Storm the Albatross (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)


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

Storm the Albatross is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics. He was a hulking, Mobian albatross and the enforcer of the Babylon Rogues. Strong-armed and simple-minded, he served as Jet the Hawk's right hand man and was usually at odds with his intellectually superior teammate, Wave the Swallow. Relying more on his brute strength, Storm was not the most skilled at riding Extreme Gear, but was still an adequate flyer while being able to match other physically fit opponents like Knuckles the Echidna.

Battle Bird Armada
Storm was originally a soldier in the Battle Bird Armada who had significant problems with authority figures. He had a strong dislike for superior officers in particular, which culminated in an incident where he assaulted one and was thrown in the brig for it. There, Storm found himself alongside Jet and Wave who had been jailed as well for other unrelated incidents, but the three of them did not stay behind bars for long.

Jet broke them out soon after, and Storm decided to go with them as he admitted he had taken a liking to Jet. Eager to get revenge on the Armada leadership by finding the Babylon Garden first, Storm became the enforcer of the "Babylon Rogues". They then deserted in an old zeppelin as they had no access to Extreme Gear at the time, becoming a primary target of the Battle Lord in order to find the Garden ever since. Sometime after their desertion, a disobedient soldier, Predator Hawk, joined the team, and the four hunted both the Armada and treasure. However Predator eventually got fed up of their activities and left to join Mammoth Mogul, leaving the Rogues minus one member.

Sonic Riders
Storm began working under Dr. Eggman after Jet was captured by the tyrant for attempting to steal a vapor accelerator. After cutting a deal with his captor, Jet recruited Storm and Wave to help him defeat Sonic the Hedgehog. The trio approached Knothole, setting off an alarm that brought Sonic out to confront them. Storm kept up with Sonic using his Extreme Gear, and proved his superior strength as he sent Sonic flying with a punch. He and his teammates then introduced themselves.

The next day, as the trio returned to attack Knothole, Storm questioned whether Jet thought that Sonic would interfere with them again, though the Hawk proved confident that he wouldn't. Jet's belief was proven wrong as Sonic arrived on his own Extreme Gear accompanied by Tails and Knuckles the Echidna. The two teams then began a battle race to Knothole, with Storm grappling with Knuckles and learning to his surprise that the Echidna was as strong as he was.

Trouble in Paradise and Treasure Team Tango
Some time after the fight with Sonic and friends, Storm and the rest of the Babylon Rogues showed up near Cocoa Island in their zeppelin, apparently planning to attack the Battle Bird Armada. While Storm could only simply point out that the Battle Fortress was not at the island, Wave noted its damaged condition, wondering if other rougues were responsible. Jet simply brushed it off, stating that only the rogues could touch the relics of their ancestors, and they were "going to remind their old buddies why that is".

Following their business with the Armada, Wave's scanners picked up an unusual energy signal from the Great Forest, and the Rogues went to investigate it. Zeroing in on Team Hooligan, they then dropped explosives from the blimp, but eventually descended on their airboards, stealing the source of the signal; a Sol Emerald. The sudden appearance of Bean, who recognized them and happily latched onto Jet, caught Storm off guard along with Wave to whom he muttered that he had thought that the Battle Lord had "taken care of" Bean in the past.

The sight of Nack bearing his sniper rifle caused them to scatter, and Storm covered Jet by blocking Nack's shots with his own airboard. As they fled back towards the blimp, a shot from Nack's rifle struck the Emerald, causing it to erupt into a ring of flame that knocked Storm and the others to the ground. Seeing the Emerald was undamaged, Storm flew away as Jet ordered the blimp drop its bomb payload to take care of Team Hooligan so they could pick the Emerald out of the remains, and could only watch impassively as Bean detonated the bombs prematurely, causing no harm. Soon, Teams Rose and Dark arrived and a four-way struggle for the Sol Emerald began, but not before a certain "cute pink hedgehog" caught his eye.

During the battle, Storm went up against heavy hitters like Bark while trying to dodge shots from Omega. Seeing Jet had been attacked by Shadow, Storm went after the hedgehog for retribution, but was struck by Cream landing on top of his head and collided with Shadow and Wave. Once Teams Rose & Dark teamed up to herd the others together, Storm found himself locked in a grapple with Omega and being forced back, his Extreme Gear unable to match the robot's powerful rocket output.

