Ring (Archie)

Power Rings are powerful golden bands which contain a vast amount of energy.

Archie Comics
Power Rings are natural bi-products of Chaos Emeralds, though they do not contain the limitless power the Chaos Emeralds do. Power Rings were artificially created by the brilliant Overlander scientist Nate Morgan as a clean alternative to fossil fuels to protect Mobius' environment. After his banishment from his home city, when his original tests failed, the Mobian Sir Charles Hedgehog aided him in mass producing Power Rings to be used by the Kingdom of Acorn. Following this, the city of Mobotropolis entered a new Golden Age as the Power Rings had brought their kingdom out of the medival ages. Since then, Power Rings have been used not only as power supplies for technology, but also as a means to increase the power and capabilities of certain individuals such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower and Knuckles the Echidna.

Created by Nate Morgan
Years before the Great War, Nate Morgan was the head of a team of underground scientists in the city of Megapolis which were studying to create a clean alternative for the fossil fuels that had been polluting the Overlander cities for years. One of the science team members, Julian Kintobor, sabotaged the calibrations of one of the early prototypes and encouraged the unsuspecting Nate to go ahead with the test. Due to Julian's tampering, the test resulted in a massive explosion, which would later cause Nate to be banished from Overlander territory forever. (StH: #65)

While wandering in exile, Nate Morgan was located by the current monarch of the Kingdom of Acorn - Frederick Acorn. The king offered his hand of friendship and brought Nate back to the kingdom where he became very close with the royal family. Finally, using the energies within a Chaos Emerald, Nate was able to properly test and perfect the Power Ring and create it as a new energy source. Following this, the Kingdom of Acorn, which had remained as a pre-industrial state for centuries due to the Mobians wishing to preserve nature, rebuilt Mobotropolis as a post-industrial city booming with technology run on the energy of the Power Rings. (StH: #65)

After a plot by Kodos and Ixis Naugus to have Nate banished from the kingdom, Nate imposed self-exile, feeling he had brought too much trouble to both the Overlanders and Mobians. Realizing the technology of the Power Rings could be used for evil if Kodos or Naugus got their hands on it, Nate brought the sole Ring Forge with him when he left. While wandering through the Great Forest, Nate stumbled upon a hollow stump and decided to bury the Ring Forge beneath a lake near the hollow stump he fell through. This was what produced the Power Rings used by Sonic and the Knothole Freedom Fighters in Knothole years later during their war against Dr. Ivo Robotnik. (StH: #65)

Use by Mobians
During their war again the despot Dr. Ivo Robotnik, the Power Rings aided the Knothole Freedom Fighters by providing their main fighter Sonic to increase his speed and other capabilities. After finding himself in an alternate zone, Sonic discovered that by collecting fifty power rings and seven Chaos Emeralds he could achieve a super transformation of himself called Super Sonic. In this form, Sonic was virtually invulnerable and his powers were dramatically increased. In his Super Sonic form, Sonic managed to make short work of Universalamander. (StH: #4)

When Sonic gathered his One Billionth Power Ring he was transported to a unique zone where he found himself face to face with the Ancient Walkers. The ancient gods felt that Sonic gathering one billion rings was a milestone worth rewarding. Thus, after putting Sonic through a series of tests, the Ancient Walkers empowered Sonic's One Billionth Power Ring with more energy than any other. (StH: #35)

Since then, Power Rings have been used for numerous purposes. Dr. Ivo Robotnik gathered and used a large number of them to power his massive aerial weapon known as the Death Egg. The Freedom Fighters also used the immense magical powers of the power rings to stop the process of King Max's crystalization, though the Power Rings merely slowed down the process. (SQM: #1, #2, #3, SvK)

When used by someone pure of heart, a Power Ring can temporarily enhance an individuals natural abilities for a short time period. Antoine D'Coolette demonstrated this facet of the rings when he used one to cut through a pursuing Eggbot with his sword in a single swing. (SSS: #1)

Of the less noble beings to utilize them, Monkey Khan made use of a Power Ring he found in a trench shortly after release from the crypt he was sealed in by Princess Sally Acorn and made a crown out of it which greatly increased his own powers and enabled him to summon lightning. A sorceress known as the Iron Queen, also used Power Rings to amplify her spellcasting enough to bewitch Monkey Khan and make him fight Sonic and Tails during their pursuit of Naugus.(StH: #55, StH: #60)

Power Rings have also been successfully employed by beings other than Sonic or Robotnik's machines. Both Jules and Bernadette Hedgehog had wedding bands fashioned out of Power Rings and housed on their arms when both were still Robians. This allowed them both to retain their free will after Robo-Robotnik regained control of all the other Robians, similarly to what had occured with Mecha Sonic. (StH: #39, #73, #75)

After being mortally wounded by an imposter Tommy Turtle that was really an Auto Automaton, Jules was saved when Sonic used a ring he accquired from the Lake of Rings nearby and wished for it to heal his father. (StH: #136)

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
In an episode of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, called "The Mobius 5000", the Power Rings were just like the rings in the games.

SatAM
In the SatAM series, Sir Charles Hedgehog, created the Power Rings for Sonic to temporaraliy boost his speed. Sir Charles built a machine, powered by a special rock to generate the rings. It is currently at the bottom of a lake in the Great Forest. One ring rises to the surface every day, and if not caught, it sinks back underwater.

Sonic X
In Sonic X, the rings are a little smaller than their SatAm counterparts, but they function in a similar fashion.

Trivia

 * In Sonic Underground, no rings ever appeared in the show.