Fang the Sniper

Fang the Sniper (ファング・ザ・スナイパー), also known as Nack the Weasel, is a fictional character in the Sonic the Hedgehog universe. He is a purple anthropomorphic weasel that first appeared in the Game Gear video game Sonic Triple Trouble (alternatively known as Sonic & Tails 2 in Japan) as a treasure hunter who sought the Chaos Emeralds.

Concept and Creation
It is stated in few sources, that Fang the Sniper was designed by TOUMA, who worked in Sega during between 1994-2002 and later became known as popular free lance figure artist in Japan. According to the interview of Artoyz.com, Touma got interest of the Sega's blue mascot after studding for designing in Art school. He went to the interview to Sega and got hired. Touma worked in many departments, including at Sonic Team. Fang the Sniper was his first professional character he has designed.

During development of his debut title, Fang had what appeared to be a revolver or silver magnum as a weapon, but Sega eventually scrapped the idea due to maturity issues. The infamous screenshot featured Fang pulling out his gun to hold up or shoot Sonic, but this was entirely removed from the final game. In Sonic the Fighters, his signature weapon is instead a popgun.

The character was originally conceived as "Fang the Sniper", the name by which he was known in the Japanese games, but this was briefly changed in the English releases to "Nack the Weasel". This name was used in his debut game, Sonic Triple Trouble, and the comic books he also appears in, but all games released after Sonic Triple Trouble have called him "Fang", regardless of region. The wanted poster of Fang seen in Sonic Generations reads: "Nack The Weasel A.K.A Fang The Sniper", suggesting that Nack is his real name while "Fang" is a moniker. Promotional materials called him Jet, but it is unknown if this was a name used during development or an early localization attempt.

Sonic Triple Trouble
Nack the Weasel makes his first appearance in Sonic Triple Trouble (Sonic and Tails 2 in Japan), as he is one of three enemies opposing Sonic and Tails in the race for the Chaos Emeralds (together with Knuckles the Echidna and Dr. Robotnik). Contrary to Knuckles, however, who is simply misguided by Robotnik into fighting Sonic, Nack is purely motivated by his greed. At the end of each Special Stage, Sonic (or Tails) must fight Nack for control over the Chaos Emeralds.

Nack always fought Sonic on his Marvelous Queen throughout the special stages, often attaching some sort of device such as a drill or spring to his motorcycle, much like Robotnik's Eggmobile. Nack's weapons were often used against him by Sonic.

Sonic Drift 2
In Sonic Drift 2, Fang the Sniper is one of the seven playable racers in the game. He drives his "Marvelous Queen", and while Fang has good acceleration, he has poor handling. He has the ability to toss oil balls that cause whoever hits them to slip out of control.

Tails Adventure
Fang makes a cameo appearance in Tails Adventure. An item with his symbol would increase Tails' chances of finding Rings.

Sonic the Fighters
Fang's last major appearance and only 3D appearance to date is in Sonic the Fighters, where he attacks quickly and fiercely with his popgun and tail. He is the sixth opponent in the "story mode" and his arena is Casino Night, a casino area that appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Shenmue
A toy version of Fang also appeared as a collectible in Sega's adventure game Shenmue (released in 1999 in Japan, 2000 in USA). In the game, the player is able to collect toy versions of several Sega characters which includes characters from Sonic the Fighters, as Fang being one of them.

Sonic Generations
Fang the Sniper makes a cameo appearance at the incarnation of City Escape in Sonic Generations, as he appears on a wanted poster for theft and extortion. Both his original Japanese and western names are mentioned in his poster.

Other Appearances
After Sonic the Fighters, Fang has not make major appearance in the series since, although Fang has make different, small cameo appearances, such as at Sonic Mega Collection and Sonic Mega Collection Plus in Archie Comics covers, got mentioned by Sonic in the DVD-ROM flash comic which was sold to promote Sonic and the Secret Rings, and he made a cameo in Sonic and the Black Knight on one piece of fan art that made it into the game, which features him on the Marvelous Queen racing along side Sonic and Knuckles.

