Walter Naugus

Ixis Naugus is a fictional famed sorcerer who appeared in the Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon series (known as "SatAM" by fans), and is a recurring character in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book published by Archie Comics. Ixis Naugus was known for discovering the mysterious Void.

Naugus' appearance is mostly humanoid, though his body is covered with a coat of peach-colored fur. His right hand is completely normal, but his left resembles a lobster claw, though both are covered by grey gloves. These are matched by a pair of boots, and Naugus' wardrobe also includes a black cape and a plain suit underneath-this has been shown to be blue on some occasions and purple on others. Other indications of Naugus' non-human nature are the horn sprouting from the top of his head and his large, pointed ears. His species is never specifically stated in "SatAM", but the comics name him as an anthropomorphic hybrid of bat, lobster, and rhinoceros.

Sonic the Hedgehog ("SatAM")
After Naugus discovered the Void, he was trapped inside it by Dr. Robotnik while exploring (Robotnik's fear of reprisal for this treachery leading to Naugus being one of the few characters in SatAM the dictator was visibly fearful of), later to be joined by the former ruler of Mobius, King Acorn. Eager to escape and seek his vengeance, he sought the help of Sonic and Princess Sally, leaders of the Freedom Fighters. He managed a brief escape from the Void by using his ability to transform himself to make himself look like the king, tricking Sonic into freeing him, and attacked Robotnik with his magic. Unfortunately for Naugus, he proved unable to remain outside the Void for long, his body having acclimated so much to it that he began to turn to crystal soon after leaving it, forcing him to return.

In the cancelled third season of "SatAM", Naugus would have returned and become the show's most prominent villain, forcing Robotnik and King Acorn to serve as his minions and reducing Snively Kintobor to a more pathetic lackey than he had been previously. However, this plot never went through, though the pair of red eyes seen looking out from Snively's escape pod in the finale is revealed to have been Naugus' &mdash; a number of fans believed that they were instead the cameo of some new villain, such as Metal Sonic or Knuckles the Echidna. It is interesting to note, however, that the fans' beliefs were quite feasible given that as the red eyes peer out of the darkness they showed features more similar to Sonic's design (the two eyes being connected at the centre at first and then separated by a silhouette of an implied nose which rises from beneath as Sonic's occasionally did when he was seen directly from the front) as opposed to Naugus' (who's eyes are set apart and smaller). He was voiced by Michael Bell.

The Past
In the comics, Ixis is the creator of the parallel dimension, the Zone of Silence. Here, he is actually the fusion of three separate beings, sorcerers and the last surviving members of the occult Order of Ixis (except for its founder, Mammoth Mogul) after the group was decimated in their secret war with the Albion Knights of Aurora. Their names were all anagrams of "Naugus": the rhino Agunus, master of earth; the bat Nusgau, master of wind; and the lobster Suguna, master of water. The three wizards sought to harness the powers of the Days of Fury, but were unable to learn the mystery of those events (it was later revealed to be the work of the Xorda). Instead, they sought to claim mastery over the one element that had eluded them all: fire. Each had shared some of his mastery of the other elements with the others, but each had treacherously held back knowledge in order to hold the advantage over the others.

While attempting to gain mastery of fire, the three wizards sought to launch themselves into the sun that they might gain the ability to use fire from the source of the element. Not at all eager to share power, each tried to overcome the others with their own elemental mastery, but all three ended up falling into the sun and becoming fused together. Agunus, Nusgau, and Suguna ceased to be; in their place was Ixis Naugus.

Naugus became the court wizard of the Kingdom of Acorn, appointed by King Frederick Acorn, but his position became little more than ceremonial upon the arrival of Nate Morgan. Desperate to hold on to his power as magic became superfluous in the face of advancing technology, Naugus formed an alliance with Warlord Kodos. Thanks to their deceptions, Nate was forced into exile. However, Naugus was himself imprisoned in his own Zone by Dr. Robotnik.

Escapes
Ixis would later escape from the Zone of Silence after years of being imprisoned, with his servants Kodos, Feist-whom Naugus defeated using his magic-and Uma Arachnis. Though he was defeated and his minions were imprisoned in Devil's Gulag upon his return to Mobius, Ixis would later return by mind-controlling King Acorn, whose body was turning into crystal due to his own tenure in the Zone. This effort failed when Sonic used the Sword of Acorns to break Naugus' spell, and Ixis escaped again, leading Sonic and Tails to go on a mission to hunt him down and bring him to justice. They eventually tracked Naugus to the southern tundras of Mobius, where they met Nate Morgan and Eddie the Yeti.

Naugus revealed his plan to absorb all of the Power Rings that Morgan had created, and when he made the attempt, he, Sonic, and Tails were empowered in a climactic faceoff. The battle resulted in Eddie sacrificing himself, and Naugus being sealed back into the Zone by Nate making a wish on a personal Power Ring contained in his eyepiece. Sonic would later revisit the site of this battle, only to accidentally release Naugus again. Sonic defeated him, and Ixis remained absent until his servants, the Arachne, used the Sword of Acorns to release him from his prison.

Alliance with Mammoth Mogul
Possessing the Sword of Acorns, Naugus went to Knothole Village and battled Mammoth Mogul for the Crown of Acorns. After learning that Mogul was the leader of the original Ixis society, he gave Mammoth Mogul the Sword of Acorns and became his right hand man. As a result, Ixis became second-in-command of a force consisting of his Arachne, Mogul's Destructix, and the two wizards themselves. Despite the powers of Naugus and his allies, the artifacts of Acorn were destroyed.

