Smithy the Lion[3][4] is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by IDW Publishing. He was an anthropomorphic lion and was both the crafter and the unofficial leader of the Diamond Cutters. He was betrayed by their infiltrator; Mimic the Octopus and killed by Shadow Androids.
Concept and creation[]
As with all of the first-generation Diamond Cutters members, Smithy was designed as homage to a member of the FOXHOUND group from the Metal Gear series, specifically the character Vulcan Raven. Because of this, Evan Stanley's original designs for Smithy portrayed him as a raven. This original iteration of the character was also named "Forge".[5] Later designs, however, would change his species to a lion, and his color to brown, while his name was changed to "Smithy".
Appearance[]
Smithy was a large, brown-furred, anthropomorphic lion with bright brown eyes, a black nose, rounded ears and white hair on his light brown muzzle. He had a large, dark brown mane with the lower part of it held by a black beard tie. He had light brown fur on his chest and long tail with a black hair tie near the paintbrush-shaped side of his tail tuft.[3]
Smithy wore an outfit that matched that of the other Diamond Cutters: a black cloak, black arm sleeves and gloves with light gray palms, and light gray boots with dark gray toes and soles.
History[]
Smithy along with Diamond Cutters, from Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper #3.
Past[]
Smithy the Lion used to have a job as an engineer. When the Eggman War began, however, he volunteered to assist fighting against the Eggman Empire, eventually meeting Slinger the Ocelot, Claire Voyance, and Whisper the Wolf. Once the group was offically organized, he became the de facto leader of the Diamond Cutters, an elite anti-Eggman mercenary team. His Wisp companion was a Pink Wisp. As Smithy was also the crafter, he created all of the team's gear that they used on various missions, including some of their Wispons.
One day, as he was looking over blueprints with Slinger and Claire in their base, Whisper excitedly showed them Mimic the Octopus impersonating her, and they were all baffled by his shapeshifting abilities. As Mimic reverted to his true form and introduced himself, he complimented them on their base, to which Smithy replied that the base was their reward for taking the hard jobs that no one else wants. Slinger added on by saying that war is great for business, which Smithy berated him for. Once Mimic decided to officially join the team, Smithy built him a Cube Wispon.
A few missions after Mimic joined, the Diamond Cutters would accept a job to take down an Eggman base surrounded by snow. As Mimic attempted to infiltrate the base, an Egg Walker saw through his disguise, and the Badnik fleet started to shoot at him. Before an Egg Hammer could crush him, the rest of the group jumped in front of him, their Wispons at the ready, covering Mimic as he went to deactivate the whole fleet. As Smithy, Slinger, and Claire lunged forward, Slinger called dibs on the Egg Hammer. Smithy let out a laugh and wished him luck as he ran towards the large Badnik firing at its face. After Claire saved him from getting crushed, Smithy called out to Slinger, telling him that he was shooting down his robot. As he continued to attack with his Spike Wispon, the robots suddenly powered down all around him. He turned to see that Mimic had accessed the main control hub, and started to dramatically express his dismay, saying that he was about to show off. Slinger responded by calling him a big baby, and Claire told the two to stop joking around since she saw a platoon advancing toward the base's entrance. Whisper quickly offered to blow the oncoming Badniks up, slightly unnerving Smithy with her apparent bloodthirst. Mimic instead decided to shapeshift into Eggman and order the reinforcements to leave. His plan was successful, and Smithy praised him for his risky idea.
After several successful missions, Smithy would eventually bring the team out to a spot in the middle of a forest. Slinger jokingly talked with him, recounting a battle in which Smithy was caught off guard by Slinger saying "pew pew" as he shot at Badniks, while the others watched on. After asserting that he did not laugh at Slinger's sound effects, he tells the team that he did not bring the team out to the forest for jokes. He acknowledged the hardships the team has attempting to share their portfolio with the Resistance and other rebel allies, as well as the fact that Eggman's facial recognition technology was getting better. He then proceeded to unveil and hand out his newly built metal Concealers, which he explained could record their missions, project, were Badnik-proof, Eggman-proof, and comfortable to wear.
He then stood up and stated that he was an engineer before he joined the Diamond Cutters, which the other members already knew. He expressed that it felt right that each of them was made up of millions of numerical problems that, when solved, created their astounding team. He noted that without every single one of the members and their Wisps with him in that moment, he would not be giving a speech about friendship mathematics. He went on to say that the masks were more than just a way to protect themselves. When they were out on the battlefield, they were a unit stopping the Eggman Empire one tower at a time. As the others, save for Mimic, expressed their love for one another, Whisper told Smithy that he was the "smartest, biggest teddy bear" she had ever met. They proceeded to cheer "Diamond Cutters". Mimic thanked Smithy for the beautiful gifts and proceeded to step away for a moment. Smithy happily continued to talk with the others, completely unaware of how hurt Mimic felt by his kindness.[6]
He later created the Variable Wispon prototype, which he hoped that each member of the team would use one day so that they could all use the powers of each of their Wisps.[3][1]
During one mission at an Eggman base, Smithy, along with Slinger the Ocelot and Claire Voyance, pretended to be captured by Mimic, who had shapeshifted into an Egg Pawn. After they managed to fool the guarding Egg Pawn there, Claire sensed a formation of Badniks on the far end of the base and two more on the inside that were recharging. This prompted Smithy to shoot down several Egg Pawns that stood in their way. He soon followed Mimic out of the facility after he created an exit with his Cube Wispon.[3]
Demise[]
Smithy perishing, from Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper #3.
