Blog / Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter

aka: Sonic The Hedgehog

"The OFFICIAL Twitter feed for news about all things Sonic. We also like memes."

Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter refers to the official Twitter account of the Sonic the Hedgehog video game franchise, which can be found here. Since June 2015, it has been run by Aaron Webber a.k.a. RubyEclipse, a long-time fan of the series. It is known as being one of the most amusing social media campaigns for its witty usage of memes, in-jokes, and fanservice.

The account has hosted seven "Sonic Twitter Takeovers" (with the seventh one also utilizing TikTok), where Sonic and some of his co-stars answer fans in-character. They have also been voiced over by the official English cast.

On June 18, 2020, after a five-year run, it was announced that Aaron Webber would be departing the social media team due to a promotion within Sega, with Katie Chrzanowski taking over his position.

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Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter provides examples of:

• Actor Allusion: During the second Twitter takeover, Eggman kidnaps Ezio Auditore and holds him for ransom. Ezio and Sonic are both voiced by Roger Craig Smith.
• Actually Pretty Funny: Game Grumps tackled Sonic Adventure, which nearly drove Arin Hanson to madness with its myriad of issues, especially when playing through Big the Cat's campaign. The account thought it was funny enough to delight in a clip, posted on the Sonic Twitter, of Arin failing to get Big's frog, Froggy, to bite the lure.
  Arin: Get it-get it-like it-want it-have it-need it— [Froggy ignores the lure in front of his face and swims away] WHY?! WHY?!
• Ambiguously Bi: It has not been lost on fans that when Shadow conditionally accepts @RealShadowFan01's marriage proposal in Twitter Takeover 6, he neither asks for their gender nor specifies a gender for his hypothetical ideal partner himself.
• Artifact Title:
  • The Japanese Twitter account was originally made for Sonic's 20th anniversary in 2011 and for a long while, continued to have its Twitter handle be @Sonic20th, even long after the anniversary ended. It wouldn't be until 2021, ten years after its initial debut, that it would finally change its Twitter handle to @SonicOfficialJP.
  • The Twitter Takeover was called so because Eggman took over the Twitter account and attempted to the second time. Since the third, there has been no similar event occurring, but they're still called Takeovers regardless.
  • The Twitter Takeovers continued to be called as such even after the website was rebranded to "X" in 2023... with the intro of the seventh Takeover confirming that this is deliberate. Even without the website's branding change in mind, the seventh Takeover still qualifies as it also took requests from TikTok.
• Ascended Meme:
  • One of the most popular things about the account is that it's very social media aware, and often adopts memes about the characters as long as they're harmless - for example, once hosting an official "& Knuckles" themed photography competition. During the Takeovers, this includes responses to and acknowledgement of those memes by the actual characters themselves, like the constant references to the "Damn Fourth Chaos Emerald" with Shadow.
  • The "Find your Sonic Name" post included Sanic, Blonic, Arms, Nerples, Enchilada, Coldsteel◊, Sonichu, and Sonikku as options.
• Attack Its Weak Point: One question asks why Eggman puts obvious weak points on all of his creations. Apparently, he does it in case they decide to go rogue on him.
• Berserk Button:
  • Do NOT ask Shadow about Maria if you value your life (unless he brings her up first). Also, don’t imply that he’s only fast because of his rocket shoes. He will get angry.
  • As seen in Twitter Takeover 6, do not make fun of Tails. When GamesCage (aka Fadel) asked a question about hearing a roast the group was going to tell him in a previous takeover, Amy brings up the fact that Fadel said some rude things about Tails, leading to the whole group getting defensive for him. Even THE END is ticked off by this, warning Fadel he strayed from the path.
• Brick Joke:
  • A question regarding Shadow only being able to move fast because of his rocket shoes ends with Shadow unleashing a Chaos Blast. A few tweets later, he reveals that he destroyed the robots Eggman was going to ambush him with using that exact same Chaos Blast.
  • When Tails arrives at the beginning of the fourth takeover, Sonic nervously asks if he brought Knuckles with him. Six hours later, it's revealed that he had a certain red echidna destroy Eggman's base while he was distracted.
