Miles "Tails" Prower (Paramount)

Miles Prower, better known as Tails, is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog film series produced by Paramount Pictures and its spin-offs. He is an anthropomorphic alien fox with two distinct twin-tails, which allow him to fly. This ability, however, resulted in his alienation from the people of his village, believing himself to be an outsider. After discovering Sonic the Hedgehog, however, Tails found a hero to look up to, whose own unique powers helped him to see his weirdness in a positive light. When later learning that Knuckles the Echidna was after Sonic, Tails tracked Sonic down to warn him. In the process, he would join Sonic on his adventure to protect the Master Emerald from Dr. Robotnik and Knuckles, becoming close friends with Sonic along the way. After later defeating Dr. Robotnik, Sonic, Tails and Knuckles formed a new order to protect the Master Emerald from evil together.
== Concept and creation ==
According to Takashi Iizuka, the current design for Tails was developed after Sonic was redesigned into his current appearance for the Sonic the Hedgehog film series.
== Appearance ==
Tails is a young, anthropomorphic fox with two tails instead of one. He has mostly amber fur with white fur around his muzzle, belly, and the tips of his tails. He also has sky blue eyes, triangular ears with white canals, and three locks of hair on his forehead.
For attire, Tails wears white gloves with a light gray band around each wrist, and shoes that are red from the heel to the middle and white from the middle to the toe with dark gray soles. In the first film, each shoe was lined with a gray strip around the ankle, fastened by a small gold buckle. In the second film, the shoes each have red laces and light gray lining around them, and the ankle strips are absent.
== History ==
=== Film series ===
==== Past ====
Tails was born on a distant planet with a genetic abnormality that gave him two tails instead of one. Because of this, he was given the nickname "Tails", though he did not have any friends growing up in his home village because everyone thought his two tails were weird.
After detecting an overload of chaos energy coming from Earth, Tails discovered Sonic the Hedgehog, whom he observed as he defeated Dr. Robotnik. Seeing how Sonic was weird, too, due to his super speed, but was regarded as a legend, Tails was encouraged to believe that his own weird quirk was not so bad after all. Following that, he would spy on Sonic over the next 8 months, learning everything about him. When he learned that Knuckles the Echidna, the most dangerous warrior in the galaxy, was after Sonic, whom he believed to be the key to finding the Master Emerald however, Tails realized Sonic needed to be warned. Taking inspiration from Sonic, Tails left his village to go help him out.
==== Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) ====
Coming to Earth, Tails appeared from a Ring portal near Green Hills, having tracked Sonic to the area with his Miles Electric. He subsequently took off to find him, hoping that he was not too late.
==== Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) ====
After arriving on Earth in search of Sonic, Tails made his way to Green Hills. There, after night fell, he decided to borrow a police car to look around without being seen, which he would drive using his gadgets. Arriving at the Wachowski residence not long after, Tails rammed Knuckles just as he had pinned Sonic against a tree to interrogate him about the Master Emerald before killing him for being an apprentice to Longclaw of the Echidnas' sworn enemy, the Owls. As Tails told Sonic that he was on his side, Sonic joined him in the car. Although Dr. Robotnik jumped onto the hood of the car, Tails got him off and drove off with Sonic. As a starstruck Tails introduced himself to Sonic, Sonic demanded an explanation for what was going on, prompting Tails to tell him about Knuckles and his quest for the Master Emerald. As Sonic took over the wheel though, Knuckles caught up to them and began tearing the car apart. To get rid of Knuckles, Tails had Sonic drive the car over a cliff, during which he airlifted Sonic out of the car and flew away with him while Knuckles was left stuck on the cliff wall, while the cruiser crashed and exploded on the ground below, totally demolished. Hiding out at Wade's, Sonic and Tails tried figuring out why Knuckles wanted him and the connection Longclaw, whom Sonic heard Knuckles mention, had to the Master Emerald. Recalling seeing an emerald on a map Longclaw had given him, Sonic had him and Tails took a look at it, only for the map to show a holographic message to Sonic from Longclaw. In this message, Longclaw told Sonic of the Master Emerald, which had been hidden on Earth, and that she was now passing her duty of safeguarding it over him. She then instructed Sonic to follow the map to the Master Emerald to ensure that it would not fall into the wrong hands. Sonic and Tails then saw that the map was showing the location of a compass in Siberia that would lead to the Master Emerald. As Sonic opened a Ring portal to Siberia with the intention of bringing Tails with him, Tails tried to back out, insisting that he was not a "field guy." However, he was convinced after Sonic promised to keep him safe with a power-bump.
