Bow Sparrow (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)


 * For the version of this character after the Super Genesis Wave, see Bow Sparrow.

"I am Bow Sparrow, humble woodsman, and these are my fellow Freedom Fighters."

- Bow Sparrow, Sonic Universe #46

Bow Sparrow is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics. He is a Mobian sparrow and a was a member of the Mercian Freedom Fighters, but rose to temporarily leadership of the group following Rob'O the Hedge and his family's departure.

Concept and creation
Bow was created as a last-minute replacement for Rob o' the Hedge as a result of Ken Penders's lawsuit which cost Archie Comics their usage of all his characters, including Rob. As such, these two characters bear many similarities while Rob fills many of the roles Rob would otherwise have.

Appearance
Bow Sparrow, as his name suggests, is an anthropomorphic sparrow with light brown and tan feathers, three tail feathers and light brown irises with black pupils. He has two shoulder-wings on each arm, colored tan. He has two hair-like whips with the tip colored tan. Bow has chest-feathers, which are colored white. Having a red vest with black edge-stripes, Bow's vest covers the lower half of his torso. He also wears brown boots with red plating on the front and back, belts around his waist and boots, and brown gloves. Bow also has a set of arrows and a bow strapped on his back.

Early life
Early in his life, Bow was captured by the Mercia Dark Egg Legion and sent to Snottingham Castle until he was rescued by Rob'O the Hedge. Grateful and obedient to Rob, Bow considered Rob his mentor and became a member of the Mercian Freedom Fighters, defending the Kingdom of Mercia from various threats. Bow later carried on Rob's position as leader of the Mercian Freedom Fighters when the hedgehog went to hide and protect his family from danger. Since then, Bow "carried on the King's speech in his memory" while continuing the fight against the Eggman Empire, particularly the Mercia Dark Egg Legion.

Chaotix Quest
Sometime after Rob's departure, Bow met Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel, who were looking for Mighty's sister, Matilda the Armadillo, as they took out some G.O.O.N. robots. Confronting the Chaotix members, Bow sorrowfully explained that the previous king had both punished Mighty's parents for their thievery and exiled Mighty after he attempted to free them. Though he offered his own life to make up for it, Mighty quickly to forgave the past and he and Ray even joined the Freedom Fighters in defending Deerwood Forest from the Legion's efforts to burn it down. After the battle, Bow encouraged the pair to take advantage of the distraction to invade Snottingham Castle so that they could use the Eggnet to discover the whereabouts of Mighty's sister.

Days later, when Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, and Charmy Bee came to Mercia to find Mighty and Ray, Bow and his team arrived to help the Chaotix as they battled members of the Dark Egg Legion. After introductions were made, the Freedom Fighters learned of the trio's purpose. Taking the Chaotix to Hideaway, Bow and his crew they explained (partly in speech, partly in song -- despite the efforts of Thorn the Lop to dissuade them) the events that had transpired when Mighty and Ray had arrived. Bow admitted that they had assumed that the pair succeeded their mission, and now feared they were prisoners of Lord Hood. The two groups resolved to infiltrate the castle and free the prisoners, an endeavor that the Freedom Fighters had been planning previously but lacked the manpower to accomplish. Together, they subdued a number of guards and entered through a secret passage. Bow then expressed his wishes that the rest of the mission would run smoothly, unaware that Lord Hood was already aware of their intrusion.

As the teams infiltrated the sewers beneath the castle, Lord Hood sprung a trap -- while the two groups were able to escape, they now realized that their enemy knew of their presence. Having no choice, Espio had Bow use the Warp Ring to teleport his team directly there while the three members of the Chaotix created a diversion elsewhere in the castle. The Mercia Freedom Fighters were able to free the prisoners, but they quickly realized that Mighty, Ray, Rob, Mari-An and Jon were not among the prisoners, frustrating Bow. Soon after, they were caught by Lord Hood and his minions. Bow shot an arrow at Hood, but the snake was able to dodge it. However, the arrow caused an explosion that disorientated Hood. Bow and his Freedom Fighters attempted to let the prisoners escape through the Warp Ring, only to almost let it fall into the enemy's hands. Realizing that using the ring was too risky, Bow attempted to formulate a new plan, only for Lord Hood to subdue them with his hypnotic powers. Luckily, Vector and Charmy ambushed Hood and his troops. Thanks to Espio's planning, Bow lead the prisoners to the castle courtyard where they could safely use the Warp Ring, with Bow being the last going through it as he mocked Hood.

Back in Hideaway, Bow thanked the Chaotix for their help, and seemed relieved when Espio told him that the Eggman Empire had lost track of Rob and his family at Never Lake, apparently gleaning some hidden meaning from this info. Bow then wished the Chaotix good luck on their journey, though he got them to rest at Hideaway and celebrated their success.

Personality
Bow is friendly and easy-going, as he let the Chaotix stay at their hideout with hardly any questions asked. He also has a spirit of joyous good-fellowship as he immediately joined Alan Quail when the latter begins a song.

Having been saved by Rob O' the Hedge early in life, Bow is strongly loyal and respective towards Rob, so much that Bow changed his dialect out of respect into one much similar to Rob's, dubbed "the king's speech". However, Bow seems to have trouble sometimes speaking in this dialect. This respect has also made him very dutiful, making him carry a heavy burden of responsibility, including knowledge of unpleasant events preceding Rob's rule in Mercia.

Powers and abilities
Like Rob, Bow is an expert archer with amazing accuracy, and his skills let him handle a variety of different arrows with ease.

Weapons
Bow possesses a fairly standard medium-sized bow and carries with him a number of arrows with different features, such as regular arrows, arrows with TNT heads and arrows with boxing glove attachments.

Trivia

 * Bow's name is a reference to both his archery ability and his species.
 * In Sonic Universe #46, it was stated in the Sonic Spin editor commentary that "Bow looks like a dashing ROGUE of sorts," hinting that Bow might have a relation to Jet the Hawk of the Babylon Rogues due to their similar appearance. Editorial commenter Paul Kaminski also stated that clue hunters needed to be on the lookout for Bow in the future.
 * Bow knows the information of the past of the Kingdom of Mercia, namely the execution of Mighty's parents and Mighty's exile from the kingdom after his demonstration of power.