Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic Cinematic Universe)

## Sonic the Hedgehog

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**Sonic the Hedgehog** is the titular main protagonist of the *Sonic the Hedgehog* film series produced by Paramount Pictures. He is an anthropomorphic alien hedgehog with extraordinary powers, most notably his super speed, who hails from another planet. After being forced to flee to Earth to escape those seeking his power, Sonic remained in hiding for ten years until he accidentally made his presence known, becoming the target of the sinister Dr. Robotnik. With the help of Tom Wachowski, however, Sonic managed to banish Robotnik from Earth and establish himself a better life with the Wachowski family.

## Concept and design

The production crew used Ted, the living teddy bear from the *Ted* films made by Universal Pictures, as an influence on making a live-action Sonic the Hedgehog and studied different variations of the character to develop the character's final design.

Due to the negative criticism of Sonic's original design, it was eventually decided that Sonic had to undergo a redesign. This redesign was handled by Tyson Hesse. When re-designing Sonic, the team started with Sonic's face. They compared the design shown in the initial trailer with the "Modern Sonic" design and tried to find a compromise between the two. A new rig also had to be created based on the new design and then everything would have to be reanimated using that rig. Although some old animations were able to be salvaged and reused, many had to be animated from scratch. Animator Max Schneider stated that the redesign took around five months and was achieved without stressful overtime.

## Appearance

Sonic is an anthropomorphic hedgehog with predominantly blue fur. He has small, triangular ears on the top of his head, seven quills that extend from the back of his head, with three on his back and a tail. He also has green eyes, a black nose, peach fur on his muzzle fur and his belly, and his muzzle fur extends to the center of his nose ridge.

For attire, he wears a pair of white gloves, a pair of white socks and red Puma Dare sneakers with white straps, white soles and yellow Puma tags. For prior footwear, he wore mismatched sneakers that were completely worn out; a left greenish-gray sneaker and a right white trainer with a wristband around it, and when he was a baby, he wore a pair of basic, small, brown boots.

## History

### Film series

#### Past

Sonic was born with his extraordinary powers on a distant planet. During his early childhood on his home planet, he would live on an island where he was looked after by his caretaker, Longclaw. As a child, Sonic spent most of his time running around the island despite Longclaw warning him not to reveal his powers.

One day, when Sonic returned to Longclaw from a run across the island to give her a flower, they were attacked by a tribe of echidnas seeking Sonic's power. As Longclaw escaped with Sonic however, she got hit by an arrow, thus keeping her from flying. As such, she resorted to her Rings. Using one, she opened a portal to Earth for Sonic to escape through. Despite Sonic's reluctance to go without Longclaw, he received her bag of Rings nonetheless and was instructed to stay in hiding on Earth no matter what. After Sonic went through the portal however, she saw Longclaw bidding him farewell before making a stand against the echidna tribe to keep them from crossing the portal. Sonic tried to come back for her, but the Ring closed right before him before he could get through.

Over the next ten years, Sonic remained on Earth, hiding in a cave in the woods on the outskirts of Green Hills, Montana, where he edged out the best life he could. During his time on Earth, he learned about human pop culture and the local people. In his cave, he also amassed a collection of various finds. He also made several trips to Green Hills, where he took notice of Tom Wachowski and his wife, Maddie, whom he often spied on, and nicknamed them "Donut Lord" and "Pretzel Lady" respectively due to Tom's habit of talking to donuts and Maddie's yoga hobby. Along the way, the local looney, Crazy Carl, caught onto Sonic and tried to catch him, but Sonic always eluded his traps while playing around with him. Despite trying to convince himself that he was a part of Green Hills though however, Sonic never made contact with the locals, causing him to suffer from loneliness. In addition, much to his chagrin, Sonic was obligated to follow Longclaw's late instructions to escape to the Mushroom Planet in case he was ever discovered on Earth.

#### *Sonic the Hedgehog*

One day, Sonic watched a local baseball game and began to long for real friends. The same night, when the baseball field was empty, he started playing by himself. However, upon coming to the hard truth that he really was all alone, he became upset and began running faster and faster around the baseball field, his sadness turning into anger and fueling his powers until he released a powerful electromagnetic pulse that cut off power across the Pacific Northwest. Concerned that he had made his presence known, Sonic fled.

