Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog (ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ) is a supersonic hedgehog that can run at faster than the speed of sound (hence the name Sonic) and loves adventure. He acknowledges the fact that our Earth is just as cool and blue as he is. He is 15 years old, stands at 100 centimeters (3 ft 3 in), weighs 35 kilograms (77 lbs) and was born on Christmas Island. Artist Naoto Ōshima, designer Hirokazu Yasuhara and programmer Yuji Naka are generally credited with the creation of the character, a blue-furred, peach-skinned, green-eyed 15-year-old anthropomorphic African pygmy hedgehog, who has the ability to run faster than Mach 1 and the ability curl up into a ball, primarily to attack enemies. This is a major part of the gameplay of the series.

Sonic seems to have a holy or avatar-like position (despite, on most occasions, being unaware about his involvement in the future of the world he's saving), as many of his adventures in the series coincide with the fulfillment of ancient prophecies, specifically his involvement in echidna legends (such as: the mural on Angel Island that depicts Super Sonic fighting Eggman for the Master Emerald).

Voice acting
The earliest voice of Sonic was Takeshi Kusao in the game SegaSonic the Hedgehog, a June 1993 arcade release starring Sonic the Hedgehog, Mighty the Armadillo, and Ray the Flying Squirrel.

Sonic CD featured brief dialogue.

In September 1993, DiC Entertainment cast Jaleel White, more popularly known as portraying the character of Steve Urkel, as Sonic in their simultaneously released shows Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM) and Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. White would later be cast as Sonic for DiC's 1999 show Sonic Underground.

In 1996, when the Sonic the Hedgehog OAV was produced in Japan, Sonic was voiced by Masami Kikuchi. The 1999 English-language dub featured Martin Burke in Sonic's role.

Starting with the 1998 game Sonic Adventure, all of Sonic's video games feature voice acting. Sonic was played by Junichi Kanemaru, who later went on to play Sonic in the Japanese version of Sonic X. Ryan Drummond performed the role of Sonic in Sonic Adventure and continued to play the role for several games. Information taken from the credits of both Sonic Adventure games, the Sonic Advance series, and Sonic Heroes. 4Kids Entertainment decided not to use Drummond's voice in their US/UK dub of Sonic X, instead choosing their own Jason Griffith. Despite this, Drummond continued to provide the voice of Sonic in the series until 2005, when Sega replaced all their Sonic voice actors with their 4Kids counterparts, in order to keep his voice the same in all media forms. Effectively, this meant that beginning with Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Rush, Jason Griffith became the official game voice actor for Sonic the Hedgehog and Shadow the Hedgehog (and Jet the Hawk in Sonic Riders). This has been a controversial decision among fans of the Sonic Adventure series and Sonic Heroes voice cast.

Personality
Sonic has been described as being "like the wind", and is noted for being free-spirited and adventurous. He mainly prefers to simply be called by his name and not any fancy title; in his encounters with Princess Elise (who called him "Mr. Sonic"), Shahra the Ring Genie (who called him "Master"), and Caliburn the Sword (who called him "Knave"), he insisted that they merely call him "Sonic". He enjoys relaxation, but is never one to rest in the face of injustice. He is extremely benevolent, always keeps his word, and willingly puts himself at risk to help others, taking on any challenge that confronts him without hesitation, though he usually sees his role as a hero as an opportunity to have fun. However, in times of crisis, he focuses entirely on the task at hand and sees it as truly serious with no real fun involved. Sonic is shown to have a remarkable capacity to forgive, as seen in Sonic Next Gen, when he quickly forgave Silver and accepted his help in saving Elise in their third encounter, despite Silver's attempts to kill him. For some reason Sonic will not take off his shoes no matter what.

In the comics/non-canon material, Sonic is not generally modest when it comes to his abilities; in fact, he is often portrayed as being narcissistic and self-absorbed. The British Sonic the Comic presented him as being bossy and arrogant, often making cruel jokes about his friend Miles "Tails" Prower, and characters regularly referred to his strange sense of humor, once deliberately letting Tails think he was dead for a cheap laugh.

