Template:IDW
Espio the Chameleon is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by IDW Publishing. He is an anthropomorphic chameleon, who mainly serves as a ninja spy, and a member of the Chaotix, a trio of detectives.
Appearance
Espio is a purple chameleon with a yellow horn between his eyes, golden eyes and a ridge of three black scales down his spine and a coiled tail. He wears dark purple and black shoes with elaborate cuffs, white gloves with a purple back, and studded bands around his wrists and ankles.
History
Past
Espio hidning from E-106 Eta, from Sonic the Hedgehog #5.
After Dr. Eggman vanished, Espio and the Chaotix Detective Agency began looking for the doctor to bring him to justice. After finding no trace of him in the ruins of Imperial City, the Chaotix located Cubot and Orbot and interrogated them, only to learn that they knew nothing. Finding no trace of an escape plan on Eggman's computer either, the Chaotix searched Eggman's other bases, only to find nothing but trouble. Espio himself had to avoid E-106 Eta at one point during their search.[1]
Eventually, the Chaotix found Eggman in an idyllic village after receiving an anonymous tip on the doctor's whereabouts. However, it seemed like Eggman had lost his memory, having lost all recollections of his evil deeds and ambitions, leading to him becoming a productive member of the village, now with the name of "Mr. Tinker". With the majority of them doubting Eggman's condition, the Chaotix spent the next couple of days interrogating and observing Eggman, only to conclude that his amnesia was legit. However, this presented the Chaotix with a new dilemma: whether or not it was right to penalize Eggman for his past crimes now that he was a good man.[1]
The Fate of Dr. Eggman
Eventually, the Chaotix called for Sonic to come and help them solve their problem, with Espio himself heading out to escort Sonic. Upon meeting up with Sonic however, they had to clear out some Badniks attacking them. Afterward, Espio brought Sonic to Eggman's village while telling him of what the Chaotix had been through. After Sonic got to meet the amnesiac Eggman, Espio, Sonic, Vector and the village's head began discussing what to do with Eggman. However, when a horde of Badniks, whom the heroes believed had come for Eggman, neared the village, Espio and the Choatix went to intercept them while Sonic confronted Eggman. Sonic soon after joined Espio and co. in clearing out the Badniks though, before telling them that Eggman wanted nothing to do with his old robots. Believing now that Eggman was indeed a changed man, the heroes settled on leaving Eggman to his new life. As Espio got ready to depart with his friends though, Shadow and Rouge showed up, the former seeking to eliminate Eggman after hearing him mention Eggman Land.[1]
When Sonic and Shadow began fighting, Espio and his crew planned to help Sonic, only to see that they could not keep up with them. Due to this, they turned their attention to Rouge. However, Rouge revealed that she was on their side. As it turned out, Shadow was already looking for Eggman, and would have hurt the Chaotix if they got in his way. As such, she gave the Chaotix the anonymous tip that led them to Eggman so they would have time to verify Eggman's situation and bring in Sonic before she "helped" Shadow find Eggman. Afterward, Espio and his crew tried to stop Shadow from getting to Eggman, but failed. Fortunately, Shadow had been convinced by Sonic to talk to the amnesiac Eggman first. After Eggman showed Shadow that his "Eggman Land" was but an amusement park for children, Espio saw Shadow and Rouge take their leave.[2]
The Battle for Angel Island
Eventually, Espio and his teammates were called to Resistance HQ. There, they and the Resistance's other allies were informed that the Resistance needed their help to liberate Angel Island, which had been conquered by Neo Metal Sonic and turned into a flying fortress. To make matters worse, Neo had also secured the Master Emerald for himself on the island. Eventually, Espio was assigned to help two of the assembled group's factions with breaking the Egg Fleet's control over Angel Island while Sonic and Knuckles confronted Neo Metal Sonic.[3]
On the way to Angel Island, Espio spent the time playing cards. As soon as their ship approached Angel Island however, the Egg Fleet shot it down. Fortunately, Espio and his allies got off the ship before it crashed. Landing then on Angel Island, Espio and his team were instructed to "do [their] thing" and began battling the island's legion of Egg Pawns.[3] Eventually, Espio and his team began focusing on destroying the right wing unit that had been attached to Angel Island, but they were unable to make much progress until Tails hijacked an Egg Fleet battleship and began bombarding the wing unit with it. As the wing unit fell apart, Espio was carried to the battleship Tails had secured by Charmy.[4] When Master Overlord (a transformation Neo Metal Sonic had achieved with the Master Emerald) then attacked the battleship, Espio joined his allies in a midair assault on Master Overlord, whom they forced closer to Angel Island (which was in freefall due to the absence of the Master Emerald) while Knuckles focused on removing the Master Emerald from Master Overlord's body. During the battle, Espio got shaken off Master Overlord, but was rescued by Silver with his psychokinesis. Knuckles subsequently got the Master Emerald away from Master Overlord and brought it back to Angel Island, returning the island to the sky while Master Overlord powered down to normal. With the battle over, Espio was brought down on Angel Island where he took a break alongside his teammates.[5]
Personality
Espio is a serious and disciplined ninja warrior and detective with a distinct sense of wariness. He is likewise a wise, intelligent and soulful character, and has an excellent drive to all that he does, always being very thorough with his assignments. While having a no-nonsens attitude, he also has a bit of an ego which makes him elaborate on stories about his work that go nowhere in order to make his listeners understand how hard he has been working. He is also reluctant to admit his shortcomings.[1]
Espio usually maintains a reserved demeanor. Beneath this surface however is a burning sense of justice and a refusal to let evil have its way. This is best exemplified in how he wanted Dr. Eggman to stand trial for his past actions when the Doctor was seemingly amnesiac and had apparently turned over a new leaf.[1]
Powers and abilities
Being a chameleon, Espio can change his color scheme to match his environment, which is so effective that he is rendered practically invisible. Being a skilled ninja, he is also a master of stealth which combined with his camouflaging abilities makes him virtually undetectable. Like a real lizard, Espio is also able to climb along any surface and stick to them.[1]
Thanks to his ninja skills, Espio is proficient with several forms of ninja-based weaponry. He is especially a master of throwing kunai and shuriken stars, capable of striking targets with pin-point accuracy without even looking at them.[1][4]
Weapons
As a ninja, Espio employs various ninja-based weaponry, such as kunai and shuriken stars.[1][4] By attaching a rope on his kunai in particular, he can use it as a grappling hook to swing around.[1]
Relationships
Friends/allies
- Blaze the Cat
- Chaotix
- Resistance
- Rouge the Bat
- Shadow the Hedgehog
- Silver the Hedgehog
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Tangle the Lemur
- Whisper the Wolf
Enemies
See also
Notes
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Sonic the Hedgehog #5, "The Fate of Dr. Eggman Part 1"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #6, "The Fate of Dr. Eggman Part 2"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sonic the Hedgehog #9, "The Battle for Angel Island Part 1"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Sonic the Hedgehog #10, "The Battle for Angel Island Part 2"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #11, "The Battle for Angel Island Part 3"
External links
- Espio the Chameleon at IDW Sonic Hub Wiki, the IDW Sonic wiki.
