Sonic Universe is an American comic book series that was published by Archie Comics in association with Sega , based on the latter's Sonic the Hedgehog . It is a spin-off of the comic book series of the same name , and shared continuity with that title. Sonic Universe centers on several characters featured throughout the franchise and comics, including Shadow the Hedgehog , Blaze the Cat , and Silver the Hedgehog .
156-555: The series follows a unique format, in which its lead character and story arc change every four issues, and usually occur concurrently with those in the flagship Sonic title, though within different locations. Sonic himself usually does not appear in these stories, except for occasional supporting appearances. Fleetway , the producers of the UK-based Sonic The Comic series, produced a similar series of stories called "Sonic's World" from issue 26 onwards; it, too, expanded
312-474: A Chaos Emerald . Issues #5–8 , covered "Mobius: 30 Years Later" , featuring a return to a possible alternate reality visited in the main series. In this arc, time-traveler Silver the Hedgehog travels to this time period in an attempt to thwart events that will bring devastation to the future from which he hails. In the process, he ends up joining forces with a new team of Freedom Fighters, made up of children of
468-741: A Sonic platformer as a playable character was in Sonic Adventure ; she is playable in Sonic Heroes (2003) and Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), and appears as a non-player character in games such as Sonic Unleashed (2008). While some journalists have called Amy cute and powerful, others find her annoying. Justin Towell of GamesRadar+ and writers from Mean Machines expressed general displeasure at her introduction in Sonic CD . Additionally, some have criticized developers' treatment of Amy as
624-456: A crew of robotic pirates led by the nefarious Captain Metal , in a bid to claim the last of the scattered Sol Emeralds and save Blaze's world from total destruction. Issues #59–62 covered the "Shadow Fall" saga, which is a sequel of sorts to the video game Shadow the Hedgehog . In this story, a new Black Comet arrives to threaten the earth, carrying the last remaining members of the alien race,
780-450: A cross-world and interstellar journey, Sonic X depicted Sonic and his human friend Chris Thorndyke in quests to save the world. Sonic: Night of the Werehog is a short film produced by Sega's VE Animation Studio , released to coincide with the release of Sonic Unleashed . In the film, Sonic and Chip enter a haunted house, and must deal with two ghosts trying to scare them in attempt to win
936-525: A decorative ornament hanging from a rearview mirror. This was followed by an unlicensed appearance in The Adventures of Quik & Silva as a villain. Sonic's first playable appearance was in the platform game Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis , which also introduced his nemesis Dr. Robotnik . His two-tailed fox friend Tails joined him in the game's 1992 sequel, Sonic
1092-447: A dog, a Theodore Roosevelt look-alike in pajamas (who would later be the basis of Doctor Eggman 's design), and a rabbit (who would use its extendable ears to collect objects, an aspect later incorporated in Ristar ). Naoto Ohshima took some of these internal designs with him on a trip to New York City and sought feedback by asking random passersby at Central Park their opinions; of
1248-560: A drawing in the theatrical film . Espio the Chameleon The Sonic the Hedgehog video game franchise began in 1991 with the video game Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis , which pitted a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog named Sonic against a rotund male human villain named Doctor Eggman (or Doctor Ivo Robotnik). The sequel, Sonic 2 , gave Sonic a fox friend named Tails . Sonic CD introduced Amy Rose,
1404-581: A female character and analyzed her implications on gender representation in video games . The Electronic Gaming Monthly staff found her pink coloring and tendency to run from danger to be stereotypical and common in Japanese-created female characters, while feminist blogger Anita Sarkeesian cites Amy as an example of the "Ms. Male Character" trope, in which female characters in games with male protagonists often resemble those protagonists, but with stereotypically feminine features added. Despite this, Amy
1560-958: A female hedgehog with a persistent crush on Sonic. Sonic 3 introduced Knuckles the Echidna , Sonic's rival and later friend. All five of these have remained major characters and appeared in dozens of games. The series has introduced dozens of additional recurring characters over the years. These have ranged from anthropomorphic animal characters such as Shadow the Hedgehog and Cream the Rabbit to robots created by Eggman such as Metal Sonic and E-123 Omega, as well as human characters such as Eggman's grandfather Gerald Robotnik. The series features three fictional species, in order of appearance: Chao, which have usually functioned as digital pets and minor gameplay and plot elements; Wisps, which have been used as power-ups ; and Koco, which when collected grant new abilities for Sonic, among other things. The Sonic games keep
1716-505: A formidable weapon. Vector was, originally, supposed to be in the sound test of the first Sonic the Hedgehog game as part of a rock band that Sonic was part of, but the band and the feature itself were removed prior to its release. Vector and the band made a brief appearance in the promotional manga Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic . Vector then made his official game debut in the 1995 video game Knuckles' Chaotix . And in 2003, he
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#17328516725691872-468: A game starring Big is a possibility. Despite this statement, Big has continued to appear in other titles, including Sonic Runners , Lego Dimensions , Team Sonic Racing , and Sonic Frontiers . Chaos is a water-like being that can easily manipulate its body and highly intelligent. Without any of the Chaos Emeralds, it is known as "Chaos Zero", but with each of it absorbs, it transforms into
2028-441: A good future for the world. Sonic 3 and its direct sequel Sonic & Knuckles , both released in 1994, saw Sonic and Tails battle Robotnik again, with the additional threat of Knuckles , who is tricked by Robotnik into thinking Sonic is a threat. Sonic 4 (2010–2012) continues where the story of Sonic 3 left off, reducing Sonic to the only playable character and releasing in episodic installments. The second episode sees
2184-483: A group of initially four characters who debuted in the game Knuckles' Chaotix as the main characters, later forming their own detective agency in Sonic Heroes where only three of them (Vector, Espio and Charmy respectively) returned, after the three were redesigned and rebooted into essentially new characters. IGN described the characters as "charming" and noted that they were introduced before fans became weary of all
2340-422: A human female as one of the worst parts of it. In 2024, a poll conducted by BAFTA with around 4,000 respondents named Sonic the Hedgehog as the fourth most iconic video-game character of all time, only behind Lara Croft , Mario and Agent 47 . Ken Balough, Sega's former associate brand manager, said that Sonic's appeal endured because the character is "a gaming legend, first and foremost" who originated "from
2496-504: A lost Chao called Chocola. He is a minor playable character in other Sonic games, like Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, and a non-player character in games such as the Nintendo DS version of Sonic Colors . Reflecting the story of Adventure , Big appears in the Sonic X anime and the Sonic the Hedgehog comics. Big has been derided by
2652-547: A misunderstanding about hedgehogs not being able to swim. The only exception is that he can swim in the Sonic the Hedgehog Adventure Gamebooks. When the seven Chaos Emeralds are collected and used, Sonic transforms into "Super Sonic" ( スーパーソニック ) , a faster, stronger and invulnerable version of himself that can fly. In Super Sonic form, Sonic's irises turn red and his body becomes golden. As Sega's mascot and one of
2808-456: A more powerful form, eventually becoming "Perfect Chaos" with all seven Chaos Emeralds. Its first appearance in Sonic Adventure , Dr. Eggman attempts to use it to conquer the world. Chaos tracks down the emeralds, becomes "Perfect Chaos", and floods all of Station Square, but is ultimately defeated by Super Sonic. Chaos is also a mutated Chao ( / tʃ aʊ / ) , a small creature with a pudding -like body and behave much like human infants . By
2964-497: A new threat to his own life, Silver the Hedgehog . He is the only playable character in Sonic Unleashed (2008), in which he unwillingly gains a new personality, "Sonic the Werehog", the result of Sonic being fused with Dark Gaia's power. He gains strength and flexibility in exchange for his speed, and new friends including a strange creature named Chip who helps him along the way. In Sonic Colors (2010), Eggman tries to harness
