Sonic

**Sonic the Hedgehog** (ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ *Sonikku za Hejjihoggu***?**, born 23 June) is the titular main protagonist of the *Sonic the Hedgehog* series and Sega's mascot. 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.

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 good from his world and those beyond from the forces of evil.

* Concept and creation
* Appearance
* Personality
* Powers and abilities

## Concept and creation

While several people have been involved in the creation of Sonic, the artist Naoto Ohshima, programmer Yuji Naka, and designer Hirokazu Yasuhara are generally credited with the creation of the character.

In April 1990, Sega requested a game capable of selling more than 1,000,000 copies; a character who could compete against Nintendo's Super Mario, and a character to replace Alex Kidd as the company's mascot. Several character designs were submitted by its AM8 research and development department. These included an armadillo (who was later developed into Mighty the Armadillo), a dog, a Theodore Roosevelt look-alike in pajamas (who was later used as the basis of the design of the main antagonist Dr. Eggman) and a rabbit (who would use its extendable ears to collect objects, an idea that was later used for a separate Sega character named Ristar). Eventually, the mascot they selected was Naoto Ohshima's submission, a spiky teal hedgehog codenamed "Mr. Hedgehog" (Mr. ハリネズミ *Mr. Harinezumi***?**), later renamed **Sonic**. Initial ideas for names for Sonic included "Raisupi" and "LS", truncation and plays on the word "light speed". However, due to a mistranslation of Ohshima's notes by English-speaking fans, it was believed that Sonic's original development name was "Mr. Needlemouse" until it was corrected by Yuji Naka on 24 January 2021.

Sonic's color was based on the Sega logo, his shoe design based on Michael Jackson, his shoe color based on Santa Claus, and his personality inspired by future-President Bill Clinton's "get it done" attitude, whom Ohshima felt embodied a modern sensibility of wanting to get things done right away, righting wrongs as they presented themselves instead of letting them linger. According to Yuji Naka, Sonic's color also serves to symbolize peace, trust, and coolness, the attributes of Sonic's character. His trademark speed is based on *Super Mario Bros.* World 1-1, with Sonic creator Yuji Naka stating in issue 260 of *Nintendo Power* that *"I always tried to get through the level as fast as I could,"* which inspired the initial concept for Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic was created without the ability to swim because of a mistaken assumption by Yuji Naka that all hedgehogs could not do so.

A group of fifteen started working on *Sonic the Hedgehog* and renamed themselves Sonic Team. The game's soundtrack was composed by Masato Nakamura of the band Dreams Come True. Sega sponsored the group's "Wonder 3" tour, painting Sonic on the tour bus, distributing pamphlets advertising the game, and having footage of the game broadcast above stage prior to its release.

The original concepts gave Sonic fangs and put him in a band with a human girlfriend named Madonna. However, a team from Sega of America, led by Madeline Schroeder, "softened" the character up for an American audience by removing these elements. This sparked a heated issue with Sonic Team. Naka later admitted it was probably for the best.[*citation needed*] Sonic's precise age, weight, height, and other physical characteristics vary depending on the continuity in which he appears and the style in which he is drawn. In the video games, Sonic's original design by Naoto Ohshima was with short spikes, a round body, and no visible irises. Artwork featuring this design and drawn by Akira Watanabe was displayed on the package artwork for *Sonic the Hedgehog* and most subsequent *Sonic* video games featured similar designs. When *Sonic the Hedgehog 2* for the Mega Drive appeared, Sonic's proportions changed. The original 1:2 head to height ratio changed to 1:2.5.

Beginning with *Sonic Adventure* in 1998, Sonic was redesigned by Yuji Uekawa as a 15-year-old character, with longer legs and a less spherical body, longer and more drooping spikes, and emerald-green-colored eyes. Sonic was also purposefully made more of a "bad boy" for *Sonic Adventure*, so that his character did not become too cutesy like so many other character mascots (Yuji Naka stated that Hello Kitty already owned the market in cuteness). Further changes to the character's design were made in subsequent games, namely in *Shadow the Hedgehog* and *Sonic the Hedgehog* (2006) adding visible fur, a more realistic design for a human world, and making him a bit lankier.

