Archie Does it Better: The Top 7 Best Sonic Characters (that aren’t in the games)
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Welcome to the planet Mobius, a world unique and beyond what you know from the SEGA games . . . This is the opening line that greets anyone with the good fortune to have experienced the fantastic universe Archie Comics has built for Sonic the Hedgehog over the last 20 years. The planet Mobius is one populated by a (literally and metaphorically) colorful group of characters far cast from the despised, one-dimensional neon woodland creatures we’ve seen in Sonic’s completely undefined game universe. The talented writers at Archie kept the crazy character designs, but added the necessary depth and personality needed to make Sonic and his friends into memorable characters and created several amazing originals. Today we’re going to look at eight of the latter.
Who? Rob is a cousin of Amy Rose and formerly worked as a sentry for the now-destroyed city of Albion and led another faction of Freedom Fighters. He has made a few appearances aiding more important characters in the series with his awesome archery skills and hilarious Old English dialect. There’s a lot to be said about a guy who prefers a bow when facing robots, but Rob can hold his own with the best of them. Why he’s among the best. Rob is one of the few hedgehogs on Mobius that doesn’t have any special abilities. He’s just a good guy who has embraced his role as Mobius’ token Robin Hood/Green Arrow/Hawkeye. Although Rob doesn’t have much potential for development, an arc devoted to his past in Sonic Universe (Archie’s parallel series that focuses on side stories) is at the top of my list of requests for Archie.
Who? NICOLE is an A.I. construct who has come a long way from her humble beginnings as Sally Acorn’s handheld computer. After an accident allowed her to briefly inhabit Sally’s body (just go with it), she pulled a Johnny 5 and developed a real personality. This motivated her to develop a holographic form for herself so she can interact with her fleshy companions. She currently is the steward and administrator of New Mobotropolis, a city constructed entirely out of nanites under her control. The city is the largest free nation on Mobius and home to many of the planet’s heroes. During an attack on Mobotropolis, NICOLE’s programming was briefly compromised and she was forced to turn the very city against her friends. Even though she regained control, many citizens of the city believe she should be shut down to avoid the possibility of something like that happening again. Why she’s among the best. The ethics of such a proposal introduces the discussion of what it means to be human (or Mobian?) into a comic series primarily targeted to children. That is fantastic! Making such a thought-provoking discussion generally found in high-thinking science fiction accessible to a young audience can only be a good thing.
Who? Naugus is one of the strangest characters that have terrorized Mobius. He is also one of the last surviving members of The Order of Ixis, a group of powerful magicians. He was created by the fusion of three other Ixis wizards, whose spirits have recently reawakened in his mind and constantly taunt him. He’s a little crazy, but that didn’t stop him from manipulating Mobian politics to create a rightful claim as King of Mobotropolis. In spite of his villainous past, he won the city’s people over by spreading fear of NICOLE and false displays of heroics. Why he’s among the best. Sonic has never really had to justify his heroic actions. His rogues gallery is almost entirely composed of indisputably bad people, but Naugus crowned himself King of Mobotropolis through legal actions and the people adore him. For the first time Sonic can’t just spin dash the snot out of the bad guy and call it day. He’ll have to actually prove Naugus’ malicious intentions before taking him down.
Who? Locke is the father of Knuckles and the previous Guardian of Angel Island. He was a complicated man who often put his duty before his family. Haunted by a vision of his son lacking the power to defeat a powerful enemy, he basked Knuckles’ egg in pure chaos radiation before he hatched. While this did grant Knuckles unimaginable power, Locke’s meddling caused his son a great amount of pain. Knuckles’ powers grant him God-like abilities at their peak, which makes him a constant threat to the very fabric of reality should he lose control and misuse them. When Dr. Finitevus used a hex to manipulate Knuckles into using his powers begin reshaping the world in the mad doctor’s image, Locke paid the ultimate price to destroy the hex and save his son. Why he’s among the best. Even though Knuckles took his responsibility as a Guardian seriously, he didn’t let it consume his life completely the way Locke did. His decision to grant Knuckles chaos powers was one he paid for the rest of his life. It’s these types of impossible situations presented to readers that make fictional worlds like Mobius so engaging to read about.
