Jet the Hawk (Archie)

Jet the Hawk is a character in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series and its spin-offs comics. He is a Mobian hawk and expert Extreme Gear rider who deserted from the Battle Bird Armada and became the leader of the Babylon Rogues. Jet believes it is his destiny to find Babylon Garden and take the glory that would come with it, and seeks to do this in order to get back at the Armada as well. He worked temporarily for Dr. Eggman in order to escape his wrath by promising to defeat Sonic the Hedgehog, only for him and his team to be beaten by the hedgehog, Tails, and Knuckles in a race around Knothole. After this loss, he would return to his previous quest, and end up running into enemies like Team Dark, Team Rose, Team Hooligan, and his former allies in the Battle Bird Armada. After discovering the garden at last, Jet set out on a new quest: to become the fastest being on Mobius. While not related to the Battle Kukku lineage, Jet briefly becomes Battle Kukku XVI as he is considered a "worthy son" and gifted with the Gravity Ring.

Battle Bird Armada
Jet was originally a member of the Battle Bird Armada who enlisted years ago to satisfy his desire of gaining glory. As an ace flier, Jet impressed many in the Armada with his skills, especially earning the admiration of the sixteenth Battle Kukku, Speedy. However, this also came with an arrogance that established a reputation for Jet not being known to follow orders. Even so, the Battle Lord remained confident that Jet could help him fulfill the Armada's destiny by using his abilities to find the Babylon Garden, and attempted to persuade him. Instead, Jet declined his coaxings as he had no interest in conquest, to which Battle Lord threw him in the brig for trying to walk out on the Armada. (SU: #18, #33, #34)

While imprisoned, Jet found company in Wave the Swallow and Storm the Albatross, who had both been put there for their own offenses. Jet soon broke them all out though, and the others decided to team up with him in order to get back at the Armada and deny them their destiny by finding the Babylon Garden first. Before they could leave though, Speedy confronted them in the hangar and tried to remind them of the commitment they were neglecting, only for Jet to just brush him off. As Jet proved that Speedy could not stop them with words or by force, Speedy then pleaded with Jet to take him along. Jet threw him aside in rejection though, telling Speedy the now "Babylon Rogues" meant to find a destiny that was theirs alone, and that he had to find his own. Without any Extreme Gear available, Jet and the others then deserted in an old zeppelin they stole, becoming a primary target of the Armada in order to find the Garden ever since. (SU: #20, #33)

Despite being happy to be free of the Armada, Jet would admit the times since then to be tough, especially in terms of maintaining equipment and acquiring supplies. Sometime after the desertion, Wave broke into the Battle Fortress and returned with Predator Hawk, a disobedient Armada soldier she freed from confinement. Predator joined the team, and the four hunted both the Armada and treasure, though Predator disapproved of Jet's position as leader, feeling he was "weak" and had not earned his place. After stealing a golden bird idol from some ruins, Jet and Predator attempted to sell it to Mammoth Mogul for an "outrageous price," to which he agreed, provided that Predator come with him. He accepted, leaving the Rogues minus one member. (StH: #163, SU: #30)

Employed by Eggman
Jet's temporary employment with Dr. Eggman started when he used his Extreme Gear to steal a vapor accelerator to boost his gear from Eggman. He was then captured by Egg Pawns, having been subdued by an Egg Hammer, and Eggman was intrigued by his speed, leading to Jet becoming aware of Sonic the Hedgehog and claiming that he was faster. Eggman then offered Jet the chance to live if he was able to defeat Sonic, and Jet agreed on the condition that he could bring along Wave the Swallow and Storm the Albatross. The group entered Knothole and set off the security system to lure Sonic to them, Jet being quick to claim superiority to the Hedgehog. After each of the three Rogues got in their hits on the Hedgehog, they introduced themselves. (StH: #163)

Fulfilling a promise made to Sonic that they would be attacking Knothole the next day, the Rogues returned, with Jet confident that Sonic wouldn't show up after suffering such a defeat. He and the others were then caught off guard as Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles the Echidna arrived on Extreme Gear built by Tails. Enraged, Jet declared that he was "trashing Knothole on principle now!" Sonic remarked that he and his teammates would have to beat Sonic's team there, sparking a battle between the trios. (StH: #164)


 * The final results of this battle have not yet been shown, though presumably the Babylon Rogues were defeated and driven off by the defending trio.

