Whisper the Wolf

Whisper the Wolf is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by IDW Publishing. She is a heroic anthropomorphic wolf and an enigmatic soldier who supports the Resistance, the Restoration, and their allies. She is aided in her efforts by her own personal team of Wisps.

Concept and creation
Whisper was conceptualized by writer Ian Flynn, while artist Evan Stanley took care of the character's design.

Whisper's overall design is derived from one of the many models the female wolf Avatar from Sonic Forces could assume. Whisper's early designs were somewhat different than the final version however. For example, she had blue hair and fur. She also had a more ostentatious costume and she did not originally have her iconic mask.

Whisper's mask is inspired by Japanese Kabuki masks. The idea for her mask came from the Kabuki mask Costume piece that the Avatar could wear in Sonic Forces (which was one of Evan Stanley's favorite Costume pieces), and Stanley thought a similar mask would fit Whisper's personality. After seeing the mask concept, Ian Flynn had the idea of making it a sniper scope and a Wisp communication device, which instantly clicked.

The reason why Whisper's eyes always appear closed is for expressing her emotions. In comics and animation, eyes that can see while appearing closed can be short hand for a few things, including indicating that a character is wise, that they are constantly keeping a close eye on everything, or that a character is dealing with a lot of emotional pain. And all of those are kind of true for Whisper. Plus, when she does open her eye, it lets the reader know that what she is looking at is very important.

Appearance
Whisper is an anthropomorphic wolf with brown skin and biscotti fur. She also has thick black eyelashes and cloudy white fur around her eyes that resemble a mask. Her eyes are cadet blue, although they are often closed to the point of squinting. She wears light gray eyeshadow and has a long, bushy tail which ends in several tufts of fur sticking out in various directions. She also has long pointed ears and quite long hair that she keeps tied at the back with a black hair tie, save for a long, thick hair bang that covers her right eye. Her fangs protrude from her mouth which is often in a natural frown. For attire, Whisper wears a cream colored tube top, light gray leggings, and a dark gray cloak, in which she keeps six Wisp canisters. The cloak also has black and dark gray pockets seen on the shoulders.

Whisper wears an outfit geared towards combat. This include dark gray arm sleeves with black elbow pads, dark gray and light gray gloves with visible claws, and dark gray knee sleeves and black knee pads. She sports military-fashioned black, dark gray, and light gray boots. She can sometimes be seen wearing her cat-like ornate mask scope, which is cream, dark gray and light gray in color. Three holes are seen at the right side of the mask and a blue "eye" on the left side.

Past
Whisper used to be part of a team called the Diamond Cutters. They were eventually attacked by one of the members named Mimic after he betrayed the team and aligned himself with Dr. Eggman. He managed to kill the entire team except for Whisper but this was unknown to him.

The Eggman War
During the war against Dr. Eggman, Whisper aided the Resistance from the shadows, often turning the tides of battle and saving the lives of many soldiers of the Resistance, including Silver the Hedgehog. Despite her heroic efforts however, she never joined the Resistance or revealed herself to them, as she preferred to work alone. Because of this, she gained a reputation amongst the Resistance soldiers, and became known as the legendary "Guardian Angel of the Battlefield".

The Fate of Dr. Eggman
One month after the end of the Eggman War, Whisper infiltrated one of Eggman's bases at the same time as Sonic did for reasons unknown, and secretly assisted the hedgehog from the shadows. First, she jammed a security gate before it closed on him, and afterward, she took out a giant Spina that Sonic and Silver failed to notice. Afterward, she tried to break through the sealed door into the base's computer room with her Variable Wispon, using several of its modes to no avail. Sonic and Silver soon arrived and attempted to make contact with her. Startled by Silver's overbearing greeting, she retreated to the rafters using her Wispon. After Sonic apologized and introduced himself, her Wisps emerged and greeted Sonic. Reassured by Sonic's approach and her Wisps' warm response to him, she hesitantly emerged, removed her mask, and introduced herself as "Whisper" (which Silver mistakenly took for a request).

