Babylon Rogues

The Babylon Rogues (バビロン盗賊団) are a group of ancient thieves in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The only known members of the group consists of Jet the Hawk, Wave the Swallow and Storm the Albatross. Their only playable appearances so far are Sonic Riders and the sequel, Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity. They also make cameo appearances in Sonic Rivals as collectable cards and Sonic and the Secret Rings in the gallery.

In Sonic Riders, the group is hired by Dr. Eggman to compete in his airboard-racing tournament against Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. All members appear to have flames tattooed on their wrists. The Babylon Rogues reside on a large airship.

Jet's English voice actor is Jason Anthony Griffith, who also provides the voices of Sonic and Shadow. Wave's English voice actress is Bella Hudson, who is also the voice actress for Maria Robotnik in Shadow the Hedgehog (game), Blaze the Cat in Sonic Rush and following games, and Tikal the Echidna in the Sonic X anime. Storm's English voice actor is Dan Green, who also voices Knuckles. In the original Japanese version, Daisuke Kishio, Chie Nakamura and Kenji Nomura provide the voices for Jet, Wave and Storm, respectively. The Babylon Rogues' theme song is "Catch Me If You Can", performed by Runblebee.

While initially believed to be descended from genies, it is revealed in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity that the Babylon Rogues are actually descended from aliens.

They also appear in Sonic Free Riders as playable characters.



History of the Babylon Rogues
According to history, the Babylon Rogues were an order of technologically advanced thieves that existed possibly for centuries. It's been confirmed that they once resided on a floating island known as the 'Babylon Garden' (a reference to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon). All of the original Babylon Rogues were genie-like aliens.

During the events of Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, it's revealed that the ancient Babylonians were descended from aliens who attempted to harness the power of a black hole for their engine unit, but were forced to land on Earth and disconnect their engine unit into the five Arks of the Cosmos. It explains their technological prowess, as well as why the Babylon Guardian's arena was a large virtual reality chamber. Amy theorizes that the Babylonians may have developed the tradition of wishing on shooting stars, believing that they would have looked to the night sky for the falling Arks of the Cosmos to return, so they could restore their engine and go home.

The Babylon Rogues were said to have excelled in the usage of "Extreme Gear" (an advanced means of transportation seen only in Sonic Riders games), which they used to travel all around the world in their endless pursuit of treasure. A Babylonian artifact called the "Magic Carpet" was said to be the first Extreme Gear ever created and was found to be sealed away in the Babylonian Fortress.

As for their eventual demise, legend has it the Babylonians angered the gods, and as punishment the Babylon Garden was buried beneath the desert sands. It's possible this was the Gizoid, as it has been referred to as a God, and also destroyed an ancient civilization. It is also possible that the Babylon Garden residents were at war with the Echidnas of Angel Island as they both were warring someone while Angel Island and the Babylon Garden floated years ago.

Jet the Hawk
Jet the Hawk (ジェット・ザ・ホーク) is a green anthropomorphic hawk, the leader of the Babylon Rogues, and is often nicknamed the "Legendary Wind Rider" due to his mastery of Extreme Gear. He's Sonic's most potent rival in Sonic Riders, and he uses a Type-J board that allows him to reach high speeds. Jet also possesses a mysterious "control box", passed down from his ancestors, that is said to awaken the fabled Babylon Garden. Only the power of the Chaos Emeralds can activate its fabled power.

Ever since their first encounter, Jet has been trying to top Sonic in many ways. By the end of the story, Jet and Sonic become friendly rivals.

Jet advances to the Final of the EX World Grand Prix and unfairly wins after Wave detonates an explosive placed on the bottom of Sonic's board near the end of the race. Again, he races against Sonic after Doctor Eggman steals control box in order to steal the ancient treasure of Babylon. This time, he is defeated fairly. Sonic, who got the box from Eggman, willingly hands it to Jet, as he is not intending to use it.

At the doors of the Babylonian Fortress, Jet, Wave, and Storm awaken and are confronted by the Babylon Guardian, a large purple genie, and only succeed in defeating it with the help of Sonic, Tails, Knucles, and Amy. They then discover the fabled Babylonian Treasure to be the ancient Extreme Gear "Magic Carpet".

Jet and Sonic finally decide to be more friendly to each other. Jet concedes to the fact that Sonic is faster than him. However, this doesn't make him want to beat Sonic even less than he wanted in the beginning.

Some fans believe Jet to be modeled after Bean the Dynamite from Sonic the Fighters, and in some cases, people even mistook Jet to be Bean. Nintendo Power magazine played a joke on this fact by giving an image of Jet a caption reading; "Bean? Is that you, Bean? Oh! How we've missed you!".

Sonic Channel reveals info about Jet that wasn't stated in Sonic Riders. Apparently, Jet is 14 years old, stands at the same height as Sonic and Shadow (100 cm). He also weighs 33 kilograms - two kilograms fewer than Sonic or Shadow. He is also shown as very narcissistic. He likes himself, and dislikes anyone faster or more confident than himself. Jet's original name was intended to be "Wind".

