Rouge the Bat (Archie)


 * For the version of this character before the Super Genesis Wave, see Rouge the Bat (Pre-Super Genesis Wave).

Rouge the Bat is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-off comic series published by Archie Comics. She is a Mobian bat who is both a part-time government agent and occasional jewel thief. She occasionally works as a spy directly under the President and is often involved in events concerning G.U.N.. She also tends to get involved in illegal activities, as she has an affinity for adventure and gems. Rouge later joined Team Dark and began working directly under G.U.N. along with Shadow the Hedgehog and E-123 Omega.

Appearance
Rouge is a white bat with teal eyes. Her muzzle and torso are somewhat tan, though often colored as light as Sonic's peach arms and front. Her dark wings are often colored black or purple. Her short white hair flares out at the back and she typically wears blue eyeshadow, as well as lipstick on occasion. Her typical attire consists of dark skintight pants, a pink, heart-shaped chestplate-like top with white trim, and tall white gloves and boots with pink cuffs. The boots are high heeled and feature hearts on the toes.

Thief turned agent
Rouge first became involved with Dr. Eggman's campaign to conquer the world when the two of them separately invaded Angel Island in an attempt to seize the Master Emerald. Knuckles the Echidna chose to shatter the Emerald and scatter its fragments across the planet rather than let either thief seize it, prompting Rouge to set out in search of the broken pieces. In the course of her quest she entered into an alliance with Eggman, and thus became acquainted with Shadow the Hedgehog. After operating with these new allies for some time, Rouge engaged Knuckles in a final confrontation, after which she decided to cede the Master Emerald fragments she had collected to him. She and her allies then teamed up with Knuckles, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Miles "Tails" Prower in order to save the planet from the threat of Space Colony ARK's plummet, which resulted in Shadow's apparent death. However, after infiltrating one of Eggman's bases in search of treasure, Rouge discovered Shadow in a stasis capsule, and inadvertently awakened E-123 Omega by releasing him. The amnesiac Shadow and the rebellious robot were persuaded to join forces by Rouge, the trio becoming Team Dark. Working alongside-and at times against-Team Sonic, Team Chaotix, and Team Rose, they eventually participated in a final battle against Metal Overlord, the mutated form of Metal Sonic.

During the Black Arms Invasion of the planet, Rouge operated as an agent of G.U.N., fighting against the alien invaders. She and several other natives of the planet eventually boarded the Black Comet, where they were rendered helpless by a paralyzing neurotoxin. Fortunately Shadow, who had been somewhat divided over his connections to the Black Arms, rebelled and fought against Black Doom, eventually transforming into Super Shadow in order to fight against Devil Doom. Then, during a time travel adventure-the events of which were later erased-she and her teammates worked together against Mephiles, a monstrous being who took Shadow's form. When it became known that a possible future would see Shadow betrayed and captured by a reprogrammed Omega, Rouge vowed that she would always stand with their Hedgehog friend. Later, she was among the friends and allies of Sonic scattered across time by the machinations of two versions of Eggman and the power of the Time Eater. Yet another adventure saw her involved with the Wisps, an alien race that Eggman sought to prey upon.

Worlds Collide

 * Due to Eggman and Wily rewriting the history of Rouge's world, Rouge's history and memories were changed to be nearly identical to that of her game counterpart's.

In the altered reality created by the second Genesis Wave, Rouge traveled to the Skull Egg Zone and boarded the Wily Egg in order to interfere with Eggman and Dr. Wily's operations. In the process, she met with Dr. Light, promising to rescue him before asking for his help and providing him with schematics for the airship to examine for weak spots. While she managed to do some damage, she was subsequently attacked by Metal Sonic and Bass, who pursued her to a laboratory aboard the flying fortress. In an effort to distract her pursuers, she released a creature created by the evil doctors known as the Chaos Devil. Unfortunately, the creature ended up capturing her and Metal Sonic, and upon being spit out by the creature on the orders of the evil scientists Rouge was captured. She revealed to Eggman that her main reason for coming against him was payback for his kidnapping of Shadow, which prompted Eggman to order that she be subjected to the same fate he had met: that of becoming one of the Roboticized Masters.

