The Faceship[1] is an object that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by IDW Publishing. It was a massive space station-based aircraft created by Dr. Eggman. The Faceship was used to produce, transport and distribute the Metal Virus, and because of its mobility, it could deliver the virus to key locations across the world. It was eventually destroyed after Rouge the Bat removed its final power source.[2]
Description[]
Appearance[]
The Faceship bears a strong resemblance to the Space Colony ARK, but is much smaller.[3] It is mainly gray in coloration, with a hemispherical construction. The front of the Faceship, as its name implies, resembles the face of Dr. Eggman; it possesses a long and pointy rocket booster in the middle that resembles Eggman's nose, a massive round and red window on each side of the rocket booster that look like Eggman's glasses, red hatches below the rocket booster that are shaped like a smiling mouth, and a three triangular panels on each side that together resemble Eggman's mustache. On the back of the Faceship are also several antennas.
Abilities and traits[]
The Faceship is designed to run on the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds, and is capable of flight. It also comes equipped with an onboard factory that produces batches of the Metal Virus en masse. The Faceship's design also allows it to distribute the Metal Virus by dumping several batches of the Metal Virus through the ship's "mouth" while the Faceship's front is facing downward.[1]
The Faceship also comes equipped with outward speakers that allow Eggman to make public announcements.[1]
History[]
Infection[]
The Faceship dumping the Metal Virus, from Sonic the Hedgehog #16.
The Faceship was designed by Dr. Eggman to distribute his Metal Virus in select target zones.[1][3] With the aid of his genius and his tireless Badnik work force, Eggman was able to built the faceship in no time at all. After it was finished, Dr. Eggman and Dr. Starline got onboard, and Eggman had Orbot and Cubot, who sat at the helms, take the Faceship to the skies from the Final Egg's hangar. As the Faceship moved towards Windmill Village, Eggman gave Starline a tour of the Faceship, showing him things like the ship's Chaos Emerald power generator and Metal Virus facility while explaining his strategy for spreading the Metal Virus. After arriving above Windmill Village, Eggman had the Faceship dump its first batches of Metal Virus on the village, turning the village's entire population into Zombots.[1]
As the Faceship moved onward, Starline would inquire Eggman about his penchant for theme park-based constructions.[4]
Crisis City[]
Eventually, the Faceship flew over Seaside City and dumped a dose of the Metal Virus into the city, changing many of the residents into Zombots.[5] Next, Eggman had the Faceship travel to Floral Forest Village where it released a doze of the Metal Virus into the village, creating another Zombot outbreak. Onboard the Faceship, Eggman tried giving commands to his Zombots, only for them to ignore him. This growing development in disobedience concerned Starline, but Eggman was certain that he could fix it after the virus had finished spreading. Afterward, Starline sadly confined in Orbot that it seemed like the reason for Eggman's constant defeats was that Eggman could not adapt or plan in the long-term. After finishing up in the village, Eggman had the Faceship head towards Sunset City and distributed the Metal Virus there as well. Later, Starline had looked up some of Eggman's old files and discovered "The Lost World Project".[6][7][8]
The Last Minute and The Catalyst[]
Dr. Eggman next took the Faceship to Central City and distributed a large batch of the Metal Virus there.[9] Eggman briefly left the Faceship with Dr. Starline to conduct a private mission in Barricade Town. The Faceship visited Spiral Hill farms and dumped a batch of Metal Virus there. It flew away but soon returned to dump more of the Metal Virus. The ship soon reached Spiral Hill Village and it distributed a batch of Metal Virus there as well. It was by this time that Eggman and Starline returned from their mission.[10][11] Some time after this, Starline used the Warp Topaz to bring the Deadly Six aboard the Faceship.[12]
All or Nothing[]
Eggman attempted to fight the Deadly Six with Metal Sonic but he was easily stopped by Zavok. Starline then tried to control the Zeti with the Cacophonic Conch but after he left an opening, Zazz headbutted him and Zeena took the conch away to give to Zavok. Powerless, Starline hurriedly transported himself, Eggman and Metal Sonic off of the ship. During the skirmish, Orbot and Cubot received a message from Rouge, (who had snuck onto the ship several days prior) who told them to pretend to serve the Deadly Six so that she could coordinate with Orbot to spy on their deployments and coordinate their counterattack. Zavok distributed the Chaos Emeralds among his team and sent them out in the world to control the Zombots of the world and infect more people with the Metal Virus. He left one Emerald to power the rest of the Faceship.[13]
The Faceship crashing down onto the large horde of Zombots before exploding, from Sonic the Hedgehog #28.
Zavok forced Orbot and Cubot to use the Faceship's computers to track down Eggman so that he could finish the job. In an effort to delay him, Cubot pretended that there was an alert in the Metal Virus factory. The Zeti ran down there, believing Sonic was interfering with his plans. Rouge then revealed herself to the two robots and told them to send Amy the latest coordinates of the Deadly Six and requested that they tell her that they needed to attack now. Later on, Zavok had the Faceship fly to Angel Island in search of Eggman.[14][15]
As the Faceship approached Angel Island with the Zombots, the lights of the ship soon began short fuse and explode from above. Rouge had removed the white Chaos Emerald that had been left to power the ship and escaped from the clutches of an angry Zavok. Orbot and Cubot quickly took their leave as well. The Faceship's systems short circuited, forcing it to fall down into the ocean, crashing down onto the large horde of Zombots that Zavok had led below.[2]
Features[]
- Control room: The main control room for the Faceship. It holds the helm controls for the entire Faceship. It also houses a throne for Dr. Eggman that doubles as the power generator for the entire Faceship (which gets its energy from the seven Chaos Emeralds). A short walk away from the throne is also a viewing area through which one can look down on the things below the Faceship through one of the Faceship's eyes.[1]
- Metal Virus factory: The Faceship's production facility for the Metal Virus. This room features several automated mixers that blend Eggman's secret formula with metallic matter poured into them to create the Metal Virus en masse. Exactly how these mixers handle the technical details, such as encoding the command line and assembling the infecting particles however, is a "trade secret" of Dr. Eggman's.[1]
- Hangar: The hangar of the Faceship. It is situated right behind the "mouth" of the Faceship, and includes a cat walk above that gives an overview of the hangar. It is here the mixers containing the finished Metal Virus batches are transported to by machinery so their contents can be poured out of the hangar's hatches and down on the target zones below.[1]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Sonic the Hedgehog #16, "Infected"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sonic the Hedgehog #28, "All or Nothing, Part 3"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sonic the Hedgehog #15, "Patient Zero"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog: Imposter Syndrome #4, story one
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #17, "Plague"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #18, "Victims"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #19, "Crisis City, Part 1"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #20, "Crisis City, Part 2"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #21, "The Last Minute, Part 1"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #23, "The Last Minute, Part 3"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2020, "The Catalyst"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #24, "The Last One Out"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #25, "A Sudden Shift"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #26, "All or Nothing, Part 1"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #27, "All or Nothing, Part 2"
External links[]
- Faceship at IDW Sonic Hub Wiki, the IDW Sonic wiki.