Blaze the Cat (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)


 * For the version of this character after the Super Genesis Wave, see Blaze the Cat (Archie).

Blaze the Cat is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics. She is a Mobian cat and a tough princess in her dimension. Blaze's first encounter with Sonic the Hedgehog was when he found her in captivity after she was captured by a group of SWATbots. At first hostile to the "Blue One", Blaze eventually realized Sonic meant her no harm after their brief battle ended and he offered his friendship. Blaze vanished soon after, promising to haunt Sonic's dreams as he had haunted hers. She later assisted Sonic, Tails and Marine in battling Captain Whisker, Johnny and Dr. Nega to retrieve a Chaos Emerald. In her next encounter with someone from Mobius Prime, she worked with Shadow and Marine to defeat Metal Sonic. Blaze later returned to Mobius Prime searching for another of her Sol Emeralds, which she serves as the Guardian of, and ended up joining Team Rose in what became a four-way scramble for the gem. Since then she has joined forces with Sonic and her former teammates on a number of occasions.

Appearance
Blaze is a lilac cat with gold eyes. Her muzzle is white, her inner ears are peach colored and the tip of her tail dark purple (though it has often been miscolored white). She wears a long purple flared mantle-like coat of sorts with a gold collar and white tights; the cuffs are fuzzy and white (sometimes miscolored lilac). She has plumes of "hair" done up in a high ponytail with dark purple tips. Her outfit is generally accented in pinks and reds, including her high heeled shoes, hairband, coat trim and a small gem on her forehead.

Sonic Rush
After being plagued by constant dreams about a mysterious "Blue One" that could save her Sol Emeralds from coming into danger in the future, Blaze came to Mobius Prime to seek out Sonic. While exploring just outside of Knothole, Blaze was intercepted by a group of patrolling SWATbots and taken to one of Dr. Eggman's research bases, though she managed to destroy some of the robots before being captured. The robotic "doctors" there took scans of her while still unconscious that showed she was from a different dimension. Blaze awoke soon after, destroying the robots and part of the facility in a rage for removing her mantle. There she finally encountered Sonic, who had come to rescue her. Hoping to make sure that he was truly the "Blue One" in her dreams, Blaze attacked Sonic, and was thoroughly impressed his ability. After using all her pyrotechnic powers against him and creating a fire to engulf herself, she ultimately lost when Sonic created a vortex around her, preventing oxygen from reaching Blaze and putting out her flames. When she began to run out of air, Sonic stopped and offered his assistance. Sonic introduced himself, and Blaze then informed him that he was indeed the one she had been looking for, saying she was the one who would "haunt your dreams the way you have haunted mine" until she had need of him and vanished in a blaze of fire.

Sonic Rush Adventure
Some time later, both Sonic and Tails ended up in Blaze's zone. After the green Chaos Emerald was stolen from Marine the Raccoon by the robot Johnny, the three met up with Blaze and began their pursuit. Following whatever clues they had, the four eventually located Johnny, Captain Whisker and the mastermind behind the theft, Dr. Nega. After battling them, the four heroes retrieved the green Chaos Emerald. Sonic allowed Blaze to keep it as it would help her to locate the missing Sol Emeralds. Blaze and Marine thanked Sonic and Tails before they used a ship Tails constructed and Marine "supervised" over to return to Mobius Prime.

Living Weapons
Some time later, Blaze and Marine discovered the nearly-drowning Shadow the Hedgehog in the ocean while on-board Marine's ship, the Ocean Tornado. Bringing him on board, Blaze explained to Shadow her encounters with Sonic, with Marine interrupting and finishing the story her way. Traveling to Southern Island, Blaze was horrified to see the town under attack by Metal Sonic, which had followed Shadow to their universe. Blaze violently attacked the robot, but her attacks failed to do any damage. Shadow and Marine joined the fray, though still had difficulty fighting the machine. After Shadow failed to convince Metal Sonic to go against Eggman, Blaze used her fire attack and weakened the machine, allowing Shadow to spin dash it into the sky, where Marine used the Ocean Tornado's cannons to destroy Metal Sonic for good, but also obliterating the dimensional engine that was Shadow's way home. After the fires around the town were put out, Blaze offered Shadow the green Chaos Emerald, saying "thanks to Sonic's generosity, I've found a few of the Sol Emeralds. They'll serve for the rest of my search. Now I can return the favor by helping one of his friends find his way home." She then wished Shadow safe travels home, and the Ultimate Lifeform teleported back to Mobius Prime.

