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Main characters
Chris Thorndyke
Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi (child, JP), Masakazu Morita (adult, JP); Suzanne Goldish (child, EN), Michael Sinterniklaas (adult, EN) Other Languages
A Lonely Rich Kid who serves as the main human ally to Sonic and co. when they are stranded on Earth after Dr. Eggman's botched Chaos Control. Spoiled Sweet by his often absent parents, Chris becomes quite clingy to Sonic and his friends, to the point where he suffers a breakdown of sorts when he learns that they have to return to their own world to prevent time in both worlds from coming to a halt.
In the third season, his 18-year-old self researches and successfully discovers a way to travel to Sonic's world, but is transformed into his younger self upon arrival. In spite of this still maintains his older, more mature, and experienced mind, and uses his accumulated knowledge to help out Sonic and his friends in new ways from the predicament they've currently found themselves in with the Metarex.
- Action Survivor: While Chris has Took a Level in Badass in Season 3, he's ultimately this trope due to being a normal human compared to his superpowered companions and enemies, much less a 12-year-old kid again. Whenever he does go into conflicts, he relies on his intellect, piloting skills, and plentiful gadgets to turn things around.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: He's a lot less selfish and bratty in the English dub of the anime and in the Archie comic series.
- Audience Surrogate: He's meant to invoke the idea of the average, everyday kid being friends with Sonic the Hedgehog. However, given his Fiction 500 background and limited scenes with him actually hanging out with Sonic, it is borderline towards an Informed Attribute.
- Badass Normal: By Season 3, he eventually graduates into this trope by utilizing his incredible intellect, piloting skills, and martial arts training when fighting the Metarex with Sonic and co.
- Deconstructed in Season 3, Episode 3. Despite being trained in karate by Mister Takana during the 6-year timeskip, Chris' attempts to help Sonic going toe-to-toe with the Metarex Gillmen go as you can expect given that he's punching literal robots made of unknown space metal with his bare hands. The fact that he's been regressed back into his 12-year-old body doesn't help things either.
- Brainy Brunette: When he's older and becomes a Gadgeteer Genius.
- Canon Foreigner: He's an original character created for the Sonic X continuity.
- Character Development: Between the second and third seasons, he grows past his childhood brattiness and becomes a much more mature person in the six years that passed for him. During Season 3, he matures further by becoming a dependable member of Sonic's crew and by the end of that season, he departs from Sonic and his friends in a much more positive way than he did at the end of Season 2.
- Decomposite Character: Amy's role in Adventure 2 of talking down to Shadow to save humanity is given to Chris, due to both him and Maria being similar to Shadow.
- Designated Victim: 2/3 times someone gets captured, i.e., when it isn't Amy or Cream, it's often him. Happens less so after the Time Skip.
- The Everyman: After Season 3's Time Skip, the young Chris becomes a version of this in the 6 years since Sonic and his friends had left. Martial arts training from Mr. Tanaka and various engineering sciences from Chuck are some of the things he picks up in that timeframe. Being able to replicate the gate and travel to Sonic's world is another.
- Expy: Aside from his Lonely Rich Kid status, Chris is pretty much a human version of Tails. Like Tails, he felt lonely growing up before he met Sonic, he believes without Sonic around he's useless, and he eventually moves past it and becomes more self-confident to the point where he does useful things even when Sonic is not there with him. Given that his world and Sonic's world used to be one of the same prior to an unnamed cataclysmic event, it might not be a coincidence.
- Fatal Flaw: He's held back by his emotional neediness, caused by his feelings with regards to the absence of his parents, which has led to him making some very selfish decisions, at one point even getting called out by Cream and Dr. Eggman of all people (and the latter would know about being selfish). He eventually gets to a point where he admits to his selfishness and grows past it by the time Season 3 rolls around.
- Fiction 500: He's the child of a superstar actress and a wealthy businessman, and his grandfather is The Professor to boot. In one episode, he's able to provide the funds and materials that Tails needs to transform an old World War I biplane into a transforming jet fighter.
- Fountain of Youth: Entering Sonic's world causes his age to match the amount of time that's passed in Sonic's world rather than his own, reverting him back to his 12-year-old self.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Becomes this during the skip, taking over this role from Chuck in the third season.
- Idiot Ball: He goes along with Knuckles' plan to form an alliance with Eggman to send them back to their home at the end of the first season, even after the bad doctor tells them to leave their Chaos Emeralds in his care. It ends about as well as you'd expect.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Downplayed. In the Japanese version of episode 67, Black Narcisusus non-lethally stabs Chris in the stomach.
- Informed Attribute: Chris was written into the show to represent what would it be like if an average kid who represents the general child audience was best friends with Sonic the Hedgehog. However, Chris isn't exactly "average" as his family is wealthy and he lives with them in a mansion with his CEO father, his mother who is an actress, his grandfather who is a scientist, and he has a housemaid and a butler who lives with them with the former being a Hispanic talented cook while the latter is a Japanese bodyguard who is a skilled martial artist.
- Informed Loner: The show says that he feels lonely because his parents spend their time at work rather than with him, which is what led to him getting so attached to Sonic. This is undermined by the fact it's never shown how he is lonely despite being around plenty of people, he's living with his loving grandpa, has a second set of parents in Ella and Tanaka, regularly sees his uncle Sam, has a group of friends at public school, and all of that is before meeting Sonic and his friends. And even after that, his parents do try to spend time with him when they can and feel guilty when they can't.
- It's All About Me: Zigzagged. While he is usually a considerate kid who thinks about the well-being of others, he displays irrational and selfish behavior and a possessiveness over Sonic whenever his fears of abandonment and loneliness get the best of him when the prospect of Sonic going back to his world pops up, so much that he stopped Sonic from going back home when their worlds' timelines were going to merge and thus freezing time. When he's not under those fears, he actually does think about how homesick Sonic and his friends must feel in Episode 25, in which he decides to help Knuckles make a truce with Eggman to help them get back home.
