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Athair is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics. He is a mobian echidna and the paternal great-grandfather of Knuckles the Echidna.
Appearance[]
Athair has had two wardrobes. One is a somewhat tattered tribal outfit, complete with a walking stick; the other is a plain white robe. In either form of attire, he wears the spiked mittens of the Guardian family and a pair of sandals. His only other decoration are the beads that have been looped over his dreadlocks. Following his assumption of the white robe, he appears to Sonic and co. in the form of a disembodied floating head.
History[]
Origins[]
Athair is the son of Janelle-Li, the only female Guardian in the history of the Brotherhood of Guardians. Athair followed the usual Guardian tradition of assuming the position around 8 or 9 years old, but then was taken by the Ancient Walkers to Haven, where his mother surmised that he had a different destiny.[2] Athair resigned his position, and began learning from the Ancient Walkers. In addition, he became leader of the Lost Tribe of Echidnas as they sought their homeland of Albion. When his mother died, he was expected to reclaim the position, but he refused. His son Sabre, furious at him, took up the position at age 7. Worse for Athair, his wife Crystal-La was later captured and roboticized.[1]
Adviser[]
His first encounter with the Freedom Fighters was during time he spent in Downunda. While living in this desert, he took up residence in the Great Crater, once resting place of Angel Island, and became known among denizens of the continent as "Ol' Weirdo" due to his reclusive nature. During his stay, the Downunda Freedom Fighters brought him a guest: the then unconscious Miles "Tails" Prower.[3] Nursing the young fox back to health, Athair told Tails stories of Mobius' past and revealed the young Freedom Fighter's destiny as the Chosen One. Athair afterwards disappeared, leaving no trace behind.[4]
Athair encountered his great-grandson Knuckles for the first time when he began on his quest to find the Sword of Acorns for Princess Sally's father King Maximillian Acorn, along with Tails. Their first meeting began with immediate hostility from Knuckles, who criticized Athair for not being brave enough to assume the mantle of Guardian. Athair retorted, "Who are you to judge? Wisdom decrees that it is better to safeguard a universe than just one pebble in its belly!" When Tails began to explain why they had sought him out, Athair cut him off and told him he already knew the reason, after which he transported both Knuckles and Tails to see the Ancient Walkers.[5]
When the Dark Legion had managed to escape from the Twilight Zone and began invading Echidnaopolis on Angel Island, Athair appeared before Locke in Haven and gave him an ambiguous warning of what things were to come of this event.[6]
Following Mammoth Mogul's success in draining the powers of Enerjak[7], Athair reappeared to aid the beleaguered opposition, which consisted of Tails, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Knuckles the Echidna in their Super forms; the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix; the Brotherhood; and a number of other groups opposed to Mogul's takeover. Delivering the Chaos Syphon to his beleaguered allies, he watched as they overcame Master Mogul-only to vanish yet again.[8]
Shortly afterward, Athair returned to recruit Knuckles, bestowing upon him duties as Mitre of the Lost Tribe of Echidnas. After transporting himself and Knuckles to the location of the tribe, he explained the history of the Lost Tribe to Knuckles. Later that day, however, Athair sensed that the most recent Day of Fury was about to begin.[9] He would be proven correct, as the ground opened up, the tribe nearly fell victim to an emerging flow of lava. However, Athair used his powers to lift the members of the tribe into the air, bringing them out of harm's way. Later that night, Athair explained to Knuckles his childhood and why he chose to abandon his position as Guardian in favor of leading the Lost Tribe. After Knuckles went to bed, Athair said to Yanar that it would be the last time they would see one another as he had a "higher path to follow". He disappeared again, leaving the tribe in the capable hands of Knuckles and his allies Rob O' the Hedge and Mari-An.[2] The trio soon reached Albion with the tribe, and while Rob and Mari-An remained near Albion to protect its entrance-getting married at the same time-Knuckles departed for Angel Island. As he left, the faces of Athair and the Ancient Walkers appeared in the clouds above him, smiling down in approval.[10]
Following the Dark Legion's attack on Angel Island with the Quantum Beam, Athair appeared before Knuckles, who managed to jump off the island before being sent to an alternate zone. Athair explained that the answers Knuckles sought could be found in Albion, and that he would need a guide in the form of Rob O' the Hedge. Before vanishing, Athair reminded Knuckles he already had the means to get to Albion.[11]
Deity[]
Athair later returned, apparently having taken up residence in the same dimension as Aurora. He appeared to Tails yet again, appearing only as his disembodied head. In this form, he assisted Tails in his rematch with Mammoth Mogul, giving Tails the knowledge necessary to combine with his numerous alternate selves to form Titan Tails. Later, as the Ancient Walkers felt themselves dying, Athair was chosen as one of their successors; the others were Aurora and Merlin Prower. Unfortunately, Athair's new role was forced upon him all too soon, as the Arachne Clan used the Sword of Acorns to release Ixis Naugus, producing a dimensional warp that finished off the Ancient Walkers. Elias Acorn later revealed that Athair and his compatriots are known as the Neo Walkers. When Merlin left New Mobotropolis to continue his training to become a full Neo Walker, Athair became his mentor, having already ascended to that state.