Physical Appearance
Fang is a purple and white weasel who acts as a determined treasure hunter. According to the Japanese manual of Sonic & Tails, it is said that Fang actually resides in the mysterious Special Stage, which is described as another dimension. He wears a big brown stetson hat, brown boots with white gaiters, and brown gloves with metal plates on them. The reason that he is known as "Fang" is because one of his canines is much larger than the other, another trademark of his. He has a long, thick, purple tail that he uses to lay back on, for bouncing on and attacking his foes.

Originally, his signature weapon was going to be a realistic gun, but after Sega axed the idea, he eventually used a cork-firing popgun in Sonic the Fighters. He also has his own personal airbike called the Marvelous Queen, that he uses to fly around in and use against Sonic.

Unlike most other characters, Fang has four fingers instead of five, even in Japanese promotional artwork. The reason for this is not known, although the most common theory is that this is a reference to Yubitsume, a Japanese ritual to amputate parts of one's own finger that is practiced by members of the Yakuza, a prominent Japanese criminal organization.

Alternatively, his varying number of fingers may simply be a result of his being from another dimension. He is the only inhabitant of the "Special Stage" that has been seen and his four fingers could be representative of all other beings from the Special Stage.

Personality
Fang is a mischievous treasure hunter who tries hard to be sneaky and cunning, although his overconfidence and overall naiveté proves to be his biggest flaw. In the English Sonic Triple Trouble manual, he is said to desire the Chaos Emeralds not because he knows of their true power, but because he believes they will fetch a hefty price on the market. Fang appears to be a coward, as he often runs away when his plans go wrong or when he's frightened.

While Fang had no dialogue, he showed himself to be a comedic and egotistical bad-guy who sews his own defeat in Sonic Triple Trouble. This is shown by his trap backfiring and lighting his tail on fire in his first encounter and getting shot by his own heat-seeking missile while gloating in his fourth battle against Sonic. Fang was fairly clumsy, often tripping when running away after a defeat. He may not be an entirely bad guy - in his final major appearance, Sonic the Fighters, he competed cooperatively to fight the larger threat, the Death Egg II. However, his poster in Sonic Generations suggests that he is a loose criminal wanted for theft and extortion, further establishing his greed.

Abilities
Fang seems to be generally lacking in abilities, he often uses his wits and gadgets instead of brawn. He's fairly skilled at piloting his airbike, the Marvelous Queen, and the various gadgets attached to it, such as springs, an irate missile and a drill.

Fang's main weapon is his popgun, a popgun that fires corks, as opposed to conventional bullets. His title, Sniper, suggests that he's able to use his popgun with great accuracy.

Despite being overall lacking in any real abilities, Fang's tail is rather strong and dexterous. Fang is often seen laying back on it while relaxing, Fang can also use his tail as a spring to reach great heights, in Sonic the Fighters, Fang uses his tail as part of a powerful attack as well as a third leg of sorts when kicking opponents with both of his legs.

Appearances in Other Media
Note: Due to the fact that Fang is referred to as Nack in both comic series, he is referred to as Nack in this section.

Sonic the Comic
In Sonic the Comic, Nack used to be a member of the Chaotix Crew, but betrayed them and sold them to the Brotherhood of Metallix for money. He reappeared sporadically throughout the comic, working solely for financial gain either through mercenary work or robbing banks/ancient treasures, and he battled the Chaotix twice. He was later instrumental in shrinking various characters (including himself and Sonic the Hedgehog) to sub-molecular size, initiating a string of adventures on the sub-molecular world of Shanazar.

Archie Comics


In the Archie-published Sonic the Hedgehog comics, Nack has a sister named Nic the Weasel, which seems to be a play on his American name, Nack. He is also depicted as having a bit of an Australian accent, along with his three weasel "brothers".