3120-496: A playable athlete. Espio also made a cameo in the film franchise in the film Sonic the Hedgehog 2: The Official Movie Pre-quill comic. Voiced by: Charmy Bee is a bee who is the "scatter-brained funny-kid" of the Chaotix. He is cheerful, curious, playful, careless, and greatly energetic, often talking about things no one else cares about. Charmy's fooling around makes the rest of the detective agency staff look professional, and he
3276-590: A playable character in the tie-in mobile game; Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom . Vector also made a cameo in the film franchise in the Sonic the Hedgehog 2: The Official Movie Pre-quill comic. Voiced by: Espio the Chameleon is a chameleon who is a ninja warrior . He is described as the "opinionated number one" of the Chaotix, also being the calmest. He has a "militaristic discipline" while being quiet and laid back. Confident in his skills, opinionated and self-obsessed, he revels in training and self-discipline. He
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#17328516725693432-544: A positive response by Patrick Lee of The A.V. Club and Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media . Sonic has also been used as a symbol for Sega's various sponsorships. Between 1993 and 1997, Sega sponsored the JEF United Ichihara Chiba football team, during which period Sonic appeared in the team's uniform. During the 1993 Formula One championship , Sega sponsored the Williams Grand Prix team , which won
3588-418: A raid to free prisoners from his medieval dungeon and fighting against the villainous Jack Rabbit, leader of the rogue Sand Blaster Freedom Fighters and Mighty and Ray and Mighty's long lost sister Matilda are reunited. Issue #50 , Forged In Fire was the second milestone in the series, it would feature a story focusing on Metal Sonic battling Shard the "Mecha" Sonic, this issue including a reprint of Sonic
3744-491: A redesign of him, pushing back the release date to February 14, 2020. The second trailer for the film was released on November 12, 2019, featuring the redesign, which drew in a far more positive response from both fans and critics alike. In the first film, it centers on Sonic, born with supersonic speed powers and abilities, who befriends the sheriff named Tom Wachowski, to stop the villainous Dr. Robotnik who plots to have Sonic's speed powers for world domination. A sequel, Sonic
3900-455: A separate continuity from the Sonic the Hedgehog comics published by Archie Comics and other Sonic media and, as a result, feature a distinct yet overlapping array of many characters. Sonic the Hedgehog, trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog , is a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog and the main protagonist of the series. Developed as a replacement for their existing Alex Kidd mascot, as well as Sega's response to Mario , his first appearance
4056-573: A series of electronic noises. The only notable time Metal Sonic was able to talk was in Sonic Heroes in which he was voiced by Jun'ichi Kanemaru in Japanese and Ryan Drummond in English. GameDaily placed Metal Sonic 13th on their "Top 25 Video Game Robots" list, describing him as Dr. Robotnik's "greatest creation" and praising the strength of his abilities. Knuckles the Echidna is a red echidna and one of Sonic's friendly rivals . First introduced in
4212-481: A series of games that defined a generation in gaming history, and his iconic personality was the epitome of speed in the early '90s, pushing the limits of what gamers knew and expected from high-speed action and platforming games." A Japanese team developing the Radio & Plasma Wave Investigation (RPWI) instrumentation for the upcoming Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer spacecraft, to be launched by ESA and Airbus in 2022,
4368-435: A sprite to move smoothly on a curve by determining its position with a dot matrix . This concept was subsequently fleshed out by designer Hirokazu Yasuhara . Sonic was created without the ability to swim because of a mistaken assumption by Yuji Naka that all hedgehogs could not do so. A group of fifteen people started working on the first Sonic the Hedgehog game , and renamed themselves Sonic Team . The game's soundtrack
4524-430: A strong sense of justice and kindness, despite his argumentativeness. He often does unpaid work due to his charitable nature, such as finding a lost child or taking up meager chases for children. This leaves the agency constantly short on money. Vector hates having to work for the landlord, but he enjoys singing, and his trademark accessory is a set of headphones . He is physically very strong and his powerful jaws are
4680-644: A temporary Freedom Fighter member, but who acts recklessly and shows particular animosity towards echidnas. Issues #13–16 , called "Journey to the East" (a parody of the Chinese story Journey to the West ), this arc took place between issues #209 and #210 of the main series, and featured Sonic, Tails , Sally Acorn , and their ally Monkey Khan traveling to the Dragon Kingdom, Khan's homeland as well as that of their mutual enemies,
4836-539: A trash can that reads "No Hopers" on the Cranky's Video Game Heroes screen. Sonic has appeared in several crossover games, including playable appearances in Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008), Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U (2014), and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018), Lego Dimensions (2015), and Cookie Run: Kingdom (2021). He appears in the crossover party game series Mario & Sonic at
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4992-515: A twelve-issue event featuring a crossover between the Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man comic series produced by the company. These issues, rather than being chronologically back to back, were instead released in sequence with the Mega Man and Sonic the Hedgehog issues, serving as parts 2, 5, 8, and 11 of twelve. Issues #55–58 encompassed the "Pirate Plunder Panic" saga, which directly followed up on
5148-645: A very high IQ and excellent mechanical skills. Voiced by: Amy Rose is a pink hedgehog and Sonic's self-proclaimed girlfriend, who is an energetic tomboy . Amy was created by Kazuyuki Hoshino for Sonic the Hedgehog CD (1993), although she appeared in Kenji Terada 's Sonic the Hedgehog manga a year before. Hoshino created her in-game graphics, with many staff members contributing ideas to her design. Her headband and trainer shoes reflected Sonic CD director Naoto Ohshima 's tastes, and her mannerisms reflected
5304-413: Is a large, purple anthropomorphic cat, who is depicted as—while unintelligent—sweet, easygoing, and physically strong. In Sonic Adventure , Big's story involves fishing his frog friend Froggy out of various bodies of water after Froggy swallows a Chaos Emerald and part of the tail of Chaos, the game's antagonist. In Sonic Heroes , Big teams up with Amy Rose and Cream the Rabbit to search for Froggy and
5460-402: Is a two-tailed fox who is Sonic's best friend and sidekick. His name is a pun on " miles per hour ". He can use his tails to propel himself into the air like a helicopter for a limited time. Yasushi Yamaguchi , originally the main artist and zone designer for Sega 's Sonic Team, designed Tails for an internal competition for a sidekick to Sonic. His first appearance was in Sonic 2 for
5616-565: Is discovered the Armada are working with Dr. Eggman, but as an independent force not under his control. The arc also establishes connections between the Battle Bird Armada and the Babylon Rogues , who used to work in the faction. Issues #21–24 , named "Treasure Team Tango" , starred a variety of SEGA characters. The premise of the arc involved Amy and Cream teaming up with a reluctant Blaze
5772-571: Is generally seen as a "cute mascot". Despite an innocent, good-natured and light-hearted personality, he uses his stinger on rare occasions where he gets angry. In addition to being a playable character in Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog , he made cameos in all the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games installments as a referee. Mighty the Armadillo is a black and red armadillo who debuted in
5928-548: Is his running speed, being known in the game's universe as the world's fastest hedgehog. Many of his abilities are variations on the tendency for hedgehogs to roll into tight balls for protection with the addition of spinning his body. Since his introduction in 1991's Sonic the Hedgehog , Sonic's primary offensive maneuver is the basic "Spin Attack" (or "Sonic Spin Attack"). Later games in the series expanded on this basic attack and two of these enhancements have become mainstays of his:
