Sonic the Hedgehog


 * ''For other uses, see Sonic the Hedgehog (Disambiguation)

Sonic the Hedgehog (ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ) is a supersonic hedgehog that can run at faster than the speed of sound (hence the name Sonic) and loves adventure. He acknowledges the fact that the Earth is just as cool and blue as he is. He is 15 years old, stands at 100 centimeters (3 ft 3 in), weighs 35 kilograms (77 lbs) and was born on Christmas Island. Artist Naoto Ōshima, designer Hirokazu Yasuhara and programmer Yuji Naka are generally credited with the creation of the character, a blue-furred, blue-and-peach-skinned, green-eyed 15-year-old anthropomorphic African pygmy hedgehog, who has the ability to run faster than Mach 1 and the ability curl up into a ball, primarily to attack enemies. This is a major part of the gameplay of the series.

Sonic seems to have a holy or avatar-like position (despite, on most occasions, being unaware about his involvement in the future of the world he's saving), as many of his adventures in the series coincide with the fulfillment of ancient prophecies, specifically his involvement in echidna legends (such as: the mural on Angel Island that depicts Super Sonic fighting Eggman for the Master Emerald).

Games
Sonic started his battle against his nemesis Dr. Ivo Robotnik in the 1991 platform game Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Master System and Game Gear. His sidekick Miles "Tails" Prower joined him in the game's 1992 sequel Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which also introduced Sonic's signature "Spin-Dash" move. Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles both released 1994 saw Sonic and Tails battle Robotnik yet again, with the additional threat of Knuckles the Echidna, tricked by Robotnik into fighting Sonic.

Sonic was solo once again for Sonic CD (1993), in which he used his unrivaled speed to travel through time to defeat Robotnik and ensure a good future for the world, and which also introduced Sonic's self-proclaimed girlfriend Amy Rose into the video games, and his new robotic doppelgänger Metal Sonic

Other 2D platformers starring Sonic include Sonic Chaos (1993), Sonic Triple Trouble (1994), Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure (1999), the Sonic Advance series (2001—2004) and Sonic Rush (2005).

The first Sonic platform game in true 3D, Sonic Adventure (1998) was the original developer Sonic Team's return to the character for a major game. It featured Sonic returning from vacation to find the seaside city of Station Square under attack by a new, very powerful foe named Chaos, under the control of Doctor Ivo Robotnik (Now known as Doctor Eggman). It introduced Sonic's homing attack as a standard move, included power-ups that awarded him extra abilities for the rest of the game, and featured interaction with non-playable characters and objects in 3D "Adventure" sequences, where the game world could be freely explored. In addition to Sonic, who was given a full voice-over for the first time, five other major characters were playable, plus Super Sonic. Sonic Adventure 2 (2001) which celebrated the 10th anniversary of the series, introduced a new rival, in the form of the ultimate life form, Shadow the Hedgehog new characters, and involved Sonic on-the-run from the military after being mistaken for Shadow, who escaped from GUN. It is also the first game where the planet is Earth, in game, but it is not our Earth, but an alternate Earth. A third 3D action game, Sonic Heroes, which brought about a return of Mobius, featured four different teams made up by three characters in each, and marked the official return of supporting characters Team Chaotix as the teams battled Eggman and the evil return of Metal Sonic who wanted to achieve world domination himself. Sonic the Hedgehog (2006 game) which celebrated the 15th anniversary of the series, featured the first appearance of Blaze the Cat in a home console and a new foe called Silver the Hedgehog who possesses powerful psychic abilities. In 2007, Sonic and the Secret Rings released where Sonic along with his genie friend Shahra battled to protect the Arabian Nights. Sonic battles Eggman again in the game Sonic Unleashed, where Eggman shatters the planet and Sonic must find the Chaos Emeralds to put it back together. Things are made more difficult by the fact that Sonic now transforms into a werehog at night.

Sonic has also been featured in games of many genres other than 2D and 3D platform games. The first of these was a pinball game, Sonic Spinball (1993), which expanded upon the pinball sequences in the first two platform games. Sonic has also appeared in "2.5D" isometric platformers (Sonic Labyrinth, Sonic Battle and Sonic 3D Blast), racing games (Sonic Drift, Sonic R, Sonic Riders, and Sonic Rivals) and fighting games (Sonic the Fighters ,Sonic Battle, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl ). The sequel to Sonic Riders has also been released, Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity. There is also a sequel of Sonic & the Secret Rings known as Sonic & the Black Knight. By the end of the story, it's revealed that Sonic was the true King Arthur of the world.

Video games such as Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, Tails Adventure, Knuckles Chaotix and Shadow the Hedgehog starred supporting characters of the Sonic series; in some of them Sonic had a cameo role. The hedgehog has also made cameo appearances in numerous other Sega games such as Daytona USA and Christmas NiGHTS.

Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)
In the Archie comics, Sonic is the most famous hero on Mobius. He is best known for his defeat of Robotnik Prime and his heroic actions preventing the Xorda from destroying Mobius and its solar system. Raised in Mobotropolis before Robotnik Prime's coup, Sonic was an average child except for his abnormal speed. Sonic lost his parents to the roboticizer and was taken in by his Uncle Chuck until he too was roboticized. During Robotnik Prime's coup Sonic and a few others were herded to Knothole Villiage by the Original Freedom fighters. It was from them that Sonic got the inspiration that would one day make him a hero.