Later, at the onset of the Eggman War, Mimic secretly betrayed the Diamond Cutters and aligned himself with Dr. Eggman. He brought a plan before the Diamond Cutters to take down an Eggman base that cause a blackout among his forces along the coastline. At the Eggman base that the team decided to take down, the Diamond Cutters found no opposition. Claire tried to use her powers but could not sense anything, deducing that Eggman must have been emitting alpha waves somewhere to block her. After Smithy sent Mimic to scout for an ambush, he, Slinger and Claire pressed onward to find large capsules where Claire believed the source of the alpha waves was coming from. In the capsules, the trio discovered Shadow Androids. Suddenly, the room was automatically locked and trapped them inside. Ordering his companions to fire at will, Smithy attacked the activated Shadow Androids with all his might using his Spike Wispon, but was soon killed in battle.[3]
Legacy[]
Whisper crying happy tears knowing she finally avenged Smithy after defeating Mimic, from Sonic the Hedgehog #79.
Smithy's death would weigh heavily on Whisper, who blamed herself in part for not being able to save him, Slinger, and Claire. Because of this, Mimic, who used his appearance as a means of traumatizing, intimidating, and fighting Whisper and Tangle.[7][8]
Sometime later, Mimic used Slinger's shape and Smithy's ear tuffs to create a false identity: Duo the Cat.
Smithy is finally avenged when Mimic used his knife to stab his power core which killed himself, Whisper opens her eyes wide in public for the first time as she begins crying tears of joy, her voice becoming more audible as she calls out for Smithy and cries out that the battle is finally over.[9]
Personality[]
Smithy was a quite cheerful person who believed in justice and personally opposed everything Dr. Eggman stood for. Though Smithy was usually serious during missions, he sometimes found the fun in them. Smithy was quite caring for his team as he wished that they would always be able together as one.[3]
Powers and abilities[]
Smithy was an engineering genius who crafted all of the Diamond Cutters' gear, including the prototype Variable Wispon that could use the powers of multiple types of Wisps. In addition, he was a calculating person and took bold steps in leading his team. Smithy apparently had a great amount of physical strength, as he was able to carry and use a heavy Spike Wispon into battles.[3]
Smithy was also a trained soldier and thus, had experience fighting in war-like situations.[1]
Weapons and equipment[]
Smithy using the Spike Wispon, from Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper #3.
For missions, he would wear a cream cat-like ornate mask, which left his muzzle exposed, with gray markings on its ears and the mask's right side. The Concealer features three holes on the left side set in a triangular pattern and a dark gray and pink "eye" on the right side.[3] The mask also had a built-in camera and was networked, so that all teammates could watch the footage as means of reviewing mission performance and studying each others' perspectives. It also had a built-in translator that let him understand the Wisps' language.[3]
Smithy used a Spike Wispon, which was powered by his Pink Wisp companion. Smithy would use its offensive functions during missions.[3]
Relationships[]
Diamond Cutters[]
Smithy was very close friends with his teammates, Whisper, Slinger, Claire and Mimic. He wanted his friends and their wisps to be one with each other, everyone working together. Unfortunately Smithy, as well as his other teammates, had no idea of Mimic's true nature, which costed most of the Diamond Cutters' lives.
Smithy's Pink Wisp[]
It's unknown how exactly Smithy's relationship with his Pink Wisp was, but it is clear they were very close and loved each other.
Friends/allies[]
- Diamond Cutters (teammates)
- Claire Voyance †
- Mimic the Octopus (impersonator) †
- Slinger the Ocelot †
- Whisper the Wolf
- Wisps
- Blue Block
- Cyan Laser
- Green Hover
- Orange Rocket
- Pink Spike (companion)
Enemies[]
- Eggman Empire
- Badniks
- Dr. Eggman
- Shadow Androids (killers)
Trivia[]
- Smithy resembles Vulcan Raven from the Metal Gear Solid video game, being the largest member of his team armed with a Gatling gun-like weapon. This is further alluded to in Smithy's trading card, which describes his cloak as being "raven-black."
- Furthering the connection, the lion is the sacred animal to the Roman god Vulcan, who is incidentally the god of fire and the forge. This reflects Smithy's role as the Diamond Cutters' weapon designer.
Gallery[]
Concept artwork[]
Model sheets[]
Trading Cards[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Smithy's Trading Card.
- ↑ Evan Stanley on Twitter. Twitter (5 September 2019). Archived from the original on 24 October 2019. Retrieved on 24 October 2019.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper #3, "Betrayal"
- ↑ Smithy's Trading Card.
- ↑ Evan Stanley (@spiritsonic) on Tumblr. Tumblr (21 January 2024). Retrieved on 22 January 2024.
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2024, "Shattered Diamonds".
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper #2, "Ambush"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper #4, "Showdown!"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #79, "Story one"
External links[]
- Smithy the Lion at IDW Sonic Hub Wiki, the IDW Sonic wiki.