Treasure Team Tango
Having found the grey Sol Emerald thanks to Sonic's help, Blaze once again arrived on Mobius in search of the others. Not far from the ruins of Knothole she ran into Amy Rose and Cream the Rabbit, who were investigating a mysterious energy signal and had spotted something shiny; thinking the two might be after a Sol Emerald, Blaze attempted to warn them away with a plume of fire. However, this only flared Amy's temper, and she and Blaze ended up fighting despite Cream's protests; eventually, the young rabbit pointed out that the shiny object was nothing more than a broken glass bottle. Humiliated to have been "fighting over garbage," Blaze apologized and attempted to leave; however, seeing that she needed help and realizing that she knew Sonic, Amy and Cream offered to assist her.

Blaze was somewhat dubious, especially given how only moments ago they had been fighting, but she joined them in searching the Great Forest. Blaze continued to be distrustful of her new companions, especially after Rouge the Bat showed up, also following the energy signal. The group eventually made its way to a deep ravine; Rouge offered to fly down alone to recover what was likely the emerald, sparing the others any danger, but Blaze insisted on retrieving it herself, and so Rouge offered instead to fly her down. When a large branch from a brittle tree fell and threatened to strike them all, Blaze and Rouge pulled off some impressive teamwork and destroyed it before it could hit. Rouge complimented Blaze on her skill but addressed her as "princess," causing Blaze to question how Rouge had come across this information.

Rouge merely replied that she had her sources and ignored further questions, instead following the energy signal. The girls soon found the emerald within a large cluster of roots; Blaze, elated to have found another emerald, thanked the group for their help and apologized for being so distrustful. However, Rouge then announced that she planned to take the emerald for herself, causing an enraged Blaze to berate herself for trusting any of them to begin with. She was therefore surprised when Amy and Cream came to her side and attempted to stop Rouge, demanding she hand the emerald to Blaze. Rouge tried to fight them off and nearly escaped before Blaze cut her path off with a wall of flame; however, Rouge smugly refused to return the emerald as her backup arrived in the form of Shadow the Hedgehog and E-123 Omega.

Recognizing Shadow, Blaze asked if this was how he would repay her earlier generosity; initially unable to meet her gaze, Shadow eventually replied with "That was then. This is now," much to Blaze's displeasure. She then defended her teammates from E-123 Omega and then, while Shadow and Rouge bickered over their course of action, unleashed a concentrated blast of flame upon the robot. To Blaze's surprise, this show of firepower impressed the destructive robot. Soon, everyone was scrambling for the Emerald, and Cheese, escaped with it into the woods. Rouge attempted to steal Blaze's gray Sol Emerald instead, but when Shadow tried to use it for Chaos Control, it exploded in a fiery wave; taking the Emerald back, the girls fled to catch up with Cheese. Later, the girls ran afoul of Team Hooligan, who kidnapped Cream and stole the Sol Emerald, but Blaze stopped them saving Cream. However, a singed and angry Team Dark finally caught up to them and viciously attacked Amy and Blaze, capturing both while Nack the Weasel and his team fled with the Emerald. Blaze, growing more desperate as her world was at stake, refused to give up despite her injuries, and Shadow attempted to placate her for her own sake. However, still feeling betrayed, she threw flames in his face, saying that she would not let anyone stop her from recovering the Sol Emerald.

As it was realized that Team Hooligan was now escaping with the Emerald, Amy proposed that they work together to catch up, rather than continue fighting and lose the trail. Eventually, they decided to travel via Shadow's bike (provided by G.U.N.), while Blaze ran ahead to burn clear terrain for it to travel upon. Eventually, Shadow approached her, wanting to explain his actions; Blaze remained cold towards him. When he said that his mission had to come first, and that if he had to fight her, he would do so without hesitation, she snapped back at him, asking why then he was trying so hard to apologize. As he looked doubtful, she left him behind. However, she was eventually brought to her knees by sudden pain; something had happened to the Sol Emerald, though it also allowed her to pinpoint its location. After Amy and Shadow helped her up, Amy ordered Shadow to carry Blaze as they continued on, which resulted in some awkwardness between the two. The two groups eventually caught up to Team Hooligan, only to find them now fighting the Babylon Rogues for the Emerald.