  • When the Sonic Twitter wished everyone a happy St. Patrick's day in March 2019, Jacksepticeye jokingly asked if he could voice "Irish the Hedgehog", and the account responds he totally could... they just need to make the character first. Come St. Paddy's 2020, and the official Sonic accounts post a video of Irish introducing himself, voiced by Jack himself.
• Crazy Cat Man: Shadow believes that if Eggman were to give up on world domination, he would turn into this.
• The Comically Serious: Shadow talks about his eccentricities and threatens fans with the same snarling tone.
• Cuteness Proximity: Sonic, Tails, Shadow, and Eggman all adore the Chao, though Shadow and Eggman are in denial about it.
• Don't Ask, Just Run: When Mudkip_Captain makes the grave mistake of joking about Maria in front of Shadow, prompting an Implied Death Threat from the hedgehog, Sonic tells them to "RUN WHILE YOU CAN!"
• Early-Installment Weirdness:
  • The first Takeover did not always have anyone read the question. It also ended without the characters giving up, with Eggman instead being removed following Tails installing a virus that rebooted the account via a scam Tumblr link.
  • The account prior to June 2015 was quite different than its current incarnation. While it was a bit humorous, it was much more standard and corporate in nature and less witty than what it would eventually become when Aaron Webber took over.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Eggman finds a question asking Shadow about Maria to be in poor taste. He also gets horrified at the prospect of eating Mean Beans, since they are living things (and also because they are made of chemicals).
• Even the Subtitler Is Stumped: The subtitles next to Irish's character art turn into strings of question marks in the "Irish the Hedgehog" video as Irish's speech goes completely into Irish slang.
• The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: The cast occasionally piles threats on the real world tweets, for fun. In Takeover 3, Shadow puts the fan who asked him "how's Maria" on "The List". In Takeover 4, Eggman outright calls out Egoraptor.
• Go-Karting with Bowser:
  • For the second and third takeovers, the heroes and villains hang out, answer questions, and make light jabs at each other. Sent up with one response, where Sonic and Eggman claim that they're totally mortal enemies, before Eggman asks Sonic if he wants any leftover chili dogs.
  • It's eventually revealed that both sides were plotting against each other during the fourth takeover. They're still amicable during the other questions, though.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: During the seventh Twitter/Tik Tok Takeover, someone asked Knuckles how did it feel to have a huge fan, with Knuckles answering that he'd be a terrible role model due to him being tricked by Eggman on multiple occasions, as well as doing nothing but guarding the Master Emerald, making him very much aware of his own faults. When Amy tried to cheer him up by mentioning his "uplifting personality", his response?
  Knuckles: Everything sucks.
• Homage: "Irish the Hedgehog" is made like the character story introductions from Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2, with scrolling text transcribing the character's monologue on the left and Adventure-styled art for Irish on the right, and an Irish jig styled remix of "Escape from the City" playing in the background.
• Implied Death Threat: When Mudkip_Captain asks Shadow the question "How's Maria?", Shadow, in full Tranquil Fury mode, tells him he's now on "a very special list" and he looks forward to crossing his name off it.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Shadow actually regularly gives rings to charity, despite how he presents himself.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: Inverted with Shadow; he's a stoic jerk, but he's obsessed with cats.
• Lethal Chef: Twitter Takeover 6 reveals Shadow is one of these - he's been working at soup kitchens, but hasn't gone there in awhile because they aren't too keen on his cooking.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Shadow is shown to be unaware of events that happened before his debut on two separate occasions. He also doesn't know what a Koco is, due to not being present in Frontiers.
• Mood Whiplash: The takeovers are generally goofy fun, with the fourth being no different... until they get to a question about where Shadow likes to shop; Sonic and Eggman crack jokes at his expense, but immediately hush up when Shadow reveals his go-to store shares its name with his dead friend and the person he's dedicated most of his life towards, Maria.
