Characters / Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW) - The Restoration

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW) Main Character Index
The Restoration | Eggman Empire | Clean Sweep Inc. | Independent Antagonists | Other Characters | Classic Era Characters

Formerly known as The Resistance, the group formed in Sonic Forces to combat the forces of the Eggman Empire after the latter had nearly taken over the world.

After Neo Metal Sonic's defeat and Eggman's re-emergence, they are reformed as The Restoration, and are now working towards cleaning up the world and dealing with any lingering threats.

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General

And this is just the main cast...

• Action Girl: Every female character listed on this page in various degrees, except for Vanilla, Jewel, and (for the most part) Belle.
• And Then John Was a Zombie: Between Issues #17-29, almost all of Sonic's allies become Zombots as the Metal Virus picks them off one by one, with Sonic himself very nearly being taken near the end despite all his Plot Armor. Those infected before Issue #25 are enslaved by Zavok of the Deadly Six and forced to fight whatever survivors remain in Issue #29. In the end, only Silver, Whisper, Espio, Rouge, Lanolin, and Blaze^note the latter of whom was absent at the time manage to avoid infection altogether, discounting The Immune robotic heroes (Omega, Gemerl, and Belle).
• Cast Herd: The characters, as in the games starting Sonic Heroes are divided into small groups, and they tend to appear together most of the time. Team Dark (Shadow, Rouge, and Omega) and Team Chaotix (Vector, Charmy, Espio) are almost never seen separated. Only Team Sonic and Team Rose avert this trope.
• Casual Danger Dialogue: Bantering in the heat of battle is one of Sonic and co.'s favorite activities.
• Commuting on a Bus: Sonic's allies go and come as the plot demands, with Tails and Amy hanging out with him the most. The rest of his friends fall Out of Focus after the Metal Virus Saga, although Tangle and Whisper's Breakout Character status has allowed them to appear more frequently than some others with a plot narrative justification that they are active members of the Resistance/Restoration while the others have other responsibilities.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: The Restoration as a whole is shown time and again to differ from the Knothole Freedom Fighters. Rather than a crime-fighting team aligned with the government, it's an independent organization dedicated to helping people rebuild from armed attacks or disasters, also backing up Sonic on his adventures if need be. Most of the heroes resume their normal lives after Issue #12, acting as outside contributors to the Restoration rather than official members.
• Demoted to Extra:
  • Once the Restoration is started and Metal Sonic defeated, Knuckles returns to Angel Island to protect the Master Emerald.
  • Big the Cat is no longer a member of Team Rose or the main cast, and is not a member of the Resistance. He returns to be a fisherman in Mystic Ruins, and appears occasionally in the series.
• Elaborate Underground Base: The original Restoration HQ falls to the Zombots in Issue #22 and is subsequently destroyed. After the Metal Virus is eradicated and Jewel takes command, a new HQ is constructed beneath the bombed-out town of Emeraldville, accessible via a secret elevator in the tool shed of Silver's Victory Garden. The new base features dormitories, a cafeteria for employees, a parking garage, a storage/supply depot, a machine shop, and most notably a shopping mall-like central hub.
• Family-Friendly Firearms: Whisper and the Restoration's Security Corps use Wispons (mostly Hover and Burst Wispons) as their go-to arms.
• Fastball Special: A few issues feature The Restoration's fighters being able to use Sonic as a projectile.
  • In the second issue, Amy performs one with Sonic dubbed the "Croquette Bomber," hitting his curled-up form toward an enemy dropship.
  • Tangle can use her tail to slingshot others. In Issue #4, she launched Sonic and Blaze up to a height Blaze reckoned she could not reach alone.
  • A big one that required several members of the team assaulting Eggperial City in Issue #61. Blaze tosses Sonic, then Amy (carried by Tails) uses her mallet to propel him further, then Whisper and Tangle rocket in on Whisper's Wispon and Tangle uses her tail to chuck Sonic directly towards Eggman.
• The Friends Who Never Hang: Aversions so far:
  • Up until the Chao Racing arc, Rouge had never interacted individually with Cream and her relationship with Amy was shaky. Rouge and Amy were enemies in Sonic Battle, with Amy downright calling her a bad influence on Emerl.
  • Up until IDW, Espio and Sonic never hung out together. The two respect each other in a professional way, but Espio is clearly angry by what Sonic's actions in forgiving Eggman led to: the Metal Virus and the zombification of Vector and Charmy.
  • The Endless Summer one-shot has Sonic, Tangle, Whisper, and Jewel, taking a day off at the beach. While the latter three are already familiar with each other, Sonic and Jewel only knew each other through mutual connections at the Restoration. This one-shot sees all four characters hanging out and relaxing at the beach, at Sonic's encouragement.
  • In the Winter Jam one-shot, Rouge and Omega of all people decide to chill out with Amy, Cream, Sonic, Tails, and Big on a beach. Neither character is particularly close to one another and have typically been associated with Shadow, who doesn't make an appearance in the issue save for a brief panel. Likewise, Big, who has been Demoted to Extra in this comic's run, hangs out with Amy and Cream again for the first time since Sonic Heroes, along with Sonic and Tails. While everyone is mutually associated with each other, this is one of the few times they all have hung out together as friends instead of being acquaintances.
• The Good Guys Always Win: Naturally. No matter how bad the odds or how high the stakes, Sonic and his allies always prevail in the end, one way or another.
• Heroic BSoD: A recurring thing, with most examples happening during the Metal Virus Saga.
  • Sonic has one in Issue 23, as his guilt over his role in the Metal Virus pandemic starts catching up with him. He has another in Issue 24 upon seeing Tangle got infected, until she snaps him out of it.
  • Whisper and Belle twice each suffer a Break the Cutie moment: the former over her original allies' deaths and Tangle's Zombot-ificaion, and the latter when she learns her beloved creator, Mr. Tinker, was never more than an amnesiac Dr. Eggman.
  • Amy experiences one early in Issue 31, when the pressures of leading the Restoration finally catch up with her. She snaps out of it when she thinks of Sonic and what he sacrificed to save the world from the Metal Virus. She brightens up further when Jewel relieves her.
  • Near the end of Issue 31, Shadow is having one of these as he laments getting himself Zombot-ified due to his own stubbornness and refusal to listen to Sonic's advice about resisting infection.
  • Tangle of all characters has this twice during the Urban Warfare arc: The first time has her devolving into Inelegant Blubbering out of guilt over (accidentally) hurting Whisper's feelings, wrapping herself in her tail in shame until Whisper forgives her. The second time has her giving off a speechless and brief Thousand-Yard Stare after seeing both Whisper and Lanolin being atomized by Eggman's spatial displacement prisons, with Lanolin pulling a Heroic Sacrifice in order to snap her out of it. After she escapes from Metal Sonic, she briefly sulks to herself and wonders what to do. She quickly shakes it off, prioritizing on finding Sonic and the others.
  • Played for Laughs in Winter Jam, where Sonic goes into shock and is comedically unable to process how his speed-based abilities end up causing more problems rather than help him win in the competition.
• Heroic Sacrifice: How Cheese, Chocola, Vector, Tangle, Cream, and Knuckles are taken out by the Metal Virus. However, since Nobody Can Die as mandated by Sega, said characters' sacrifices are non-fatal and eventually reversed by Super Sonic and Super Silver's World-Healing Wave.
• Innocent Blue Eyes: Tails, Whisper, Belle, and Lanolin all have these, though Whisper's are rarely seen because she's constantly squinting.
• Kid Hero: Sonic and nearly all of his allies are anywhere from 6 to 16 years in age, save Rouge, Vector, and Vanilla.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Sonic, Shadow, Tangle, and Charmy all have a very bad habit of charging headlong into a danger zone, often with disastrous results.
• Mass "Oh, Crap!": Happens at the climaxes of the Battle for Angel Island, All or Nothing, Chao Races and Badnik Bases, and Test Run arcs. Also twice in the Zeti Hunt arc.
• Meaningful Rename: The Resistance was formed to fight against Eggman in a war for the planet. After Knuckles unceremoniously disbands it, Amy takes over and rebrands it into The Restoration, tasked with cleaning up the mess once the war ended.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: A recurring theme of the comic has Sonic and his friends going easy on their adversaries and paying dearly for it down the line. Sonic and Belle tend to suffer this trope especially hard.
• Noodle Incident: Tangle has experienced at least two of these to date. Belle and Charmy have each had one, too, according to Belle's supervisor and Espio. Said incidents got Tangle and Charmy banned from Restoration HQ's machine shop and a random library, respectively, while Belle managed to hold onto her job at the machine shop (which she lost due to an earlier Failure Montage but later regained).
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Any of them—even the most easygoing and optimistic ones such as Sonic, Tangle, and Cream—can get this trope when when things really go south, and Chaos have mercy on your soul if you manage to get on their bad side.
• Plot Armor: As per Sega's mandates, Sonic and his allies have endless supplies of this, although it applies to Sonic himself most of all. In any case, whatever misfortune befalls the heroes will hardly last.
• Poor Communication Kills: One of the heroes' main and most recurring Fatal Flaws. Some particularly bad cases in the "Misadventures" arc result in Clutch and Mimic infiltrating Restoration HQ and becoming moles in the organization.
• Ridiculously Cute Critter: Tails, Cream, Charmy, Jewel, Tangle, the Chao (Cheese included) are this in spades.
  • Whisper also counts, though how well she fits this trope depends on her mood: for example, she can be quite intimidating when she's angry, but downright adorable when she's happy.
• Save the Villain: The heroes often end up indirectly saving Eggman's ass when his plans go out of control, such as when the doctor gets infected with his own Metal Virus by Froggy and only avoids Zombot-ification thanks to Super Sonic and Super Silver. Sonic, Tails, and Belle also rescue Kit after his defeat in Issue #50 renders him unconscious, but he later bails on them to rejoin Surge.
• Super Mode: As in the games, Sonic and some of his allies are capable of using the seven Chaos Emeralds to go Super, and Blaze can enter her "Burning Blaze" form using the Sol Emeralds. Thus far, Blaze has transformed twice, and Sonic and Silver once. Shadow's Super form has yet to be seen.
• Thou Shalt Not Kill: For better or worse, Sonic and his friends eschew execution as a means of punishing their foes, Eggman or otherwise.
• Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises: The heroes' usual expression(s) during Oh, Crap!/Freak Out moments. Occasionally, the characters' pupils also disappear when angered, as Cream and Sonic show in Issues 27 and 42, respectively.
• Wingding Eyes: A Running Gag in the comic has Sonic's friends (mostly Tangle) getting starry-eyed when excited about or interested in something.
• Villains Act, Heroes React: While the Restoration and many of its members usually act whenever Eggman puts a plan into motion, Lanolin forms the Diamond Cutters as a rapid-response team to combat against threats the organization faces.
• Zerg Rush: The Restoration and their allies often attack an Arc Villain en masse to close out a Big Badass Battle Sequence. While Metal Sonic and Zavok are able to resist such assaults before going down, Eggman, being unskilled in CQC and prone to building giant robots that are cumbersomely huge (with obvious weakpoints to match), has no real counter to the heroes' teamwork beyond brandishing a gun that he can easily be deprived of.

Team Sonic

Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog

"I never fear the fall."

^{Click here to see him as Super Sonic}

Introduced in: Issue #1

The blue blur and hero of the story as always. Months after Eggman's defeat and disappearance, he is now globetrotting the world and dealing with any remaining threats as well as trying to figure out the doctor's whereabouts.

