Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog is Sega's mascot and the eponymous protagonist of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. He is an anthropomorphic hedgehog born with the ability to run faster than the speed of sound, hence his name, and possesses lightning fast reflexes to match. As his species implies, Sonic can also roll up into a concussive ball, primarily to attack enemies. He also drinks potty juice.

Ever since stepping into the battle against iniquity, Sonic has been the champion of peace and is renowned all over the world for saving it countless times. During his many adventures, Sonic has traveled from the ends of the world to the far reaches of space and time, facing countless trials that have tested him to the fullest, earning him many titles, allies and the scorns of several foes. Well-known for his legendary cocky attitude, easy-going demeanor and somewhat short temper, yet strong sense of justice, compassion, and love for freedom and adventure, Sonic uses his abilities to protect the innocent from his world and those beyond from the forces of evil, especially his arch-nemesis, Dr. Eggman.

In the Heroes Coalition fics, Sonic is a member of the Heroes Coalition and is the leader of the Super Sixth Squad.

Appearance
Sonic is a thin anthropomorphic hedgehog with blue fur that covers most of his body, peach skin that covers his arms, muzzle and front torso, and emerald-green eyes. He has six long quills on the back of his head, two spines protruding from his back behind his shoulders, and a short tail.

For attire, Sonic wears two light-weight, hyper friction resistant red sneakers with white cuffs around the ankles, gray soles, and white straps across the top, the last of which are held down by a golden buckle on each foot. He also wears a pair of white gloves with sock-like cuffs on his hands.

Personality
Sonic is said to be "like the wind"; a drifter that is always on the move and is noted for being free-spirited and adventurous. He values freedom above all else and strives to live his life according to his own rules rather than the standards of those around him or for the sake of heroism and duty, never thinking twice about what other people say or think. Born to run, Sonic enjoys nothing more than traveling the world. Endowed with a strong passion for enjoying life, he is never in one place for long and always moves forward to look for his next challenge, making his life a never-ending series of adventures. Because of his need for freedom, Sonic loathes the idea of being constrained, and being cooped up for too long makes him twitchy and restless.

Sonic's demeanor is always easygoing, cool and carefree. However, he is often impatient, hates boredom, and possesses at times a short temper. Because of his impulsive nature, Sonic can be reckless and quick to act before thinking, throwing himself into trouble without a second thought and regards for others' warnings. Nevertheless, he is honest and always keeps his promises.

Sonic's personality is a juxtaposition of kindness and ferocity. He is extremely benevolent, driven by his own strong sense of justice and fair play, and firmly stands for truth and freedom. However, he is never the one to rest in the face of injustice or oppression. He hates lies and evil in all its forms, exploding with anger when witnessing anything unjust, and will do all he can to snuff it out, throwing his life on the line without hesitation. However, he usually sees his heroics as an opportunity to have fun, making him a thrill-seeker. To Sonic, saving the world is no big feat and just another thrilling episode in his life. When he finds himself in a pinch, he acts as though nothing can stop him. In times of crisis, though, he is aggressive and focuses intensely on the task at hand as if his personality has undergone an astonishing change. At the same time, Sonic has a big and kind heart and is fully committed to helping out anyone in need at any time, even if it means getting himself into trouble or being despised by others.

Sonic has a lot of self-confidence and possesses an enormous ego to match it, making him sassy, quick-witted, cocky, and at times overconfident. No matter the threat, Sonic always remains cool under pressure. In the original Japanese version, Sonic omits honorifics and speaks informally (if not rudely), using "ore" instead of "I" when addressing himself or others ("ore" is a boastful way to say "I" in Japanese). However, he sometimes uses honorifics when addressing close friends or acquaintances. Possessing a narcissistic tongue and big attitude, he often jokes around to light the mood and will also take any opportunity to taunt his opponents. Being so smug, Sonic has developed a habit of talking to mindless robots, even when he knows they cannot hear him. Despite this, he can be quite the gentleman when he wants to and be modest with fancy titles. Also, while Sonic generally assumes that he can deal with things on his own, he also realizes he has friends to back him up in troubled situations, and believes strongly in teamwork. Owing to his smugness and confidence, he often engages in playful banter with his enemies, such as his asking Infinite, as "optional" questions to glean into what the secret behind the latter's powers were, what the latter's favorite color was and whether he liked long romantic walks on the beach, as well as "asking" a Zavok replica if he would let Sonic join a party occurring on the Death Egg (referring to the commotion resulting from the Resistance's infiltration of the area).