  Sonic: Oh, it’s gotta be that store with all the edgy clothing and goth stuff. What is it, Lukewarm Topic?
  Eggman: I bet it’s the Halloween shop down the street! I saw him wearing a cape once!
  Shadow: What? Those are both fine establishments, by the way, but I do my shopping at the local convenience store. It's called... "Maria's".
  Eggman: [gasps quietly]
  Tails: Uh... wait, um... Maria was...
  Sonic: Oh, wow, sorry. I – I didn't mean to—
  Shadow: No. No, it's fine. As long as I can keep supporting some Maria out there in the world, I... at least feel like I'm making it a better place.
  Eggman: This question turned out to be quite the emotional rollercoaster.
• Noodle Incident: For the seventh Twitter Takeover, someone asks if Knuckles is allowed on the internet without supervision. They say no, not since "the incident". Knuckles is, apparently, not allowed to discuss the details of it.
• Not So Above It All: During the sixth Twitter Takeover, Shadow not only reveals himself to be a fan of Taylor Swift, but actually sings "Anti-Hero" with Amy (if only briefly).
• Oireland: Irish the Hedgehog, a St. Patrick's Day themed Original Generation character courtesy of a Brick Joke between Jacksepticeye and the Twitter account, speaks with a stereotypical Irish accent and uses various nonsensical Irish-sounding phrases that the subtitles completely fail to keep up with.
• Pretender Diss: When asked to rate Infinite on a scale of one to "Ow the Edge", Sonic gives a 5/10 while Eggman gives a full score. Shadow?
  Shadow: One. Infinite is a mewing kitten in a world where darkness and terror knock daily on the door. He's just a cute ball of fluff. I am the one who knocks.
• Production Foreshadowing: In the 7th Twitter Takeover, Amy mentions that Shadow is fearless. According to Katie, this was meant to imply the "Fearless: Year of Shadow" celebration that would occur in 2024.
• Put on a Bus: Due to not having a main or major role outside of Colors, Yacker from Takeover 5 didn't return for Takeover 6, and was replaced by Amy and Knuckles. Surprisingly, despite not being in Colors (except the DS version) or Frontiers, Shadow from Takeover 3 manages to avoid this, returning for Takeovers 5 and 6. Shadow would later be absent from Takeover 7, though not without a few mentions.
• Real Men Take It Black: Parodied; Shadow is so hardcore that he just eats plain coffee beans. The one possible exception to this rule is when he has his favorite dessert, tiramisu, on a cold night.
• Recurring Extra: Big often appears in artwork posted on the Japanese account.
• Running Gag:
  • The cast singing the Macarena, which is repeated about once per takeover. It gets worse every time.
  • Since the second takeover, another is Sonic receiving at least one question regarding how he feels about Amy, and Sonic dodging the question every time.
    • Inverted in the sixth one; this time, it was everyone who got asked about Sonic's good qualities, and Amy was a bit nervous even though she responded first!
  • The sixth Takeover had Tails misreading the submitters' usernames at the start of videos and getting upset when someone else reads it correctly.
• Self-Deprecation: Even Sonic himself is embarrassed by Sonic '06.
  • In fact, the account pokes fun at '06 a lot.
• Serial Escalation: Regarding the Twitter (and later TikTok) Takeovers, each takeover has more characters involved than the last. When the tradition began in 2015, it was only Eggman. For the second takeover, Eggman was joined by Sonic, with Shadow joining the two in the third one. For the fourth takeover, the three were joined by Tails, with Yacker making the group a quintet in the fifth. For the sixth, despite Eggman, Sonic, Shadow and Tails returning, Yacker did not—but his absence was made up with both Knuckles and Amy replacing him. The escalation streak was finally broken in the seventh takeover, where not only did no one new make their Takeover debut, but Shadow didn't appear, bumping the character count down to five.
• Shameless Self-Promoter: If asked about any of his favorites, Sonic will usually respond with something related to himself (e.g. his favorite anime is Sonic X).
• Ship Sinking: Invoked. Takeover 3 has Eggman receive a file called "Sonadow", which Sonic immediately yells at him not to open. When Shadow is asked about it, his response is a blunt, "One word... No."
• Ship Tease:
  • Multiple Takeovers have had fans query Sonic over if he returns Amy's affections, and every time it's happened, he dodges the question somehow. Takeover 4 has him literally run away after Eggman, Tails and Shadow begin playfully teasing him over Amy. Tails even Lampshades this when it happens in Takeover 4.
