Tangle the Lemur

Tangle the Lemur is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by IDW Publishing. She is an anthropomorphic ring-tailed lemur from Spiral Hill Village and a heroic ally of Sonic the Hedgehog. She first became acquainted with Sonic and his friends during the fallout after the Eggman War, when she sprang into action to defend her village from one of the Badnik hordes terrorizing villages across the world.

Concept and creation
Tangle came about when the staff at IDW Publishing wanted a kick-butt female Sonic character who could accompany Sonic on his adventures. Since none of the main female Sonic characters were able to fit that occupation, Tangle, who would be able to easily go on Sonic's adventures and look cool while doing it, was conceptualized. She was conceptualized by writer Ian Flynn, while artist Tyson Hesse handled the character design.

Before even being given a name, IDW wanted Tangle "to be like a lot of other great Sonic characters and have a special ability tied to one of her features." She was ultimately inspired by the prototype Sonic design. One of the concepts for Sonic was a rabbit that could use his ears to pick up and throw objects. After brainstorming for animals who could do cool stuff with their features such as bendy rabbit ears and anteater type noses, the staff decided on a ring-tailed lemur, whose tail could prove a very versatile weapon. Finally, she was given the name "Tangle" as a reference to how she likes to "tangle" with bad guys.

Appearance
Tangle is an anthropomorphic ring-tailed lemur with primarily white fur and purple eyes. She possesses a small black nose and a long bushy tail with gray stripes. She also has gray fur around her muzzle and between her eyes, and dark gray fur around the sides of her eyes and on her eyelids and round ears. She also has extra fur on top of her head and chest, and small cheek tufts.

Tangle wears a short-sleeved black bodysuit with orange stripes down the sides, a yellow sleeveless top, and detailed yellow hi-tops with white laces and soles, black details, and orange cuffs. She also wears yellow sportstape around her wrists and fingerless black gloves with orange backings.

Past
Tangle has been a resident of Spiral Hill Village for years. She grew up with Jewel the Beetle, who became her best friend. Jewel would constantly look out for Tangle, as she had a tendency to run into danger head first. Over the years, Tangle would find several items during her adventures, which Jewel used to curate the Mineral Museum. Tangle is also a regular customer of Spiral Hill Village's salon as she usually buys their brushes to keep her tail neat.

After the Eggman War between the Eggman Empire and the Resistance ended, Tangle would defend her home village by fending off the raids committed by Dr. Eggman's directionless Badniks.

Fallout
While dealing with a large and much more organized Badnik attack on her village, Tangle met Sonic the Hedgehog when he came to help save her village. While fighting Badniks together with Sonic, Tangle heard from Sonic that the Badnik gangs had become more organized as of late. No sooner, the two got cornered by multiple Badniks. Fortunately, Blaze soon showed up and joined the fray. After the Badniks had been dealt with, Sonic introduced Tangle to Blaze, whom she thanked for her aid. Upon hearing from Blaze that she had come to Sonic's world to prevent some kind of "terrible event" however, Tangle brought up the possibility that the recent organized Badniks could be a sign that something worse was on the way. After Blaze decided to stay until she knew what her purpose here was, she offered to help Tangle quell the fires in her village. Amazed by Blaze, Tangle accepted her help and thanked Sonic for his help before he left village.

Battle For Angel Island
Eventually, Tangle was called to Resistance HQ. There, she and the Resistance's other allies were informed that the Resistance needed their help to liberate Angel Island, which had been conquered by Neo Metal Sonic and turned into a flying fortress. To make matters worse, Neo had also secured the Master Emerald for himself on the island. During the meeting, Tangle became a little lost when the others began talking about Burning Blaze, but understood (with amazement) after Blaze gave a brief explanation (and demonstration). Eventually, Tangle was assigned to help two of the assembled group's factions with breaking the Egg Fleet's control over Angel Island while Sonic and Knuckles confronted Neo.