6084-489: Is mostly quick-witted and easygoing, he has a short temper and is often impatient with slower things. Sonic is a habitual daredevil hedgehog who is honest, loyal to friends, keeps his promises, and dislikes tears. He took the young Tails under his wing like a little brother, and is uninterested in marital proposals from Amy Rose . In times of crisis, he focuses intensely on the challenge, as if his personality had undergone an astonishing change. Sonic's greatest strength
6240-422: Is not concerned by danger, and often yearns to face it in order to use his ninja skills. With his extensive training in ninjutsu and an ability to turn himself invisible, he is able to move around unnoticed. However, a blunder like a sneeze could cause him to inadvertently become visible. Espio's debut was in the video game Knuckles' Chaotix . In the game, his color subtly changes while he moves to demonstrate
6396-568: Is not set in the main continuity. Issues #46–49 starred Team Chaotix in "Chaotix Quest" , who traveled to the regions of Mercia and the Great Desert in search of their missing teammates, Ray the Squirrel and Mighty the Armadillo . In the process, they ended up involved in conflicts between the Freedom Fighters and Dark Egg Legion Chapters of both regions. Battling the tyrannical Lord Hood in
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6552-407: Is one of the most famous video game characters in history and an established pop culture icon. He is widely considered one of the greatest video game characters and his popularity inspired a wave of imitators. His likeness has been featured in merchandise and Sega sponsorships. The Sonic series is one of the bestselling video game franchises and was one of the key reasons for Sega's success during
6708-410: Is one of the series' most popular characters, coming in fifth place in a Japanese popularity poll in 2006. Her likeness has been used in Sonic merchandise, and she appears in the television adaptations Sonic X (2003–2005), Sonic Boom (2014–2017) and Sonic Prime (2022–2024). Voiced by: Metal Sonic is an evil robotic version of Sonic created by Dr. Robotnik. He first appears in Sonic
6864-493: Is the star of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise and the mascot of the Japanese video game company Sega . Sonic is an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who can run at supersonic speed . He races through levels , collecting rings and avoiding obstacles, as he seeks to defeat his archenemy, Doctor Eggman . He is accompanied by supporting characters , such as his best friend and sidekick Miles "Tails" Prower , self-proclaimed girlfriend Amy Rose , and friendly rival Knuckles
7020-484: Is then reincarnated as an egg; the cycle then restarts and the Chao remembers the player. If, however, it has been treated poorly, the cocoon is gray and the Chao dies, removing every trace of itself from the game. Chao can breed to produce fertile eggs. Chao were designed as a "relative neutral entity" in this game. However, to remain consistent with the good–evil dichotomy of Sonic Adventure 2 , they were designed so that
7176-497: The OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode "Let's Meet Sonic". In February 2021, Sonic Prime was announced by Netflix with a 2022 release window, though the series' development was initially revealed in a deleted tweet in December 2020. The show is primarily for children ages six to eleven, as well as longtime fans of the franchise. In October 2022, Netflix set its release for December. In
7332-590: The Sonic Boom episode, "It Wasn't Me, It Was the One-Armed Hedgehog". Metal Sonic appears as a boss in the Sonic story mode of Lego Dimensions . Metal Sonic appeared as a playable character in the multiplayer mode of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle , as well as Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing , Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed , and all the Mario & Sonic titles beginning with Mario & Sonic at
7488-461: The "Dark Trilogy" . Issues #71–74 are the "Spark of Life" arc, which focuses on the artificial intelligence Freedom Fighter known as Nicole. Taking place in a both the "Digital World" and on Isolated Island (from the game Knuckles Chaotix ), it introduces the malevolent computer program Phage and Nicole's creator in the new reality, Dr. Ellidy. Issue #75 is the standalone story "Fury", in which Sonic and Metal Sonic must race to retrieve one of
7644-536: The "Great Chaos Caper," which runs parallel to the Sonic Unleashed adaptation taking place in the main series. In this, Knuckles and the Chaotix join forces in the hunt for Chaos Emeralds to help the Freedom Fighters in the quest to restore the world to normal after its shattering. In the process, they must contend with the minions of Dark Gaia and the Hooligans, a team of classic Sonic game villains consisting of Nack
7800-422: The "Worlds Unite" crossover, despite the issues forming it being released afterward. Issues #83–86 contain the story arc "Eggman's Dozen" , the title of which is a parody of The Dirty Dozen . The title refers to Dr. Eggman's Egg Bosses-his regional enforcers and leaders of the various units of his Egg Army cyborgs-being assembled by Eggman in order to reclaim the Sonic Unleashed location of Eggmanland from
7956-474: The 16-bit era in the 1990s. Sonic has been adapted in comics , animations , and films, including a live-action film franchise distributed by Paramount Pictures in which he is voiced by Ben Schwartz . While Sega was seeking a flagship series to compete with Nintendo's Mario series , several character designs were submitted by its research and development department. Many results came forth from their experiments with character design, including an armadillo,
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#17328516725698112-621: The Chao Garden restaurant in Tokyo , Japan . Chao and the Chao-raising system have received generally positive reviews. In a review of Sonic Adventure , GameSpot 's Peter Bartholow stated that "with the Chao-breeding simulation and the minigames, Sonic offers much more beyond the completion of its story." IGN stated that " SA more than has the extras department covered." This enthusiasm
8268-603: The Mega Man , Sonic the Hedgehog , and Sonic Boom comics, serving as parts 1, 5, and 9 of twelve. Issues #79–82 comprise "The Silver Age" , which follows Silver as he confronts the threat of the Genesis Portals. Helping him on his mission are scientist Professor Von Schlemmer (a character from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog ) and Gold the Tenrec ; opposing them is the evil Onyx City Council and their force of Civil Protection Robots. The events of this arc are set prior to
8424-659: The Wii U and Nintendo 3DS . Sonic and the Secret Rings (2007) features Sonic in the storybook world of One Thousand and One Nights . A sequel, Sonic and the Black Knight (2009), continued the storybook theme, this time taking place within the realm of the Arthurian legend . Sonic has also been featured in other games of many genres other than 2D and 3D platform games. These include Sonic Spinball , Sonic Labyrinth (1995),
8580-429: The 2006 game, Sonic was redesigned to make him look adult-like and taller to appeal to the next generation players. This was also done because Sonic would interact with humans more often and his design was supposed to fit. An alternative "Werehog" form was introduced in Sonic Unleashed , placing more emphasis on Sonic's melee skills rather than speed. Although Tetsu Katano acknowledged the large negative fan response to
8736-658: The Armada eventually attacked the Freedom Fighters' home city in search of their homeland. Issues #37–40 , entitled "Scrambled" , focused on the culmination of a rivalry between Dr. Eggman and his nephew Snively. The latter, having departed the Eggman Empire and set out on his own, disrupts Eggman's operations to some degree, forcing him to restore order. After a brief stop in the United Federation, where Snively approaches his half-sister Hope about joining him and Eggman engages military forces under E-123 Omega, Snively heads to
8892-502: The Armadillo. Both Ray and Mighty appeared as playable characters in the Sonic Mania expansion Sonic Mania Plus , as well as appearing in the accompanying web series Sonic Mania Adventures . Voiced by: Big the Cat first appeared in the 1998 Dreamcast game Sonic Adventure , where he was placed to justify the presence of a fishing rod in the game, although he was conceived beforehand. Big
9048-527: The Black Arms, out to avenge their fallen comrades. Team Dark along with a small squad of troops from G.U.N. have been tasked with infiltrating the comet and detonating an atomic bomb on board to destroy it. Shadow is forced to confront his past as an alien soldier when he faces the new Black Arm's leader, Black Death, and the warrior bred specifically to destroy him, Eclipse the Darkling . Issues #63–66 encompass