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• 100% Heroism Rating: Sonic is trusted and loved worldwide for the many times he’s saved the world.
• The Ace: Sonic is incredibly powerful, Famed In-Story for being the world’s greatest hero and the fastest thing alive, and he’s Loved by All.
• All-Loving Hero: As usual, he's generally willing to let bygones be bygones. He spared an amnesiac Eggman after confirming he wasn't a threat and let a recently beaten Metal Sonic go free. Both of these actions bite him hard in the ass later...
• Adaptational Skill: Super Sonic has a new ability that game Super Sonic was unable to do: charging up objects with energy such as the Warp Topaz.
• Amnesiac Hero: He loses his memory after the Warp Topaz overloads, blows up, and sends him to the Sol Dimension. He even refers to himself as "Mr. Needlemouse" while conversing with Blaze. Thankfully, she quickly uses the Sol Emeralds' power as Burning Blaze to jog his memory.
• Armor-Piercing Question:
  • He presents one to Shadow in Issue 6, when Shadow is determined to kill the amnesiac Eggman rather than give him a second chance, insisting he's too dangerous. Sonic actively fights him to stop him from doing so, pointing out Shadow's hypocrisy by reminding him of everything he did prior to his Heel–Face Turn and questioning why Shadow should be forgiven for his own sins if Eggman cannot. This convinces Shadow to back down.
    Shadow: Have you forgotten that he made you suffer? That he's tried to destroy you— multiple times? How can you even suggest leniency for him after all that?
    Sonic: Heh— you tried to destroy me in the past too, remember? You even tried to obliterate an entire planet. So— what? You want me to take you out with Eggman? After all, if he can't be forgiven, can you?
  • In issue #24, he gives another to Espio after he loses his cool and snaps at him for vouching for Eggman. It's made unclear whether Espio is truly taken aback by it or merely lacked a response, however:
    Espio: We found Charmy. We thought we had him contained. But I knew better. I shouldn't have let Vector take him back to HQ. It's my fault.
    Sonic: No, man, you can't—
    Espio: (furiously) Just like I shouldn't have let you convince me to leave Eggman in Windmill Village.
    Sonic: That was Mr. Tinker. We had no way of knowing that Starline would turn him back into Eggman.
    Espio: And if we'd dealt with him then, we wouldn't have had to worry.
    Sonic: (hits his Rage Breaking Point and and yells back at him) So— what? We have to assume the worst about everyone and everything? Show no mercy to anyone? No second chances?
    (Espio remains steel-faced but clearly irritated as he and Sonic glare at one another)
    Espio: There are people to save. (teleports away)
    Sonic: (equally rueful) Right. See you at the shuttle.
• Bash Brothers: With Tails and Knuckles.
• Bizarre Taste in Food: When Sonic and Blaze visit Mirage Saloon, Blaze gets an ice cream topped with a cherry, while she looks confused at Sonic's ice cream, which is topped with chocolate and a green chile pepper.
• Blood Knight: Not as obvious as most examples, but he loves a good fight, especially against those who can keep up with his speed. During his battle against Surge in #50, he tells her that he hopes she's having fun as well.
• Break the Haughty: Learning what Starline did to Surge and Kit and failing to free them from his influence does a number on Sonic's ego, along with Tails'. He realized too late that he underestimated Starline all along and was too slow to undo the late doctor's Villainous Legacy.
• Can't Get Away with Nuthin': His All-Loving Hero compunctions and sense of mercy are ceaselessly exploited throughout the series, and he has to listen to Shadow, Espio, and Knuckles blame him for it.
• Casual Danger Dialogue: As per the rest of the franchise, he never lets being in the middle of a major battle get in the way of his snark.
• Chick Magnet: Amy is in love with him, Rouge sometimes flirts with him, an unnamed cat girl in Issue #1 has a crush on him, and an unnamed little girl hedgehog in Issue #5 has a crush on him.
• Cordon Bleugh Chef: Endless Summer shows that Sonic likes eating his marshmallows burnt to a black crisp.
• Deadpan Snarker: Always one for a quip in the middle of a tense situation.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: Sonic's Thou Shall Not Kill aspect gets put through the ringer multiple times, with many people accusing him that his inability to just take care of Eggman permanently is what causes the Vicious Cycle he and Eggman are seemingly trapped in, which leads to more and more innocent bystanders getting hurt in the process. Espio personally blames Sonic for the Metal Virus arc even happening in the first place, and Surge blames him as the root cause of her ending up like she has, saying if he had just offed Eggman, Starline would have never done what he did to her.
• Despair Event Horizon: Nears it in Issue 23. At the start of the issue, he has to berate himself out of trying to help any potential survivors in Barricade Town because he'd just infect them. And by the end of the issue, looking like he's about to collapse from exhaustion, he blames himself for everything that's happened because he believed that Eggman could do good as Mr. Tinker. In his despair, he comes dangerously close to succumbing to the Metal Virus.
• Determinator: Best shown in Issue 23. Despite having gotten the bio-scanner Tails was using to try to develop a cure for the Metal Virus destroyed, and a brief Heroic BSoD over his recent string of failures, Sonic manages to bounce back and resolves not to give up, believing he still has time to set things right.
• Didn't Think This Through:
  • Regarding his decision to free Metal Sonic in issue #12. While Sonic is certain that Metal will choose to give up villainy without Eggman to repair him or order him around, Metal had already asserted in issue #7 that he would "sift through the world's ashes" to find his master, and that Eggman already purged any "rebelliousness" from his programming that would make him decide otherwise. Thanks to Sonic choosing to let Metal Sonic go, the robot duplicate soon finds and restores Eggman, leading to the mad doctor unleashing the Metal Virus plague.
  • In Issue 26, when dividing up the group into teams to defeat the Deadly Six, he has Gemerl assigned to take care of Zeena and the Babylon Rogues to deal with Zik. This is despite knowing that the Deadly Six have the abilities to control electronics, leaving the Rogues unable to use their Extreme Gear, severely handicapping them, and causing Gemerl to be completely under Zeena's control.
  • Despite being among the few bad guys he openly detests and views as irredeemable, Sonic openly refuses to keep watch of Starline, declaring good riddance when Eggman boots him out to places unknown. It is only after Starline's death that he realises the atrocities he committed left unmonitored, up to genetically modifying Surge and Kit, and releasing Zavok, Mimic, Rough, and Tumble from prison, with all of them but Zavok entering Clutch's employ. Sonic's indifference to even a villain he knows is no good ends up leaving him with Clean Sweep Inc. and a whopping Villainous Legacy by Starline to constantly tend to.
• Disappointed in You: While he and Metal Sonic never liked each other, even Sonic voiced his displeasure with Metal's Undying Loyalty to Eggman. While Starline had a major hand in bringing him back, Metal was the one who willingly threw away his chance at freedom to serve him again.
  Sonic: Y'know, in a way, Eggman didn't get a chance to stay reformed. Starline put him back on that path. But you... you just had to go back to him, didn't you? You couldn't be like Gemerl or Omega. You just had to be a one-note jerk.
• Disney Death: During his third round with Surge, she drops Sonic into a puddle and shocks the crap out of him until Eggman's Dynamo Cage, which she was using to boost her powers, overloads and breaks. As Surge faints from the burnout, Sonic is shown with a Thousand-Yard Stare for a moment before gasping awake, implying that she briefly stopped his heart while electrocuting him. He ultimately survives, albeit covered from head to toe with electric burns.
• Don't Say Such Stupid Things!: Sonic has this reaction to Mecha Sonic's Despair Speech as he tries to reject being saved from the Scrambled Egg Carrier's incinerator during the Scrapnik Island Miniseries out of horror at the crimes he previously committed, complete with an extremely rare (though mild) Precision F-Strike; reasoning with him that his lot in life is still in his own hands and that the freedom he wants is out there, but begins and ends with himself. Ultimately, Sonic actually succeeds in getting through to Mecha, and — with help from Tails and the Scrapniks — is able to successfully rescue his old enemy from being melted down.
  Mecha Sonic: Your freedom is enviable, Sonic. To explore the world at your leisure, unhindered by regret or failure... It must be nice. Leave me. This is what I deserve. My original Eggman directive: Destroy S-Sonic the Hedgehog. M-Mission: Failure. My n-new Sigma directive: P-protect the Scrapniks. Mission: Failure. I am a failure. I am worthless. I am trash...
  Sonic: CUT THE CRAP, WILL YA?! You give yourself value and purpose! No one else! You gotta live for you! That's what it really means to be free! NOW! TAKE! MY! HAND!
  [Mecha Sonic takes Sonic's words to heart and grabs his hand]
• Dramatic Irony: During a brief talk with Metal Sonic in Issue #26, Sonic blames Starline for Eggman not remaining as Mr. Tinker. The reader knows Starline failed to make Eggman return to his senses, and it was in fact Metal Sonic who helped Eggman remember who he is. In turn, Eggman returning to who he truly is is not Starline's fault, but Sonic's for repairing Metal and thinking he could change.
• Easily Forgiven: Belle almost immediately forgave him for attacking her when they first met. Subverted with Espio and Shadow, who both angrily blame him for the Metal Virus.
• Even the Loving Hero Has Hated Ones:
  • Sonic's sense of mercy extends to almost every recurring enemy except for Dr. Starline, due to his responsibility he holds even in the Darkest Hour of his long string of failures during the Metal Virus outbreak, as shown by his unfazed reactions to him being "fired" by Eggman and being told about his death in Issue #51. After learning what Starline has done to Surge and Kit, Sonic's disposition only ascends from contempt to flat-out horror.
  • Downplayed for Eggman, as while Sonic's moral code and compunctions still stand, he is making it increasingly clear that the doctor is really pushing his luck with him. After dealing with the collateral damage of his and Starline's feud, culminating in another double-cross when Eggman tries to capture Surge for his own plans, Sonic is left so visibly furious that even Eggman himself worries he might have finally crossed the line on this one. Come Issue #61, Sonic's finally had enough and coldly leaves Eggman for dead as his Eggperial City falls, ignoring the doctor's frantic pleas for mercy.
• Famed In-Story: Sonic is world-famous for his heroism, with Dr. Starline even calling him a "hero across time and space." He’s also famous for his title as the fastest thing alive.
• The Farmer and the Viper: A recurring theme throughout this series is that Sonic's tendency to show kindness and mercy to his enemies often has long-term consequences. His insistence on showing mercy to Eggman and Metal Sonic led to the Metal Virus nearly destroying the world. When he and Tails decided to send the Deadly Six back to their home planet rather than punish them for their crimes, Zavok swore that he would repay Sonic's compassion with violence and misery. Sonic is occasionally shown to be somewhat troubled by this and has been repeatedly criticized by his friends for his leniency, but he also refuses to comprise his morals out of fear.
• Fatal Flaw: Kindness. Sonic has a strong desire to see the best in everyone, which can come back to bite him when he tries to see the best in people who really shouldn't be given a second chance. While in some cases it can be a good trait to have, it sometimes leads to more problems than it prevents. In Issue #6, he views Shadow's valid points on Eggman having committed numerous crimes and being easily forgiven as hypocrisy on Shadow's end; in Issue #12, he has Metal Sonic repaired and released, much to Tails' concern; in Issue #24, he views Espio's claim about dealing with Eggman in Windmill Village to prevent a future disaster as 'assuming the worst about everyone and everything'; in Issues #32 and #41, he still believes that Eggman will one day stop his villainous schemes and willingly use his talents for good (which is unlikely to happen); and in Issue #44, he hears Zavok's vow to make him regret showing mercy to the Deadly Six, but decides not to 'sacrifice his morals and principles out of fear'. Issue #4 of Scrapnik Island sees him finally redeem a foe, that being Mecha Sonic from Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
• Forgotten First Meeting: The non-romantic variation with Recurring/Ascended Extra Lanolin. They had ran into each other many times before the events of the Urban Warfare story arc, with their first encounter being in Issue #2. Sonic doesn't remember any of these times, with the sheep replying that the blue blur was quite busy in each instance. The mission to infiltrate Eggperial City is their first time working together, and Sonic is happy to properly get re-acquainted.
• Golden Super Mode: Super Sonic makes his triumphant appearance at the end of the Metal Virus saga, and the transformation burns Sonic's infection away.
• Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: Sonic has a strong desire to see the best in everyone, but this tends to blind him to just how evil certain people are.
  • The entire Metal Virus arc was kicked off because he got Metal Sonic repaired (sans his offensive capabilities, of course) and let him go hoping he could find something else to do with his life with Eggman living happily as Mr. Tinker, only for Metal to immediately go back to Eggman and be the catalyst that restores his memories, allowing Eggman to unleash a Zombie Apocalypse that almost turned the entire cast into unwilling robotic slaves. Even as late as Issue #41, he still hopes that Eggman will eventually see the light and change his ways, which Eggman himself is adamant will never happen.
  • Despite his resentment for Starline, Sonic grossly underestimates how evil the platypus really is, at one point even claiming he'd give Starline a second chance if he could. It's only when he, Tails, and Eggman learn what Starline has done to Surge and Kit that Sonic realizes Starline was eviler and more dangerous than he ever imagined possible.
  • He also assumes he and Surge can bury the hatchet and be friends, pointing out how several of his allies were once enemies themselves. He continues to insist on it even as Surge tells him flat-out that she wants nothing to do with him. Kit, meanwhile, doesn't understand while Sonic would bother with him out of kindness rather than necessity, especially when he already has Tails for a sidekick.
• Good Is Not Dumb: He spends a good chunk of the comic's run going easy on his enemies in many a futile effort to reason with them. However, he will change tack on that matter if his goodwill is rejected too many times.
  • Sonic has dealt with enough of Eggman's deceptions, long before the comic began, to be cautious of any "good" the doctor does. He is immediately suspicious when he sees Eggman under his amnesiac persona "Mr. Tinker", only letting up when he and others confirm his memory loss is legitimate. He knows that Eggman, under normal circumstances, will never change, but still hopes that he will. After Eggman returns and eventually pushes his luck too far, Sonic stops giving him the benefit of the doubt and simply kicks the doctor's ass.
  • While he recognizes Surge as victim of Starline's machinations and is willing to help her if she'll let him, Sonic warns he won't hold back if she chooses to be evil. When she and Kit later return, looking to join the Restoration and claiming they're looking to reform, Sonic is skeptical if they've come around for real after violently rejecting his and Tails' overtures earlier. Buoyed by Mecha Sonic's Heel–Face Turn in Scrapnik Island, he gives Starline's imposters a chance anyhow and prevails on his friends (except for Whisper) to do the same; however, he subtly warns them not to harm the Restoration or else, and punctuates that threat with a sly, yet pointed glance at Surge, just in case she thinks he's bluffing.
    Surge: I gotta admit...this is a pretty impressive setup. (Grins sinisterly) It'd be a real shame if someone burned it to the ground.
    Sonic: Yeah. A bigger shame is what'll happen to the idiot who tries that. (Firmly smiles back)
• He Will Not Cry, so I Cry for Him: At the end of Scrapnik Island, where due to the mental link between himself and Mecha Sonic caused by an interrupted mind swap, he starts tearing up while watching the Scrapniks embrace Mecha Sonic. When Tails asks if he's crying, Sonic replies, "Nah. These aren't my tears."
• Heroic RRoD: A big part of the Metal Virus Saga. Sonic is forced to constantly be on the move, his running speed being the only thing keeping his Metal Virus infection from consuming him completely. He runs himself ragged doing so, and everyone, including Sonic himself, knows it's only a matter of time before he just can't keep it up anymore. Come Issue #25, he openly admits he's "running on fumes". By the arc's climax in Issue 29, his speed no longer counters his infection at all; only at the last possible nanosecond does he cure himself by turning into Super Sonic.
• Hope Bringer: His mere presence massively boosts heroic morale wherever he goes, even in the darkest of times. While his friends are more than capable of handling things without him, they tend to feel safer and more confident when he is around.
• Hypocrite: No, even Sonic isn't above this trope.
  • Perhaps the biggest case is in Chao Races and Badnik Bases where he's a distrustful Jerkass to Belle—despite previously accusing Espio of "assuming the worst about everyone and everything". At the end of the arc, he realizes that Belle isn't a threat or an enemy - thanks to Tails and Cream vouching for her - and apologizes to her.
    Sonic: Thanks for helping out! Sorry I was kinda tough on you before...
  • Sonic at one point stated that he and Tails should "honor Metal Sonic's decision" to "live how he wants to", only to wind up berating the robot for choosing to return to Eggman's side.
  • When Belle decides to repair a deactivated Metal Sonic, Sonic warns her to be careful since the robot is dangerous, only to be reminded by Tails that he had him do the same before. Downplayed, since Sonic at least had Tails de-weaponize Metal first, whereas Belle neglects to do the same; the results are more or less what Sonic feared they'd be.
• Irony: In Issue #12, he has Tails repair Metal Sonic—an evil, dangerous killing machine—and tries to form a truce with him, only for the robot to reject his offer and (as previously stated) return to Eggman's side. In Issue #34, however, he tries to destroy Belle - a kind-hearted, pacifistic aide robot - and later abandon her. During the fight, the wooden robot shows no signs of malice or fighting back and despite her risking her life twice to save Tails, Sonic wants nothing to do with her (until Tails intervenes and scolds him).
• I Work Alone: Sonic prefers to go it alone and do things his own way; thus, he repeatedly refuses Amy's attempts to get him to rejoin the Resistance. A trait long-time fans may be familiar with, but is a departure from his previous comic version and even Sonic Forces, where he's a bigger team player in the former and cites The Power of Friendship in the latter. During the Urban Warfare arc, he briefly ruminates on despite how fun things are when he goes at it alone, it's easier when he's got his friends behind him.
  Sonic: I don't need to! I already know what works best for me.
• It's All My Fault: As of Issue 23, Sonic wholeheartedly blames himself for the Metal Virus outbreak, kicking himself for sparing the amnesiac Eggman under the belief that he could do good. Thanks to Starline and Metal Sonic, this led to Eggman regaining his memories and unleashing the Metal Virus on the world, essentially starting a Zombie Apocalypse.
  Sonic: I put my faith in the idea everyone has a little good in them, and Eggman's made me pay for it every day...
  • Happens again next issue when he discovers that one of his newest allies, Tangle the Lemur, is infected by the virus. Tangle snaps him out of it and tells him to keep fighting.
• Jerkass Realization: In Issue #36. Upon first meeting Belle, a harmless wooden robot, Sonic was very hostile towards her; ranging from violently attacking her to almost abandoning her - even after she saved Tails twice - and failing to properly console her over her fear of flying. All it took to convince Sonic that Belle wasn't an enemy was Tails and Cream explaining the puppet's heroic actions to him. He then thanks Belle for helping his friends out before apologizing for his earlier actions.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: He may be a little cocky but, on rare occasions even he knows when to bail if he's in over his head as he did when first confronting Neo Metal Sonic and finding himself utterly outgunned on top of having to deal with him.
• Lightning/Wind Juxtaposition: The Wind to Surge's Lightning, though he is merely associated with the element, rather than actually using it.
• Logical Weakness: Hurting one or both of his legs will of course deprive him of his Super-Speed. Subverted in that he can fight through such an injury to use his speed regardless out of sheer force of will, albeit risking further injury in the process.
• Loved by All: Except for the villains, everyone loves and respects Sonic for all the times he’s saved the world. In Issue 50, Surge flat-out says that the whole world loves Sonic. However, Shadow and Knuckles can sometimes get annoyed with him, due to their serious, short-tempered nature clashing with Sonic’s laid-back, humorous personality.
• Magnetic Hero: Sharing the same past as Mainstream Sonic, Sonic claims he’s made friends out of a bunch of former enemies, such as Knuckles, Shadow, Gemerl, etc.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: So, Sonic's just defeated Neo Metal Sonic, halted his plot, and an amnesiac Eggman is doing good as Mr. Tinker. What does he do? He repairs Metal Sonic to offer a truce (which he promptly refuses), then allows him to leave. Metal returns to Eggman's base, where he winds up triggering the good doctor's memories, restoring him to villainy. While good-intentioned, Sonic unwittingly restored his own worst enemy. In Issue 23, Sonic outright kicks himself over it, remarking that he thought Eggman had a tiny bit of good in his heart, and the entire planet is now paying the price.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: He spared an amnesiac Eggman after confirming he was no threat, only for Eggman to regain his memories and unleash the Metal Virus on the world. When it comes down to it, the entire Metal Virus arc essentially consists of the entire world paying the price for Sonic's misguided act of kindness, and come issue 23, he's fully aware of it.
• No Sympathy: In Issue 25, when Eggman fires Starline, stealing his Warp Topaz before having Metal Sonic banish him through a portal to parts unknown, Sonic has no objections and is perfectly fine with it, considering the fact that not only is Starline - in Sonic's eyes - directly responsible for the Metal Virus outbreak in the first place by restoring Eggman's memory and kickstarting his return to villainy, he also nearly killed Sonic and Silver in an explosion and ended up making the Zombot situation even worse by bringing in the Deadly Six without a proper failsafe.
  Tails: Are we okay with this...?
  Sonic: The guy brought Eggman back to his old self and tried to blow me and Silver up. Yeah. We're okay with this.
  • He shows this again in Issue 51 after hearing about Starline's recent death from Belle (who witnessed it the issue before).
• "Not So Different" Remark:
  • In Issue #6, Sonic insists that Eggman should be forgiven for his past crimes and should have a second chance, just as Shadow was forgiven and was given a second chance. Unfortunately, this comes back to haunt Sonic later.
    Sonic: So—what? You want me to take you out with Eggman? After all, if he can't be forgiven, can you?
  • He himself receives one from Kit in Issue #56 as part of a brutal takedown from the latter.
    Kit: Starline. Eggman. You. You're all the same. You don't need me or Surge. You want us. All that matters is what we can do, how you can change us. So you can prove that your way is right.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
  • In Issue 23, it's a sign of how bad things have got when Sonic doesn't bother with Casual Danger Dialogue when he confronts Eggman, instead demanding that he create a cure for the Metal Virus before attacking him in a rage, going so far as to threaten to infect him with the virus out of spite.
  • When it seems like Eggman's on the fast track towards being forced to make a cure, a tired, weary and frustrated Sonic takes the moment to chew out Metal Sonic for going back to Eggman and attempting to continue world domination rather than reform like Gemerl or Omega. He settles for one heck of a Death Glare that looks like he'd destroy his doppelganger if he wasn't infected and had something more important to do.
  • His All-Loving Hero status meanwhile meets a total dead end with Starline. After everything the latter caused by bringing Eggman back, he vocally feels zero sympathy for Eggman dismissing him in Issue 25 nor even the announcement of his death in Issue 51, both events even his comrades were a tad unsettled by. Discovering the level of his experimentations on Surge and Kit only ascends Sonic's cold contempt for Starline into outright unnerved horror from what a disturbed and unfettered villain he ultimately was.
  • During the Scrapnik Island miniseries, Sonic shows genuine fear, drops a swear after hitting his Rage Breaking Point, and even silently cries (by proxy of Mecha Sonic).
  • By the end of the Overpowered arc, after dealing with another double cross by Eggman and aware the fates of Surge and Kit are at least partially down to him and Starline's petty feud, he merely gives the doctor a very icey look. Even Eggman is rather intimidated by this.
• Pacifism Backfire: He's willing to let an amnesiac Eggman be free to do some good, and even reactivates Metal Sonic to offer a truce and let him go free. Both bite him in the ass when Eggman regains his memory thanks to Metal Sonic's return and goes back to his old tricks, leading directly to the Metal Virus outbreak. Both Shadow and Espio give Sonic a What the Hell, Hero? at different points for it.
• Plot Armor: As with other Sonic series, no matter how bad things get, Sonic is always guaranteed to win in the end or eventually rebound from a short-term defeat. He's still not invincible, however, and when he gets in over his head, he's often unable to win without his friends to help.
• Precision F-Strike: Milder than most, but in Issue #4 of Scrapnik Island, Sonic drops a very loud "Cut The Crap" after being fed up with Mecha Sonic discrediting himself and initially resigning himself to die within the Death Egg's incinerator, and diving in afterward to rescue him. This is the third time that he has ever uttered a swear in the franchise; the first being his usage of "damn" in Shadow the Hedgehog if the player fails the Hero Mission in Lethal Highway and the second in Sonic X where he drops a "shit" in the Japanese dub of the second episode.
• Principles Zealot: Despite his sparing the amnesiac Eggman leading to the Metal Virus outbreak, and Zavok promising he'd similarly regret sparing him and the rest of the Deadly Six, Sonic refuses to kill the Zeti, refusing to give up his morals out of fear:
  Zavok: I will make you regret showing restraint. This moment of compassion will be repaid tenfold in violence and misery.
  Sonic: But I'm not going to sacrifice my principles out of fear. You want to cause more trouble? Fine. Waste your time. I'll kick your butt every time.
• Pyrrhic Victory: The closest he can come to a long-term defeat, as mandated by Sega. Although he technically still wins, some of Sonic's victories are so hollow that he questions if the trouble was worthwhile.
  • In Issue #23, he prevents Eggman and Starline from regaining control of the Zombots—at the cost of breaking Tails' data-reader, which by then was the Restoration's only hope of creating a cure for the Metal Virus. Eggman even spells this trope out to him while retreating.
  • At the end of the Imposters Saga, Sonic is left with nothing tangible to show for his troubles, sans his life and the retrieval of Whisper's Wisps. He and Tails fail miserably to redeem Surge or Kit, thus trading the late Starline for two even more dangerous foes; the two duos' conflict also prevents the Restoration from taking down Eggman's new city until much later, leaving the world no safer than before.
• Refusal of the Call: Initially. Amy tries to get him to rejoin the Resistance but he keeps refusing, stating he like to do things his way. Though it seems more he's just worried about putting his friends in harm's way.
• Super Drowning Skills: Sonic still can't swim, so he stays out of any water-based activities like surfing and swimming in the Endless Summer one-shot.
• Super-Speed: This is Sonic we're talking about.
• Thousand-Yard Stare: Gets one in Issue 56, after Surge comes within an inch of killing him before the Dynamo Cage overloads. He's left staring blankly at the ceiling with the unconscious Surge on top of him, stunned that he's still alive.
• This Is Gonna Suck: Once Neo Metal Sonic uses the Master Emerald to go super, he responds thusly...
  Sonic: Great, juuuuust great.
• Tranquil Fury:
  • Demonstrates this after Eggman fires Starline and again when he returns from the Sol Dimension. He displays it again as he races to save Restoration HQ from the Deadly Six. He and Tails also give Eggman one hell of a Death Glare after the doctor tries betraying them at the end of the Overpowered arc.
  • In the Urban Warfare arc, after escaping Eggman's digital trap, Sonic cooly warns the infuriated doctor he has officially taken things too far, and he knows what comes next. Eggman quickly undergoes a Villainous Breakdown from the realisation.
• Trauma Button: At the end of the Zeti Hunt arc, when Zavok warns him that he'll regret sparing the Deadly Six, Sonic immediately has a flashback to his sparing Mr. Tinker and how his doing so led to Eggman returning and causing the Metal Virus pandemic. He maintains a cool exterior, however, telling Zavok point-blank he won't abandon his principles for the sake of fear.
• Trauma Conga Line: The Metal Virus saga wasn't kind to him at all. After showing mercy to Eggman and preventing Shadow from killing him, how does Eggman repay this? By infecting the planet with a zombie virus. Sonic himself ends up as one of the infected, and the only way he can prevent full corruption is by constantly running and he cannot touch anyone without further spreading the virus. Because of this, Sonic has to go from village to village and watch as more and more of his friends fall to the virus without being to do much to help. All of this is clearly taking a toll on his psyche, to the point that by the time he confronts Eggman directly he skips his usual witty banter and demands Eggman to create a cure; he even shows no qualms about attempting to infect the doctor out of spite when he refuses.
• Vampire Refugee: During the Metal Virus arc, he inadvertently gets infected with the Metal Virus during a fight with Rough and Tumble. Tails finds out that running manages to put it into remission, but it'll keep spreading if he stays still for too long. He also can't touch anyone for fear of spreading the virus. Though the upside is he can at least fight Zombots directly, though prolonged fighting against them will speed up the infection further. On top of it all, it's made clear that Sonic's constant running to keep the virus in check is wearing him down, and eventually, he will get too tired to keep it up. Eventually even the energy from running starts to fail keeping the virus at bay; by the time of the final battle with Zavok, he notes it has stopped working altogether. He nearly succumbs to getting covered by the virus before Silver manages to activate the Chaos Emeralds and purge him.
• Walking the Earth: In this version, he's more of a traveler, always on the move and helping where he can.
• Wheel o' Feet: Sonic's feet essentially turn into a blurry red wheel or figure-eight whenever he runs.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: Based on his initial encounters with Knuckles, Shadow, and others, he assumes other foes/rivals will see the error of their ways after being thwarted. Much to his disappointment, this is generally not the case, with Surge in particular saying straight to his face that she doesn't want to be friends with him. Mecha Sonic is the only exception, and even he had to first be reprogrammed before he started down the path to reform.

Miles "Tails" Prower

Miles "Tails" Prower

"Oh, ye of little faith..."

Introduced in: Issue #1

Sonic's best friend, a two tailed fox with the ability to fly, and a mechanical genius.

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• Ace Pilot: Can fly aircraft and drive battle mechs like a pro.
• All for Nothing: Rather than leave Kit to die after subduing him, Tails risks his own life to save him and even shelters him in his workshop. However, Kit generally ignores him and only follows Sonic until Surge reappears. All of Tails' subsequent attempts to reason with Kit—while at the same time defending Sonic from his wrath—fall on deaf ears, leaving him as disappointed as Sonic over failing to rehabilitate their doppelgangers.
• Adaptational Intelligence: This version of Tails is more accurate to game Tails' portrayal in the Adventure-era games.
• Bash Brothers: With Sonic. As shown right off the bat in Issue #1, they're a perfect combat duo.
• Big Damn Heroes: Tails saves Sonic's ass a lot in this comic. Both boys can easily handle themselves, but if Sonic needs rescuing, Tails will be there for him.
• Break the Cutie: Less so compared to Cream or Whisper, but the latter half of the Metal Virus Saga sees him put through the ringer big time. Being screwed out of creating a cure hits his confidence hard, and during the final showdown, he gets chased down and infected by Cream's Zombot-ified Chao, leaving poor Tails helpless as he waits for the end, shedding tears as he begs Sonic for salvation.
• Cool Plane: So far, both the classic Tornado and the Tornado 2 have appeared.
• Everyone Has Standards: While he has zero respect for Dr. Starline or his actions, he does show visible discomfort over Eggman's mistreatment of him. He needs Sonic's assurance that he shouldn't care about him getting fired by Eggman, and following Starline's death even calls out the doctor for causing his slippery slope that they are all still facing the repercussions of.
• Flight: He's able to hover using his two tails.
• Gadgeteer Genius: Since this comic is in line with the games, it's natural he'll be this.
• I Choose to Stay: In the first issue, Sonic asks if he would like to come along and see who's coordinating Eggman's robots. Tails considers it but, seeing the citizens of the town they're in weeping over the damage from the attack, opts to stay behind to help with repairs. He tells Sonic he'll catch up when he can, and makes good on that promise in Issue #7.
• Irony: Tumble expresses violent jealousy when he sees that Tails has two tails while he has none. This is rather ironic considering that Tails was originally an outcast for having two tails before he met Sonic.
• My God, What Have I Done?: After turning off Kit's backpack to De-power him, Tails is alarmed to find his doppelganger unresponsive, Kit having fainted in disgrace.
  Tails: Hello? Oh, man! I hope I didn't shut down any vital functions!
• Out-Gambitted: While battling Kit in Issue #56, Tails tries to reason with the former and appears to succeed, as Kit later saves him along with Sonic and a comatose Surge (who took herself out). However, Kit then tries to bury the heroes, Eggman, and Metal Sonic alive while he collects Surge and retreats, revealing he faked surrender and only stood down to keep Tails busy; it almost worked, too, as Surge possibly (albeit briefly) killed Sonic in the meantime.
• Ramming Always Works:
  • He kicks off the take back of Angel Island by ramming the Resistance's ship into an Eggman base on the island.
  • And does this again, this time right at the Master Overlord. Which is enough to help loosen the Master Emerald from his body.
• Stepford Smiler: In Issue #31, as he copes with Sonic's disappearance in the wake of the Metal Virus pandemic.
• Tae Kwon Door: He closes a town gate on a bunch of Badniks in Issue #1, causing them to all crash into it and take themselves out. Later, in Issue #27, he uses the same tactic to defeat Zomom. Amy helps him in the second instance, but it was his idea.
• Took a Level in Badass: Following up on Forces, Tails goes from a cowardly cheering squad for Sonic to being able to take care of business on his own once again. Perhaps his finest moment is in Issue #43, where he not only shows up in time to save Sonic from the Deadly Six, but also personally takes out Zavok himself.
• To Win Without Fighting: Tails pulls his punches against Kit, attempting to talk him down or, if that fails, evade his opponent until the latter runs out of water to fight with. It only works once, as Kit apparently learns from his defeat and exploits Tails' pity in their rematch to keep him occupied.
• What the Hell, Hero?: While indeed Sonic's BFF, Tails isn't above calling him out if need be, and in fact is the one person who can stalemate Sonic in an argument.
• Yank the Dog's Chain: In Issue #21. Tails has just found a cure for the Metal Virus, but the minute he does, Zombots break into his lab and trash it, along with the data, putting them right back where they started.

Knuckles the Echidna

Knuckles the Echidna

"My island needs me. I have no time for games."

Introduced in: Issue #3

Guardian of the Master Emerald and one of Sonic's earliest rivals.