Although it is variously stated that Sonic tends to have a short temper, his profile on the 4kids Sonic X anime website states that he is super-slow to get angry.

In the American cartoons and comics, the Japanese version of Sonic Advance 3 strategy guide, Sonic Unleashed, and Sonic and the Black Knight, Sonic's favorite food is chili dogs. He displays an interest in rock music, and in the cartoon Sonic Underground was a guitarist in his own band. Some official character art and a television commercial for Sonic Adventure suggests that he has a personal hobby as a DJ. Furthermore, it is displayed in Sonic Rush for the Nintendo DS that Sonic also enjoys breakdancing as it is one of his primary ways for filling up his Rush meter. His battle moves in Sonic Battle are also based on breakdancing, as mentioned in the attack descriptions. He also breakdances in Sonic Advance 3 if he finishes a level in a short-enough time. Lastly, one of his taunts in Super Smash Bros. Brawl is him breakdancing and saying, "C'mon, step it up!" He has been credited as "the fastest thing alive" since Sonic the Hedgehog (DiC) and through Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Ironically, Sonic likes to spend his free time relaxing somewhere.

Sonic's personality has changed very much over time. Currently, he is stated to be "pure of heart and intention" (Tails refers to Sonic while talking to Cosmo, in the Sonic X episode "An Underground Odyssey"). Sonic Unleashed booklet states that his personality is "A juxtaposition of kindness and ferocity, as, on one hand, he does all he can to snuff out evil, but he can't look away when someone is in trouble." Sonic Unleashed also has sidequests in which Sonic the Werehog is trying to convince the Elder Gregorios in Apotos that he is Sonic the Hedgehog. To prove it, Sonic undergoes a test of speed, which involves him getting a pair of glasses for the Elder in a certain time limit; a test of courage, by protecting the Elder from minions of Dark Gaia; and a test of selflessness and kindness, which involves Sonic obtaining a book for the Elder out of kindness. He prefers to comfort people, instead of winding them up, as shown many times in Sonic X. He shows modesty various times, and prefers to humble himself, unless he is taunting someone (Like in Super Smash Bros Brawl). This is shown in Sonic and the Secret Rings where Sonic prefers not to be called "Master", and where he is refered to as the "Legendary Hedgehog" ("Me? Legendary? You've gotta be kidding! You're gonna make me blush!").

Sonic is shown to believe in something greater then the life he is currently in; in Sonic and the Secret Rings, he makes a mention that the Secret Rings "might even open the gates of hell", implying that Sonic himself might believe in Heaven and Hell, making him religious.

In most American media, Sonic is shown to have a liking for chili dogs, but Sonic and the Black Knight is the first video game to openly show this on-screen. "Sonic and the Black Knight" was also the first video game to show Sonic licking his fingers on-screen after eating a chili dog.

Abilities
Sonic is known best for his speed, with the ability to run at speeds higher than Mach 1, at a staggering 760 mph. He is known as "the fastest thing alive," and can run backwards at full speed just as well as forwards, as shown in the Team Sonic opening cutscene of Sonic Heroes, in an episode of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Underground, and near the end of the first episode in Sonic X. Due to such speed, he is able to scale right up the walls of buildings, or similar structures, and can also run right over the water.

It is unknown how much faster Sonic can run beyond Mach 1, although it is variously assumed he can. In Sonic Battle it is shown that he can move several times the speed of sound. In Emerl's story, Sonic takes on and defeats him in under 30 seconds (the Final Egg Blaster fires in 30 seconds). During this time he and Emerl shown doing several attacks as if time itself is drastically slown down (even slow enough to have ten rounds). It is also believed that Sonic can move faster while in spinball form then running, possibly even reaching the Speed of Light due to the various proofs, such as in Sonic Adventure 1/2 and Sonic Heroes where he could use the move Light Speed Attack which, stated by Tikal, attacks enemies at Light Speed. In the Sonic X Anime, he is shown to match speeds with a lightning bolt, in the episode "Zelkova Strikes Back".

