Elias Acorn

His Majesty, King Elias Acorn of Mobius (formerly Prince Elias Acorn) is a fictional character in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series published by Archie Comics. Elias is the son of Maximillian Acorn and Alicia Acorn, husband of Megan Acorn, father of Alexis and is the brother of Sally Acorn. Elias is a male, anthropomorphic, humanoid squirrel. He has brown fur and dark red hair, with a long bushy tail and blue eyes. He is 18 years old, stands 130 cm (4 ft 3in) tall and weighs 40 kg (88 lbs).

Elias' outfit always includes a blue shirt, with a variety of capes in different colors. His footwear consists of a pair of metallic boots, and unlike most other male characters he does not wear gloves of any kind. Elias is also often shown wearing some kind of gold on his wardrobe. His weapon of choice is a pair of katan-like blades, with the points running parallel to the grip rather than perpendicular.

Childhood
Elias' existence was unknown for much of the early series, until the Mobian Secret Service, led by Commander Geoffrey St. John, were dispatched to the far-off Floating Island. Long before Robotnik's coup, during the Great War with the Overlanders and the young Freedom Fighters were children in the safety of Knothole Village, Queen Alicia Acorn, her young son Elias and a troop of soldiers from the Royal Guard, led by Sir Ian St. John (Geoffrey St. John's father), were sent to the last safe haven on Mobius: the Floating Island.

However, Overlander patrol attacked their transport en route, and King Acorn feared his wife and son were dead. He never told Sally, so that "he would spare her", and possibly himself, the grief of losing someone she had never known. What he did not learn until much later was that the convoy did manage to barely arrive on the Island, losing much of its crew. Reacting to the disturbance, the Brotherhood of Guardians arrived at the crash site, discovering the comatose Queen Alicia, the deceased Sir Ian, the largely unharmed Prince Elias, and a surviving Colonel who had served as St. John's second-in-command.

Depositing the Colonel at the Mobian Embassy compound, the Guardians took the Prince in and raised him for the first decade of his life. When he turned ten, he was sent to live at the compound with the Colonel and his wife. Meanwhile, Queen Alicia was kept safe in a cryogenic stasis tube in Haven, the Guardians' base of operations, until she could be rejuvenated.

Teenage Years and Adulthood
Ten years later, King Acorn heard word that Alicia and Elias may still be alive. Sending the Secret Service to the Floating Island, they met with the Brotherhood and Knuckles the Echidna, who took them to meet Prince Elias and the comatose Queen. Returning to the Kingdom, Elias discovered that as the firstborn male, he had also inherited the right to the throne. However, unsure of his new role in the world, he finds that becoming King holds no allure for him, preferring to make up for lost time with his family instead. When King Acorn was injured during an assault on Robotropolis, Elias was forced to take the throne as acting ruler (as Queen Alicia was still in a coma at the time, as well), and appointed Geoffrey St. John as his adviser. Due to St. John's actions (most likely to upstage Sonic and the at-the-time-former Freedom Fighters, who were forced to live normal lives instead of fighting Robotnik), everything began to fall apart, leading to the Secret Service being temporarily out of service and Heavy and Bomb destroyed. Pressure from his position prompted Elias to run away. During his period of self-imposed exile, he lived a simple life as a woodsman in Feral Forest and married Megan Acorn - the two had a daughter named Alexis. Elias' time of separation from his heritage would come to an end when he was once more found by the Secret Service and the forces of Dr. Eggman. Due to his marrying a commoner, any children he has with Meg are not allowed to take the throne.

Taking the Throne
Elias was convinced by his wife to return to Knothole, having heard of his sister's forced marriage to the disguised Anti-Antoine/Patch. Upon Elias's claiming the throne, Patch makes an assassination attempt, only to foiled by Sonic. Elias' first act as king is to annul Sally's marriage to the impostor, leaving her free to pursue her own romantic desires without the burden of being heir to the throne. While Elias has currently taken Sally's place, he has expressed that he enjoyed his life as a commoner, and didn't want his children to be involved in a world of politics, leaving Sally next in line for the throne as she was before their father's poisoning. Taking his father's place, he often provides information to the Freedom Fighters-specifically Sonic, who is unaware of a number of events that took place during his year-long absence-such as the reasons behind the construction of the Metal Sonic Troopers. Elias also became a combat ally of the Freedom Fighters, if not an actual member, joining them in battle against such enemies as Mammoth Mogul, Ixis Naugus, and the Destructix.