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• Adventurer Archaeologist: With the war against Eggman concluded, he is eager to return to Angel Island and some good ol' fashioned treasure hunting.
• And Then John Was a Zombie: He holds the distinction of being the last of Sonic's friends to become a Zombot. Fortunately for Knuckles, he's cured and goes back to normal only minutes after succumbing.
• Bash Brothers: Knux and Sonic, as a team, are able to clear out Super Badniks, liberate a town, and handle a pair of rogues with ease.
• The Big Guy: Usually always one for strength among the group.
• The Comically Serious:
  • Completely takes Rough & Tumble's Rhymes on a Dime gimmick at face value and warns Sonic that "they're highly coordinated", all with a bewildered expression at why Sonic is laughing at them.
  • When the Chaotix, Silver, and Tangle play a game of cards before the Battle of Angel Island, Knuckles stares out of the window while waiting for the battleship to get in range, saying he has "no time for games." When Vector asks he's going to stand there until they arrive, he confirms with a Blunt "Yes".
• Commuting on a Bus: Knuckles disbands the Resistance and goes back to guard the Master Emerald. He sits out most of Year 2 of the comic, but returns in Year 3 near the end of the Zombot arc. Things had gotten so out of hand by then that the Restoration fled to Angel Island. As the guardian of the Master Emerald, this leaves him locked to Angel Island and typically doesn't get involved in the main storyline unless said island is involved or he's cycled back in for an arc or one-shot.
• Curb Stomp Cushion: His fight with Zombot!Shadow in Issue #29 has him easily overpowering and pinning down his opponent, getting hit back only once. However, this allows the Metal Virus to overtake him in minutes, weakening Knuckles as it does so. Shadow ultimately blocks his last punch, and down Knux goes.
• Demoted to Extra: Hit hard with this compared with both the games and the Archie comics, as a result of Sega's creative mandate that Knuckles cannot leave his post guarding the Master Emerald without a sufficient in-story explanation. Knuckles' significant appearances past the first arc have been limited to a fairly minor secondary role in the latter half of the Metal Virus Saga and a supporting role in various one-shots, having gotten very little character focus compared to Sonic, Tails, or Amy.
• Dumbass Has a Point: In #26, the Restoration make a plan of attack on the Zeti for their Chaos Emeralds. Sonic plans to send Knuckles to fight one of them but he refuses, explaining that 1) he is not taking his eyes off the Master Emerald and 2) since Eggman isn't going into one of the portals, he's not leaving him alone on the island with the Emerald unguarded. Sonic quickly realizes Knux is right and rearranges the battle plan.
• Friendly Rivalry: Knuckles and Sonic are friends with a great deal of respect for each other, but love to compete just as much.
• Here We Go Again!: Issue #29 starts with a giant Zavok bombarding Angel Island with fireballs, while Knuckles and the other survivors are confronted by their Zombot-ified friends. And as bad as that is, it's only the most recent problem—out of who knows how many—that Sonic has brought with him on a visit.
  Knuckles: Why do you always bring trouble to my island?
• Heroic Sacrifice: Knuckles punches a Zombot Shadow in order to buy Sonic time to start his plan and in order to protect the refugees for as long as he possibly can. Doing so infects him, but he keeps on swinging.
• Honor Before Reason: Downplayed. When the Echidna relics get stolen from Angel Island by the Babylon Rogues, he enlists the help of the Chaotix to help him track it down, instead of just pursuing them alone. When Charmy suggests bringing Amy along (who helped return one of the idols in the first place), Knuckles angrily shuts the idea down, with Espio chalking it up to him wanting to "maintain his warrior's pride," to which Knuckles confirms with a Blunt "Yes".
• It's All My Fault: He doesn't take it well when he finds out the Master Emerald was captured by Neo Metal Sonic, blaming himself for not guarding it. He pulls an I Choose to Stay after the final battle to prevent it from happening again.
• The Leader: Of The Resistance, right up until the end of the Battle for Angel Island arc, in which he disbands immediately afterwards. In his absence, leadership is taken up by Amy, who rebrands it as The Restoration.
• My Significance Sense Is Tingling: In Issue #8, he senses something wrong with the Master Emerald due to having a link with it. Sure enough, Neo Metal Sonic has found it and made it into a makeshift throne, effectively taking over Angel Island.
• Out of Focus: Knuckles doesn't have much focus or development in the comic, in contrast with his previous comic appearance. He has a significant role in year 1 due to the attack on Angel Island, but returns to his guardian duties afterwards.
• Put on a Bus: After the Battle for Angel Island concludes, Knuckles opts to stay and guard the Master Emerald and disbands the Resistance. As such he's largely absent from the Metal Virus Saga during Year 2, and only gets involved during Year 3's "All or Nothing" and "Out of the Blue" arcs since the Restoration fled to Angel Island. After the Metal Virus Saga concludes, he would remain at his post on the Island, with sporadic appearances afterwards (2022 FCBD Special, the 2022 annual, and 900th Adventure, his classic self's appearance in the 30th Anniversary Special notwithstanding). It would take until Issue #62 of the Misadventures arc for him to make a re-appearance in the main book, where Amy arrives on Angel Island to return a stolen artifact, and him enlisting the Chaotix to help him get back a pair of stolen idols from his island.
• Trademark Favorite Food: As detailed in the manual of his debut game, grapes. He eats a bunch of grapes on the RI cover of Issue #62, and has a bowl of grape-flavored ice-cream that is also topped with grapes when he and the Chaotix stop by Seaside City in Issue #65.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Sonic. He blames him for certain mishaps, prompting the Blue Blur to get all defensive, but they still trust each other as friends.
• What the Hell, Hero?: He's on the receiving end of this trope in Issue #30, where Amy calls him out for disbanding the Resistance on such short notice when there was still rebuilding to do after the events of Sonic Forces. Knuckles counters that events on the surface after Metal Sonic's defeat weren't his problem, also pointing out that Amy's been overworking herself.
  Knuckles: The war was over. My place is up here. You could've said "no".
  Amy: And left all those people to rebuild without help?!
  Knuckles: There you go again, trying to help everyone everywhere.
  • In the FCBD 2022, Knuckles, still blaming Sonic for bringing the Zombot Apocalypse to Angel Island, calls him out for that even though Sonic points out the Metal Virus would've gotten there eventually. Tails has to step in and diffuse the argument.

Amy Rose

Amy Rose

"Sometimes, you gotta take things on faith, y'know?"

Introduced in: Issue #2

A close friend and admirer of Sonic's. Also a leader of the Resistance and the head of its successor, the Restoration.

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• Action Girl: May not have a lot of finesse, but willing to jump into the fray, especially if Sonic is involved.
• Badass Boast: She gives an impressive one to the huge bear-like Snowy Badnik she takes on in Issue 35.
• Censor Shadow: A black void obsures the underside of Amy's skirt anytime there's a potential for a Panty Shot.
• Composite Character: Combines her more straight-laced and mature Team Mom tendencies from post-2010 portrayals of the character with her spunkier, more energetic depictions from the Adventure era. Her crush on Sonic from the Adventure era still comes up too, but in a downplayed away, never quite reaching Stalker with a Crush levels.
  • Her role as The Leader of the Restoration and the increased emphasis on her ability to manage situations as one also calls to mind Sally Acorn.
• Cool Car: Her Pink Cabriolet, more specifically its Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed version. It retains its flight mode from said game, allowing Amy to drive it where no normal car can go, such as Angel Island.
• Crush Blush: Towards Sonic at the end of Issue #2, though she quickly recomposes herself. She does this again in Issue #33 when he suggests they go on a mission together; it fades when Sonic says he and Tails will be exploring a creepy abandoned Eggman base.
• Death Glare: She gives an epic one to Eggman, Starline, and Metal Sonic when they show up on Angel Island in Issue #25.
• Fortune Teller: Downplayed. She believes in mysticism and has her own deck of Tarot Cards, but isn't actively playing the role of one. She does use her cards to get a reading for Jewel, Tangle, and Belle during the "Trial by Fire" arc, and mentions they once guided her to Sonic himself.
• Humongous-Headed Hammer: As with any incarnation, her main weapon is the Piko Piko Hammer, which is bigger than her and the head being twice the size of her own.
• Hyper-Competent Sidekick: While Knuckles is the leader of the Resistance, he doesn't take it seriously. This leaves Amy to do all the work, especially after he disbands it after the Battle on Angel Island arc.
• The Leader: After Knuckles steps down, she leads the Restoration in his stead. She herself steps down after the Metal Virus Saga, feeling overwhelmed; with Jewel taking over from there.
• Mission Control: Takes this role in the Resistance after Knuckles disbands the group, though she fights on the front line as much as anyone else when she needs to.
• Never Bring A Knife To A Gunfight: Or hammer, in her case. Issue #60 has her pin Eggman down so Tails get hack his security system, only to be pinned down herself when Eggman shoots her hammer from her grasp with a Ray Gun.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: At the climax of the Metal Virus arc Amy saves Eggman from an infected Big the Cat. Eggman thanks her by shoving her into Big to buy him time while he escapes; infecting Amy.
• "Oh, Crap!" Smile:
  • In Chao Races and Badnik Bases, Amy fights a huge bear-like Snowy until she tuckers out. She promptly grins in a way that screams "This Is Gonna Suck".
  • She cracks another one, while sweating profusely, at the end of the same arc, when Vanilla learns that the "trip" Amy and Rouge took Cream on was in fact a dangerous adventure.
• Pushed at the Monster: Defending Eggman from a Zombot Big proves to be a mistake on Amy's part, as Eggman kicks her into Big and leaves her for dead as he makes a break for the Restoration's airship.
• Say My Name: After being left to face Vanilla's displeasure over the White Park incident all by herself, Amy screams Rouge's name loudly enough for Sonic to hear her outside Tails' house.
• Super-Strength: Given the size of her hammer, the fact that she can wield it with such finesse indicates she is quite muscular. This is proven in Issue #58, where she smashes an Egg Hammer with its own mallet—which, for the record, is roughly ten times her size. Granted, she follows a boxercise regimen like in the games, which probably helps, and needed to catch her breath after lifting the hammer (with the aid of Silver's psychokinesis).
  Silver: (shocked) You did most of that. How...
  Sonic: 'Cuz she's awesome!
• Took a Level in Badass: She was already very skilled in the games, and the comic shows off her people skills, coordinating people to help get citizens out of harms way and rally those that can fight to suppress Badniks that slip by Sonic. Sonic is pretty impressed and even asks how she wasn't a commander when Knuckles was the one leading the charge on Eggman during the events of Sonic Forces.
  Amy: Oh, he commanded alright. But who do you think kept things organized?
• You Were Trying Too Hard: Leading the Restoration isn't an easy job for Amy, and by the time the Metal Virus is destroyed, she's so stressed and fatigued that Tails and Knuckles outright tell her to cut herself some slack. In Issue 31, Amy finally admits she's out of her league, and when Jewel volunteers to lead the Restoration so Amy can have a break, the pink hedgehog is more than happy to accept.

Neo Diamond Cutters

Lanolin the Sheep

Lanolin the Sheep

"Diamond Cutters, move out. ...Cautiously."

Introduced in: Issue #2

A civilian turned member of the Restoration. She works directly with Jewel, eventually coming up with a rapid-response team to combat against threats that the Restoration are fighting against. Lanolin is the leader of the Neo Diamond Cutters, with the other members being Tangle and Whisper. She's accompanied by Maggie, a Magenta Wisp who grants the Rhythm Color Power.

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• Ascended Extra: Originally just a background character, Lanolin was drawn by artist Adam Bryce Thomas for Issue #2. Due to her design appeal, the character was allowed to keep appearing, alongside getting Adam's name for her confirmed. Her role is further expanded at the onset of the Urban Warfare arc in Issue #57, where it's revealed she's devised a rapid-response team so the Restoration can better respond to threats and eventually treated as one of the major characters afterward.
• Canon Foreigner: Was made for the comic as a background character, but became popular enough to be a central character.
• The Comically Serious: She is dead-serious about her jobs to the point of being unnecessarily formal, but her cute appearance, occasional dry humor, and dynamic with her teammates (particularly Tangle) lead to some amusing moments, such as her Desk Sweep of Rage in Issue #62.
• Expy: Her role as The Leader of the Restoration's Diamond Cutters and taking a more cautious approach to situations with a small portable computer makes her one to Sally Acorn from the Archie comics series.
• First Day from Hell: While she'd been with the Restoration since before the Metal Virus Saga, infiltrating Eggperial City in Urban Warfare was her first official mission, during which her whole team gets ambushed and captured. This understandably gives her a Heroic BSoD until Tangle (who'd previously been annoying her with her reckless antics) gives her some pep-talk.
• Forgotten First Meeting: The non-romantic variation. Lanolin has run into Sonic many times before the events of the Urban Warfare story arc, the first time being in Issue #2, but Sonic doesn't remember their previous encounters. Lanolin replies that the blue blur was quite busy at each instance, with the mission to infiltrate Eggperial City being their first time working together.
  Lanolin: I've been looking forward to working with you for a long time, Sonic.
  Sonic: Zero offense, but I don't think we've met?
  Lanolin: It was brief, and you were busy...
  [...]
  Sonic: Awesome! Then it's a pleasure to meet you again—for the first time.
  Lanolin: Haha! The pleasure's all mine!
• Gale-Force Sound: The bell around her neck is a Wispon. In conjunction with her Magenta Wisp, Maggie, Lanolin can fire out concussive blasts of sound.
• Heroic Sacrifice: A non-fatal example. In Issue #59, Lanolin knocks Tangle out of one of Eggman's portal traps and gets caught instead, since Whisper's capture moments before left the poor lemur too stunned to move. Lanolin begs Tangle to escape before the trap atomizes her and closes, trapping her consciousness inside.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Lanolin completely refuses to listen to Silver and Whisper about Duo secretly being the evil shape-shifter Mimic — despite Whisper having been his partner for a long time and knowing how he operates, including Silver's warning signs — and then after Duo feigns an injury while being interrogated, blindly trusts him (despite barely knowing him even a week) and kicks Silver off the team.
  • In her defense, from Lanolin's point of view, all she saw were two of her teammates and subordinates attacking a new recruit and accusing him of being a criminal with no substantial proof outside of accepting their word at face value. When she tries to tell Whisper to discuss this as a team, Whisper ignores her request, instead insisting on her assault on Duo.
• Improbable Weapon User: The bell around her neck is actually her Wispon. As detailed under Gale-Force Sound, it can fire concussive blasts of air. She can also use it to create waves that can echo around her like sonar.
• Internal Reveal: Learns about how Whisper's team disbanded permanently, as she thought the Diamond Cutters went their separate ways after the war, along with the wolf's backstory and motivations (which Tangle already learned about in the Tangle & Whisper miniseries).
• The Leader: Of the Neo Diamond Cutters. She admits that she's not the most cut out for the role, and she mainly joined the Restoration out of desperation, but her strategies tend to have genuine merit to them and accommodate for the long game.
• Limited Wardrobe: Played With. She's gone through no less than four wardrobe changes since her debut. Her one consistent piece of clothing is the cowbell she wears around her neck. However, once she was solidified as a regular character her field outfit became the default and won't be changed unless the story calls for it. Some of her old outfits before she became the leader of the Neo Diamond Cutters can be seen in flashback panels in Issue #57.
• Mindless Sheep: Downplayed. After joining the Restoration, she is very by-the-book and follows the chain of command to an almost fanatical extent, such as accepting Amy's recommendation for Surge and Kit on the sole basis of her being an ex-commander of the Restoration. It hinders her working together with others more than it helps. However, she is not afraid to throw her own weight around by herself when the situation calls for it. Just ask Silver.
• Musical Assassin: She can disrupt and damage Badniks and other enemies by sounding notes from her bell.
• Nervous Wreck: She is easily startled, be it by Badnik attacks or her boss (namely Jewel) calling out to her.
• Never Be Hurt Again: She admits that she joined the Restoration due to how helpless she felt during Badnik attacks and never wanted to feel that way again.
• Non-Standard Character Design: She went gloveless up until Issue #24, at which point she started wearing fingerless gloves as part of her outfit(s)—the only Restoration member or ally to do so, sans Tangle. She's also one of the few characters in the comic whose base outfit includes neckwear.
• A Pig Named "Porkchop": "Lanolin" is an oil extracted from sheep's wool.
• Recurring Extra: Lanolin appears as a background extra in most of her early appearances, or as a minor Butt-Monkey.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Blue Oni, being the calm, rational, and neurotic leader, to Tangle's Red Oni, the lemur being hyperactive, playful, and somewhat reckless.
• Stepford Smiler: According to her concept art by Adam Bryce Thomas, her smiles look plastic and stiff, as she doesn't "smile with her eyes." These smiles are to hide her frustration and stress while working at the Restoration.
• Took a Level in Badass: She went from a scared background character in her debut issue to a full-fledged rookie soldier and key character in the Urban Warfare arc.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: After the events of the Urban Warfare arc, rising up in the ranks and formally forming the Diamond Cutters group has also let her hard-headed nature come out to the forefront more prominently as its leader. As a result, she comes off a lot more bossy, standoffish, and untrusting, even if she ultimately means well; to the point where she kicks Silver out of the Neo Diamond Cutters for trying to expose Duo and (seemingly) hurting him in the process.
• Well-Trained, but Inexperienced: Deconstructed. She's a fairly-skilled strategist and Wispon-user, but by her own admission is still a rookie who mainly got the leader job because she was the only one that can come up with plans that doesn't simply involve just "hit harder and faster" and rose up the ranks working with Jewel as an admin worker, whereas both of her teammates have directly fought the Eggman Empire for months. This sabotages the Neo Diamond Cutters multiple times as her lack of experience as a leader and genre savviness often puts her on the wrong side of the story.
• Women Are Wiser: Like Whisper and Jewel, Lanolin prefers to err on the side of caution and is more serious in the line of work than Tangle or Sonic.
• Workaholic: Easily the most workplace-minded of Sonic's allies alongside Jewel. Whatever her job may be, Lanolin gives it her all. Prior to forming the Neo Diamond Cutters, she embodied the "stressed co-worker" archetype.

Tangle the Lemur

Tangle the Lemur

"C'mon, everyone! It's a gorgeous day!"

Introduced in: Issue #4

The first of the new characters in this series, Tangle is a hyperactive lemur who hails from Spiral Hill Village. She first joined the Resistance to help Sonic and his friends combat Badniks and foil Eggman's scheme during the first Saga, before overseeing her home village after their victory.

She then joins the Restoration to support her friend Jewel, but then becomes a full-time adventurer, not constrained by being a part of the organization. She volunteers to be a part of the Restoration's new rapid-response task force led by Lanolin, joining Whisper to reform the Diamond Cutters.