Now Rouge Woman, Rouge was deployed alongside an army of Robot Masters created by the doctors to act as the first line of defense for the Wily Egg, which descended to engage Sonic, Mega Man, and their force of allies in the Skull Egg Zone below. After launching various strikes against her allies, Rouge was restored to normal by a team effort from Sonic and Mega Man. Free to join her friends, Rouge proved a welcome addition, taking out Tengu Man while the blue heroes made their way towards the Wily Egg.

As the battle progressed, Rouge was able to meet up with Dr. Light again, he having been thrown from the Wily Egg only to be rescued by Shadow. She informed him of their dire straits while facing the frustrating Gemini Man, whose decoy ability proved to be quite an annoyance. She subsequently found another opponent much more to her liking: Jewel Man, whose decorative gemstones she attempted to pull off him, much to his horror. Sadly, she and her allies were soon surrounded by the Robot Masters, though she continued to fight. She and her allies received welcome relief as the Light Labs Robot Masters arrived to provide support. The Super Genesis Wave washed over both worlds shortly thereafter, though its effects were undone by the efforts of Super Mega Man and Super Sonic. However, the restoration of Sonic's World was interfered with by Dr. Eggman, with disastrous results.

Shadow Fall and Total Eclipse

 * Note: From the readers point of view, this picks up from where Rouge's original timeline ended.

In the early stages of the Shattered World Crisis, Team Dark was called in for a briefing regarding an unpleasant surprise: the presence of a New Black Comet approaching Mobius. Rouge and her teammates were given the task-alongside Spider Troupe-of planting a nuclear device aboard the comet to destroy it. Rouge and Omega were taken into confidence by Commander Abraham Tower, who recalled that Shadow had been involved with the Black Arms during their first invasion. Boarding the comet, they set out to find the best location to plant the device, only for Shadow-much to Rouge's frustration-to set out on his own. Rouge, Omega, and Spider Troupe were then threatened by the same neurotoxin that had previously paralyzed her. However, utilizing an Air Necklace, Rouge kept her lungs clear while the members of Spider Troupe used rebreathers built into their helmets. Unfortunately, the G.U.N. troops were then menaced by several groups of Black Arms, the final being led by Shadow himself, brainwashed by the Black Arms' new leader Black Death and the monstrous Eclipse the Darkling.

Rouge and Omega were forced to battle Shadow, and managed to break him free from the spell he was under. They then went to the aid of Spider Troupe while he went after Black Death, and were forced to engage Eclipse the Darkling in battle. However, Eclipse was pulled from the fight by Death's Eye, Black Death sensing that defeat was imminent, and Shadow subsequently destroyed the alien leader. The reunited Team Dark and Spider Troupe accomplished their mission and returned to Mobius, but Eclipse and his Dark Arms managed to escape. Dr. Julian Snively later calculated that their escape craft had landed on Angel Island, and Team Dark was dispatched to destroy the last surviving remnants of the Black Arms. Their shuttle landed at Launch Base Zone, and deployed a tele-pod robot that allowed Snively two-way communication with them. Despite Shadow's objections and Snively's attempts at giving orders, Rouge led the group to find Knuckles on Shrine Island in order to request his help. There they met Knuckles' allies Relic the Pika and Fixit, and Rouge briefly accused-albeit teasingly-Knuckles of being in a relationship with the former. However, Eclipse soon made his presence known, and it was decided that Rouge and Omega would seek him out with Knuckles while Shadow remained behind to guard the Master Emerald.