Shortly after arriving in Siberia, Sonic and Tails got caught in a blizzard, prompting them to seek shelter inside a nearby bar in disguises. Despite an icy reception, the duo got a table for themselves where Tails used his Miles Electric to communicate with the waitress, catching Sonic's interest. As Tails told him about how he had invented his gadgets himself, he would explain how he discovered Sonic with them and began to observe him. However, their conversation was briefly interrupted when Sonic had to sent Tom a text message. Soon after, when Tails' Miles Electric got a translation wrong when he tried to complain about their order to the waitress, they incurred the patrons' anger, who tried having them thrown into the fireplace after they had their alien natures unveiled. However, by looking up Siberian customs on his Miles Electric, Tails managed to invoke Pivonka—a dance-off for settling disputes—in the last moment with a patron, thus forcing the other customers and workers to stand down until the Pivonka was completed. While Sonic wanted to grab the map and just go, the map ended up being claimed by the Pivonka challenger. Having no choice but to participate, Sonic and Tails tried dancing, but could not match the local's dance moves. As Tails began to panic, Sonic got the speakers to play his own music and encouraged Tails to trust him and follow his moves. Thanks to Sonic's moves and music, and holograms that Tails provided with his Miles Electric, the duo won the Pivonka and got the map back, also earning the respect of the patrons as well. As Sonic and Tails later rested, Tails hugged Sonic after hearing that he considered him his friend. This prompted Tails to tell Sonic about his lonely past and how he had inspired him in more ways than one. Calling in a night, Sonic and Tails would spent the night sleeping in the bar before heading out the next day.
Finding an ancient owl temple within a cave in the mountains where the map guided them, Sonic and Tails found inscriptions there which Tails could translate. From them, they learned how the Master Emerald was forged with the 7 Chaos Emeralds by the Echidnas, who would use its power to defeat entire armies. Disapproving of anyone wielding such power however, the Owls stole the Master Emerald, sparking a centuries-long feud with the echidnas. Deeper inside the temple, Sonic and Tails found a statue with slots on it that Sonic used to unlock the compass they needed to find the Master Emerald. Immediately after though, Knuckles and Dr. Robotnik showed up in the Egg Mobile with Badniks. As a fight broke out, the temple began to cave in from the collateral damage. Sonic and Tails, however, were able to escape, with Tails taking the high route while Sonic snowboarded down a mountainside using a Badnik piece as a snowboard. After being unable to reach Sonic for a while due to Badniks and Dr. Robotnik, Tails found Sonic and Knuckles talking to each other. Using this opportunity, Tails threw a gadget at Knuckles that bound him. However, Knuckles quickly broke free. Sonic then tried throwing the compass over to Tails, only for Dr. Robotnik to snatch it in front of him and deploy some missiles that knocked Tails out. An unconscious Tails was then tended to by Sonic, who picked him up and took him down the mountain on his improvised snowboard as an avalanche began approaching them, set off by the explosions from Dr. Robotnik's missiles.