In regards to Sonic's birthday, it was Yuji Naka who decided to make it June 23 (the same day as the release day of the original *Sonic the Hedgehog* in western territories).

## Appearance

Sonic is a slim anthropomorphic hedgehog with blue fur that covers most of his body, and peach skin that covers his arms, muzzle, insides of his ears and front torso. Before the Neo Metal Sonic incident, he was also often shown to have peach-skinned eyelids. He has small, triangular ears on top of his head, six long quills on the back of his head, two spines protruding from his back behind his shoulders, and a short tail.

In his younger years, Sonic was shorter and stubbier, had a round head and an equally round torso, and black eyes. However, he has since grown taller and thinner, and developed green eyes.

For attire, Sonic wears light-weight, hyper friction-resistant red sneakers with white cuffs around the ankles, gray soles, and white straps across the top; the latter 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.

In the *Sonic Riders* series, Sonic wears green sunglasses on his head, black metal cuffs around each wrist, and a pair of red and white shoes.

## 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 at times possesses 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, fearless, 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 or how dangerous, 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, he 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 he can deal with things on his own, he also realizes he has friends to back him up in troubling situations and believes strongly in teamwork. Owing to his smugness and confidence, he often engages in playful banter with his enemies, such as asking Infinite "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). Sonic is likewise very competitive; while he takes no interest in challenges he knows he can win easily, Sonic always welcomes a good competition that has him squaring off against others on even ground. Sonic likewise never holds back when pitted against others in a test of skills and abilities, and is not above trash-talking to his opponents.

Following his free-spirited nature, Sonic never dwells on the past or allows his painful experiences to weigh 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.

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, he 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 was displayed during the Sol Emerald incident that Sonic also enjoys break dancing, which is reflected in his Trick Actions. His battle moves seen during the Emerl incident are also based on break dancing as mentioned in the attack descriptions. He also break dances in numerous games, usually when he is victorious.

Sonic tends to get irritated when his enemies often misidentify his species, namely by calling him a rat, making him 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.

## Powers and abilities

Despite not having undergone any known training, Sonic's years of battles have 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 those with 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 and Perfect Chaos on his own where he previously required additional power to defeat them. Sonic even told 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. He has proven himself to be in a class of his 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 backward 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 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 also 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" (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. However, E-123 Omega himself calculated that Sonic's speed could potentially exceed light speed and Sonic has boasted that light speed is "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 at rapid speeds, 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 and precision, and has reaction time to match his speed. He has profound acrobatic skills and agility, along with incredible 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 notable strength as well. He can push and lift things bigger and heavier than himself, run without extra weight slowing him 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 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, and take a ruthless pummeling from the Time Eater. 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 a...

Sonic possesses an unbreakable and incorruptible spirit; 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. 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 the chaos power 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 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. 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. He has also learned the martial art of Linshao Kung Fu from Shuifon, though he is yet to be seen using it.

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.

Sonic have extraordinary skill in operating vehicles. He has excellent skills when it comes to piloting planes like the Tornado, driving and racing at high speeds in cars like the Speed Star, and water bike surfing on vessels like the Wave Cyclone. He is also experienced in a variation of sports such as boarding and surfing (he is skilled enough to keep from bailing) and other recreational activities like grinding. Sonic also appears to be an excellent gunner, capable of using the Tornado and Tornado-1's on-board weaponry with immense accuracy.

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 during the Neo Metal Sonic incident, 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, even though 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 Space Colony Ark incident, Sonic used 2G Hi-Speed Shoes, which were specifically made for grinding. Also, 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, he 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 sapient 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 one of Sonic's strongest forms. 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 all of his Super State abilities are greatly enhanced.