Not long after, Sonic found the United States Army and Badniks out in the woods looking for him. Returning to his cave, Sonic gathered his most prized possessions, including Longclaw's bag of Rings, intending to escape to the Mushroom Planet. However, with intruders at his doorstep and afraid that he would be discovered if he tried to leave now, Sonic went to Tom Wachowski's garage to use a Ring there in peace. However, Tom, upon hearing Sonic break a flowerpot, intruded on him just as he was about to use a Ring. The two quickly got scared of each other, prompting Tom to fire a tranquilizer dart into Sonic's leg. Before Sonic passed out however, he saw the words "San Francisco" on Tom's T-shirt and accidentally opened a portal there with a Ring that he dropped, with Sonic dropping his bag containing the rest of his Rings into the portal, where they landed on top of the Transamerica Pyramid, and the portal closing before Sonic could get through. An unconscious Sonic was then caged by Tom in his house. When Sonic woke up from the sedative however, he escaped the cage and met Tom face to face for the first time. However, their conversation was interrupted when a United States truck arrived at Tom's house. Sonic would then persuade Tom to help hide him since his legs had still not recovered from the dart. Tom proceeded to hide Sonic in his attic. However, two spy drones showed up shortly afterward. Sonic tried to hide from them by pretending to be a ball, but ultimately could not keep his cool and tried to escape them, rolling down from the attic and into the kitchen. From his new hiding spot, Sonic saw the newly arrived Dr. Robotnik threaten to shoot Tom with his Badnik after figuring out Sonic's presence from one of his quills that Tom had found. Before Robotnik could shoot Tom though, Sonic came out of hiding, asking him not to hurt him, which scared the mad doctor. Tom then cold-cocked Robotnik while he was shocked by Sonic's appearance, causing the Badnik to start shooting all around. Fortunately, Sonic and Tom managed to destroy the drone, and they quickly escaped in Tom's pickup truck.

While on the road away from Green Hills, Sonic explains to Tom who he was and that he needed to retrieve his Rings to escape to the Mushroom Planet. Not wanting to sow any more trouble for himself, Tom tried at first to ditch Sonic and make him run to San Francisco himself. Sonic, however, did not know where San Francisco was and returned to Tom after he ran into the Pacific Ocean. After that, Sonic convinced Tom to take him to San Francisco after blaming him for the trouble he was in, and the two set off on what Sonic called a "road trip."

As evening came around, they pulled in at a rest stop so Tom could make a phone call and get them something to eat. Although Sonic was supposed to stay in the truck, he quickly noticed the nearby Piston Pit bar. Unable to resist the temptation to visit it, he disguised himself and went to the bar. Tom found him shortly after, but Sonic persuaded him to let them stay at the Piston Pit for now. Meanwhile, Tom managed to convince the waitress that Sonic was not an alien. As Tom then brought up the bucket list concept, Sonic was convinced to make one for himself, listing the many things he wanted to do before leaving Earth. As Sonic realized how many things he had not done yet though, Tom decided to help him make the most of the evening. During this, the two began to bond. However, the fun was interrupted by a Roadhouse Thug and his companions who did not like Sonic because he was a "hipster". In response, Sonic provoked them into a fight. Sonic, however, was too fast for the thugs and managed to overpower the whole bar with his speed and save Tom. With the Piston Pit in disarray, the two escaped. Eventually, the duo found a motel, where they spent the night. During this time, Sonic bonded more with Tom when he expressed his disappointment about leaving Earth to him. Soon after, Sonic passed out in bed despite his intention to suck up every last minute he had left on Earth.