With all three of them joining forces, Silver opened the security gate, revealing E-107 Theta and a host of Spinas on the other side, which Whisper engaged along with Sonic and Silver. Using her Wispon, Whisper repositioned herself on a perch during the battle and zapped Theta with a laser to little effect. Theta returned fire, obliterating her perch and sending her crashing to the ground. Trapped beneath a pile of scrap, Whisper was helpless against an onslaught of encroaching Spina. However, her Wisps emerged, eager to defend her, but Silver intervened before they could do anything by freezing the Badniks and launching them into a wave of missiles launched by Theta. Silver then freed her from the rubble and helped her to her feet. In reference to her Wisps, he commented that she had built quite a team, and that he would be honored to be part of it. Whisper replied with a bashfully "Maybe".

As the heroes regrouped, Whisper spotted a Eggman computer terminal. Enraged, she tried to smash it with her Wispon. When Sonic frantically asked her to wait until they secured the vital intel stored in it, she took it quite harshly. Agreeing to stand down, she affixed mask, and withdrew into the background as Sonic and Silver warned the Resistance of Neo Metal Sonic's true plans.

Battle For Angel Island
Whisper was soon after brought to Resistance HQ. There, she and the Resistance's other allies were informed that the Resistance needed their help to liberate Angel Island, which had been conquered by Neo Metal Sonic and turned into a flying fortress. To make matters worse, Neo had also secured the Master Emerald for himself on the island. Eventually, Whisper was assigned to help two of the assembled group's factions with breaking the Egg Fleet's control over Angel Island while Sonic and Knuckles confronted Neo.

On the voyage to Angel Island, Sonic thanked Whisper for aiding them despite her aversion of crowds and asked her to stay safe during the battle. She affirmed and reciprocated his sentiments before he left to give her space. While tinkering with her Variable Wispon though, Whisper gave Shadow, who had come along on this mission for his own reasons, an angry glare. Later, when their ship approached Angel Island, the Egg Fleet shot it down. Fortunately, Whisper and her allies got off the ship before it crashed. Landing then on Angel Island, Whisper and Tangle were assigned to protect Tails while the fox cub did "something smart". Soon after, Whisper was locked in heavy combat. Eventually, Whisper covered for Tangle when she had to redirect an Egg Fleet vessel's cannon. Using some prisms to redirect her Variable Wispon's laser when some Spinas attacked, Whisper was able to take all the Spinas out. When the Resistance later took out the last wing unit that had been attached to Angel Island's shoreline, Whisper used her Variable Wispon's Hover Mode to regroup with the others on an Egg Fleet battleship that Tails had secured.

In the meantime, Neo Metal Sonic harnessed Sonic and Shadow's bio-data in addition to the power of the Master Emerald to transform into Master Overlord. As he captured Sonic, Knuckles and Shadow and moved closer to the Egg Fleet battleship, Amy ordered Whisper and the team to move in for a full-on assault. When Sonic then distracted Master Overlord by mocking him, Whisper shot Master Overlord in the face with her Variable Wispon. On Master Overlord's body, Whisper worked with Rouge to damage Master Overlord's wings. Master Overlord soon had enough though, and shook the Resistance members off of him, only for Silver save everyone with his psychokinesis. Soon after, Knuckles managed to remove the Master Emerald from Master Overlord, and restored the Master Emerald to its rightful place. Silver then brought everyone down on Angel Island. Without the Master Emerald, Metal Sonic was out of commission. On the ground while Whisper played with her Wisps, Silver and Blaze thanked her for her aid.

As everyone got ready to leave the island, Whisper found friendship with Tangle. When Sonic came by to talk to them, Sonic asked Whisper if she was able to make any friends. Tangle tried to confirm this by urging Whisper to tell the joke about a toaster she told her earlier. Whisper instead shyly put her mask scope back on, leaving Tangle to wonder if this was due to something she said. As Sonic took off, he apologized to Whisper.

