Battle Bird Armada (Archie)

The Battle Bird Armada is a villainous militaristic organization led by Grand Battle Kukku XV in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series and its spin-off comics published by Archie Comics. It is the counterpart of the bird troops seen in the video game Tails Adventure.

History
The Battle Bird Armada was first mentioned in Sonic the Hedgehog #163, "Sonic Riders, Part One", by Jet the Hawk, who told Eggman that he had left "an armada". In Sonic the Hedgehog #173, "Round Up!", Bean the Dynamite mentioned that he got the Extreme Gear by leaving "the armada" at the right time. Bean mentioned the armada again in Sonic the Hedgehog #187, "Mister Popular", when he accused Predator Hawk of being an "armada-deserter", only for Predator Hawk to retort "You're one to talk." The Armada itself made a full appearance in Sonic Universe #17, "Trouble in Paradise, Part One", the first part of the Archie adaptation of Tails Adventure. This episode also introduced Speedy, the sixteenth Battlekukku.

As in the games, the Battle Bird Armada consists entirely of birds. They are led by the Battle Lord and operate out of a hidden location near Cocoa Island. They are highly aggressive and believe that birds are the only Mobians with any right to fly.

During the Second Robotnik War the Armada leased itself to Dr. Eggman. This arrangement left them rather behind on current events despite having access to the Eggnet, and prompted them to focus on achieving their own objectives. Establishing a training area on Cocoa Island with their headquarters disguised as a sister island to the main one, the Battle Bird Armada were surprised when Miles "Tails" Prower, Bunnie Rabbot, and Antoine D'Coolette landed on the beach. Apparently unaware that Tails had previously set up a workshop on the main island, they observed the trio for some time. On Speedy's orders with the Battle Lord's go-ahead, armed troops landed on the island at night for an ambush, eventually subduing the D'Coolette's as Speedy went after Tails. Tails escaped while Bunnie was taken before the Battle Lord, who mistook her for a member of the Dark Egg Legion. Going along with the mistake, Bunnie learned of the Armada's affiliation with the Eggman Empire, gathering details on their operations. She also found out the Rogues' status as former Armada members before being alerted that Antoine escaped his cell.

Elsewhere, Armada troopers guarding the Sea Fox were neutralized by Tails with knockout gas, allowing the Fox to investigate their base which he deduced was the third "sister island". He then engaged Armada submersibles in battle, briefly complimenting their technology before defeating them, but not before the Sea Fox was damaged, forcing it to surface. Meanwhile, Speedy and Bunnie both went after Antoine and clashed over who had greater authority, only for the coyote to leap to his believed demise from an escape hatch at the top of the headquarters after being supposedly convinced that Bunnie was a traitor.

Defeat and Retreat
Tails and Antoine (who had been saved by landing into the Sea Fox when he saw it below him) later infiltrated the base through a tunnel beneath the sea bed and while dispatching the guards, were saved when Bunnie showed up to assist them. In the storage bay, the heroes then confronted Dr. Fukurokov who set his Mole Mech against them, which was destroyed by Tails while the D'Coolette's inflicted significant structural damage to the whole base by attacking key areas of the bay. After rescuing Speedy from Mole Mech's wreckage, the three of them escaped from the damaged fortress as it rose from the ocean and headed away from the island.

After their retreat, Battle Kukku XV accosted Speedy for not informing him Bunnie was a Freedom Fighter and told Dr. Fukurokov that he would have to repair the fortress by himself. XV then decided to renew their efforts to find those who left the Armada—namely the Babylon Rogues—so they could return to their full strength and defeat the Eggman Empire in order to conquer Mobius and get their revenge on Tails, while seemingly oblivious that the Rogues themselves were following them for a confrontation.

Members

 * Battle Lord
 * Speedy
 * Dr. Fukurokov
 * Predator Hawk (formerly)
 * Bean the Dynamite (formerly)
 * Jet the Hawk (recalled)
 * Wave the Swallow (recalled)
 * Storm the Albatross (recalled)

Trivia

 * A seemingly cancelled storyline for the Archie Comics would have introduced the Battle Bird Armada as villains earlier, in an issue following #134.
 * It was revealed in the Archie Comics that Bean the Dynamite and the Destructix's Predator Hawk were once part of the bird troops along with the Babylon Rogues.