- Living Emotional Crutch: Upon landing in his world, Sonic becomes one for Chris. It becomes very evident that this is so whenever the prospect of Sonic and friends going home comes up, as he'll act rather irrationally and selfishly. His running off with Sonic near the end of Season 2, despite the threat of both worlds freezing in time forever, is the biggest highlight of this. This lessens in the final season, where he grows more emotionally stable and leans less on his friends as a result.
- Lonely Among People: Chris is implied to be this, but the anime doesn't really expand on it enough to make it seem true, which makes Chris' Lonely Rich Kid status feel like a forced and informed conflict.
- Lonely Rich Kid: Chris's mom and dad are very busy with their careers, the former being an actress and the latter being a jet-setting CEO. This causes him to develop some serious emotional and insecurity issues, as well as a void that is originally filled by Sonic and his world spilling into Chris'.
- Nice Guy: Chris is usually this whenever he doesn't sink into his It's All About Me and Lonely Rich Kid statuses through the prospect of Sonic going back to his world. Even more so in the English dub where his self-centered and immature moments are downplayed to make his Spoiled Sweet traits stand out more.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
- In Episode 25, he helps Knuckles with his plan to form a truce with Eggman, a plan that involves Chris stealing all of the Chaos Emeralds the heroes had previously gathered and giving them to the doctor. As one would expect, the doctor betrays them, now has all but one of the seven emeralds, and uses them to power a robot that nearly kills Sonic.
- In Episode 32, near the end of the Sonic Adventure adaptation after Chaos already has six of the emeralds, Chris (who had found the seventh emerald) comes running up to Sonic and Knuckles holding said gem up high in his hand. Predictably, Chaos attacks him and causes him to drop it, which allows the monster to transform into its perfect form.
- In Episode 50, Chris closes the portal when Sonic is just about to go back to his own world, even though he knows doing so will result in time coming to a permanent stand-still. To make matters worse, it even looked like Sonic was glaring at him as if he was disappointed in Chris afterward.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Rarely referred to as Christopher.
- Parental Neglect: Suffers from the effects of this Trope to such a degree that he becomes emotionally needy. To feel the void of his Workaholic parents' increased absence in his life, Chris throws himself wholeheartedly into the chaos that Sonic and friends bring to his life, becoming quite attached to the blue hedgehog in the process. Upon realizing their error near the end of Season 2, Lindsey and Nelson resolve to be better parents and Chris grows past the effects of this Trope on the other side of the Time Skip.
- Secret-Keeper: Until Sonic and co. become known to the public.
- Shonen Hair: Looks a lot like Sora's.
- Spoiled Sweet: Usually he's this whenever his problems regarding loneliness and his companionship are not the episode's conflict. Even more so in the English dub where his It's All About Me and bratty moments are downplayed.
- Spotlight-Stealing Squad: He's pretty much a prime example of this. Even though he was supposed to come off as a character who represents what would it be like if an average everyday kid was friends with Sonic the Hedgehog, the anime gives him so much screen time that it even ends up overshadowing Sonic's screen time, and an Audience Surrogate doesn't usually get this much screen time, especially more than the titular character.
- The Friends Who Never Hang: Despite Chris' friendship with Sonic being the driving force for the former's character, the two don't spend much of their free time together, with Chris usually hanging out with Tails, Amy, and Cream instead.
- Took a Level in Badass: He trained with Mr. Tanaka so that he could help Sonic and his friends in battle. Subverted in that his body shrinks upon going to Sonic's world, making him a lot weaker physically, though double subverted when he manages to help Sonic out in other ways.
- Tragic Keepsake: He keeps Shadow's inhibitor ring, as the last thing Sonic found of him, from his sacrifice.
- Unfazed Everyman: Although it was Sonic and co. who was the Fish out of Water on Earth, Chris was the main human to get involved, and in some ways acted like an audience surrogate. It doesn't take long for Chris to acclimate to the eccentricities that Sonic and co. brings into his life.
Shadow the Hedgehog
A powerful black hedgehog who is the final result of Project Shadow, a scientific experiment headed by Eggman's grandfather Professor Gerald Robotnik, he is Sonic's equal and rival in all aspects in power. He is released by Eggman to conquer the world, but has his own motivation. Becomes an Anti-Hero in the third season.
- Adaptational Badass: Downplayed. He is already incredibly powerful in the games and is typically portrayed as being roughly equal to Sonic. But here, he's practically unstoppable to the point that even Sonic himself can barely keep up. He also spends most of the third season as a One-Man Army against the Metarex.
- Adaptational Jerkass: Compared to the games were he softens up after Adventure 2, Shadow in Sonic X is still ruthless after the Adventure 2 arc.
- Adaptational Relationship Overhaul: Compared to the games, where he becomes friends with Rouge, Shadow's less friendly to Rouge.
- Adaptational Wimp: The anime turned Shadow's rings in his wrists into inhibitor rings; if he takes them off, he will gain a boost in power, but also get tired more quickly. The games following Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) would adapt this, although the flaw hasn't been seen.
- Adapted Out:
- He's doesn't appear in the Sonic Battle adaptation due to him not returning from his supposed death until the Metarex Saga.
- As a result of Sonic X ending a few months before the release of Shadow the Hedgehog, the Black Arms and Shadow's connection to them are completely absent from the anime.
- Advertised Extra: Despite him being in only six episodes (in the first series Eps. 1-52), he was advertised hard. Constantly showing up on promotional material, merch, and the Japanese intro song constantly shows him, suggesting he's Eggman's wingman, or at least a recurring character, and has him fighting Sonic in their Super forms, something that never happened in the games. It's Justified when found out that the intro used footage from the scrapped pilot, but that's still sucks.
