Anton Veruca

Anton Brooke (アントン・べルーカ), also translated as Anton Verruca or Anton Verruga (see Name, below), is an anthropomorphic lizard and bully who appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog manga created by Kenji Terada.

Anton describes himself as the Number One Hooligan in Hedgehog Town. He bullies Nicky (the alter ego of Sonic the Hedgehog) and frequently tries to go on a date with Nicky's girlfriend Amy. However, when he becomes particularly obnoxious, causing Nicky to wish he was stronger, Nicky somehow transforms into Sonic the Hedgehog, who then beats up Anton and saves Amy.

Doctor Eggman, who wishes to find out more about the mysterious connection between Sonic and Nicky (which nobody, even Nicky, fully understands), frequently uses Anton as a pawn in his schemes.

Name
Anton's surname, べルーカ (Beruuka), has been difficult to translate into English. It is most commonly translated as "Brooke", although the appropriate Japanese equivalent of the name Brooke or Brook is ブルック (Buruku).

Other translations use "Verruca" or "Verruga", both of which refer to a plantar wart. Some illustrations of Anton, particularly those by mangaka Tanaka Kouichi in Coro Coro Comics Special series, depict Anton with round bumps on his face that could be either (non-plantar) warts or scales. However, this translation also has drawbacks. In particular, the April 1992 issue of Shogaku Ninensei (by mangaka Sango Morimoto) depicts Anton wearing a letterman jacket with the initials 'AB'.