Pursuing The Armada
Some time after the fight with Sonic and friends, Jet and the Babylon Rogues showed up near Cocoa Island in their zeppelin, apparently planning to attack the Battle Bird Armada. When Wave made note of the Battle Fortress' damaged condition, wondering if other rogues 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." (SU: #20)

Sol Stealing
Later on, Wave's scanners picked up an unusual energy signal and the Rogues traced it down to Northamer's Great Forest where Team Hooligan was fleeing a battle between Teams Dark and Rose. After catching the target with bombs from their blimp, Jet and his team traveled down with their Extreme Gear and snatched the source of the signal, a Sol Emerald. Things got complicated however, when Team Hooligan member and former Armada member Bean the Dynamite happily latched onto Jet himself, much to his chagrin. Despite this nuisance, Jet managed to escape Nack the Weasel's sniper shots with help from his teammates and they escaped - for the time being. (SU: #22, #23)

Team Hooligan pursued them on the Marvellous Queen, and before the Rogues could make it back to their blimp, one of Nack's shots hit the Sol Emerald itself, surprising Jet and causing an unexpected fiery blast that threw him and the Rogues to the ground. When Nack recovered the gem, Jet and the others flew off while he ordered the blimp's auto-pilot to drop its entire payload of bombs. However, this plan failed as Bean surprised them all by causing all the bombs to detonate prematurely. Eventually, Team Rose and Team Dark arrived, and Jet told the Rogues to leave the others in the dust as they entered a four-way scramble for the Sol Emerald. (SU: #23)

After the fight carried on for a while, Jet decided to cut things short by stealing the Emerald from Nack and making a quick getaway. The victory was short lived though, as Shadow the Hedgehog gave pursuit and used Chaos Control to appear on Jet's board and swiftly knocked the hawk to the ground, causing him to lose hold of the Sol Emerald again. Jet attempted to recover it in the melee that followed, but was sent soaring during so with a blow from Amy Rose's Piko-Piko Hammer right into Bark the Polar Bear's clenched fist. (SU: #24)

Things went even worse for Jet when Teams Rose and Dark began to work together, as Shadow went after him again and forced Jet to constantly change his direction with his teleporting and was guided right into a collision with his teammates and Team Hooligan. A blast from one of Bean's reignited bombs put an end to the fight soon after and though Jet was relatively unscathed and attempted to renew their attack, Wave cut off his orders. Furious at the damage done to their Extreme Gear, she stepped over Jet's authority and marched them away from the battlefield, yanking the stubborn hawk along by his headfeathers despite his protests. (SU: #24)

Babylon Rising
While following Storm on a bad lead to treasure at Soleanna's library, Jet's luck had a huge upturn when Wave found a book written in ancient Babylonian. As Wave translated it, Jet learned of the location of a key that could unlock his ultimate prize: the Babylon Garden. Using the book as a guide, the Rogues located the entrance to the underground ruins in the Gigan Mountains where they found the Key to Babylon Garden, though Jet had irritated Wave by then with asking her if they were in the right place. (SU: #33)

While arguing over Storm's confusion about what the Garden actually was, Jet ignored Wave's caution to be mindful of traps as he removed the key, and accidentally set one off. The room sealed, trapping the Rogues, and forced them to confront the key's guardian, Angelus. While Jet at first thought Angelus to be just a hologram, he was taken aback and put on the defensive after discovering it was enhanced with force fields and could attack them. Jet then followed Wave's lead to destroy the hologram's projectors, and though he had almost been taken out by Angelus a few times, smashed the last one himself, causing it to disappear. (SU: #33)

With the fight over, Jet found Storm and Wave questioning if they should still take the key, and he reminded them it was the entire reason they ever became Rogues, making them consent. 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, and the Rogues then took off as Jet declared they still had glory to gain, easily evading laser fire from Armada flying pods. While Wave and Storm dealt with Dr. Fukurokov's new Pursuit Drones, Jet led Speedy on a chase up the mountains, mocking his former admirer's attempts to keep up. (SU: #33, #34)

At that point, Speedy shot at Jet, and managed to wound him in the arm, whereupon he struck the "Legendary Wind Master" repeatedly, causing him to crash. Though cornered, Jet remained smug as Speedy kept his blaster aimed at him, and was saved by Wave and Storm's arrival as backup. The situation went out of Jet's favor though, when the Battle Lord entered the fight and took out his teammates, and then caught Jet as he rushed at him, in a compressed gravity field from his ancestral ring. Once in Battle Lord's grasp, Jet was threatened to be crushed with his bare hands if he and the Rogues did not surrender the key and rejoin the Armada. With his life on the line and no other options, they gave in and Jet handed over the key to the Battle Lord as he welcomed them back, a decision Speedy strongly disagreed with. Jet then listened as the Battle Lord explained his family had known how to work the key using his ring, and upon placing it in the key, watched a holographic map appear and reveal the location of Babylon Garden, much to his surprise. (SU: #34)

After being briefed on New Mobotropolis' defenses, Jet was given back the key and the Battle Lord's ring. He then led the Rogues in targeting Sonic and kept him busy while the Armada attacked the city. When they lured Sonic far enough away and saw the Battle Fortress in position, Jet used the ring and trapped Sonic like he had been earlier, and directed the Rogues back as the Fortress' drill beam created a massive hole where Castle Acorn had been. With the hard work now done for him, Jet saw no reason to keep his forced loyalty and went below to claim the Garden for himself. (SU: #35, #36)