As Sonic developed his incredible speed, his attitude became legendary. Irreverent, confident, impatient and energetic, Sonic fought constantly to overthrow Robotnik Prime and continues the fight against his successor, Robotnik Mk II.

In addition to his uncanny speed, Sonic has the ability to absorb Chaos Energy. Absorbing a great amount of this energy causes him to transform into Super Sonic. As Super Sonic, all of his natural abilities are enhanced and he gains the ability to fly, among other strange powers. His skin and eye colors change to yellow and red respectively, and he takes on an aura of yellow energy. It has happened also that Sonic has transformed even further into Ultra Sonic. Ultra Sonic is even more powerful and has the ability to adapt to his surroundings by taking on new forms.

After the Xorda attack, Sonic was teleported into space, where he spent a couple months trying to return to Mobius. But when he returned, a whole year had passed, and things were very different. Sonic is still not completely adapted to the changes he has seen.

Games
In April 1990, Sega requested a game capable of selling over one million copies and a character to replace Alex Kidd as the company's mascot. Several character designs were submitted by its AM8 research & development department, including an armadillo (who was later developed into Mighty the Armadillo), a dog, an over-sized Theodore Roosevelt in pajamas (which would later be the basis of Doctor Eggman's design), and a rabbit (intended to use its extendable ears to collect objects; these aspects were later incorporated into Ristar). Eventually, Naoto Ohshima's spiky hedgehog, initially codenamed "Mr Needlemouse", was chosen as the new mascot. A group of fifteen started working on Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit), and renamed themselves Sonic Team. The game's soundtrack was composed by Masato Nakamura of the band Dreams Come True. Sega sponsored the group's "Wonder 3" tour, painting Sonic on the tour bus, distributing pamphlets advertising the game, and having footage of the game broadcast above stage prior to its release.

Sonic's precise age, weight, height and other physical characteristics vary depending on the continuity in which he appears and the style in which he is drawn. In the video games, Sonic's original design by Naoto Oshima was quite short and childlike (perhaps because he was a child at the time of debut), with short spiky hair, a round body, one spike in his back, and no visible irises. Artwork featuring this design and drawn by Akira Watanabe was displayed on the package artwork for Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit), and most subsequent Sonic video games featured similar designs. Beginning with Sonic Adventure in 1998, Sonic was redesigned by Yuji Uekawa as a 15-year-old, taller character with longer legs and a less spherical body, longer and more drooping spiky hair, two spikes in his back, and green-colored eyes. Further subtle changes to the character's design have been made in subsequent games. Spin-off media such as comics and cartoons have featured variations on all these videogame designs, with restrictions set by the standardized model sheets.

His cobalt blue pigmentation came from Sega's logo, which is the same color.

Comics
A made up story was thought up by the developers at Sega in 1991. The story goes like this: Sonic the Hedgehog was originally the nickname of an American pilot who, throughout his life, persistently attempted to break the sound barrier. This wasn't the only thing that earned him his nickname, every time he climbed out of the cockpit of his plane his hair stuck backwards, like a hedgehog's, thus the nick name Sonic the Hedgehog. His color may not have ever been explained in the games, but it is explained by the fact that the pilot's flight jacket had a an emblem of a blue hedgehog on the back, signifying his soon-to-be-famous nick name. During his last flight, however, he lost control of his plane it crashed into the ground and he died instantaneously. Later on, a young reporter came across this jacket at an old shop in the town in which the pilot had once lived. She purchased the jacket remembering stories of a little character named Sonic the Hedgehog that the pilot's wife had told to the children of the neighborhood. Some time later, The video game company we've come to know as SEGA, got a hold of this information which had inspired them to make games based on the tales made up by the pilot's wife, thus starting a worldwide boom which still lives on to this day.

Even though this story started out as fiction, it is now believed by some fans as a real story on how Sega got the idea of Sonic The Hedgehog.

Sonic lost his parents at an early age, and has lived with his Uncle Chuck about as long as he can remember (hence the love of chili dogs). As a small child Sonic had a natural knack for running, and spent much of his free time trying to get faster. As he grew, the knack evolved into a highly developed skill, and by his adolescence Sonic was reaching the speed of sound -- with the help of his uncle's special friction-proof shoes.

When the news of Robotnik's plans reached the hedgehogs, Sonic (age 9) immediately sprang into action to help. He bid his uncle farewell-for-now and raced off to stop the mad doctor. His success in the fight gained him two things: his independence, and the birth of his enormous ego. Sonic has been dueling with Robotnik ever since, picking up friends like Tails and Knuckles along the way.

There was also a comic of the original Sonic the Hedgehog game where a tall black man named Dr. Kintobor. Dr. Kintobor designed a machine using the power of 7 oval shaped emeralds(he currently had 6) to destroy all badniks and free the animal within. When he looked to see who he was talking to he was talking to a 3ft brown hedgehog (with as many spikes as a normal hedgehog) with green eyes. Dr Kintobor saw how fast the hedgehog could run and put him on a special treadmill while wearing the special friction shoes. He went to 684 miles per hour, but then the tread mill exploded as he broke the sound barrier, causing him to have his modern day look. Later, while Sonic was reading comic books, Kintobor asked Sonic for a drink. 1 supersonic second later Sonic was back with a soda. Kintobor said, "That's fast service," but he dropped the drink on the control panel, which turned him into a round shaped bald person known as Dr. Eggman Robotnik, who wanted to destroy peace and turn all the animals into badniks. And so, Sonic the Hedgehog began.