9204-506: The Cat , who teams up with Shadow to help him defeat the robot and return to his own reality. Following this, Shadow and Rouge the Bat team up with Sonic the Hedgehog to neutralize a weapon that Dr. Eggman intends to use against Sonic's team of Freedom Fighters and possibly other forces opposed to him. This was followed by Shadow's first encounter with future teammate E-123 Omega , and the pair teaming up with Rouge to become Team Dark and retrieve
9360-581: The Cat, dubbed "Team Rose", to locate a nearby Sol Emerald, a magical gemstone that's needed to save Blaze's homeworld. Their search is complicated by the arrival of other parties seeking the gem, including Team Dark, who have been ordered to capture the gem for G.U.N., Team Hooligan, consisting of classic SEGA characters Nack the Weasel , Bark the Polar Bear , and Bean the Dynamite , and Team Babylon, consisting of Jet
9516-532: The Chaos Emeralds that acts as a guardian for its species, protects the Master Emerald, and provides clear water around its altar. Takashi Iizuka stated that he wanted to create an antagonist who would have been impossible to create on older hardware. He settled on one relating to liquid and transparent and created Chaos. Iizuka presented the concept to Naka, who was impressed. Chaos was originally intended to have realistic blue scales in his final form, but this
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#17328516725699672-579: The Chaos Emeralds. The story involves both characters passing through a gateway known as a Genesis Portal and meeting Silver the Hedgehog, who has been traveling across time and space to shut the portals. Metal Sonic ends up stuck in space at the end of the issue. Issues #76–78 form part of the story of Archie's " Worlds Unite " story arc, a twelve-issue event that marks the second crossover between Sonic and Mega Man, as well as featuring characters from several other Sega and Capcom franchises. Like Worlds Collide , these issues were released in sequence with
9828-627: The Chaos Rings, but he is stopped by the Chaotix team. Metal Sonic notably acted as the main antagonist in Sonic Heroes , appearing in a new form as Neo Metal Sonic before transforming into the game's final boss, the Metal Overlord. Upon being defeated by Super Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, he reverts to his traditional appearance. He appears as the main antagonist in the Sonic the Hedgehog (OVA) , where Eggman records Sonic's abilities and uploads them to Metal Sonic, who proceeds in attempting to destroy
9984-570: The Constructors' Championship that year, as well as the team's lead driver, Alain Prost , winning the Drivers' Championship. Sonic was featured in the cars, helmets, and their rivals McLaren used to paint a squashed hedgehog after winning races over Williams. The 1993 European Grand Prix featured a Sonic balloon and Sonic billboards. In 1992, according to Sega of America marketing director Al Nilsen, Sonic
10140-651: The Dominion but became free to rejoin the heroes as a result of the efforts of Sonic's group. Issues #17–20 were a loose adaptation of the SEGA game Tails Adventure , which was also the title of the arc. As in the game, Tails engages the Battle Bird Armada, a group of birds who have set up a facility near the remote Cocoa Island. In the comic's version of events, Antoine and Bunnie D'Coolette, Tails' fellow Freedom Fighters, joined him on this adventure, having traveled with him to Cocoa Island for an overdue honeymoon . In this story it
10296-559: The Dragon Kingdom. There Snively rescued his love interest, the imprisoned Iron Queen, before engaging his uncle in a heated showdown. Issues #41–44 , covered "Secret Freedom" , starring Silver the Hedgehog and his new teammates, the Secret Freedom Fighters. This group, a black ops style unit created and led by deposed king Elias Acorn, set out to thwart the efforts of the evil wizard king usurper Ixis Naugus, and his traitorous apprentice Geoffrey St. John, who planned to dominate
10452-579: The E-100 series and considered the prototype of the line. He was created by Dr. Eggman and ordered to capture the Chaos Emerald from Amy Rose's Flicky friend, Birdie. He first appeared in Sonic Adventure as the main antagonist in Amy's story, where he repeatedly tries to capture Birdie. At the end of Amy's story, she destroys him. In Sonic Advance 2 , he appears in special stages, trying to prevent players from getting
10608-462: The Echidna . Sonic made a cameo appearance in the arcade game Rad Mobile (1990) before starring in Sonic the Hedgehog , a platform game for the Sega Genesis , in 1991. Sega sought a mascot to compete with Nintendo 's Mario , and Ohshima designed Sonic based on a prototype programmed by Naka. Sonic's design was influenced by a variety of sources, including Felix the Cat , Mickey Mouse , Michael Jackson , and Santa Claus ; his pigmentation
10764-417: The Eggman Empire and Robotnikland. When Sega had petitioned its research and development department to create a character who would replace Alex Kidd as its company mascot, a caricature of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt was among the proposed designs. It lost to Sonic the Hedgehog, but the design was kept for the basis for Dr. Eggman instead. Miles Prower, better known by his nickname , Tails,
10920-644: The Emeralds for an easier job. Fang tries hard to outwit others, but is held back by his clumsiness and often fails. Outside of Triple Trouble , Fang has had playable roles in Sonic Drift 2 and Sonic the Fighters in 1995 and 1996, and had been planned to be in the cancelled Sonic Xtreme . He did not have any significant roles for over two decades however, though he did make a cameo appearance on an in-game poster in 2011's Sonic Generations , and as an illusion during
11076-658: The Game Gear, where he was kidnapped by Doctor Robotnik for a "hefty" ransom. He was first made playable in the Genesis version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 . Tails has appeared in almost every Sonic game since his first appearance. Tails starred in two solo spin-off games for the Sega Game Gear in 1995 – Tails' Skypatrol , and Tails Adventure . Frequently portrayed as a sweet-natured and humble fox, Tails used to be picked on because of his twin tails, before he met Sonic. Tails has
11232-458: The Genesis game Sonic the Hedgehog 3 , Knuckles lives on Angel Island, which hovers in the sky due to the power of the Master Emerald . As the last surviving member of the Echidna people who once inhabited the island, his duty is to guard the Master Emerald. During conception of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 , the development team wanted to create a new rival for Sonic. The final design of Knuckles was
11388-591: The Hawk , Wave the Swallow and Storm the Albatross . Issues #25–28 , entitled "The Silver Saga" , featured Silver the Hedgehog visiting another alternate future. In this apocalyptic reality, he teamed up with alternate versions of characters from the present-day series under the leadership of Jani-Ca, the daughter of a corrupted Knuckles the Echidna and his love interest in the series, Julie-Su. Together, this group fought against
11544-756: The Hedgehog (2005) starred supporting characters of the Sonic series, although Sonic himself cameos in most of them. Sonic makes cameos in various other games, such as Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg as a power-up, in the main hallway in Phantasy Star Universe , and in the 2008 remake of Samba de Amigo . He is also a playable character in Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams . Nintendo, Sega's former rival, references Sonic in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest , by showing Sonic's shoes next to
11700-610: The Hedgehog #25, the story in which both were first introduced (as the same entity). Originally this issue was planned to feature an epilogue to the animated series Sonic Underground . This was the last issue to be set in the original Pre-Super-Genesis-Wave timeline, which was overwritten by a new reality following the Worlds Collide crossover due to legal issues between Archie and former Sonic writer Ken Penders . Issues #51–54 were included in Archie's " Worlds Collide " story arc,
11856-612: The Hedgehog , Sonic SatAM , and Sonic Underground . Sam Vincent provided his singing voice in the latter DiC cartoon. Starting with Sonic Adventure , Sonic was voiced in English by Ryan Drummond . Drummond was replaced by Jason Griffith starting from Sonic X , with Griffith voicing Sonic within the games starting with Shadow The Hedgehog in 2005. Griffith was replaced by Roger Craig Smith , starting with Sonic Free Riders and Sonic Colors . Smith announced on his Twitter account on January 29, 2021, that he would no longer voice Sonic, with his departure confirmed by Sega