Many of his abilities are variations on the tendency for hedgehogs to roll into tight balls for protection. Since his introduction in the first Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic's primary offensive maneuver is the basic Spin Attack (or "Sonic Spin Attack"). As Sonic jumps or runs, he curls up and spins into a spiky ball when in motion that can damage, destroy or burrow through many obstacles or foes. Later games in the series expanded on this basic attack. Two of these enhancements are now basic moves : the Spin Dash was introduced in Sonic 2 and involves Sonic spinning on the spot before blasting off at full speed, and the Homing Attack, officially introduced in Sonic Adventure, although unnamed variations of it appeared in Sonic 3 & Knuckles and Sonic 3D Blast, in which Sonic dashes in midair toward a target. Sonic curls into a ball and revvs up before charging forwards in a burst of speed. Since AoSTH and SatAM, Sonic can also execute a ‘triple spin’ where he curls up into a ball and spins around quickly, like a buzz saw, and can burrow through the ground or a wall, depending what it’s made from.

The Peel Out or Figure 8 Dash made its debut in Sonic CD, but since has only had minor recurrences in the Archie Comic series and anime. In the Figure 8 Dash, Sonic stands still and his legs run fast enough to create the illusion of an infinity symbol (more correctly a Mobius strip) beneath him in red. He holds this and then blasts forward. One of Sonic's taunts in Super Smash Bros. Brawl involves him spinning his legs fast enough to make this move while commenting on his opponents being "too slow." The Peel Out is also his running animation in Brawl. It is similar to the Spin Dash, but without the curling up part of the move. His feet tend to make the illusion of a figure 8 with this move. Sonic can also use his back-head spines to send the opponent into the air.

The Blue Tornado is when Sonic jumps into the air, and creates a whirlwind by circling a particular spot at high speeds. A similar attack called 'Whirlwind' appeared in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood. Other such special moves that Sonic has in this game are 'Axe Kick,' and combination attacks between Tails, Knuckles, and Amy.

With a Chaos Emerald, Sonic can warp time and space with Chaos Control, and by using all seven Chaos Emeralds, Sonic can initiate a super transformation into Super Sonic. He can also turn into his more powerful form, Hyper Sonic, with the help of the Super Emeralds. In addition, the World Rings introduced in Sonic and the Secret Rings allow Sonic to become Darkspine Sonic, a powerful form powered by his negative emotions. As Darkspine Sonic, Sonic turns purple and has two white stripes between his eyes. In Sonic Unleashed, he unwillingly gains the power to turn into a werewolf-like version of himself at nighttime. In this state, he loses his trademark speed, but has the ability to stretch his arms. Although he appears to gain an increase in physical strength in this in state he does not. It takes WereSonic numerous attacks to actually defeat Eggmans robots, while normal sonic can defeat them effortlessly, even with a simple spin jump attack.(though it was probably because he did not use the forms full potential) In Sonic X, Sonic turns into Dark Sonic in one of the episodes in Season 3. Dark Sonic has a blacker type of blue skin, sharper eyes, and becomes angrier than before. Sonic transforms into Dark Sonic by falling into a pile of fake chaos emeralds.

In Sonic and the Black Knight,Sonic becomes Excalibur Sonic. When this form appears, Sonic is about to die. As all the other Knights are telling him to run away, he claims that a knight never backs down. Gawain (Knuckles) says the battle isn't about chivalry anymore and Sonic responds that it never was for him, and that he's got to do what he's got to do. Then a light begins to appear and the Lady Of The Lake tells the knights to put the swords in the light. The power of the swords goes into Sonic, and golden armor attaches to him. Caliburn is then resurrected (he was sliced in half by The Dark Queen earlier) into Excalibur. Then Excalibur Sonic proceeds to fight the Dark Queen.

