Chaotix (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)


 * For the version of this group after the Super Genesis Wave, see Chaotix (Archie).

The Chaotix is a group that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog and its spin-off comic series' published by Archie Comics. They are Knuckles the Echidna's assistants as Guardian of Angel Island. The group was originally formed when Knuckles required help in defeating Robotnik, and Metal Sonic after the Knothole Freedom Fighters were all captured. All of its members are close friends with Knuckles, or else with a member who is a close friend of Knuckles', and one of them, Julie-Su, dated him. The Chaotix have resided part time in both Knothole and New Mobotropolis, helping the Kingdom of Acorn battle the Eggman Empire and other threats. Since the death of Locke, they have split their duties between the war and protecting Angel Island from outside threats. The team has remained together over the years, but suffered the loss of Julie-Su and Saffron due to the machinations of Thrash the Devil.

Formation and Early Activities
The Chaotix was formed when Dr. Ivo Robotnik's lackey Renfield T. Rodent had successfully captured the Knothole Freedom Fighters in the House of Mirrors section of Happy Land theme park. Knuckles, requiring assistance to defeat Metal Sonic, joined up with Mighty the Armadillo, Espio the Chameleon, Vector the Crocodile and Charmy Bee. After their success of capturing Renfield Rodent and forcing Robotnik to flee the island, the Chaotix remained a team, though Heavy and Bomb would end up leaving and joining the Secret Service under Geoffrey St. John. (KCX, CSE)

Their early missions included battling the evil Enerjak, who at the time was also Knuckles' great-uncle Dimitri the Echidna. Enerjak managed to place the Chaotix under mind control, but they were freed from this following Enerjak's defeat. The group also tangled with a band of cyborg Echidnas known as the Dark Legion. A defector from that group eventually joined them, Julie-Su, who would later become Knuckles' girlfriend. Charmy Bee temporarily left the group to return home to the Golden Hive Colony. (KtE: #1, #2, #3, #4, KMS: #1, #2, #3)

Assisting Knuckles
The Chaotix assisted Knuckles during his protection of Angel Island. When Robotnik sent a group of Burrobots to the island while on board the Death Egg the Chaotix ensured that the other citizens of the island were protected. (SQM: #1, #2, #3)

When Reinfield T. Rodent re-emerged and Charmy Bee's friend Mello died from unknown causes, the Chaotix investigated the theme park, as Knuckles was occupied helping the Lost Tribe locate Albion. It was soon discovered that Downtown Ebony Hare had taken over the operation, and was putting a poisonous sauce on the food so that people would keep coming back to the park. After being poisoned the first time and spending time recovering in a hospital, the Chaotix returned and shut down Ebony Hare's operation. (KtE: #13, #14, #15)

Alliance with the Freedom Fighters
Following Knuckles's death and subsequent rebirth and then Sonic's supposed death during the Xorda invasion, the Chaotix moved to Knothole Village to serve the Kingdom of Knothole, becoming a larger team with the Freedom Fighters. This move was more of an act of necessity as Dr. Eggman took advantage of their absence from Angel Island and finally was able to take over their home when he declared open warfare with his renamed Eggman Empire. During the year that followed, the Chaotix did what they could to help the kingdom, but still desired to liberate the island from Eggman's forces. After Sonic was found to be alive, they proved to be crucial to successfully repelling Eggman's SWATbot horde when it marched on Fort Acorn in Operation: Triple Threat, and joined in the victory celebration afterwards. The group also expanded with the addition of Charmy's girlfriend Saffron-who, along with Charmy, joined up with the Chaotix soon after the Golden Hive Colony was destroyed. (StH: #118, #124, #130, #131, #132, #133, #134, #138)

With these additions, they were accompanied by Sonic when Knuckles declared they were finally returning to Angel Island after receiving word that Locke had been captured. After arriving, they were shocked to learn Echidnaopolis had been destroyed and the echidnas enslaved into labor camps when the Dingo Regime allied itself with the Eggman Empire. Even more surprising was that their old enemies the Dark Legion were now actually protecting the remaining free echidnas, and they were forced to join forces and work alongside each other in order to save Locke and then repel a Dingo invasion that devestated the Legion's refugee camp in the Hidden Palace Zone. (StH: #139, #140, #141)