12012-502: The Hedgehog , with Junichi Kanemaru continually voicing the role beginning with the release of Sonic Adventure . Kanemaru also voices Sonic in Sonic X , Sonic Boom , and the Japanese dub of the Wreck-It Ralph films. In Sonic Unleashed , Sonic was voiced by Tomokazu Seki while in Werehog form. Jaleel White voiced the character in the DiC animated series Adventures of Sonic
12168-409: The Hedgehog . Sonic Heroes (2003) featured Sonic teaming up with Tails and Knuckles, along with other character teams like Team Rose and Chaotix , against the newly rebuilt Metal Sonic, who had betrayed his master with intentions of world domination. Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) features Sonic in the city of water, "Soleanna", where he must rescue Princess Elise from Dr. Eggman while trying to avoid
12324-451: The Hedgehog 2 , was released on April 8, 2022, and it centers on Sonic and Tails on a race to prevent Robotnik and Knuckles from getting the hands on the Master Emerald. The original design of Sonic from the first movie's initial trailer appears in Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers , voiced by Tim Robinson . Named "Ugly Sonic", he is portrayed as a washed up actor looking to make a comeback after he
12480-457: The Hedgehog 2 . When all the Chaos Emeralds have been collected, Sonic can transform into Super Sonic by collecting 50 rings. Super Sonic is nearly invincible, runs faster, and jumps farther, but loses one ring per second and reverts to normal when his rings are depleted. Sonic CD , released in 1993, introduced Sonic's self-appointed girlfriend Amy Rose and recurring robotic doppelgänger Metal Sonic as Sonic traveled through time to ensure
12636-517: The Hedgehog CD . He is given orders to go back in time and change the past so that Dr. Eggman can rule the future. Sonic must race him in Stardust Speedway to free Amy Rose. He is severely wounded when he crashes and falls, but is rejuvenated by Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II , only to be defeated again in a similar style. He returns in Knuckles' Chaotix , where he attempts to obtain
12792-584: The Iron Dominion. The purpose of the journey was to break ties between the Iron Queen and King and the four ninja clans who swore allegiance to them. In the process, the group learned more about characters they had previously encountered, formed a temporary alliance with a group of foes known as the Destructix, and were rejoined by estranged ally Espio the Chameleon , who had left the Chaotix to join his people under
12948-399: The Master Emerald, which had previously been shattered in the final issue of "Total Eclipse" . They are joined by Team Dark, who is currently hunting down Eclipse and his Dark Arms; Walter Naugus returns from Eggman's Dozen, plotting to reconstruct the Master Emerald, and disguises himself as an ancient echidna called Nixus to trick Knuckles into giving him the shards. Issues #91–94 make up
13104-515: The Naugus Twins. These two villains consist of Walter Naugus-the recurring comics villain formerly known as Ixis Naugus (who first appeared in the Sonic the Hedgehog TV series)-and his sister Wendy Naugus-a new character based on the main antagonist from the game Tails' Skypatrol . Issues #87–90 make up the story "Shattered" , in which Knuckles and Amy search for the few remaining shards of
13260-755: The Olympic Games and is also a playable character in all three Sega Superstars games. An official Sonic the Hedgehog skin is available in the platformer battle royale game Fall Guys . Sonic appears as a playable character in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 via free update. An official Sonic the Hedgehog world with skins are available with DLC in Minecraft . He is also appears as an unlockable playable character in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD and Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania . The first three animated series featuring Sonic were created by
13416-623: The Olympic Winter Games . Collecting all the emblems in Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut unlocks Metal Sonic as a bonus playable character in Sonic's stages, and purchasing both episodes of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I unlocks bonus levels in which Metal Sonic is playable. He possesses great strength, including a laser cannon , a jet engine and a force field device he can use to protect himself from projectiles and certain attacks. He usually only communicates with
13572-651: The Sniper, initially known as Nack the Weasel in English localizations, is a purple jerboa that first appeared in the Game Gear video game Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble in 1994. His character is a treasure hunter in search of the Chaos Emeralds ; however he does not know of their true power and merely wants to sell them for his own profit. He is a slick, sneaky, and mischievous character who will steal
13728-435: The Sonic character, the first which became the plot for the first Sonic game; Ohshima stated that this influence can be seen in the logo of the game, which features Sonic in a pilot's wing emblem. The origins of Sonic can be traced farther back to a draft created by Naoto Ōshima in 1989, which years later turned into Sonic. Yuji Naka implemented the idea of a character running inside loops with an algorithm that allowed
13884-569: The Spin Dash which was introduced in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and involves Sonic spinning on the spot before blasting off at full speed, and the Homing Attack, officially introduced in Sonic Adventure , in which Sonic dashes toward a target in midair. Sonic's only weakness is that he cannot swim, sinking like a rock if plunged to a deep body of water. The reason for this is because Yuji Naka had
14040-520: The Weasel, Bark the Polar Bear, and Bean the Dynamite. Along the way they meet Chip, the Light Gaia. Issues #67–70 make up the "Total Eclipse" arc, a sequel to both "Shadow Fall" and "Great Chaos Caper", continuing Knuckles and Team Dark's plotlines from both as Eclipse and the Dark Arms land on Angel Island. Team Dark arrives in pursuit of him, and Knuckles reluctantly joins forces with them to hunt down
14196-458: The Werehog, he believes it could return in a future game. Bob Raffei, CEO of Sonic Boom developer Big Red Button, stated that Sonic Boom 's Sonic is "very different... both in tone and art direction." Sonic originally had a few voice samples in Sonic CD , with designer Masato Nishimura providing the voice. Sonic's first true voice actor was Takeshi Kusao for the arcade game SegaSonic
14352-497: The Zone Cops, Scourge had lost much of his confidence and become the punching bag of many of his fellow inmates. However, things change when the Destructix, former allies of his and led by his girlfriend, Fiona Fox , arrive in the jail with plans to break him out. This arc was notable in that it featured no actual SEGA characters, but rather variations of them exclusive to the comic. Issues #33–36 , known as "Babylon Rising" , continued
14508-605: The accompanying web series Sonic Mania Adventures . Ray the Flying Squirrel is a yellow flying squirrel who debuted in the arcade game SegaSonic the Hedgehog . While he can run as fast as Sonic, Ray can also climb trees and glide. His long period of absence was alluded to in Sonic Generations , in which he is shown on a missing persons poster during the City Escape level alongside fellow SegaSonic character Mighty
14664-478: The arcade game SegaSonic the Hedgehog and later appeared in the 32X game Knuckles' Chaotix . The character is described as a traveler who loves nature and desires to see every place. Mighty hates to see weaknesses in others and detests violence. He prefers to be gentle but undergoes a drastic change and is capable when needed. Mighty's only appearance as part of the Chaotix was in Knuckles Chaotix , and
14820-574: The boss fight with Heavy Magician in Sonic Mania in 2017. In 2023, he was announced to be returning in a main role as a central villain in Sonic Superstars , now under the name "Fang the Hunter"; a tie-in comic released by Sega prior to the game's launch offered the in-fiction explanation that Fang frequently operates under different aliases in order to conduct his criminal activities. The Chaotix are
14976-458: The character up for an American audience by removing those elements. This sparked a heated issue with Sonic Team. Naka later admitted that it was probably for the best. Sonic's appearance varies greatly depending on the medium and the style in which he is drawn. In the video games, Sonic's original design by Ohshima was short and round, with short quills, a round body, and no visible irises. Artwork featuring this design and drawn by Akira Watanabe
15132-470: The character won a Golden Joystick Award for "The Sun Ultimate Gaming Hero". The character's popularity declined in the mid-1990s, and Sonic failed to place in Electronic Gaming Monthly ' s Coolest Mascot of 1996 in either the editors' or readers' picks, being beaten out by not only competitors Mario and Crash Bandicoot , but Sega's own Nights ; however, in a 2008 poll of 500 people, Sonic