Television series
There have been several animated television series featuring Sonic. Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog was the first and featured Sonic, voiced by Jaleel white, and Robotnik, voiced by Long John Baldry. It had a very comical take on Sonic and Tails' adventures and battles with Robotnik.

Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM), originally broadcast on Saturdays on ABC, was broadcast concurrently with the syndicated Adventures series in the United States. Sonic was voiced by Jaleel White, and Robotnik was voiced by Jim Cummings. The Archie Comics continuity was based heavily on this series; it was far more dark and brooding than Adventures showing Robotnik as a fearsome dictator controlling Mobius and Sonic and his Freedom Fighter friends battle to take back their planet.

Sonic Underground, a show in the US, United Kingdom and France, ignored the continuity of the previous series and games and instead introduced two siblings and Sonic's mother, named Sonia, Manic and Queen Aleena respectivley. White returned to voice Sonic, with Samuel Vincent providing his singing voice, while Robotnik was voiced by Gary Chalk It showed Sonic and his siblings as royalty but they have to battle to take back their thrones from the evil dictator..

Additionally, there was a Sonic the Hedgehog OAV Anime OAV in Japan which featured Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Eggman and Metal Sonic. Sonic was voiced by Masami Kikuchi in Japan, and Martin Burke in the United States where the OVA was marketed as Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie.

The latest animated Sonic television series, Sonic X, is an anime in which a massive Chaos Control blast results in Sonic and his friends being transported from his world to the human world (however Season 3 mainly takes place in Sonic's own world). Like the other television series, it has an original storyline not present in any of the games, although it can be viewed as an elaboration upon the Sonic Adventure games' storylines. Music from the games is used during select key moments in the series, and several animation sequences strongly resemble cutscenes from the console titles. In addition, the characters' designs are based upon the more recent Sonic games' character designs. Sonic is voiced by Jun'ichi Kanemaru in the Japanese version, and by Jason Griffith in the English version (which angered many fans of the voice actors of the Sonic Adventure games).

Books and comics
Sonic's first comic appearance was in a promotional comic printed in Disney Adventures magazine, which established an origin for Sonic involving the transformation of kindly scientist Dr. Ovi Kintobor into the evil Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Numerous British publications, including "Sega handbook" Stay Sonic (1993), four novels published by Virgin Books (1993–1994) and the comic book Sonic the Comic (1993–2002) used this premise as their basis.

The American comics published by Archie Comics, Sonic the Hedgehog (comics) (1993—), Sonic X (comics) (2005—2009) and Sonic Universe (2009-) are based on the settings established by earlier animated TV series, the ABC "Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM)" cartoon and the Sonic X anime respectively.

In Japan, Sonic manga have been published, and there is currently another one being published based on Sonic Unleashed featuring Chip (Chippu).

Cameos/popularity
Sonic has proven to be an extremely popular character. After having been around only 2 years, he had already surpassed Nintendo's Mario in popularity according to a June 1993 Q-Survey in Gameplayers magazine. As a result of this popularity, he has been referred to in various parts of culture. One of a class of genes involved in fruit fly embryonic development, called hedgehog genes, has been named "sonic hedgehog" after the character.

Other references are present in television programs. In the show Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, in the episode "Camp Capers", Ami is captured by Bigfoot. Yumi pretends she is in a video game, and she runs through a 16-bit forest area, jumps on a crab (thus killing it) then goes at sound-barrier-breaking speeds and runs over a checkered loop, obviously a reference to Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)s Green Hill Zone. An episode of Megas XLR spoofed Sonic with a parade balloon called Auggie the Adorable Aardvark (that also spoofs Mickey Mouse by wearing the same clothes), that was mutated and could do Sonic attacks such as the Spin Dash. In the show "15/Love", in Adena and Tannis' dorm room, there is a poster with the cover of the original Sonic the Hedgehog game in it. Sonic also made a cameo appearance in the episode of The Simpsons entitled "Marge Be Not Proud", voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He appears, though green, along with Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, and fictional pro golfer Lee Carvallo, trying to convince Bart Simpson to steal a video game. As reported by famous UK fansite The Sonic Stadium, there is also a reference to the Sonic The Hedgehog universe in another simpsons episode "Lisa gets an A", when she was playing a video game with a character who has to get the seven crystal babies, a reference to the seven chaos emeralds. he reappears in a 1990s themed episode on a billboard proposing to Amy saying "Sonic the Hedgehog says: wait 'til marriage." On Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Space Ghost is seen playing Sonic 3 & Knuckles on the guest monitor.

Sonic has also made appearances in films. In the 1996 movie Jingle All The Way, in the scene where Jamie arrives at the parade, Sonic can be seen as a character marching in the parade. In the movie Hitch, on the side of an ice cream truck, there is a picture of a Sonic popsicle. Sonic has also appeared in Wayne's World.

Sonic has also made appearances as a character in parades. In 1996, Sonic was the first video game character to be seen in a Rose Parade. Sonic was also in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade; the only other video game character to ever be in the parade was Pikachu.

Sonic has been a mascot for various sports teams as well. Between 1993 and 1997, Sega sponsored the JEF United Ichihara Chiba football (soccer) team. During this period, Sonic appeared on the team's uniform. During the 1993 Formula One championship, Sega sponsored WilliamsF1, which won the season. Sonic was featured in the cars, helmets, and rival Team McLaren used to paint a squashed hedgehog after winning races over Williams. The 1993 European Grand Prix featured a Sonic balloon and Sonic billboards. The trophy was a statue of the hedgehog.

