Nack the Weasel (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)


 * For the version of this character after the Super Genesis Wave, see Nack the Weasel (Archie).

Nack the Weasel is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-off comic series published by Archie Comics. He is a Mobian wolf/weasel hybrid, and is both a dangerous and clumsy bounty hunter. Though willing to do whatever it takes to get a job done, he often messes up. He has come across Sonic the Hedgehog and the other Freedom Fighters many times, and even has a grudge against Princess Sally Acorn after a failed attempt to keep her hostage. He also has a sister named Nic, and although they do not exactly get along, they have worked with each other in the past. He has been known to take jobs from multiple clients, including Mammoth Mogul and even Robotnik. Recently, he has teamed up with Bean the Dynamite and Bark the Polarbear to form Team Hooligan.

Appearance
Nack is a purple-and-white weasel with a long bent tail and blue eyes. He sports a rather large pointed tooth, visible even when his mouth is closed. He wears a brown fedora, a brown belt, brown gloves with metal plates, and brown and white boots. He's also been depicted in various trench coats and sunglasses. A bit of an oddity, Nack's old official game art depicted him with four fingers rather than the standard five, a feature that until recently carried over to the comics; he is now typically drawn with five fingers. His large nose is often dark gray, though it's also commonly colored bright blue. His eyes are most often blue, but they've also been colored red or dark blue/purple.

Early Life and Bounty Hunter
Not much is known about Nack's past. But when he and several other weasels had kidnapped Sally Acorn, he hinted at having trouble with his parents when Sally lied about having trouble with hers. He and his sister Nic also hate each other because of a reason which presumably happened in their childhoods. (StH: #91, #123)

Nack's first encounter with Sonic was when Dr. Ivo Robotnik accidentally shattered a Chaos Emerald and he had hired Nack to find the two halves. Although Nack had captured Sonic and gotten the first half of the Chaos Emerald, he came into confrontation with Knuckles the Echidna, who defeated the weasel and then got into an argument with Sonic, resulting in a small fight. After the two resolved their differences, however, Sonic took Nack and shipped him off to Knothole Prison. (STT)

Revenge
After Sonic's idea of roboticizing himself was rejected by the other Freedom Fighters, he stormed off, deciding to blow off some steam working out at Knothole's gym. While there, Nack took the opportunity to ambush Sonic, rendering him unconscious. He then brought the unconscious Sonic before Dr. Robotnik, demanding he be paid first before he turned over the unconscious hedgehog. However, Robotnik merely had his Badnik lackey Crabmeat increase in size and grab Nack. Robotnik explained his prize was to be able to leave Robotropolis un-roboticized, at which point Crabmeat tossed Nack out of the city. After Sonic was successfully de-roboticized, he had to prove he didn't willingly Roboticized himself by finding and recapturing Nack to corroborate the story. Sonic later found Nack at the Bottom of the Barrel Bar 'n' Grill and the weasel tried to capture him again. But Sonic outsmarted Nack and brought him back to Knothole Prison. (StH: #39, #40)

Imprisonment, escape and schemes
Nack had later been incarcerated at the prison known as the Devil's Gulag. But he escaped when Snively had organized him and several other criminals into breaking out and fleeing to West Robotropolis on Big Kahuna Island. Nack helped the group (including their new allies, Kodos and Uma Arachnis) break into Mobotropolis and kidnap Nate Morgan from Deer John's while taking a moment to knock Sally out cold, but the scientist was rescued by the Secret Service and Nack was tossed back in prison. This marked the end of his association with the other villains, who later became known as the Destructix. (StH: #68, #69, #70, CSE))

At some point in time Nack once again got out of prison. He ran into his sister, Nic, who told him she had acquired a new "job" and demanded her brother join in. Nack, though reluctant, did so. It turned out Nic's employer was the Echidnas Councilor of Albion, Gala-Na. She wanted the siblings to capture Knuckles, who had gained the powers of a living Chaos Emerald. The weasels accepted and went to the Golden Hive Colony, where they captured Knuckles by threatening to kill Charmy and Saffron. When Knuckles was handed over to Albion, he went crazy from almost having his power drained by a Chaos Syphon and was able to escape. Gala-Na asked Nack and Nic to capture him again, but the weasels realized how dangerous Knuckles was now and refused. (StH: #91, #93, #94)

Nack later showed up again and now had three new allies, Karl, Jeff, and Konor. Nack and his new gang kidnapped Sally Acorn and took her to a mansion that once belonged to Nack's ancestors, planning to hold her for ransom. But Sally tricked Nack, kneed him, and was able to escape from his allies. She then ran into Sonic and Mina Mongoose, who both came to save her. But Nack wasn't down for the count yet, for while he was basically defeated, he wanted revenge against Sally, by attempting to shoot her. But Mina saw the bullet and jumped in it's path, almost killing her. But while Mina was able to recover, Nack escaped for another day. He later helped fight back the Xorda during the mass attack on the Quantum Dial at the Southern Tundra. (StH: #122, #123, #125)

