Tornado

The Tornado (トルネード) is a red vintage-style biplane in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It made its first appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and has since featured in many other Sonic games. The original plane is owned by Sonic himself, but he freely allows Tails to borrow it.

The Tornado is often depicted as a single-seater and is usually piloted by Tails, while Sonic or another character would stand on its wings. The Tornado is also known for appearing towards the end of a game where it usually arrives just in time to save a character from falling to his or her death. It has since become a staple icon of the series. This plane allows Sonic and Tails to travel long distances or high altitudes that Tails and Sonic would not be able to safely get to normally.

Description
The Tornado is 18.7ft in length (5.7m), it has a 12.1ft (3.7m) wingspan, it is 6.9ft (2.1m) in height, its primary engine is a 480HP, 12-Cylinder, air-cooled Twin Star and the secondary engine that is installed by Tails are two custom booster engines. The Tornado's maximum speed is 450km per hour if using the primary engine by itself and an astonishing 340 meters per second if both engines are used at the same time.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2
The Tornado was first introduced to the series in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, under the ownership of Sonic. In the game's Japanese storyline, Sonic flies in it as he was trying to find new adventures after defeating Doctor Robotnik in previous installment. He then discovers island known as Westside Island and decided to land the plane there and relax. He there also meets Tails for the first time.

In the game, Tornado is featured prominently in the Sky Chase Zone. Consisting of only one act with no boss to fight, Sky Chase put the player in control of Sonic (or Tails) as he walked on the wings of the tornado, piloted by Tails (or Sonic if playing as Tails). The Tornado was shot down by lasers while pursuing Dr. Robotnik and his flying battleship, Wing Fortress. It later reappeared, repaired and fitted with a jet engine which enabled it to reach Robotnik's spaceship on his way to the Death Egg. When Robotnik's space station was finally destroyed, Tails flew the plane to Sonic's rescue as he plunged from the sky (or the other way around).

Sonic CD
Directly following Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the plane made only small appearance in Sonic CD, where Tails is seen piloting it at the background in D.A. Garden feature with other characters such as Robotnik with his escape pod, floating Metal Sonic, flying Flickies and Special Stage UFOs.

Sonic Spinball
A plane that may be the Tornado appears in the opening and ending cutscenes of Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball. In the game, it has given slight redesign, mostly even bearing a resemblance to the Tornado 2. Sonic is seen riding on the wing as usual with Tails when it is shot down, depositing him into the waters outside Toxic Caves. Later at the ending, Tails later saves Sonic about falling down while Robotnik falls to the remains of destroyed Veg-O-Fortress.

In the 8-bit version of the game, Tornado is also seen to have altered design as well with slight different shape and color scheme. In the opening, Sonic is seen hanging on Tornado's bottom rope as he infiltrated to fortress from the downward section, which similarly to 16-bit version, leads below through the sea to Toxic Pools.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles
Tornado has been featured in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and add-on continuation Sonic & Knuckles. In the beginning, Sonic and Tails are seen landing on the Angel Island, when they heard about Death Egg being crashed to the island. While Tails lands with Tornado, Sonic on his Super form gets punched by Knuckles the Echidna, who met them for the first time. At the end of Sonic & Knuckles, if the player hasn't got all Chaos Emeralds, Tails is seen catching Sonic from the sky with Tornado without getting Master Emerald, that falls down to the ocean. While getting all emeralds, it is shown to have what is best described as a mechanical arm which catches the Master Emerald, as the Tornado also rescues either one of the three characters (depending on which one was chosen).

In the ending of the Knuckles' story, Sonic with Tornado is seen saving Knuckles from the destruction of the Sky Sanctuary Zone after the duel with him and Super Mecha Sonic. If the player got all Chaos Emeralds with Knuckles, it is shown that Knuckles lands to the Tornado while also holding the Master Emerald, while getting all Super Emeralds, Knuckles in his Hyper form is seen holding Master Emerald on the Tornado's wing. After this, Sonic brings Knuckles and Master Emerald to the Angel Island and leaves the island, which starts flying up or down, depending the if all emeralds are collected or not.

Sonic Triple Trouble
The Tornado then appeared on three Special Stages in Sonic Triple Trouble, where Sonic or Tails has to pilot the biplane and collect certain amount of rings in the sky in order to face Fang the Sniper and then collect one of six Chaos Emeralds. Sonic and Tails are also seen riding on Tornado to the sunset in the game's end credits.

Knuckles' Chaotix
Tornado had made a brief cameo appearance in Knuckles' Chaotix. It appears only in the good ending, and is shown in the background of the credit roll with Sonic on its wings and Tails as the pilot, hovering behind the Chaotix Crew.

