- This page is about a character in the Sonic the Hedgehog manga. For the Badnik in Sonic the Hedgehog CD, see Anton.
I'm the Number One Hooligan lizard in town! I'm really not the least bit afraid of Sonic. 
— Anton Veruca, Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic Special stories.
Anton Veruca (アントン・べルーカ Anton Berūka?) is the secondary antagonist in the Sonic the Hedgehog serialized manga published by Shogakukan. Anton describes himself as the Number One Hooligan in Hedgehog Town, who hangs around with a gang of lizard boys and his little brother Mad. He bullies Nicky and frequently tries to date Nicky's girlfriend, Amy. When he becomes particularly obnoxious, causing Nicky to wish he was stronger, Nicky transforms into Sonic the Hedgehog, who then beats up Anton.
Dr. Eggman, who wishes to find out more about the mysterious connection between Sonic and Nicky (which nobody fully understands), frequently uses Anton as a pawn in his schemes.
Contents
Appearance
Anton's appearance in Shogaku Ninensei, April 1992. Art by Sango Morimoto.
Anton is a big anthropomorphic lizard. His most distinguishing feature is his large tail. He wears a black sleeveless shirt with a thunderbolt symbol on the front, gloves, boots and a baseball cap (worn backwards).
Like Amy, Charmy and several other characters, Anton's appearance varies in comics drawn by Sango Morimoto. In Morimoto's comics, Anton has a spiky blonde mohawk and his clothing changes from story to story. In the first Shogaku Ninensei story he has a very large and bulky physique and wears a letterman jacket with a skull and crossbones symbol on the back, sunglasses, blue jeans and a white t-shirt. In the following issues Anton is drawn a lot leaner and often wears sneakers, purple pants with a triangle pattern and a red sleeveless shirt with a skull and crossbones symbol. In other stories he wears black pants, blue sneakers, a baseball cap and a red shirt with an "A" on the front.
History
Personality
Anton is an obnoxious bully and a good prankster. Whenever he appears, he always makes a grand entrance (whether it is starring in a band concert or driving through someone's house in a monster truck), and he is never afraid to pick on anybody.
Powers and abilities
Anton's Furifuri Attack.
Anton Veruca is shown to be very dangerous and has superhuman strength.[1] In the Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic Special stories, he has his own trademark Furifuri Attack, using his powerful tail to wreck stuff.
Weapons
Anton carries many weapons in his pockets, such as a chain-whip,[2] a spiked club,[3] and even a flamethrower.[3]
Name
Anton's surname, べルーカ (Berūka?), has been difficult to translate into English. It is sometimes translated among fans as "Brooke", although the appropriate Japanese equivalent of the name Brooke or Brook is ブルック (Burukku?). Another translation used by fans is "Beluga"; however, this is still one letter off べルーガ (Berūga?). Another possible translation is "Veruca", which may refer to a plantar wart. Some illustrations of Anton, particularly those by Kōichi Tanaka in Bessatsu CoroCoro Comic Special, depict Anton with round bumps on his face that could be either (non-plantar) warts or scales. This translation also has a drawback, as the April 1992 issue of Shogaku Ninensei (by Sango Morimoto) depicts Anton wearing a Letterman jacket with the initials 'AB' (however, Morimoto also has Anita wearing a shirt with a letter 'T' and Amy wearing a shirt with the letter 'E').
Gallery
Concept artwork
Manga images
| Gallery |
|---|
 Anton Veruca along with his brothers in Come On, Guys! Let's Daaance!! strip. Art by Kōichi Tanaka.  Anton Veruca's car in Big Dreams Are My Energy! strip. Art by Kōichi Tanaka.  Anton getting beaten by Sonic in The Adventures of SONIC the Hedgehog illustrated stories.   Anton and his family as they appear in the Shogaku Ninensei stories. Add a photo to this gallery |
References
- ↑ A scan of one of the illustrated text stories.
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog (April 1992), Shogaku Ninensei
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 At Last, We Learn the Truth About Sonic!! (3 May 1992), Shogaku Ninensei
