Walter Naugus

Ixis Naugus is a famed sorcerer who is a recurring character in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book published by Archie Comics. Ixis Naugus was known for creating the mysterious Zone of Silence. He is based on the version of Naugus from Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM).

The Past
In the comics, Ixis is the creator of the parallel dimension, the Zone of Silence. Here, he is actually the fusion of three separate beings, sorcerers and the last surviving members of the occult Order of Ixis (except for its founder, Mammoth Mogul) after the group was decimated in their secret war with the Albion Knights of Aurora. Their names were all anagrams of "Naugus": the rhino Agunus, master of earth; the bat Nusgau, master of wind; and the lobster Suguna, master of water. The three wizards sought to harness the powers of the Days of Fury, but were unable to learn the mystery of those events (it was later revealed to be the work of the Xorda). Instead, they sought to claim mastery over the one element that had eluded them all: fire. Each had shared some of his mastery of the other elements with the others, but each had treacherously held back knowledge in order to hold the advantage over the others.

While attempting to gain mastery of fire, the three wizards sought to launch themselves into the sun that they might gain the ability to use fire from the source of the element. Not at all eager to share power, each tried to overcome the others with their own elemental mastery, but all three ended up falling into the sun and becoming fused together. Agunus, Nusgau, and Suguna ceased to be; in their place was Ixis Naugus.

Naugus became the court wizard of the Kingdom of Acorn, appointed by King Frederick Acorn, but his position became little more than ceremonial upon the arrival of Nate Morgan. Desperate to hold on to his power as magic became superfluous in the face of advancing technology, Naugus formed an alliance with Warlord Kodos. Thanks to their deceptions, Nate was forced into exile. However, Naugus was himself imprisoned in his own Zone by Dr. Robotnik.

Escapes
Ixis would later escape from the Zone of Silence after years of being imprisoned, with his servants Kodos, Feist - whom Naugus defeated using his magic - and Uma Arachnis. Though he was defeated and his minions were imprisoned in Devil's Gulag upon his return to Mobius, Ixis would later return by mind-controlling King Acorn, whose body was turning into crystal due to his own tenure in the Zone. This effort failed when Sonic used the Sword of Acorns to break Naugus' spell, and Ixis escaped again, leading Sonic and Tails to go on a mission to hunt him down and bring him to justice. They eventually tracked Naugus to the southern tundras of Mobius, where they met Nate Morgan and Eddy the Yeti.

Naugus revealed his plan to absorb all of the Power Rings that Morgan had created, and when he made the attempt, he, Sonic, and Tails were empowered in a climactic face-off. The battle resulted in Eddy sacrificing himself, and Naugus being sealed back into the Zone by Nate making a wish on a personal Power Ring contained in his eyepiece. Sonic would later revisit the site of the battle, only to accidentally release Naugus again. Sonic defeated him, and Ixis remained absent until his servants, the Arachne, used the Sword of Acorns to release him from his prison.

Alliance with Mammoth Mogul
Possessing the Sword of Acorns, Naugus went to Knothole Village and battled Mammoth Mogul for the Crown of Acorns. After learning that Mogul was the leader of the original Ixis society, he gave Mammoth Mogul the Sword of Acorns and became his right hand man. As a result, Ixis became second-in-command of a force consisting of his Arachne, Mogul's Destructix, and the two wizards themselves. Despite the powers of Naugus and his allies, the artifacts of Acorn were destroyed.

Naugus, Mogul, and the others then came under fire from the Egg Fleet, and were transported to Dr. Eggman's Egg Grape Chamber. According to the reports of Rouge the Bat, he later escaped with Mogul, abandoning the Destructix and the Arachne. It is possible that he was released by A.D.A.M., though this has not been confirmed and he could have just been liberated by Mogul after the other wizard was freed by A.D.A.M. in exchange for his Chaos Emerald. In addition, perhaps unbeknownst to Naugus, his former ally Feist has taken his place as ruler of the Zone of Silence, fusing all the Chaos Emeralds transported there by Super Sonic, Turbo Tails, and Super Shadow into seven more powerful gems.