Bonds of Friendship
Whisper later came to Spiral Hill Village to visit Tangle, which pleased the lemur very much. Tangle thus gave Whisper a tour of the town, including places like the salon and the bakery, where Whisper bought and ate a croissant. Tangle then brought Whisper to the Mineral Museum to meet her best friend, Jewel the Beetle. There, Tangle introduced Whisper and Jewel to each other, telling Whisper that she and Jewel grew up together. Jewel then explained to Whisper that Tangle collected many items during her adventures which Jewel used to curate her museum. Soon though, the sky started to go dark outside. Whisper immediately after pulled out her Variable Wispon as she had heard a scream come from outside. A moment afterward, the Babylon Rogues broke into the museum and began stealing everything. After Storm accidentally kidnapped Jewel however, Whisper and Tangle began pursuing the Babylon Rogues after they retreated to their blimp. Through collaborative efforts, Tangle and Whisper managed to get onboard the Babylon Rogues' blimp. There, they confronted the Babylon Rogues and demanded Jewel to be handed over. As Jet and Wave argued over how to deal with their hostage situation though, Tangle secretly took their stolen loot back. When Storm then ended up throwing Jewel out of the blimp, Whisper jumped out of the blimp, with Tangle soon joining her. On the way down, Whisper hanged onto an injured Jewel while Tangle hanged onto her. Whisper then used her Variable Wispon's Hover Mode to gently lower them down. Afterward, Whisper helped her friends restore the Mineral Museum and its exhibits. There, she fist bumped with Tangle after the latter thanked her for her aid.

Tangle & Whisper
Whisper soon found out that Sonic was apparently causing trouble in various places and was thus being targeted. When she found Sonic, he revealed himself to actually be Mimic. The shapeshifter was targeting Whisper as "he" had found out that she was not killed along with the other Diamond Cutters. Whisper overpowered Mimic and tracked him to Spiral Hill Village where she suspected he was targeting Tangle. Whisper failed to shoot Mimic on the ground so she took to the rooftops with her Variable Wispon's Hover Mode while ignoring Tangle, who wanted an explanation. There, she activated her Variable Wispon's Spikes Mode. However, she was unable to shoot Mimic as he talked to a villager in his Sonic form so that she could stand in the way of Whisper's shot. Whisper angrily moved to another rooftop and took aim at the shapeshifter, only for him to shoot her a sinister look. Whisper was almost immediately after tackled by Tangle. She kicked her off but the lemur reluctantly persisted in fighting her. Tangle managed to snatch Whisper's mask scope off of her and believed she had stopped Dr. Eggman's "mind control". The annoyed Whisper told Tangle that she was not being mind controlled and that the person she was shooting at was not Sonic. Taking her mask scope back and pressing a few buttons on it, Whisper put her mask scope on Tangle to show an earlier discussion between her and the fake Sonic. Not wanting to reveal anything about him in public, Whisper had Tangle lead her back to the Mineral Museum. There, Whisper explained to Tangle and Jewel that Mimic was a mercenary shapeshifter who had recently taken on the form of Sonic to wreak havoc and was potentially targeting Tangle, as well as others. Jewel noted this was a perfect opportunity to join Whisper in her hunt for Mimic so that Tangle could have an adventure. Whisper initially refused Tangle's help but she was soon convinced by her Wisps, especially the Blue Wisp, to allow Tangle to join her. Not too long after, the trio heard a "thunk" at the door and discovered a note that told Whisper to meet Mimic so that they could end things once and for all.

