Dark Guardian (Archie)

The Dark Guardian is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-off comic series published by Archie Comics. It is the ground-commander of the Dark Gaia Monsters species.

History
During the Shattered World Crisis, Dark Gaia emerged from its slumber and released its energy across the planet. Because of this, thousands of Dark Gaia Monsters were created, and caused havoc across the planet. One specific area in general was in Meropis, where the Dark Guardian and thousands of Dark Gaia Monsters raised from the Anostos Rift nearby and harassed the underwater city civilians. Whereas the City Guard took care of the Dark Gaia Monsters, Sonic the Hedgehog and Rotor the Walrus (two of the Freedom Fighters on the hunt for Gaia Temples to restore the planet back to normal) came by from the Eusebes Shrine to help out the City Guard dispose of the Dark Gaia Monsters. However, Sonic and Rotor were ambushed by the Dark Guardian, and the two Freedom Fighters began to tussle with the monster. Unfortunately, the two Freedom Fighters' were met with trouble as their Air Charms ran out of energy for them to support air. With this, Sonic and Rotor attempted to swim to the surface, but the Dark Guardian grabbed them both and threw them back down.

As Sonic tried to reach his Air Charm slowly before he would be succumbed by the Dark Gaia Force, Dark Guardian threw Rotor to the hedgehog, subduing (not to mention drowning) the two Freedom Fighters. Luckily, Chaos managed to arrived, giving Sonic and Rotor Water Shields, allowing them to breathe. Chaos then continued the fight for Sonic and Rotor, as the water god fought the Dark Guardian. Sonic, Rotor, and eventually Captain Striker the Mantis Shrimp also provided back up for Chaos to loosen up the Dark Guardian. However, thanks to the power of a combined Mystic Melody from Coral the Betta, Pearly the Manta Ray, and Tikal, the Dark Gaia Monsters were completely wiped out across the Eusebes Shrine and Meropis. The Dark Guardian was then obliterated by the Mystic Melody chain, thus ending the monster's reign of terror.

Appearance
The Dark Guardian is a gigantic, monstrous version of the regular Nightmare Dark Gaia Monsters. Colored in a light-purple, the Dark Guardian has gauntlets surrounding his arms and legs. Its eyes are colored white, and its "hair"-like area is colored sky blue. It has a lightning-shaped motif on its face, also colored sky blue.

Powers and Abilities
True to its video game counterpart, the Dark Guardian wields a massive mallet that can be used to swing at his opponents, despite it being used briefly in its appearances. A formidable foe, the Dark Guardian is very powerful, withstanding attacks from the world-renowned hero Sonic the Hedgehog. It can also throw his opponents very easily without any struggle, even in underwater.