Lately, things have seemed to patched up with Nintendo, and Sonic appears as a 3rd Party playable character in Super Smash Bros Brawl

Panic the Hedgehog, a character from the Moron Comics parody series of Sonic the Hedgehog and The Amazing Spider-Man, Panic the Hedgehog and The Annoying Spitter-Man, is a parody of Sonic.

Sonic appears in a cameo in the game Crusader of Centy where he's sunbathing at a beach. If the player tries to talk to him he dispenses the odd bit of dialogue: "Tsk, tsk! I'm a gallant hedgehog! Don't mess or you'll get burned!"

Sonic made a cameo in Journey in the end of the night where he can be seen on a billboard where it says Sonic Rules.

A parody of Sonic was featured in "The Simpsons Game", where he is heard saying such lines as: "I forgot why I hate Eggman so much" and "That shadow version of me? Nicest guy in the world, completely misunderstood." He also appears in one of the cutscenes, as well as playing a small part in one section of the game. Sonic appears to be a bird as opposed to a hedgehog and has hair similar to Manic's as instead of spines.

Sonic also appeared in the TV show "Robot Chicken" where Sonic is rolling through Green Hill Zone and into a spike strip set up by two police officers to catch Sonic for speeding.

Voice acting
The earliest voice of Sonic was Takeshi Kusao in the game SegaSonic the Hedgehog, a June 1993 arcade release starring Sonic the Hedgehog, Mighty the Armadillo, and Ray the Flying Squirrel.

Sonic CD featured brief dialogue.

In September 1993, DiC Entertainment cast Jaleel White, more popularly known as portraying the character of Steve Urkel, as Sonic in their simultaneously released shows Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM) and Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. White would later be cast as Sonic for DiC's 1999 show Sonic Underground.

In 1996, when the Sonic the Hedgehog OAV was produced in Japan, Sonic was voiced by Masami Kikuchi. The 1999 English-language dub featured Martin Burke in Sonic's role.

Starting with the 1998 game Sonic Adventure, all of Sonic's video games feature voice acting. Sonic was played by Junichi Kanemaru, who later went on to play Sonic in the Japanese version of Sonic X. Ryan Drummond performed the role of Sonic in Sonic Adventure and continued to play the role for several games. Information taken from the credits of both Sonic Adventure games, the Sonic Advance series, and Sonic Heroes. 4Kids Entertainment decided not to use Drummond's voice in their US/UK dub of Sonic X, instead choosing their own Jason Griffith. Despite this, Drummond continued to provide the voice of Sonic in the series until 2005, when Sega replaced all their Sonic voice actors with their 4Kids counterparts, in order to keep his voice the same in all media forms. Effectively, this meant that beginning with Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Rush, Jason Griffith became the official game voice actor for Sonic the Hedgehog and Shadow the Hedgehog (and Jet the Hawk in Sonic Riders). This has been a controversial decision among fans of the Sonic Adventure series and Sonic Heroes voice cast.

Personality
Sonic has been described as being "like the wind", and is noted for being free-spirited and adventurous. He mainly prefers to simply be called by his name and not any fancy title; in his encounters with Princess Elise (who called him "Mr. Sonic"), Shahra the Ring Genie (who called him "Master"), and Caliburn the Sword (who called him "Knave", though Sonic was especially annoyed because Caliburn was insulting him), he insisted that they merely call him "Sonic". He enjoys relaxation, but is never one to rest in the face of injustice. He is extremely benevolent and always keeps his word except when Amy tries to get in a date with him, but he willingly puts himself at risk to help others, taking on any challenge that confronts him without hesitation, though he usually sees his role as a hero as an opportunity to have fun. However, in times of crisis, he focuses entirely on the task at hand and sees it as truly serious with no real fun involved. Sonic is shown to have a remarkable capacity to forgive, as seen in Sonic Next Gen, when he quickly forgave Silver and accepted his help in saving Elise in their third encounter, despite Silver's attempts to kill him. For some reason Sonic will not take off his shoes no matter what.

Although it is variously stated that Sonic tends to have a short temper, his profile on the 4kids Sonic X anime website states that he is super-slow to get angry.

In the American cartoons and comics, the Japanese version of Sonic Advance 3 strategy guide, Sonic Unleashed, and Sonic and the Black Knight, Sonic's favorite food is chili dogs. He displays an interest in rock music, and in the cartoon Sonic Underground was a guitarist in his own band. Some official character art and a television commercial for Sonic Adventure suggests that he has a personal hobby as a DJ. Furthermore, it is displayed in Sonic Rush for the Nintendo DS that Sonic also enjoys breakdancing as it is one of his primary ways for filling up his Rush meter. His battle moves in Sonic Battle are also based on breakdancing, as mentioned in the attack descriptions. He also breakdances in Sonic Advance 3 if he finishes a level in a short-enough time. Lastly, one of his taunts in Super Smash Bros. Brawl is him breakdancing and saying, "C'mon, step it up!" He has been credited as "the fastest thing alive" since Sonic the Hedgehog (DiC) and through Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Ironically, Sonic likes to spend his free time relaxing somewhere.

