Vector the Crocodile

"Once we start a job we finish a job! That's our policy! We're TEAM CHAOTIX!"

- Vector

Vector the Crocodile (ベクター・ザ・クロコダイル) is a character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series and leader of the Chaotix detective team who debuted in the game Knuckles' Chaotix. Vector is a large strong anthropomorphic crocodile. Vector's trademark is a set of headphones which he always listens to, even during missions.

History
After the events that had occurred on Carnival Island (AKA Knuckles Chaotix), The Chaotix went their separate ways and did their own little jig. However, after some years had passed by, Vector decided to start up his own Detective Agency. Upon contacting his fellows Espio and Charmy, the two agreed to come aboard for more excitement. However, Mighty had declined Vector's offer, for his own reasons. Once they had gotten together, the three settled their Agency in Central City, and have been answering what calls they managed to get ever since.

Sonic the Hedgehog
Vector was originally slated to be one of the characters in the scrapped Sonic the Hedgehog sound test, and is thus among the oldest (game appearance-wise) of the Sonic characters alongside Sonic himself, Mighty and Eggman.

Knuckles' Chaotix
Vector's first actual appearance was in Knuckles' Chaotix (simply Chaotix in Japan) for the Sega 32X. The Japanese manual states that after an island rises from the ocean depths, Vector travels there as he interpreted the islands sudden appearance from out of nowhere as a miracle from God. Upon arriving, he is captured by Doctor Eggman, who is building his Newtrogic High Zone base on the island, and the villain places Vector in the "Combi-Confiner". In the American manual, he is a friend of Knuckles the Echidna, and is captured as Eggman attacks "Carnival Island", out to steal its power source.

In both stories, Knuckles the Echidna arrives at the island in order to stop Eggman, and can choose Vector as a partner character after the initial training stage. Vector can do mid-air dashes and climb on walls.

Sonic Heroes
The Chaotix surprisingly reappeared in Sonic Heroes, where Vector, Espio the Chameleon and Charmy Bee have created their own detective agency, with Vector being the leader of the group. They are hired by an anonymous character that contacts them via a walkie-talkie, and perform several missions for the voice after being promised a hefty reward. Throughout the game, Vector is the "power" member of Team Chaotix, and as such uses his strength to destroy obstacles and enemies.

In the end of their story, Team Chaotix rescue their client, who turns out to be Doctor Eggman (which Vector had figured out but not revealed to Charmy or Espio), framed throughout the game by Metal Sonic. After Metal Sonic transforms into Metal Madness, Team Chaotix help out giving Team Sonic their collected Chaos Emeralds and by attacking Metal Madness's left side, buying time for Sonic, Tails and Knuckles to turn into their super forms and defeat him. After this, the Chaotix chase after the fleeing Eggman in order to get their payment.

Shadow the Hedgehog
Vector works on an unknown case with the rest of the Chaotix. He appears in a few cut-scenes throughout Story Mode and is mentioned by Charmy in Prison Island and Espio in Mad Matrix, but most notably he is a partner character on the Cosmic Fall stage. In that stage, Shadow goes to the Space Colony ARK where he runs into Vector, who is looking for the ARK's main computer room. The player can choose to help him or not, and if one does help him, Vector also appears in the boss fight against Black Doom. After Black Doom is defeated, he "reveals" that Shadow is just a failed experiment, and Shadow slowly walks away as Vector desperately tries to comfort him. If the player does not choose to help Vector in Cosmic Fall and does Doom's Eye's mission instead, Vector will still help Shadow fight the Egg Dealer. However, he doesn't appear in the cut scenes before or after the battle, so he was most likely there because every boss battle needs a mission character and Doom's Eye would not have been fitting for the battle.

That ending is however only a possibility, and not canon to the storyline. In the real ending, Vector and the rest of the Chaotix are again on the ARK, where they accidentally activate a video created by Gerald Robotnik, which gives Shadow the determination he needs to defeat Black Doom once and for all.

Sonic Rivals
Vector appears on two collectible cards in Sonic Rivals.

Sonic Rivals 2
Vector appears in Sonic Rivals 2 as the main supporter of Espio.

Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games
In Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games he appears as a Power-type character, and has the following stats in the DS Version:


 * Speed: 1.5 out of 5
 * Power: 4.5 out of 5
 * Skill: 1.5 out of 5
 * Stamina: 4.5 out of 5

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
Vector makes a cameo appearance working for G.U.N. to gather clues about the Marauders. He appears in one cutscene near the beginning in Central City.

Personality
Vector is the head honcho of the Chaotix Detective Agency, and will take almost any job so long as the pay is right. He has a rough demeanor, and at times he is even downright rude, but deep down he's actually quite a kind soul, and has been known to occasionally do cases for free (such as finding children's lost toys).