Presiding over the wedding of Antoine D'Coolette and Bunnie Rabbot, Elias conducted the ceremony and pronouncing the two as husband and wife. Shortly afterward, he and the rest of the royal family were taken prisoner when Eggman launched a full-out assault that destroyed Knothole, though was quickly freed by a rescue mission launched by Sonic, Amy Rose, Tails, Knuckles, and NICOLE. Elias' reign in the city of New Mobotropolis began badly, with the people divided between supporting him and the most unexpected opposition he could have imagined: Amadeus Prower, Tails' father. After Amadeus led a protest against Elias' rule, demanding that he step down, Elias had him imprisoned. Confronting him later, the young king faced the rebellious general's accusations about his ruling abilities, stirring up his own old self doubts. When Amadeus later broke out of prison to confront him, however, Elias was apparently bolstered by his father's stubborn attitudes and willingly engaged the general in a duel. Fortunately for both sides, Sally intervened and reminded Elias of her own experience in ruling, and with her help the two settled their differences and worked out a compromise. In the resulting new system, Elias became head of a seven member council-the other six chosen by election-that would deliberate all future politics of the Kingdom together as equals. While Elias was relieved by the peaceful settlement, he was disappointed to learn that his father didn't approve in the slightest.

The new Council-composed of Elias, Rosemary, Charles Hedgehog, Rotor Walrus, and members of the Substitute Freedom Fighters-would soon be put to the test by the emergence of a new Enerjak, a seemingly omnipotent villain created by the mad scientist Dr. Finitevus by brainwashing Knuckles the Echidna and infusing him with the energies of the Master Emerald of Angel Island. Despite recognizing that Enerjak posed a threat, the Council refused to act until more information could be gathered, though they did give Sally command of the Freedom Fighters. Unfortunately, their inaction may have left New Mobotropolis vulnerable as Enerjak, virtually unopposed on Angel Island, arrived and easily defeated the defenders.

The Enerjak crisis was soon dealt with by the combined efforts of Super Sonic, Julie-Su, Locke and Archimedes. Weeks later however it was replaced by another conflict as Scourge the Hedgehog, another villain from Anti-Mobius, arrived with his Suppression Squad to take over Freedom HQ. While Elias felt strongly that Freedom HQ should be reclaimed, the majority of the Council believed that pressing the conflict against a weakened Eggman Empire was more important. When Sonic defied this order, Sally took responsibility, and Elias took part in the disciplinary hearing held against her. Thanks to her inspiring words, however, the majority of the Council voted to drop all charges against her. Later, he would be among the first to receive word of the Iron Dominion's takeover of the Eggman Empire, and quickly moved to assemble the Council to deliberate a course of action. The entire group was then treated to a report from Sonic concerning the status of the city, and the apparent betrayal of Espio the Chameleon of the Chaotix.

Losing the Throne
After Ixis Naugus saved New Mobotropolis, Naugus declared that he wanted the throne back. Elias refused, but the citizens agreed with Naugus. Sonic then told Elias about Sally being robotinize, which shook up most of the citizens. Naugus, telling his usual lies, told the citizens that he would bring safety to New Mobotropilos a dn save Sally. Geoffrey St. John took the crown from Elias and gave it to Naugus. Elias told Sonic and Amy to see to Bunnie, who was freezed by Naugus by accident, and that he'll take care of "business."

Becoming a Secret Freedom Fighter
During Geoffrey's trial, Elias and his wife were presented. In the backstory of this issue, Elias tried to tell his parents to come with them, but they refused. Elias then went to Harvey Who, his dad's advisor, and asked for help. Harvey would then assemble the Secret Freedom Fighters. Later on, Elias and his wife left New Mobotropolis for safety. Sonic, Antoine, Bunnie, Tails, and Amy went to protect Elias while Eggman sent out his robots, Metal Sonic, and Mecha Sally. During the fight, Metal Sonic self-destruct itself and Antoine. Sonic told Elias to move along and escape, while Eggman and his forces left.

Personality
Having not been raised in preparation for ruling a kingdom, Elias was initially nervous and uncertain of himself. It was only with the help of his family and friends that he was able to gain a sense of self-assurance, which transformed him into a confident ruler.

Possessed of a strong moral sense near equal to his sister Sally's, Elias also has the misfortune of being born with his father's temper. This often gets him into trouble as he makes rash decisions without thinking, but he usually manages to straighten things out. Elias is also rather determined to please his father, and thus seeks any help he can get in trying to prove himself a worthy king to Max despite being told that he must rule as his own heart dictates. Doubting his ability to rule the way his people need him to, Elias is nevertheless stalwart in carrying out his duties.

Abilities
Elias is a skilled combatant with martial skills that, while not equaling the power of the Freedom Fighters or Chaotix, still allow him to hold his own in a fight. His weapons of choice are a pair of exotic daggers with different grips than would ordinarily be expected and points running parallel to the handles, which are effective even against the longer blade of a sword.

Trivia

 * In canceled storyline for issues following #134, Elias would have been depicted as continuing his life as a peasant, living in a place called Feral Forest with his wife Meg, their daughter Alexis, and his father-in-law. Elias also became a woodcutter, using an axe both to make a living and defend himself.