Sonic also possesses an indomitable force of will; even in situations where most others would give up and resign themselves to defeat or imprisonment, and in situations where he is severely outnumbered and outgunned, he always forges on and never quits. This character trait is most noticeable in Sonic Unleashed, wherein, thanks to his will, he is one of the few people on the planet who is immune to the influence of Dark Gaia. This is also shown in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, where the Voxai Overmind attempts to use mind control on Sonic, and he resists when all other characters fail to do so. This may also be because he is in possession of a Chaos Emerald filled with the Overmind's power.

It is assumed that Sonic can control the strength or hardness of his quills. They appear to be extremely hard when he is in spinball form, capable of shredding through several layers of reinforced steel to just about anything, with enough speed, but soft when he is not in ball form. In Sonic Heroes, his quills (and body) are durable enough to slice through battleships without even moving at the speed of sound. In many Sonic games it is shown that he can survive numerous free-falls from space; in Sonic Adventure, he fell face first from a high point in the atmosphere and merely shook it off after the crash of the Tornado, and in Sonic Unleashed, he (as the Werehog) survived atmospheric reentry unharmed, though he was stuck in the ground for a few moments. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Sonic's up throw has him throw an enemy up, while he goes into a push-up type pose, and then land in his quills, which are shown to harden.

Weaknesses
Sonic is incapable of swimming which causes him to sink like a stone in water, probably mainly due to his great body weight for his size and narrow limbs or possibly due to his presumed aqua phobia,in fact, in a episode of sonic x called ``the last resort``, egg man almost drowned sonic until he was saved by amy rose. Although if hitting the water while running, he can dash across the water's surface, completely bypassing the hazard (an exception being in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, in which all characters are able to swim, but he can only swim for a brief period of time before drowning). In most media, he is shown completely avoiding water. In Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games when Sonic competes in Aquatics events, he is the only character who wears a lifevest. However, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Sonic can swim without a lifevest, though he has one of the shortest swim-times in the game and he seems to be flopping like a fish when swimming, unlike the other characters. Although a exception of Sonic's poor aquatic abilities is in Sonic the Hedgehog [1991] where he is capable of swallowing bubbles for extra breathing time in water. Further 2d games allow for underwater breathing through the use of air bubbles.

Sonic does not mix very well with hostage situations, especially if the one in charge of the hostage situation is Eggman, as he was known to be fooled by Eggman twice to give him the Chaos Emeralds. Once was when Eggman threatened to kill Amy if Sonic didn't give him the Chaos Emerald, twice was when Elise was the hostage and that Eggman agreed to let her go if Sonic gave him the Chaos Emerald he had. Sonic was tricked twice, almost got killed when Amy was the hostage, and was sent to the future along with Tails and Knuckles when Elise was the hostage. Sonic can be easily taken advantage of by this process, which greatly pains him emotionally (Although like Knuckles, he's adapted to the trick and often now uses a different method to overcome Eggman). It is rumored that Sonic wonders if he makes the right decision by giving Eggman the Chaos Emeralds.

He also has a habit of acting before thinking, which gets him into trouble many times.

Family

 * Bernadette Hedgehog - Mother (Archie Comic only)
 * Jules Hedgehog - Father (Archie Comic only)
 * Sir Charles "Uncle Chuck" Hedgehog - Uncle (Archie Comic, SatAM, only)
 * Queen Aleena - Mother (Sonic Underground only)
 * Manic the Hedgehog - Brother (Sonic Underground only)
 * Sonia the Hedgehog - Sister (Sonic Underground only)