As a result of his partnership with Mogul, Naugus apparently lost his elemental abilities, replacing them with powerful shadow magic. Unfortunately, he also appears to have been reduced to little more than dumb muscle, possibly as a result of his imprisonment in the Egg Grape Chamber. Despite this, he was defeated by the Freedom Fighters after being lured into a trap by Rouge the Bat, who claimed to have stolen the Master Emerald. Along with his master, Nack the Weasel, Bean the Dynamite, and Bark the Polar Bear, he was then placed in prison. This group, along with almost all the inhabitants of Knothole, were then captured by Eggman and transported to the Egg Grape Chamber, though a swift rescue mission mounted by the survivors of the attack resulted in their liberation before any further harm could be done. Transported to the city of New Mobotropolis, Naugus and his master-together with Naugus' new fellow underlings Nack, Bean, and Bark-didn't enjoy freedom long, as NICOLE transported all of them to a new prison within the city. He and the others were soon witness to a long-in-the-making confrontation between Sonic and Tails, though unlike his fellow prisoners the former Lord of Ixis had no commentary to offer.

Back Again
Following the Iron Dominion saga, Naugus worked with his master at Casino Night, until Geoffrey St. John came, holding a purple Chaos Emerald (which he stole from Sonic in the Special Zone). St. John told Mogul that if Naugus becomes ruler of New Mobotropolis, the citizens will flee to Casino Night as a haven, which shall be good business. After Mogul accepted the offer, Naugus proceeded to touch the Emerald, restoring his sanity and magic. He then made a staff for holding the Emerald and grabbed Geoffrey by the neck, telling him that he was supposed to destroy the House of Acorn to ensure his rule, but Geoffrey retorted that the Acorns were needed to ensure his rule. He also revealed that St. John was actually an apprentice, but his magic is very weak. Before leaving for New Mobotropolis, Naugus swore revenge on Mogul for keeping him as a slave and not bothering to try to restore him.

Chasing the Crown
Within New Mobotropolis, he and his apprentice traveled to the Coliseum via Naugus' shadow-melding powers (an experience Geoffrey greatly disliked), where they watched Mina's concert from afar. Sensing a "poison fog" of fear, Naugus used his magic to amplify the citizens' emotions, causing them to react strongly to Mina's musical message of suspicion against NICOLE. Referring to similar trickery that ignited the Great War, Naugus told his apprentice that Mobotropolis' citizens would soon be "baying for blood", and when the time came, they would call out for him to "save them". (StH: #221)

For a time, Naugus and Geoffrey continued to lay low, allowing the citizen's paranoia and fear to escalate. Finally, when they felt the time right, they made a grand public entrance, with Geoffrey announcing Naugus as the rightful king. Naugus boasted to the people that with him as their ruler, they would not need to fear NICOLE; when the AI attempted to capture him in a nanite construct, the wizard used his magic to turn the nanites to crystal and shatter them. He then told the amazed crowd that NICOLE had no sway over him, and that he simply planned to go meet with the Council of Acorn (Geoffrey, meanwhile, was to keep the Freedom Fighters from interfering). Sonic, of course, protested and attempted to stop Naugus from approaching Castle Acorn, but he was thwarted by the wizard's elemental skills and kept out of the castle by a wall of crystal. Striding into a meeting, Naugus boldly announced his intentions to the council, only for Sonic to suddenly strike him (having gotten in through an uncovered window). Despite some hesitation, Elias handed his sword to Sonic at the latter's request, saying that the crown would defer to him when it came to dealing with Naugus. Naugus, angered, told Sonic that his claim had nothing to do with him, but the hedgehog refused to back down. (StH: #222, #223, #224)