On the way to Angel Island, Tangle spent the time playing card while messing with Silver. As soon as their ship approached Angel Island however, the Egg Fleet shot it down. Fortunately, Tangle and her allies got off the ship before it crashed. Landing then on Angel Island, Tangle and Whisper were assigned to protect Tails while the fox cub did his thing. Soon after, Tangle was busy busting up Egg Pawns. Tangle later tried turning one of the Egg Fleet's cannons against the other vessels. Thanks to cover provided by Whisper, she succeeded. Later, while the last wing unit on Angel Island's shoreline was being blown off by an Egg Fleet battleship that Tails had hijacked, Tangle grabbed Vector with her tail when the crocodile was about to fall over the edge while yelling playfully at Tails to be careful. She subsequently took herself and Vector onboard the battleship that Tails had secured.

Tangle and Amy soon after found Blaze hovering above Angel Island when the island began to fall and got her onboard the battleship. When Neo Metal Sonic―in his new Master Emerald-induced transformation, Master Overlord―then approached the battleship, the crew was instructed by Knuckles to force the robot overlord towards Angel Island while he focused on retrieving the Master Emerald from him. With an opening provided by Sonic, Tangle and her friends joined the fray and followed Knuckles' instructions. During the battle, Tangle got shaken off Master Overlord, but was rescued by Silver with his psychokinesis. Knuckles subsequently got the Master Emerald away from Master Overlord and brought it back to Angel Island, returning the island to the sky while Master Overlord powered down to normal. With the battle over, Tangle was brought down on Angel Island. Much to her excitement, she was told by Amy that this adventure was nothing new to them.

As everyone got ready to leave the island, Tangle found friendship with Whisper. When Sonic came by to talk to them, Tangle told him that she felt that she was not ready to return to her old life as her new one had become so crazy and exciting. After this, Tangle urged Whisper to tell Sonic the joke about a toaster she had told her. Whisper instead shyly put her mask scope back on, leaving Tangle to wonder if this was due to something she said. Sonic then left them, telling Tangle to give Whisper some space.

Bonds of Friendship
Whisper later came to Spiral Hill Village to visit Tangle, which pleased her very much. Tangle gave Whisper a tour of the village, including places like the salon and the bakery, where Tangle bought and ate a baguette. Tangle then brought Whisper to the Mineral Museum to meet Jewel. Tangle subsequently bursted through the doors, startling Jewel. Tangle then introduced Whisper and Jewel to each other, telling Whisper that she and Jewel grew up together. Jewel also explained to Whisper that Tangle collected many items during her adventures which Jewel used to curate her museum. Soon though, the sky started to go dark outside, which upset Tangle as she did not think it would rain that day. Whisper immediately after pulled out her Variable Wispon as she had heard a scream come from outside. A moment afterward, the Babylon Rogues broke into the museum and began stealing everything. After Storm accidentally kidnapped Jewel however, Tangle and Whisper began pursuing the Babylon Rogues after they retreated to their blimp. Through collaborative efforts, Tangle and Whisper managed to get onboard the Babylon Rogues' blimp. There, they confronted the Babylon Rogues and demanded Jewel to be handed over. As Jet and Wave argued over how to deal with their hostage situation though, Tangle secretly took their stolen loot back. When Storm then ended up throwing Jewel out of the blimp, Tangle stopped the Babylon Rogues from interfering any further as she and Whisper had it under control. She also threatened to poach the birds if they dared to cause trouble with her town or friends again. With that, Tangle leapt out of the blimp with the stolen goods. Catching an injured Jewel and Whisper on the way down, Tangle and Jewel were saved by Whisper, who used her Variable Wispon's Hover Mode to gently lower them all down. Afterward, Tangle helped her friends restore the Mineral Museum and its exhibits. There, after dismissing Jewel's thanks for saving her and her livelihood, Tangle thanked Whisper for her aid and fist bumped with her.

Sonic Fan Club
Tangle later appeared at the first meeting of the Sonic Fan Club, whose members were busy fighting an Egg Pawn. After telling the kids that they should have a Tangle Fan Club instead, Tangle began hitting the Egg Pawn with her tail and began to tangle it up. However, she got tangled up in her own tail. Afterward, the members of the Sonic Fan Club told her that Sonic had come by and destroyed Egg Pawn while she was busy.