- Later on Subverted when they bring him back in the third season and has him as a recurring character.
- The Ageless: The anime never specifies his age, and all we know is he's been trapped in a capsule for 50 years and he hasn't aged at all, ever since.
- Always Someone Better: Is this to Sonic.
- Aloof Ally: He helps Sonic and his friends out when they need it, but he remains distant and doesn't share the same way of doing things with the group which makes him detached.
- Anti-Hero: He's this after finding out Gerald Robotnik's plan onwards. He has no qualms about hitting women or weaker foes, and is probably the most violently impulsive character that isn't crazy. But he also embeds heroic qualities, such as sacrificing himself for the greater good twice, and supporting Molly in achieving her goal to save her planet. But despite that...
- Anti-Villain: Shadow's rather confused with who to really trust. He'd much rather do good than bad, but gets pushed towards being a villain a lot during the show. When he first appeared, he was driven by the loss of his sister, Maria. Believing the humans were evil, Shadow drove a revenge scheme towards them until he was convinced of her promise to protect earth. Even there, he still saved Chris in the process despite his hatred for humanity. Much later after losing his memory, Shadow reluctantly works for Eggman, believing that he will help him get his memory back until he discovered that it was all a trick to be his pawn. After some time he traveled with Rouge, he discovered that Cosmo was a spy and attempted to assassinate her to prevent her from sending out information about Sonic and his friends, until he later joined them in fighting the Metarex.
- Artificial Human: More like Artificial Hedgehog. He was created by Gerald Robotnik as the ultimate creature.
- Badass Armfold: Occasionally.
- Badass and Child Duo: Was the badass to Maria's child before she died.
- Beware the Quiet Ones: He's almost always silent and is likewise the most powerful character without question. Even Sonic is unable to hold him back for long in a fight.
- Byronic Hero: He means well. But has no qualms in causing amorality to achieve what he feels necessary to him.
- Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: When she was alive, he was a non-romantic variant of this with Maria.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Shows this several times in the uncut version.
- He saved Chris and Cosmo from Black Narcissus, then told Chris that he saved him along with her to pay him back for giving him his rings
- He thanks Rouge and continues traveling with her after she helped him out, which seemed to surprise her.
- Berserk Button: Do not talk about Maria in a bad way.
- Combat Pragmatist: He isn’t afraid of fight dirty to outsmart his opponents. Demonstrated when he first fought Sonic
- Curb-Stomp Battle: In episode 73, Shadow is able to, in one attack each, blast his way through the X-Tornado and every defense system on the blue typhoon except for the Sonic Power Cannon's barrel. Knuckles fails to stop Shadow in hand to hand combat and Tails tries to launch Shadow into space, but Shadow just Chaos Controls back.
- Deadpan Snarker: Snarks regularly at his opponents and everyone around him.
- The Dragon: To Dr. Eggman when he came back and suffers from amnesia, until He found out that Eggman was only using him for his personal gain.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Motivated by the death of his only true friend, an event that scarred him for life.
- Dark Is Not Evil: He's not evil, just more extreme than the rest. His intentions are always good, despite his dark, violent ways.
- Death Glare: Gives one others specifically when they annoy him.
- Dragon-in-Chief: After getting revived, Shadow served Eggman and was basically used as a weapon towards his enemies. After he discovered that Eggman was only using him to get what he wants, though, Shadow decided to quit.
- The Dreaded: Is often referred to as being scary by other characters. Chris (At first) and Cosmo also both seem to be frightened by him.
- Dub Name Change: The Latin American dub translates his name from Shadow to Sombra, a literal translation.
- Genius Bruiser: He managed to hack into Team Sonic’s security system while beating them up one by one.
- Good Is Not Nice: The extremity of some of his efforts borders out and out villainous on occasion.
- Friendly Rivalry: He does share a mutual bond and respect with Sonic, despite the occasional conflict between the two.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: He keeps to himself but shows his compassionate side once in awhile.
- Heartbroken Badass: Losing Maria really traumatisized him.
- Heroic Sacrifice: He gave his life to save the world in Episode 34, and the universe in the series finale until it's subverted to reveal he's still alive.
- Hero Antagonist: In 73 where he attempted to assassinate Cosmo after discovering that she was a spy.
- Humans Are Bastards: His initial attitude until he remembers Maria's true wish.
- Idiot Ball: YMMV but if he'd have bothered to move faster than a casual walk at any point while chasing Tails and Cosmo, he could have accomplished his goal relatively early.
- Invincible Hero: Even moreso than Sonic.
- Invincible Villain: He hasn't been defeated at all, and even when Sonic came close they had to save the ARK from the Biolizard.
- Jerkass: Very cold around others and is quite violent.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He does show his soft side on a few occasions and does have heroic qualities.
- The Juggernaut: Best shown when he attacks the Blue Typhoon and tries to kill Cosmo. He takes Sonic out of commission within the first few minutes, and nothing any of the others do manages to slow him down for more than a minute.
- Knight of Cerebus: Though not evil and certainly not played as straight as the Metarex, things always gets more serious whenever he appears. He was also the first character to defeat Sonic and did so with ease. He especially becomes this when he hunts Cosmo.
- Ki Manipulation: Chaos Spear is a mix of this style of energy manipulation and Shock and Awe.
- Lightning Bruiser: Just like Sonic, he’s really strong and fast.
- Manly Tears: Before he went to sacrifice himself, Shadow shed a small, single tear when remembering a flashback of Maria.
- Meaningful Name: Maria explained it in the Japanese version."You're like a shadow that watches over us."
- Not So Stoic: Has shown emotion at certain times.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: He's noticebly more destructive and violent when he tries to kill Cosmo. He barely even slips in a snarky comment.
- Older Than He Looks: He's actually 50 years old. Justified since he's immortal.
- Perpetual Frowner: Moreso than Knuckles.