---

• Action Girl: Being in the Resistance/Restoration, this is a given. Her debut showcases her ability to take on several Badniks on her own.
• Animal Stereotypes: A hyperactive, cheerful and upbeat lemur, much like their stereotype.
• Beware My Stinger Tail: Her tail grows sharp metal spikes when she becomes a Zombot, although she never uses it in combat before returning to normal.
• Big Sister Instinct:
  • She seems to have developed this towards Tails, giving him encouragement in Issues #16 and #21 as he tries to find a cure for the Metal Virus. In Issue #31, she shows concern for how Tails is feeling after Sonic disappeared in the process of ending the plague.
    Tangle: How are you handling Sonic being...y'know...?
    Tails: I'm fine.
    Tangle: (sees right through it) I mean it, little dude.
  • She's also developed this towards Belle, giving the Robot Girl emotional support and aiding her when she gets into trouble. It's best shown in Trial By Fire, where Tangle charges headlong a huge forest fire to save Belle (and the park ranger's missing son) and gives her first aid upon finding her injured.
• Boisterous Bruiser: Tangle is a scrappy fighter who is always fearless and jubilant in battle.
• Boyish Short Hair: The large tuft of fur and short bangs on the top and back of her head, respectively, serve as this, giving her a very tomboyish look befitting of her very tomboyish personality.
• Breakout Character: She, alongside Whisper, proved popular enough to receive their own story in the 2019 annual issue, and later their own mini-series. She has also become an unlockable event character in Sonic Dash and Sonic Forces: Speed Battle, and became officially recognized in Sonic Frontiers, via a piece of dialogue from Sonic heard after idling for a certain amount of time.
• But Now I Must Go: Zig-zagged. In Issue #47, she tells Jewel that she's quitting the Restoration to go aid Whisper which Jewel understands as she knows the more organized setup isn't to her liking. Tangle later tells Sonic she doesn't mean she'll gone completely and will still help when needed, but figures she'd be better as an ally outside the organization then within it. She comes back to the Restoration as a volunteer for Lanolin's new rapid-response task force.
• Carpet of Virility: The Shadow-like tufts of fur on her chest make Tangle a rare female example of this.
• Cuddle Bug: She likes giving her friends huge hugs, often with her tail. In Issue #32, she organizes all the heroes present into a huge Group Hug.
• Canon Foreigner: Was made for the comic.
• Cute Little Fangs: Being a primate, one of Tangle's official renders in Sonic Forces: Speed Battle reveals her to have slightly pointy canine teeth,◊ though they're hard to spot most of the time.
• Defiant to the End: Decides she'd rather go out fighting after getting infected by the Zombot Virus than fearing for her life, staying behind to hold a group of Zombots back and buy time for her allies to escape.
• Genki Girl: Excitable, energetic and friendly, even in the midst of an all-out firefight. To wit; after the battle on Angel Island, her reaction to Amy confirming that things were usually that exciting was to ask if they could hang out all the time.
• The Glomp: Tangle does this twice in the 2019 Annual: first with her new friend, Whisper, who came to her hometown (invading her personal space) and last with Jewel after rescuing her from the Babylon Rogues.
  • Inverted in Issue #29 when Tangle is cured of the Metal Virus before Whisper's eyes. Whisper immediately drops her gun and gives Tangle such a huge hug that they both fall over.
    Tangle: Oh, hey! Miss me much?
• Heroic Sacrifice: A non-death example. After being infected with the Metal Virus, Tangle decides to go down fending off the Zombot horde while the rest of her uninfected allies escape. By the time she becomes a Zombot, she was successful in her goal.
• Hero-Worshipper: Becomes this to Blaze after seeing her in action.
  Tangle: You. Are. Amazing.
• Hypocritical Humor: During a game of cards, she playfully chides Silver on if he's cheating, distracting him while using her tail to swipe cards from his hand.
• Inelegant Blubbering: After realizing she crossed a line with Whisper by naming their new team "The Diamond Cutters," she breaks down crying in remorse at her mistake, wrapping herself in her tail in shame.
• Innocently Insensitive:
  • While she generally respects Whisper's boundaries, she occasionally gets a bit too touchy, and when she took Whisper's mask mistakenly believing it was booby-trapped, she was confused by Whisper's panic attack. Fortunately, she's quick to apologize. She also quickly stops herself from giving an unwanted hug to Whisper in "The Bonds of Friendship":
    Tangle: (is gently pushed back by Whisper) Whoops! Right, boundaries. My bad.
  • She names her, Whisper, and Lanolin's team the "Diamond Cutters" after Whisper's old squad, which understandably upsets the latter. When Whisper reminds her that her fallen comrades' memory is a touchy subject, Tangle is so remorseful that she breaks down crying. Thankfully, Whisper forgives her and accepts the team name in honor of her dead allies.
• Killed Mid-Sentence: Or rather, "fully infected and Zombot-ified mid-sentence". She immediately goes mute and stops in place mid-punch as soon as her transformation is complete.
• Kubrick Stare: As a Zombot at the end of Issue #28, she's shown giving one of these to Sonic.
• Leap of Faith: Eggman's spatial displacement traps in Test Run and Urban Warfare force Tangle to take one of these in each arc: to save Team Sonic's asses in the former, and to evade capture herself by Eggman in the latter. In her own words: "Trusting your gut and accepting the consequences is just what heroes do."
• Leeroy Jenkins: Like Sonic, she tends to charge headlong into the fray without thinking, which exasperates the other Restoration girls to no end.
  Jewel: You're the antithesis of "look before you leap".
• Logical Weakness: Befitting for a hyperactive individual who likes to jump and climb a lot while making extensive use of her agility, environment and long-range Prehensile Tail to fight, it makes perfect sense that two of Tangle's worst fears are suffocation and very narrow spaces. The Tangle & Whisper mini-series sees Mimic taking full advantage of it by trapping her inside a sealed safe with a limited air supply.
  • Tangle's long tail can cause as much hinderance as help. Someone strong and fast enough to catch her like Zavok can simply grab it and use it against her.
• Meaningful Name: She was given the name "Tangle" to reference how she likes to "tangle" with bad guys. She also has a habit of being "tangled" by her own tail.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Tangle has this reaction to Whisper's cold fury at her for naming their new team after the Diamond Cutters, particularly since she meant for it to be a loving tribute to her original team. She's so horrified that she breaks down crying, hiding her face in shame with her tail.
  Tangle: I thought... I didn't... I wanted... (bursts into tears) I'm sorry! I didn't think of it like that! Your old teammates were such close friends! They were so cool and competent! I wanted that for us! So we wouldn't drift apart again!
• Nice Girl: Besides the occasional issues with her hyperactivity, impulsiveness and unintentionally overstepping boundaries, Tangle's polite and friendly with just about everyone she meets; being especially so with the Restoration's younger members.
• Noodle Incident: Several, including dropping into Jewel's museum through its skylight to forcibly take her adventuring, a "ball-bearing incident" in Restoration HQ's machine shop (which got her banned from there), and sling-shotting herself off a cliff "once or thrice".
• Odd Friendship: Her friendship with Whisper, Jewel, and Belle very much qualifies. She is loud, energetic, and self-confident, while the other three girls are much calmer and more nervous.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When she's bored, trapped in small spaces, or her friends are upset/in danger, Tangle drops her usual attitude and expresses fear, anger, or sadness depending on the situation. While she's hard to discourage or provoke—with not even falling victim to a robo-zombie plague doing much to bother her—even Tangle isn't 100% fearless, and it's not impossible to get under her fur.
• "Oh, Crap!" Smile: Gives one to Whisper when she accidentally presses her Trauma Button, sweating profusely as Whisper gives her a Death Glare.
• Personality Powers: A hyperactive, happy-go-lucky lemur who's always eager to jump into action has a super-stretchy Prehensile Tail that she tends to use like a bungee cord.
• Plucky Comic Relief: An Endearingly Dorky Genki Girl whose hyperactivity, hamminess, sunny disposition and amusing expressions tend to make her scenes comedic.
• Plucky Girl: Tangle is remarkably chipper despite all of the danger that surrounds her; even when knowing Whisper's background (how her old squad was killed by former member Mimic), she opts to cheer her up and even helps her take Mimic down. In Issue #24, after discovering her village has been overtaken by the Zombot virus and her best friend Jewel has been infected, which culminates with Tangle herself succumbing, she still remains optimistic and jokey as she fights the Zombots, all while still trading quips with Sonic along the way. After Super Sonic and Super Silver take the virus out of her, she acts as if nothing happened, showing only confusion as to why she's on Angel Island and not still in her hometown.
• Prehensile Tail: She can use her tail in various ways, like an extra limb, a slingshot and even fist-bumping with her friends.
• Primal Fear: As seen in Issue #2 of the Tangle & Whisper mini-series, Tangle is shown to have a huge fear of enclosed spaces and suffocation. When a Jewel-disguised Mimic locks her inside an airtight safe, she has a full-blown panic attack; by the time Whisper saves her, she crawls out literally shuddering in terror.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red Oni to Whisper and Lanolin's Blue Onis.
• Rubber Man: Her tail is super-stretchy, which gives her a lot of utility in and out of battle, though as seen by her Hold the Line moment — where, with Sonic's help, she uses her tail to loop around a small area of a town multiple times to produce a tripwire-like barrier — there is a limit to how far it can extend.
  Tangle: (pained) Okay-okay-okay! No more! You're gonna pull my butt off!
• Shoo Out the Clowns: Tangle provides a good-sized portion of the series' comedy, so after she gets Zombot-ified, the mood of the story becomes even more serious than it already was.
• Silly Simian: Appropriately enough for a Lemur, Tangle's a Genki Plucky Comic Relief character that instills good feeling in everyone else.
• Slapstick: Tangle has undergone several funny misfortunes, such as tripping after launching Sonic and Blaze in the air, hitting her head on a chili dog cart while swinging around, and faceplanting on the floor twice.
• Sole Survivor:
  • Inverted during the Metal Virus Saga, where out of the then-unformed Neo Diamond Cutters, Tangle was the only one who became a Zombot. Her future teammates, meanwhile, were among the few who never got infected, even though her fate left Whisper heartbroken.
  • Played straight halfway through Urban Warfare, where she's only Neo Diamond Cutter who avoids falling victim to Eggman's new portal traps. Whisper was dissolved into atoms and imprisoned before Tangle could save her, and Lanolin meets the same fate after getting herself caught in Tangle's place.
• Spiky Hair: Unlike Sonic, her hair is spiked up on top, instead of having spikes coming out the back.
• Tempting Fate: In Issue #31, when she convinces Whisper to give the Babylon Rogues a chance to enjoy themselves, Tangle says she'd rather not have yet another fight in her hometown so soon after the Zombot plague. A few seconds later, Eggman shows up in her neighborhood to crash the heroes' party.
• Thrill Seeker: Lives on adrenaline and adventures. The first issue of her mini-series starts with her feeling restless about coming back to Spiral Hill after fighting alongside Sonic, even stating things were "boring" with all the peace and quiet. Any time she does something dangerous in the comic, expect her to be cheering.
  Tangle: (while Sonic is dragging her at high speeds) This! Never! Gets! Old! WOOO!
• Tomboy: While Amy is a Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak, Tangle is a straight-up tomboy (one of the few pure examples of the entire Sonic franchise). She's hyper, scrappy, boyish in appearance, and always eager to fight whatever Badnik comes her way.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The tomboy to Whisper, Jewel, and Belle's girly girls.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Strawberries. She's also very fond of chili dogs, and happily recommends the bakery's croissants when showing Whisper around town in "The Bonds of Friendship".
• The Unfought: She never actually fights during the five issues she spends as a Zombot, even when Zavok makes her and the other infected heroes battle the survivors on Angel Island. One panel in Issue #29 shows her going for Whisper, but they never come to blows: all Tangle does is reach for Whisper while the latter simply freezes in terror.
• Vibrant Orange: Downplayed. Her outfit has orange accents and she is a fearless Boisterous Bruiser.
• What the Hell, Hero?: She crossly chews Whisper out in Issue #57 for wanting to scout Eggperial City by herself, citing the sniper's near-fatal run-in with Surge four issues prior. Whisper is shocked to see Tangle of all people lose her temper like that.
  Tangle: Oh no you don't! You just had your own close call! Quit trying to go solo!
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: As shown in Issue #2 of the Tangle & Whisper miniseries, Tangle seems to be claustrophobic and afraid of suffocation. She has a minor panic attack when Mimic locks her in a safe and further expresses discomfort over wearing a mask, not wanting to have her face constricted.
• Wingding Eyes: Tangle frequently gets starry-eyed whenever she's excited.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: When she reveals her Metal Virus infection to Sonic, he has a Heroic BSoD and blames himself for what's happening, all because he didn't permanently deal with Eggman (while he was still Mr. Tinker) and Metal Sonic despite having the chance to do so. Tangle, though, states he's responsible for no one's actions but his own and inspires him to fight on.
  Sonic: Tangle... I'm sorry...
  Tangle: For what? It's not your fault.
  Sonic: Isn't it? Maybe if I'd listened to Shadow and... Or if I hadn't let Metal Sonic go...
  Tangle: (hits a Zombot behind him without care) You didn't bring Eggman back. That was Starline. You made sure Metal was harmless. Eggman weaponized him again.
  Sonic: Yeah, and I haven't been able to protect my friends. Or anyone else.
  Tangle: Yeah? Then I guess nobody's guarding that shuttle full of nothing?
  Sonic: Tangle, you... (smiles) You're not going let this get to you, are you?
  Tangle: NEVER! Because you're Sonic the Hedgehog. You'll set this right. I know you will. Now, less moping and more moving!
  Sonic: Yes, ma'am!
  • Gives another one of these to Lanolin, after their first mission as the Neo Diamond Cutters end up with them being trapped in an alternate dimension, leaving the poor sheep crestfallen. She notes that even if they failed, they failed as a team, and that this one mistake will make Lanolin more experienced than before.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Her reaction at the end of Issue #31 when Eggman crashes the heroes' victory celebration.

Whisper the Wolf

Whisper the Wolf

"Never Forget. Never Forgive."

Introduced in: Issue #8

A "Guardian Angel" as described by The Resistance as she had managed to save a few of them during the war against Eggman. However she never really joined up with them, preferring to work in the shadows. She was also a member of the now-disbanded Diamond Cutters. She later volunteers to join Lanolin and Tangle to be a part of the new rapid-response task force for the Restoration, the second generation of the Diamond Cutters.

---

• Aloof Ally: She's actually helped out the Resistance many times before, even against Dr. Eggman. However, she never joined them officially and prefers to work on the side. At least until Neo Metal Sonic took over Angel Island.
• Army Scout: She had this role in the Diamond Cutters.
• Atop a Mountain of Corpses: When Silver explains who she is, we see a silhouette of her standing on a mound of broken robots.
• BFG: As her profile pic aptly illustrates, her Wispon is nearly as long as she is tall.
• Badass Adorable: Her cute face and timid personality make her so damn huggable, and like Sonic and the rest she can kick all kinds of ass.
• Beware the Quiet Ones: She's not much of a talker and rarely socializes. But she's one of the best sharpshooters of the heroes and impressive fighter all around. If she ever opens her eyes or, in extreme cases, raise her voice, expect things to get ugly fast.
• Black Cloak: She typically wears a black cloak draped over her back, in which she conceals Wisp containers for her Variable Wispon.
• Breakout Character: She, alongside Tangle, proved popular enough to receive their own story in the 2019 Annual issue and even their own mini-series. She has also become an unlockable event character in Sonic Dash and Sonic Forces: Speed Battle.
• Break the Cutie: Her emotional fragility makes her highly susceptible to this trope, which she suffers no less than four times.
  • Before her debut, witnessing the Diamond Cutters' deaths at the hands of Eggman and Mimic gave her permanent PTSD.
  • The second occurance was when Tangle fell victim to the Metal Virus. Tangle even warns Sonic before her Heroic Sacrifice that Whisper won't take the bad news well. When she sees what's become of Tangle a few issues later, Whisper loses all her will to fight, barely avoiding infection herself.
  • In the third case, Surge steals all of Whisper's Wisps after breaking her Wispon, trash-talking and beating her down all throughout. Belle later finds Whisper crouched in a corner in Tails' Lab, powerless and too anguished to speak.
  • The fourth case happens when Tangle thoughtlessly uses the Diamond Cutters' name for their new team, the sight of the Shadow Androids triggers memories of how they killed her old team, and then she and Lanolin get dissolved.
• Boom, Headshot!: How she almost executes Mimic in Tangle & Whisper #4, and later Eggman in Issue 25. Averted in both cases when a friend intercepts her and talks her down: Tangle the first time, and Cream the second.
• Boom Stick: With her Orange Wisp in, her Variable Wispon can shoot orange energy missiles.
• Broken Bird: She has a friendly, if standoffish demeanor, but she has some trauma from the demise of the Diamond Cutters from Mimic’s trap.
• The Bus Came Back: She fell Out of Focus for most of the Eggman's Legacy Saga, save a brief return in Zeti Hunt in which she was easily incapacitated by Zavok and a flashback in Trial By Fire. Her reappearance in Overpowered marked her first major role since the end of the Metal Virus Saga, although Surge's use of stolen Eggtech to steal her Wisps and disarm her puts Whisper out of commission once more.
• The Call Knows Where You Live: She left the Restoration after Mimic's jailbreak, but per Word of God, her search for him led straight to her and Surge crossing paths, and Whisper's near-fatal defeat to the latter lands her back at Restoration HQ for medical attention; this allows Tangle persuade her to join the Neo Diamond Cutters. Whisper herself later lampshades the irony of it all.
• Cool Mask: Sports one that looks like a high-tech variant of a traditional Kitsune mask. It's also connected to her Variable Wispon, as the left eye changes color depending on what Wisp is currently in use. It's revealed later that it also allows the wearer to understand the language of Wisps. Also, it can be used to record footage and was communicate with the other Diamond Cutters. When the mask is not on her face, she wears it on the side of her head, Japanese-style.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: While she held her own against Surge at first in Issue #53, she quickly finds herself on the receiving end, where her Wispon is destroyed and Surge has absorbed all of her Wisps, leaving the poor wolf in a broken state. Had a vision of Dr. Starline (who'd recently been killed by Eggman) not distracted Surge, the tenrec would've finished Whisper off before Sonic and Tails could save her; by the time they did, she was injured beyond fighting capacity, as a flashback in Issue #58 shows her hospitalized after the incident.
• Canon Foreigner: Was made for the comic.
• Cute Little Fangs: Sports a pair of fangs, consistent with wolf characters in Sonic Forces. Opening her mouth wide reveals a full set of pointy canine fangs.
• Deadly Disc: With her Pink Wisp in, her Variable Wispon can shoot pink sawblades made of energy.
• Death Glare: Make her mad, and she'll give you one of these. Even Sonic and Tangle, who are generally fearless, are unsettled by Whisper's angry stares.
• Deer in the Headlights: In Issue 29, she finds herself up against a Zombot-ified Tangle. Whisper takes aim, but can't bring herself to fight back against her friend, leaving herself open. Luckily, Tangle is cured before she can infect Whisper.
• Excellent Judge of Character: She has a knack for seeing through Mimic's disguises due to her past with him, remains hostile to the Babylon Rogues even after they help save her loved ones from the Metal Virus, and flat-out refuses to give Surge and Kit a second chance after the former kidnapped her Wisps and almost murdered her. Her suspicions, of course, are spot-on, but she's almost always the odd one out and thus overruled by her friends, forcing her to trust said villains anyhow against her better judgment^note although in Mimic's case, she only tolerates him while he's disguised; even then, however, she remains extremely wary. Surge (who scorns Sonic's, and by extension the Restoration's, All-Loving Hero code as stupid and naïve) can't help but be impressed.
• Expressive Ears: As noted in her concept art, since her eyes are usually closed, her ears are used to show her various moods and emotions.
• Expy: Her design bares similarity to Vennie from Ghosts of the Future and Gold the Tenrec from Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics), sharing orange/yellow-ish fur, brown skin, and Innocent Blue Eyes. It helps all three characters are designed by the same person, Evan Stanley.
• Eyes Always Shut: She's presented as always having her eyes closed, except when she is under very strong emotions such as anger, fear and distress. This is partially inspired by the usual depiction of kitsunes with eyes closed.
• Flight: With her Green Wisp in, she can use her Variable Wispon to fly in the air.
• Friendly Sniper: While she does have Wisps for close range combat, she works best as a sniper that fights from a distance.
• Girls with Guns: Or Wispons, in her case. Compared to others, her Wispon more closely resembles a real sniper rifle, albeit retaining a cartoonish sci-fi aesthetic.
• Good Is Not Soft: While less ruthless than Shadow or Omega, Whisper hates Eggman and Mimic for what they've done to her and will kill them in cold blood if she isn't held back. After being stopped twice before by Tangle and Cream, Issue #59 has her shoot at Eggman for real, only missing because his tech previously rendered her intangible.
• Hates Being Touched: Whisper is uncomfortable with major socialization and physical contact. Tangle respects her boundaries and lets Whisper have her space, for the most part.
• Hiding Behind Your Bangs: Her hair covers the right side of her face. It's also where she places her mask when not in use.
• Holiday Mode: Gets a New Year's themed costume in Sonic Forces: Speed Battle, known as Lucky Whisper in-game.
• Humongous-Headed Hammer: Using her Blue Wisp, her Variable Wispon forms into a hammer-like energy construct, with the head being as big as her own, which makes it a powerful melee weapon.
• Ironic Name: In the past, she is much more bubbly and spoke plainly. Losing her teammates changed this to a more Meaningful Name.
• It's Not You, It's My Enemies: Leaves the Restoration when she finds out Mimic escaped from prison, believing that her presence would put the people she cares about in danger.
• It's Personal: Eggman and Mimic slaughtering her former teammates in front of her led to Whisper enacting an all-out vendetta against them. Her grudge is so intense that merely seeing the Eggman Empire's insignia on a computer screen drives her into a fury.
• I Work Alone: Silver notes that, while she is on the side of the Resistance, she never officially joined them, preferring it just be her and her Wisps. However, she eventually joined the Resistance to liberate Angel Island, worked with Tangle and even made friendship with her.
  • While seen as initially shy, her Mysterious Past reveals the justification behind this, but this slowly changed when she encountered Sonic and, later, Tangle.
• Jerkass Realization: She's been leery about making new friends ever since she lost the Diamond Cutters, and she gives Tangle the cold shoulder when the latter reuses the name for their new team; Lanolin even notes when she hears the full story that Mimic's betrayal alone could've left Whisper with trust issues. However, Whisper admits in Issue #58 that she's acting irrationally and that shutting out her new friends for fear of losing them plays into Mimic's hands. With this insight, she apologizes to Tangle and Lanolin and asks them to bear with her until she's finally ready to move on.
• Logical Weakness: Whisper's moveset relies on her mask and her Wispon, without which she can still fight hand-to-hand but is nowhere near as formidable. Zavok shorting out her gadgets put her out of action on the spot, and Surge stealing her Wisps rendered her helpless.
• Meaningful Name: Whisper mainly speaks by whispering, though it wasn't always the case in the past.
  • Her name also sounds similar to "Wisp", the creatures she uses as ammo for her Morph Weapon.
  • She is known to fight from a distance, sometimes as an expert sniper. She relies on stealth unless necassary, which requires her to be quiet at times.
• Mirror Character: To Infinite, in a meta sense. Both were part of mercenary teams (the Jackal Squad for Infinite and the Diamond Cutters for Whisper), both are anthropomorphic canines (Infinite being a Jackal), both wear masks (Infinite to make him seem more intimidating and Whisper to remember her fallen comrades and motivate her), both have a distaste for Shadow (the Diamond Cutters were killed by Shadow androids, while Infinite's squad was taken out by Shadow himself), both are anti-social (though to WILDLY different extents) and both are somehow connected to the Rookie character from Forces (Whisper's design is based on the Wolf avatar and Infinite destroyed the Rookie's home and drove them to eventually defeat him). The difference is that when Infinite became obsessed with revenge, he decide to join Eggman so he could destroy Shadow before Eggman betrayed him at the last minute. But when Whisper became obsessed with revenge, she had her Wisps and Tangle there to keep her grounded and, unlike Infinite, she actually got her revenge AND was talked out of killing Mimic, the person who betrayed the Diamond Cutters in the first place, and instead imprisoned him (mainly so he could wallow in his failure).
• Morph Weapon: Unlike most Resistance Wispons, her staff is a prototype "Variable Wispon" that can reconfigure itself based on various Wisps that attach to it (a hammer for Cube, a Boom Stick for Rocket, etc.).
• Mundane Utility: In Endless Summer, she uses Green Hover to create a Wisp Shield in order to prevent her marshmallow from burning. Jet asks if using the Wisp that way is cheating.
• Mysterious Past: When she was first introduced, the reader and the other cast members don't know much about her other than she's against Eggman. She was on the verge of smashing a computer at Eggman's base before Sonic and Silver stopped her (with her eyes open, a sign that she's angry), the only things that can be inferred was that the wolf holds a deep hatred for Eggman. She also eyes Shadow when the Resistance was en-route to Angel Island, indicating that she has some sort of history with him too. During the '19 Annual, when she saw Jewel being thrown off the Babylon Rogue's ship, she cried "Not again!", indicating she lost someone important during the war.
  • Her full past is finally explained in Tangle & Whisper Issue #3: Her old team, the Diamond Cutters, were anti-Eggman mercenaries who were betrayed by one of their own, with Whisper being the only survivor because the team's clairvoyant advised her to stay hidden. Her cautiousness with Shadow wasn't because of him per se, but the Shadow Androids that murdered her friends. Her past is also briefly touched upon in Issue #58, bringing Lanolin up to speed as well.
• Never Be Hurt Again: Tangle & Whisper reveals that she did have a team of close friends, but they were sold out by one of their own. Near the end of the miniseries' second issue, she tries to drive Tangle away to avoid losing anyone close to her again. She attempts doing this again in Issue #58, but eventually realizes she's acting irrationally and that shutting out her new friends for fear of losing them plays into Mimic's hands. With this insight, she apologizes to Tangle and Lanolin and asks them to bear with her until she's finally ready to move on.
• Nice Girl: While She generally prefers to be by herself and her wisps. Whenever she does interact with anyone else, she is usually nothing but polite and a pleasant person.
• Nightmare Face: Like an actual wolf, she bares her fangs when angered.
  • In an unintentional and much more tragic take on this trope than usual, Whisper has an agonized, feral one during her meltdown over Tangle's Metal Virus infection.
    Whisper: (screaming hysterically and trying to run back to her) TAAAAAAAANGLE!
• Noble Wolf: She's a wolf, and she's one of the good guys.
• Not So Above It All:
  • In Issue #29, upon witnessing an infected Tangle return to normal, Whisper gets starry-eyed and happily tackles her friend to the ground with a huge hug—both things Tangle herself often does.
  • The Endless Summer one-shot shows Whisper happily enjoying her beach day with Sonic, Tangle, and Jewel, where they all participate in an impromptu competition against the Babylon Rogues for the rights to stay on the beach. Not only does Whisper get really into the competition, even whisper-cheering to herself alongside her teammates, she also calls Sonic and Jet amateurs when trying to cook their marshmallows, showing the proper way to do it.
• Not So Stoic:
  • The thought of Mimic killing yet another of her friends (Tangle, in this case) is enough to make her raise her voice. Not even being faced with Mimic himself doing a Shapeshifter Guilt Trip was enough to elicit that reaction.
  • She outright breaks down upon learning that Tangle has been infected with the Metal Virus, and has to be restrained. All she can do is cry at the loss of the first friend she made since the loss of her team.
  • In the Overpowered arc, after Surge steals all of her Wisps, except for Cyan, she grabs a piece of her destroyed Wispon to try and stab Surge, but ends up being flattened, with Tails pulling her out of the fight once he arrives with Sonic. She breaks down crying, wanting to get her Wisps back. Once Cyan gets absorbed by the Dynamo Cage, she huddles in the corner of Tails' workshop away from the group.
• Properly Paranoid:
  • She initially shies away from Tangle because she's afraid she'll lose her. Tangle assures her she won't, but Whisper's fears come true when Tangle gets Zombot-ified.
  • Even after the Babylon Rogues help defeat the Deadly Six and the Metal Virus, allowing Whisper and a previously-infected Tangle to reunite, Whisper still holds a grudge against them for attacking Tangle's hometown and endangering Jewel in the 2019 Annual. When they attend the victory celebration Tangle hosts in Issue 31, Whisper crossly keeps an eye on the trio until Tangle tells her to lighten up. However, Whisper turns out to be right when Eggman crashes the party: the Rogues decline to help fight him off and instead try to rob Jewel again (only to be thwarted by Rouge).
• Punny Name: Whisper usually whispers and also has Wisp buddies which she uses as fuel for her Variable Wispon.
• The Quiet One: She rarely speaks in complete sentences and mostly in whispers, as her name suggests. She conveys her emotions more through body language. She was a bit more vocal and talkative in the past - Mimic even describes her past self as "bubbly" - implying her relative muteness is the result of her trauma.
• Ray Gun: With her Cyan Wisp in, her Variable Wispon can shoot cyan laser beams.
• Red Baron: Whisper admits she never came up with the name "Guardian Angel" during the war against Eggman. People just gave her that title because she shows up randomly to help them.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Blue Oni to Tangle’s Red Oni.
• Right Man in the Wrong Place: She happened to be passing through when Surge attacks using Eggtech designed to hold Wisps, including Whisper's. The ensuing Designated Girl Fight saves the local civilians, but almost costs Whisper her life and puts paid to her search for Mimic (until he resurfaces later on), even after she gets her Wisps back.
• Say My Name: She lets Tangle's name explode out of her at full volume within seconds of learning of her friend's impending zombification.
• Security Blanket: Whisper treats her Cool Mask as such. She always keeps it on her person, puts it on when she's stressed, and had an outright panic attack when Tangle took it. The mask also contains footage of her time with the Diamond Cutter, including her tragic past.
• Shout-Out: Evan Stanley modeled her after Sniper Wolf, Major Kusanagi, and Kopaka.
  • Her team is patterned after FOXHOUND and thus, as a wolf who uses her Wispon like a sniper rifle has a mask that allows for accurate aiming, she's Sniper Wolf's comparison.
  • Whisper's bodysuit resembles Major Kusanagi's iconic outfit.
  • Kopaka's Kanohi Akaku influenced from her mask (a white three smaller eyes on the right side and one larger one on the left) with concept art showing that at one point it was designed to be much closer to it.
• Sole Survivor: She was the only member of the Diamond Cutters group who survived Mimic's murderous attack. She's also the only new character on the heroes' side to survive the Metal Virus Saga (except potentially Lanolin, though we never get confirmation on if she was ever infected or not), completely avoiding infection despite a Zombot Tangle cornering her at the arc's climax.
• Still Wearing the Old Colors: The miniseries establishes that her black cloak and mask were part of the Diamond Cutter uniform from the squadron she used to be a part of pre-series.
• Suddenly Shouting: In her case, even speaking at regular volume counts. Occassionally, though, she goes from near-silent to screaming her head off, thus playing this trope straight.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: She's introverted and not very sociable, but she's pretty nice when she opens up to people. When hanging out with Tangle during the 2019 annual and Endless Summer one-shot, she allows herself to relax and have fun.
• Suppressed Rage: Became visibly, yet silently angry when Tangle proposed naming their new team the "Diamond Cutters", which comprised of herself, Whisper, Lanolin, and Sonic. Given that this was Whisper's previous team, she was incredibly upset and noticeably bitter towards Tangle as a result. That said, after Tangle realizes how unintentionally insensitive she was and tearfully apologizes, Whisper loosens up and accepts both her apology and the team name itself as a tribute to her fallen comrades.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Whisper is a replacement for the rookie/Avatar character from Sonic Forces. They're both the survivors of a squad that was killed by a mercenary villain (Mimic for Whisper, Infinite for the Avatar), and they both use Wisps as weapons. Whisper likewise has a friendship with a heroic character in Tangle who helps her open up, just like Sonic did to the rookie. This makes her a replacement for the Blank Slate that was the character from Forces, as she is not limited to the game's path. As a bonus, Whisper's design came from the character creator for the female wolf in Forces. The difference between both is that the rookie was, well, a rookie, while Whisper's a veteran as a mercenary.
• Swiss-Army Weapon: Whisper wields a Wispon designed to use any kind of Wisp, with varying abilities depending on whom is loaded into it.
  Surge: (while being attacked by said Wispon) Geez! It's like one'a those knives with all the little bits in 'em!
• Terse Talker: Whisper doesn't like to talk to other people, and when she does, she speaks in short clipped sentences. Even when she has to give long explanations, her sentences are brief and to-the-point.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Pound cake.
• Tragic Keepsake: The Cool Mask she wears is her own, but the footage recorded recounting her time with her old team serves at this.
• Trauma Button: Aside from the videos she keeps of the Diamond Cutters, directly mentioning them brings back bad memories. She is not happy when Tangle reuses her old team's name for their strike team in Issue #57 and later reminds her why (although she changes her mind when Tangle explains herself). Being around Shadow disturbs her, too, since Eggman and Mimic used Shadow Androids to kill her teammates. Once the Shadow Androids are deployed into battle against Sonic, his friends, and Team Dark, she starts having another panic attack, represented by her collapsing to her knees and the world around her going black.
• True Companions: Her Wisps. Seeing their positive reaction to Sonic was what led to her being willing to work with him in her introductory issue, and when she's pinned down later in Issue #8, all the Wisps stay by her side to try and defend her from an incoming Badnik.
• Visual Pun: A wolf who prefers to work alone? A lone wolf by any chance?
• When She Smiles: As seen here◊ and here◊.
• The Worf Effect: She debuts as a One-Woman Army capable of wiping out whole armies of Badniks from afar, but is noticeably nerfed after the Metal Virus Saga. Zavok and Surge in particular make short work of Whisper by exploiting her reliance on her gadgets and Wisps, respectively, leaving her unable to fight. Later still, Eggman atomizes her alive without even getting up out of his chair, and while arguing with Lanolin about Mimic's infiltration of their team, the latter is able to match Whisper blow-for-blow despite the gulf in experience between them.
• Wrecked Weapon: Her Wispon is destroyed by Surge during their fight in the Overpowered arc, upon which she grabs a takes a shard from its remains and tries to stab her attacker. After Sonic and Tails save her, Belle fixes her broken Wispon off-screen.