15288-415: The city of New Mobotropolis though ancient mind controlling magic. In doing so, the group operated in disguise and using codenames so as to prevent their true identities from being discovered by Naugus, who would hurt their vulnerable families and friends if found out. Issue #45 was the first single-issue story, and served as an adaptation of the racing game Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed . It
15444-432: The designs, the spiky teal hedgehog, initially codenamed "Mr. Hedgehog" ( Mr.ハリネズミ , Mr. Harinezumi ) , led this informal poll, followed by Eggman and the dog character. Ohshima felt that people selected it because it "transcends race and gender and things like that". On return to Japan, Ohshima pitched this to the department, and the hedgehog was ultimately selected as the new mascot . The detailed design of Sonic
15600-402: The discontinuation of their business relationship with Archie Comics, and thus the latter will no longer release any further Sonic the Hedgehog comics, including Sonic Universe . Issues #1–4 , entitled "The Shadow Saga", follow Shadow the Hedgehog continuing the events from Sonic the Hedgehog #196 and Sonic X #40. Shadow and Metal Sonic end up on the alternate world that is home to Blaze
15756-823: The energy of alien beings known as "Wisps" for a mind-control beam. Sonic Generations (2011) features two playable incarnations of Sonic: the younger "classic" Sonic, whose gameplay is presented in a style reminiscent of the Mega Drive/Genesis games, and present-day "modern" Sonic, who uses the gameplay style present in Unleashed and Colors , going through stages from past games to save their friends. Sonic Generations features various theme songs including modern and retro versions that are able to be selected from throughout Sonic's twenty-year history. In April 2013, Sega announced that Sonic Lost World would launch in October 2013 for
15912-589: The events of the Worlds Collide Crossover, and had connections to the previous Treasure Team Tango arc and the first Sonic Universe arc The Shadow Saga . Amy Rose and Cream the Rabbit, along with recurring anti-villains Bark the Polar Bear and Bean the Dynamite, are transported to the Sol Dimension, the world of Blaze the Cat. The two heroines join up with Blaze and her sidekick, Marine the Raccoon , against
16068-558: The evil Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Numerous British publications, including "Sega handbook" Stay Sonic (1993), four novels published by Virgin Books (1993–1994) and the comic book Sonic the Comic (1993–2001), published by Fleetway Publications / Egmont Publishing , used this premise as their basis. The American comics published by Archie Comics , Sonic the Hedgehog (1993–2017), Sonic X (2005–2008), and Sonic Universe (2009–2017) are based on
16224-592: The evil entity Enerjak. As a result of the search, they end up fighting Dr. Finitevus and his temporary allies, a chapter of the Dark Egg Legion composed almost entirely of Platypus members, led by Grandmaster Bill, a former Freedom Fighter. They are joined in battle by the Downunda Freedom Fighters , the local chapter of heroes defending the region. This arc also introduced Thrash the Tasmanian Devil as
16380-491: The feature in the game, comparing Chao to Tamagotchi digital pets. GameSpot's Frank Provo noted the appeal to "those people who might only enjoy pinball in passing" that Chao brought to Sonic Pinball Party . 1UP.com 's Chris Baker called the Chao feature in Sega Superstars "ultimately worthless... but some might find it amusing." In a review of Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood , GameSpot's Shiva Stella praised
16536-557: The fictional universe, following various characters in the Sonic universe on their own adventures, which eventually crossed over into the core series on numerous occasions. Sonic Universe was published monthly by Archie Comics alongside its parent title Sonic the Hedgehog . The first issue was released in February 2009, following the cancellation of Sonic X ; issue #94 was the last, released in January 2017. An official Sonic Universe blog
16692-474: The game's story mode. In Sonic Generations , he appears in his classic form as a rival boss, battling Classic Sonic in Stardust Speedway before ultimately being destroyed. In the 2024 remaster Sonic X Shadow Generations , his Metal Overlord form returns as a boss that Shadow battles. Metal Sonic returns as a boss character in Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal . He appears in
16848-547: The games, Amy is depicted as driven and competitive. She spends much of her time following Sonic to get his attention or make sure he is safe while demonstrating her affection. Series co-creator Yuji Naka said that Amy was designed "to always chase Sonic", and has made it her life goal to one day marry him. Not possessing the speed or strength of the other characters, Amy uses a hammer to defend herself instead. In Sonic CD , Metal Sonic kidnaps Amy and Sonic must rescue her. When he does, Amy kisses him. Amy's first appearance in
17004-680: The heart of the girl ghost. Sonic also makes multiple cameo appearances in the Disney films, Wreck-It Ralph (2012) and its sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018). In October 2013, Sega announced a CGI animated series, Sonic Boom . The show ran for 104 11-minute episodes between 2014 and 2017 on Cartoon Network in the U.S. and the UK, and Canal J and Gulli in France. Sonic makes several appearances in 2014 anime Hi-sCoool! SeHa Girls and guest-stars in
17160-566: The heroes from the present reality of the series, to thwart the evil King Shadow the Hedgehog, who unleashes a monstrous fusion of Tikal and Chaos from the video game Sonic Adventure . Issues #9–12 , known as "Knuckles: The Return" , in which Knuckles and his teammates, the Chaotix , set out to capture the Echidna villain Dr. Finitevus and punish him for his recent involvement in Knuckles' brief possession by
17316-519: The inaugural Walk of Game class in 2005, along with former rivals Mario and Link (both from Nintendo ). One of a class of genes involved in fruit fly embryonic development, called hedgehog genes, has been named " sonic hedgehog " after him. On the other hand, Sonic's apparent romantic relationship with Princess Elise in the 2006 video game resulted in major criticism. Sonic's characterization and relationship with Eggman in Sonic Boom earned
17472-497: The international company DiC . The first of these series, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog , premiered in 1993, and depicts Sonic and his friend Tails opposing Doctor Ivo Robotnik and his robots on the planet Mobius. Another animated series premiering the same year, simply titled Sonic the Hedgehog , depicts Sonic and a group of rebels aiming to defeat Robotnik in a futuristic version of Mobius. The third animated series, Sonic Underground , premiered in 1999, and features Sonic as
17628-454: The key reasons for the company's success during the 16-bit era of video game consoles, Sonic is one of the most famous video game characters in the world. In 1993, Sonic became the first video game character to have a balloon in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade . In 1996, Sonic was also the first video game character to be seen in a Rose Parade . Sonic was one of the three game characters inducted on
17784-408: The level of strategy that the game's Chao system added. Destructoid 's Jim Sterling voiced a similar opinion, though they said that Chao had been "rubbish" in previous games. The E-100 Series is a group of robots created by Doctor Eggman , who uses them in his quest to conquer the world; however, some of their members have since gone rogue. E-100 Alpha, better known as Zero, is the first of
17940-465: The longest-running comic based on a game. Archie Comics also released a twelve part crossover with Mega Man beginning in 2013. The Archie comics were later succeeded by a new comic series by IDW Publishing in 2018, which is currently ongoing. Sonic has also been featured in two different manga . One series was simply called Sonic the Hedgehog , and featured a story about a normal hedgehog boy named Nicky who can change into Sonic. The other series
18096-473: The main antagonist of the series. Debuting in the first game of the series, Sonic the Hedgehog , he was shown attempting to collect the Chaos Emeralds and turn all of the animals inhabiting the land into robots. He is a self-proclaimed or certifiable genius with an IQ of 300. His fondness for mechas has made him a renowned authority on robotics. Ultimately, Eggman's goal is to conquer the world and create his ultimate utopia, Eggmanland, alternatively known as