Sonic's personality has changed very much over time. Currently, he is stated to be "pure of heart and intention" (Tails refers to Sonic while talking to Cosmo, in the ''Sonic X' episode "An Underground Odyssey"). Sonic Unleashed booklet states that his personality is "A juxtaposition of kindness and ferocity, as, on one hand, he does all he can to snuff out evil, but he can't look away when someone is in trouble." Sonic Unleashed also has sidequests in which Sonic the Werehog is trying to convince the Elder Gregorios in Apotos that he is Sonic the Hedgehog. To prove it, Sonic undergoes a test of speed, which involves him getting a pair of glasses for the Elder in a certain time limit; a test of courage, by protecting the Elder from minions of Dark Gaia; and a test of selflessness and kindness, which involves Sonic obtaining a book for the Elder out of kindness. He prefers to comfort people, instead of winding them up, as shown many times in Sonic X. He shows modesty various times, and prefers to humble himself, unless he is taunting someone (Like in Super Smash Bros Brawl). This is shown in Sonic and the Secret Rings where Sonic prefers not to be called "Master", and where he is referred to as the "Legendary Hedgehog" ("Me? Legendary? You've gotta be kidding! You're gonna make me blush!").

At times, Sonic seems to be somewhat overconfident in his abilities; for example, when Merlina stops him from attacking the Black Knight, he is irked and asked why she did so, positive that he could have defeated him.

Sonic is shown to believe in something greater then the life he is currently in; in Sonic and the Secret Rings, he makes a mention that the Secret Rings "might even open the gates of hell", implying that Sonic himself might believe in Heaven and Hell, making him religious.

In most American media, Sonic is shown to have a liking for chili dogs, but Sonic and the Black Knight is the first video game to openly show this on-screen.

Abilities
Sonic is known best for his speed, with the ability to run at speeds higher than Mach 1, at a staggering 760 mph. He is known as "the fastest thing alive," and can run backwards at full speed just as well as forwards, as shown in the Team Sonic opening cutscene of Sonic Heroes, in an episode of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Underground, and near the end of the first episode in Sonic X. Due to such speed, he is able to scale right up the walls of buildings, or similar structures, and can also run right over the water.

It is unknown how much faster Sonic can run beyond Mach 1, although it is variously assumed he can. In Sonic Battle it is shown that he can move several times the speed of sound. In Emerl's story, Sonic takes on and defeats him in under 30 seconds (the Final Egg Blaster fires in 30 seconds). During this time he and Emerl shown doing several attacks as if time itself is drastically slowed down (even slow enough to have ten rounds). It is also believed that Sonic can move faster while in spinball form then running, possibly even reaching the Speed of Light due to the various proofs, such as in Sonic Adventure 1/2 and Sonic Heroes where he could use the move Light Speed Attack which, stated by Tikal, attacks enemies at Light Speed. In the Sonic X Anime, he is shown to match speeds with a lightning bolt, in the episode "Zelkova Strikes Back".

Many of his abilities are variations on the tendency for hedgehogs to roll into tight balls for protection. Since his introduction in the first Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic's primary offensive maneuver is the basic Spin Attack (or "Sonic Spin Attack"). As Sonic jumps or runs, he curls up and spins into a spiky ball when in motion that can damage, destroy or burrow through many obstacles or foes. Later games in the series expanded on this basic attack. Two of these enhancements are now basic moves : the Spin Dash was introduced in Sonic 2 and involves Sonic spinning on the spot before blasting off at full speed, and the Homing Attack, officially introduced in Sonic Adventure, although unnamed variations of it appeared in Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic 3D Blast, in which Sonic dashes in midair toward a target. Sonic curls into a ball and revs up before charging forwards in a burst of speed. Since AoSTH and SatAM, Sonic can also execute a ‘triple spin’ where he curls up into a ball and spins around quickly, like a buzz saw, and can burrow through the ground or a wall, depending what it’s made from.

The Peel Out or Figure 8 Dash made its debut in Sonic CD, but since has only had minor recurrences in the Archie Comic series and anime. In the Figure 8 Dash, Sonic stands still and his legs run fast enough to create the illusion of an infinity symbol (more correctly a Möbius strip) beneath him in red. He holds this and then blasts forward. One of Sonic's taunts in Super Smash Bros. Brawl involves him spinning his legs fast enough to make this move while commenting on his opponents being "too slow." The Peel Out is also his running animation in Brawl. It is similar to the Spin Dash, but without the curling up part of the move. His feet tend to make the illusion of a figure 8 with this move. Sonic can also use his back-head spines to send the opponent into the air.

The Blue Tornado is when Sonic jumps into the air, and creates a whirlwind by circling a particular spot at high speeds. A similar attack called 'Whirlwind' appeared in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. Other such special moves that Sonic has in this game are 'Axe Kick,' and combination attacks between Tails, Knuckles, and Amy.