- Person of Mass Destruction: When he fought the Metarex Fleet alone after Molly's death and the ending of season three where he warps a blast that would destroy the universe.
- Poor Communication Kills: "I have a reason, but I'm not going to tell you!" -Shadow, on why he is trying to kill Cosmo.
- Reformed, but Not Tamed: Returns in the Metarex saga, but aside of his memories being erased and losing one of his original limiters, he remains cold around others and ruthless in reaching his goals.
- The Quiet One: He rarely speaks much.
- The Snark Knight: He is naturally cynical and sarcastic, and will tell you if you’ve made a stupid decision.
- Signature Move: Multiple:
- The Stoic: But has occasional moments where he's Not So Stoic.
- Super Mode: He can use the Chaos Emeralds to become Super Shadow.
- Super-Speed: He’s the only one who equals this with Sonic.
- Strong as They Need to Be: In some episodes, Shadow is capable of defeating Sonic effortlessly, while in others Sonic can hold him back quite well.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Shadow is mostly of good intentions, but is not afraid to break the rules if he feels it’s neccesary. That includes stealing, lying and occasionally killing (though only when he feels someone really deserved it).
- Super-Strength: With his limiters off, he may be the strongest character in the show, with such feats as taking down an entire Metarex fleet with one blow. Even with them on, he's capable of overpowering Sonic fairly easily.
- Smug Smiler: He sometimes gives a smirk smug, like the first time he fought Sonic.
- Smug Super: As usual, he does nothing to hide his power.
- Surrounded by Idiots: He felt this way after Sonic and his friends found out the truth about Cosmo being a spy for the Metarex, and still wanted to keep her on the team.
- Teleportation: He can teleport by using Chaos Control.
- Token Good Teammate: To Eggman when he was revived due to being tricked into thinking that he wanted to help him. When he discovers what Eggman really planned to do with him, anyhow, he stops taking orders from him and helps Sonic defeat the Metarex instead.
- Tragic Hero: His role is a combination of the Byronic Hero, and the Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds.
- Ultimate Life Form: The Trope Namer, of course.
- The Unfettered: Much like his game counterpart, Shadow will go through extreme lengths to do what he feels is right, including killing in a completely stoic tone.
- Unscrupulous Hero: Shadow's morality differs from Sonic and his friends, as he is far more unfettered.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Sonic of course.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: He was originally very optimistic about visiting earth, but is only friend being shot by the GUN soldier changed his view on the world and turned him into the renegade he is now.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Frequently.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Sonic's group had this against him when he tried to kill Cosmo; granted, he did have a good reason (he found out that Dark Oak was using Cosmo as an unwilling spy), but for some reason he flat-out refused to just tell everyone this.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: In the series finale, after he uses the last of his energy to perform Chaos Control to give everyone a chance to escape before Dark Oak's corruptive Planet Egg explodes, it's unclear what happened to him or even if he made it alive. The end credits reveal that he didn't die and is still alive, only somehow on Molly's planet and placed a flower on her grave.
- Wild Card: In Season 3, he starts off by working for Eggman until he discovered that he's been used. He then continues to travel with Rouge to defeat the Metarex. In the process, he attempts to assault Cosmo after finding out she's a Metarex spy, which resulted in fighting Sonic and all his friends. But in the end, he helps Sonic destroy the Metarex.
- Worthy Opponent: To Sonic.
- Would Hurt a Child: He attempted to kill Cosmo, and attacked Tails in the process. Not to mention the No-Holds-Barred Beatdown he gave to Chris just for negotiating with him.
Thorndyke Residence
Chuck Thorndyke
Voiced by: Bin Shimada (JP), Jerry Lobozzo (EN) Other Languages
Chris's cool old grandpa on his father's side. He lives in the Thorndyke family mansion with his grandson, where his workshop is located. Because of his technical prowess, he and Tails often work together and quickly become friends.
- Absurdly Youthful Father: Chuck is 55 in the first part of the series, while Nelson himself is 43. Either the writers failed to consider this, or Chuck had Nelson at only 12 years old.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Chuck inverts this Trope by being the old man who calls the younger folks out when he admonishes his son and daughter in-law for the neglect of their son, Chris, as well as for their poor initial attempts to rectify Chris's running away because of it.
- Canon Foreigner: He's an original character created for the Sonic X continuity.
- Continuity Cameo: He makes a background appearance in the 257th issue of Archie's Sonic comic as one of the citizens evacuating Station Square during an earthquake.
- Cool Car: He has a vintage one.
- Cool Old Guy: A nice, laidback, old man who’s also a Gadgeteer Genius.
- Gadgeteer Genius: He passes this aspect on to Chris during the Time Skip.
- Intergenerational Friendship: With Tails.
- Mythology Gag: To Uncle Chuck in the Sonic The Hedgehog TV show and the Archie Sonic comic book series, in that they share the same names, they're both engineering geniuses, both closely-related to a main protagonist, and both help out Sonic and his friends.
- Parental Substitute: To Chris, in the absence of his workaholic son and daughter in-law. He does most of the raising of Chris while Ella and Tanaka typically did their jobs as a house maid and butler.
- Secret-Keeper: The second one in the household to learn of Sonic's existence, and helps Chris keep the secret until they become known to the public.
Mr. Tanaka
Voiced by: Naoki Imamura (JP), Darren Dunstan (EN) Other Languages
Mr. Tanaka is a very formal butler who may or may not have watched one too many martial arts movies. He helps around the Thorndyke mansion.
- Battle Butler: He isn't always successful, but he certainly tries.
- Black Bead Eyes: He has these and they make him stand out amongst the rest of the cast, who mostly have more detailed eyes.
- Canon Foreigner: He's an original character created for the Sonic X continuity.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Among other things, he's capable of piloting a space shuttle. When asked where he learned how to fly one, he merely hand-waves it as being part of his responsibilities, though what space travel has to do with being a butler is anyone's guess.