Friends

 * Amy Rose (Self-proclaimed girlfriend)
 * Miles "Tails" Prower Best friend, as close as brothers
 * Knuckles the Echidna (Rivals & Friends)
 * Shadow the Hedgehog (He's also Sonic's Arch-Rival)
 * Blaze the Cat (Good Friend)
 * Christopher Thorndyke (Sonic X)
 * Vector the Crocodile
 * Espio the Chameleon
 * Charmy Bee
 * Rouge the Bat
 * Ray the Flying Squirrel
 * Mighty the Armadillo
 * Sally Acorn - Love Interest (Archie comics and SatAM only)
 * Bunnie Rabbot (Archie comics and cartoon)
 * Rotor the Walrus (Archie comics)
 * Dulcy the Dragon (Archie comics)
 * Cream the Rabbit
 * Vanilla the Rabbit
 * Big the Cat
 * Cosmo (Sonic X)
 * Jet the Hawk
 * Wave the Swallow
 * Storm the Albatross
 * Marine the Raccoon
 * Doctor Sorders (Fleetway comics)
 * Johnny Lightfoot (Fleetway comics)
 * Omni-Viewer (Fleetway comics)
 * Porker Lewis (Fleetway comics)
 * Professor Kintobor (Fleetway comics)
 * Silver the Hedgehog
 * NiGHTS
 * Chip
 * NICOLE (Archie comics and cartoon)
 * Emerl
 * Tikal the Echidna
 * Shade the Echidna
 * Mario - Former Business Rival
 * Professor Pickle
 * Mina Mongoose (comics)
 * Sara (movie/OVA)
 * Julie-Su (Archie comics)
 * Princess Elise (StH 2006)
 * Shahra the Ring Genie (SatSR)
 * Fiona Fox (Archie comics)
 * Breezie (Adventures of StH)
 * Merlina the Sorceress (SatBK)
 * Caliburn the Sword

Rivals

 * Shadow the Hedgehog (Presently archrival)
 * Scourge the Hedgehog (Archie comics)
 * Knuckles the Echidna (rival and friend)
 * Silver the Hedgehog
 * Metal Sonic
 * Jet the Hawk
 * Dexter
 * Mario - Business rival (Formerly)
 * Shade the Echidna (Formerly)
 * Ash Mongoose (Archie comics)
 * Fang the Sniper
 * Johnny
 * Silver Sonic
 * Mecha Sonic
 * Neo Metal Sonic

Foes

 * Dr. Eggman - Archenemy
 * Coconuts
 * Scourge the Hedgehog (Archie comics)
 * Metal Sonic
 * Chaos
 * Ix
 * Fang the Sniper
 * Metal Knuckles
 * Mecha Knuckles
 * Tails Doll
 * Eggrobo
 * Scratch and Grounder (Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog)
 * Mama Robotnik (Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog)
 * Dr. Warpnik (Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog)
 * Mammoth Mogul (Archie comics)
 * Megatox (Fleetway comics)
 * Pseudo Sonic (Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog)
 * Gemerl (Sonic Advanced 3)
 * Eggman Nega
 * Captain Whisker
 * Tabuu (Smash bros only)
 * Erazor Djinn
 * Solaris
 * Black Knight / King Arthur
 * Dark Gaia
 * Dark Queen

Love

 * Amy Rose (Self-proclaimed girlfriend)
 * Sally Acorn (Archie comics, SatAM)
 * Mina Mongoose (Archie comics)
 * Sara (Sonic OVA)
 * Blaze the Cat (Maybe)
 * Breezie (AOSTH)
 * Tiara Boobowski (scrapped character)
 * Fiona Fox (Archie comics)
 * Princess Elise (StH 2006)
 * Madonna (scrapped character)