18252-536: The new characters in the series. Voiced by: Vector the Crocodile is a large crocodile who is the "head honcho" and brains of the Chaotix Detective Agency. Divided between being both "bossy" and "easy-going", his rough speech and outward appearance mask his clear reasoning and ability to resolve cases. For the right price he will take on most jobs, unless they involve doing something immoral. Vector has
18408-473: The player could raise them as "Hero Chao" or "Dark Chao". Chao were given the ability to socialize and interact in Sonic Adventure 2 in order to make the game unique, and to more resemble "a real artificial life form." Chaos would reappears in other games included his perfect form appeared in Sonic Generations as a boss with updated appearance. Chao will appear in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 , as mascots of
18564-510: The player jumps, spins around, or throws them. A Chao's diets consist of tree fruit and coconuts . They hatch from eggs found in Chao Gardens. When the player spends enough time with a Chao in the Chao Garden, it eventually develops into a cocoon and hatches from this as an adult. Eventually it develops into another cocoon. If the Chao has been treated well, the cocoon is pink and the Chao
18720-584: The protagonist alongside his siblings Sonia and Manic. In 1996, a two-part OVA , Sonic the Hedgehog , was released in Japan. For the American release, the two episodes combined and released as Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie by ADV Films . A new series, Sonic X , began airing in 2003. The 78-episode anime series detailed Sonic's struggle to protect the Chaos Emeralds from Eggman and new villains. Featuring
18876-605: The racing games Sonic Drift (1994), Sonic Drift 2 (1995), Sonic R (1996), Sonic Riders (2006), Sonic Rivals (2006), Sonic Rivals 2 (2007), Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (2008), and Sonic Free Riders (2010), the fighting games Sonic the Fighters (1996) and Sonic Battle (2003), the mobile game Sonic Jump (2005), and the role-playing video game Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (2008). Video games such as Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (1993), Knuckles' Chaotix (1995), Tails' Skypatrol (1995), Tails Adventure (1995), and Shadow
19032-443: The result of dozens of possible designs inspired by numerous different animals. A character with many different abilities and skills, he is physically one of the strongest characters of the Sonic series. His strength and mastery of martial arts, specializing in punches, enables him to perform feats such as shattering boulders with his fists, while he can trap air underneath his dreadlocks in order to glide for short distances. Fang
19188-614: The return of both Tails as Sonic's sidekick and Metal Sonic as a recurring enemy. Other two-dimensional platformers starring Sonic include Sonic Chaos (1993), Sonic Triple Trouble (1994), Sonic Blast (1996), Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure (1999), Sonic Advance (2001), Sonic Advance 2 (2002), Sonic Advance 3 (2004), Sonic Rush (2005), Sonic Rush Adventure (2007), Sonic Colors (2010), and Sonic Generations (2011), all in which were released for handheld consoles. Sonic Adventure (1998)
19344-470: The same day. On May 26, 2021, Smith and Sega confirmed that he was voicing Sonic once again. Ben Schwartz voiced Sonic in the 2020 feature film , its 2022 sequel , and will reprise his role in the upcoming 2024 sequel . Canadian actor Deven Mack voices Sonic in the Sonic Prime animated series. Sonic's first shown appearance in a video game was in the 1990 arcade racing game Rad Mobile , as
19500-632: The series, after recklessly breaking the Paradox Prism which breaks the entire universe and creates several alterative dimensions and versions of his friends, Sonic desperately seeks to restore them and embarks on a mission to find the shards of the Prism and fix it. On June 10, 2014, a film based on the Sonic series was announced. Simply known as Sonic the Hedgehog , it was produced by Neal Moritz on his Original Film banner alongside Takeshi Ito and Mie Onishi, with Toby Ascher as executive producer. The film
19656-532: The settings established by earlier animated TV series, the ABC " SatAM " cartoon, the Sonic X anime , and an expansion to the series, respectively. The former series is currently the second longest-running licensed comic series in the history of American comic books, second only to Marvel 's Conan series (first issue released in 1970). In France two comic books named "Sonic Adventures" were published by Sirène in 1994. Guinness World Records recognized Sonic comic as
19812-434: The seven Chaos Emeralds. Voiced by: E-102 Gamma also primarily appears in Sonic Adventure . He is a red, bulky robot with a powerful gun built into his arm. Gamma turns against his master after a heartfelt conversation with Amy Rose, who becomes his friend, and destroys the other E-100 Series robots to free the trapped animals inside them before ultimately doing the same to himself. He offers shoot-'em-up gameplay to
19968-622: The story "The Case of the Pirate Princess" . In this one the Chaotix try to save Princess Undina from the Pirates of the Setting Dawn and get caught up in a treasure hunt. This was the last Sonic Universe story to be released until Archie and Sega ended their partnership and cancelled the comic. Sonic the Hedgehog (character) Sonic the Hedgehog is a character created by the Japanese game developers Yuji Naka and Naoto Ohshima . He
20124-496: The story of the Babylon Rogues and the Battle Bird Armada. The trio of renegades ended up being forced into rejoining the Armada, and together the two forces set out to locate their lost homeland of Babylon Garden. In this way the arc adapts concepts from the video game Sonic Riders , though again with elements from the ongoing comic series playing a heavy role. This was one of the few arcs to feature Sonic with some prominence, as
20280-454: The technical capabilities of the Sega 32X console. Espio was incorporated into Sonic Heroes as part of a move to reintroduce neglected characters, and because the development team considered him to have a unique, interesting personality. He was the designated "speed" character in Sonic Heroes while teammates Vector the Crocodile and Charmy Bee respectively represented "power" and "flight". Espio
20436-518: The threat. However, when Eclipse sets out to claim the Master Emerald, Shadow decides to turn it over to G.U.N., enraging Knuckles who fights him to keep the Emerald on Angel Island. Their infighting results in Eclipse taking the Emerald, forcing Knuckles to shatter it and thus leading to his involvement in the main series' storyline. Combined, "Shadow Fall" , "Great Chaos Caper" and "Total Eclipse" make up
20592-467: The traits Hoshino looked for in women at the time. Her fur color was red at first, and her skirt orange. The character had two other names in game previews: Rosy the Rascal and Princess Sally (a character in the Sonic the Hedgehog TV series and comics). Amy received her present design, with a red dress and knee-high leather boots, in Sonic Adventure (1998), courtesy of designer Yuji Uekawa . In
20748-444: The video game critics and fans for his obesity, low intelligence, one-dimensional development and uselessness within his games; he has appeared on several lists of the worst video game characters of all time and within the Sonic cast. Due to his poor reception and apparent uselessness, Sonic Team claimed they would be retiring the character from appearing in future games in 2012, although head Takashi Iizuka has since stated that
20904-447: The villainous Enerjak and his minions, who consisted of robotic slaves created from the stolen life force of various characters previously introduced in the series. The first installment marked the series' first landmark issue. Issues #29–32 , called "Scourge: Lock Down" , focusing on Sonic's evil counterpart from an alternate dimension, Scourge the Hedgehog. Having previously been handed over to an inter-dimensional police force known as
21060-464: The world before being tossed into lava by Sonic. Metal Sonic appears as a bonus playable character in Sonic Rivals , reprogrammed to aid Eggman Nega in his attempt to take over the world. He returns as a playable character in Sonic Rivals 2 , under orders from Eggman to aid Shadow in stopping Eggman Nega's plans. In Sonic Free Riders , Metal Sonic is a playable character and the final opponent in
21216-440: The world. Sonic can curl into a ball to attack enemies and use the Chaos Emeralds to become invulnerable . He has appeared in over 100 video games , in addition to guest appearances in other Sega franchises and in crossover games such as Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. series. Jun'ichi Kanemaru voices Sonic in Japan, while his English voice has been provided by Ryan Drummond , Jason Griffith , and Roger Craig Smith . Sonic