Eventually, Sonic got Tom to open a Ring portal for Tails and himself as Sonic tried to escape the avalanche. Arriving in Hawaii, Tails was dug out of the snow that came with them through the Ring by Sonic, only for Sonic and Tails to be captured by G.U.N. immediately after and put in cages. The unconscious Tails was then brought into a holding area in the hotel with Sonic and Tom (who tried to save them), but Maddie was able to eventually free them. As Tails was tended to by Maddie however, a green pillar of light emerges in the horizon, a sign that Knuckles and Dr. Robotnik had found the Master Emerald. As Sonic took off to deal with Knuckles and Dr. Robotnik alone, Tails woke up and tried to follow him, but was too weak. As Tom and Maddie tried to help him, Tails warned them of the threat Sonic was heading into. Not long after, Tails managed to acquire the Tornado (which had previously been used to promote the "wedding", which he used to reach Sonic and Knuckles, whom Sonic had convinced to join their side, on an island hundreds of miles away.
Using a Ring, the trio flew back to Green Hills in the Tornado, just in time to see Dr. Robotnik finish constructing the Giant Eggman Robot with the power of the Master Emerald that he had stolen. Tails worried if they could trust Knuckles, but Sonic insisted that he was just "mixed up", which led to Tails and Knuckles making up for now. Soon after, Knuckles jumped off the plane to deal with Dr. Robotnik alone, leaving Sonic and Tails to approach the Giant Eggman Robot in the Tornado, which came under fire from the robot's missile barrage. While Tails managed to steer the Tornado through the barrage, Sonic got caught by a missile. Now alone, Tails tried using turrets he had installed into the Tornado to attack the Giant Eggman Robot. However, his attacks did nothing, and he was forced to bail from the Tornado when the Giant Eggman Robot's "Stache Smasher" destroyed its wings. Reconvening with Sonic and Knuckles on the Main Street, who had faced similar failures, Sonic convinced them to work together as a team against Dr. Robotnik. As the Giant Eggman Robot unleashed Badniks upon them, Tails and his team tried coming up with a plan. As Tails suggested finding the Giant Eggman Robot's weak spot, Sonic realized that he was Dr. Robotnik's weak spot: if he could get Dr. Robotnik's attention, Tails and Knuckles could sneak into the Giant Eggman Robot and get the Master Emerald back. Beginning their plan, Tails carried Knuckles onto the backside of the Giant Eggman Robot while Sonic lured it out of Green Hills. After then cutting a hole into the cockpit with a laser gadget, Tails used his holograms to distract Dr. Robotnik long enough for Knuckles to get into position and knock the Master Emerald out of Dr. Robotnik. However, this caused the Giant Eggman Robot to shut down, resulting in Tails and Knuckles sliding out of the robot and landing on the ground hard, causing them to lose consciousness. After recovering, Tails watched, much to his horror, as Sonic and the Wachowskis seemingly got crushed by the Giant Eggman Robot. However, Sonic saved them all by transforming into Super Sonic with the 7 Chaos Emeralds that fell out of the shattered Master Emerald, before destroying the Giant Eggman Robot and defeating Dr. Robotnik. As Tails tried approaching Super Sonic however, Knuckles warned them that Sonic had gone mad with power. However, Sonic disproved that by remaining in control, conjuring celebratory chili dogs and relinquishing the Chaos Emeralds. Tails questioned Sonic why he gave up all that power, to which Sonic replied that he still had some growing up to do. Meanwhile, Knuckles reassembled the Master Emerald, although he wondered what he should do now that his quest had been fulfilled. As Tails reminded him and Sonic that of the two ancient orders that sought to safeguard the Master Emerald, Sonic suggested that they formed a new order that included the three of them. With everyone onboard, Tails had them mark their oath with a three-way power-bump.
Sometime later, Tails had a baseball game with Sonic, Knuckles, Tom and Maddie. After Knuckles made them lose their only ball though, they decided to go for ice cream.
