Espio the Chameleon (IDW)

Espio the Chameleon is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series published by IDW Publishing. He is an anthropomorphic chameleon, who mainly serves as a ninja spy, and a member of the Chaotix, a trio of detectives.

Appearance
Espio is a purple chameleon with a yellow horn between his eyes, golden eyes and a ridge of three black scales down his spine and a coiled tail. He wears dark purple and black shoes with elaborate cuffs, white gloves with a purple back, and studded bands around his wrists and ankles.

Past
After Dr. Eggman vanished, Espio and the Chaotix began looking for the Doctor to bring him to justice. After finding no trace of him in Imperial City, they located Cubot and Orbot and interrogated them, only to learn that they knew nothing. Finding no trace of an escape plan on Eggman's computer either, the Chaotix searched Eggman's other bases, only to find nothing but trouble. Espio himself had to avoid E-106 at one point.

Eventually, the Chaotix found Eggman in an idyllic village after receiving an anonymous tip. However, it seemed like Eggman had lost his memory, leading to him becoming a productive member of the village, now with the name of "Mr. Tinker". With the majority of them doubting Eggman's condition, the Chaotix spent the next couple of days interrogating and observing Eggman, only to conclude that his amnesia was legit. However, this presented the Chaotix with a new dilemma: whether or not it was right to penalize Eggman now that he was a good man with no recollection of his evil deeds.

The Fate of Dr. Eggman
Eventually, the Chaotix called for Sonic to come and help them solve their problem, with Espio himself heading out to escort Sonic. Upon meeting up with Sonic however, they had to clear out some Badniks attacking them. Afterward, Espio brought Sonic to Eggman's village while telling him of what the Chaotix had been through. After Sonic got to meet the amnesiac Eggman, Espio, Sonic, Vector and the village's head began discussing what to do with Eggman. However, when some Badniks, whom the heroes believed had come for Eggman, neared the village, Espio and the Choatix went to intercept them while Sonic confronted Eggman. Sonic soon after joined Espio and co. in clearing out the Badniks though, before telling them that Eggman wanted nothing to do with his old robots. Believing now that Eggman was indeed a changed man, the heroes settled on leaving Eggman to his new life. As Espio got ready to depart with his friends though, Shadow and Rouge showed up, with the former seeking to eliminate Eggman after hearing him mention Eggman Land.

When Sonic and Shadow began fighting, Espio and his crew planned to help Sonic, only to see that they could not keep up with them. As such, they turned their attention to Rouge. However, Rouge revealed that she was on their side. As it turned out, Shadow was already looking for Eggman, and would have hurt the Chaotix if they got in his way. As such, she gave the Chaotix the anonymous tip that led them to Eggman so they could verify Eggman's situation and bring in Sonic before she "helped" Shadow find Eggman. Afterward, Espio and his crew tried to stop Shadow from getting to Eggman, but failed. Fortunately, Shadow had been convinced by Sonic to talk to the amnesiac Eggman first. After Eggman showed Shadow that his "Eggman Land" was but an amusement park for children, Espio saw Shadow and Rouge take their leave.

Personality
Espio is a serious and disciplined ninja warrior and detective with a distinct sense of wariness. He is likewise a wise, intelligent and soulful character, and has an excellent drive to all that he does, always being very thorough with his assignments. While having a no-nonsens attitude, he also has a bit of an ego which makes him elaborate on stories about his work that go nowhere in order to make his listeners understand how hard he has been working. He is also reluctant to admit his shortcomings.

Espio usually maintains a reserved demeanor. Beneath this surface however is a burning sense of justice and a refusal to let evil have its way. This is best exemplified in how he wanted Dr. Eggman to stand trial for his past actions when the Doctor was seemingly amnesiac and had apparently turned over a new leaf.

Powers and abilities
Being a chameleon, Espio possesses a stealth camouflage trick that lets him change his color scheme to match his environment. His camouflage is so effective that he is rendered completely invisible to the naked eye and allows him to pass by unnoticed. Being a skilled ninja, he is also a master of stealth which combined with his camouflaging abilities makes him virtually undetectable. Like a real lizard, Espio is also able to climb along any surface and stick to them for an unprecedented amount of time.

Thanks to his ninja skills, Espio is proficient with several forms of ninja-based weaponry. He is especially a master of throwing kunai, capable of striking targets with pin-point accuracy without even looking at them.

Weapons
As a ninja, Espio employs ninja-based weaponry, such as kunai. By attaching a rope on his kunai, he can use as a grappling hook to swing around.

Friends/allies

 * Chaotix
 * Charmy Bee
 * Vector the Crocodile
 * Rouge the Bat
 * Sonic the Hedgehog

Enemies

 * Cubot
 * Orbot