Dees after the threat, but they are quickly tossed aside in a flash of light. Meta Knight then engages Knuckle Joe in combat, but during the fight, King Dedede and Escargoon drive in through the halls in their Armored Vehicle to try and deal with him, but he tosses them out of the castle. In the wreck, Knuckle Joe introduces himself to King Dedede as Tiff and Tuff look on. Knuckle Joe then explains that he's after the Star Warrior, and King Dedede soon realizes he means Kirby and changes his tune, pointing Knuckle Joe directly to him.

Knuckle Joe is stopped by Meta Knight, who explains everything.

Back at Kirby's house, the pink puffball is enjoying the fruits of his labTemplate:Ors as Tokkori complains about the mess. The Warp Star then comes in unannounced to pick Kirby up and take him off to hide him from Knuckle Joe. Tiff and Tuff tell Tokkori to warn everyone in Cappy Town about the upcoming danger. Down in town, Tokkori starts his warning, but is zapped out of the sky by Knuckle Joe as he passes through, disturbing the residents and demanding to know where Kirby is. Chief Bookem soon hears from Knuckle Joe that Kirby destroyed the kid's father, and he wants revenge. As Knuckle Joe continues his search, the townsfolk go into hiding as Tiff, Tuff, and Chef Kawasaki bring food out for Kirby at a hiding spot. They are shortly ratted out by King Dedede and Escargoon, who lead Knuckle Joe directly to Kirby. Knuckle Joe is taken aback at Kirby's appearance and demeanor, but soon snaps out of it and begins chasing Kirby down.

Knuckle Joe is knocked back into reality.

Tiff tries to call for the Warp Star again, but Escargoon stops her and ties the kids up. As Knuckle Joe wails on Kirby, he begins to wonder why Kirby won't fight back. Meta Knight soon steps in to protect Kirby as Sword and Blade free the kids. Meta Knight then reveals to Knuckle Joe that he is the Star Warrior the kid is after. Knuckle Joe demands proof for this claim, so Meta Knight relays the story of how Knuckle Joe's father was kidnapped by N.M.E. and turned evil, forcing the masked swordsman to defeat his former friend. Knuckle Joe refuses to believe this at first, but Meta Knight then offers him an pendant containing an image of him as a baby from his father. Knuckle Joe however still cannot get over his years of built-up rage, resulting in the group accusing him of being the real monster. He duels with Kirby one more time to prove he is no monster.

Shortly into the rematch, Kirby swallows one of Knuckle Joe's Smash Punch attacks and transforms into Fighter Kirby. The two spar for a moment, as Kirby mimics each of Knuckle Joe's attacks and cancels them out. As Knuckle Joe gets more frustrated, a strange power suddenly takes over him, and he is transformed into a monstrous creature covered in needles. Kirby loses the Fighter ability while this happens, and must dodge the needles thrown at him. Kirby then eats one and transforms into Needle Kirby, then promptly defeats Knuckle Joe with a headbutt, reverting him to normal and snapping him back to reality. The next day, back at the castle, Knuckle Joe makes amends with the group as Meta Knight sends him back through the teleporter from which he came, costing King Dedede a fortune due to the "service charge" for uploading things back to N.M.E. The episode ends as Meta Knight and Kirby watch Knuckle Joe vanish in a flash of light from the castle deck.

Differences between versions

In the Japanese version, there are a few slightly extended and additional minor shots in the scenes involving Pupu Village.

Dialogue differences

In the Japanese version, Knuckle Joe shouts out "Spin Kick!" rather than "Roundhouse!" when using his aerial kick attack.
In the Japanese version, Kirby repeats the names of Knuckle Joe's attacks as he retaliates with his own.

Trivia

Notably, this episode features King Dedede and Escargoon willingly standing aside after Meta Knight intervenes to help Kirby, marking the first real sign of increasing sympathy from them toward the pink puffball, though more antagonistic behaviTemplate:Or toward him continues in the series from this point.
The name of this episode in the 4Kids version is a reference to the famous Beatles song Here Comes the Sun.