During the fight, Naugus used his magic to raise the emotions of the council as they argued between helping the hedgehog as former freedom fighters and relying on political matters as a government. In order to end the fight peacefully, Elias was willing to surrender the crown as long as Naugus honored the council. However, Sonic was insistent on ending it before it could happen, once more risking treason by disobeying the group's authority. Their scuffle was soon put on hold as they felt a shock wave from outside, only to discover the return of Eggman and, to a more catastrophic extent, the Death Egg Mark 2. (StH: #224))

Genesis and Aftermath
With Julian on the offensive and his kingdom threatened Naugus agreed to a truce with his enemies to combat the airborne fortress, reaching the Death Egg first the dreaded wizard unleashed his crystalline magic upon the vessel secure in its vulnerability to it. Stunned, Naugus found the structure to be resisting his magic somehow, as the fortress unleashed its weaponry on the attackers they fought back, Sonic and Sally even managed to penetrate the Death Egg's defenses and get inside, but soon afterwards the sorcerer, along with everyone else, was washed away as the world turned white… (StH: #225)

After the events of Operation: Clean Sweep, Naugus awakened to find the aftermath had a nasty side effect, the spirits of whom he used to be (Nusgau, Agunus, and Suguna, the last wizards of the Order of Ixis) had awoken with him. After a brief battle with himself, Naugus kept control of his body in time to notice that New Mobotropolis was being attacked by one of Julian's contraptions. He joined Bunnie and they attempted to take down the robot, but their attacks were useless. In a fit of rage, both at the robot and his split personalities, Naugus shot a powerful blast of crystal magic at Titan Metal Sonic, engulfing both it and Bunnie in crystals. He then manipulated the robot as a Crystal Golem to block a blast from the Death Egg's Egg Annihilator Beam directed at the city. This was enough for the citizens of New Mobotropolis to choose him as the new king, and he basked in their cheers and admiration. (StH: #231)

Hail to the King
While his enemies watched on in horror, Naugus approached Elias and requested the boy to relinquish the crown to him, but was interrupted by the quickster who desperately tried to tell the people that the wizard was a villain. After learning of the princess' transmutation into a minion of Julian's minions and that the white light from before was the doctor's doing, the spirits of Nusgau and Agunus assailed the sorcerer's mind with the intent of taking his body. However Suguna silenced the others, and advised Naugus to further prove himself as a better suited leader to New Mobotropolis by making Elias look even weaker. Boasting of his "selfless" servitude to not only one, but two of their previous kings and blatantly pointing out Elias' emotional turmoil, he deftly convinced what few citizens who were still uncertain. As his apprentice snatched the crown from Elias' head, Naugus allowed Geoffrey to crown him and was accepted by the people as their new king. (StH: #232)

Unwilling to accept it, his enemies tried again by revealing a hospitalized and half-crystallized Bunnie who was getting weaker by the minute. Spinning this to his advantage as well, the villainous wizard led the masses to the hospital where he intended to rectify his mistake made during the battle. Though Naugus had meant to undo the crystallization he was stunned to see that his sorcery had also restored the rabbit's organic limbs. The wizard-king swiftly dismissed it, claiming he had done so on purpose to reward the valiant heroine for her efforts in protecting his kingdom, and was once more met with cheers from the citizens. Later that day, Geoffrey was arrested for treason. (StH: #232)

Naugus' first true test as king came much sooner than expected, as the city was besieged again less than a day later, this time by the Battle Bird Armada. With the army's Battle Fortress on an attack course and scores of assault pods doing battle with the Freedom Fighters, King Naugus sprang into action to keep up a good appearance for his subjects. Naugus flew into the fight as his inner spirits bickered over his course of action and went directly for the Armada's flagship, attempting to crystallize it in order to spread his reign across Mobius, only to be stopped upon the arrival of the Battle Lord. After a brief exchange of introductions, Naugus was taken by surprise as the Battle Kukku just walked up and punched him in the gut, and then relentlessly pummeled by him before the wizard could counter-react. As he tried to recover, Naugus had Tails thrown on top of him by Speedy, and the Battle Lord knocked them both over the side of the Fortress. Naugus fell the whole way into the city, and still reeling from the beating, could do nothing as the Armada fired onto Castle Acorn with the Fortress' main canon and destroyed New Mobotropolis. Naugus did little to protect his new kingdom, leaving it to the Freedom Fighters to defeat the Armada. (SU: #35, #36)