With a Chaos Emerald, Sonic can warp time and space with Chaos Control, and by using all seven Chaos Emeralds, Sonic can initiate a super transformation into Super Sonic. He can also turn into his more powerful form, Hyper Sonic, with the help of the Super Emeralds. In addition, the World Rings introduced in Sonic and the Secret Rings allow Sonic to become Darkspine Sonic, a powerful form powered by his negative emotions. As Darkspine Sonic, Sonic turns purple and has two white stripes between his eyes. In Sonic Unleashed, he unwillingly gains the power to turn into a werewolf-like version of himself at nighttime. In this state, he loses his trademark speed, but has the ability to stretch his arms. Although he appears to gain an increase in physical strength, it takes WereSonic numerous attacks to actually defeat Eggman's robots, while normal Sonic can defeat them effortlessly, even with a simple spin jump attack (though it was probably because he did not use the form's full potential). In Sonic X, Sonic turns into Dark Sonic in one of the episodes in Season 3. Dark Sonic has a blacker type of blue skin, sharper eyes, and becomes angrier than before. Sonic transforms into Dark Sonic by falling into a pile of fake chaos emeralds. In Sonic and the Black Knight, Sonic gains another super form: Excalibur-Sonic. This form grants golden armor with a red cape and the power to wield the legendary Excalibur.

Sonic also possesses an indomitable force of will; even in situations where most others would give up and resign themselves to defeat or imprisonment, and in situations where he is severely outnumbered and outgunned, he always forges on and never quits. This character trait is most noticeable in Sonic Unleashed, wherein, thanks to his will, he is one of the few people on the planet who is immune to the influence of Dark Gaia. This is also shown in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, where the Voxai Overmind attempts to use mind control on Sonic, and he resists when all other characters fail to do so. This may also be because he is in possession of a Chaos Emerald filled with the Overmind's power. It appears once more in Sonic and the Black Knight, where he continues to fight Merlina despite having Caliburn broken in half and beaten to the point where he could barely stand.



It is assumed that Sonic can control the strength or hardness of his quills. They appear to be extremely hard when he is in spinball form, capable of shredding through several layers of reinforced steel to just about anything, with enough speed, but soft when he is not in ball form. In Sonic Heroes, his quills (and body) are durable enough to slice through battleships without even moving at the speed of sound. In many Sonic games it is shown that he can survive numerous free-falls from space; in Sonic Adventure, he fell face first from a high point in the atmosphere and merely shook it off after the crash of the Tornado, and in Sonic Unleashed, he (as the Werehog) survived atmospheric reentry unharmed, though he was stuck in the ground for a few moments. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Sonic's up throw has him throw an enemy up, while he goes into a push-up type pose, and then land in his quills, which are shown to harden.

Weaknesses
Sonic is incapable of swimming which causes him to sink like a stone in water, probably mainly due to his great body weight for his size and narrow limbs or possibly due to his presumed aqua phobia. (Or he just does not know how to swim.) In fact, in a episode of sonic x called "The Last Resort", Eggman almost drowned Sonic until he was saved by Amy Rose. Although if hitting the water while running, he can dash across the water's surface, completely bypassing the hazard (an exception being in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, in which all characters are able to swim, but he can only swim for a brief period of time before drowning). In most media, he is shown completely avoiding water. In Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games when Sonic competes in Aquatics events, he is the only character who wears a lifevest. However, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Sonic can swim without a lifevest, though he has one of the shortest swim-times in the game and he seems to be flopping like a fish when swimming, unlike the other characters. Although a exception of Sonic's poor aquatic abilities is in Sonic the Hedgehog [1991] where he is capable of swallowing bubbles for extra breathing time in water. Further 2d games allow for underwater breathing through the use of air bubbles.

Sonic does not mix very well with hostage situations, especially if the one in charge of the hostage situation is Eggman, as he was known to be fooled by Eggman twice to give him the Chaos Emeralds. Once was when Eggman threatened to kill Amy if Sonic didn't give him the Chaos Emerald, twice was when Elise was the hostage and that Eggman agreed to let her go if Sonic gave him the Chaos Emerald he had. Sonic was tricked twice, almost got killed when Amy was the hostage, and was sent to the future along with Tails and Knuckles when Elise was the hostage. Sonic can be easily taken advantage of by this process, which greatly pains him emotionally (Although like Knuckles, he's adapted to the trick and often now uses a different method to overcome Eggman). It is rumored that Sonic wonders if he makes the right decision by giving Eggman the Chaos Emeralds.

He also has a habit of acting before thinking, which gets him into trouble many times.

Family

 * Bernadette Hedgehog - Mother (Archie comics only)
 * Jules Hedgehog - Father (Archie comics only)
 * Sir Charles "Uncle Chuck" Hedgehog - Uncle (Archie comics and SatAM)
 * Queen Aleena - Mother (Sonic Underground only)
 * Manic the Hedgehog - Brother ("Sonic Underground")
 * Sonia the Hedgehog - Sister (Sonic Underground)