Blaze and Amy weren't surprised when Rouge betrayed them yet again, and a four-way battle for the Sol Emerald erupted. Blaze created a wall of flame to shield herself, Amy and Cream, apologizing to the girls for dragging them into this mess. She told them to get themselves to safety, but they both insisted on helping her. Thanking them, Blaze and the others rejoined the battle, Amy attempting to convince Shadow to their side. Eventually, Blaze recovered the Emerald for a time, and when Bean the Dynamite threw a bomb her way, she simply used her pyrokinesis to halt the flame on the bomb's fuse. Realizing the battle was pointless at this rate, Amy again convinced Rouge to work with them, and the two groups corralled the members of Teams Hooligan and Babylon; Blaze then re-ignited Bean's bomb, causing it to explode on them. Having had enough (Nack himself was knocked unconscious), they all retreated, leaving Blaze with the Emerald. Rouge once again tried to take it, but Shadow forced her to back off, saying that G.U.N. owed Blaze a favor and that the safety of her world was more important than their mission. While not happy, Rouge complied, and the two teams bid farewell. Blaze remarked that Shadow wasn't so bad in the end. She shook Amy's hand, commending her on her bravery, and gave Cream a hug good-bye. Then, using the power of the gray and cyan Emeralds, she disappeared in a towering swirl of flame, returning home.

Worlds Collide

 * Note: Due to the Genesis Wave, Blaze's history from this point were changed to be nearly identical to that of her game counterpart's.

At some point after the Sol Emerald skirmish, Blaze, for the first time in a while, got to enjoy a quiet day while Marine out at sea. Suddenly, however, she was overcome by strange flashes of light. She was then captured on the orders of Dr. Eggman and his new ally Dr. Wily and subjected to a modified form of Roboticization to become one of their Roboticized Masters. Under the name Blaze Woman, she was sent with Silver Man to retrieve the green Chaos Emerald, in which they were successful. The duo, along with the doctors and their fellow Masters, then attacked Sonic, Tails, and their new allies Mega Man, Proto Man, and Rush in the Skull Egg Zone. Proto Man, however, refused to participate in the doctors' proposed "tournament" and proceeded onwards alone, prompting the doctors to send five Roboticized Masters, Blaze Woman among them, after him before leaving themselves, granting the remaining heroes some breathing room and allowing them to devise a way to use Mega Man's Mega Buster arm cannon to restore their friends to normal. Blaze Woman and Silver Man were subsequently called away from the pursuit for Proto Man as a precaution.

Later, Blaze Woman and Silver Man ambushed Sonic, Tails, Mega Man, and Rush at a waterfall. In the ensuing fight, Mega Man managed to change Silver Man back into normal Silver, who promptly immobilized Blaze Woman with his psychokinesis powers while she was fighting Sonic and Tails. Mega Man then changed Blaze back as well, though the whole process gave her somewhat of a headache. As it turned out, the strange lights Blaze had seen had also affected Mobius Prime and the world of Earth 20XX. While the six heroes rested following the skirmish, Blaze lamented that she and Silver, both exhausted from their ordeals, could not immediately aid their friends. In the interim, she and Silver optimistically agreed to look after each other, wishing Sonic, Mega Man and company luck as they continued on their way. Eventually, Blaze and Silver regained their strength and, on Sonic's instructions, were picked up by Mega Man and Rush for the upcoming battle with the evil doctors and their forces.

The battle unfolded in a major way: the group of heroes against a massive force of Robot Masters. Blaze was set upon by a group of fire-wielding Masters: Heat Man, Pharaoh Man, Flame Man, Solar Man, Burner Man, and Magma Man. However, calling upon her own fiery abilities, she took control of their attacks and creating a raging inferno that consumed her assailants. She would then battle with Toad Man before posing a threat to Wood Man and engaging Pirate Man. As the battle continued, Blaze would engage Pump Man, who hit her with water-based attacks. Eventually, she and her allies were surrounded by the enemy army, but continued to fight their hardest. Help arrived in the form of the Light Labs Robot Master, and the battle continued until all the combatants were caught up in the reality altering effects of first the Super Genesis Wave and then Super Sonic's use of Chaos Control.
 * Note: From this point, Blaze's history continues from her new life in the altered timeline.