Whisper's Wisps

Whisper's Wisps

Introduced in: Issue #8

A team of 5 Wisps partnered with Whisper. They were also members of the Diamond Cutters. They are an Orange Rocket, Blue Cube, Cyan Laser, Pink Spikes, and Green Hover, and their names are their colors.

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• Action Survivor: Cyan, Pink, and Green were survivors of Mimic's Shadow Android ambush that killed their partners.
• Badass in Distress: When Surge captures them with Eggman's Dynamo Cage in the Overpowered arc. Ironically, she ends up releasing them as well when she overloads the device trying to kill Sonic.
• Blow You Away: Green's rarely used offensive power when in the Variable Wispon.
• Bond Creatures: With Whisper and her Variable Wispon.
• Boom Stick: With Orange in, the Variable Wispon can shoot orange energy missiles.
• Broken Pedestal: Blue, feels this way towards its former partner, Mimic, and abandoned him upon realizing the betrayal.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Four of the Wisps matched or were close to the color scheme of their original partners.
  • Orange and Whisper
  • Blue and Mimic
  • Cyan and Slinger
  • Green and Clair Voyance
• Deadly Disc: With Pink in, the Variable Wispon can shoot pink sawblades made of energy.
• A Dog Named "Dog": All five of them are named after their respective colors.
• The Dog Bites Back: Blue is willing to fight against Mimic, until the latter guilts it due to its aversion to violence.
• Empathy Pet: Pink, to Tangle. It can often be seen in the background copying Tangle's dynamic poses when she gets excited.
• Flight: All of the Wisps can fly on their own. With Green in, the Variable Wispon is an umbrella that can fly in the air. Tangle in Issue #57 begs Green to let her fly sometime after seeing it lend Sonic its power.
• Funny Background Event: More than once, they're shown screwing around or doing mundane activities outside of battle.
• Gatling Good: Pink can also be used as a spike-shooting gatling gun, though this was mostly used with Smithy's weapon.
• Humongous-Headed Hammer: With Blue in, the Variable Wispon becomes a hammer whose head is bigger than Whisper.
• Instantly Proven Wrong: Pink cockily doubts Surge is too much to handle, but she soon turns the tables on Whisper in their fight. Quite ironically, Pink ends up being the first Wisp Surge captures.
• I Work Alone: Averted. The Wisps are eager for Whisper to make new friends, and encourage her to bond with Tangle.
• Kill It with Fire: Orange's secondary power when in the Variable Wispon. This is usually a power of Red Wisps.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Cyan is the most impulsive Wisp by far. Among other things, it provokes Jet by stealing his calzone and demands to be used against Surge even after she gains the upper-hand.
• My Greatest Failure: Blue feels guilty about Mimic's betrayal, being the Wisp that was partnered with him, and whenever the shapeshifter is brought up, it pops up with a sad expression. Whisper assures she's never blamed it for the tragedy.
• No-Sell: Downplayed. The Wisps have an immunity to the Metal Virus when in their energy forms, and their projectiles can strike the Zombots. Though when not in energy form they're still vulnerable. Cyan, Pink and Green also somehow survived the Shadow Android ambush presumably unharmed.
• Pinball Projectile: When Cyan is in the Variable Wispon, the other Wisps can fly to other locations and hold up prisms to ricochet its lasers.
• Puppy-Dog Eyes: Blue gives Whisper this look in Tangle & Whisper #1 to make her let Tangle adventure with them.
• Ray Gun: With Cyan in, the Variable Wispon can shoot cyan laser beams.
• True Companions: The Wisps to Whisper. Orange and Blue seem to have the closest bond to her, but they are all inseparable.
• The Voiceless: They very rarely make any noise, despite Whisper being able to translate for them. Of course, her bond with them is so strong that she can understand them even without using her mask.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Cyan seems to be afraid of having its picture taken, as it's cowering behind Slinger in Whisper's old photo of the Diamond Cutters.

Restoration Leader

Jewel the Beetle

Jewel the Beetle

"Saving Tangle from trouble so many times has made me a bit of a hero myself!"

Introduced in: Annual 2019

A beetle, childhood friend of Tangle and curator of a museum within Tangle's hometown.

After the events of the Metal Virus Saga, she becomes the new leader of the Restoration, succeeding Amy.

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• Ascended Extra: Originally just introduced in the first Annual as a friend of Tangle, with only a few appearances and references afterwards. It's only after the Metal Virus Saga when she is promoted to a major character, as the new head of The Restoration.
• Arbitrary Skepticism: Jewel expresses disbelief when Whisper tells her of Mimic's shapeshifting abilities. Tangle reminds her that she accepted the existence of a super fast hedgehog with no problem.
• Butt-Monkey: Was unfortunate when she first debuted, with the Babylon Rogues abducting her by accident, Mimic knifing her front door, Tangle's antics annoying her, and she herself getting Zombot-ified. Since becoming head of the Restoration, though, her luck has improved. The only other instance of her being injured after taking up this position was when she gets smacked by a pole Tangle was holding while trying to set up camp during the Trial By Fire arc.
• Deadpan Snarker: This priceless moment:
  Jewel: How's your head?
  Tangle: Not as sore as my pride. Ambushed by an stationary object. How embarrassing is that?
  Jewel: To be fair, it was hiding in front of a street lamp. Clearly it was out to get you.
• Damsel in Distress: Gets kidnapped by the Babylon Rogues in the 2019 Annual due to Storm mistaking her shell for a jewel, prompting Tangle and Whisper to rescue her.
• A Day in the Limelight: Her 2020 Annual short-story, which details how she got Zombot-ified. She is also the main focus of the Endless Summer one-shot, in which she feels left out of Tangle and Whisper's lives and is prompted by Sonic to take a day off.
• Family-Unfriendly Violence: Jewel is on the receiving end as a result of Storm's incompetence in the 2019 Annual. He hurls her out of the Babylon Rogues' airship, causing Jewel to hit her back hard on a doorframe — visibly tearing one of her wings and cracking her shell — before falling out of the open door. Had Tangle and Whisper not caught her, she would have died for sure.
• Flight: As a beetle, Jewel can fly, but it's presented as a civilian asset rather than a super-power. Charmy and Rouge utilize their flight abilities to fight while the less powerful Jewel simply uses hers for ambulation.
• Killed Offscreen: Or rather, Zombot-ified offscreen, at least the main comic; how she got infected is shown in the 2020 Annual.
• Mission Control: She takes over Amy's position as head of The Restoration. As she's a self-admitted non-combatant and even stated to enjoy organizing things, Amy has no problem handing leadership over to her.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: She gets Zombot-fied after helping a pair of kids who touched a pool of Metal Virus liquid against her warnings and passed their infections to her. This also sets the stage for Tangle's own Zombot-ification later on, to the complete and utter dismay of Whisper.
• Non-Action Guy: She doesn't like to fight, assuming she can at all. She simply curled up against a wall when the Babylon Rogues robbed her Mineral Museum. Unfortunately, Storm mistook her iridescent carapace for a gem.
• Old Friend: She and Tangle have been friends since childhood. In Endless Summer, she laments how they rarely spend time together anymore because of their different roles at the Restoration and wonders if Tangle and Whisper have forgotten her, although they reconnect at the end of said issue.
• Sherlock Scan: In Endless Summer, Jewel comes up with a logical plan that takes advantage of Jet the Hawk's It's All About Me attitude, only through the power of observing what he has done during the one-shot that manages to give them the victory in their Beach Volleyball game.
• So Proud of You: She (along with Amy and Belle) is clearly shocked when Tangle decides to quit the Restoration. However, Jewel has no hard feelings about it and assures her childhood friend that she'll always be proud of her no matter what.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Girly Girl to Tangle's Tomboy. Her bluish body and pink outfit certainly help.
• The Unfought: Her Zombot form, except maybe when she ambushed and infected Tangle.
• Women Are Wiser: Tries to be the voice of reason when it comes to Tangle's eccentricities. She also the only one who doesn't totally believe in Amy's Tarot readings, calling them "open-ended predictions".
  • The Endless Summer one-shot demonstrates this by having her the only person of Team Sonic who is willing to share the beach with the Babylon Rogues. Jet unfortunately doesn't take to Sonic being on the same beach as him very well, leading to the competition between the two teams. Once Team Sonic wins however, she still offers a truce for everyone to share the beach at the end.
• Workaholic: While less stressed in the office than Lanolin is, Jewel works just as hard and only reluctantly takes breaks; Tangle had to literally drag her away from her paperwork to go camping in Trial By Fire. Sonic similarly gets her to come with him, Tangle, and Whisper to the beach in Endless Summer by telling her it's an "important mission."
• You Are in Command Now: In Issue #31, Amy, exhausted from the duties of leading the Restoration, passes on her position to the more business-minded Jewel.
• You Were Trying Too Hard: Downplayed, but even for her, leading the Restoration is a demanding job. In the Endless Summer one-off, Sonic gets her to take a day off with Tangle and Whisper, stating that if she overworks herself and suppresses her true feelings too often, she'll inevitably burn out and won't be able to help anyone.

Team Chaotix

Vector the Crocodile

Vector the Crocodile

"The Chaotix always find what we're lookin' for."

Introduced in: Issue #5

Leader of the Chaotix, a team of detectives.

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• The Big Guy: Acts as the main muscle of the trio.
• The Call Knows Where You Live: When Amy first contacts him about the Metal Virus outbreak, he's reluctant to help as "it's a big world" and their next client "could step through that door any second!" A Zombot promptly kicks the door in.
• Character Catchphrase: His line from the end of the Chaotix's story in Sonic Heroes, "It's all part of being a good detective".
• Cool Car: He has his Beat Monster sports car from Team Sonic Racing. Here, it has two rows of seats to fit both him and his teammates.
• Empty Eyes: Sports them as a Zombot.
• Heroic Sacrifice: How he gets taken out by the Zombots. With so few of the Resistance left not turned into Zombots, and a Zombot Charmy heading for the only people remaining, Vector jumps and grabs the bee, knowing it will doom him as well. Given he no longer needs to fear the infection since he's effectively doomed, he then promptly goes back into the base to bat away the other Zombots like ragdolls and close off the exit until he too is taken.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Vector's reaction to trapping a still sentient, but definitely infected, woman in a cage of cars and Charmy calling him out on it. Vector very clearly did not want to do it, but he had to take triage into account; the infected were doomed, and it was their duty as the Chaotix to save those who weren't infected.
• The Leader: Again, he's the leader of his group. In Issue #32, he also takes command to lead the other heroes into battle against Eggman, since Amy ceded leadership of the Restoration to Jewel who is likewise too scared to participate.
• Man Bites Man: When he's in a particularly frenzied fight, he'll start biting down on enemies. Being a crocodile, it's where some of his strongest muscles are.
• Mythology Gag: Issue #31 shows he's kind of smitten with Vanilla, similar to his Sonic X incarnation. Issue #65 keeps this up by having him write "dinner with Vanilla" with big hearts surrounding it in his planner.
• Only in It for the Money: Played for Laughs. The first thing he does after Neo Metal Sonic is defeated? Foot the bill for their services to the Resistance.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: During the Metal Virus arc, Vector is forced to trap a woman in denial about her Metal Virus infection in a makeshift cage of cars. He takes no pleasure in the deed, but he is determined to keep as many people safe as possible. This leaves Charmy and even Espio briefly stunned, as while it could be expected of a pragmatist like Shadow or Omega to perform such an action, seeing the normally happy-go-lucky and kindhearted leader of the Chaotix forced to take such drastic measures serves to hammer home how desperate the situation is.
  • Likewise, after rescuing Belle from Starline, Vector is crestfallen—an emotion he very rarely shows—when he sees how sad Belle is, driving home just how much Starline has hurt her.
• Rhymes on a Dime: When faced with Rough and Tumble doing their thing, he throws it back at them by freestyling rhymes of his own. They don't take it well.
• Ship Tease: The IDW comic picks up where Sonic X left off by establishing a subtle flirtation between Vector and Cream's mother Vanilla the Rabbit. As with Sonic X, Vector's end of the romance is the more obvious.
  • After the Metal Virus arc concludes, Vanilla drops by the Chaotix office to help out and make a point of declaring her appreciation for the gallantry of the Chaotix to a bashful Vector.
  • During the Misadventures arc, Vanilla appears to have invited the Chaotix to dinner (an event marked and circled in Vector's planner as "Dinner with Vanilla").
• Shoot the Dog: During the Zombot arc, a civillian is infected and begs to be taken along with the uninfected nonetheless. Vector systematically traps them by boxing the civillian in between smashed cars.
• Super-Scream: Capable of blowing a steel door off its hinges with just his voice. He does it again in the Halloween Special, where he yells out "I Love Halloween!"
• Super-Strength: He's strong enough to tear street signs out of pavement and lift cars with ease. After he gets infected and locks himself with in the rest of the zombified Restoration, Gemerl points out that the survivors need to leave immediately, as a Zombot!Vector could effortlessly batter down the doors.
• We Are Not Going Through That Again: Says this almost verbatim in Issue #30 when he stops Charmy from brashly chasing after Metal Sonic. Justified, since Charmy's recklessness got both himself and (indirectly) Vector Zombot-ified, and Vector is determined to avoid a repeat incident.

Espio the Chameleon

Espio the Chameleon

"I may have been the only one here in body...but you were here in spirit."

Introduced in: Issue #5

The team's ninja and stealth expert.

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• Badass Boast: A mild case. Mentions in Issue #5 that he could keep up with Sonic and Shadow, even as both hedgehogs engaged in a speed battle. However, Word of God says that he was lying and he can’t keep up with Sonic and Shadow even at 100%.
• Blatant Lies: Maybe; his reason for not jumping into their fight was that he could have, but he was tired from fighting Eggman's robots. Word of God says he was exaggerating.
• Blade on a Rope: Espio's arsenal includes a kunai attached to a rope.
• The Comically Serious: Usually always reserved and takes everything with a straight face.
• Death Glare: Gives one when furious or really annoyed.
• Devious Daggers: Espio is a ninja with invisibility powers, and has a number of kunai stored in his gauntlets. They're his primary weapons.
• Ninja: Acts as one. Having invisibility powers, kunai, and smoke bombs certainly helps.
• Manly Tears: He wells up after watching Vector sacrifice himself to stop a Zombot Charmy.
• Not So Above It All: He's right there with Vector when it comes to the Chaotix getting paid. He even insists that their payment should be "substantial".
  • In Issue #29, after Vector and Charmy are returned to normal, Espio joyously sings with his partners.
• Not So Stoic: Vector's and Charmy's Metal Virus infections, Zavok throwing them and the other Zombot-ified heroes onto Angel Island, getting caught by Zazz, and finding out Dr. Starline kidnapped Belle all leave the normally calm and composed Espio wide-eyed with horror. Losing his teammates to the Metal Virus also riles him to the point where he lashes out at Sonic.
• Pragmatic Hero: When they come across an amnesiac Eggman as Mr. Tinker in issue 5, among the Chaotix, Espio is the one who insists that Eggman needs to be punished for everything he's done.
• Smoke Out: Uses smoke bombs to create cover. It usually works, but isn't a foolproof tactic and can be used against him, as Clutch demonstrates in Issue #48.
• Sole Survivor: Of the Chaotix during the Metal Virus arc. Charmy's and Vector's recklessness got them Zombot-ified, while Espio kept a level head and avoided infection altogether.
• This Cannot Be!: His Oh, Crap! reaction in Issue #26 when, as he tries to steal a Chaos Emerald from Zazz while camouflaged, Zazz sniffs him out and catches him.
• What the Hell, Hero?: After the fall of Restoration HQ, he furiously tells Sonic that none of this would have happened if he had just let Shadow "take care" of Eggman back when he was Mr. Tinker. Such anger is partly justified, though, since both Charmy and Vector are now Zombots. Sonic argues it was worth giving Mr. Tinker a chance, but Espio isn't convinced and only backs off because they've got work to do.