Who? Dr. Finitevus was first introduced as a scientist that attempted to assist Knuckles in dealing with his through a process that would make drain them to a more manageable level. Unfortunately the procedure transformed him into the albino, completely crazed lunatic he is today and drove Knuckles’ powers to even higher levels. His fighting style revolves around using miniature portals (called warp rings) to redirect his opponents. GLADOS would be proud. His deadliest plan involved a hex that bound Knuckles to his control. Through Knuckles he began to reshape the world as he saw fit using his unlimited powers, but didn’t count on Locke willing to sacrifice his life to end the hex. After surviving a revenge attempt from Knuckles, he disappeared. Why he’s among the best. Knuckles’ Inigo Montoya-esque motivation against Finitevus creates an antagonistic relationship that is much more beyond any other villain Knuckles has faced. Although Knuckles tends to be a bit hot-headed and quick to anger, Finitevus is the first villain to bring out his dark side. Readers have seen what happens when Knuckles lets out his dark side in a possible alternate-future timeline that was recently explored by Silver the Hedgehog. It wasn’t pretty, so any implication that present-day Knuckles might be leaning in that direction is terrifying.
Who? Sally is probably the most likely to be recognized on this list either by virtue of the Saturday morning cartoon whose setting was a launching point for the comics or via the large amount of uncomfortable fan art spread across the Internet. She is responsible for forming the original Freedom Fighters with Sonic and the rest of her friends. She’s been known to kick some ass when necessary, but mostly contributes to the greater good as an expert leader and tactician. She was Sonic’s primary love interest throughout the series 20-year-long continuity until recently when she allowed herself to be roboticized to save all of Mobius from the same fate. Why she’s among the best. Even though I think poor Amy should get a shot with Sonic (since her comic book incarnation is all kinds of awesome) I can’t argue that Sally is a perfect complement to Sonic. Her relationship with the blue blur is the type of romance that is ready to blossom at any moment, but constantly made impossible my perilous circumstances. Sonic and Sally would like nothing more than to just get some freaking chili dogs and talk about the confusing etiquette involving clothes in their world, but responsibilities leave little time for living normal lives. It’s just so much more believable than your average slog through a series of dates and misunderstandings we’re exposed to in other forms of fiction. It may be nothing new, but it’s too freaking cute for that to even matter.
Who? Mammoth Mogul is an immortal being of supreme intelligence and possesses a vast array of mythological powers. He is also, and this can’t be stressed enough, a freaking wooly mammoth in a tuxedo. Out of all the interesting villains in the Archie Sonic Universe, Mogul has come closest to world domination. It took the combined power of Super Sonic, Hyper Knuckles (really), and Turbo Tails (yes, really) to take him down at his most powerful. After losing one too many times he dubbed Sonic the embodiment of chaos, a force with which the very fates will intervene to ensure his success, and decided the only way to achieve his goals was to simply wait until the old age takes care of his nemesis. He passes the time by running a casino. Why he’s among the best Mogul is both literally and metaphorically one massive elephant in the room. As an immortal, his mere existence almost makes other conflicts on Mobius pointless. Regardless of how the war between Robotnik and the Freedom Fighters ends, they’re all going to die eventually and leave the world open for him to conquer. How often do you meet a character who renders a story ultimately meaningless? Also did I mention he’s a wooly mammoth in a tuxedo? |
The Archie Sonic comics are also home to the most wonderful derp you’ll ever find :p
http://amomentofarchiesonic.tumblr.com/
This is amazing! Thank you for showing me this exists!
I stumbled across this list by accident but am glad to have read it. All of your points are well thought out, but what I was most impressed by was that Mogul nabbed first place, along with the reasoning why so. Most people don’t even remember he exists, but he really does have some of the best villainous logic out there.