Eventually, Storm ended up at the bottom of a heap with his teammates where they were soon joined by Nack, Bean and Bark. Suddenly, a bomb in the hands of Bean ignited (thanks to Blaze), exploding on them all. Storm shielded the other Rogues from most of the blast, taking the brunt of it face-first, and was left shell-shocked and thoroughly scorched. As Wave took command of their team and marched them out of the fight, Storm silently followed behind, carrying their burnt airboards in a singed pile.

Babylon Rising
Not long after the Sol Emerald fiasco, Storm was in a tavern where he overheard talk about something called "gold leaf" that could be found in Soleanna. Storm then had Wave and Jet follow him to what he mistakenly thought was treasure, but was disappointed to find themselves at the city's library instead. The trip would have been a waste for the Rogues, but Storm's stupidity surprisingly paid off, as Wave found a book written in ancient Babylonian when they were leaving.

Learning it contained information on the location of the key to the Babylon Garden, the Rogues used the book as a guide to locate the entrance to the underground ruins in the Gigan Mountains where they found the key. Confused over what the Babylon Garden was, Storm still could not understand Wave's explanation to him as Jet accidentally set off a trap. The room sealed, trapping the Rogues, and forced them to confront the key's guardian, Angelus. After trying to dodge the hologram's attacks, Storm followed Wave's instructions to destroy its projectors, and smashed one with a column while also saving Jet from Angelus at the same time.

With the fight over, Storm was unsure if they should still take the key, but Jet reminded him it was the entire reason they ever became Rogues and he agreed. The ruins began to collapse and the Rogues barely escaped to the surface in time, only to be cornered by Speedy and the entire Battle Bird Armada behind him. A brief standoff followed with Storm having a laugh over Speedy's flight harness, and the Rogues then took off, easily evading laser fire from Armada flying pods. As Speedy gave chase with a pair of Dr. Fukurokov's new Pursuit Drones, Storm had a moment of cleverness, blinding one with a snowball, and smashed it with a tree.

Storm then went to help Jet and caught Speedy as he fell, preparing to finish him off. However the Battle Lord himself soon joined the fight, and Storm was grabbed off his Extreme Gear and slammed into the ground as he flew in for a direct attack. Once the Battle Lord defeated them all, he then threatened to kill Jet if the Rogues did not surrender the key and rejoin the Armada, leaving Wave and Storm no choice but to give in, to which he accepted them back with open arms. Storm then watched as the Battle Lord placed his family ring from ancient Babylon into the key, and was left in awe to see by the display of a holographic map revealing Babylon Garden's exact location.

As part of the Armada's assault plan, Storm was deployed with Jet and Wave to keep Sonic busy during the attack on New Mobotropolis. Storm proved to be slow-witted and clumsy as ever though, as he punched himself in the face at least once when the hedgehog hopped onto his shoulders. Seeing the Fortress eventually in position over the city, Storm headed back to towards the site. He soon arrived at the gaping crater left behind by the base's drill beam. As they descended to the bottom, Sonic caught up and attacked Storm and the others, but he was subdued with the Gravity Ring while they headed inside.

In the Garden, Storm carried their Extreme Gear as they headed for the control center, finding no plant life while looking around. In the control room, a robot took the key from them and Sonic soon burst into the room, taking down Storm and the other Rogues while demanding answers. Catching Sonic in a bear hug, Storm was too distracted to listen with the others as they learned the secrets of the Garden and their ancestors, leaving him confused over what was happening as it started to take off. Sonic soon slipped free of Storm's grip to stop the robot, but Speedy swooped in and knocked them all down again. During the confusion, Sonic destroyed the key and even Storm could tell they needed to evacuate as the Garden came crashing down. After observing the crash site a bit, Storm wondered if the Battle Birds were alright, but soon put it out of mind and turned to follow Jet onto the next goal his boss now had in mind.

Personality
Storm is an imposing sight and powerful force, capable of destroying just about anything. Despite being committed to his duties, Storm has a very quick and fierce temper. He's somewhat simple-minded and easily insulted, though he does have rare moments of basic cleverness that come in handy. Storm is very loyal to Jet, and believes his loyalty is greater than anyone else's. Because of this, he is always ready for an assignment.

Powers and abilities
Storm is the strongest member of the Babylon Rogues, equal in raw might to Knuckles. He, like the rest of his team, is a specialist at using Extreme Gear, and often uses his brute strength to knock down other racers.

Trivia

 * In Sonic Universe #33 and onward, Storm's nose holes disappear in his beak area.
 * Storm is the only member of the Babylon Rogues not to have had any known counterparts from alternate Zones; Jet has two and Wave has one.
 * Storm made a cameo appearance in issue Sonic the Hedgehog #218 as a silhouette in Sand Blast City.