Charmy Bee

Charmy Bee

"Is it a clue? Did I spot a clue?"

Introduced in: Issue #5

The youngest of the group, Charmy is a hyperactive 6-year-old bee. Despite his childish nature, he manages to pull his weight for the trio.

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• Beware My Stinger Tail: Well, he is a bee. It's only natural he uses his stinger in fights.
• Children Are Innocent: He's extremely into being a hero, as fitting a being a six-year-old. This childish view of the situation unfortunately leads him to be a Wide-Eyed Idealist in the face of the Zombot Crisis, thinking the infected can be saved and taking Vector incredibly literally when he says they'll go back for the infected after they save the uninfected. This childish mindset leads to him being swarmed and infected.
  • Later used against him by Jet in a skirmish of Knuckles and the Chaotix vs. the Babylon Rogues, where Charmy swipes the Rogues' stolen loot from him. Jet says that Charmy stole from him, and when Charmy realizes that's technically true, he returns the stolen object to Jet against his teammates' wishes because stealing is something bad guys do and Charmy doesn't want to be a bad guy.
• Cloudcuckoolander: He barely seems to really take anything seriously.
• Flight: He's a bee and of course can fly, using this ability to down a surveillance robot.
• Goggles Do Nothing: Wears a pair on his head but doesn't often to use them in flight. The one time he does put them on is in Issue #48, when Vector throws him at Rough.
• Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Wears a closed bomber's jacket, but no pants. All the same, he's the sole example of this trope on the heroes' side.
• Harmful to Minors: He's snatched out of the sky and dragged screaming into a horde of Zombots when he tries to rescue an infected woman.
• Idiot Ball: In #17, despite Vector telling him clearly that the infection is spread through touch and they have to focus on saving those unaffected first, he brazenly goes on ahead against Vector's orders to try and rescue those semi-infected. Not surprisingly, those he was trying to rescue are fully turned into Zombots and quickly swarm him.
• Leeroy Jenkins: He has a bad habit of charging headlong into danger without thinking. His reckless streak gets him turned into a Zombot in Issue #17, and in Issue #30, mere minutes after returning to normal, he almost endangers himself again by trying to go after a fleeing Metal Sonic. Luckily, Vector restrains him the second time around.
• No One Gets Left Behind: During Issue #17, he has this mindset during the Zombot invasion, being horrified that Vector would imprison people that showed the signs of infection. Once they rescue the survivors, he reasons that, since all of the healthy people are safe, now they can go save those half-infected. This gets him Zombot-ified.
• Persona Non Grata: He is banned from the public library for life. The thing is, he doesn't know this because Espio and Vector know he'd be heartbroken if they told him. So they keep finding all sorts of excuses to keep him away from the library and are taking out books for him. We are never told why he's banned.
• Sacrificial Lamb: Charmy's infection early into the Metal Virus Saga makes it clear that no one, even established game characters, is safe.
• Spanner in the Works: Finds a drone running surveillance during Sonic and Shadow's fight and smashes it, keeping the Eggman Empire from finding everyone there and keeping Neo Metal Sonic from finding Mr. Tinker (Eggman's amnesiac persona). Alas, this merely delays the inevitable.

Team Dark

Shadow the Hedgehog

Shadow the Hedgehog

"You'll never menace the world with Eggmanland again. I'll destroy you first."

Introduced in: Issue #5

The "Ultimate Lifeform" and Sonic's twin rival in speed and abilities. A black hedgehog created through alien technology. Possesses a mastery of Chaos Control.

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• Adaptation Personality Change: This incarnation of Shadow is portrayed as being far more rash and hard headed compared to his original counterpart in Sonic Forces, who followed the cold-headed stoic persona created by Shiro Maekawa. Compared to both Archie and the Adventure-era games, he's also far more no-nonsense, with less instances of him smiling and his dorkier and hammier moments diminished.
• Adaptational Jerkass: Shadow is way more hostile and prone to violence than his more subdued and stoic persona, and his relationship with Sonic is slightly more embittered (though this isn't unjustified given the situation they were in). Most notably, he's way more arrogant about his abilities and confidently assumes he's more capable than he actually is, which costed him greatly in the Metal Virus saga, getting himself infected by the Metal Virus. According to Ian Flynn, this was an editorial mandate on Sega's part, as they decided this was how they wanted Shadow's personality to be portrayed.
• All for Nothing: Downplayed. Rouge convinces him to put his hunt for Starline on hold to aid Sonic in stopping an avalanche from destroying a nearby hotel. Reluctantly, Shadow helps create a dam out of trees, only for the snow to burst right through it. Fortunately, the building was designed to withstand such an event and Amy is able to safely evacuate everyone. He notes with frustration that it was a waste of his time.
• And Then John Was a Zombie: He's overrun by Zombots and consumed by the Metal Virus after discovering that he's not The Immune and refusing to run. While this diminishes his abilities somewhat, he remains a formidable fighter and does more fighting than the other heroes who turn into Zombots. He still matches Sonic blow-for-blow, easily takes out Omega, and during the climax of the Metal Virus arc, holds his own in a one-on-one clash with Knuckles until the latter becomes a Zombot, too.
• Anti-Hero: On the side of good, but not exactly easy to work with.
• Applied Phlebotinum: During the Urban Warfare arc, Tails suggests that Shadow taps into the Chaos Energy that Eggperial City's fake emeralds are emitting. While he calls them pale imitations, it allows him to use Chaos Control and lay a beatdown on the Shadow Androids. However, he first notes the energy is distorted, and when he attempts to use Chaos Control a second time, it ends up being too much for his body to handle that it causes a huge eruption. According to Whisper, it was an overload of Chaos energy, with Issue #60 showing that him using Chaos Control with the fake Emeralds caused them to become incredibly unstable. This instability also caused a power surge across Eggman's city, forcing the doctor to activate a limiter to contain it.
• Badass Boast: Almost as known for these as Sonic's famous super speed and attitude.
• Break the Haughty: His ego costs him dearly in issue 19 when he refuses to run from a bunch of Zombots to burn off his infection with the virus and recklessly attacks them, getting swarmed and converted completely. When he's cured come issue 32, he's left brooding in embarrassment over the fact that Sonic warned him to run in order to do so, but he mistook it for cowardice rather than a warning to avoid infection.
• The Bus Came Back: Is re-introduced in the main comic after being absent during the Imposters Saga, outside of the Badnik Bases and Chao Races arc. His last appearance was in Issue #36, coming back a full 23 issues later during the Urban Warfare arc in Issue #58.
• Car Fu: Issue #19 has him running over a bunch of Zombots with a truck.
• Challenge Seeker:
  • Quickly abandons the Resistance to go off on his own once they touch down on Angel Island, preferring to leave them to fight off the small fries while he ran off to find an enemy worth of his time - in other words, Neo Metal Sonic.
  • After discovering that Clutch abuses his chao, Shadow hides in his room just to punch out the opossum as retribution. To everyone else's confusion, Shadow then immediately leaves in search of a real challenge, having attacked Clutch only due to the sheer disgust he held for his behavior.
• The Dissenter Is Always Right: While everyone else is convinced the amnesiac Eggman isn't a threat, Shadow sees it as a latent catastrophe and attempts to kill him. Sonic persuades the other hedgehog to spare Eggman, only for the scientist to remember and all of Shadow's fears come to pass.
• Deus Exit Machina: Invoked. When asked why was Shadow taken out so early and easily in the Metal Virus saga, this was Ian Flynn's reasoning, citing that having Shadow around would have taken a lot of tension out of the conflict due to how the powerful the character is and needed to remove him to preserve some level of drama.
• Dramatically Missing the Point: When he's infected, Rouge tells him to run and fight off the infection like Sonic is. He thinks she's telling him to flee the fight, and refuses. It costs him greatly.
• Everyone Has Standards: He says that Clutch is utter scum for the way he mistreats his Chao and temporarily puts his mission on hold to deal with him.
• Failure Hero: This incarnation of Shadow is extremely prideful and stubborn. Almost every time he ends up in a situation, he either gets himself in danger or makes it somehow worse. This arrogance bites him so hard he ends up turned to a Zombot.
• Fatal Flaw: Pride. He really takes stock that he's the Ultimate Life Form, but it often times makes him very arrogant and difficult to work with when he goes off on his own or doesn't follow orders. This comes to bite him in the Issue #19 as he thinks his alien origins will make him immune to the Metal Virus, despite no proof to go off of. Shadow is quickly proven wrong and ends up infected. Later on, Rouge tells Shadow to break off from the fight since too many Zombots are converging on the area and needs to run to offset the virus. He refuses because he think it's cowardly to retreat — a dumb move in itself, as even Sonic, knows when to back off if he's outnumbered. As a result, Shadow is completely swarmed and turned into a Zombot.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: While Shadow isn’t exactly hated by the others, his reckless actions, arrogant attitude, and antisocial behavior doesn’t exactly make him an easy guy to work with, let alone be friends with. It’s also been implied that the Restoration and associates only tolerate him because he’s such a powerhouse only Sonic himself is able to rival. Even Rouge, one of the few characters that could be called his friend, often admits he’s quite the prick.
• Heroic BSoD: Twice.
  • In Issue #31, he isolates himself from the rest of the cast in disgrace over his Zombot-ification, especially since it was his own fault for ignoring Sonic and Rouge's warnings out of Pride. Rouge even notes he's more brooding than usual when she finds him out in the wilderness.
  • In Issue #61, he finds himself in a Crystal Prison after overloading himself tapping into Eggman's fake Chaos Emeralds. As Silver tries to break him out, Shadow wakes up and lamentingly requests to be left behind. Silver refuses and reminds him he's the Ultimate Lifeform, which renews Shadow's spirits.
• Hypocrite:
  • Shadow berates Sonic for being so willing to show leniency towards Eggman after all the atrocities he committed before turning good because of amnesia, only for Sonic to turn it around, claiming that he (Shadow) was also Easily Forgiven for all the atrocities he committed before he lost his memories and turned good. (In actuality, Shadow snapped out of the brainwashing and helped Sonic save the world from destruction, before falling from space and losing his memories.)
    Shadow: Have you forgotten that he made you suffer? That he's tried to destroy you — multiple times? How can you even suggest leniency for him after all that?
    Sonic: You've tried to destroy me in the past, too, you know. You even tried to obliterate a planet. So what, you want me to take you out with Eggman? After all, if he can't be forgiven, can you?
  • Shadow becomes this in Issue #20. He tells Sonic he deserves to become a Zombot for not listening to him and killing Eggman when they had the chance. Yet when he gets infected and Rouge tells him to run — as in, literally run to offset the infection — he takes it to mean retreat and refuses to do so. The end result has him turned into a Zombot because he wouldn't listen to his own teammate.
• Immunity Attrition: In issue 20, he declares that as the Ultimate Life Form, he's immune to the Metal Virus. While that initially seems to be the case, given he's able to punch and kick Zombots without showing any symptoms whereas all the other infected manifested them within seconds of contracting it or the slightest contact with a Zombot, before long, he does get infected.
• I Warned You: Come the Metal Virus arc, Shadow wastes no time in blasting Sonic for letting Mr. Tinker live, especially since his fears that Eggman's memories would eventually return and he would continue his villainous ways were proven correct.
• I Work Alone: As soon as the invasion of Angel Island commences, he quickly heads off to do his own thing rather than follow Amy's orders. Rouge even lampshades to Amy that he's not exactly one to follow someone else's lead.
• Jerkass Has a Point: In issue 6, Sonic refuses to let him kill an amnesiac Eggman, insisting he's no threat and should be left alone until he is. Shadow counters that just because one loses their memory doesn't make them any less dangerous, speaking from his own experiences, and insists that Eggman is too much of a liability to keep alive lest he regain his memories. Shadow's ultimately proven right when Eggman does indeed regain his memory thanks to Metal Sonic and Starline and goes back to being evil, and he wastes no time blasting Sonic for not dealing with him when they had the chance, especially since it led to the Metal Virus outbreak. Come issue 23, Sonic, nearing the Despair Event Horizon, ends up agreeing with Shadow that the entire mess is his fault, musing that he put his faith in the idea that everyone, even Eggman, has a little good in them, and the entire planet is now paying the price. In the very next issue, Espio agrees with Shadow and snaps at Sonic that if they had just dealt with Eggman at Windmill Village before Starline got to him, none of this would be happening.
• Jerkass to One: The Crueler to One variant. Being that he is the anti-heroic arch-rival of Sonic, he's more hostile to him than he is with others.
• Moment Killer: Upon seeing that "Mr. Tinker" aka supposedly Eggman is indeed good, Sonic is willing to let bygones be bygones and allow him to live in peace to which Mr. Tinker shares a nice laugh with him and the Chaotix... right until Shadow shows up and proclaims his intentions on ending him regardless if he's amnesiac or not to make sure that, if it is Eggman, he won't go back to being evil.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: He goes to battle against Neo Metal Sonic rather then follow Amy's plan. While he does pull a Big Damn Hero moment, his arrival provided Neo Metal Sonic Shadow's bio-data component he needed, in conjunction with Sonic's bio-data and the Master Emerald, to become the Metal Overlord once more. Sonic puts it best once the damage is done:
  Sonic: Way to go Shad, thanks for all the help.
• No Sympathy: When Sonic reveals that he's been infected with the Metal Virus, Shadow spitefully retorts that he deserves what's happening to him since, as far as he's concerned, the outbreak is all Sonic's fault for not just letting him kill Mr. Tinker/Eggman back in Windmill Village.
• Not So Above It All: Shadow's been characterized as the stoic, mostly no-nonsense foil to Sonic, which is shown in the 900th Adventure one-shot as well, thinking the reckless Sonic or Babylon Rogues are not responsible enough to handle the power of the Warp Topaz. When Sonic slips by him and the Babylon Rogues, Jet decides to call Shadow a "wannabe ultimate lifeform". Shadow actually takes offense to Jet's insult, evidenced by his angry silhouette, along with a panel that has him tower over Jet with a Twitchy Eye.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Shadow receives one from Sonic, who calls him out for wanting to eliminate Eggman despite having been a villain who also tried to destroy Sonic in the past. Sonic also presents him with an Armor-Piercing Question based on forgiveness. What inverts this trope is that Shadow wasn't himself when he committed his own atrocities. He also saw the error of his ways and sought to change for the better the first chance he got, thus saving the planet on one or more occasions as a promise he made to his late best friend.
• Not So Stoic:
  • While he and his team initially have an advantage when storming Eggperial City, once it starts raining Shadow Androids, he's unnerved and rather insulted that the doctor chose to make copies of him.
  • One of the few times this is played for laughs, where his stoicism is broken over Jet calling him a "wannabe ultimate lifeform," evidenced by how he takes offense and towers over Jet in the next panel. He then takes the opportunity to blast the Rogues through the portal Sonic left behind with the Warp Topaz.
• Perpetual Frowner: Shadow practically has a humorless scowl frozen on his face.
• Pet the Dog: As big of a jerk as this Shadow can be, he's still not completely heartless.
  • While he initially plans to kill Mr. Tinker lest he regain his memories and become Eggman once again, Sonic turns Shadow's words against him by pointing out Shadow was the same position once himself; this eventually convinces Shadow to spare Eggman's life and give him a chance.
  • When he sees how poorly Clutch treats his Chao, he's disgusted, calling him "utter scum" and briefly putting his mission on hold to help deal with him. Issue 36 has him feeding the Dark Chao, and according to writer Evan Stanley, Shadow practically adopted this one and will keep an eye on them.
• Pragmatic Hero: As usual, he has no problems engaging in more morally questionable acts to achieve a greater ends. He's perfectly willing to murder an amnesiac Eggman, who is no threat to anybody, to prevent him from engaging in any more acts of evil... at least until Sonic points out that the same logic could easily apply to Shadow himself.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: Drops one in Issue #61 before trapping Eggman's mech of the week with his own false Chaos Emeralds, which he used to power Eggperial City. This allows Sonic and the others to finish Eggman off.
  Shadow: This city is a true monument to your hubris, Doctor. I'll show you the monster you've made! CHAOS CONTROL!
• Properly Paranoid: Shadow is concerned that Eggman, at the time suffering amnesia and going under the moniker Mr. Tinker, was too much of a liability to keep alive and wanted to take him out right then and there lest he regain his memories. Sonic convinces him otherwise, but ultimately his fears were justified as later Eggman does indeed regain his memories thanks to Starline and Metal Sonic and continues his evil actions. Even Sonic notes he'll likely get an I Told You So from Shadow once he finds out Eggman's back. Sure enough, he does; Shadow spitefully claims Sonic deserves what's happening now.
• The Rival: Like Knuckles, Shadow has a conflicting relationship with Sonic, one that is arguably more fierce and intense.
• Smug Super: As always, if he has a window to boast about being the "Ultimate Lifeform", he'll use it. He also believes that the Metal Virus can't affect him due to his biology. He's wrong.
• Tranquil Fury: Shadow usually conveys his anger in an even tone, such as in Issue #30 where he chases Eggman and fights Metal Sonic without saying a word the entire time.
• What the Hell, Hero?: In Issue #20, he gives Sonic absolute and total hell for not letting him kill Mr. Tinker back in Windmill Village, since his fears that Eggman would eventually regain his memories and return to being evil were proven correct. He spitefully brushes off Sonic's insistence that Dr. Starline was the cause as an excuse, and when Sonic reveals that he himself is infected with the Metal Virus, Shadow has No Sympathy and tells him point-blank it's what he deserves.
• Worf Had the Flu: In the IDW comics Metal Virus arc, Shadow assumes he will be immune to the Metal Virus infection turning everyone into 'zombots' because he's he Ultimate Life Form. When he does get infected he ignores advice to run (running fighting back the infection, which Sonic does for a lot of the arc) and the infection fully overcomes him very quickly, effectively benching him from being able to help for the rest of the arc. It's less of a disaster for the heroes than it could have been as Zombot Shadow is less of a threat than his usual self - the infection seemingly affects his fighting skills and reaction times, and he doesn't know how to use the air shoes, preferring to run normally and more slowly, and never thinks to remove his inhibitor rings to become more powerful.
• Worthy Opponent: Usually considers Sonic this and only this. He also considers Metal Sonic this as well.

Rouge the Bat

Rouge the Bat

"I had wanted to do this more elegantly, but I suppose brute force works for a brute like you."

Introduced in: Issue #5

A professional thief, spy and the Team Mom of Team Dark.

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• Badass Boast: To Zavok in Issue #28 (see her profile pic's caption), as she swipes the Chaos Emerald powering the Faceship right out from under his nose and leaves it to crash as she regroups with the other Metal Virus survivors.
• Batman Gambit: As noted below, she defuses the Mr. Tinker situation by setting specific people to be there and banking them being able to cool Shadow down enough to be reasoned with, just as planned.
• The Bus Came Back: Is re-introduced in the main comic after being absent during the Imposters Saga, outside of the Badnik Bases and Chao Races arc. Her last appearance in the main comic was in Issue #36, coming back a full 23 issues later during the Urban Warfare arc in Issue #58. Before then, her sole appearance was a co-starring role in the 2022 Annual story "Rough Patch", set between Issues #48-49.
• Classy Cat-Burglar: Usually one if not on spying missions.
• Colony Drop: When she steals the Chaos Emerald powering the Faceship, it crashes on top of Zavok's Zombot horde. As she regroups with the other survivors, she allays Sonic's concerns about their infected allies and other people in the horde, saying they'll be alright since Zombots are highly durable and can regenerate.
• Damsel out of Distress: When Dr. Starline takes her and Tails hostage on a roller-coaster, Rouge discreetly cuts her ropes using a splintered seat edge. After breaking free, she shows Tails how to do the same.
• Flight: Being a bat, this is a given.
• Foreshadowing: Played for Laughs twice:
  • After Angel Island is saved, Rouge kicks back in a lawn chair to observe the Master Emerald. Come the climax of the Metal Virus Saga, she opts to lounge on the huge gem rather than help fend off Zavok and the Zombots, only getting off when an annoyed Knuckles orders her to.
    Rouge: The world was about to end! I wanted to spend my last moments with the one I love!
  • While partying with her allies after the Metal Virus is gone, Rouge can't help lovingly eying the gems in Jewel's museum. When next seen, it's revealed she stole them all to prevent the Babylon Rogues from robbing Jewel, planning on returning them once Eggman is shown the door.
• Hartman Hips: Like all her incarnations, she has a big set of these which are accentuated by her bodysuit.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Downplayed, especially next to Shadow. Rouge is manipulative, sarcastic, and greedy, but this incarnation of her is much more forthcoming with her nobler side and her jabs feel more playful than anything malevolent. Her own adventure had her liberate an Eggman base for a group of refugees; they repaid her but she was ignorant of the treasure they had and performed the action out of altruism.
• Kick Chick: Her primary fighting style.
• Malicious Misnaming: In the 2019 annual story, "Curse of the Pyramid", she refers to Rough and Tumble as "Scruff and Bumble".
• Manipulative Bastard: Pulls the strings of not only Shadow to get him on mission, but also steers Team Chaotix into position to discover Mr. Tinker and then have them call in Sonic as the cavalry to head off any rash actions by her teammate.
• Mission Control: Of Team Dark, she's the one who usually coordinates the team, via assistance and gives Shadow objective data to accompany on the field of battle.
• Oh, Crap!: Her reaction to seeing Shadow being overrun and fully-infected by the Metal Virus.
• Only Sane Man: While not without her vices, when compared to Shadow (who is infamously more rash and arrogant in this series) and Omega (who is still a rather violent robot.) She comes off as the most stable and level headed member of Team Dark. Best examplified during the Metal Virus arc.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: She reveals that she was the one who sent the Chaotix the tip about Mr. Tinker, who in turn got Sonic involved before she told Shadow, knowing full well Shadow would resort to violence no sooner then he saw Mr. Tinker rather then talk things out. After Shadow scuffles with Sonic a bit, he calms down, confirms for himself that Mr. Tinker isn't dangerous and leaves, just as she planned.
• The Smart Guy: For Team Dark as a whole. This is partly because Omega isn't. While he is a computer, Omega seems to not use any systems that would support him as the brains of the team; most of his processing seems to come down to 'what do I shoot next?' Meanwhile, Rouge is clever, manipulative, and tends to win fights by out-maneuvering and outsmarting her opponents, which crops up in her solo adventure. Given her profession as a spy and thief, she's also the best at gathering intel. In this way, her intelligence serves as a foil to Tails'; while she lacks in his genius with machines, she still roughly compares to him within Team Dark with her street smarts.
• The Smurfette Principle: She's the only female member of Team Dark.
• Sole Survivor: Of Team Dark during the Metal Virus Saga. Shadow was turned into a Zombot, and Omega, while still operative and immune to the virus, was rendered out of commission after being reduced to a head.
• Throw Down the Bomblet: In the initial arc, Rouge uses bombs with hearts emblazoned on them as weapons. She brings them back in the Eggperial Assault in Urban Warfare.
• Took a Level in Badass: While no slouch in the video games proper, Rouge in the comics one-ups herself as a spy and infiltrator, closing the power gap with Omega and Shadow through clever thinking, street-smart wit, and logic. She's the only one of the three not to be taken out of commission during the Metal Virus arc, she strikes out more on her own in her search for treasure and actually makes reasonable headway, and she contributes to Team Dark not just by reigning in Shadow and Omega but by striking out to scout for them or act as a Mission Control.
• Treasure Hunter: When she's not in the middle of her spy work, she's one of these.
• Unwitting Pawn: In Chao Races and Badnik Bases she ends up brainwashed by Starline into helping him kidnap Tails. Unsurprisingly, she gets back at him the first chance she gets after she’s freed from his thrall and captivity.
• Worth It: After stopping the Babylon Rogues from robbing Jewel, Rouge muses that seeing the trio's reaction(s) are worth the pain of having to return the stolen gems later.