Abilities
Like most Sonic characters, Vector can curl up into a ball (More so a wheel) to jump on enemies, in a move known as the "spin jump". He is also known to be quite powerful, as he was the power team member in Sonic Heroes. He has some super speed, as seen in Chaotix, although he isn't as fast as Sonic or Shadow or even Espio. Vector can also blow up bubblegum bubbles to slowly descend and is able to slam his body on the ground to cause massive damage. In Sonic Heroes, he can also hold and throw Espio and Charmy using his mouth, spit musical notes, breathe fire (seen also in Sonic X), fire exploding bubblegum, and can use his sharp teeth to bite through hard obstacles. He can also sing somewhat well, which he does during the Team Chaotix' Team Blast, "Chaotix Recital" though it could be argued that his singing is so bad that it destroyed the robots. He also was included in their theme "Team Chaotix", Specifically, in the line "The muscle is Vector, the karma collector and he's sworn to fight for you." And in the Archie comics, Vector has shown that he can use his Walkman as a form of long range attacks, usually stunning or knocking his opponents down. He can also use the Walkman to put out fires.

Weaknesses
He can be rather clumsy quite often, and he's not exactly the best straight forward thinker, despite his current intelligence. He's also known to be very obnoxious. He is also quite a hothead, often annoyed by Charmy to the point he starts yelling at him. (Even making Charmy burst into tears in Sonic X, although he comically stopped as soon as Vector told him somewhat gently not to cry)

Friends

 * Espio the Chameleon
 * Charmy Bee
 * Ray the Flying Squirrel
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Mighty the Armadillo
 * Shadow the Hedgehog
 * Cream the Rabbit
 * Cosmo the Seedrian
 * Vanilla the Rabbit
 * Doctor Bob Bobble (fleetway)
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Heavy and Bomb
 * Amy Rose
 * Big the Cat
 * Silver the Hedgehog
 * Mario (Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games)
 * Donkey Kong (Mario And Sonic At The Olympic Winter Games)

Foes

 * Dr. Eggman
 * Black Arms
 * Metal Sonic
 * Shadow (Sonic X)
 * Metarex (Sonic X exclusive)
 * Dark Legion (Archie exclusive)
 * Mammoth Mogul (Archie exclusive)
 * Ixis Naugus (Archie exclusive)
 * Destructix (Archie exclusive)
 * The Bulk (fleetway)
 * Bowser (Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games)

Rivals

 * Espio (Former)
 * Bowser (Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games)
 * Donkey Kong (Mario And Sonic At The Olympic Winter Games)

Sonic X
In the anime Sonic X, Vector and the rest of the Chaotix play a very minor role in Season 2, only appearing in one episode. They were hired by Vanilla the Rabbit to find her daughter, Cream the Rabbit. After finding Cream at the Thorndykes' residence, they start to believe that Sonic kidnapped her, which couldn't be more wrong. After a failed sneak attack from Espio, Vector and Charmy get in a fight with Tails, Amy, Cream, and Ella. When Sonic comes in to see the fight, Vector calls him "Sonic the Kidnapper", but the fight ends when Vanilla arrives with Sonic. Vector is thanked by Vanilla for finding Cream and he gets confused when she thanks Sonic for taking care of Cream. Sonic then jokes about how uneasy Vector is after they invite him and the others (Espio and Charmy) over, to which everybody laughs to, except Vector, who is still confused.

They play a much larger role in Season 3, where Vector and the Chaotix take supplies from Chris Thorndyke's parents to the Blue Typhoon, the warship that Tails built that Chris is aboard. When they arrived, they were attacked numerous times on the thought that they were evil Metarex aliens (which is ironic considering that the Chaotix attacked Sonic's friends in the previous season). After a misunderstanding between Vector and others, they deliver Chris' stuff and Vector plans to catch Cream and bring her to their home planet (as if it is an act of revenge for the gang beating them up). However, he unintentionally captures Cosmo as well, and they end up back at the Blue Typhoon. Vector and the others soon leave without Cream. However, they get lost on the way back and meet up with the Typhoon's crew some time later.

The second time, they help Tails impress Cosmo, whom Tails likes, as repayment for him fixing their ship (Vector tried to render Knuckles unconscious and disguise him as a Metarex, with Espio holding him up invisible, for Tails to protect Cosmo from, which fails), and later appear to help fight the Metarex.

In the anime Vector seems to make puns about how he is a reptile like how he says to Sonic "Sure I'm a warm hearted reptile."