Sonic the Fighters
The Tornado then made a very brief appearance in arcade game Sonic the Fighters, where it appeared in the opening clip as Sonic and Tails arrange the tournament to win eight Chaos Emeralds in order to reach to the Death Egg II with Lunar Fox shuttle.

Sonic Adventure
In Sonic Adventure the Tornado got a slight update along with the characters, getting some yellow stripes and getting the jet engine built into the plane itself. It was used to chase down the Egg Carrier in another Sky Chase stage. This Sky Chase was very different from the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 one, as it involved shooting down robotic planes with the Tornado's machine gun and homing missiles instead of controlling Sonic to jump on them. After the stage was completed, the Egg Carrier fired a giant laser which blew off the Tornado's right wings, making it spin out of control and crash. It was apparently repaired as it was seen in the post-credits screen after Tails' playthrough.

Sonic Pocket Adventure
The plane appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure, where it shares its appearance from Sonic Adventure. Sonic lands on to the Tornado's wing after Knuckles punches him to the air while the cavern starts crumbling down. Tornado is in the game featured at another Sky Chase Zone, which much like the other zones played just like the one in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Tails also saves Sonic about falling again with Tornado in the game's normal ending, while in the extra ending Sonic lands on to the Tornado after defeating Eggman's last machine at Chaotic Space Zone. While landing to the biplane's wing, Chaos Emeralds starts rotating around the blue hedgehog and then they vanish after this.

Sonic Advance
Tornado's next appearance is in Sonic Advance, catching the player after finishing a Special Stage and after finishing the game with normal ending without getting all Chaos Emeralds. After finishing the game's extra level Moon Zone, Tails is also seen piloting the Tornado later as he is searching Sonic and discovers Super Sonic flying back to the earth's atmosphere.

Sonic Rush Adventure
In the opening cutscene of Sonic Rush Adventure, Tails and Sonic appear flying during a thunderstorm while searching for an anomaly. The Tornado appears to have been modified to fit two passengers, as Sonic sits behind Tails. The Tornado crashes after being hit by lightning and losing engine power, where it is then sucked into a cyclone and transported to the Sol Dimension. What happened to the Tornado afterwards is unknown, though it was presumably lost at sea following the storm.

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
In Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, Sonic and his party use the Tornado to get around the world. It is also seen at the opening cutscene after heroes defeated Eggman and escaped from destroyed Egg Carrier.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4
The Tornado made return appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II, set sometime after Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles storyline. It also takes place before Sonic Adventure, as it has its original look from earlier games with few slight changes. In the game's opening, Sonic and Tails are seen landing to Sylvania Castle Zone Act 1. Sonic and Tails later used it to chase down Eggman with his slightly damaged Egg Mobile at the beginning of Sky Fortress Zone Act 1 and boss act against Metal Sonic in Metal Carrier. After boss battle, Sonic and Tails again lands to the damaged Sky Fortress and start chasing after Eggman and Metal Sonic to the Death Egg Mk.II.

Sonic and Tails are also seen flying on Tornado at the end of Episode Metal, which makes Metal Sonic go chase them with Tails' Rocket. The second player is able to control Tails on the Tornado in Sky Fortress Zone Act 1 and boss act with against Metal Sonic in Metal Carrier. During both of these acts, Tails may start boosting with Tornado while Sonic is hanging on the wing.

Sonic Lost World
In Sonic Lost World, the Tornado will appear with a slight redesign, appearing closer to its original incarnation while having sleeker edges.

Tornado 2
During Sonic Adventure the Tornado gets shot down by the laser cannon of Dr. Eggman's Egg Carrier. After this accident, Tails headed back to his workshop and finishes the construction of his new blue-tinted experimental biplane, the Tornado 2. Unlike the original Tornado, it required a Chaos Emerald to function. Tornado 2 has been also capable of folding its wings into an X-shape to reach extreme speeds.

Tornado 2 has been frequently used and has made later appearances in Sonic Heroes, Sonic Advance 3, Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Riders.

Cyclone
In Sonic Adventure 2, Tails has built a another Tornado plane similar to the Tornado 2, that is named the Cyclone, although it has the writing "P-3a" and "Tornado III" on it. Unlike the previous Tornadoes, it is a monoplane, and carries a large missile launcher behind the single seat. Most notably, the Cyclone can also transform into a walker mode and a car mode. In the game's storyline, it is seen at its normal plane mode as well. The walker was Tails' main mode of transportation and offense in the game.