- Dub Name Change: His name is Edward in the French dub.
- Fat and Skinny: The Skinny to Ella's Fat.
- No Full Name Given: His first name is never revealed.
- Parental Substitute: Helps take on the responsibilities of raising Chris, along with Ella and Chuck, in Lindsey and Nelson's absence. But due to his responsibilities as a butler, most of the raising went to Chuck.
- Secret-Keeper: Until Sonic and co. become known to the public.
- Shout-Out: To The Green Hornet in one episode when he and Chris dress up as him and Kato respectively.
- Ship Tease: With Topaz.
- Token Minority: Although the human cast is racially diverse, Mr. Tanaka is the only one of Japanese ethnicity.
- Undying Loyalty: To his employers, the Thorndykes. If they’re in danger, Tanaka will do everything he can to save them.
Ella
Ella is a pleasant but sometimes-rough-around-the-edges maid and cook who helps around the Thorndyke mansion.
- Berserk Button: Do NOT fool her. Bokkun learned this the hard way. She also does not appreciate being talked down to by government agents, flying into a rage and dousing Jerome Wise with a bucket of cold water when he insists on being told Sonic's location.
- Big Beautiful Woman: At least in the eyes of Eggman, who is shown to find her very attractive in the comic series.
- Canon Foreigner: She's an original character created for the Sonic X continuity.
- Continuity Cameo: Makes a brief appearance in Archie Sonic Issue #257.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: She once piloted the X-Tornado and chased Bokkun in a rage.
- Fat and Skinny: The Fat to Mr. Tanaka's Skinny.
- Locked Out of the Loop: She spends several episodes as the only member of the Thorndyke residence unaware that Sonic and friends are more than just stuffed animals. The others only let her in on it after their increasingly desperate attempts to uphold The Masquerade cause Ella to believe she's going insane.
- Mama Bear: Ella acts like this in general towards Chris, Sonic, and their friends but especially towards Cream until she reunites with her own mother.
- No Full Name Given: Ella can either be her given or surname, and that's all.
- Parental Substitute: Ella does a pretty good job of being a motherly substitute towards Cream and Amy until Vanilla arrives.
- Less pronounced but still noticeable is that Ella also acts as a mother figure for Chris, since Lindsey is often not around, sometimes even when she's physically present.
- Sassy Black Woman: At times. Though the English version paints her as a Hispanic, making her more of a Spicy Latina.
- Secret-Keeper: Until Sonic and co. become known to the public.
- Supreme Chef: The cast adores her cooking and her cooking often provides much of the Food Porn in the show.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: She's terrified of frogs.
Lindsey Thorndyke
Voiced by: Naomi Shindo (JP); Jennifer Blood (EN) Other Languages
- Canon Foreigner: She's an original character created for the Sonic X continuity.
- Happily Married: To Nelson.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: She's much shorter and more petite than her husband, Nelson.
- Lethal Chef: There's a reason why on the movie set, the chefs never let her cook a thing...
- Ms. Fanservice: She appears in a lot of dresses and outfits for her movies, quite a few of which show off her curves.
- Older Than She Looks: She still looks very young, even when Chris is 12 years old.
- Parental Neglect: Like her husband, her career keeps her away from home, and so she leaves the actual parenting of her son to her father in-law, Chuck, and her house's staff, Ella and Mr. Tanaka. There's nothing malicious about it, though - at one point, when a movie shoot forces her to abandon a planned dinner with Chris, she breaks down in tears and laments her poor parenting. At the end of Season 2, when Chris runs off with Sonic for fear of being alone again, Chuck calls Lindsey and Nelson out on their neglectful behavior of raising Chris, and the two begin taking the first real steps to correct this Trope.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: She's too busy to spend any real time with Chris due to her acting career, more so as he grew older. When Chris runs away with Sonic at the end of Season 2, she and her husband are called out for this by Chuck, specifically after she options luring her missing son out with any toy he could want. After realizing and acknowledging this, she bursts into tears and calls herself and her husband bad parents for being so neglectful. Post-Season 3's Timeskip, it is implied that she and her husband succeeded with patching things up with Chris.
- Workaholic: The prime reason for both hers and her husband's neglectful parenting.
Nelson Thorndyke
Voiced by: Ken Yamaguchi (JP), Ted Lewis (EN) Other Languages
- Canon Foreigner: He's an original character created for the Sonic X continuity.
- Happily Married: To Lindsey. In one episode, he sneaks onto the set of one of her movies to surprise her with a very expensive anniversary present.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: He's much taller, and also more broad-shouldered, than his wife, Lindsey.
- Parental Neglect: Zig-zagged. Like Lindsay, he spends far too much time at his job and not enough time with Chris, and compared to Lindsay, he seems to show less remorse about doing so (at least until Chuck calls him out on it). However, he clearly loves Chris and is concerned about his well-being, often to the point of paranoia. When Ella phones Nelson to tell him that Chris has a minor cold, Nelson immediately deserts the office, picks Lindsay up via helicopter, and rushes to the Thorndyke residence with the apparent belief that Chris is at death's door.
- When You Coming Home, Dad?: Like his wife, he means well, but he doesn't get to spend any real time with Chris, especially as he grows older. Chuck finally calls him and his wife out on this problem when Chris runs away with Sonic at the end of Season 2, right before he is to return home. They do make a genuine effort to make amends, and though not outright stated, Season 3's Time Skip implies that this aspect of their relationship with their son was patched up for good after this moment.
- Workaholic: The prime reason for both his and his wife's neglectful parenting.
Sam Speed
Voiced by: Souichirou Tanaka (JP), Greg Abbey (EN) Other Languages
Chris' Cool Uncle and The Leader of the Speed Team, a special unit of the Station Square Police Department (S.S.P.D.) that uses high-speed race cars as police cruisers.