Attacks: Sneeze: Jet basically sneezes directly in his opponents face to catch them off guard, distracting them and slowing them down considerably. In-game debut: Sonic Riders, Nintendo GameCube/Sony PlayStation 2/Microsoft Xbox, 2006

Bashyo Fan Attack: By using one or both of his Bashyo fans, Jet can take a direct swipe at his enemies, inflicting damage and, with enough power, stopping them in their tracks.

Wave the Swallow
Wave the Swallow (ウェーブ・ザ・スワロー)(initially called "Web the Sparrow" by fans due to translation errors) is a purple anthropomorphic swallow, the Babylon Rogues' resident technical genius, and a bit of a trash-talker. She is 18 years old, and is 110 cm (3'7") . She's the daughter of the tech expert of the Rogues' previous generation, and her knowledge of Extreme Gear far surpasses that of Tails and Dr. Eggman. Because of this knowledge, she is brimming with self-confidence; and as a result she "gives advice understandable to herself but not to others", However, she still considers Tails and Eggman to be worthy mechanical opponents, (although she hates to admit it).

Wave has purple-feathered body with flame-shaped highlights of a darker purple shade on her arms, smoother (than Jet and Storm's), jagged, golden yellow beak with two nostril pits, blue eyes with pink eyelids, two spikes of feathers behind her head that contour and flare out towards the bottom almost to the ground, and tipped in a darker shade of purple, tufted patch of down feathers on her chest and two scissor-shaped feathers tipped in a darker shade of purple to serve as a tail. She wears white gloves with red-accented, sock-like cuffs fastened with tan hoops, red boots with white accents, zipper application, and durable gray heel soles, rather extravagant sunglasses with exaggerated lenses of gold color, white flare trousers with violet flame accents on the bottom of each pant leg, white tube top, a necklace complimented by a large, spherical red gem that actually seems to be a utility device ranging from being able to load data and show it via holographic projection to being a personal alarm clock. She also dons a white bandana that is fastened in a Doo Rag style and seems to apply pink eyeshadow cosmetic.

In the EX World Grand Prix, she beats Amy Rose at Splash Canyon, but is knocked out of the tournament by Tails at Green Cave. Wave uses a Type-W airboard, which is specially designed to fly well, and the red jewel she wears around her neck is actually a small computer capable of playing back media files via holographic projection.

Wave is something of a voice of reason amongst the Rogues, often reminding Jet and Storm of their responsibilities. Wave has something of a rivalry with Tails, in which she scorns the way he made Sonic's Extreme Gear, calls him "Shorty" a number of times, and also "a twerp" in one of her mission reports, though this diminishes by the end of the game. She also partakes in picking on Storm, with one such instance being criticizing his skills on Extreme Gear.

Wave often will not admit when someone has skills, as noted in some of her mission reports, where she either says that she will continue to deny a person's skill or flat-out denies that they have skills. She also believes that if she doesn't take charge, nothing will ever get done, due to the fact that Jet was relaxing when she was worried about where Storm was.

The Japanese manual for Sonic Riders hints that something of a rivalry exists between her and Rouge the Bat. In addition, her profile at "Sonic Channel" states that she likes treasure and mechanical knowledge, and dislikes thick headed people as well as stupid people.

Attacks: Scowl: Wave basically scowls directly into her adversary's face, causing damage and great slow-down.

Wrench/Spanner: Wave strikes her enemies with her giant wrench/spanner tool, inflicting damage and slow-down on the enemy.

Dynamite: Wave places a lit pack of dynamite on her adversary, causing damage and stalling when it detonates.

Just like Tails,Wave is a Flight type in the Sonic Riders series. In Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, her second gear change with her regular Type-W gear is the AIR RIDE.

Zero Gravity: Once more, she uses her brilliant wrench against opponents in Attack Form.

Storm the Albatross
Storm the Albatross (ストーム・ザ・アルバトロス) is a hulking, anthropomorphic albatross and Jet's right hand man. Standing at a height of 140 cm (4ft 7in) and weighing 80kg (176.3lbs), Storm is an imposing sight and powerful force, capable of destroying just about anything. He is 19 years old. Despite being committed to his duties, Storm has a quick temper and his clumsiness constantly succeeds in embarrassing himself and the other Rogues. He also tends to stutter whenever he becomes excited or when he's in distress. He is a rival of Knuckles the Echidna. He also makes a brief appence in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a collectable sticker. He, like all other large characters, shares an appearance that is somewhat like Big the cat and Dr. Robotnik.