Naugus attended Geoffrey St. John's trial, but was bored the entire time. After Geoffrey told of how he came to be Naugus' servant and declared guilty of treason, Naugus used his new position to grant his servant a pardon, a once annual power belonging to the Republic of Acorn's king. When Naugus found out that ex-king Elias was planning on leaving the city for Feral Forest, his old home, he contacted Eggman through his chaos emerald and told the doctor when the movement was going to happen, resulting in a battle that left Antoine wounded but Elias alive. Unbeknownst to Naugus, shortly after the encounter the time traveler known as Silver the Hedgehog arrived looking for a traitor to the Freedom Fighters. Silver's mentor, a future version of Mammoth Mogul, had told his young student that Naugus would be attempting to bring about the Ixis Resurgence. (StH: #233, #234)

Naugus later reasoned with the council that they had no option but to exile NICOLE from the city as a threat. When Penelope questioned if they could realistically exile her, NICOLE replied that the city could function without her, but that she would be needed for new buildings or defensive measures. Naugus interjected that he was the city's protector, and that the citizens could build what they needed. The resulting vote resulted in all of the council except for Rotor voting to exile NICOLE. The motion carried and Rotor decided to resign out of protest. Later, Sonic and Rotor went to the council and proposed splitting the Freedom Fighters into Team Fighters and Team Freedom. Sonic said that he would lead the first group, which would chase Eggman and rescue Sally. Rotor volunteered to lead the second team,using his battle suit, to protect the city. Naugus objected, again declaring himself the city's protector, and attempted to deny the motion. Rosemary Prower reminded him that the entire council-not just the king-decided issues by vote. The Council voted in the affirmative, and Team Fighters and Team Freedom were created. Naugus later showed up at the auditions for Team Freedom, accusing Big the Cat and Cream the Rabbit of doubting their king as well as trying to cast suspicion on rebuilt Badniks Heavy and Bomb given their previous allegiance to Robotnik. A building nearby was then damaged by Tails Doll, and Team Freedom's success in preventing it from harming the citizens put a halt to Naugus' criticism. Fuming at his counterparts, who had apparently been advising him in what to say, Naugus blamed first the exiled NICOLE, and then the Battlebird Armada for the building's collapse, declaring he would investigate further. (StH: #235, #236)

Ixis Resurgence
Naugus soon embarked on a scheme to bring him absolute control, starting with daily trips to the crater left by the Armada's destruction of Castle Acorn. Descending into the depths, he created a secret Ritual Chamber, which was discovered when he is followed there by members of Elias' Secret Freedom Fighters, a group formed by Harvey Who to overthrow Naugus' takeover. In preparation for his plan, he also sent his apprentice Geoffrey to recover the remains of an old comrade of his, Ixis Vale. Whilst Geoffrey was pursued by Silver, rebuilt Metal Sonic Shard, and Larry Lynx, Naugus was followed to his lair by Elias and former Wolf Pack members Leeta and Lyco. The latter pair arrived in response to a summons from Harvey Who, only for Naugus to dismiss them, though Rosemary again reminded him that he was one voice on a council, not the supreme ruler. Tormented again by his components, Naugus took on a more monstrous form, startling his pursuers, whom he attempted to destroy. After using his powers to reshape the underground with additional tunnels and rock spikes, he sent the trio of Freedom Fighters plummeting into the crater with a tornado. (SU: #41, #42)

Believing the intruders dead, he revealed to a returned Geoffrey his plan after dismissing the Skunk's worries over his grotesque mutations. Using his chamber and Ixis Vale's bones to augment his own power, he planned to enslave the entire city and use them to rebuild the Order of Ixis. Geoffrey objected, but Naugus silenced him with the knowledge that he had betrayed all his former allies and that he had no hope of stopping Naugus alone. He then sent him to search for the bodies of the intruders, unknowingly bringing about a chain of events that would lead to Geoffrey betraying his plan to their enemies. (SU: #43)