- Ace Pilot: He's an expert at driving high-speed race cars either for law enforcement or sport.
- Adaptation Personality Change: He has much more of a temper in the comics than in the show, and also seems to develop some kind of inferiority complex and jealousy towards Sonic.
- Alliterative Name: Sam Speed.
- Big Damn Heroes: When a mob is about to attack Sonic's friends, he shows up with the rest of the S-Team to chase them away.
- Canon Foreigner: He's an original character created for the Sonic X continuity.
- Cool Uncle: Definitely is this to Chris, though Chuck is quite exasperated with him and doesn't consider him the best of influences.
- Elites Are More Glamorous: Given that he's the leader of a specialized unit of the Station Square Police Department.
- Fair Cop: He's a good-looking guy and is technically a cop since he's the leader of the Station Square Police Department's specialized unit.
- Fiery Redhead: The guy's pretty hotblooded and energetic, and like Sonic, he's not one to stay in one place for too long.
- Green-Eyed Monster: He’s jealous of Sonic for taking his role as the fastest man in Station Square and the town hero, though not to the point that he hates Sonic.
- I Have Many Names: In the Japanese version, he has a new nickname every episode. Downplayed in the English dub, but still present.
- Large Ham: Rubs his racing prowess in whenever he appears.
- Meaningful Name: He's obsessed with speed.
- Mirror Character: He and Sonic are both people who enjoy the high-speed thrill of their trips instead of getting to their destination. Even Amy points out how similar they are to each other.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Many characters, especially Amy, often point out how similar he and Sonic are in regards to their love of speed and cocky attitudes.
- Not So Similar: Aside from the fact that they're both different species, there is one difference between Sam and Sonic. That is, Sonic doesn't care about others' rules or morals and simply fights for what he believes in and it just so happens to align with the law and conventional heroism, something that Rouge points out to the President. On the other hand, Sam operates within the law given his position as The Leader of a specialized unit of police chasers within the Station Square Police Department, although his fast-paced attitude does give him a case of Skewed Priorities.
- Never Got to Say Goodbye: In the dub, when Sonic and co. have to return to their world, Sam shows up when they're about to walk through the portal, intending to ask Sonic for a race. He decides to leave without understanding the context, believing that he can ask later when they're done doing whatever they're doing. Averted in the original Japanese version, in which briefly showing up and leaving without saying anything was his way of saying goodbye.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: His real name is Samuel Fair.
- The Rival: Often aspires to challenge and surpass Sonic's speed. He never succeeds.
- Stealth Pun: He is Chris' Uncle Sam.
Goverment and G.U.N.
The President
Voiced by: Tomohisa Asō (JP), Ted Lewis (EN) Other Languages
The President of the United States, who has admiration for Sonic.
- Ascended Extra: The President only appeared twice in Sonic Adventure 2, while he is a recurring secondary character in the anime.
- Named by the Adaptation: While the President from the games has no known name, he signs his name as Michael K. in the Japanese version of the anime.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: The President is a bumbling, but well-meaning leader. He himself is unaware of the Project Shadow conspiracy from 50 years ago.
- You Don't Look Like You: The President of the games is a slender, brown-haired man. The adaptation makes him a chubby old man.
Christina Cooper, The Secretary
Voiced by: Kumiko Izumi (JP), Lisa Ortiz (EN) Other Languages
The secretary of the United States president. She replaced Jerome Wise.
- Ambiguously Brown: Christina has a dark complexion, but no known ethnicity.
- Ascended Extra: She is a recurring character in the anime, while her game counterpart only appeared twice in Sonic Adventure 2 alongside the president.
- Bound and Gagged: She's bound and gagged when she's taken hostage alongside the president by Eggman.
- Flat Character: Unlike the president or her predecessor who have their comical traits, Christina Cooper doesn't have much in the way of a personality. She is a professional woman doing her work who is quite nice, but that's it.
- Named by the Adaptation: The secretary of Sonic Adventure 2 is unnamed.
- Satellite Character: She is a minor character who is only defined by her relationship with the government.
- Race Lift: The secretary from the games is a caucasian blonde woman, while Christina has a dark skin.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: A subtle example in the Homebound Saga between Christina Cooper and Doctor Kim Bickley. Christina is the tomboy who wears pants and boots while Kim is the girly girl who wears a dress and high heels.
Jerome Wise
Voiced by: Koji Haramaki (JP), David Lapkin (EN) Other Languages
The President's first secretary, fired after his "brilliant" attempt at restoring peace in Station Square with the help from Eggman.
- Anti-Villain: He didn't antagonize Sonic out of malicious intents, he mostly just wanted to keep his boss more credible than the Blue Blur to assure his re-election (yes, he is dumb enough to think Sonic could be elected). In the comics, though, he drops the "anti" part.
- Beard of Sorrow: Has a noticeable stubble on his face throughout Season 2. It's hard to blame him, as when you are homeless, shaving isn't an option.
- Canon Foreigner: He's an original character created for the Sonic X continuity.
- Comically Small Bribe: How he gets Eggman to force Sonic to race with Sam Speed in both dubs. In the original, he offers cream puffs, in the English dub its tickets to an ice skating show.
- Corrupt Politician: Uses the government's resources behind the President's back.
- Dirty Coward: First, watch him assault Sonic's friends and the President, i.e. those who can't or won't fight back. Then watch how quickly he runs away when Sam Speed and Knuckles arrive.
- The Ditz: Isn't the brightest guy around, if he believes that a minor can be elected president or a hedgehog refusing to race a cop could lead to riots.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: In the Japanese dub, it seems that Jerome had his own special woman, Vivian, who he searches for even after she ditched him.
- Face–Heel Turn: If he ever was Face, than he performed one by joining S.O.N.I.C.X., a Nebulous Evil Organization bent on destroying Sonic.