=== Comics ===
==== Sonic the Hedgehog 2: The Official Movie Pre-Quill ====
Using his Miles Electric to scan for Sonic's chaos energy signature, Tails used a Ring to travel to Green Hill Zone on Sonic's island. There, he visited Sonic and Longclaw's former home, now abandoned and considered sacred land due to how Longclaw fell here. As Tails mused to himself about the events that had transpired there and Sonic, Tails' Miles Electric found a match for Sonic's chaos energy signature in an old drawing. With this match, Tails was better able to tell where Sonic went as he scanned the galaxy for him. Despite getting some transwarp interference, Tails' modifications allowed him to narrow Sonic's whereabouts down to just a few planets.
Starting his search, Tails first traveled to Marble Zone, only to discover that he was tracking the wrong energy signature when he ran afoul with Rava the Destroyer. Tails, however, managed to evade Rava and escaped into some ruins. There, Tails realized that the interference he was detecting came from someone following him. Suspecting that they were piggybacking on his Ring portals, Tails began using his Rings in rapid succession while continuing his search for Sonic. Traveling to the weird Spring Yard Zone from there, Tails noticed that his pursuers were still following him, and so went to Aquatic Ruin Zone in an attempt to escape his pursuers by going underwater. Regardless, Tails only found some remnants of chaos energy in the ruins and no sign of Sonic there. In an attempt to narrow down his search further, Tails decided to search for Sonic on inhabited planets, and so traveled to Hill Top Zone. Realizing that he had hit another dead end though, Tails consulted his Miles Electric, which detected two strong chaos energy signatures: one on the uninhabited Mushroom Planet and another one on Earth. Detecting that his pursuer was approaching as well, Tails decided to check out his leads as quickly as possible and escaped through another Ring.
=== Shorts ===
==== Sonic Drone Home ====
While Tails and his team were on their way to the library to return some books on behalf of Maddie, Sonic had them take a detour to Green Hills Junkyard in order to investigate some strange noises. Soon after arriving there, a scared Tails and his crew discovered Unit, a self-aware Badnik in the process of upgrading himself in order to conquer the world. Before Tails could be given instructions by Sonic however, Knuckles tried attacking Unit, only to get ejected from the junkyard by him. Afterwards, Sonic and Tails came under fire by Unit. While Sonic fought back, Tails tried to save Sonic with a gadget of his that fired bolas when Unit blinded Sonic, only for Unit to deflect Tails' shot at Sonic. Tails then tried to fly Sonic away from Unit, only for Unit to throw them both into the ground. Desperate, Tails pleaded Sonic to do something, but since Sonic was still tied up, Tails suggested he tried talking to Unit. Surprisingly, Sonic convinced Unit to pursue his own passion, which was poetry. Sonic and Tails would subsequently listen to Unit's poems until Knuckles returned and smashed Unit's body. Rummaging through Unit's wreckage, Tails found Unit's core module, which was still operational. Tails then asked Sonic if they could adopt Unit, which Sonic permitted, although he would be Tails' responsibility. As Knuckles showed his disapproval of Unit, Tails assured him that he was an artist now, before departing with him and Sonic.
== Personality ==
Tails is a determined and plucky young fox, being willing to face the unknown on multiple worlds across the galaxy and deadly villains, all in an attempt to find Sonic, no matter what. He is also quite logical and intelligent, as seen by how he steadily narrowed his search for Sonic by thinking things through and using what he learned along the way. He is similarly greatly resourceful, as exemplified by the various gadgets he has invented and his ability to analyze the options in critical situations. However, despite his intelligence, Tails can be slightly clueless, such as not realizing why his nickname is obvious. He is also slightly lacking in social etiquette, as evidenced by how he spied on Sonic for months.
Tails was once insecure about his extra tail, but after seeing how Sonic uses his weird quality, his super speed, to be a hero, Tails came to believe that his own weird quality is not so bad. Due to his insecurity over being shunned for his genetic quirk, Tails possessed as well low self-esteem and some shyness, claiming that he is not as brave as Sonic or a "field guy" in spite of his numerous feats. Since meeting Sonic, however, Tails has begun to come out of his shell and believe more in himself thanks to the encouragement and assurance from Sonic.