MegaDrive Fan
Vector makes a one-frame appearance in Volume One of the Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic (actually a manga) from the magazine Mega Drive Fan. In this manga, Vector is seen playing the keyboard as part of Sonic's band. This manga was released before the original Sonic the Hedgehog in 1991 and used beta concepts scrapped from said game, so Vector appears as he did in the scrapped Sound Test image.

Archie Comics
In the Sonic the Hedgehog Archie Comic, Vector is a crazy punk who likes having things his way and listening to loud music. So loud are his "tunes" that he once single handily stopped the Dark Legion army in its tracks by turning his music volume up to its highest setting and pointing it at the enemy. Vector and Knuckles met some time after Knuckles' father left to join the Brotherhood of Guardians, and after a few tussles, the two became fast friends. Vector also somewhat disliked Knuckles' girlfriend Julie-Su for some time after her first appearance, but they later came to mutually respect each other. Together with Espio, he is one of the only Chaotix members featured in Mobius: 25 Years Later, where he has a son named Argyle.

Sonic the Comic
In Fleetway's Sonic the Comic, he is the intelligent leader of the Chaotix Crew and a close friend to the Omni-Viewer. He also has links to the Equinox Research Center, which is staffed entirely by crocodiles. As with the other members of the group, he is a native of the Special Zone, specifically New Tek City on the Planet Meridian. He acts as the basic straight man of the group and takes out enemies with his powerful jaws.

Sonic X (comic)
In the Archie Sonic X comic, Vector and the Chaotix appear in issue #10, when they help Vanilla the Rabbit find her daughter, Cream. They later disappeared without a trace. They appear in later issues up to #40.

Theme Songs
Team Chaotix (this theme is shared with Espio the Chameleon and Charmy Bee. Vector, as well as the other members, is mentioned in the song. Vector is mentioned in the two lines "The muscle is Vector, the karma collector!" and "And the green one cheers them on!")

Voices

 * Video games, Sonic X - Kenta Miyake (Japan)
 * Sonic Heroes - Marc Biagi (US)
 * Sonic X (Episode 39) - Jimmy Zoppi (US)
 * Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic X (Episodes 59+) - Carter Cathcart (US). This is a controversial among fans, as many find Cathcart's voice very annoying and out of character, as opposed to the gruffer, New Yorker-accented voice Marc Biagi provided for the character.
 * Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games - Dan Green (US) (He also does the voice for Knuckles)
 * As of Sonic Free Riders- Keith Silverstien

Trivia

 * Vector's appearance has changed a lot since Knuckles Chaotix. In Chaotix, Vector was slightly taller and much skinnier. In his new design, he is considerably broader, especially in the chest, and shorter.
 * In Shadow the Hedgehog, Vector has a jump sound that's notably different from every other character's. This game has also made him famous for the line "Find the computer room!"
 * He is the oldest hero (other than Shadow) and the second tallest organic non-human Sonic character, behind Big the Cat.
 * Like all teams in Sonic Heroes, Team Chaotix fought other teams. But in both the fight against Team Rose and Team Dark, they misunderstood the other team's intentions and thought they were thieves. Eventually the two teams find out they have no bad intention in the last story.
 * Vector and Espio are the first reptilian characters in the entire series.
 * In Sonic Free Riders, it's hinted (and heavily joked) that Vector is flat broke.

Quotes

 * "Get back here you idiot!" Yelling at Charmy in the final story of Shadow the Hedgehog
 * "Here we go." Selecting Team Chaotix in Sonic Heroes.
 * "Lackluster performance, I'd say." Getting an E rank in Sonic Heroes with Vector.
 * "Find the computer room!" in the Cosmic Fall stage of Shadow the Hedgehog. The line has become a popular internet meme.
 * "This may be THE big case. Espio, we're counting on you!" When Shadow gets in a portal in Shadow the Hedgehog
 * "Hey don't go there, yet. Things may not be what they seem. You could be..." Vector when trying to console Shadow when he thinks he's evil in Shadow the Hedgehog.
 * "Darn, I forgot to pay the electricity bill for the office." When you leave Vector for a long time while playing Sonic Heroes
 * "Espio, don't be silly; besides you know our policy: we NEVER turn down work that pays!" Vector telling Espio the suspicious client is fine, since he's paying in Sonic Heroes.
 * "Aren't you done yet? At this rate the entire day will be wasted" Vector in Shadow the hedgehog rushing Espio to hack into Eggman's database.
 * ''"What!? You know our client has paid in advance! And I already spent that money because our office is behind on the rent as it is! Hey, Espio are you getting this!? ESPIO!!!!" Vector at the end of Sonic Rivals 2.
 * "The winner, hands down!" Vector winning 1st place in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games.

Gallery
For more see: Vector the Crocodile/Artwork.