Flapper

For the Archie Comics character, see Egg Flapper or Egg Flapper (Pre-Super Genesis Wave).

The Flapper (フラッパー^[1], Furappā^?) is an enemy in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a mass-produced, Egg Pawn-based Badnik model created by Dr. Eggman. Possessing no offensive capabilities, the Flappers are akin to surveillance drones. However, their design serves as the template for Badniks that are more equipped for battle.

Appearance

The Flappers look very similar to the Egg Pawn, possessing the round torso, black undercarriage, and dome-shaped head that the Egg Pawns have. However, the Flappers have airplane-like wings instead of arms, and two turbines on their backs that serve as jetpacks instead of legs. Additionally, while they have the Egg Pawns' pointy nose and panel-based mouth, they have flight visors instead of eyes.

The Flappers come in a variety of colors, although they are most typically orange-red with yellow noses.

During the Time Eater Incident, they were redesigned with a security camera monitor on the bottom, a more robust design and a flight visor similar to the Aero-Chaser.

Game appearances

Sonic Heroes

The Flappers made their first appearance in Sonic Heroes. In this game, they appear in Sea Gate, Seaside Hill, Ocean Palace, Grand Metropolis and Power Plant.

In gameplay, Flappers possess few hit points and no means of attacking the playable characters. When they spot the playable characters, they display a speech balloon with an exclamation point inside it. In terms of attack patterns, they either slowly fly back and forth within a certain area or hover in a stationary position. In fact, the only way the player can take damage due to the Flappers is by ramming into them. Their positions in midair are also often arranged so that the player can skip across them with the Homing Attack.

The easiest way to destroy a Flapper is by using Thunder Shoot to knock it out of the sky, leaving it open to any attack. If Thunder Shoot is leveled up to at least Level 2, then it may be enough to destroy a Flapper in one shot. Also, upon a Flapper's destruction, the player is rewarded with 100 points.

Besides the regular Flappers, Sonic Heroes also features various kinds of Flapper variants, each with different weapons, such as the Cannon Flappers, Laser Flappers, Search Flappers, Bomb Flappers, Needle Flappers, Gun Flappers and Solid Flappers.

Sonic Rush

Flappers also appear in Sonic Rush, which introduces 2 new types of Flapper. The Egg Diver that moves underwater and the Battle Flapper. They are enemies in Water Palace, Night Carnival and Altitude Limit. Cannon Flappers and Laser Flappers also return.

Sonic and the Black Knight

In Sonic and the Black Knight, Flappers appeared in the Legacy versions of each locations level. They can only be destroyed by the Homing Dash or the glide.

Mario & Sonic series

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games

Flappers appeared in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games in both the Wii and DS versions. The Bomb Flapper was featured in a DS mini-game for Adventure Mode.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games

In Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, they appear in the Dream Fencing event (which takes place in Ocean Palace) as randomly occurring obstacles. One also appears alongside an Egg Pawn harassing a Chao and Omochao in Challengers Bonus Episode 2, before being destroyed by Bowser Jr.

Sonic Colors

In the Nintendo DS version of Sonic Colors, the Flapper appears as an enemy. In this game, they look like the red Flappers that appeared in Sonic Rush. The player can only encounter them in Starlight Carnival. In gameplay, Flappers have no form of attack. Instead, like in Sonic Rush, they just hover back and forth around a certain spot.

Sonic Generations

In the Nintendo 3DS version of Sonic Generations, the Flappers return in Water Palace. In this version, they have the design they had in Sonic Rush; being more robust in design with more cylindrical-shaped jet engines on their back.

There are three types of Flappers in this game, all unarmed. The first type is the orange one which appears in the non-watery sections. This type does not move around the area it is patrolling, making it just an obstacle for the player to take care of since they can sometimes encounter them in tight sections. The second type is the Egg Diver, which is only encountered in underwater sections.

Variants

Bomb Flapper

Main article: Bomb Flapper

The Bomb Flapper is a magenta variation of the Flapper. This variation flies about, periodically dropping bombs. They first appeared in Sonic Heroes.

Cannon Flapper

Main article: Cannon Flapper

The Cannon Flapper is a green variation of the Flapper. This variation comes equipped with a cannon on their undercarriage. They first appeared in Sonic Heroes.

Egg Diver

Main article: Egg Diver

The Egg Diver is a green variation of the Flapper. This variation is equipped for underwater operations. They first appeared in Sonic Rush.

Gun Flapper

Main article: Gun Flapper

The Gun Flapper is a blue variation of the Flapper. This variation comes equipped with a machine gun on their undercarriage. Their only appearance is in Sonic Heroes.

Laser Flapper

Main article: Laser Flapper

The Laser Flapper is a neon green variation of the Flapper. This variation comes equipped with a laser cannon on their undercarriage that can fire lasers into the ground. They first appeared in Sonic Heroes.

Needle Flapper

Main article: Needle Flapper

The Needle Flapper is an ultra violet variation of the Flapper. This variation has spikes that pop out at regular intervals, making them harder to attack. Their only appearance is in Sonic Heroes.

Search Flapper

Main article: Search Flapper

The Search Flapper is a yellow variation of the Flapper. This variation has no weapons, but instead has a searchlight. If a person is caught in the light, the Search Flapper will summon several Egg Pawns to fight the intruder off. Their only appearance is in Sonic Heroes.

Solid Flapper

Main article: Solid Flapper

The Solid Flapper is a sliver-armored variation of the Flapper. This variation can only be destroyed by Power Formation attacks (although they can be destroyed by the Fly character if Thunder Shoot is used enough). They can also be equipped with any weapon their colored counterparts possess, or with no weapon at all. Their only appearance is in Sonic Heroes.

In other media

Archie Comics

Main articles: Egg Flapper and Egg Flapper (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, the Flappers (named Egg Flappers in this media) were created by Dr. Eggman to replace his decommissioned SWATbots. When the fourth Enerjak surfaced, however, the Egg Flappers were destroyed while attempting to subdue the chaos demigod.

After the events of Worlds Collide, the Egg Flappers became nearly identical to their game counterparts. In addition, Breeze Media has bought several outdated Egg Flappers to serve as her staff.

IDW Publishing

Main article: Flapper (IDW)

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by IDW Publishing, the Flappers are Badniks created by Dr. Eggman. Their past is virtually identical to their game counterparts' up until after Sonic Forces.

Gallery

Artwork

Sonic Heroes

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Sprites

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

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Screenshots

Gallery
Sonic Heroes Sonic Heroes Sonic Generations (Nintendo 3DS) Add a photo to this gallery

References