The moment came as Naugus was casting his spell: the heroes-minus Larry Lynx-invaded the chamber, with Silver and Shard taking Naugus head on. Despite his magical prowess, the wizard found himself daunted by the pair, particularly as Geoffrey's own foes prevented him from providing Naugus with his wand. Conjuring stone first to create barriers and then in an effort to crush his foes, Naugus was mocked by Silver, who belittled his powers in comparison to those of Enerjak, whom Silver had faced previously. Having similarly failed to stop Shard by trapping him in a vacuum, Naugus opted for a different tactic, turning the air around Silver into fire. The Hedgehog was rescued by Shard, who destroyed Vale's remains and caused Naugus to desperately attempt to complete the spell, only to have his concentration broken by the Wolf twins, utterly thwarting the spell. Explosives planted by the heroes caused the chamber to start collapsing, and Geoffrey abandoned his master to destruction. Enraged, Naugus changed into his mutated form, trying to block the escape of his enemies and his apprentice. The Freedom Fighters escaped, but Geoffrey was caught and made the excuse of pursuing their enemies. His plan defeated, Naugus contemplated attacking the council, but Geoffrey convinced him to blame the seismic disturbance on a cave in and take credit for saving the city from another disaster. Placated, Naugus released his apprentice and set off to meet with the council. (SU: #44)

Possession
Naugus' former selves and his mutations continued to plague him, even as he found himself dealing with a sudden attitude change from his apprentice. Doing his best to remain composed, Naugus presided over the swearing in of the new council member, Isabella Mongoose, though doing so required brief contact with the hated and pain-causing Sword of Light. His composure-along with his control over his mutations-faltered when the new councilor called for a reversal of NICOLE's exile. Naugus was quick to declare again that he was the city's protector, only for Isabella to point out his failure in the face of the latest attack by the Death Egg. As the rest of the council went into debate, Naugus excused himself on the basis of feeling ill, telling the council to call upon him only if they came to a tie on the vote. In a desperate situation to heal his body, he desired to possess someone. He sought out King Maximillian offering to make him healthy again using his crystalline magic. Naugus told him that he would have to enter into contract again, but he weakly replied no. Naugus tried to persuade him, but was kicked out by Alicia. Still mocked by the voices, he decided to head to the Hedgehog residence for a different host. He told Bernie and Jules that he could use his magic to change him back to normal like Bunnie, but had to put faith into their king. Both of them, including Muttski, weren't persuaded by him and argued against it since Bunnie didn't need to. Bernadette argued that he may have another motive and Jules could be injured in a process that can't be explained, while Jules states that he drove Mobians and Robians to war, was the enemy of his mentor and tried to kill his son and demanded that he left. (StH: #241)

He was later escorted by Geoffrey to attend Mina's concert seeming more relaxed until he heard the concert was dedicated to NICOLE. As the concert started, Tails Doll caused the stage to collapse and Team Freedom rushed to Mina's and the Forget me Knots' rescue. Geoffrey accused Naugus of causing it, but turned to see Naugus wheezing in pain. Geoffrey escorted Naugus out of the public eye to his thanks, but Geoffrey snapped about Naugus betraying the city with his ideals. He tried to convince Naugus to ask for help and accept the citizens to help him. The voices try to convince him not to show weakness when Naugus had another idea. He pretended to agree with Geoffrey until he revealed that Geoffrey was in contract with him and possessed his body. Using Geoffrey's body, he arrived at the Council of Acorn, who had welcomed NICOLE back to the city. He pretended that he gave full support for her return and confessed that the king was sick and he needed their help. (StH: #241)

New World
In the new reality, he's powerless and not in control of Mobius anymore. He's also not in Geoffrey St. John's body anymore.