Tornado-1
In Sonic Unleashed, Tails offers Sonic the use of his Tornado-1, although this is not to be confused with the original Tornado. It is a newly-built Tornado plane with a more futuristic design. This plane has writing that reads "Tornado 03" near the rear, which can be seen when it transforms during both of the Tornado Defense Acts of the 360/PS3 version. The Tornado-1 also combines features of previous Tornado incarnations: the red paint job and outward construction of the original Tornado, the ability to transform into an X-shape like the Tornado 2, and the homing missiles found on the Cyclone. Tornado-1 has later made appearances in Sonic Generations and Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

Tornado Racer
In Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, Tails built a land based version of the Tornado called Tornado Racer, that is capable of making fast turns with its short wing span. It was built with parts found after an attempted invasion by Dr. Eggman. It has a special move called the Tails Tornado capable of removing other vehicles and items on the path in front of him by summoning a miniature cyclone.

The Tornado Racer's engine output most likely was limited on purpose by Tails as if it were faster it would fly like a normal plane. The Tornado Racer has enough speed to hover over the ground, so its power was limited just enough, also if it gets launched off of a hill, it has a very slow descent suggesting its capabilities of flight. Also during Tails' Tornado, the Tornado Racer flies in the air along with the tornado that the move creates.

Sonic the Comic
The Tornado also appears in Sonic the Comic, and again plays the same role from the games. It was originally kept in a hangar in Sonic's Secret Underground Base, and used by Sonic and Tails to reach distant areas like the Wing Fortress Zone, Oil Ocean Zone, Hill Top Zone, and the Floating Island. When the base was discovered by Doctor Robotnik, the Freedom Fighters took the Tornado with them when they started going in disguise as Bob Beaky's Travelling Circus. They often towed the plane behind the caravan, hidden under a tarpaulin. The Tornado was eventually destroyed, along with the caravan, when Super Sonic went berserk and attacked his own teammates, leading Sonic to (temporarily) believe that he had killed his friends.

Following Robotnik's defeat, Tails acquired a new, apparently identical bi-plane, which he and Sonic used to travel to Flickies' Island.

Archie Comics
The Tornado has appeared in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series, in which it plays the same role as in the games. There was one bi-plane that was used early in the Archie series similar to the Tornado, called the "Winged Victory", but it was later stolen by Warlord Kodos and Uma Arachnis. Its location is currently unknown, but it is presumed destroyed.

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie
In Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie, Sonic and Tails used Tornado as their biplane as travelling around the Planet Freedom. On their home, they have large airfield for the Tornado. They used it to enter the Land of Darkness, where it crashes after getting through the entering hole on dark thunder clouds. Tails and Knuckles later somehow get it back to home, where it is repaired and used to go to the frozen icecaps where Sonic and Metal Sonic are fighting. After arriving, the Tornado is destroyed by a rabbit-shaped missile fired by Robotnik. It can be noted, that Tails uses a his own pilot helmet in the movie while piloting the Tornado.

Sonic X
The original Tornado appeared only briefly in the anime series Sonic X in one of Tails' flashbacks in episode 18, which also tells Sonic and Tails' first meeting. When Tails sees the biplane alone, Tails refitted and repainted it. When Sonic sees Tails' doing, he says liking the new colors for Tornado, which is now called Tornado 2, that is commonly used in the series.

Trivia

 * The original Tornado was Sonic's plane. It is unknown who built it, although all subsequent Tornado machines are created and owned by Tails.
 * When the Tornado appears at the end of Wing Fortress Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, it has a large jet engine attached to the underside, but this engine is gone in the game's ending. The engine is back at the beginning of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and it reappears consistently in Sonic & Knuckles and Knuckles' Chaotix.
 * Inside the game's coding can be found unused in-game sprites of Tails piloting Tornado along with unused Super Sonic sprites from Knuckles' Chaotix. This can be imply that, Sonic and Tails could be involved somehow in the game's plot.
 * In real life, there have been several aircraft with the name "Tornado": a variable wing fighter/bomber/electronic warfare aircraft series called the Panavia Tornado, a 1940's fighter prototype called the Hawker Tornado, and an early jet bomber called the B-45 Tornado.
 * The original Tornado's design doesn't seem to come from a specific aircraft; however, following its redesign from Sonic Adventure onwards, the Tornado 2 bears a striking resemblance to the Polikarpov I-153, a 1930s Soviet biplane fighter.
 * At the end of Sonic & Knuckles, the Tornado is shown with "Sonic" written in reverse due to it facing the opposite way it usually is. This is because the sprite is simply flipped horizontally, instead of entirely new sprite being created.
 * "Wing walking" is an actual stunt that is historically associated with biplanes.
 * Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), and Sonic Colors are the only 3D main series games in which the Tornado doesn't make an appearance. Sonic the Hedgehog (1991), Sonic Chaos, Sonic 3D, Sonic Advance 2, and Sonic Rush are the only 2D series games where it doesn't appear either.
 * In the Archie Comics, the blue Tornado 2 appears in the Sonic Rush Adventure comic adaption, while the game version features the original red Tornado.