Once they returned to Knothole, the Chaotix participated in multiple battles against enemies including the Metal Sonic Troopers, Mammoth Mogul, Ixis Naugus, and the Destructix, while also performing other tasks such as providing combat data for the Battle Simulator program and acting as security for Mina Mongoose during her world tour. They were also assigned other jobs such as interviewing Rouge the Bat and Fiona Fox for information on their past criminal dealings and any information that could be gathered on Dr. Finitevus' activity, and then took on a mission to investigate and shut down Renfield T. Rodent's Casinopolis in Station Square which was a front for one of Eggman's Auto-Automaton factories. With Antoine's proposal to Bunnie, the Chaotix found themselves among the wedding guests, but not before trying to keep Antoine from having a panic attack just prior to the ceremony. The happy time was short lived however, as just a day later all of them except Knuckles were captured by Dr. Eggman during Knothole's destruction and transported to the Egg Grape Chamber along with most of the Knothole Freedom Fighters. Both groups were later freed and taken to the city of New Mobotropolis in a rescue mission devised by Nicole, and the Chaotix joined the Freedom Fighters in destroying Dr. Eggman's Egg Beater. With the danger of Robotnik's forces reduced due to the city's shields, the rest of the Chaotix gathered to see Knuckles off when he decided to return to Angel Island by himself to do damage control and attempt to reason with his father, though they were concerned about him not having any backup. (StH: #153 #158, #159, #162, #163, #164, #165, #166, #173, #174, #175, #176, #177, #178)

When they learned of Enerjak's rebirth and that the Council of Acorn would not be letting them leave, they tried to fight their way free of New Mobotropolis at Frederick's Airfield and steal a plane to reach Angel Island and find Knuckles, but were convinced to stop by Sally. Agreeing to stay in New Mobotropolis to help them against Enerjak, the Chaotix were among the group that rushed to meet the new Enerjak when he arrived. Unfortunately, they were also the first to learn the truth behind their old foe's rebirth: Knuckles had been transformed into him thanks to the machinations of Dr. Finitevus. (StH: #180, #181, #182, #183, #184)

After Knuckles was returned to normal due to Locke's sacrifice, he blamed himself for the destruction Enerjak had caused, wanting to guard the Master Emerald by himself. However, as the Chaotix were building a bridge to the dislocated Shrine Isle of the Master Emerald, Knuckles returned to them after some persuasion from Rouge the Bat. (StH: #186)

Following this, the Chaotix launched a direct assault on the remains of New Megaopolis to attack the Dark Egg Legion and destroy one of Dr. Eggman's communications relays. However, the Chaotix ran into trouble completing their mission after Sonic was recalled to Freedom HQ, and Dimitri arrived on the scene to support the Dark Egg Legion. (StH: #189, #190)

The Chaotix later played a vital role in the final push against Dr. Eggman. While the Freedom Fighters distracted the Dark Egg Legion, the Chaotix flanked them, catching them off guard and forcing them to retreat. Later, they helped Sonic to get on top of the Egg Phoenix, and while he distracted Eggman, planted Tails' Neutralizing Mines onto it, causing the vessel's destruction. Afterwords, they and the Freedom Fighters stormed the Eggdome confronting the Dark Egg Legion once more. After the D.E.L. retreated, they found themselves divided from Sonic who went to confront Eggman himself and they were left to tear down a barricade along with the others. (StH: #198, #199)

After Mighty and Bunnie had finished taking down the barricade, the Freedom Fighters entered to see a defeated and broken Eggman. They then returned to New Mobotropolis to celebrate their victory. (StH: #200)

Losing A Member
While heading to the Coliseum to investigate the chaos there, Espio came across Lightning Lynx, who explained that he quit the Destructix and that the Bride of Four Houses now ruled over the Iron Dominion. While Espio initially dismissed this all as lies, Lightning gave Espio a note with new orders from the Bride of Constant Vigil. He realized that he had to leave his friends and return to his clan, along with Lightning. They then chased after Sonic and Monkey Khan to New Megaopolis, where Espio would return to his mysterious Clan work. Encountering the chameleon among the Iron Queen's forces, Sonic and Monkey Khan informed Knuckles of this turn of events. Knuckles was confused and distressed by this turn of events, and eventually was confronted by Espio in front of the Master Emerald. Knuckles comes to realize that Espio's betrayal was not willfull but rather a matter of being honor-bound to his clan; he hopes to find a way to free Espio from his duties. Some of the Chaotix were also called upon to battle Monkey Khan after he fell under the control of the Iron Queen. (StH: #201, #202, #204)

Trouble Over Downunda
The Chaotix afterwards returned to Angel Island, with Vector and Ray taking over watch of the Master Emerald whilst Knuckles, Mighty, and Julie-Su met with the Dingoes before setting out after Dr. Finitevus. Both groups soon found themselves in trouble, the Emerald guards attacked by Wing Dingoes and the searchers caught in a booby trap. They escaped and found Finitevus on the surface in Downunda, only for Angel Island to become caught in chains as they attacked him. The mad doctor then told the heroes that if they wanted to save Angel Island, they would have to work with him. Ray, in the meantime, managed to scare off all the Wing dingoes by faking a Super transformation via the Master Emerald, only for the island to start tipping due to chains anchored into it's side from cannons surrounding Downunda's Great Crater. The two then traveled to Downunda and joined Knuckles' group and Finitevus in battling a force of Wing Dingoes, and were then joined by the Downunda Freedom Fighters. After splitting up, the two groups-with the exception of Julie-Su and Ray, who were sent back to Angel Island to guard the Master Emerald-were captured by Finitevus and his allies in the Downunda Dark Egg Legion. After escaping with help from Freedom Fighter/Grandmaster Duck "Bill" Platypus, the group defeated the Legion and expelled Finitevus from Angel Island before freeing it to resume its orbit. (SU: #9, #10, #11, #12)