The next day, Sonic and Tom would discuss their friendship and Tom's own bucket list while on the road. During this, Sonic found out that Tom wanted to leave his post as Green Hills' sheriff and become a street cop in San Francisco permanently. Sonic did not approve of this, however, as he insisted that Tom should stay with his friends and the people he was supposed to protect. Their argument was soon interrupted though by an attack from a tank-like Badnik deployed by Robotnik. As Sonic and Tom tried to escape the Badnik, Sonic's emotional state over Tom's abandonment of his home and friends caused his power to fluctuate again. Fortunately, a freak accident allowed Sonic to knock the Badnik down with an accidental Spin Attack. However, a smaller Badnik tank soon emerged from the wreckage, forcing Sonic and Tom to try and escape again. Eventually confronting the Badnik himself, Sonic used its own electromagnetic mines against it, causing it to crash. When a smaller Badnik emerged from the wreck and resumed the pursuit though, Sonic got behind the wheel of Tom's truck himself while Tom toppled the Badnik at close range. Soon after however, a miniscule Badnik appeared from the trashed Badnik and cut off the roof of the duo's truck with its laser. While Sonic managed to catch it and snap off its flight gear, the Badnik turned into a bomb that got stuck to Sonic's hand. Sonic and Tom proceeded to pull over and attempt to unhook the bomb. Ultimately, they succeeded, but the bomb's explosion was so great that Sonic got knocked out by it.

Afterward, Sonic was taken to the house of his sister-in-law, Rachel in San Francisco. There, Maddie tried to treat Sonic's injuries. Eventually, Maddie woke up Sonic with some smelling salts, who was left to himself while Maddie talked to Tom. In the meantime, Sonic received some new shoes to replace his worn-down ones from Tom's niece, Jojo. After then meeting Tom's dog, Ozzie, Sonic set out in Rachel's "borrowed" car with Tom and Maddie to the Transamerica Pyramid. After driving the car up in front of the building, Sonic did a quick scouting of the building, before returning to Tom and Maddie, revealing that they needed a key to reach the top. Thankfully, Tom was able to get the key and smuggle Sonic up to the top of the building in a bag. There, Sonic found his bag of Rings. After saying what he believed to be his final goodbye to Tom and Maddie however, Robotnik showed up in his Eggpod with an army of flying Badniks. Taunting Robotnik with the nickname "Eggman", which he got from his egg-shaped Badniks, Sonic told Robotnik that he could never catch him. In response, Robotnik targeted the trio with his Badniks. To save Tom and Maddie, Sonic pushed them off the edge of the Transamerica Pyramid, intending to catch up to them and send them to safety with a Ring. While nonchalantly evading and destroying Robotnik's Badniks at super speed however, Sonic, to his surprise, noticed Robotnik catching up to him with his Eggpod and firing a laser at him.

The blast knocked Sonic out briefly, but he soon woke up while falling down from the Transamerica Pyramid. Fortunately, he managed to grab a stray Ring with one of his quills and use it to send the falling Tom and Maddie to Green Hills in the last second. Now alone with Robotnik, Sonic decided to escape him. Regathering his scattered Rings, Sonic began to flee through the streets of San Francisco, opening Rings portals to Paris, the Great Wall of China, and Egypt along the way in an attempt to escape Robotnik and his Eggpod. Eventually though, he got hit hard by Robotnik's laser and launched through a Ring portal he had opened up to Green Hills. Unable to continue his escape any further due to the laser blast, Sonic passed out. However, Tom managed to awaken Sonic and his full power by admitting to all the residents of Green Hills and Robotnik that he was his friend. Now exhibiting control over his peaked powers, Sonic announced that he had no intention of using his power to run away anymore, but to use it to protect his friends. During this, Sonic drained the power from a loose quill of his that Robotnik was using to power his Eggpod. Sonic then ran about, repeatedly striking the Eggpod into submission. At the end, Sonic had Tom open a Ring portal to the Mushroom Planet. Then, with a final head-on Spin Attack, Sonic knocked the Eggpod and Robotnik through the closing portal, trapping the doctor on the Mushroom Planet. When it was over, Sonic and Tom shared a high-five, something which Sonic had always dreamed of. Tom then revealed his intention to stay in Green Hills.

Sometime later, Sonic would visit Tom and Maddie in their house to hang out with them. There, the couple revealed to him that they wanted him to stay with them. Sonic was then given his own room in their attic, which touched him very much. Afterward, Sonic gave both Tom and Maddie his heartful thanks before Ozzie came in and began licking him in spite of Sonic's amused protest.