Trivia

 * According to the Archie comics, Sonic's middle name is Maurice. His full real name is revealed to be Olgilvie Maurice Hedgehog. However, it has been confirmed by the writers that this is only true in the comics' continuity, and that, by birth, his actual name is Sonic (but to be formal, he is known as Sonic the Hedgehog).
 * There is a hedgehog genome named Sonic hedgehog.
 * He doesn't seem to appear in the game (although the main character's face isn't even shown) Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, though he is the main character in almost every other game (hence why they are named after him).
 * Sonic has fought many of his friends at some points throughout the media.
 * Only his English Sonic CD voice is discredited.
 * Although he has fought many of his friends, he so far has never battled Marine the Raccoon and Tikal the Echidna.
 * Even though Sonic has visited dimensions in Sonic Shuffle and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, there has been no saying of ever actually meeting NiGHTS or Mario there respectively.(This information doesn't count NiGHTS' SA DX appearance, Sonic flies in front of NiGHTS in a casino game.)
 * Sonic has a few things in common with Silver, & Shadow (also Scourge in some cases):
 * 1.) They're all hedgehogs.
 * 2.) All their names start with "S"
 * 3.) They all have Super Forms.
 * 4.) They can all use Chaos Control.
 * 5.) They're all male, stand at 100 centimeters (3 ft 3 in), and weigh 35 kilograms (77 lbs).
 * 6.) They each represent a period of time: Past (Shadow), Present (Sonic), Future (Silver), and Alternate Reality (Scourge).


 * Mario & Sonic also have a lot of things in common:
 * 1.) They have the colours red (Mario's shirt & hat; Sonic's shoes & eyes when in super form), blue (Mario's eyes & overalls; Sonic's fur), white (gloves; soles on sonic's shoes & lines on sonic's shoes & socks), black (Mario's mustache and pupils; Sonic's nose and pupils), & yellow (The buttons on Mario's overalls, Mario's cape; Sonic's shoebuckles & Sonic's fur when in his super form).
 * 2.) They both jump on enemies.
 * 3.) They both save females (Mario = Peach, Daisy, & Pauline ; Sonic = Amy, Cream, & Vanilla).
 * 4.) They both have an anti-hero doppelgänger (Mario = Wario; Sonic = Shadow).
 * 5.) They both are F tier characters in Super Smash Bros. Brawl with below average killing power.
 * 6.) They both were inducted into the Walk of Game.
 * 7.) They are both mascots for a video game company (Nintendo for Mario, and Sega for Sonic).
 * 8.) They are both well-known for being in side-scrolling platform games.
 * 9.) They both are on Dic Entertainment cartoons based on their games.


 * Sonic could have been a very different franchise had some of the concepts thrown about before the release of Sonic the Hedgehog was released in 1991 actually been used which was being in a band and saving a lady named Madonna.
 * Sonic was the first of two video game characters to appear in the Macy's Day parade. (The second was Pikachu from the Pokemon franchise.)
 * Sonic is the only character in the Sonic franchise to have been kissed directly. The first several occured with Sally in SatAm and their corresponding comics, as well the kiss that Princess Elise gave him in Sonic 2006.
 * Sonic's laugh shows a little bit of Jet's in it as shown in the last cutscene of Sonic 2006. Sonic and Shadow's (as they both laughed hysterically at one point in a game or two) laughs are sometimes put into Youtube cracks like "How long can you stand Sonic (or Shadow) laughing?" or something very similar like that.
 * Sonic and the Black Knight is the first game in the series to have Sonic wield a weapon, and the second game featuring Sonic. (The first being Super Smash Bros. Brawl)
 * Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Riders, and the sequel to riders Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity is the only 3 games where Sonic is wearing diffrent shoes.
 * Sonic is the second prominent character to die onscreen (the first being E-102 Gamma) after being impaled in Sonic 06.

Theme Songs
In Sonic Adventure, Sonic's theme is It Dosen't Matter, which is a hard rock theme.

In Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic's theme is a remake of It Dosen't Matter, with rearranged lyrics.

In Sonic Heroes, Team Sonic's theme is We Can, and refers to Sonic in the line "Sonic's in the lead, giving us greater speed!"''

In Sonic Riders, Sonic's team theme, shared with Tails and Knuckles, is an instrumental called High Flying Groove.

In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), HipHop/R&B Artist Akon has done a remix to "Dreams Come True" song "Sweet Sweet Sweet", which was originally the ending them for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Sega Mega Drive. The song is entitled "SWEET SWEET SWEET -06 AKON MIX-", in Japanese and "Sweet Dreams" in English.