Infection
Tangle eventually traveled to Tails' Workshop to tell her friends about her latest adventure. Upon arriving there, however, she found Tails conducting tests on Sonic. Asking her friends about what was going on, Sonic explained what Dr. Eggman had been doing since after the Eggman War, and that the doctor was now back with some kind of Metal Virus that turns people into Zombots. Hearing that Sonic had been infected with that virus as well, Tangle got worried about Sonic, but Sonic explained that he had seemingly cured himself with his speed. Tangle then began telling Sonic and Tails about what she had been up to when Tails suggested warning everyone about the Zombots in order to avoid attacks like those on Spiral Hill Village. Afterward, Tangle asked what the heroes' next course of action was. As Tails explained that they had found schematics on a battleship Eggman was making to distribute the Metal Virus with, Tangle realized they were planning to find that ship. Tangle then tried to high-five Sonic, but Sonic withdrew before Tangle could touch him, as he had noticed that his infection had resurfaced. Sonic then took off to find Eggman's battleship before Tails could conduct more tests on him, but Tangle assured Tails that he would be able to find a cure.

Tangle & Whisper
One day, Tangle began recklessly swinging out in the streets of Spiral Hill Village. Jewel arrived and asked for Tangle to stop before she ran into someone, but Tangle insisted she knew the streets well enough not to. However, Tangle soon crashed into Ron's chili dog cart. The duo then ordered chili dogs and returned to Jewel's museum. There, Jewel mocked Tangle for running into a stationary object and asked why she had been so restless lately. Tangle told her that it was because after fighting against robot invasions and meeting Sonic and his friends, she no longer wanted to return to her boring life. Jewel asked her what was stopping her from finding adventures on her own, to which Tangle replied that she did not wish to have Dr. Eggman's Badniks attack the village again. She also stated that she would feel lonely without Jewel by her side. Soon though, the duo heard a crash from outside. Jewel immediately sought cover, worrying that the Babylon Rogues had returned. Tangle, however, told Jewel to hide while she checked the situation out. Tangle then opened the door to see Sonic running away from someone firing at him. Tangle jumped out to help her friend, only to see that it was Whisper who was attacking the hedgehog.

Seeing the confusion, Tangle soon stopped Sonic to ask why he was being shot at by Whisper. Sonic explained that Dr. Eggman had placed a mind control chip inside Whisper's mask scope and sent her on a rampage, and Sonic could not bring himself to harm her. Tangle thus took it upon herself to stop Whisper and scaled up a building towards her. She then tackled Whisper and reluctantly fought her to keep her from shooting Sonic. Once Tangle took off Whisper's mask scope, she believed she had stopped the mind-control. However, Whisper revealed that she was not being mind controlled and the person she was shooting at was not Sonic. Once Tangle saw that Sonic had disappeared, she asked Whisper what was going on. Whisper instead put her mask scope on Tangle where she watched a playback of Whisper finding Sonic and telling him that he was being targeted. Sonic told Whisper that she was also targeted as "he" had found out one of the Diamond Cutters was still alive. Tangle stopped watching as soon as "Sonic" pulled out a dagger and revealed his true face, which gave her a scare. Tangle then wanted Whisper to explain what she saw. Not wanting to share information in the public, Whisper wanted to explain it in a more isolated place, and Tangle took her to the Mineral Museum.

In the Museum, Whisper explained to Tangle and Jewel that she was attacking a mercenary shapeshifter named Mimic who had aligned himself with Eggman and helped him destroy his own team, and was now impersonating Sonic and wreaking havoc. Whisper went on to say that Mimic was potentially targeting Tangle among others. Jewel noted this was a perfect opportunity to join Whisper in her hunt for Mimic so that Tangle could have an adventure. Whisper initially refused Tangle's help but she was soon convinced by her Wisps to allow her to join her. Not too long after, the trio heard a "thunk" at the door and discovered a note that told Whisper to meet Mimic so that they could end things once and for all. Tangle expressed relief in not having to track down Mimic and thus prepared to face him alongside Whisper.

Tangle and Whisper soon arrived at an abandoned Eggman Empire bunker. Tangle tried to have some fun by pretending to sneak around loudly but she was shushed by Whisper. She told Tangle that there was no activity on the outside and she could not scan the inside, meaning that they were walking blindly into Mimic's trap. Tangle believed that they could handle him since they outnumbered him but realized that Mimic still had the home advantage. After Whisper confirmed that she wanted to fight Mimic sooner than later, Tangle told her that they would be careful and asked her to stop worrying as much. Tangle then asked if Whisper had a history with Mimic, to which she confirms and then was told to be alert as Mimic is dangerous and manipulative.