### Comics

#### *Sonic the Hedgehog: The Adventures of Sonic & Donut Lord*

Born with extraordinary powers, Sonic used to live on another planet, being guarded by Longclaw. However, a group of "power-hungry guys" wanted to take away his energy, which forced Longclaw to take Sonic to Earth with the use of a Ring. Before leaving the planet, Sonic was told by Longclaw that he should never be discovered by anyone, and if that happened, he should use a Ring to escape to another planet and never stop running. In Montana, United States, he made himself a home deep into a forest. However, not being able to interact with anybody made him feel lonely for many years.

One day, Sonic ran past Green Hills sheriff, Tom Wachowski, while the latter was out looking for speed violations. With Tom unable to notice Sonic due to his speed, Sonic felt alive by that fact and noted how perfect Green Hills was despite not being able to interact with anyone there. Returning to his Hedgehog Cave, Sonic read through his entire comic collection and ran a few rounds on his treadmill before going out for some fresh air. Along the way, Sonic played some baseball by himself until he reached such speeds that his powers unleashed an electromagnetic pulse. Despite this, Sonic wished there were someone to take notice of him. The next day, a government surveillance truck came looking for him, prompting Sonic to go to Tom's garage to use his Rings to escape to the Mushroom Planet. However, he was discovered by Tom, whom Sonic explained himself to in order to clear up Tom's confusion. When the truck then came to Tom's residence, Sonic stayed in hiding while Tom checked up on it. While Tom talked with the truck's owner, Dr. Robotnik, one of the doctor's Badniks detected Sonic, prompting Sonic to run.

While escaping, Sonic ran into Tom again. As Sonic explained how he was going to use a Ring to get to the Mushroom Planet however, Tom brought up San Francisco while they were talking, making Sonic accidently open a Ring portal to that city. Immediately after, Badniks attacked them and made Sonic drop his Rings into the portal, which closed before he could get through it. As Sonic realized he had to get to San Francisco, Tom guided Sonic to his truck as they escaped the Badniks. There, Sonic tried to head to San Francisco by himself, but quickly realized he could not do it alone, prompting a reluctant Tom to take Sonic there. During their trip, Sonic and Tom ended up taking about bucket lists, which made Sonic make one of his own. As they discussed things Sonic could do, Sonic quietly mentioned finding a BFF, only to deny any mention of it when Tom tried asking him about it. When they came to the Piston Pit however, Sonic went against Tom's instructions and went inside. There, Sonic tried several things in order to cross things off his bucket list, including starting a bar fight with a Roadhouse Thug.

The next day, Sonic and Tom were on the road again. As Sonic explained the nickname, he had given Tom though, Robotnik showed up in his truck. Fortunately, Sonic managed to destroy the truck and the Badniks Robotnik sent after them. Arriving in San Francisco soon after, Sonic and Tom picked up Maddie on the way to the Transamerica Pyramid. When they had to get Sonic to the top of the building however, Tom and Maddie smuggled Sonic up there in a gym bag, much to his chagrin. There, Sonic found his Rings and explained how he was going to use them. However, Robotnik showed up immediately after in his Eggpod with his Badniks, and opened fire upon them. In order to protect Tom and Maddie, Sonic got an idea. Telling them what they had to do, Sonic pushed the pair off the Transamerica Pyramid before running after them as they fell. He then used two Rings, opening portals to Green Hills and Egypt respectively, with Tom and Maddie falling through the one to Green Hills while Sonic fled through the other, with Robotnik hot on his heels. Sonic proceeded to use more Rings to escape to the Great Wall of China and Paris, but Robotnik kept following him through his portals. Eventually arriving in Green Hills, Sonic got cornered alongside Tom and Maddie by Robotnik, who berated Sonic. However, as Tom and Maddie stood up for Sonic and called him their friend, Sonic realized he finally had friends and resolved to use his power to protect them instead of running away. Awakening his full power, Sonic destroyed the Eggpod.

Afterward, with Tom and Maddie deciding to stay Green Hills instead of moving to San Francisco, Sonic was allowed to move into the Wachowski residence, with the pair moving his cave into the attic. Having found a family and friends now, Sonic noted he could check "Find BFFs" off his bucket list.

### *Around the World in 80 Seconds*

After defeating Robotnik, Sonic decided to explore several other locations on Earth, which included France, Egypt, and Japan. Afterward, he went back home.