Athair

This character exists primarily or exclusively within the Pre-Super Genesis Wave continuity. Information in this article may not be canonical to the storyline of the games or any other Sonic continuity.

Athair of the House of Edmund
Athair, as depicted in the Tails Miniseries.
Appearances
First appearance	Tails #2
Appearances in other media	Sonic Underground
Biographical overview
Relative(s)	Sojourner (great-grandfather) Thunderhawk (maternal grandfather) Janelle-Li (mother) Crystal-La (wife) Sabre (son) Jenna-Lu (daughter-in-law) Knuckles the Echidna (great-grandson)
Nickname(s)	Ol' Weirdo
Species	Echidna
Physical description
Gender	Male
Height	112cm (3ft 9in)[citation needed]
Weight	34 kg (75 lbs)[citation needed]
Fur	Red-Brown
Eyes	Blue
Alignment and character traits
Alignment	Good
Powers and abilities
Skills	Reality warping abilities derived from chaos energy

Athair is a character in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs. He is a Mobian Echidna and the great-grandfather of Knuckles the Echidna. He is approximately 109 years old.

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. 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.

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. Nursing the 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.

Following Mammoth Mogul's success in draining the powers of Enerjak, 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. Shortly afterward, Athair returned to recruit Knuckles, bestowing upon him duties as Mitre of the Lost Tribe of Echidnas. He disappeared again, leaving the tribe in the capable hands of Knuckles and his allies Rob O' the Hedge and Mari-An. 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.

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 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.

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.

In other media

Sonic Underground

Athair made a few appearances in 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's name is translated as "Father" in the Irish language
• Athair is the only Guardian besides Knuckles to appear on in a Sonic-inspired television series, namely Sonic Underground.

External links

• Athair at Mobius Encyclopaedia, the Archie Sonic wiki.