- George Jetson Job Security: He's fired on spot after it's revealed that he was conspiring with Eggman (in the Japanese version, at least).
- Ironic Name: Isn't actually that wise, as you already know.
- It's All About Me: Indirectly reveals in "Fast Friends" that for all the fuss he makes about Sonic threatening the President's approval rating, he would gladly take over his boss's seat if given a chance.
- Karmic Butt-Monkey: Nothing goes right for this guy. He's been splashed with a bucket of water, exhausted to the point of collapse, lost his job, became an homeless person, and barely escaped a beatdown from a very angry Knuckles. That said, no matter if he deserves it or not, Jerome brings a lot of his troubles on himself with his reckless, and at times inconsiderate, behaviour.
- Never My Fault: When confronting Sonic about getting fired, he claims that it's the hedgehog's stubbornness that forced him to conspire with Eggman, even though there were many less radical ways he could've gone to try and solve the problem.
- Pet the Dog: During Chaos' attack, he saves Sam Speed from the flood and in the Japanese version acts friendly towards him.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Implied. In "Prize Fights", he (as the Black Knight) makes clear that he intends to give the President a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown. His ex-boss is only saved by Christina Cooper throwing the towel.
Mr. Stewart
Voiced by: Michio Nakao (JP), Andrew Rannells (EN) Other Languages
Mr. Stewart is a secret agent sent by the government to spy on Chris, taking the identity of a simple school teacher.
- Badass Normal/Badass Teacher: He fought four agents with no problem.
- Becoming the Mask: He is initially assigned to Chris' class to spy on him, as the government suspects him of harbouring Sonic, but he quickly becomes attached to his class, and goes out of his way to protect the kids on occasion.
- Butt-Monkey: He becomes one in "Techno-Teacher". He doesn't really suffer any bad luck outside of that episode, though.
- Canon Foreigner: He's an original character created for the Sonic X continuity.
- Foil: Has one in the form of E-51 Intelligente, the Robot of the Week from "Techno-Teacher". Like Mr. Stewart, Intelligente is sent to Chris' school with an ulterior motive (to brainwash the children into worshipping Eggman), and like Mr. Stewart, he bonds with the kids and initially refuses to carry out his mission. However, when push comes to shove, Intelligente gives in to Dr. Eggman, betrays the kids, and reverts to his initial programming, whereas Mr. Stewart refuses to give up on Chris and co. no matter what.
- Nice Guy: One of the nicest humans in the entire series.
Topaz
Voiced by: Yukari Hikida (JP), Kayzie Rogers (EN) Other Languages
A G.U.N. agent who becomes Rouge's friend and comrade when she arrives to the human world.
- Action Girl: She is trained in the use of military combat and various firearms.
- Boyish Short Hair: Though not as boyish as most examples.
- Canon Foreigner: She's an original character created for the Sonic X continuity.
- Fair Cop: She's a G.U.N. agent and a young, attractive woman.
- Ship Tease: Topaz seems to have romantic inclination towards Chris Thorndyke's butler, Mr. Tanaka, which seems to have started after he saved her from falling to her death when the Egg Golem dropped her.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Rouge. Topaz is at first intolerant of Rouge because of her jokes at calling her old, but admired her considerable skills as a thief due to their advantages on missions. Their squabbles and jokes at the others' expense led into a playful relationship of sorts and they even began hanging out together outside work.
Other characters
Chris' Friends
From left to right: Frances, Danny, and Helen.
Frances voiced by: Yuka Shioyama (JP), Kerry Williams (EN) Other Languages
- Canon Foreigner: They're original characters created for the Sonic X continuity.
- Flat Characters: They don't really have much character outside of the token kid tropes. Though, Helen slightly has more regarding her parents and her status as a handicapped kid, but not much to make her stand out among the human characters since she's similar to Chris.
- Hero-Worshipper: Like Chris, they think Sonic is awesome after he saves them from being held captive by Dr. Eggman.
- Implied Love Interest: It's vaguely implied that Helen and Chris might be in a relationship by Season 3, with the two of them spending one-on-one time separate from their other friends while working on the portal together, and Chris thinking of her separately from his other loved ones when considering Eggman's warning about expending the Master Emerald's power preventing him from returning home. In Episode 69, Chris blushes at the thought of buying a matchmaking charm on Planet Marmolim and admits to having a special someone back on Earth he'd like to take to Romance Rock.
- Pink Is Feminine: Helen has a feminine personality and wears a mostly pink outfit.
- Plucky Girl: Helen.
- Quirky Curls: Helen, again.
- Token Trio: A black kid, a tomboy, and a girl in a wheelchair.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Frances and Helen, right down to their clothes, with Frances' dungarees and Helen's pink clothes and long skirt..
- Youthful Freckles: Frances has them, to go with her tomboyish personality.
Hawk
Voiced by: Takeharu Ōnishi (JP), Oliver Wyman (EN) Other Languages
- Canon Foreigner: He's an original character created for the Sonic X continuity.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Especially in the tournament.
- Nice Guy: The reason why Knuckles befriended him so quickly.
- Would Hurt a Child: Has no qualms about fighting Tails in the tournament. Granted, the fight was not to death by any means.
Scarlet Garcia
A news reporter from Station Square, and Recurring Extra of the series.
- Adaptational Early Appearance: She is a recurring character that debuts from the beginning, while her counterpart only existed in Sonic Adventure 2.
- Ascended Extra: From a tertiary character in Adventure 2 to a secondary character with a backstory tied to Project Shadow in the adaptation.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Scarlet Garcia's father was a reporter who went on to look for information regarding the Project Shadow conspiracy, but died under mysterious circumstances. This inspired her to become a reporter, and in turn, discover more about Project Shadow herself.
- Named by the Adaptation: Scarlet Garcia is a stand-in for the nameless female reporter of Adventure 2.