The duo went through the back entrance of the bunker and began to sneak around. Tangle decided to quicken their pace by searching for Mimic at a higher point, which slightly annoyed Whisper. As Tangle progressed, she thought about Whisper's silence and how Mimic had clearly hurt her. She suddenly heard Jewel's voice and ran towards its source. She met up with Whisper, who suggested that Jewel was kidnapped when the left the museum. Tangle stated that she would not forgive herself if Jewel was hurt. Whisper led Tangle to a safe where Jewel was being used as bait and tells her that she will cover her. As Tangle went to open the safe, she realized that Whisper was talking more than usual and did not have her Variable Wispon. She was then kicked into the safe by "Whisper" and locked inside. She immediately banged on the door, demanding to be let out but quickly stopped screaming so that she would not use up her air and not think about the tight space she was in. Soon enough, Whisper found the safe and let her out of it, only to be told that the bunker was about to explode due to bombs set by Mimic. As the bombs began to detonate, Tangle pushed Whisper into the safe and closed the door behind the two of them. The facility was completely destroyed but the safe remained unscathed. After the girls exited the safe, Whisper told Tangle to go home. As Tangle protested against this decision, Whisper snapped and exclaimed that she would not and could not lose another friend. As Whisper went to solemnly sit down on the safe, Tangle wiped away her tears. She sat down next to Whisper and asked her to tell her about her past. Whisper wiped her face and agreed to tell her everything.

The Last Minute
Tangle accompanied Tails and Whisper on a mission to Central City so that he could research a cure for the Metal Virus. While at his lab, Tangle watched in shock as Dr. Eggman's Faceship arrived in the city to distribute a large batch of the virus into the city. Tangle and Whisper took it upon themselves to begin evacuation of the city while Tails stayed behind at the lab to research a cure. About an hour later, Tangle and Whisper had managed to guide a number of survivors down to a dock while they fended off several Zombots in the city. Though Tangle found some fun in the situation, she still found it horrible. Tails soon called Tangle for updates he could give to Amy. After explained how she found the situation to the fox cub, Tangle was startled by a Zombot close behind her, causing her to climb atop a lamp post before she gave actual updates to Tails. Afterwards, Tangle continued to fight against the Central City Zombots. At some point, she tried to distract some Zombots from on top of a lamp post but was nearly shaken off by one. Luckily, Whisper came to the lemur's aid knocked back the Zombots with her Variable Wispon. As Whisper kept up the pressure, Tangle tried contacting Amy at Restoration HQ for back-up but she did not pick up. She also tried reaching out to Cream and Vector they did not answer either. She managed to put in a call to Silver but he confirmed that he was busy dealing with a Zombot outbreak in Ice Paradise and could not reach them in time. Tangle and Whisper pressed onwards regardless but were forcibly sidetracked by a horde of Zombots, forcing them to move to a rooftop. Tangle then put in a call to Tails following a suggestion from Whisper and was soon given an update by him that he had nearly completed a cure for the Metal Virus and would be able to provide back-up soon. After a while, Tangle and Whisper decided to go back to the docks, with Tangle once again trying to call Tails. The fox cub managed to clear a path for the duo with his Cyclone and told them that he would cover them while they tended to the survivors. At the docks, Tangle soon saw a Rescue Shuttle coming in for a landing and she wondered why only one was present. Despite this, she and Whisper guided the survivors onboard while they also watched out for Zombots. Once everyone had safely boarded, Tangle called out for Tails to fly to the ship. Once Tails had arrived, the trio had received the bad news from Amy that Restoration HQ had fallen.

Personality
Heroic and just as fearless as Sonic the Hedgehog, Tangle is scrappy and loves to tangle with bad guys. Not intimidated by danger in the slightest, she has a thirst for adventure and excitement. As such, she is capable of heading into mortal peril and face deadly odds, all while wearing a smile on her face and having the time of her life. However, her desire for adventures makes her reckless and prone to jump head-first into danger without a care in the world. She can also be somewhat careless in battle, like using her tail in a way that gets it injured and focusing more on cheering than watching out for enemies.