21372-421: Was Sonic Team's return to the character for a major game. It featured Sonic returning from vacation to find the city of Station Square under attack by a new foe named Chaos , under the control of Dr. Robotnik (now known as Dr. Eggman ). It was also the first Sonic game to feature a complete voice-over . Sonic Adventure 2 (2001) placed Sonic on-the-run from the military (G.U.N.) after being mistaken for Shadow
21528-417: Was a compilation of short stories and was separated into two volumes, the first being called Dash and Spin , and the other called Super Fast Sonic!! . According to various official materials from Sega, Sonic is described as a character who is "like the wind": a drifter who lives as he wants, and makes life a series of events and adventures. Sonic hates oppression and staunchly defends freedom. Although he
21684-524: Was abandoned because of the technological constraints of the Dreamcast . Iizuka stated in an interview with video game publication 1UP.com that Chao were incorporated into Sonic Adventure "so that new players would be forced to go out, explore the action sections, and find Flickies and things." Professor Chao, a minor character in Sonic Adventure 2 , states that Chao are cute, and enjoy toys and being held or petted. However, they dislike being held while
21840-475: Was able to gain Sega's approval to use Sonic as the mascot for the device. An Internet meme called "Sanic" has been used based on a poorly drawn Sonic; typically, the meme uses one of Sonic's catchphrases but with poor grammar. Sega's official Sonic Twitter account has made numerous references to it, and it appeared in official downloadable content for Sonic Forces on in-game shirts. The meme also appears as
21996-407: Was absent when the rest of the group was reintroduced into the series with Sonic Heroes in 2003. His long period of absence was alluded to in Sonic Generations , in which he is shown on a missing persons poster alongside fellow SegaSonic character Ray the Flying Squirrel. Both Mighty and Ray appeared as playable characters in the Sonic Mania expansion Sonic Mania Plus , as well as appearing in
22152-406: Was added to Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Rivals 2 to help "round out our cast of characters", and because designer Takashi Iizuka appreciated the character's "stealthy agility". Espio appeared as a playable character in the arcade fighting game Sonic the Fighters , and has also appeared in all installments of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games as the referee in various events and later
22308-530: Was aimed to be something that could be easily drawn by children and be familiar, as well as exhibit a "cool" attitude, representative of the United States at the time. Sonic's blue pigmentation was chosen to match Sega's cobalt blue logo, and his shoes evolved from a design inspired by both Santa Claus and Michael Jackson 's boots with the addition of the color red, which was inspired by the contrast of those colors on Jackson's 1987 album Bad ; his personality
22464-412: Was also the one of only mainline game characters to appear in the Sonic Boom franchise, making his debut into the sub-franchise in the season two episode; Vector Detector . He later made a few cameo appearances such as in the finale. Like the other characters he was redesigned for the series, sporting an arm tattoo and a leather jacket in place of his traditional headphones. In 2021, he was later added as
22620-501: Was based on then- Governor of Arkansas and later President of the United States Bill Clinton 's "Get it done" attitude. To help sell the idea to Sega's higher-ups, Ohshima pitched the concept framed by a fictional fighter pilot that had earned the name "Hedgehog" due to his spiky hair, and had decorated his plane with images of Sonic. When this pilot retired, he married a children's book author, who wrote stories about
22776-435: Was chosen to match Sega's cobalt blue logo. Yuji Uekawa redesigned Sonic for Sonic Adventure (1998) to suit the franchise's transition to 3D computer graphics , with a more mature look designed to appeal to older players. Sonic media characterizes Sonic as an impatient, snarky drifter and daredevil who despises injustice. He battles Eggman, a mad scientist who seeks to steal the mystical Chaos Emeralds and take over
22932-475: Was composed by Masato Nakamura of the band Dreams Come True . Sega sponsored the group's "Wonder 3" tour, painting Sonic on the tour bus, distributing pamphlets advertising the game, and having footage of the game broadcast above stage prior to its release. The original concepts gave Sonic fangs and put him in a band with a human girlfriend named Madonna. However, a team from Sega of America, led by Madeline Schroeder, who calls herself "Sonic's mother", "softened"
23088-476: Was displayed on the package artwork for Sonic the Hedgehog . Sonic's proportions would change for the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the Mega Drive; Sonic's head to height ratio was changed from 1:2 to 1:2.5. For the 1998 release of Sonic Adventure , Sonic was redesigned by Yuji Uekawa as a character with longer legs and a less spherical body, longer and more drooping quills, and green-colored irises. For
23244-485: Was extended to IGN 's reviews of Sonic Adventure 2 , Sonic Advance , and Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut . GameSpot 's Shane Satterfield was critical of the Chao raising feature in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle , stating that "there's little in the way of interactivity" and that "the Chao training aspect using the Game Boy Advance is little more than a novelty." However, GameSpy 's Shane Bettenhausen praised
23400-471: Was found to be more recognizable than Mickey Mouse in the six-to eleven-year-old demographic, based on the character's respective Q Scores , although this claim could not be confirmed by Q Score developer Marketing Evaluations, Inc. Nintendo Power listed Sonic as their sixth favorite hero, stating that while he was originally Mario's nemesis, he seems at home on Nintendo platforms. They added that he has remained as one of gaming's greatest icons. In 2004,
23556-417: Was in the arcade game Rad Mobile as a cameo, before making his official debut in Sonic the Hedgehog (1991). Sonic's greatest ability is his running speed, and he is known as the world's fastest hedgehog. Using the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds , he becomes Super Sonic and can achieve even greater speeds. Doctor Ivo Robotnik, better known by his alias Doctor Eggman, is a human mad scientist and
23712-515: Was kicked off the film. Sonic briefly appears as a player's avatar in the 2018 film Ready Player One . Sonic's first comic appearance was in a promotional comic printed in Disney Adventures magazine (and also given away as a free pull-out with a copy of Mean Machines magazine), which established a backstory for the character involving the origin of his color and abilities and the transformation of kindly scientist Dr. Ovi Kintobor into
23868-523: Was part of Team Chaotix in Sonic Heroes and is featured in Shadow the Hedgehog , Sonic Generations , Sonic Forces and several other games (alongside both Espio and Charmy in said games). In all instalments of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games , he is a playable athlete. He has also been playable in other spinoff titles such as Sonic Free Riders and Team Sonic Racing , and mobile games like Sonic Forces: Speed Battle and Sonic Dash . Vector
24024-475: Was run on Archie Comics' website that would occasionally go into further detail about the events in the stories, such as revealing what happened in the alternate timeline Silver the Hedgehog traveled to in The Silver Saga after he left, but it has since been discontinued. The series subsequently surpassed Knuckles the Echidna as the longest running spinoff of the main series. In July 2017, Sega announced
24180-709: Was voted the most popular video game character in the UK with a 24% vote while his old rival Mario came second with 21% of the vote. Later that year, Sonic was ranked as the most iconic video game character in an MSN rankings list. In 2011, Empire ranked him as the 14th greatest video game character. And he was voted 10th out of the top 50 video game characters of all time in Guinness World Records 2011 Gamers' Edition. Sonic ranked ninth on GameDaily 's Top 10 Smash Bros characters list. GameDaily also listed his "next-generation stumble" in their list of video game characters' worst moments, using his relationship with
24336-435: Was written by Pat Casey and Josh Miller and produced as a joint venture between Paramount Pictures and Marza Animation Planet . The film is a live-action and CGI hybrid. The movie was filmed in 2018, with a release date initially set for November 8, 2019. Upon the release of the film's first trailer in late April 2019, however, Sonic's appearance was heavily criticized, leading to the director, Jeff Fowler , to announce
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