Personality[]
Athair is a lighthearted individual, having long been freed from the responsibilities that have darkened the dispositions of so many of his family. However, he does have the horrors of his own past weighing on his mind. Sarcastic and prone to humor, Athair is given to talking in riddles, which confuse Sonic and Tails to no end and are often frustrating to Knuckles as well. Despite their occasional arguments, he and Knuckles do share a number of things, which eventually includes the idea that Angel Island's safety is no more important than the safety of Mobius at large.
Powers and abilities[]
As one of the Guardians, Athair has a variety of abilities stemming from his connection to the Chaos Force. In addition, he possesses a variety of other powers, most likely taught to him by the Ancient Walkers. In addition, Athair can exist both on mortal and on omnipotent planes of existence.
Relationships[]
Friends/allies[]
- Armand D'Coolette
- Big the Cat
- Brotherhood of Guardians
- Locke the Echidna (grandson)
- Sabre (son)
- Echidna Security Team
- Freedom Fighters
- Froggy
- Geoffrey St. John
- Hershey St. John
- Lara-Le (ex-granddaughter-in-law)
- Lost Tribe of Echidnas
- Crystal-La (wife)
- Iago
- Yanar
- Merlin Prower
- Team Dark
Enemies[]
In other media[]
Sonic Underground[]
Athair, from Sonic Underground; "Flying Fortress".
Athair made a few appearances in the Sonic Underground television series. In this media, Athair is the ancient sage of the echidnas and the great-grandfather of Knuckles the Echidna.
When Knuckles planned to leave the Floating Island to help Sonic, Manic and Sonia stop Dr. Robotnik's Fortress of Altitude, Athair appeared before Knuckles and warned that this would destroy all of Mobius. Later, Athair helped Knuckles and his friends stop the chaos energy from a broken Chaos Emerald by giving them a canister to contain the Emerald fragments. After the Chaos Emerald fragments were secured, Athair told the heroes that Knuckles could not join the resistance because his duty was to the Floating Island.
Trivia[]
- Athair is named after the Irish word, directly translating to "father", but sometimes is used as an alternative word for ancestor.[12]
- Athair is the only Guardian besides Knuckles to appear on in a Sonic-inspired television series, namely Sonic Underground.
- He is also the only Guardian (besides Knuckles) not to be created by Ken Penders.
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 Sonic the Hedgehog: The Complete Sonic Comic Encyclopedia, "Brotherhood of Guardians"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Knuckles the Echidna #11, "The Forgotten Tribe Part Two of Three: Covenant"
- ↑ Tails #2, "Southern Crossover - Part Two"
- ↑ Tails #3, "Southern Crossover - Part Three"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #42, "Knuckles' Quest!"
- ↑ Knuckles the Echidna #2, "Sins of the Fathers"
- ↑ Knuckles the Echidna #9, "Dark Vengeance Part Three of Three: Twilight of the Titans"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #56, "Immortality Is Forever - Life Is Finite"
- ↑ Knuckles the Echidna #10, "The Forgotten Tribe Part One of Three: The Other Road Taken"
- ↑ Knuckles the Echidna #12, " The Forgotten Tribe Part Three of Three: Journey's End "
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #88
- ↑ https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/athair#Noun
External links[]
- Athair at Mobius Encyclopaedia, the Archie Sonic wiki.