Tangle is loud and excitable, but also friendly, polite, helpful and open. While having seen and overcome her own fair share of challenges in the form of Badniks, she is a novice hero, and has thus seen little of the more outlandish subjects that exist out there, like a pyrokinetic princess from another dimension who guards fiery Emeralds. While such signs tend to leave her speechless, she is nonetheless quick to be amazed by them. Whenever she sees or reflects on something exciting, she tends to get starry-eyed. When reacting to a sudden sound or event, the hairs on her tail stand up.

Tangle also has a bit of a mischievous side to her. When she played cards with Silver, she would deliberately try to mess with him while using her tail to peek at his cards.

Powers and abilities
Tangle's main draw is a highly prehensile tail that she can use and manipulate in various ways as if it was a third arm. In practice, her tail can whip, snap, grip, curl, and even make a hand to form a fist with. In addition, her tail can extend and contract at will, thus allowing her to wield it as a rope, a bungee cord, a slingshot, or even a pully for herself. By curling it up like a coil, Tangle can also use her tail like a spring to bounce around. Her tail also has enough strength to dent Badnik armor with a single strike.

Physically, Tangle is very fit and agile, possessing the same level of athleticism as Sonic the Hedgehog.

Weaknesses
Tangle appears to suffer from claustrophobia, causing her to panic when enclosed within small spaces. Her phobia is so severe that the resulting panic has caused her to pass out in the past.

Jewel the Beetle
Tangle and Jewel have been best friends since their childhood. Jewel would always be there to look out for Tangle and make sure she did not fall into perilous danger. Tangle has become very grateful for Jewel's friendship as she feels lonely without her.

Sonic the Hedgehog
Tangle has been described as a "kindred spirit" to Sonic the Hedgehog, namely their skill and enjoyment in battling Badniks, as well as the confidence they share in doing so. Even after meeting for the first time, the two were able to synchronize with each other in their battle against multiple Badniks, including battling together with Blaze the Cat, who Tangle had also just met during said battle. Although their personalities seem to differ slightly, their enjoyment in fighting is something that they share together.

Blaze the Cat
Tangle seems to look up to and admire Blaze the Cat, as she finds her abilities and status as a princess amazing. Just like with Sonic, Tangle was able to fight together with Blaze, despite their personalities being a bit different. Tangle showed gratitude to Blaze for helping save her town, and when Blaze offered to help calm the many flames in Tangle's hometown, Tangle was very appreciative.

Whisper the Wolf
Tangle and Whisper are quite the polar opposites. Where Tangle is loud and excitable, Whisper is quiet and reserved. Nevertheless, they appear to enjoy each other's company. Whisper enjoys Tangle's kind heart and her eagerness to make new friends. Tangle simply enjoys new friends regardless of their personalities and Whisper is no different. She appreciates Whisper's bravery and her initiative to look out for others. Due to her shy nature, Whisper does not like being put on the spot by Tangle, finding it a bit insensitive on her side. She also prefers it when Tangle does not invade her personal space with hugging.

Friends/allies

 * Blaze the Cat
 * Chaotix
 * Charmy Bee
 * Espio the Chameleon
 * Vector the Crocodile
 * Cream the Rabbit
 * Jewel the Beetle (best friend)
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Restoration
 * Amy Rose
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Whisper the Wolf
 * Ron
 * Rouge the Bat
 * Shadow the Hedgehog
 * Silver the Hedgehog
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Wisps

Enemies

 * Babylon Rogues
 * Metal Sonic
 * Mimic

Trivia

 * Tangle was first teased as an obscured silhouette in an artwork on Facebook that featured her and Sonic. This image was first revealed five days prior to the release of the first four issues' solicitations for the Sonic the Hedgehog comics. The image was updated regularly to show more of the silhouette, up until her unveiling on 24 January 2018.
 * Tangle is the first identified character exclusive to the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series that was revealed to the public.
 * Tangle is the third character to use profanity in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series, with Silver being the first and Rough the second. In Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper #2, she said "Oh, crap..." after the Eggman Empire bunker was destroyed by Mimic's bombs.