Personality
Greedy beyond belief, Ixis Naugus is willing to go to any lengths to increase his own power. Incredibly vengeful, he never forgets being offended, and does his best to pay those who have done so back. Naugus is also partly if not completely insane, making him a dangerous and unpredictable opponent. His mental state has also made him relatively fearless, allowing him to insult his lessers or betters without qualm. As with many villains, he sees his minions only as pawns to use in his various schemes. Following his escape from the Egg Grape Chamber, he has seemingly been robbed of his intelligence. His intelligence was restored when St. John gave him a Chaos Emerald.

Appearance
Naugus' appearance is mostly humanoid, though his body is covered with a coat of peach/light brown-colored fur and his eyes are red. His right hand is completely normal, but his left resembles a lobster claw, though both are covered by gray gloves. These are matched by a pair of boots, and Naugus' wardrobe also includes a black cape and a plain suit underneath-this has been shown to be blue on some occasions and purple on others. Other indications of Naugus' non-human nature are the horn sprouting from the top of his head, a long white beard, sharp teeth and his large, pointed ears. His species is never specifically stated in the "SatAM", but the comics name him as an anthropomorphic hybrid of bat, lobster, and rhinoceros.

Abilities
Naugus commands all four of the classical elements; earth, air, fire and water. His greatest desire is to take control of the unique 'fifth element' of Mobius, the Power Ring. While in the Zone of Silence, he gained a magic wand that allowed him to turn his minions into crystalline beings to protect them from the Zone's effects and increased their abilities, but this object was later shattered by Sonic. Naugus could also control individuals who let their negative emotions go too strongly, such as he did to King Acorn; he could also strengthen such emotions, which allowed him to turn Mobians and Robians against each other briefly.

As well as these specific capabilities, Naugus is a powerful wielder of Ixian Magic, second only to Mammoth Mogul, though the full range of effects that can be achieved through the use of these disciplines remain to be seen. It is known, however, that he is-or was-capable of altering his body's makeup into that of an elemental being, which he used to turn into a living cloud, living snow, living fire, and even living rock, all of which he used against Sonic, Tails, and Nate Morgan. Mastery of air also allowed him to create a vacuum, sucking the oxygen out of the air around his opponents. Naugus also had enhanced physical attributes derived from his hybrid body. Naugus is also omnipotent while inside the Zone of Silence, but anywhere else his powers are dramatically decreased. For all of that, he is still a powerful opponent.

After being infused with a large amount of Power Rings, Ixis Naugus achieved a power level akin to that of a Super transformation. However, no name was given for this form, and it was only temporary. Since then, he has never assumed such level of power again.

Since joining up with Mammoth Mogul, Naugus appears to have gained new magical abilities, including the Shadow-Meld power that allows him to disappear and reappear at will. These do not appear to be as formidable as his normal elemental magic, since using them he was defeated easily by the Freedom Fighters.

Trivia

 * Due to Mammoth Mogul's revelation of his founding the Order, it has been revealed that Ixis is not in fact Naugus' name, but a title given to members of the Order.
 * In issue #153, Naugus' character is adapted into the Naugus Rider, a hooded version of himself on horseback, as one of the antagonists in a bedtime story told by Rosie. This was a reference to the Nazgûl from The Lord of the Rings.
 * An article on the fan site Sonic HQ depicts a storyline in which Naugus remained trapped in the Zone of Silence. During one of his escapes, he managed to corrupt the Source of All using his magic, thus influencing the House of Acorn away from the destiny in which he would be defeated. He would later attempt to return to Mobius Prime by taking over King Acorn's body, causing it to transform into his own as he got closer to the Source. However, this plot was thwarted when the Crown of Acorns, to which Naugus had a connection, was destroyed. This plot line was only a prototype, and will not likely be acted out in the actual comics.
 * The names of three sorcerors that fused to become Ixis Naugus (Agunus, Nusgau, and Suguna) can be rearanged to spell "Naugus".