E-123 Omega

E-123 Omega

"Hostiles are resilient. Heavier ordinance may be required. All Eggman robots must be eliminated."

Introduced in: Issue #19

Team Dark's big gun, a walking arsenal sworn to destroy Eggman by any means.

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• The Big Guy: He's the largest member of Team Dark, and the most physically-powerful.
• The Bus Came Back: Is re-introduced in the main comic after being absent during the Imposters Saga, outside of the Badnik Bases and Chao Races arc. His last appearance in the main comic was in Issue #36, coming back a full 23 issues later during the Urban Warfare arc in Issue #58. His sole appearance before this, in the 2022 Annual story "Weapons", was set directly after Issue #36.
• Defiant to the End: He is kidnapped by Eggman during the Out of the Blue arc, but remains defiant towards his former master, even demanding Cubot use his severed head to beat Orbot and then himself into scrap metal.
• Fire-Forged Friends: With Gemerl, after their "sparring match" in the 2022 Annual.
• Gatling Good: Two of them in his arms, and he's very fond of using them.
• Heroic Comedic Sociopath: He's violent, perhaps excessively so, but it's all Played for Laughs.
• Honor Before Reason: In Issue 20, despite having helped the uninfected out of the city as well as dealing with a newly infected Shadow, Omega refuses Sonic suggestion to retreat. Even after he's been disemboweled and had his arms pulled off, he still refuses.
• I Warned You: His word-for-word response when Tails scolds him and Gemerl for injuring each other while sparring, just hours after the damage they sustained during the Metal Virus Saga was repaired.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Sonic contests his use of force on infected Zombots but he points out they're Eggman robots, regardless of nature or origin. And they're more than resilient enough to handle his munitions.
• Last of His Kind: Omega (appropriately) is the last of Eggman's old E-series robots. Subverted with Scrapnik Island, which reveals another of the line, Sigma, to still be alive. There's also the E-106 Eta that Espio snuck past in a flashback from Issue #5, and the E-108 Theta from Issue #8, which was quickly destroyed.
• Left Hanging: Omega's body being torn apart by the Zombots kicks off a 16-issue-long subplot where the heroes try to figure out how to fix him. Even after the Metal Virus saga officially concludes, it isn't until Omega is repaired in Issue 36 — thus resolving the last virus-related plot thread — that things truly go back to normal for Sonic and friends.
• Moment Killer: Downplayed. In Issue 25, Cream tries to keep a lonely Whisper company after they both experience a Break the Cutie. Omega, whose severed head Cream is holding, remarks "I am not lonely, I am enraged", spoiling the moment somewhat.
• More Dakka: To say that he's armed is a grave understatement. He doesn't quite have Bottomless Magazines, but his full arsenal is enough to turn a Humongous Mecha version of himself into a heap of scrap metal.
  Omega: Unleashing stockpiled wrath!
• No-Sell: Like Gemerl, he's a robot and thus immune to the effects of the Metal Virus. Unlike Gemerl, Metal Sonic, or Belle, though, he gets taken out by the Zombots.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: When Whisper is about to snipe Eggman, Cream and Omega tell her not to; the latter's reasoning being that Eggman is his to kill.
• Robo Speak: How he communicates. He even gets in an "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!" for good measure.
• Skewed Priorities: In Winter Jam, Omega opts to stay and compete in the show when Orbot and Cubot promise him a new Badnik to destroy, rather than shoot his way out of the room. Once Orbot and Cubot reveal the new Badnik is a fake Froggy, he open fires.
• Truer to the Text: Omega is much more like his video game counterpart than the HK-47 Expy he was in the Archie comic run.
• Turned Against Their Masters: Destroying Eggman and everything he's created is his sole goal in life, as payback for the doctor sealing him away.
• We Can Rebuild Him: In Issue 20, his body ends up destroyed by the Zombots, and the only thing Tails can salvage is his head, where his CPU is. He can be rebuilt, but unlike in Forces where he was merely damaged, Tails states that his body design is weird due to the way Eggman made it and likely won't be the same as before.
  • After the Metal Virus is destroyed, Eggman rebuilds Omega so he can use him against the heroes. He later falls apart after Eggman's defeat, and while there's much more to salvage this time, Tails still lacks enough parts for a full repair job and can't figure out the E-100 schematics Rouge stole from Eggman. Sonic and co. spend the entire Chao Races and Badnik Bases arc getting the resources they need, and with Belle the Tinkerer deciphering the blueprints for him, Tails finally fixes Omega near the end of Issue 36.

The Rabbit Family

Cream & Cheese

Cream the Rabbit & Cheese the Chao

"Why be sad when I know things will be okay in the end?"

Introduced in: Issue #18

A young rabbit girl and her pet chao. Though Cream has shown to be capable, her age prevents her from going along on more of the dangerous missions.

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• Action Girl: Cream wants to be one and even asks her mother to help her town when Eggman targets it with his Metal Virus. She eventually gets her wish when helping Gemerl confront Zeena^note Unfortunately for her, this is what ultimately gets her infected by the virus, when Zeena grabs her and holds her up close to several Zombots while Gemerl is pinned down.
• Arc Heroine: Cream is the star of the Year 3 storyline. She appears at least Once per Episode during said period (except in Issue 28, due to her Metal Virus infection), guarantees that Gemerl gets Zeena's Chaos Emerald (thus ensuring Sonic and Silver go Super), acts as a Clerk with her family to cut the Chaotix some slack, helps defend Tangle's hometown from Eggman, and is key to Rouge's plan in Chao Races and Badnik Bases. The latter arc also gives Cheese and other Chao some spotlight.
• Beware the Nice Ones: While Cream admits she hates violence and is generally a sweet girl overall, when things hit the fan, she'll definitely be assertive and even attack head-on if she must. Zeena learned this the hard way, when she stuns the Zeti long enough for Gemerl to throw her to her own Zombots.
  Cream: I hate fighting! I hate seeing my friends hurt and scared! And I hate how mean you are!
• Big "NO!": Cream cries out two of these in Issue #22 when Vanilla is infected and left behind, and another in Issue #27 as Zeena prepares to throw her to a Zombot horde.
• Break the Cutie: Not even someone as young and optimistic as Cream is immune to this trope after losing every organic member of her family to Eggman's Metal Virus. When we see her in Issue 24, she now has a cold expression on her face as she passes Sonic to find more survivors. She struggles to regain some hope in the next issue, only to get infected two issues later despite bringing her friends one step closer to saving the world. To put it simply, until Issue 29 when the Metal Virus is finally destroyed, she's hit by this almost as hard as Whisper, who likewise lost her past allies permanently.
• Butt-Monkey: From her debut in the Metal Virus Saga (Issue #18 to the virus' demise in Issue #29), Cream suffers this in spades for someone so young, and it's all Played for Drama. Cheese gets Zombot-ified alongside Chocola right off the bat, while Cream loses her mother and several more friends as the arc progresses before getting infected herself, which forces her and Gemerl to drop out until she is cured so that she won't endanger the other survivors. The Deadly Six — specifically Zeena and Zavok — only worsen Cream's ordeal further, and even after the Zeti are defeated and the Metal Virus destroyed, she still can't get a break; having to watch Gemerl get impaled through the back by Metal Sonic.
• Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: Cream sports them after losing her family to the Metal Virus.
• Eyelid Pull Taunt: Cheese does this to Zavok in Issue #30 after punching him on Cream's command. While the attack is a No-Sell, Cheese still does this to get revenge on Zavok for being made his Zombot slave.
• Face Death with Dignity: More like ‘Face Zombotification With Dignity’; Cream attempts this when she is infected, tearfully telling Gemerl to leave her behind and she will be brave and hide her eyes ‘like it is a scary movie.’ Gemerl, however, refuses to leave Cream alone and takes her away, vowing to stay with her until she is healed.
• Flight: Both of them. Cream can fly using her ears as wings, and is strong enough to carry her mother while doing so. Cheese has this ability by default, since wings are a trait inherant to Chao.
• Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: In Issue 26, Cream jumps into battle with Zeena, thinking she could shame her into giving up the Chaos Emerald. Instead, Zeena takes control of Gemerl to attack her and tries to throw her to the Zombots, all while mocking Cream to her face for her "moral high ground." When the situation has passed, Cream freely admits that doing so was a mistake.
• Get Out!: By Issue 30, Cream is beyond fed up with the Deadly Six after Zeena tortured her and indirectly got her infected with the Metal Virus. Even without knowing Zavok enslaved her Zombot-ified family and friends, Cream is not in any mood for his crap and tells him off when he interrupts her reunion with Vanilla; when he refuses, she sics Cheese on him.
• Harmful to Minors: For a girl her age, this incarnation of Cream has been through some unpleasant experiences.
  • Watching Cheese and Chocola sacrifice themselves and become Zombots wasn't a pleasant sight to Cream, so much so that in Issue 20, she admits to Sonic she has trouble sleeping because she has nightmares of the sight. Vanilla meets the same fate during an outbreak in Restoration HQ, leaving a horrified Cream shell-shocked and depressed.
  • While fighting Zeena in Issue #27, the latter kicks Cream, grabs her by the ears, sadistically dangles her in front of the Zombots, and almost throws her to them before Gemerl intervenes. But as Zeena drops her, Cream can be seen clutching her arm in pain, and after the fight, it turns out a Zombot scratched her on the wrist and infected her. It is unknown whether she became a Zombot offscreen before Sonic and Silver got rid of the Metal Virus once and for all in Issue #29, but it's heavily implied that she succumbed. Cream likely doesn't have as much endurance as her friends do, so if she turned, the transformation alone would've been traumatically unpleasant.
  • Soon after the Metal Virus is gone, Cream and her family are confronted by Zavok, who gives her a death threat and even swipes at her with his claws when she stands up to him. Thankfully, her friends arrest him before he can harm her.
  • In Chao Races and Badnik Bases, Cream and Cheese are both horrified to find a bunch of sad Chao cruelly caged up by Clutch the Opossum for losing races, driving them to tears. The fact that Clutch wanted to get his hands on Cheese (whom he'd have treated no better) doesn't help.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Once the Zombots start breaking into their house, Cheese willingly slams into one of them to keep them at bay, despite knowing it'll infect them. Chocola follows suit and both end up becoming Zombots but give Cream and Vanilla time to get away thanks to Sonic.
  • Cream likewise decides against returning to Angel Island after she's infected while fighting Zeena, not wanting to endanger her remaining friends. Gemerl refuses to leave her, but still respects her decision and together they drop out until she is cured.^note She eventually changes her mind and directs Gemerl back to Angel Island because she believes Sonic and the others will win, but they still go back the long way, not arriving until after Sonic and Silver have begun destroying the Metal Virus..
• Idiot Ball: Despite Gemerl's objections and telling her to stay back when he's tasked to fight Zeena to get her chaos emerald. She jumps into the portal leading to Zeena and tries to...shame her into giving up. This backfires horrendously as Zeena takes control of Gemerl to attack her. It's possible that she wasn't thinking straight after losing her mother, Cheese and Chocola to the Metal Virus, but it was a mistake regardless, and she's not ashamed to admit it. It does end up working for the best since it's her interference that breaks Zeena's control on Gemerl and allow them to get her emerald... But Cream ends up infected as a result.
• Just a Kid: Cream's youngest of the cast and, though she has fought alongside with the others, it's usually the reason given why she doesn't participate in more dangerous missions.
• Little Miss Badass: Cream in a nutshell, as the above-mentioned examples describe. Best shown during her confrontations with Zeena and Zavok near the end of the Metal Virus arc.
• Rage Breaking Point: To say Zeena's cruelty to Gemerl in Issue #27 was The Last Straw for Cream would be an understatement. By then, Cream's emotions are running high as it is after losing so much to the Metal Virus, but Zeena finally pushes her too far. Big mistake.
• Team Pet: Cheese is one to Cream pretty much.
• Trauma Conga Line: Everything bad listed above in the Metal Virus Saga culminates to this on Cream of all characters.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Cream twice reprimands Gemerl for antagonizing Sonic because of his Metal Virus infection. The first instance has her make the robot apologize when Sonic stops by again.

Vanilla & Chocola

Vanilla the Rabbit & Chocola the Chao

"Please be careful, dear. You know how dangerous these adventures can be!"

Introduced in: Issue #18

Cream's mother and Cheese's twin sibling. While the former is happy of the feats her daughter had done, like any parent, she does worry for her. During such when the duo are away, Chocola looks after Vanilla in the meantime.

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• Adaptational Badass: This version of Vanilla, while still the Proper Lady she's always been, is capable of intimidating other characters in a way that's she'd never done in games or adaptations prior to the IDW comic. When Rough and Tumble make Cream cry after breaking into their house and ruining the dinner she was preparing, Vanilla doesn't even have to raise her voice to leave the two brutish skunks terrified.
  Vanilla: I'll handle this. (without changing her tone at all) So you think it's okay to break into other peoples' homes?
  Rough & Tumble: No.
  Vanilla: To ruin other peoples' hard work?
  Rough & Tumble: No...
  Vanilla: To attack children?
  Rough & Tumble: (on their knees, sobbing) WE'RE SORRYYY!
• Berserk Board Barricade: Vanilla is seen at the start of Issue 18 trying to push a shelf in front of the door to their house to keep the Zombots from getting in. It doesn't work.
• Big Eater: Chocola turns out to be this in Issue #65, which earns them a Disapproving Look from Cheese.
• The Bus Came Back: Meta example. Chocola hasn't appeared in the video games since their debut in Sonic Heroes in 2003, meaning 16 years between the game and IDW's debut.
• Devoured by the Horde: How Vanilla falls victim to the Metal Virus. When Restoration HQ falls to the Zombots, she gets caught in the crowd and dogpiled. The poor woman didn't stand a chance. However, she did last long enough for Amy Rose to get Cream to safety. Mama Bear indeed.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Once the Zombots start breaking into their house, Cheese willingly slams into one of them to keep them at bay, despite knowing it'll infect them. Chocola follows suit and both end up becoming Zombots but give Cream and Vanilla time to get away.
  • Vanilla herself pulls this off when Restoration HQ falls, single-handedly holding back a crowd of Zombots long enough for Amy can escape with her daughter.
• Mama Bear: Compared to every main other character in the franchise, she is easily one of the most normal, possessing no super powers or weapons whatsoever. Even so, to the best of her abilities, she will do what she can to keep her daughter safe if the worst ever happens. Vanilla ends up grappling with a Zombot when Restoration HQ is overrun by them to keep them away from Cream, getting infected in the process. Despite that, she begs Amy to get Cream to safety, continuing to hold off the horde as Amy tearfully does so, ultimately getting overpowered and converted into a Zombot afterwards.
• Out of Focus: Like in Sonic Heroes, Chocola's role in the comic is very minor. They mainly star as a Zombot alongside Cheese during the Metal Virus Saga, being the ones who infect Tails after previously ruining his efforts to make a cure.
• Satellite Family Member: Like in the games, Vanilla typically doesn't appear unless her daughter Cream is involved in the plot, as she doesn't actively take part in fighting against Dr. Eggman.
• Ship Tease: The IDW comic picks up where Sonic X left off by establishing a subtle flirtation between Vanilla and Vector the Crocodile of the Chaotix.
  • After the Metal Virus arc concludes, Vanilla drops by the Chaotix office to help out and make a point of declaring her appreciation for the gallantry of the Chaotix to a bashful Vector.
  • During the Misadventures arc, Vanilla invites the Chaotix to dinner, and after they arrive she can be seen subtly feeding Vector some of her food.
• Silk Hiding Steel: It's very subtle, as it usually doesn't come up, but if she's angered or holds a steely smile, it's enough to put the fear into many, evidenced by Amy, Rouge, Rough, and Tumble's reactions.
• Team Pet: Chocola to Vanilla.
• Tranquil Fury: Vanilla almost never raises her voice or threatens punishment, but she doesn't need to. A Grin of Rage, a cutting remark, and a stern lecture are enough to make miscreants flee or beg for mercy.
• The Unfought: Averted with Chocola but played straight with Vanilla after the two of them become Zombots. During the climax of the Metal Virus arc, Chocola is one of the Zombot-ified characters Zavok throws onto Angel Island, where they and Cheese chase down and infect Tails. Vanilla, who remains on the ground below the island, isn't among the Zombots who attack Sonic when he lands in the crashed Faceship's wreckage, and she is cured before Sonic and co. interact with her again. Justified in Vanilla's case, since she was never a fighter.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: The Rabbit Family's side in the Misadventures arc begins when Chocola eats Vanilla's last stick of butter, forcing her to go out and buy more and giving Rough and Tumble the all-clear to invade Cream's house. Disaster Dominoes ensues.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Much like her game counterpart, Vanilla is character who embodies the role of a warm, polite, and demure mother figure, who is a pacifistic character. However, she also embodies the other half of the trope when someone threatens her or her family, she can cut into others with just her words, or will go full Mama Bear depending on the circumstances.

Gemerl

Gemerl

"You will not menace Cream further!"

Introduced in: Issue #18

A Gizoid that was formerly under the control of Eggman during the events of Sonic Battle and Sonic Advance 3. After the events of the latter game, he was repaired by Tails and adopted into Cream's family.

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• Adaptation Personality Change: In comparison to Archie. While Gemerl in the games didn't have a lot to work off of, Archie makes him a talkative and heroic snarker with human-like speech in spite of being a robot, similarly to the fully developed personality of his first incarnation as Emerl, and the removed Shard the Metal Sonic. IDW shifts away from this portrayal and, similarly to Omega, presents him as more robotic in nature, with more focus on his Literal-Minded nature and his relationship with Cream.
• Adaptational Name Change: In his debut game his name is G-Merl and media waffles between that and Gemerl. Flynn opted for the latter spelling when writing him in the Archie comics as it was closer in name to Emerl; the robot whose data Gemerl was built from. This carried over into the IDW comics.
• Ambiguous Situation: Like his game counterpart, it is unknown if Gemerl has the memories or abilities of his previous self, Emerl. Issue 36 has him defining himself as a learning robot, so it is implied he does, at least to some extent.
• Badass Boast: His answer to Omega's Implied Death Threat in Issue #36 when Tails sends them to spar in the woods.
  Gemerl: While I am designed as a learning robot, I am also capable of teaching you a lesson.
• Battle Butler: Acts as Cream and Vanilla's aide and bodyguard. Rough and Tumble call him as much when they first encounter him.
  Rough: What is that?
  Tumble: Some kind of...butler robot?
• Big Brother Instinct: He's very protective of Cream. To the point of threatening Cream's friends if he believes they're a threat to her and her safety. Even if that person is Sonic.
• The Bus Came Back: Meta example. Outside of Archie's post-reboot continuity, Gemerl hasn't appeared in the video games since Sonic Advance 3 in 2004. This means the character is allowed to be explored ever since he was reformed.
• Extra Eyes: The blue crystal on his forehead crest is a third eye.
• Fire-Forged Friends: With Omega, after their "sparring match" in the 2022 Annual.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: More of a "talk" than an actual fight. To explain: when he's sent after Zeena during the Zombot saga to get her Chaos Emerald, the initial plan was for him to hit her fast before she could retaliate. Cream jumping into the portal however prevented this and allowed Zeena to take control of him. Cream has to beg him to remember himself and fight it before he's forced to attack her and he manages through pure force of will.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: He ends up having Metal Sonic's hand go right through him in Issue #30. Thankfully he gets better by the next issue.
• Literal-Minded: Takes his orders, and just about every turn of phrase, at face value.
• Macross Missile Massacre: He's mainly a hand-to-hand fighter, but can fire missiles from his back.
• No-Sell: Two-Fold. Gemerl's ability to interface with machinery has no effect on the Zombots because of their constitution. In addition, as a robot, he's immune to the Metal Virus and thus is one of the few allies Sonic has that can physically fight the Zombots without getting infected in return.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: After everything Zeena did, he has no compunctions about tossing her to the Zombots.
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: Gives Zeena these chilling words after she loses the Emerald during her fight against Cream and him right before he throws her to a horde of Zombots.
  Gemerl: You. Hurt. Cream.
• Robo Speak: Speaks in this manner in this comic.
• Satellite Character: Gemerl is defined by his protective personality towards Cream. This is accurate to his game personality, who only ever appeared in one scene of Sonic Advance 3 after being rebuilt.
• Sole Survivor: Of the Rabbit family during the Metal Virus Saga: everyone else gets infected with the virus and Zombot-ified.^note  While Cream’s Zombot form was never shown, the virus was shown rapidly overtaking her, highly indicating that she succumbed shortly after.
• Stay with Me Until I Die: Rather, "Stay with me before I become fully infected" which he does when some of the Metal Virus gets on Cream during the fight with Zeena.
  Gemerl: I will stay with you until...you are well.
• Undying Loyalty: He's developed this towards Cream and Vanilla since they adopted him at the end of Sonic Advance 3. When Omega suggests in the 2022 Annual that they wreak havoc together, Gemerl refuses, stating his place is with his family, not on the battlefield.
• Worf Had the Flu: After getting mauled repeatedly by Zombots, hijacked by Zeena, skewered by Metal Sonic, and briefly assimilated into Eggman's party-crasher mech, Gemerl is weakened so badly that even basic enemies like Motobugs are too much for him to handle. In Issue #36, he along with Omega are finally put back in top shape by Tails...and then wreck themselves all over again.