Whisper and Tangle soon arrived at an abandoned Eggman Empire bunker. Whisper tried to scan the inside with her mask scope but to no avail. She was interrupted by Tangle pretending to sneak around loudly and shushed her. She told Tangle that there was no activity on the outside and she could not scan the inside, meaning they were walking blindly into Mimic's trap. Tangle believed that they could handle him since they outnumbered him but realized that Mimic still had the hom advantage. After Whisper confirmed that she wanted to fight Mimic sooner than later, Tangle told her that they would be careful and asked her to stop worrying as much. Tangle then asked if Whisper had a history with Mimic, to which she confirms and then told her to be alert as Mimic is dangerous and manipulative. The duo went to the back entrance of the bunker and began to sneak around. Tangle decided to quicken their pace by searching for Mimic at a higher point, which slightly annoyed Whisper. As she progressed, she heard what appeared to be Jewel's voice. Whisper continued to sneak around until she met up with Tangle again. When she asked for proof that she was the real Tangle, the latter showed her a cut on her shirt and claimed that Mimic had shapeshifted into Jewel to draw her out and tried to swipe at her. Tangle then hurriedly had Whisper follow her around a corner to where Mimic had run off to. Whisper followed but was nearly hit by an Egg Hammer wielding a wrecking ball. Tangle, who was actually Mimic, told Whisper that he could both replicate clothing and make it look damaged. Whisper struggled to fight the Egg Hammer but soon held her own once she put her mask scope back on. She managed to destroy the Egg Hammer using her Variable Wispon's Rocket Mode and quickly turned her attention to Mimic. The shapeshifter threw a bomb at her, which she dodged, and tried to shoot at her with his laser gun. Whisper managed to shoot the gun out of Mimic's hand and stood over him, demanding to know where Tangle was. Mimic instead taunted Whisper by shapeshifting into the other members of the Diamond Cutters, claiming that she was not there to protect them. Whisper was slightly caught off guard but persisted, leaving Mimic to tell her that Tangle was locked in a safe with little air left. He also revealed that there were bombs set to detonate in the bunker quite soon.

Met with an ultimatum, Whisper set off to find the safe. Once she found it, she used the Spikes Mode on her Variable Wispon to open it. Tangle tumbled out and Whisper quickly let her know that the bunker was about to explode. As the bombs started to set off, Tangle pushed Whisper into the safe and closed the door behind the two of them. The facility was completely destroyed but the safe remained unscathed. After the girls exited the safe, Whisper told Tangle to go home. As Tangle protested against this decision, Whisper snapped and exclaimed that she would not and could not lose another friend. She went to solemnly sit down on the safe, with Tangle following and asking her to tell her about her past. Whisper wiped her face and agreed to tell her everything.

Personality
Whisper is a rather mysterious individual who shows a rather quiet and withdrawn personality. Very soft-spoken, she speaks infrequently and in a very low volume, and rarely utters no more than a few words at a time. It is heavily implied that she has experienced some past trauma, likely at the hands of Dr. Eggman. When in social situations, Whisper usually exhibits a rather bashful side of herself.

While Whisper is fearful and mistrustful of other people, she exhibits a strong bond with her Wisps that is based on trust and friendship as illustrated by their reception of Sonic persuading her to trust the hedgehog, and the Wisps willingness to stand up to Badniks in order to defend her.

When fighting, Whisper is very focused and determined, preferring to not let her emotions get the better of herself to complete her goals. However, she has shown hints of a greater temperament beneath her calm facade, namely when confronted with something associated with Dr. Eggman.

Whisper is very much a lone wolf. Keeping to herself, she prefers to do her own thing and work on her own rather than cooperating directly with others. This is illustrated by the fact that while she assisted the Resistance during the war, she never actually joined or even revealed herself to them. Despite this, it is shown that she can open up to others if they are nice to her and is willing to join group efforts, like when she joined the Resistance on a mission to liberate Angel Island.

A particular quirk about Whisper is that her eyes are squinting most of the time. She usually only opens them when she gets very angry.

Powers and abilities
Whisper is a capable fighter. During the Eggman Empire-Resistance war, her skills on the battlefield were enough to turn the tide of any battle.

Whisper is an expert marksman and a master of stealth, able to infiltrate areas undetected and hit distant targets with her Variable Wispon without being detected by friends or foes alike. Her natural aptitudes are further enhanced by her unique equipment. She seems to prefer positioning herself on high perches and snipe enemies from a safe distance, but is able to hold her own in melee combat as well.

Equipment and weapons
Whisper's primary tool of choice is the Variable Wispon, a customized Wispon that can utilize the powers of more than just one Wisp, thus giving her more options during battle. Unlike other Wispons however, which were designed to clear out crowds of robots, the Variable Wispon is designed for precision shooting.

Whisper also wears a mask scope that she uses for targeting. It covers her right eye and assists her left eye in aiming. With it, she can make pin-point shots with deadly accuracy. It can also record video and audio and serves as a Wisp communication device.

Whisper also wears a utility cloak over her shoulders. It stores up to six specialized Wisp canister cartridges within it (three on each side). These canisters hold her Wisp allies. Whenever Whisper needs one of their powers, her Wisps will leave their capsules and enter her Variable Wispon. If one Wisp is already occupying the Variable Wispon, they know to switch places.