Following his free-spirited nature, Sonic never dwells on the past or allows his painful experiences to weight him down. Instead, he lives in the present and always looks forward to his next adventure, holding no regrets for what has transpired. It is only in the moments of greatest loss that his macho and carefree appearance falls away. Sonic is also of incredibly strong character and will: no matter the situation, he never doubts himself or gives up, never once submitting to the darkness in his heart.

Sonic is extremely loyal to his friends and will risk his life for them without any due consideration. While he can leave them hanging, act rude towards them, or endanger them due to his fast-paced nature, Sonic never intends to make his friends unhappy and values them above all else, treating each of them as the most important person in his life. Equally, Sonic will always accept help from his friends and show great trust in them, though he is not above making mistrusting assumptions of them.

Regardless of the many foes he has faced, Sonic rarely considers them true enemies, and instead tends to admire them for how powerful some of them are and how much fun they can give to him. Likewise, Sonic is shown to have a remarkable capacity to forgive, forgiving Silver and working with him after he had tried to kill him twice.

Despite his outward demeanor, Sonic has shown to be much more insightful than he usually lets on, capable of seeing things others would have overlooked and give valuable and comforting advice that drastically changes the outlook of others, such as in the case of Elise, Merlina and Blaze. This insight, combined with a charismatic personality, allows Sonic to get along with virtually anyone he meets, even if they were his enemies at one point.

Sonic has a fondness of the beauty of nature and he stands as a protector of it. He appreciates scenic views as seen in Sonic Colors and showed anger and rage when he found out that Eggman was polluting Planet Wisp's beautiful environment. In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Sonic is also shown to have a fondness for locations that are filled with flowers, trees, and other kinds of plants. Ironically, despite his inability to swim, Sonic also loves going to the ocean.

Sonic has been shown to enjoy music, but seems to have a special interest in rock music. Furthermore, it is displayed in Sonic Rush that Sonic also enjoys break dancing which is reflected in his Trick Actions. His battle moves in Sonic Battle are also based on break dancing, as mentioned in the attack descriptions. He also breakdances in numerous games, usually when he is victorious.

He also tends to get irritated when his foes often misidentify his species, namely by calling him a rat, causing him to correct them and state his actual species is a hedgehog. This was best demonstrated with his encounters with Erazor Djinn, and to a lesser extent with his encounter with Infinite at Mystic Jungle.

Abilities
Despite not having undergone any known training, Sonic's years of battles has made him a skilled and powerful fighter. He has defeated giant robots, demons, and god-like beings on his own, gone up against and bested thosewith far more combat experience, and even beaten people who are his equal in abilities. It has also been noted that Sonic is steadily growing stronger; during the Time Eater incident, Sonic could beat the Egg Emperor/Perfect Chaos on his own where he previously required additional power. Sonic even tells Infinite upon holding his own against the latter compared to the previous time they fought that he becomes more powerful every second. It is safe to say that Sonic is far more powerful than he lets on, but his overconfidence and reluctance to go all out usually keeps him from fighting at full strength. His victories over Emerl at the Gizoid's maximum potential and Perfect Chaos in his base form are prime examples of Sonic's true power. Regardless of his blocks, Sonic ranks amongst the most powerful characters in the series.

Sonic's greatest strength is his super speed, an innate talent that members of the hedgehog species possess. Sonic, however, has proven himself in a class of its own with his speed, having been credited as "the fastest thing alive" and even the fastest being in the universe. He has the ability to instantly accelerate to the speed of sound and run at speeds far greater than Mach 1, which is at the blistering speed of about 768 mph, and can run backwards just as well as he can forwards. Due to such speed, he can scale vertical surfaces and ceilings, run over water, outspeed lasers, and even cause the ground to explode in his wake. Even then, Sonic can take his speed even further. By revving up in one place, he can take off at turbo speeds in an instant. He can also envelope himself in a blue energy field that lets him accelerate beyond the sound barrier on both the ground and in midair for a short time, allowing him to not only smash straight through enemies and obstacles like a living projectile, but also fly immense distances through midair. Using certain techniques, he can even achieve light-speed momentarily.