Comings and Goings
Later, members of the Chaotix would help to evacuate civilians from New Mobotropolis to Angel Island after the Iron Queen seized control of Nicole. They would later report success in relocating the evacuees, who remained under their care until the Iron Dominion was defeated. Afterwards, Espio was welcomed back into their midst, revealing that the Bride of Constant Vigil had sent him to Angel Island to watch Knuckles, and in that time he had learned things about all the Chaotix. His news soon sent Mighty and Ray on their own adventure, seeking the Armadillo's long lost sister. (StH: #208, #210, #212)

For the most part, the rest of the Chaotix remained cohesive on Angel Island following Mighty and Ray's departure for some time. However, after the duo stopped sending letters and the Warp Ring they had taken with them returned to the island on its own, the group split up yet again. Vector, Charmy, and Espio traveled to Mercia to pick up the trail of their missing friends, while the other three remained on Angel Island. The traveling trio briefly teamed up with the Mercian Freedom Fighters against the Mercia Dark Egg Legion, before making their way to Sand Blast City. While there, they ran afoul of the local Sand-Blasters, in whose ranks they found Mighty and Ray. At roughly the same time, the Angel Island team suffered losses: Julie-Su and Saffron were attacked by Thrash the Tasmanian Devil while protecting the Master Emerald, and were subsequently dispatched through a super-charged Warp Ring. They were soon followed by all of the Echidnas in Albion except for Knuckles, who had gone in answer to a distress call sent by Remington informing him of an attack by the former New Megaopolis Dark Egg Legion. Knuckles arrived shortly before Thrash completed his banishment of the Echidnas, and joined up with Team Fighters to battle the Tasmanian Devil. Knuckles defeated Thrash and returned home just in time to meet the others, who had joined forces with the Great Desert Dark Egg Legion, who Matilda the Armadillo was a part of, to defeat the Sand-Blasters. Unfortunately, their female teammates remained lost to them, as Thrash's Warp Ring would not respond to Knuckles' efforts. (StH: #243, #244, #245, #246, SU: #46, #47, #48, #49)

Worlds Collide

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

After Mobius had once again been reset by Dr. Eggman's second Genesis Wave, the Chaotix were reduced to a three-member detective agency made up of Vector, Espio and Charmy. The group aided Sonic in searching for Tails, Amy and Knuckles, who had all recently vanished, when they where apprehended by Copy Robot and captured to be turned into Roboticized Masters by Dr. Eggman and his new partner Dr. Wily. (SU: #51)

Now under the control of the two doctors as the Roboticized Masters Vector Man, Espio Man and Charmy Man, the trio were sent to destroy Sonic and Tails, along with their new friends Mega Man and Proto Man in the Skull Egg Zone. However, the combined efforts of Sonic, Mega Man, and Tails found the trio restored to normal, and in gratitude they set out to assist Proto Man in his efforts to save Dr. Light. (SU: #52, #53, StH: #249)

Once the rest of Sonic's friends had been saved, the Chaotix took part in the final battle against the horde of time-cloned Robot Masters below the Wily Egg. The battle raged on until the launch of the Super Genesis Wave, which restored Mobius to an almost unrecognizable state after Super Sonic's attempt to reverse the wave was met with interference by Eggman... (StH: #250, #251, MM: #27, SU: #54)
 * Note: From this point, the Chaotix's history continues from its new one in the altered timeline.

Trivia

 * Most members of the Chaotix made their debut in the game Knuckles' Chaotix. However, the game series only considers Vector, Espio, and Charmy as the whole team. This is further shown in the Sonic X comics, as well as Sonic Heroes, that they are a detective agency rather than a fighting force.
 * Unlike the Knothole Freedom Fighters, not all of the Chaotix members have had stories focusing on them as the primary protagonist, though this applies only to Vector, Ray, and Saffron.
 * Despite calling it their home for years and emphatically defending it from many forces that would cause it harm, it has yet to be proven if any of the Chaotix were ever born on Angel Island:
 * Knuckles: Echidnaopolis (pocket zone)
 * Julie-Su: Twilight Zone
 * Charmy: Golden Hive Colony
 * Saffron: Golden Hive Colony
 * Mighty: Kingdom of Mercia
 * Vector: Downunda
 * Ray: Unknown (surface of Mobius)
 * Espio: Dragon Kingdom (previously thought to be from Angel Island's chameleon colony in Rainbow Valley)
 * Archimedes: Unknown
 * The counterparts of the Chaotix from Dark Mobius-minus Knuckles-served as the highest-ranking Prelates of Dark Enerjak, and were the only Prelates to receive actual designations. Knuckles' counterpart actually was Dark Enerjak