Personality
Normally cool and collected, Blaze gives the impression that she keeps a tight lid on her emotions, but this may not be her true nature. Despite her calm appearance she can lose her temper easily and when she does, she is quite scary to be around. Her temper also makes it more difficult for her to think clearly, leaving her prone to sneak attacks. While she may at times be tense, she usually remains at least polite; however, she tends to be distrustful of others, especially when the safety of the Sol Emeralds is involved. She dislikes being referred to by her title of "princess" and prefers just being called by her name. She often speaks her mind bluntly but feels grateful to those who have helped her and will do what she can in whatever way to fulfill the debt. She is also very dedicated to her duty as princess, much like Sally Acorn, and does whatever she can to protect her people from outside threats. She also has a fondness of Marine, though often has her patience tried by her.

Much of Blaze's coldness comes from the distance that is enforced between others and herself due to her powers. She views her abilities as both a gift and a curse, and her disciplined nature may be due to her efforts to control them. Making friends like Sonic has helped her to become more relaxed and friendly, though any breach to her slowly developing trust is usually received harshly. Perhaps because threats to the Sol Emeralds are threats to the very survival of her world, Blaze holds little back in dealing with thieves, quickly expressing the possibility of employing lethal force. Under this hard exterior, however, Blaze conceals a fear of heights.

Powers and abilities
Blaze is a skilled fighter, gifted with the ability to create and control fire. Using her pyrokinesis, she can conjure fire at any place on or all over her body and even launch barrages of fireballs at enemies. By jumping into the air and twirling, she can become a fiery tornado and attacks using her feet and can also conjure up fields of fire around her hands to protect her from damage, which comes in useful during hand-to-hand combat. She has also been shown to teleport with her flames and has a deep, personal connection to the power of the Sol Emeralds. She has been shown to be able to summon a Sol Emerald in the palm of her hand and read its energies. While she lacks their stamina, she is fully able to keep up with Sonic and Shadow's speed for short periods of time. By using this in combination with her fire, she turns into a veritable living comet, and is even capable of brief flight.

Burning Blaze
With the power of the Sol Emeralds, Blaze can achieve a super form and become Burning Blaze.

Allies

 * Sonic
 * Tails
 * Team Dark
 * Shadow
 * E-123 Omega
 * Rouge
 * Team Rose
 * Amy
 * Cream
 * Cheese
 * Marin
 * Coconut Crew
 * Chaotix
 * Knuckles
 * Silver
 * Mega Man
 * Proto Man

Enemies

 * Dr. Eggman Nega
 * Metal Sonic
 * Mephiles
 * Team Hooligan
 * Babylon Rogues
 * Sol Zone Pirates
 * Captain Whisker
 * Johnny
 * Dr. Eggman
 * Dr. Wily
 * Wily Robot Masters

Trivia

 * In the game universe, Blaze seems to have two different backstories as to where she came from, until it was clarified by Takashi Iizuka. In Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure (and most other games afterward) Blaze is depicted as being a Princess and the protector of the Sol Emeralds in a parallel dimension. However, in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Blaze comes from the future where she battles against Iblis. At the end of Silver's story-line, Blaze sacrifices herself by sealing Iblis inside her body and seemingly disappears due to Chaos Control. At the end of the game, it was made so Iblis never existed, causing the events of the game to never happen, meaning that Blaze should still alive. A common theory that writer Ian Flynn agrees with is that Blaze had removed herself from the universe/dimension and was rewritten after the events of the game were erased into always having lived in the parallel world seen in the other games. The possibility that she and Silver never even met each other is never clarified in the games universe, as in all future appearances they never appear together in their mutual stories and neither of them ever mention each other. Ian Flynn brought an end to the confusion-at least with regards to the comic continuity-when he thoroughly detailed how Blaze and Silver never met.
 * Blaze is the first female character in the Sonic comics to have a super form.
 * While her game counterpart has some confusion as to Blaze's title of being either a princess or a queen, the comic consistently refers to her as a princess.