Gerald Robotnik
Doctor Eggman's grandfather, the creator of Shadow the hedgehog and the leading scientist behind Project Shadow.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In the games, Gerald found Emerl. In the show, their relationship is never elaborated; though the comics states Gerald created Emerl too.
- Greater-Scope Villain: The events of Adventure 2 are a 50 years old revenge scheme from Gerald to destroy mankind due to the death of his granddaughter, Maria.
- Posthumous Character: Gerald was executed 50 years ago.
Maria Robotnik
Gerald's granddaughter and Eggman's cousin, who suffered a terminal illness. She died during the Ark incident 50 years ago.
- Ambiguous Situation: Just how real Maria was is left to interpretation. Gerald loved her unconditionally, but Shadow's memories of her were tampered by Gerald to show her in a more idealized manner. The adaptation adds a layer of ambiguity showing that Maria did release Shadow, as he remembers, but she never said a word to him as Mister Schmitz can confirm.
- Posthumous Character: Maria has been dead for 50 years, killed off by a G.U.N. agent. Shadow and Gerald are driven by revenge due to her passing.
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Maria was a pure-headed child who only wished the best for mankind and the planet, or at least that's what Shadow remembers. Shadow decides to believe that was the case, and works to fulfill that dream at the end of Adventure 2 storyline.
Mister Schmitz
Voiced by: Yasuhiko Kawazu (JP), ? (EN)
A retired G.U.N. soldier, who was a member of the squad that closed down Project Shadow fifty years ago, the man who killed Maria Robotnik.
- Ascended Extra: The G.U.N. soldier that killed Maria is a relevant but tertiary character that doesn't appear in Sonic Adventure 2. He does appear in Shadow the Hedgehog, which debuted after Sonic X, but his role is still tertiary. In the anime, he exists to provide another point of view to the fateful day in the Ark, and show how messy Shadow's memories are. Shadow remembers Maria sending him to the Earth while she gave her final words. Mister Schmitz reveals that while Maria did send Shadow (and Emerl) to Earth, she never spoke a word to him.
- My God, What Have I Done?: He is regrettably sorry for killing a young girl 50 years ago.
Emerl
An ancient robot, who is awoken by Bokkun to break Eggman out of jail, but is befriended by Cream.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: A variation. Emerl's origins are not discussed in the anime, but the licensed comic has Eggman claiming Emerl was created by Gerald Robotnik. In Battle, all Gerald did was find him.
- Adaptation Deviation: Emerl is different from his Sonic Battle counterpart.
- For starters, Emerl's origins are not discussed in the series. In the game, he is an ancient battle robot from the Fourth Great Civilization, to which Professor Gerald suggested he may have destroyed it due to his intense power. The backstory nor his relationship with Gerald Robotnik are explored in the anime.
- Second, Emerl was awakened by Eggman in order to obtain such power in the game, but the doctor couldn't open up a "link" with the robot. Eggman throws him to the beach, and then is found by Sonic, to which Emerl start a link with, with Sonic becoming Emerl's master. In the adaptation, Bokkun is the one who finds him and uses him to power up a tank, but once Sonic defeats him, Emerl ends up in Chris' mansion, and starts a link with Cream instead.
- In Battle, Emerl has to be fed with the Chaos Emeralds in order to become stronger and smarter, with him slowly gaining a personality like Sonic, and bonding with the members of the cast (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Rouge, and Shadow). All of these interactions are scrapped (with Shadow and Gamma being Adapted Out) for a simple bond with Cream, who is the one who ends up taking him out (rather than Sonic).
- For last, Emerl ends up free of his destructive programming in the game thanks to everyone and Shadow and the seven Chaos Emeralds, but when he witnesses the Death Egg destructive power, he goes insane and tries to blow the world up. In the anime, Emerl goes insane with only one Chaos Emerald like it happened during the Ark 50 years ago, and only starts destroying Station Square.
- Another observation is that Eggman barely has any role in the Battle adaptation, despite his game counterpart being the Big Bad and creating clones of Emerl named E-121 Phi, powered by Chaos Emerald shards.
- Adaptation Expansion: For whatever's worth, issues 6 to 10 of Sonic X by Joe Edkin expands on the lore of the anime series, helping tie in Emerl's story from the games with the anime.
- A Day in the Limelight: Issue 7, 8 and 9 of the licensed comic book, written by Joe Edkin, focus on him, explaining how he ended up in the place Bokkun finds him in the anime series. The comic has him being found in the sewers, and him following Rouge and Topaz to Paris. In there, Emerl, never noticed by anyone, encounters Eggman and identifies him as his master (possibly confusing him with Gerald). He tries to defend Eggman, but in the process ends up being damaged during Sonic's fight with one of the doctor's robots, with Eggman finding him, dismantling it in issue 10, and discovering who created Emerl: Gerald Robotnik. Emerl is characterized as a robot with the desire to know about his past and who he is, similar to Shadow the Hedgehog, but due to the damage, he ends up losing his intelligence.
- Death by Adaptation: On account of there not being a Sonic Advance 3 arc, he stays dead in this continuity.
- Dub Pronunciation Change: In the English dub, his name is spoken as "Emel" due to a mistranslated "r", but it is still spelt as "Emerl".
- Expy: Emerl as written in the comic book is a stand-in for Shadow, being a creation of Gerald Robotnik with the desire to know about his past.
- Killed Off for Real: He is destroyed in the Emerl saga.
- Killer Robot: Once he wins the tournament and is awarded a Chaos Emerald, Emerl's ancient combat units are reactivated, and he goes on a rampage.
- Power Copying: Emerl copies Sonic's spin dash and Rouge's screw attack by witnessing and analyzing them.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: While he's in his Killer Robot mode.
- The Voiceless: Unlike his video game counterpart, Emerl is completely mute and doesn't speak.