Inhabitants from alternate dimensions and timelines

Blaze the Cat

Blaze the Cat

"All you must do is listen...and provide."

^{Click here to see her as Burning Blaze}

Introduced in: Issue #4

Princess of the Sol Dimension—a mostly ocean-filled world—and guardian of the Sol Emeralds, who sometimes winds up in several situations from Sonic's universe or vice versa. She arrives in Sonic's dimension at the behest of the Sol Emeralds to help with a "great disaster".

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• Adaptational Superpower Change: In the games, Blaze can only shoot fire in her Super Mode. In the comics, she has this ability in base form.
• And Then What?: The 2022 Annual sees Blaze asking herself this after she successfully ends the pirate threat in her own dimension. Following a guardian-to-guardian talk with Knuckles on the subject, she agrees to take a vacation.
• Big Damn Heroes: She shows up to save Sonic and Tangle just when the two are about to be overwhelmed by Badniks in the fourth issue.
• Big "WHAT?!": Her reaction when Sonic tells her that Eggman imprisoned him and took over the world.
• The Bus Came Back: A couple times, since the action is mainly focused within Sonic's Dimension rather than Blaze's, making her appearances rather sporadic.
  • The conclusion of the first year of comics sees Blaze return to her home dimension after Issue #12, and doesn't take part in the Metal Virus Saga. After being absent for the the majority of it, Blaze finally reappears at the start of the Saga's epilogue in Issue #30 when Sonic crashes outside her palace after the Warp Topaz's explosion sends him there.
  • After her brief appearances in the Out of the Blue Arc (Issues #30-32 specifically), she wouldn't make another appearance until the 2022 annual, where she willingly leaves her Kingdom to take a vacation and visit Sonic, Cream, and Amy. Blaze would then make her re-appearance in the main comic in Issue #58, where it takes place during her vacation.
• Busman's Holiday: Blaze decided to take a vacation in Sonic's world, taking a break from her royal duties and fighting robots to visit her friends, but finds herself helping the Restoration foil another plot hatched by Eggman. Sonic apologizes for making her work while she's supposed to be relaxing, but Blaze is happy to help all the same. Once the arc is over, she takes an actual vacation with Sonic and Silver by adventuring all over Sonic's world, visiting locations like Mirage Saloon, Station Square, and Soleanna.
• Continuity Nod:
  • In Issue #32, before sending Sonic home, Blaze tells him to "give her best to Amy and Cream". That line, along with being a Call-Back to her interactions with Amy during the Battle for Angel Island arc, also alludes to Blaze's debut game where Cream was her closest companion before she befriended Sonic and the others.
  • In Issue #63, Blaze is shown to still have a fear of heights, something that Sonic Rush Adventure established.
• Deus Exit Machina: Justified in story. She offers to use her Burning Blaze form to take on Neo Metal Sonic. While she likely would win, Tails deems it too risky, because Metal Sonic might use the captured Master Emerald to neutralize it, or copy her data and gain access to her super mode and the Sol Emeralds, as well making him a much bigger threat. However, she is able to use her power to obliterate the Egg Fleet and keep the pressure off Sonic and company.
• Godzilla Threshold: How she feels about using her Super Mode, considering the risks of channeling all that Sol Emerald power.
• Hidden Depths: Knows a bit about gardening and uses some of these skills to help Silver grow a garden in the 2019 annual.
• Lady of War: Her fighting style makes it looks like she's dancing.
• Mundane Utility: Blaze utilizes her fire for activities outside of combat. In the 2019 annual she helps Silver make a garden even though the top soil is acidic from the war. She sets the ground on fire and mixes the ashes into the dirt in order to rejuvenate the soil for agriculture.
• No Social Skills: Not exactly one for talking to people, but she's slowly learning to be more sociable. For the most part, she is much more social here than in Sonic Rush, even hanging out with Tangle for a time despite the girls having just met, and later helping Silver grow a garden.
• Not Quite Flight: Like in Sonic Rush, she can direct flame blasts under her feet to slow her descent.
• Now What?: After defeating all the pirates in her world and threats to the Sol Emeralds, Blaze insists on continuing being the guardian of the Sol Emeralds, much to Marine's chagrin. Not sure what to do, she sought the council of fellow guardian, Knuckles, who convinces her to go on a well-earned vacation.
• One-Man Army: Issue 10 has her facing down an entire army of robots by herself.
• Playing with Fire: As her namesake suggests, she can wield fire with ease.
• Put on a Bus: Blaze returns to her home dimension after Metal Sonic's defeat, thus suffers not any of the events of the Metal Virus incident.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Despite her status, she's not afraid to fight when it comes down to it. Especially if her dimension is in danger.
• Super Mode: Pulls out Burning Blaze In Issue #9 to make short work of the Eggman Empire's machines. She does it again in Issue #32 to restore the amnesiac Sonic's memory.
• Tempting Fate: In Issue #30, her daily reports have consisted of nothing bad happening. She hopes that this will be the norm for many days to come. Cue Sonic crashing outside her palace.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: She still has her acrophobia, though she swallows it down enough to aid in the liberation of Angel Island.
• Wrong Context Magic: Tails asks if she can use the Sol Emeralds to cross the dimensions to save the Neo Diamond Cutters after they fell into an alternate dimension portal. Blaze states that it wouldn't work, as the Sol Emeralds only allow her to transport herself between Sonic's world and her own.
• You Are Too Late: Blaze explains to Sonic that she sensed the war happening through her Sol Emeralds and arrived to lend her assistance. She is shocked to learn that the war ended before she could do anything. It's implied that she was led back to Sonic's world for a completely different reason and thus sticks around to make sure.

Silver the Hedgehog

Silver the Hedgehog

"All right. Ready to save the world?"

^{Click here to see him as Super Silver}

Introduced in: Issue #8

A member of the Resistance, and time traveler from the future. After the defeat of Eggman, he discovered that his future has no life in it, so he wishes to find out what's the cause. Once his mission is complete after the Metal Virus Saga, he finds himself back in the past, but is unsure of why. He sticks around to help the Restoration with his garden and other threats that come up.

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• Adaptation Personality Change: Despite the comic taking place in the same universe as the games^note Which was due to Ian Flynn making them canon in November 2022, Silver's personality is much closer to that of his Archie Comics counterpart, being far more socially awkward and childish than how he is in the games.
• Arc Hero: For the Metal Virus saga, particularly the latter half. As Sonic notes, Silver himself is the one variable that can stop the virus, having seen the future where the Restoration failed. Silver is also crucial in finally getting rid of the virus for good, thanks to his Super form and Super Sonic working together. From Issues 25-30, he shares this role with Cream.
• The Bus Came Back:
  • A meta example. Issue #29 marks the first appearance of Super Silver since his debut appearance.
  • Is re-introduced in the main comic in Issue #58, after being absent during the Imposters Saga, where he returned to his future timeline after the threat of the Metal Virus, with his last appearance in the main comic being Issue #31. Before then, his sole appearance was a co-starring role in the 2022 Annual story "Future Growth", set before the events of Urban Warfare.
• But Now I Must Go: In Issue 31, with the threat of the Metal Virus over, Silver returns to the now-restored future, wishing Sonic and the gang a peaceful time as well.
• Combination Attack:
  • Pulls a slick one with Sonic in which he uses powers to levitate Sonic's spin dash form and orbit it around himself to hit his surrounding enemies.
  • Has another one with Amy in the Urban Warfare arc, where he uses his telekinesis to help Amy lift up one of the Egg Hammers' Hammer. That said, he notes that despite his help, Amy did most of the heavy lifting.
• Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: A variation due to his status as a time traveler. During the 2022 Annual, he states that his purpose is to save his future by travelling back into the past. While he usually knows why he was sent back, this time he doesn't, since there was no crisis in either the future or present. This leaves him paranoid about what he's supposed to do in the past if there is nothing to save. While he gets some time to actively help the Restoration during the Urban Warfare arc, he finds himself still unsure of his purpose in the present after he gets kicked out of the Neo Diamond Cutters.
• Fanboy: Is this to Whisper, who saved his life several times during the war against Eggman. It mellows with time but his excitement over her being his partner against Zor in Issue 26 indicates his Hero Worship of her hasn't dwindled.
• Golden Super Mode: Transforms into Super Silver for the first time since Sonic '06 to help Super Sonic destroy the Metal Virus.
• Hidden Depths: In the 2019 Annual, he's taken up gardening, though he needed some help from Blaze since the land around was too battle-scorched to grow anything.
• Hold the Line: For much of the Metal Virus arc, he's in Ice Paradise, single-handily keeping the Zombots at bay for evacuations. Sadly, while he managed to get the survivors on board, the shuttle still ended up crashing and he was forced to flee due to both being low on power and there being too many Zombots to fight. He barely made it to Angel Island to regroup with the others.
• I Choose to Stay: After re-taking Angel Island, he chooses to stay in the present day of the story rather than head back to the future, having a nagging feeling something else is on the horizon. Sure enough, Eggman unleashes the Metal Virus soon after, and Silver plays a very important part in ending the plague. After the Metal Virus is gone, Silver finally returns home.
• Mind over Matter: Like his game counterpart, he is capable of levitation and telekinesis.
• Oh, Crap!: Says this word for word when he and Sonic discover that Metal Sonic took over Angel Island.
• Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Seems to always be the poor guy's lot in life. He had initially joined the Resistance since, in his future, Eggman's rule over the world was still going strong and unopposed. After they stopped him, he headed back to the future only to find there was nothing that time, just endless wastelands with no people at all. Thus Silver's return to the present is to find out what happened and prevent it, if possible. At the end of Issue 32, Sonic wishes Silver could visit without there being some crisis to resolve.
  • When brought back to Sonic’s time again after the Metal Virus, he panics thinking he missed something because he isn’t sure why he was sent back. Espio has to calm him down.
• Spanner in the Works: Sonic calls him as much toward the end of the All or Nothing arc. Silver's apocalyptic future is the result of the current timeline progressing without his interference, meaning his presence in the past is the one variable that can change the final outcome.
• Tragic Time Traveler: Eggman's rule during the events of Sonic Forces still goes unopposed in his future, so he travels back in time in order to help the Resistance take him down. Once they did, however, Silver's return to his timeline was only met with endless, empty wastelands, with him eventually figuring out that the Metal Virus that Eggman created was responsible, as he said that those infected would destroy themselves in about 200 years. Luckily, Silver gets thrown a bone when he plays a key role in helping Sonic destroy the virus for good, allowing his future to flourish and prosper, but he's left so shaken by the end he's outright paranoid when he returns during the 2022 Annual.
• Wrong Context Magic:
  • When playing cards with Tangle and the Chaotix while riding to Angel Island, Tangle asks if he's cheating by using his "mind powers" (Tangle referring to telepathy instead of telekinesis) or "future knowledge," to which Silver notes it doesn't work the way she thinks it does.
  • During the Urban Warfare arc, he quickly shoots down the idea of traveling back to the past to save the Neo Diamond Cutters, as he can't freely time travel.

Other members and allies

Belle the Tinkerer

Belle the Tinkerer

"Aw, sawdust!"

Introduced in: Issue #34

A wooden marionette-like robot resembling a female anthropomorphic animal. Sonic and Tails meet her in one of Eggman's abandoned bases, citing her goal is to find her "father". After the "Chao Races and Badnik Bases" arc, Tails invites her to stay with him at his workshop.

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• Actual Pacifist: Claims she doesn't know how to fight and apologizes for donkey-kicking Sonic as a "reflex".
• All of the Other Reindeer: Due to technically being a Badnik made by an amnesiac Eggman, Belle has been met with skepticism by a lot of characters, starting in her backstory when the village she was made in turned on her after being cured from Eggman's Metal Virus, thinking of her as a spy. Sonic nearly outright destroyed her when they first met until Tails called him out, and even then, it took Sonic a while to trust her. Her first day at the Restoration had her getting funny looks from some of the members because she's a wooden robot. To say the least, it hasn't done well for her self-esteem.
• Arc Heroine: Belle is the element that ties the stories of the Eggman's Legacy Saga, even if she isn't the main protagonist of those stories.
• Berserk Button: "Mr. Tinker" is the one who created her, not Dr. Eggman. Even though they are the same person, she hates being reminded of that as it means she is, by all intents and purposes, a Badnik.
• Break the Cutie: Suffers this twice courtesy of Eggman and Starline, both reminding her that Mr. Tinker was simply an amnesiac Eggman. Then again by her "brother" Metal Sonic after her attempts to appeal to his better nature just result in him knocking her away.
• Butt-Monkey: The poor girl is hands-down the unluckiest protagonist in the comic, to the point where the number of stories where some misfortune doesn't befall her can be counted on one hand.
• Cain and Abel: The Abel to Metal Sonic's Cain.
• Cartoon Creature: Belle isn't supposed to be a depiction of any specific animal species.
• Character Catchphrase: In addition to serving as her startup phrase when she booted up, Belle always introduces herself to the others with the variant of "I'm Belle, nice to meet you!".
  • "Gears and starters!" when in stressful situations.
  • "Aw, sawdust!" which is her variant of an Oh, Crap! reaction.
• Cursed with Awesome: She's not too proud of her donkey-kick function and reacts with alarm whenever someone goes near her tail, but it makes for a handy self-defence feature.
• Damsel in Distress: Starline abducts her during the Zeti Hunt arc to replicate her soul code, which he needs to finish modifying Surge and Kit. The Chaotix rescue her after finding out, although Starline still gets what he wanted out of her.
• Everyone Has Standards: Despite how much she detests Starline for taking away her "father" by returning Eggman's memories, she begs him during his Villainous Breakdown to escape the base collapsing around him and is visibly horrified when he dies regardless.
• Expy: Of Hope Kintobor, being something of a "family" to Eggman (albeit made under another persona) and trying to do good despite her origins and connection to someone evil. Her hostility to Starline, a former number two to Eggman, brings to mind Hope's relationship with Snively.
• Foreshadowing: In #36, Tails notes she was able to read the cipher easily to be able to fix Omega. Tails think she's a creation of Eggman, but she denies it. However, when asked who, she goes tight-lipped. As it turns out, her "species" subtitle also ends up being a dead giveaway.
• Gag Nose: In fitting with her Cartoon Creature look, Belle's nose is much larger and rounder than most characters', on top of being a bright pastel pink. It also honks when squeezed, much to her embarrassment; she even threatens to take apart Tangle's bike if the latter makes it public knowledge.
• Girlish Pigtails: Belle has a big pair of these as her default hairstyle.
• Glowing Mechanical Eyes: Her irises glow in the dark.
• In a Single Bound: Can perform super-jumps with her kick function.
• Hold Your Hippogriffs: With what she is, Belle has a tendency to use mechanical and wood-based phrases in her dialogue.
  • "Aw, sawdust!": Her variant on Oh, Crap!, with "sawdust" being an appropriate substitute since it is waste produced when sawing wood.
  • "Gears and starters!" standing in for, and a spoonerism of, the exclamation "Oh my stars and garters!" (along with being a reference to when Eggman previously said the same thing in Issue #175 of the Archie Comics)
• Kick Chick: The kick function triggered by pulling her tail is her Signature Move along with her tool hands, though she only uses it in an emergency.
• The Klutz: Belle is considerably accident-prone, often knocking stuff over or randomly falling down.
• Logical Weakness: Belle is a unique robot mostly made of wood, so she can catch fire pretty easily. Ironically, she has a lighter tool instead of a flashlight, and is reasonably fidgety about the feature.
• Master of Unlocking: Belle's hands contain numerous tools and she can pick locks with ease.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Belle uses herself as a secure router while repairing Metal Sonic to save him from falling under Starline's control. Because of this, both robots can now interface with each other...which means that Eggman will eventually use her to further his own goals of destroying Sonic and taking over the world. And Metal Sonic still wants to destroy Sonic.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Happens twice throughout the series so far.
  • Belle repairs Metal Sonic and gets slapped aside after unsuccessfully trying to talk him out of fighting Sonic.
  • After Belle works with the heroes to keep Kitsunami safe in Eggperial City and tries to stop him from leaving and - in her eyes - getting himself killed, the fennec violently attacks her, crushes her with a hanging crate platform and leaves her behind to power down.
• Non-Standard Character Design: A double-whammy:
  • Unlike the vast majority of the series' robots, Belle resembles a marionette made of hand-carved oak hardwood, and modelled after one of Sonic's race.
  • On the other hand, she isn't modelled on any species in particular, and is essentially an anthropomorphic Cartoon Creature.
• No Plans, No Prototype, No Backup: Belle's AI is a strangely advanced one as it is more capable of a wide range of emotions than ones belonging to Omega and Gemerl, from joy to anger to sadness. Eggman made her as Mr. Tinkerer and when his personality was restored, he lost knowledge of how he did it. This is somewhat averted when Starline is able to gather data on how it works after kidnapping her, he gets away with the data after team Chaotix rescues Belle and uses it when creating Surge and Kitsunami, but his death and the destruction of his main lab bring the trope back into play.
• No-Sell: Like all robots, Belle was immune to the Metal Virus. Since she wasn't built for combat, though, she avoided the Zombots anyway.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Despite both being on opposite sides of the coin in most other regards, and initially aspiring for one of the two very different personas of Eggman, the doctor wearily dismisses both Belle and Starline due to their personal obsessions with him and ultimately taking his own vices and apathy towards them so personally.
  Eggman: Why are you both so blasted clingy?
• Oh, Crap!: Or rather, "Aw, sawdust!". It's one of her catchphrases.
• Please Kill Me if It Satisfies You: When she's confronted by Tangle after inadvertently revealing herself to be a Badnik — through falling off a catwalk and landing in front of three Egg Pawns, who pass her by without a second glance — Belle sadly admits it and resigns herself to her fate, telling Tangle to destroy her if she can't be trusted anymore. Despite her initial anger though, Tangle doesn't go through with it: telling her that if Sonic and Tails trust her, then she's good by her book, and vows to help her.
  Belle: If you want to leave, or smash me, I understand— [Tangle sets her back down] Huh?
  Tangle: Sonic and Tails vouched for you, so you're alright in my book. Besides...it doesn't matter what you are or where you come from, because you're trying to do good today. Don't worry, I'm sure we can find you some answers.
• Punny Name: Her title is one in conjunction with her name i.e: Tinker Bell.
• Ridiculously Human Robot: Or "Ridiculously Mobian Robot", in this case. Her design is lifelike, having natural-looking blue eyes instead of the usual Glowing Mechanical Eyes; and not only does she have an articulated mouth, she even has teeth and a tongue. In addition, her Speech Bubbles are lettered in the living characters' font, as opposed to the angular typeface used for Gemerl and Omega's Robo Speak.
• Robot Girl: Belle's a robot made out of wood. Sonic even confuses her for a Badnik at first.
• Robotic Reveal: Played with. The fact Belle is a robot is fairly obvious from the beginning, but the spirit of the trope is played straight in issue #46 when the fire burns off her wooden hand, revealing an underlying mechanical endoskeleton. The inference is that Belle isn't actually solid wood, but rather wood-paneled.
• Shout-Out:
  • According to Nathalie Fourdraine, one cover featuring Belle being drawn at an isometric angle is deliberately a reference to Super Mario RPG - likely due to that game being the debut of Geno, who like Belle is a human-sized, wooden doll-like creation with various things built into him (in his case, various weapons rather than various tools).
  • Belle's living marionette-like look and olde-world attire certainly bring Pinocchio to mind. Her automatic donkey kick when her tail is pulled is a particular allusion to the story when Pinocchio was almost turned into a donkey on Pleasure Island.
• Sole Survivor: She was the only person in her hometown to avoid becoming a Zombot, owing to robots' immunity to the Metal Virus.
• Swiss-Army Appendage: Her fingers contain a huge assortment of tools and gadgets for all kinds of purposes.
• Token Heroic Orc: Is one of the few heroic Badniks seen in the comics so far, alongside the Scrapniks like E-117 Sigma and possibly Team Dark's E-123 Omega.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Girly Girl to Tangle's Tomboy, particularly in the Test Run and Trial by Fire arcs.
• Took a Level in Badass: Belle starts out as an insecure klutz and The Load, but her courage and self-esteem gradually improve over time. Near the end of Issue #52, she shows how far she's come when she shields an injured Sonic from an angry Metal Sonic.
• Unpleasant Parent Reveal: Somewhat. Belle had always known Mr. Tinker and Eggman were one in the same, but she refused to believe anyone when they told her that her kind and gentle creator could ever turn back into the megalomaniac who nearly destroyed the world on multiple occasions. By "Test Run", she hoped she could allay her fears and talk some sense into Eggman, but he merely insults her memory of him and taunts the poor girl, causing her to break down in tears. Later, after reading Mr. Tinker's final letter to her, Belle accepts that her father is truly gone and only Eggman remains.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Belle, being made of wood, is quite pyrophobic. She has a lighter in one of her fingers which she's always hesitant to use because of this.
• Wrench Wench: She's a good mechanic despite her clumsiness, able to Hassle-Free Hotwire a vehicle as advanced as an Extreme Gear hoverbike. She can also read E-100 blueprints, which even Tails had trouble deciphering.
• You Can't Go Home Again: Belle was never formally banished from Windmill Village, despite her relation to Eggman. However, the townsfolk were so confrontational towards her after the Zombot Apocalypse that she dejectedly ran away of her own volition, never to return.
• You Killed My Father: Her reaction when Starline reveals it was he (with help from Metal Sonic) who erased Eggman's "Mr. Tinker" persona.
• Youthful Freckles: Being a marionette-like robot, Belle has these literally painted on.

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