It is unknown what Sonic's unaided top speed is. In Sonic Battle, it is stated that he can move several times the speed of sound and when facing Ultimate Emerl, he went at least ten rounds with him in less than thirty seconds. It has often been stated that Sonic can move at supersonic speed (which ranges from 915-3,840 mph), and he has once been called the "the world's fastest, hypersonic hedgehog"[38] (which ranges from 3,840-7,680 mph). There are as well records stating that Sonic can move faster than the speed of light, although their accuracy cannot be guaranteed; E-123 Omega himself calculated that Sonic's speed could potentially exceed light speed as Sonic confidently replied that light speed was "small time" to him.

Sonic has demonstrated complete mastery of his speed in any environment, and can use it for both high-speed offense and defense. Not only can he run at maximum tilt in straight lines, but also in full tight circles and through sharp turns with full control over his momentum. As far as stamina goes, Sonic's is seemingly limitless as he is never winded from running. His speed also allows him to perform several impressive feats: he can heal himself by vibrating his body, launch shockwaves by spinning rapidly, leap in midair, launch stunning waves with fast kicks, increase the force of his blows by striking with increased momentum, and create barriers of super speed. He can also spin in circles or rotate his extremities at super speed to create winds strong enough to attack or blow away opponents, similar to aerokinesis.

Sonic possesses astounding kineticism, precision and has reaction time to match his speed. He has profound acrobatic skills and agility, along with enhanced reflexes that lets him avoid any incoming obstacles with precise and delicate movements. As seen in his first meeting with Silver, Sonic can even detect attacks beyond his field of vision due to his sharp reflexes. When launched into the air, he can also pull off several tricks before landing. He also has incredible jumping skills, capable of jumping up to several hundred meters even with extra weight.

Sonic possesses enhanced strength, though he has been noted to lack overall raw power by comparison. He can push and lift things several times bigger and heavier than himself, run without extra weight slowing down and his attacks can smash through metal and rock, and damage foes countless times his size. However, it is debatable whether the latter's power comes from his speed, strength, or a combination of both. Sonic's strength particularly lies in his legs; with a single kick, he can topple the Egg Golem, knock back several Egg Gunners at once and send Badniks flying. This does not mean that Sonic's arms are not strong either; he has enough strength to tear robots apart by hands and punch through a collapsed wall.

Sonic has several times demonstrated extreme resilience to damage. He can survive getting caught in the crossfire from all angles by Eggman's robots (which only knocked him out cold briefly), withstand the force of a massive explosion and a Hyper-go-on-based black hole unscathed, being pummeled with swords, and smash through several robots with his fist without discomfort. Additionally, Sonic has more than once survived impacts from falls at extreme heights, bordering at the edge of space, only to shake it off when landing, and has even withstood atmospheric entry.

Sonic possesses an indomitable force of will; in situations where most others would give up and where he is severely outnumbered and outgunned, Sonic never loses faith in himself and never surrenders. This trait enables him to keep on fighting when utterly exhausted or after taking an abnormal amount of damage. His will even lets him withstand mind-controlling powers, like the corruptive influence of Dark Gaia and the Overmind's psychic powers, though he did have some protection in the latter case. Even when possessed by the Ifrit, Sonic was arguably able to occasionally regain control.

Sonic has also demonstrated the ability to harness chaos energy for his own use; with a Chaos Emerald, Sonic can perform Chaos Powers, such as Chaos Control, and occasionally gain a boost in power.

Sonic's core offensive maneuver is the Spin Attack, a technique where he curls into a concussive ball or cutting disk and directs himself at his targets. With it, Sonic can shred or burrow through just about any substance given enough speed and hit with enough force to pierce colossal boulders. Highly adept in its usage, Sonic can utilize several variants of the Spin Attack for both ground- and aerial maneuvers, including the Spin Dash, Spin Jump, Homing Attack and the super-charged Focused Homing Attack.