Working Solo and with Mogul
Following Sonic's one year exodus in space, Nack was seen meeting a potential new employer Station Square. Nack wanted to go after the Master Emerald on Angel Island, but his employer thought that they should wait. It is unknown if Nack ever got to pull off the heist, though Rouge the Bat later went after the Emerald herself after overhearing their conversation. Rumors also circulated that Nack may have killed his sister Nic to eliminate her as competition once and for all. (StH: #150, CSE)

Not long after this, Nack was hired by Dr. Eggman to assassinate Mina Mongoose. Nack sneaked into a crowd at a performance of Mina's and tried to shoot her, but a crowd member bumped into Nack, causing him to misfire. While Bunnie (who was at the show along with Sonic and other Freedom Fighters) put out the fire on a palm tree the gun hit, Sonic chased Nack and knocked him out with a single punch. Nack was dragged back to Knothole Prison, where Sonic and Sally interrogated him. Nack wouldn't say anything at first, but Sally told him that he'd be "reunited" with his former gang members (who were all angry at Nack for ditching them) if he wouldn't tell them who hired him. Nack immediately squealed and revealed it was Eggman. Regardless, Nack was kept in prison, likely away from his former gang members. (StH: #153)

After the Destructix (which included several of Nack's former co-escapees from the Devil's Gulag) were thrown into Knothole Prison, Nack mocked them. However, Nack was left speechless when Mammoth Mogul broke out the group. Realizing this was a perfect distraction while he escaped, he squeezed right through his cell bars and poisoned his former gang members' food on the way out to make sure they'd never come after him. Later, Nack was hired by Dr. Eggman along with Bean the Dynamite and Bark the Polarbear (though he didn't actually work with them) to verify the rumors of Rouge having the Master Emerald. Nack ran into Sally and Bunnie on his Marvelous Queen, and took the opportunity to get revenge on Sally for kneeing him all those months ago. But Sally and Bunnie were able to defeat the weasel, and he was sent back to Knothole Prison along with Bean, Bark, Mammoth Mogul, and Ixis Naugus. When Eggman's Egg Fleet attacked Knothole, even Nack and his fellow prisoners were captured. But along with the citizens of Knothole and other prisoners, Nack was rescued by Sonic, Knuckles, Tails and Amy. When everyone was sent to New Mobotropolis, Nack, Bean, and Bark decided to join Mogul, but NICOLE sent them all (including Naugus) to the new city's prison. While there, Nack's since mocked King Elias and watched Sonic's Fight with Tails. (StH: #162, #163, #173, #176, #177, #178, #179)

Later, Nack taunted Sonic when he came to the prison to talk to Mammmoth Mogul. Mogul told Sonic how they were at a stalemate and if he was not freed, he would unleash a new Fearsome Foursome. But Sonic merely laughed at the warning and left. That night, Mogul told Nack of how he had left telepathic "marks" in the minds of Mina Mongoose (who was visting New Mobotropolis), Mighty, and Tails. Mogul activated the marks and used them to blackmail Sonic and Ash Mongoose into stealing the Gray Chaos Emerald from Castle Acorn and give it to Mogul, granting him use of his Chaos powers once more. Mogul then freed himself, Nack, and the other prisoners after telling Sonic he would just wait for the hedgehog to die of old age before trying to take over Mobius again, though he would still not let Sonic be in peace. Impressed and glad to be free, Nack told Mogul that he had earned one free job from him. (StH: #185, #186)

It would not be long before Mogul called Nack for the free job, as he wanted him, Bean, Bark, and the Destructix to bring him Sonic's shoes, it not mattering if Sonic's feet were still in them. Later, outside of Freedom HQ, Bean, Bark, and the Destructix ambushed Sonic and Sally, but the two managed to get the fight in their favor when Sally hired Bean and Bark to protect Sonic. But Nack, who had been hiding in some nearby bushes, blasted Sonic with an energy rifle, knocking him out. Bean and Bark went back to Mogul's side while the Destructix chained up Sonic and put him into a truck. Nack then told Sleuth Dog he would take out Sally, Sleuth agreeing and heading back to the Casino Night Zone with the other bounty hunters. Nack then told Sally he would give her ten seconds to run towards Freedom HQ before he started shooting at her. Sally started running and narrowly missed getting blasted by Nack by entering the base through a secret entrance. Nack followed her inside and was about to blast her when Amy whacked him from behind with her Piko Piko Hammer, sending him flying out of the base. However, when Bunnie and Antoine came looking for him during Sally and Amy's rescue mission, he was nowhere to be found. (StH: #187, #188)