As support for her Variable Wispon's Laser Mode, Wisper carries around a number of octahedron-shaped prisms. By shooting one of these prisms with her Variable Wispon's laser, she can change her laser's trajectory. She can also throw a bunch of prisms into midair, thereby allowing her lasers to ricochet between each prism and create an offensive laser grid.

Shadow the Hedgehog
It seems that Whisper holds an unknown form of disdain for Shadow the Hedgehog; while traveling together with Shadow, she would give the black hedgehog an angry stare without anyone noticing it. It is currently unknown what the nature of this disdain is.

Silver the Hedgehog
Although Silver the Hedgehog is a big fan of Whisper, their first meeting face-to-face was less than stellar. While Silver was exceptionally eager to meet Whisper, Whisper, being a loner, got scared off by Silver and retreated into the shadows in order to avoid him. Thanks to Sonic's convincing though, Whisper decided to give Silver a chance by teaming up with him to infiltrate Eggman's base. After Silver later helped save Whisper's life and exhibited a respectful desire to be a part of her team, Whisper bashfully replied with a "maybe", showing that she has begun opening up to Silver.

Sonic the Hedgehog
At first, Whisper was against revealing herself to Sonic the Hedgehog, opting to hide in the shadows when he first noticed her. After seeing how Sonic exhibited an understand for her need to be alone and how her Wisps seemed to trust Sonic though, Whisper opened up to Sonic by revealing herself to him and telling him her name. Since then, Whisper has begun to trust Sonic's judgement. Most noticeably, she trusted Sonic enough to come directly to the Resistance's aid for the first time rather than working from the shadows during the battle for Angel Island. Similarly, Sonic is confident in Whisper's skills and is always grateful for her help. As he is understanding of Whisper's shy side, he tends to give her space when necessary.

Tangle the Lemur
Whisper and Tangle are quite the polar opposites. Where Tangle is loud and excitable, Whisper is quiet and reserved. Nevertheless, they appear to enjoy each other's company. Whisper enjoys Tangle's kind heart and her eagerness to make new friends. Tangle simply enjoys new friends regardless of their personalities and Whisper is no different. She appreciates Whisper's bravery and her initiative to look out for others. Due to her shy nature, Whisper does not like being put on the spot by Tangle, finding it a bit insensitive on her side. She also prefers it when Tangle does not invade her personal space with hugging.

Whisper's Wisps
Whisper has her own team of Wisp companions that consists of a Blue, Cyan, Green, Orange and Pink Wisp, whom she uses to power her Variable Wispon. According to Silver, they make "quite a team".

Despite their role as fuel for Whisper's weapon, Whisper's Wisps treat Whisper as a friend and care much for her. In fact, they are so devoted to her that they were filling to defend her on their own when she was at the mercy of some Badniks. Whisper likewise seems to trust her Wisps, enough for her to come out of the shadows when they deemed Sonic the Hedgehog a worthy ally. She is also shown caressing them on a few occasions.

Mimic
At some point in the past, Whisper considered Mimic to be her ally. However, after Mimic aligned himself with Dr. Eggman, Whisper has not trusted or forgiven him since. As Mimic has no remorse for what he did to their teammates, he and Whisper have been at odds for a long time.

Friends/allies

 * Amy Rose
 * Blaze the Cat
 * Chaotix
 * Charmy Bee
 * Espio the Chameleon
 * Vector the Crocodile
 * Jewel the Beetle
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Rouge the Bat
 * Shadow the Hedgehog
 * Silver the Hedgehog
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Tangle the Lemur
 * Wisps

Enemies

 * Babylon Rogues
 * Eggman Empire
 * Dr. Eggman
 * Metal Sonic
 * Mimic

Trivia

 * Whisper was first revealed at the Sonic the Hedgehog's Way Past Cool Panel at SDCC 2018 on 19 July 2018.
 * Whisper's name is based on her quiet personality and because she usually whispers. It could also be a play on the Wisps, due to her friendship with them and how she obtains a Variable Wispon.