Due to the ostracization by others for his extra tail, Tails grew up lonely, yearning for acceptance and belonging. Tails achieves this first by becoming friends with Sonic, then Knuckles, then becoming a part of the Wachowski family. Finally having friends and a family, Tails treasures the love and relationships he has.
== Powers and abilities ==
Tails is able to achieve flight by spinning his twin-tails like helicopter rotors. He is shown to be able to fly at considerable speed, being able to clear a forest area within seconds and keep up with Sonic's mundane running speed. He has reflexes to match his speed as well, being able to dodges both bullets and lasers while in mid-flight. Just like how Sonic and Knuckles both have trails of their respective colors when they move at high speed, Tails generates a yellow trail when he does so. Unlike the two however, he doesn't generate chaos energy, and also doesn't have his eyes glow. While he also has enough strength to carry and swing around someone like Sonic, he lacks the strength to easily carry someone as heavy as Knuckles. Tails is also adept at driving or piloting various vehicles, being able to fly the Tornado and maneuver it through missile fire and drive foreign Earth cars, although he needs his gadgets to reach the pedals for the latter.
Tails is shown to possess genius-level intelligence and is a highly advanced mechanic and inventor. Notably, he created various gadgets and tools with capabilities far beyond that of most of the technology on Earth, and he has been able to make modifications to his Miles Electric that has allowed him to narrow down his search for Sonic to just a few planets in a search that was comparable to "looking for a needle in 10,000 haystacks".
=== Equipment ===
Tails carries a backpack full of his self-invented gadgets for both offense and miscellaneous purposes. Some of his gadgets include sets of electromagnets which he can use to operate pedals in a car, pads that can generate energy tethers between them that are strong enough to hold even Knuckles for a few moments; as well as generate electricity powerful enough to hurt Knuckles, deployable disks that can negate gravity on anything above them for a short while, a ricocheting boomerang-like weapon that can home in on targets and strike with notable force, a laser pistol that packs explosive power and can also be used as a cutting laser, and a handgun that fires bolas.
For all of his gadgets, Tails most advantageous tool is his Miles Electric. Basically, a multifunctional handheld computer, this device can accurately track chaos energy signatures across an entire galaxy and pinpoint different locations, projects various forms of three-dimensional holograms that include lifelike images of Tails and other people, search for information in a database that seemingly encompasses all there is to know about Earth and its cultures, operate Tails' other gadgets, and translate one's speech into another language. However, its translator function is somewhat buggy, which can result in mistranslations.
== Weaknesses ==
Tails tends to rely on his brains more than brawns, so he is not much of a physical fighter compared to the likes of Sonic and Knuckles. He also is not anywhere near as durable as the other two, either, as he was unconscious for a while after being hit by the blasts from two missiles. He also cannot carry a lot of weight as he briefly struggled to carry Knuckles. He is said to be scared of ghosts, lightning, and is very ticklish.
== Relationships ==
=== Sonic the Hedgehog ===
After learning about Sonic the Hedgehog's existence and watching his heroic exploits, Tails came to idolize the hedgehog and spy on him to learn more about him. To Tails, Sonic was a weird individual like himself, yet he managed to become a legend. This, in turn, inspired Tails to see his own weirdness in a positive light. However, Tails' idolization of Sonic made him develop a slight obsession of him, to the point that he memorized that Sonic prefers bubble baths to showers. Nonetheless, his devotion to Sonic would prompt him to set and help Sonic when he learned that Knuckles was after him.
From the very beginning, Tails was greatly determined to help Sonic with his mission, even in spite of all the threats he faced while trying track him down. When first meeting him, Tails was very respectful to Sonic and often complimented the hedgehog for his various skills. At first, he felt uncertain when Sonic wanted his company on his mission to find the Master Emerald, but took solace in the knowledge that Sonic made an "unbreakable" promise to protect him.