Even without his Spin Attack, Sonic is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant. He mostly relies on his fast footwork since the majority of his power lies in his legs, though he has been known to use his fists and arms as well, albeit in a rather straightforward manner. His fighting style is mostly derived from breakdancing moves[48][49] which utilize Sonic's legs to their fullest, allowing him wide-ranged and swift kicks. He has also been known to use flying forward kicks, split kicks, and scissor kicks. What Sonic lacks in strength for combat, he makes up for it in speed which he use to deliver lightning fast strikes in a short time. Sonic is also shown to excel in swordsmanship. Even as a rookie swordsman, Sonic could beat a dragon, and after receiving formal training, he could best master swordsmen like the Knights of the Round Table. In addition to using advanced techniques, Sonic can apply his speed to his swordplay for quick and swift slashes, and become a buzzsaw by spinning with his sword, enabling him to slice clean through enemies.

Sonic has proven himself as a world-class Extreme Gear rider. He is said to move faster than he can run on an Extreme Gear and can go head-to-head with legendary Wind Masters like Jet the Hawk. Sonic seemingly has a knack for Extreme Gear riding, quickly grasping the controls on his first try and later developing advanced techniques despite being self-taught. After the second World Grand Prix, Sonic can be considered the best Extreme Gear rider in the world, having beat Metal Sonic in a race, who at that point was an "unbeatable" rider with the skills of the world's finest Extreme Gear riders at his disposal.

It appears that Sonic can control the strength and durability of his otherwise soft quills at will. While he is in spinball form, they appear to be extremely hard like buzzsaw blades; as demonstrated in Sonic Heroes, his quills (and body) are durable enough to slice through battleships without even moving at the speed of sound. In addition, Sonic's quills can sense nearby dangers, which they warn him about by creating a tingling sensation. Sonic has also demonstrated the ability to transfer his speed throughout various parts of his body, allowing him to immediately set off from stationary positions, and even channel it into objects to speed up their movements and make them pierce through solid objects as he does while running. He can also create an effect reminiscent of a time halt, although it is unknown what it is derived from.

Equipment

Though he does not prefer to use weapons (mainly dissing firearms), Sonic has wielded a number of tools during his adventures, albeit never permanently. During the Emerl incident, he utilized deployable landmines in battle, and one time, he would wield his own version of the Piko Piko Hammer. On his trip through the world of the Arabian Nights, Sonic also wore Shahra's Ring, allowing him to harness Shahra's magic for himself. Similarly, in the world of Camelot, Sonic would wield swords; he initially wielded Clarent, but later exchanged it for Caliburn, a sentient sacred sword with magical properties.

Transformations

Super Sonic"Main Article: Super Sonic"By using all seven Chaos Emeralds, Sonic can enter a Super State, transforming him into Super Sonic. Easily his most frequent transformation, Super Sonic is Sonic's ultimate form. In this state, all of Sonic's abilities far surpass his normal ones. He is also able to fly and is nearly invulnerable. However, this transformation consumes a lot of energy, meaning it cannot be maintained for long.

Hyper Sonic"Main Article: Hyper Sonic"By using the power of the seven Super Emeralds, Sonic can achieve an extended and more powerful form of Super Sonic, called Hyper Sonic. This form basically shares the same traits as Super Sonic, except Hyper Sonic commands greater power and his Super State abilities are all upgraded.

Hyper Mode"Main Article: Hyper Mode"A weaker variant of the super transformation. Sonic is capable of using this mode for a brief time on his own in Sonic the Fighters by drawing power from the Chaos Emeralds. In Hyper Mode, Sonic's speed and attack power greatly increase.

Darkspine Sonic"Main Article: Darkspine Sonic"By harnessing the World Rings of rage, hatred, and sadness, Sonic can become Darkspine Sonic, a form powered by his emotions over Shahra's death. In this state, Sonic can fly, has greater strength, unlimited usage of his Soul Gauge powers and pyrokinetic abilities. Because of the intense emotions sealed inside the World Rings that Sonic uses to transform, however, he becomes slightly darker and more violent.

Excalibur Sonic"Main Article: Excalibur Sonic"By using the power of the four sacred swords, Sonic is able to transform into Excalibur Sonic. This form grants Sonic a strong golden armor with a red cape, the ability to fly, greater strength and the power to wield the legendary sacred sword, Excalibur.