Sol Searching
Nack later reappeared in the Great Forest as the leader of Team Hooligan and eavesdropped on Team Rose's search for a Sol Emeralds, but somehow failed to notice that Amy Rose was among them. He, along with Bean and Bark continued to monitor the girls and their clash with Team Dark over the gem inside a root cavern at the bottom of a ravine. Wanting to take the opposition by surprise, Nack had to constantly tell Bean to wait until he gave the word to make their move. When Cheese flew to the top with the emerald in tow, the trio captured him and waited for the others to come up. Cream appeared first and, seeing her companion mistreated, lunged at Nack (who was holding both the Sol Emerald and Cheese), but she was restrained by Bark. When Amy and Blaze appeared and demanded the emerald and for them to release Cream, Nack was visibly shaken, recalling his last encounter with Amy. He and his team then attempted to get away with the Emerald and Cream on the Marvelous Queen, but they were quickly stopped by Blaze. As Team Dark arrived and attacked Team Rose again, Nack saw their competitors meant serious business and took advantage of the distraction so he and the others could sneak away from the chaos. While on the run however, Nack despairingly noticed that they were being followed by a familiar-looking zeppelin. (SU: #21, #22)

As Nack attempted to evade his pursuers, the blimp began dropping bombs; one eventually exploded with enough force to send the Marvelous Queen and its passengers flying. Nack recovered quickly enough and found the Sol Emerald that had been tossed in the blast, and then yelled at his skyward opponents, daring them to try that again. Instead, three figures emerged from the blimp and buzzed past Nack, snatching the Emerald from him. The three were the Babylon Rogues, who had also decided to seek the unusual treasure. Nack attempted to retaliate with his sniper rifle, but Bean inadvertently ruined his shots. While the Rogues tauntingly thanked Nack for finding the Emerald for them and attempted to escape, Nack ordered Bark to drive the Marvelous Queen while he again attempted to take aim with his rifle. Eventually, he shot the Emerald itself, resulting in an unexpected burst of flame that threw all three Rogues to the ground.

Nack again recovered the Emerald, noting that it wasn't damaged at all; with this in mind, the Rogues fled while ordering their blimp to drop its payload of bombs. However, to everyone's surprise, Bean calmly caused the bombs to detonate prematurely. Nack, especially enraged by this point, hid the Sol Emerald under his hat and planned to confront the Rogues, only for Teams Rose and Dark to finally catch up, leaving four factions seeking to claim the same emerald. Nack ordered Bean and Bark to take out the others, saying they wouldn't get paid otherwise. Nack tried to shoot Amy for ambushing him at Freedom HQ, but was stopped by Cream and Cheese. While trying to get the Sol Emerald Nack was being chased by Amy, While being chased Nack whined about "dames" giving him a hard time, to which Amy replied to by telling him to stop whining, and that Sally didn't hit him that hard. Nack was than cornered with the others in a trap made by Team Rose and Team Dark. The situation became worse when Bean's bomb was reactivated by Blaze The Cat. Nack was out cold due to being in the heart of the explosion, while out cold Bark carried him and stormed off with Bean. (StH: #188, SU: #23, #24)

Not long after, Nack and his entire universe were caught twice in the reality-warping phenomenon called the Genesis Wave unleashed by Dr. Eggman. While Sonic managed to reverse the effects of both waves, but he was interrupted while undoing the second one, resulting in Nack and everyone else's timeline being heavily altered.
 * Note: From this point, Nack's history continues from his new life in the altered timeline.

Personality
Nack is largely a greedy, self-serving individual; his loyalties and morals are flexible so long as he gets what he wants. He is quick to betray when it suits him, and though he is somewhat clever and wily, he often seems plagued with bad luck. Despite his line of work, it especially hurts his pride when things do not go his way; this often leads to him losing his temper or becoming indignant. Along this line, he tends to hold grudges for those he feels have wronged him, though his greed can still overcome this in the right situation (and vice-versa). Easily capable of violence and cruelty, he cares for little besides riches and his bike.

Nack is deeply attached to the Marvelous Queen, and seems more concerned for its safety than his own.

Powers and abilities
Nack is able to use his tail as a spring, allowing him to jump high into the air. He is quite a capable gunman and sniper, displaying the ability to hit far-off or fast-moving targets fairly reliably. He also has some tracking and reconnaissance ability.

Weapons and equipment
Nack's primary weapon is a laser gun, though he has used other gadgets in the past. He also has a hoverbike known as the "Marvelous Queen", which is able to extend to accommodate multiple passengers. Before that he had a sky sled.

Allies

 * Team Hooligan
 * Bean
 * Bark
 * Destructix (formerly)
 * Mammoth Mogul
 * Ixis Naugus

Enemies

 * Babylon Rogues
 * Jet
 * Jet
 * Storm
 * Freedom Fighters
 * Sonic
 * Tails
 * Sally
 * Nicole
 * Rotor
 * Bunnie
 * Antoine
 * Big
 * Team Rose
 * Blaze
 * Amy
 * Cream
 * Cheese
 * Knuckles
 * Chaotix
 * Charmy
 * Espio
 * Vector
 * Team Dark
 * Shadow
 * Rouge
 * E-123 Omega

Trivia

 * In Sonic the Hedgehog #187 and Sonic the Hedgehog #188, Nack's description is "fanged sniper", a reference to his Japanese name in the games.
 * Beginning in Sonic Universe 21, Nack has been drawn with five fingers on each hand rather than four.
 * In the video games Nack's weapon is a popgun.