In their dance battle in Siberia, Sonic noticed Tails' tendency to be easily overwhelmed and encouraged the fox to follow his lead so that they could both shine. After this, Sonic comforted Tails in his belief that they were both weird, but that it was a good thing. From there, Tails became less of a fanboy and more of a true friend to Sonic, who in turn became very attached to Tails. Tails has shown great loyalty to Sonic, trying to go after him when he left to fight Knuckles and Dr. Robotnik alone, despite being injured. After their first adventure together, Sonic and Tails have grown to care for one another very deeply, to the point of a brotherly bond.
=== Knuckles the Echidna ===
Despite not personally knowing Knuckles the Echidna, Tails seemed to be quite knowledgeable of his past and goals. He initially saw him as a threat, as him traveling to Earth to find Sonic the Hedgehog inspired Tails to go and try to find the hedgehog first. When Sonic decided to trust Knuckles in order to stop Dr. Robotnik after he absorbed the Master Emerald, Tails was initially hesitant to trust the latter but apologized to him for ramming him with a police car. Despite this, the two seem to be on good terms now, as they managed to play baseball with each with competitive teasing and Knuckles even picked him up toward the Wachowski's truck for celebratory ice cream.
=== Dr. Robotnik ===
Even though he did not know Dr. Robotnik personally, Tails spied on Sonic the Hedgehog and Dr. Robotnik's first battle, calling him "crazy mustache guy". After saving Sonic from Knuckles the Echidna, Tails met Dr. Robotnik, and was disgusted by his wild attitude. During their search for the Master Emerald, Tails and Dr. Robotnik became enemies during their mountain fight in Siberia. When Tails later used his hologram technology to confuse Dr. Robotnik inside his Giant Eggman Robot, Dr. Robotnik considered Tails to be somewhat intelligent.
=== Friends/allies ===
* Maddie Wachowski
* Green Hills Sheriff's Department
** Tom Wachowski
** Wade Whipple
* Guardian Units of Nations
** Commander Walters
* Ozzie
* Team Sonic
** Knuckles the Echidna
** Sonic the Hedgehog (best friend, brother-figure and role model)
* Unit
=== Neutral ===
* Tatiana
=== Enemies ===
* Badniks
* Dr. Robotnik
* Rava the Destroyer
== Trivia ==
* Spanish is the only language where Tails does not share his voice actor with his video game counterpart (in his case, Graciela Molina at the time of the film's release).
** This originally also applied to German in the first film, though he would later be recasted by his current German voice actress from the games in the second film onwards.
** Tails is also the only character in the Sonic the Hedgehog film series to be portrayed by the same English, Japanese, European French, and German voice actors as his video game counterpart.
*** Prior to Tails being dubbed in Canadian French for the first time, Tails in the French dub of the games was only dubbed in European French.
* Colleen O'Shaughnessey was initially uncredited in the English version of Sonic the Hedgehog, but was later credited in digital versions and home media releases of the film, albeit with her name spelled incorrectly.
* In the first film, when Tails appeared out of the Ring, only one of his tails were visible (possibly he fluffed them into one) and he did not have his backpack and his shoes didn't have any laces. When the exact same scene is reanimated in the the sequel, both of his tails are visible and he bears his backpack, and his shoes are given laces. Its unknown why his shoes were given those additions.
* Pat Casey claimed in the interview that he is not certain whether Tails comes from the same planet as Sonic and Knuckles or that if he comes from an entirely different one. Casey also claimed that he is not yet clear if Tails along with Knuckles now live in the Wachowski's house with Sonic.
== Gallery ==
See: Miles "Tails" Prower (Paramount)/Gallery
Category:Sonic the Hedgehog
Category:Sega
Category:Paramount Pictures
Category:Characters