Iron Knuckle

Iron Knuckles are recurring enemies in the Legend of Zelda series. Iron Knuckles are knights clad in thick, heavy armor wielding huge axes.

They are among the strongest of the series' enemies. The exact nature of Iron Knuckles changes according to what game they appear in, but the general majority of them seem to be animated suits of armor that can remain motionless for centuries, guarding their stations against intruders.

General Onox, the villain of The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons's first form bears a striking resemblance to an Iron Knuckle, and may in fact be one.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Iron Knuckles are the strongest and most skilled foes Link can encounter in the Great Palaces, similar to their overworld counterparts, the Lizalfos. All Iron Knuckles in this game wield swords and shields, testing the player's skill at fencing. They also block Link's attacks in turn with their own shields. They appear in the colors orange, red, and blue armor, each going up in difficulty in that order. The blue Iron Knuckle can fire beams from its sword.

In the Island Palace, a blue Iron Knuckle named Rebonack appears as the area's boss. He rides atop a mechanical, armored horse and utilizes a lance to attack. After being hit a few times, he drops to the ground and continues his assault on foot as a normal Iron Knuckle. Rebonack also appears as a mini-boss in the Hidden Palace.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Iron Knuckles are among the deadliest enemies that can be found in the games, usually dealing five hearts worth of damage if they should hit Link with their large axes. Their attacks cannot be blocked by a shield, only dodged. As an Iron Knuckle takes damage, more and more of its armor starts falling off. This increases their dexterity but leaves them more vulnerable to attack. Interestingly, Link can pull himself towards an Iron Knuckle using the Hookshot or Longshot. This will transport Link into the creature's attack range though, so it is not advised.

Two normal Iron Knuckles appear as the mini-bosses of the child and adult portions of the Spirit Temple, respectively. In the room before the battle with Twinrova, Link encounters a strange orange-hued Iron Knuckle which has stronger armor than the ones encountered previously. After defeating it, the various plates of armor falls off the Iron Knuckle, revealing Nabooru as the one inside. Nabooru was being controlled by Twinrova.

The final appearance of Iron Knuckles is in Ganon's Castle. After Link destroys all six shields and enters the tower inside the castle, he comes across two Iron Knuckles, one black and one white. These can be battled separately if Link is careful to awaken only one at a time.

In Majora's Mask, two Iron Knuckles can be found beneath Ikana Graveyard: one is guarding the stone where the "Song of Storms" is inscribed, while the other guards a Piece of Heart. Another one can be found in the Stone Tower Temple section of the Moon.

A suit of gold Iron Knuckle armor is on display at the Curiosity Shop as well. Kafei, who lives right behind the Curiosity Shop, utilizes the armor, with which he can see into the shop, to spy on it in hopes of finding Sakon, who had stolen his Sun's Mask.