Friends

 * Amy Rose (Self-proclaimed Girlfriend)
 * Miles "Tails" Prower (Best friend, as close as brothers)
 * Knuckles the Echidna (Rivals & Best Friends)
 * Shadow the Hedgehog (Arch-Rival and Ally)
 * Blaze the Cat (Good friend)
 * Christopher Thorndyke (Sonic X only)
 * Vector the Crocodile
 * Espio the Chameleon
 * Charmy Bee
 * Rouge the Bat
 * Ray the Flying Squirrel
 * Mighty the Armadillo
 * Sally Acorn - (Love Interest Archie Comics and SatAM)
 * Bunnie Rabbot (Archie comics)
 * Rotor the Walrus (Archie comics)
 * Dulcy the Dragon (Archie comics)
 * Cream the Rabbit (nice friend)
 * Cheese the Chao
 * Vanilla the Rabbit
 * Big the Cat
 * Cosmo (Sonic X only)
 * Jet the Hawk (Friend and also a Rival)
 * Wave the Swallow
 * Storm the Albatross
 * Marine the Raccoon
 * Doctor Sorders (Fleetway comics only)
 * Johnny Lightfoot (Fleetway comics only)
 * Omni-Viewer (Fleetway comics only)
 * Porker Lewis (Fleetway comics only)
 * Professor Kintobor (Fleetway comics only)
 * Silver the Hedgehog
 * NiGHTS (Crossover Character)
 * Chip (Sonic Unleashed)
 * NICOLE (Archie Comics)
 * Emerl
 * Tikal the Echidna
 * Shade the Echidna
 * Mario - Former Business Rival
 * Professor Pickle (Sonic Unleashed)
 * Mina Mongoose (Archie Comics)
 * Sara (movie/OVA)
 * Anti-Bunnie Rabbot
 * Julie-Su (Archie Comics)
 * Princess Elise (StH 2006)
 * Shahra the Ring Genie (SatSR)
 * Breezie (Adventures of StH)
 * Merlina the Sorceress (SatBK)
 * Caliburn the Sword (SatBK)
 * Merna the Merhog (Adventures of Sth)

Rivals

 * Shadow the Hedgehog (Presently Arch-Rival)
 * Scourge the Hedgehog (Archie Comics)
 * Knuckles the Echidna (rival and friend)
 * Silver the Hedgehog
 * Metal Sonic/Neo Metal Sonic (Also an Enemy)
 * Jet the Hawk (Rival at Airboard Racing)
 * Mario - Business rival (Formerly)
 * Shade the Echidna (Formerly)
 * Ash Mongoose
 * Fang the Sniper
 * Johnny (Sonic Rush Adventure)
 * Silver Sonic (Also an Enemy)
 * Mecha Sonic (Also an Enemy)
 * Dexter

Foes

 * Dr. Eggman - Archenemy
 * Coconuts
 * Scourge the Hedgehog (Archie Comics)
 * Metal Sonic (Robotic Doppleganger)
 * Chaos (Formerly)
 * Ix
 * Fang the Sniper
 * Metal Knuckles
 * Mecha Knuckles
 * Dark Oak (Sonic X)
 * Tails Doll
 * Eggrobo
 * Scratch and Grounder
 * Mama Robotnik
 * Dr. Warpnik
 * Mammoth Mogul
 * Megatox (Fleetway comics only)
 * Silver Sonic
 * Pseudo Sonic (Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog)
 * Gemerl (Sonic Advance 3)
 * Eggman Nega
 * Captain Whisker (Sonic Rush Adventure)
 * Tabuu (Smash bros only)
 * Erazor Djinn (Sonic and the Secret Rings)
 * Solaris (StH 2006)
 * Black Knight / King Arthur (SatBK)
 * Dark Gaia (Sonic Unleashed)
 * Dark Queen (SatBK)
 * Super Ix the Echidna
 * Super Scourge (Archie comic)

Love

 * Amy Rose (Self-proclaimed Girlfriend)
 * Sally Acorn (Archie comics and SatAM)
 * Bunnie Rabbot (Archie comics and SatAM)
 * Breezie (AoSTH)
 * Princess Elise (StH 2006)
 * Sara (movie/OVA)
 * Mina Mongoose (Archie Comics)
 * Madonna (Scrapped Character)
 * Fiona Fox(Archie Comics)
 * Merna the Merhog (AoSTH)
 * Tiara Boobowski (Canceled game)

Trivia

 * According to the Archie comics, Sonic's middle name is Maurice. His full real name is revealed to be Olgilvie Maurice Hedgehog. However, it has been confirmed by the writers that this is only true in the comics' continuity, and that, by birth, his actual name is Sonic (but to be formal, he is known as Sonic the Hedgehog).
 * There is a hedgehog genome named Sonic hedgehog.
 * He doesn't seem to appear in the game (although the main character's face isn't even shown) Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, though he is the main character in almost every other game (hence why they are named after him).
 * Sonic has fought many of his friends at some points throughout the media.
 * Only his English Sonic CD voice is discredited.
 * Although he has fought many of his friends, he so far has never battled Marine the Raccoon and Tikal the Echidna.
 * Even though Sonic has visited dimensions in Sonic Shuffle and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, there has been no saying of ever actually meeting NiGHTS or Mario there respectively.(This information doesn't count NiGHTS' SA DX appearance, Sonic flies in front of NiGHTS in a casino game.)
 * Sonic has a few things in common with Silver, & Shadow (also Scourge in some cases):
 * 1.) They're all hedgehogs.
 * 2.) All their names start with "S"
 * 3.) They all have Super Forms.
 * 4.) They can all use Chaos Control.
 * 5.) They're all male, stand at 100 centimeters (3 ft 3 in), and weigh 35 kilograms (77 lbs).
 * 6.) They each represent a period of time: Past (Shadow), Present (Sonic), Future (Silver), and Alternate Reality (Scourge).


 * Mario & Sonic also have a lot of things in common:
 * 1.) They have the colours red (Mario's shirt & hat; Sonic's shoes & eyes when in super form), blue (Mario's eyes & overalls; Sonic's skin and spiky hair), white (gloves; soles on sonic's shoes & lines on sonic's shoes & socks), black (Mario's mustache and pupils; Sonic's nose and pupils), & yellow (The buttons on Mario's overalls, Mario's cape; Sonic's shoebuckles & Sonic's skin and hair when in his super form).
 * 2.) They both jump on enemies.
 * 3.) They both save females (Mario = Peach, Daisy, & Pauline ; Sonic = Amy, Cream, & Vanilla).
 * 4.) They both have an anti-hero physical doppelgänger(s) (Mario = Wario; Sonic = Shadow and Scourge).