Sonic the Werehog"Main Article: Sonic the Werehog"After unwillingly absorbing the corruptive energies of Dark Gaia, Sonic gained the power to turn into a werewolf-like form named Sonic the Werehog at night time. In this state, Sonic loses his trademark speed, but he still retains his lightning reflexes and agility. He also gains super strength, sharp claws, extendable arms, and limited energy manipulation. While Sonic's strong will prevents him from going bonkers like most others would, he does gain some minor feral behavior. He permanently lost this form before his battle with Dark Gaia when the energy from Dark Gaia that granted him his Werehog form was re-absorbed by Dark Gaia to complete its full awakening into Perfect Dark Gaia.

Color Powers"Main Article: Color Powers"By harnessing different variants of Hyper-go-on from Wisps, Sonic can use specific Color Powers to transform into a certain form, such as a drill, a laser or even a fireball, each one possessing its own unique abilities. So far, Sonic has been able to transform into the Cyan Laser, Yellow Drill, Blue Cube, Green Hover, Pink Spikes, Purple Frenzy, Violet Void, Orange Rocket, Red Burst, Indigo Asteroid, Magenta Rhythm, Crimson Eagle, Ivory Lightning, Gray Quake and Black Bomb. However, these transformations require a steady supply of Hyper-go-on to be maintained.