The unlikely trio soon located Eclipse's downed vessel in Red Mountain Zone, though Rouge found time to question whether or not Knuckles was happy with his life on the island. Noting that her own chosen profession wasn't all-consuming as Knuckles' duty seemed to be, Rouge became curious whether or not Knuckles wanted anything else in his life. Unfortunately, they were then alerted to an attack on the Master Emerald Shrine by Eclipse, and flew back to help Shadow only to find that he had managed to drive Eclipse off for the time being. Shadow then stunned his teammates-and enraged Knuckles-by insisting that the Master Emerald be transported to a G.U.N. facility for safe-keeping while Knuckles and his friends were evacuated. Knuckles responded by engaging the hedgehog in battle. Meanwhile, Rouge refused to either interfere or go along with Shadow's plan, as she felt that Knuckles should have a say in the matter. However, Eclipse then arrived with the Dark Arms, disabling Omega with Blurk before calling upon Cregal's powers to battle Rouge in the air. With her shoulder dislocated, Snively's pod destroyed, and Relic and Fixit at Eclipse's mercy, Rouge revealed the location of the craft she and her teammates had arrived on. As Eclipse left with the Master Emerald, Rouge then mused on their desperate straits.

After having Omega pop her shoulder back into place, Rouge responded to a hail from Shadow, and informed him that Eclipse had obtained the Emerald and was on his way to their shuttle. Once Shadow and Knuckles had been thoroughly chastened for their pig-headedness, they moved to intercept Eclipse while Rouge and the others entered a secret enclave to activate some of the island's traps. Their efforts slowed Eclipse down long enough for Shadow and Knuckles to catch him, and Knuckles once again shattered the Master Emerald to keep it from the two intruding forces. Eclipse managed to escape, but G.U.N. forces soon arrived to collect his old escape craft under Snively's supervision. Rouge wished Knuckles luck in his efforts to recover the Emerald shards, and was then amused when the Echidna instructed her to "Tell Shadow he's a jerk."

Personality
Rouge is a strong-minded young woman, a fearless, ambitious, independent, flirtatious, greedy, ruthless, calculating narcissist who most people see as only caring for herself and her gems. Despite this, she can be helpful and affectionate in her own way, usually towards a select few. She is not above using seduction and manipulation to get what she wants, and is willing to be dishonest and even treacherous should the situation require it with little if any qualms. She is fully aware of her image and will often appear to be sweet when at her most cruel. However, she has, on occasion, shown that she can be heroic and a touch ethical, even if it meant sacrificing something she really wanted to get her hands on.

While she covers it up with a sassy, sarcastic demeanor, Rouge does possess a caring side beyond her thieving, double-dealing ways. While underhanded, she is also usually capable of recognizing true evil when she sees it. Of course, her care is usually reserved for those close to her.

Powers and abilities
Being a bat, Rouge is able to fly and glide. She is a skilled fighter who specializes in kicks. Working as both a spy and a thief, she is also been shown to have a knack for espionage, manipulation, sneaking and computer hacking. She's also shown being competent in operating a variety of vehicles such as space shuttles.

Knuckles the Echidna
Since their first encounter, Rouge has kept up a love/hate relationship with Knuckles the Echidna, revolving around their rivalry as treasure hunters and over possession of the Master Emerald. While she has primarily expressed interest in the jewel, she does possess some real feelings for Knuckles, questioning whether a life of duty and isolation is truly what he wants and respecting his claims on the Master Emerald. Despite this, she also enjoyed teasing him, jokingly threatening to steal the Emerald and questioning whether or not he was involved with Relic. Interestingly, she apparently did not regard Relic as a threat to her relationship with Knuckles.

Shadow the Hedgehog
Rouge has demonstrated a strong connection with Shadow the Hedgehog, transcending their status as teammates; she is deeply concerned for his welfare. During the erased events of the timeline where they engaged Mephiles, she swore to always stand by him. This does not mean that she does not at times find him infuriating, though she is not above making jabs at him. Despite this, she does care deeply about him, and seeks to help him in whatever circumstances.

Friends/allies

 * G.U.N. (employer)
 * Commander Abraham Tower
 * Dr. Julian Snively
 * Team Dark
 * Shadow the Hedgehog
 * E-123 Omega
 * Team Sonic
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Team Rose
 * Amy Rose
 * Big the Cat
 * Cream the Rabbit
 * Chaotix

Enemies

 * Eggman Empire
 * Dr. Eggman
 * Metal Sonic
 * Black Arms
 * Eclipse the Darkling
 * Dark Arms

Trivia

 * Unlike in other media, Rouge has been drawn with her eyes completely open in many issues of the comic series.