 * 5.) They both are F tier characters in Super Smash Bros. Brawl with below average killing power.
 * 6.) They both were inducted into the Walk of Game.
 * 7.) They are both mascots for a video game company (Nintendo for Mario, and Sega for Sonic).
 * 8.) They are both well-known for being in side-scrolling platform games.
 * 9.) They both are on Dic Entertainment cartoons based on their games.
 * 10.) Their names both have five letters, and have the letter "I" as the fourth letter.
 * 11.) Their names both the letter "O" in them.
 * 12.) They appear together in an episode of The Simpsons to tempt Bart to steal a video game.


 * Sonic could have been a very different franchise had some of the concepts thrown about before the release of Sonic the Hedgehog was released in 1991 actually been used which was being in a band and saving a lady named Madonna.
 * Sonic was the first of two video game characters to appear in the Macy's Day parade. (The second was Pikachu from the Pokemon franchise.)
 * Sonic is the only character in the Sonic franchise to have been kissed directly. The first several occurred with Sally in SatAm and their corresponding comics, as well the kiss that Princess Elise gave him in Sonic 2006. Also in Sonic X there is a scene in which Amy kisses Sonic several times on the cheek.
 * Sonic's laugh shows a little bit of Jet's in it as shown in the last cutscene of Sonic 2006. Sonic and Shadow's (as they both laughed hysterically at one point in a game or two) laughs are sometimes put into Youtube cracks like "How long can you stand Sonic (or Shadow) laughing?" or something very similar like that.
 * Sonic and the Black Knight is the first game in the series to have Sonic wield a weapon (Which is Caliburn the Sword).
 * Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Riders, and the sequel to riders Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity is the only 3 games where Sonic is wearing different shoes.
 * Sonic is the second prominent character to die onscreen (the first being E-102 Gamma) after being impaled in Sonic 06.
 * Sonic is the character with the most counterparts.
 * At the end of Sonic and the Black Knight, Amy says that Sonic forgot about their date. Sonic tries to explain that he didn't forget, but Amy doesn't believe him and takes out her hammer. This indicates the two MAY start dating more often in the future as long as Sonic doesn't forget.
 * Sonic has the most super forms in the whole series

Reception and legacy
As Sega's mascot and one of the key reasons for the company's success during the History of video game consoles (fourth generation)|16-bit era of consoles, Sonic is one of the most recognizable video game characters in the world. In 1996, Sonic was the first video game character to be seen in a Rose Parade. Sonic is also the first of two video game characters to have a balloon in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (the other being Pikachu). Sonic was one of the three game characters inducted on the inaugural Walk of Game class in 2005, along with rival Mario and Link. One of a class of genes involved in Drosophila melanogaster|fruit fly embryonic development, called Hedgehog signaling pathway|hedgehog genes, has been named "sonic hedgehog" after the character.

As Sega's mascot, Sonic has also been used as a symbol for the company's various sponsorships. Between 1993 and 1997, Sega sponsored the JEF United Ichihara Chiba football team, during which period Sonic appeared in the team's uniform. During the 1993 Formula One championship, Sega sponsored the Williams Grand Prix team, which won the Constructors' Championship that year, as well as the team's lead driver, Alain Prost, winning the Drivers' Championship. Sonic was featured in the cars, helmets, and rival McLaren used to paint a squashed hedgehog after winning races over Williams. The 1993 European Grand Prix featured a Sonic balloon and Sonic billboards, and the race's trophy was in the shape of a hedgehog. Sonic also appears on some versions of the willow video store logo.

Sonic has appeared in two episodes of The Simpsons: Episode: "Marge Be Not Proud" Where Sonic, along with Mario, Luigi and Donkey Kong, convince Bart to steal a video game. and Episode: "That 90's Show" where Sonic is breifly shown on a billboard proposing to Amy saying "Sonic the Hedgehog says wait until marriage"

On the 21st October 2008, Sonic was voted the most popular video game character in the UK with a 24% vote. His old rival Mario came second with 21% of the vote.

Theme Songs
In Sonic CD, Sonic's theme is Sonic Boom, which is a soft rock theme.

In Sonic Adventure, Sonic's theme is It Doesn't Matter, which is a hard rock theme.

Also, in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, the City Escape stage has lyrics to the music, which refer to Sonic in the line "Rollin' around at the speed of sound".

In Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic's theme is a remake of It Doesn't Matter, with rearranged lyrics.

In Sonic Heroes, Team Sonic's theme is We Can, and refers to Sonic in the line "Sonic's in the lead, giving us greater speed!"''

In Sonic Riders, Sonic's team theme, shared with Tails and Knuckles, is an instrumental called High Flying Groove.

In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), HipHop/R&B Artist Akon has done a remix to "Dreams Come True" song "Sweet Sweet Sweet", which was originally the ending theme for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Sega Mega Drive. The song is entitled "SWEET SWEET SWEET -06 AKON MIX-", in Japanese and "Sweet Dreams" in English.

In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) the main theme His World is possibly a Sonic theme.

In Sonic and the Black Knight the main theme Knight of the Wind is probably referring to Sonic, for Caliburn eventually calls him so.