    Tails: Wow, he's not normally like that. Well, one thing's for sure now; the Sonamy fans are gonna go nuts.
  • Apparently, the nervousness goes both ways. Amy was asked in Takeover 6, and she actually got nervous when Tails called her out on her word choice!
  • Number 7 includes a bit for Knuckles and Rouge, as the others tease the echidna for it. And Tails reveals Knuckles secretly bought her daisies.
• Shout-Out:
  • Sonic's favorite anime is Sonic X, Tails' is My Hero Academia, Shadow's favorite still is Kill la Kill, Knuckles's is One-Punch Man, Amy's is Fruits Basket, and Eggman's is Tokyo Ghoul (though he later changes his answer to Chainsaw Man).
  • Sonic assumes that Shadow likes to shop at "Lukewarm Topic"^note Hot Topic for his "edgy clothing and goth stuff."
  • Shadow is the one who knocks.
  • When answering a question about why rings are collected and not coins, Tails mentions "that one plumber guy we ran into."
  • When Takeover 6 happened, the song stuck in Amy's head and Shadow's is Taylor Swift's "Anti-Hero".
  • In Takeover 6, Knuckles is given a question asking how he types with boxing gloves on. He apparently uses the spikes on his fists.
  • In Takeover 7, when asked if he does commissions, Eggman wonders if he could make his badniks into animatronics and sell them to pizza restaurants.
• Something Something Leonard Bernstein: Whenever the gang sings the Macarena song, they don't seem to remember any of the lyrics aside from "Hey Macarena!"
• Sound-Effect Bleep: Shadow tries to quote his infamous "Damn fourth Chaos Emerald" line, only to get foiled by Sega censoring him. In real time. Tails is fascinated and Eggman applauds the technological feat.
• Take That!:
  • A couple at Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), For example, the presence of a human princess and the game's long load times.
  • During the 7th Takeover, Sonic says he refuses to call Twitter "X". Eggman on the other hand likes it.
• Tranquil Fury: Shadow issues a calm Implied Death Threat when Mudkip_Captain mocks him about Maria.
• Troll: During the 7th Takeover, the gang is asked what cake they would like to be, and Sonic decides to say what cake he wouldn't be, complete with a snicker that implies that what he says next is entirely on purpose.
  Amy: "Wouldn't be...?" ...NO.
  Sonic: STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE SUCKS!!
  Amy: Alright, Sonic, get over here! You can't get away-
• You Wanna Get Sued?:
  • Upon getting asked a question about "having a bad time", we get this gem:
    Sonic: I'm kind of a pacifist, if you know what I mean. I'd never do something to anger Sans like that. I mean, what kind of a monster would you have to be?
    Eggman: I'm more of a fan of the genocide playthrough. Please don't be mad at me, Toby.
    Sonic: Well, either way, thanks. Your question filled us with determi- wait, can we legally quote that?
  • Upon getting asked what the fox says, Sonic advises Tails not to sing the song lest the lawyers get involved.
  • Sonic almost spoils the reveal of Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces near the end of the second takeover, causing Eggman to call him out for not respecting the NDA.
• White Gloves: Discussed in the sixth takeover. Apparently, the characters (except Eggman) don't have to wash their gloves because Tails invented a polymer that prevents them from getting grimy... which becomes a problem when Knuckles tries to write on his hand to remember a dentist appointment.
• Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Non-violent, heroic, comedic example. During the seventh takeover, TikTok user @SpongyRabbit asks Sonic, "Why don't you just put Eggman in jail?"
  Sonic: You know, that's a good idea.
  Eggman: Wait, what?
  Sonic: C'mere, Eggy!
  Eggman: No, no, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! (voice fades out)
  Amy: Wow, that was easy. (lightly chuckles) Thanks for the question, or, I guess, suggestion, @SpongyRabbit.
  Eggman (screaming): THIS ISN'T THE LAST YOU'LL SEE OF MEEEEEEEEEEE! (voice fades out)
• Wolverine Publicity: Shadow makes appearances in the Twitter Takeovers for Sonic Colors Ultimate and Sonic Frontiers despite not appearing properly in either ^note At most Shadow appears as an icon for the former, but is his extreme popularity allows him to continue to appear. Finally Averted come the seventh Twitter Takeover for Sonic Superstars, though he's still present in the form of a message passed through Tails answering a highly specific question.

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