Naugus, Mogul, and the others then came under fire from the Egg Fleet, and were transported to Dr. Eggman's Egg Grape Chamber. According to the reports of Rouge the Bat, he later escaped with Mogul, abandoning the Destructix and the Arachne. It is possible that he was released by A.D.A.M., though this has not been confirmed and he could have just been liberated by Mogul after the other wizard was freed by A.D.A.M. in exchange for his Chaos Emerald. In addition, perhaps unbeknownst to Naugus, his former ally Feist has taken his place as ruler of the Zone of Silence, fusing all the Chaos Emeralds transported there by Super Sonic, Turbo Tails, and Super Shadow into seven more powerful gems.

As a result of his partnership with Mogul, Naugus apparently lost his elemental abilities, replacing them with powerful shadow magic. Unfortunately, he also appears to have been reduced to little more than dumb muscle, possibly as a result of his imprisonment in the Egg Grape Chamber. Despite this, he was defeated by the Freedom Fighters after being lured into a trap by Rouge the Bat, who claimed to have stolen the Master Emerald. Along with his master, Nack the Weasel, Bean the Dynamite, and Bark the Polar Bear, he was then placed in prison. This group, along with almost all the inhabitants of Knothole, were then captured by Eggman and transported to the Egg Grape Chamber, though a swift rescue mission mounted by the survivors of the attack resulted in their liberation before any further harm could be done. Transported to the city of New Mobotropolis, Naugus and his master-together with Naugus' new fellow underlings Nack, Bean, and Bark-didn't enjoy freedom long, as NICOLE transported all of them to a new prison within the city. He and the others were soon witness to a long-in-the-making confrontation between Sonic and Tails, though unlike his fellow prisoners the former Lord of Ixis had no commentary to offer.

Personality
Greedy beyond belief, Ixis Naugus is willing to go to any lengths to increase his own power. Incredibly vengeful, he never forgets being offended, and does his best to pay those who have done so back. Naugus is also partly if not completely insane, making him a dangerous and unpredictable opponent. His mental state has also made him relatively fearless, allowing him to insult his lessers or betters without qualm. As with many villains, he sees his minions only as pawns to use in his various schemes. Following his escape from the Egg Grape Chamber, he has seemingly been robbed of his intelligence.

Abilities
Naugus commands all four of the classical elements; earth, air, fire and water. His greatest desire is to take control of the unique 'fifth element' of Mobius; the Power Ring. While in the Zone of Silence, he gained a magic wand that allowed him to turn his minions into crystalline beings to protect them from the Zone's effects and increased their abilities, but this object was later shattered by Sonic. Naugus could also control individuals who let their negative emotions go too strongly, such as he did to King Acorn; he could also strengthen such emotions, which allowed him to turn Mobians and Robians against each other briefly

As well as these specific capabilities, Naugus is a powerful wielder of Ixian Magic, second only to Mammoth Mogul, though the full range of effects that can be achieved through the use of these disciplines remain to be seen. It is known, however, that he is-or was-capable of altering his body's makeup into that of an elemental being, which he used to turn into a living cloud, living snow, living fire, and even living rock, all of which he used against Sonic, Tails, and Nate Morgan. Mastery of air also allowed him to create a vacuum, sucking the oxygen out of the air around his opponents. Naugus also had enhanced physical attributes derived from his hybrid body. Naugus is also omnipotent while inside the Zone of Silence, but anywhere else his powers are dramatically decreased. For all of that, he is still a powerful opponent.

After being infused with a large amount of Power Rings, Ixis Naugus achieved a power level akin to that of a Super transformation. However, no name was given for this form, and it was only temporary. Since then, he has never assumed such level of power again.

Since joining up with Mammoth Mogul, Naugus appears to have gained new magical abilities, including the Shadow-Meld power that allows him to disappear and reappear at will. These do not appear to be as formidable as his normal elemental magic, since using them he was defeated easily by the Freedom Fighters.

In "SatAM", he was also shown having the ability to transform himself and others, as seen in the episode The Void wherein he changes Robotnik's head into that of a slug, a crow, an ape, and finally a pig. He also transforms himself to look like King Acorn in order to trick Sonic into freeing him from the Void. Naugus also had some abilities of persuasion, making him capable of forcing Sally to tell him about Sonic. Magic allowed Naugus to manipulate matter inside the Void, traditionally summoning structures of crystal such as chairs, buildings, and barriers.

Trivia

 * Due to Mammoth Mogul's revelation of his founding the Order, it has been revealed that Ixis is not in fact Naugus' name, but a title given to the head of the Order.
 * In issue #153, Naugus' character is adapted into the Naugus Rider, a hooded version of himself on horseback, as one of the antagonists in a bedtime story told by Sally Acorn's nannie Rosie. This could be a possible reference to the Nazgûl from The Lord of the Rings.
 * An article on the fansite Sonic HQ depicts a storyline in which Naugus remained trapped in the Zone of Silence. During one of his escapes, he managed to corrupt the Source of All using his magic, thus influencing the House of Acorn away from the destiny in which he would be defeated. He would later attempt to return to Mobius Prime by taking over King Acorn's body, causing it to transform into his own as he got closer to the Source. However, this plot was thwarted when the Crown of Acorns, to which Naugus had a connection, was destroyed. This plot line was only a prototype, and will not likely be acted out in the actual comics.