Tumble the Skunk

Tumble is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series published by IDW Publishing. He is an anthropomorphic skunk and the brother of his partner, Rough. An evil mercenary, he and Rough took over a town, but were stopped by Sonic the Hedgehog and Knuckles the Echidna.

Concept and creation
Tumble's design stemmed from Tyson Hesse's love of the albino skunks' looks. Also, Tumble's tail was originally going to be hairless like a rat's, but it was found to be too disturbing. Instead, Hesse cut it off and teased that one day, the fans may find out how it happened.

Early designs of Tumble had more clothing and less defined eyes compared to the final version.

Appearance
Tumble is a muscular and tall anthropomorphic skunk with white and light gray fur. His mohawk runs down his back with his white stripes reaching the ends of his short tail. He has quite scruffy fur, with his chest and muzzle looking connected. He has a pink nose with a triangular shape and short ears. He bears a "W"-shaped patch in the center of his chest and bears fangs. Around his black eyes with red sclera, Tumble has a purple streak. For attire, he wears two black, spiked bracelets with gold buckles on them and wears black and gray boots also with golden buckles.

The War
During the war between the Eggman Empire and the Resistance, Tumble and Rough helped save a town by ferociously driving back the invading Badniks. Afterwards, they set themselves up in the town and promised to help them improve their defenses. However, the brothers ultimately ended up taking over the town, its Wisps, and its Wispon distribution center, setting themselves up as tyrannical rulers.

Trapping the townsfolk between themselves and marauding Badniks outside the walls, Tumble and Rough controlled the town throughout the end of the war and into the ensuing reconstruction period.

Fallout
While Tumble and Rough were lounging about in the Wispon distribution center, being waited on hand and foot by the locals, Sonic and Knuckles arrived to confront them. Shocked and angered at the interruption of their fun, Tumble remarked about how they knew who the heroes were, but Rough commented about how they do not know them and began a choreographed introduction before engaging in combat.

While Rough engaged Knuckles, Sonic attacked Tumble with a Spin Attack, who caught him in midair. He then proceeds to dribble and throw Sonic like a basketball. However, Sonic eventually fought back, and knocked Tumble backwards, causing him to trip over and land on the table behind him. Recovering, Tumble picked up his dazed brother (who had been sent through the floor boards by Knuckles) before they both grabbed some Wispons in an attempt to turn the tide of the fight. Unfortunately for them, Sonic convinced the Wisps to turn on them, leaving Rough and Tumble's Wispons useless and helping the heroes surround them. Mocking their choreographed introduction, Sonic and Knuckles did their own number before knocking out both Tumble and his brother. In the aftermath, Tumble was apprehended by the local militia, along with his brother, and promised that they would escape and come after Sonic and Knuckles. Rough cursed them as well, saying that they have made life-long enemies of himself and Tumble before being taken away.

The Battle for Angel Island
At some point during their incarceration, both Rough and Tumble escaped from jail. The brothers later went to the village where Dr. Eggman was staying, under the orders of Dr. Starline, who had told them about Eggman's current amnesia. They thus kidnapped him against his will. Bringing Eggman to the Final Egg and strapping him up, Tumble was perplexed by Eggman's strange behavior. Dr. Starline told Tumble to have faith however, before commencing the first round of the evidently painful "procedure" on Eggman that he had arranged to restore Eggman to his former evil self. After Starline was done, Tumble watched the supposed result.

Personality
Tumble is a rather course and aggressive individual. Ruthless, he is more than willing to take advantage of those weaker than himself, as shown in the oppression of the townsfolk at the Wispon distribution hub. He showed little concern for the happiness or well-being of the townsfolk and was significantly offended by Sonic and Knuckles ruining their "fun".

While Tumble is a brawler who loves to fight, he is also shown to have a somewhat theatrical side as illustrated in the choreographed introduction he has prepared with his brother Rough. This also implies a measure of pride, confidence, or perhaps arrogance in their abilities.

While powerful and clever enough to seize and entire town, Tumble nor his brother, seem to be overly intelligent. Described as more of a bully than a mastermind, Tumble's cruel and ruthless behavior shows a lack of empathy for others, and while he and his brother were able to take control of a key location such as a stockpile of Wispons, they showed no foresight or ambition in doing anything beyond forcing the townsfolk into serving and entertaining them.

Tumble is also very vengeful, as seen when he assured Sonic and Knuckles that they had made "lifelong enemies" of out of him and Rough after they defeated them.

Powers and abilities
Tumble is a ferocious combatant. As a testament to his power, he and Rough were able to single-handedly save a town from Eggman's forces during the war to take back the planet. Much taller and more physically imposing than his brother, Tumble is the muscle of the duo. While not the most agile fighter, he makes up for it with sheer brute strength.

Tumble is an experienced mercenary and is able to efficiently coordinate with his brother, Rough, to form a formidable tag team in battle. Tumble also has greater than average strength, being strong enough to stop Sonic's Spin Attack in its tracks with his bare hands. Tumble also possesses great durability: he can recover immediately from taking a Spin Attack to the chest.

Tumble is also an adept user of Wispons. While his exact proficiency with a Wispon is unknown, he mainly uses one when fighting seriously.

Weapons
During his career, Tumble has made use of Wispons. He was later stripped of his Wispons when he got thrown in jail.

Rough
Rough is Tumble's brother and mercenary partner. They have a close relationship and are highly coordinated fighters.

Friends/allies

 * Dr. Starline
 * Rough (brother; partner)

Enemies

 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Knuckles the Echidna

Trivia

 * Rough and Tumble's names are a play on the saying "rough-and-tumble".
 * Tumble was officially revealed in a Kotaku exclusive interview with editor, David Mariotte on 16 February 2018.
 * Mariotte noted that Rough and Tumble are capable of becoming someone's henchmen down the line.
 * At the Sonic Town Hall at Wondercon 2018, Joe Hughes compared Rough and Tumble to Bebop and Rocksteady, saying they are approximately 12% smarter.