Storm has gray-feathered, bulky and lean body with flame-shaped highlights of a darker shade of gray on his wrists, jagged, golden yellow beak with two nostril pits, beady blue eyes with black shading (possibly sclera) surrounding them and red bordering at the edges, three erected spikes of feathers of sticking out from the back of his head, tipped in a darker shade of gray, a very large portion of his torso and abdomen covered by an area of tufted white down feathers that extend to his back and a small, slightly bent bunch of feathers tipped in a darker shade of gray that serve as Storm's tail. He wears tan gloves with large, sock-like cuffs fastened with a dark gray hoop made of metal, black sneakers with white and yellow stripe accented, reinforced by durable gray rubber soles, white socks, small beige goggles with clear lenses, a necklace of obvious tribal design of some sort that is consisted of two strings of brown thread made of material and three pieces of gray metal strung on both threads and a neon pink ring-like object on one of his fingers that allows him to manipulate gravity.

During the EX World Grand Prix, Storm loses to Knuckles at the location "Egg Factory". This defeat is compounded by the fact that just before the match they both tried to fight each other (even though they both end up hitting one of Eggman's race robots during the struggle). Later, under orders from Jet, Storm discovers a page of Dr. Eggman's diary stating that Eggman had deceived the Rogues into believing the treasure within the Babylonian Fortress was a gem.

Storm uses Type-S Extreme Gear, which is capable of keeping balance when smashing through obstacles. However, he seems to be the least skilled of the Rogues, partly because Knuckles easily knocks him off his board in the introduction; in the Babylon Rogues story, he falls off his board when meeting Jet and Wave after stealing Eggman's diary entry.

Storm is very loyal to Jet, and believes his loyalty is greater than anyone else's. Because of this, he is always ready for an assignment. He also tends to become destructive when Jet is angry. Storm's profile on "Sonic Channel" actually lists pancakes as one of his "favorite things". He dislikes new rivals to the Rogues.

Attacks: Hand Clap: Storm claps both of his huge hands in his opponents' faces in order to shock an opponent, stall them and inflict damage.

Hand Slap: Storm uses his hands to punch opponents away from him, knocking them off balance and inflicting damage and slowdown.

Hammer Punch: Storm follows through with a powerful punch upon unsuspecting opponents, stunning them and causing damage and considerable slow-down.

Zero Gravity: Squeeze of Death - Storm uses his hands to shock opponents and he squeezes the opponents face until they're as flat as the floor!

Stolen
Virtually nothing is known about Stolen, except he was the 13th Leader of the Babylon Rogues. He is said to be the creator of Extreme Gear, "Magic Carpet" being his first. He was the writer of the note found along with Magic Carpet inside the Babylonian Fortress.

Jet's Father
Jet mentions that he inherited his mysterious Control Box from his father. A painting of a hawk resembling Jet wearing an admiral's uniform, is hanging in his office (or used to be, until Storm slammed the door shut and sent it falling onto Jet's head), most likely depicting his father.

Wave's Father/Mother
Same as Stolen and Jet's father, almost nothing is known about him/her besides that he/she was the mechanic of the previous generation of Babylon Rogues.

Archie Sonic Comic
The Babylon Rogues appear in the Archie Sonic Comic in issues #163 and #164. They appear in a backup story that is an adaptation of Sonic Riders like the previous issues' Sonic Rush adaptation. Their part begins when Jet is riding his extreme gear while being chased by robots after stealing something to boost his Gear from Eggman. He is captured and Eggman is intrigued by his speed. He offers Jet the chance to live if he is able to defeat Sonic. Jet agrees if he can bring along some friends—Wave and Storm. They enter Knothole and activate the security system to lure Sonic to them. When he arrives they attack him with Jet using speed, Wave using her technical gear skills, and Storm using brute strength. Despite Sonic's speed, being outnumbered and attacked by enemies using Extreme Gear proved too much for him to handle.

Sonic was sent home to Tails' house and he explained how he gotten beat up. Knuckles jokes around with Sonic for a minute, before Tails comes in holding their brand new Extreme Gear. As the Babylon Rogues are going to enter Knothole City, Sonic and friends come to stop them. After a few healthy insults, they began to race. Storm fought Knuckles, to which Storm admitted that Knuckles was as strong as himself. Tails fought Wave, who made fun of the young fox's airboard. Finally, Jet and Sonic faced off, speed against speed.

Sonic Rivals Series
The three Babylon Rogues also make a cameo appearance in the Sonic Rivals Series, each as their own respective collectable cards.

Trivia

 * Wave is the only Rogue whose voice actress isn't the same as her rivals.
 * Also, in Sonic Heroes, there is an "Egg Hawk" and an "Egg Albatross", but no "Egg Swallow".
 * A running gag with the Rogues is that Storm always comes into the main room in a hurry, and something unexpected happens shortly.
 * The colors of the Babylon Rogues and Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles are the same colors of the Chaos Emeralds, save for the Cyan Emerald.
 * Each English language voice actor for the Babylon Rogues have voiced at least one character before the Babylon Rogues debuted in Sonic Riders (Jason Anthony Griffith = Sonic; Bella Hudson = Blaze the Cat; Dan Green = Knuckles).
 * Strangely, in all the In-game cutscenes for Sonic Riders and its sequel, The Rouges all have teeth even though they are birds.