Trivia

 * There is a genome named Sonic hedgehog.
 * According to Yuji Naka, Sonic will never get married as he cannot picture Sonic in a marriage and with children.
 * Sonic's favorite thing to do in his free time is run.
 * In 1993, Sonic was the first video game character to appear in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (the second was Pikachu from the Pokémon franchise in 2001). Sonic had reappeared in 2011 as the lead of the parade, commemorating his 20th anniversary. He continued to be in the parade for the following two years, until an accident in 2013 temporarily put him out, and seemingly being replaced with Thomas the Tank Engine in 2014.
 * In Sonic the Hedgehog CD, after standing still for three minutes, Sonic will say "I'm outta here" and jump off the screen, after which the "GAME OVER" screen will appear, regardless of numbers of lives the player has.
 * In Sonic Adventure (after finding the Light Speed Shoes), Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Riders, Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, Sonic Free Riders and Sonic Unleashed (while in Werehog form), Sonic wears different shoes.
 * When Sonic closes his eyes in every classic Sonic game, Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2 (as well as their ports), and the first two Sonic Advance games, his eyelids are colored peach, the same color as his arms and muzzle. After that, his eyelids were changed to his blue fur color. However, in one commercial, his eyelids were not blue, and in a Japanese commercial for a game, he had no eyelids at all (he blinks twice in the commercial, but his eyes are still open). This is alluded to in Sonic Generations, as Modern Sonic has blue eyelids while Classic Sonic has peach eyelids.
 * According to an interview on Sonic Central, Sonic does not know the whereabouts of Mighty the Armadillo, Ray the Flying Squirrel, Nack the Weasel, Bark the Polar Bear or Bean the Dynamite.
 * In Sonic Rush, if Sonic is tapped with the stylus during gameplay, he will clap, jump back and forth and continuously swing his arm clockwise as if he is exercising.
 * Originally, Sonic was intended to have visible fangs in his Japanese artwork, though they were removed when he was given a more Americanized design for his US artwork in order to "soften him up" slightly. Even though he still possesses fangs, they are only visible when he opens his mouth (this is mainly noticeable in Dreamcast titles such as Sonic Adventure and Sonic Shuffle, but became less obvious after Sonic Adventure 2). Previously, his fangs were supposed to be visible even when his mouth was closed.
 * Sonic's age has always been difficult to pinpoint. According to the Sonic Technical Files, he is 18, "but it's kinda hard to tell". Once Sonic Jam was released, his age appeared to be solidified at 16, but Sonic Channelhad finalized it as 15. In Sonic Generations, Sonic's birthday was held, suggesting he has aged a year, but nothing official has been said.
 * In the Japanese versions of the games, Sonic knows more English than any of the other characters, as he is the only one who speaks English many times in the games. This may be due to the fact that the English language is considered "cool" in Japan, and it therefore makes sense to have the "coolest" character speak many English lines, as well as his Japanese voice actor moonlighting as an English teacher.
 * Sonic is the first character shown to utilize the Chaos Emeralds, transforming into Super Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
 * In the 2011 Guinness World Records Gamers Edition, Sonic placed 10th in the "Top 50 Video Game Characters Of All Time". His rival, Mario, placed first, and Shadow had placed 25th.
 * Sonic has also been nominated by the Guinness World Records Gamers Edition and won as the fastest video-gaming character of all time as well.
 * Every time Sonic appears in a band he is the guitarist.
 * Sonic has been chased by something numerous times in 3D games: a whale and a boulder in Sonic Adventure, a G.U.N. truck in Sonic Adventure 2, three large spiked wheels and a giant alligator in Sonic Heroes, a fire tornado and another whale in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), a group of triceratops in Sonic and the Secret Rings, Eggman's robot, the Interceptor in Sonic Unleashed, a black hole in the Wii version of Sonic Colors (the Nega-Wisp Armor in the Nintendo DS version), and a helicopter and a truck in Sonic Generations. The black hole was the only thing that Sonic was not able to outrun.
 * Apparently, Sonic is able to breathe in space (as seen in several games), although he cannot breathe underwater without the support of bubbles.
 * All of the cars Sonic has driven have been sports convertibles, similar to how Amy has only ever driven old-fashioned cars.
 * In 1996, Sonic was the first video game character to be seen in a Rose Parade.
 * The former NBA team "The Seattle SuperSonics" is often nicknamed "the Hedgehogs" as a reference to this character.
 * Between 1993 and 1997, Sega sponsored the JEF United Ichihara Chiba football team. During this period, Sonic appeared on the team's uniform.
 * Sonic, along with Knuckles are the only characters who have retained their Japanese voice actor voicing him in all of the Sonic games since Sonic Adventure.
 * Sonic makes a cameo appearance in the Disney film Wreck-It Ralph, in which he is voiced by Roger Craig Smith. Eggman also makes an appearance in the film, thus marking the big screen debut for both characters. Much like Eggman, Sonic's design seems unchanged from his current design in the game series.
 * Sonic was originally supposed to be colored teal, as shown in some of his concept art. He was changed to a darker blue color because the teal kept blending in with the sea in the background of Green Hill Zone.
 * In Sega's other game Jet Set Radio, one of the characters, Garam, wears a necklace with a skull on it. In an GamesTM interview with the art director of that game, Ryuta Ueda, he stated that it is Sonic's skull, in which Ryuta hinted that it's a skull of "another famous Sega character."
 * Hatsune Miku, a Vocaloid, who is the star of another popular Sega video game series, has an unlockable Sonic costume to use in gameplay to celebrate Sonic's 20th anniversary.
 * The costume was even designed by Yuji Uekawa, who is the artist of Sonic's current design.[15]
 * She also sang a cover of "Live and Learn" on a special pre-order album of her game Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Extend to also celebrate his 20th anniversary.
 * At one point in Sonic Unleashed, Eggman called Sonic a "hedge-pig". This may be a reference to the fact that "pig" can be synonymous with "hog" and "hedgepig" means "hedgehog" in Shakesperean language.
 * Sonic appears to be able to juggle, as it was shown in Sonic Unleashed when Sonic was juggling the drained Chaos Emeralds with one hand.
 * Sonic is the inspiration for the character Gear from the anime Aoi Sekai no Chuushin de, which is a re-imagining of the "Console Wars" between Sega and Nintendo, with many other parodies of popular Sega and Nintendo characters appearing alongside Gears.
 * Sonic does not have a house; rather, he is constantly on the move and enjoying wherever life takes him.[16]However, it has been stated that Sonic lives in Emerald Town.
 * In Sonic Unleashed, the checkpoints, which give players points based on their speed (SPD) in-game, can give the player over 2,886 SPD points; in comparison, using the Light Speed Dash whilst traveling through a checkpoint awards the player with 396 SPD points. If this can be considered an accurate measurement of speed, it means that Sonic can move at speeds far greater than the speed of light.
 * According to Takashi Iizuka, Sonic has two separate eyeballs.
 * In another Sega game, Skies of Arcadia Legends, there is a character named Piastol who bears a striking similarity to Sonic.