Sonic caught up in mid-descent though, and attacked the Rogues as Jet showed his callous disregard for endangering the hedgehog's home and loved ones. This only angered Sonic more, for which Jet took the full force of his spin dash and would've been finished if Wave had not trapped Sonic with the Gravity Ring a second time, however the hawk was hardly grateful. Once inside the Garden's control center, Jet put the key and ring together, expecting to finally get the ultimate glory, only to have the key snatched away by a robot claiming it was it's ignition matrix. At that point Sonic returned by bursting into the room and took the Rogues down in a fit of anger spurred by Jet's incessant arrogance, demanding an explanation. (SU: #36)

As Jet directed Storm to grab the hedgehog from behind, he soon received a shock by learning  Babylon Garden was actually a spaceship built by aliens which he was descended from, who settled on Mobius a thousand years ago. Upon hearing the greater shock that the Garden was attempting to return to it's homeworld which would destroy Mobius by creating a black hole, Jet tried to order the robot to stop by being a Babylonian descendant. The effort was wasted as Jet lacked proper clearance and he then hoped Wave could reprogram it, but at that point Speedy flew into the room, knocking them all down, and mocked Jet at how his quest for glory was about to cause a disaster. Much to both birds' horror, Sonic used this distraction to grab the key and destroy it, sending the Garden into free fall. (SU: #36)

Jet was reluctant to leave as he wanted to learn more about his ancestry, but soon parted ways with Speedy who noted Jet was lucky to not have to explain this to the Battle Lord. After the Garden crashed in the mountains, with the Fortress, Jet and the others observed the wreckage briefly, believing the Battle Lord would not be stopped by this. Jet then sped off with the Rogues in tow while considering his ancestors origins, and revealed his new goal of now proving he was the fastest thing in the universe. (SU: #36)

Personality
Jet is brash and cocky, eager to make a legend of himself. He's greedy and while he enjoys a challenge, he also hates to lose, so he's not above cheating.

Abilities
Jet is an incredibly skilled rider of Extreme Gear, and is also extremely fast in his own right. He possesses some skill in combat, but is usually at his best atop his Extreme Gear.

Doctor Eggman
Jet, and Eggman start their experience as being enemies, after Jet stole his Vapor Accelerator, to speed up his Extreme Gear. After Eggman mentions Sonic, the two make a deal, and appear to become allies, of a sort. It is currently unknown, as to where their relationship stands now.

Sonic the Hedgehog
Upon first hearing of Sonic being the "Fastest thing alive", by Eggman, Jet strikes an automatic hate for Sonic and makes a deal with Eggman to rough him up. When Jet and Sonic first meet, Jet starts off by insulting Sonic. Sonic begins name-calling as well during a race with Jet, and the two begin bickering like young children, firing off an immediate rivalry for the title of "Fastest thing alive." After Jet's allies beat up Sonic a bit, Jet finishes the battle and states "I'm the fastest!"

Wave the Swallow
His relationship with Wave in the Archie Comics is not very known, due to the Babylon Rouges appearing for only two issues to advertise Sonic Riders. It is most likely that his relationship with Wave is the same as his game counterpart.

Storm the Albatross
His relationship with Storm in the Archie Comics is not very known, due to the Babylon Rouges appearing for only two issues to advertise Sonic Riders. It is most likely that his relationship with Storm is the same as his game counterpart.

Trivia

 * According to Bean, Jet's real name may in fact be "Jettison Q. Hawkington". Despite the fact that Bean comes up with nicknames for everyone, and Jet firmly denies having this name, it's not impossible for Jet to simply be embarrassed by having such a name.
 * Speedy had actually wanted to be just like Jet, as he looked up to him until he was rejected by Jet.
 * Jet has been shown to have no teeth in the cover of Sonic Universe #33, but on the cover of the next issue, he is shown to have teeth.
 * Some fans believe Jet to be modeled after Bean the Dynamite from Sonic the Fighters, and in some cases, people even mistook Jet for Bean when they first saw him in Sonic Riders. Jet and Bean would turn out to have both been part of the Battle Bird Armada.
 * Jet was the first character in the series to make any reference to the Battle Bird Armada, an organization he was later revealed to have been a part of in the Sonic Universe Blog.
 * In SU: #33 and onward, Jet's nose holes disappear in his beak area. The reason for this is unknown.
 * Jet is one of two characters featured in the comic who has colors inverted to that of Sonic, the other being Scourge the Hedgehog. However, Jet's colors are inverted to a slightly lower degree, due to the fact that his feather tips are a darker shade of green.
 * Jet was one of a handful of recurring "modern" Sega characters who did not appear in the Worlds Collide crossover. This fact was acknowledged in the Off Panel for StH #251, in which Jet expressed his displeasure and was comforted by Big the Cat.