His first appearance is in the Sonic Triple Trouble adaptation special. In the story, Robotnik had designed a machine to harness the power of a Chaos Emerald. His "sidekick", Crabmeat, accidentally causes the machine to overload and break the Emerald in two. This created a new "zone" (alternate reality) and Robotnik hired Nack to stop Sonic from retrieving the pieces of the Emerald.

His next big case was to capture Sonic, which led to Sonic's roboticization. Sonic was charged with treason after he was returned to normal, but escaped custody to hunt Nack down. He was found in the Bottom of the Barrel Bar 'n' Grill and later captured.

Later, he and his sister were charged with capturing the Chaos-charged Knuckles the Echidna. After succeeding and collecting their payment, they were not heard from for some time.

Nack then appeared with a group of nameless weasels who planned to kidnap Princess Sally Acorn and collect a ransom from her parents, but Sally escaped by tricking Nack into thinking that she would join his group, and then striking Nack in the groin with her knee. He tried to get revenge by killing the princess, but was thwarted when Mina Mongoose took the bullet for the princess.

Nack managed to get away and was offered a job in Station Square by an unnamed client who wanted to know about the Master Emerald of Angel Island. Rouge the Bat overheard their conversation and flew to the island herself. It is unknown if Nack actually accepted the job or not. His next appearance was in issue #153, where he attempted to assassinate Mina Mongoose, because Eggman could not stand her music. He later gave in to one of Sally Acorn's threats and was locked in jail.

When the Destructix (a group consisting of Drago Wolf and a few others) became arrested after an embarrassing defeat by the Freedom Fighters, Nack started taunting them. Shortly after that, Mammoth Mogul freed the Destructix from jail, and Nack escaped during the chaos, hinting that he was going to poison his former gang of weasels before he left as he "didn't need the competition".

Some time afterwards, Nack was one of several criminals who fell for a sting operation set up by Rouge, in which she claimed to have the Master Emerald available for auction. Nack had the misfortune of running into Sally yet again, along with her friend Bunnie Rabbot-D'Coolette. He and the other criminals were imprisoned briefly in Knothole, and were sent to the Egg Grape Chamber along with most of the city's other inhabitants. Having been transported to New Mobotropolis, Nack briefly joined forces with Mammoth Mogul, only to be imprisoned yet again in the city. He and the other criminals remained in prison for some time, but Mogul freed his fellow inmates after obtaining a new Chaos Emerald. Nack gratefully promised Mogul a free job, and aided the Destructix in going after Sonic and Sally. Nack would end up claiming the right to eliminate Sally, only to be defeated by her and Amy Rose, though he managed to escape capture.

Nack then appeared in Sonic Universe #22-24 as the leader of Team Hooligan. Along with his teammates Bean the Dynamite and Bark the Polarbear, he was after the Sol Emerald, most likely to sell it or to get rich. They, along with Team Babylon, were thwarted by Team Rose and Team Dark. In these issues, it seems that Nack knows who the Babylon Rogues are, and has some kind of rivalry with them.

Theme Songs

 * Sonic Triple Trouble: Nack's Theme, played whenever he appears in Sonic Triple Trouble.
 * Sonic the Fighters: Casino Night - Here We Go.

Trivia

 * Fang the Sniper is one of the few characters (such as Mephiles, Amy, and Bean) to have a title that does not refer to his species. The Sniper references his penchant for using guns.
 * In character select of Sonic the Fighters, Fang's gloves are miscolored white instead of brown in his icon.
 * Originally Fang was supposed to be in Sonic X-treme as a boss. In several magazine screenshots Fang is shown to be unusually giant, similarly to Metal Sonic in the game. According to the developers, the reason for this was the fact, that the players would have easier to get hit precision to the boss characters. Because the game was canceled, Fang never made an appearance in the game.
 * Fang was left out of Sonic Tweet for unknown reasons.
 * In Sonic Universe Issue 24, Nack is introduced at the beginning as "Nack the Weasel: fanged sniper" referencing his Japanese name. Also, in Issues 187-188, Nack is referred to as a "fanged sniper".