Sonic the Hedgehog/Characters/Main Trio

The three primary characters of the series, aptly named Team Sonic (or Team Heroes depending on the game), consisting of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. Whenever a threat rears its ugly head, you can bet these three will be at the center of the conflict in some way. The roster tends to vary depending on the game (Amy tends to join them a lot of the time), and in Sega Sonic the Hedgehog, the team started out with Sonic, Mighty, and Ray. But the ones listed here are considered "staples" of the series.

Tropes applying to the trio as a whole

• Airplane Arms: All three do this when running full speed.
• Badass: These guys can have robots for a daily breakfast, whilst Godlike beings are the major course.
  • Badass Adorable: They are all powerful as they are cute and huggable.
• Bash Brothers
• Cast Herd: They were generally seen together starting in Sonic Adventure. However, starting in Sonic Unleashed, Sonic seems to be seen more separate from them.
• Color Coded for Your Convenience/Chromatic Arrangement - taken to absurd heights in Sonic Heroes
  • Sonic: Blue
  • Tails: Yellow
  • Knuckles: Red
• Elemental Powers: From Sonic Heroes, Sonic Battle, and Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (also shared with the other teams in Sonic Heroes).
  • Sonic: Blow You Away
  • Tails: Shock and Awe ^[1]
  • Knuckles: Playing with Fire/Dishing Out Dirt
• Freudian Trio
  • The McCoy: Sonic
  • The Spock: Knuckles
  • The Kirk: Tails
• Funny Animals
• Image Song: "We Can" (for the three as Team Sonic)
• Kid Heroes: Knuckles is the eldest of the trio, and he's only 16 years old.
• Limit Break: Their Team Blast "Sonic Overdrive" in Sonic Heroes. It does major damage to all nearby enemies, and enables the use of the Light Speed Attack for 10 seconds until its cooldown timer runs out.^[2]
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: They're all pretty small and rather strong, but Knuckles stands out among them.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Both Knuckles and Tails usually play Blue to Sonic's Red. Each of them can function as either Blue or Red depending on the game, however.
• Super Speed: They're all pretty fast, too. Sonic is just the fastest of them.
• True Companions: Especially evident with Sonic and Tails.

Sonic the Hedgehog

"What you see is what you get, just a guy that loves adventure. I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!"

Debut: Sonic the Hedgehog

Voiced by: Takeshi Kusao (Japanese, 1993), Masami Kikuchi (Japanese, OVA), Keiko Toda (Japanese, Sonic Underground), Junichi Kanemaru (Japanese, 1998-present), Keiko Utoku, (English, Sonic CD), Jaleel White (English, AoStH, SatAM, Sonic Underground), Martin Burke (English, STH: The Movie), Ryan Drummond (English, 1999-2005), Jason Griffith (English, Sonic X, 2005-2010), Roger Craig Smith (English, 2010-present)^[when?]

The main character of the franchise. A blue anthropomorphic hedgehog with attitude and plenty of personality who lives up to his name by being able to run at superhuman speeds. Not much is known about Sonic's past aside from that he was born on Christmas Island. One day on South Island, he noticed all of his animal buddies began disappearing and the culprit was none other than Dr. Eggman. After foiling the doc's plans, Sonic would then make it his business to do in whatever Evil Plan the doc cooked up, establishing their long rivalry. Over time, Sonic has faced bigger and larger threats alike while making a whole slew of allies along the way.

Sonic is described as the wind; unpredictable, and always moving from place to place and never settling down for long. Laid-back, carefree, and armed with a wit as sharp as his quills with an ego to match. He also has a compassionate side and deep down, a heart of gold that always wishes the best for others.

• Always Accurate Attack: His signature Homing Attack that he has had since Sonic Adventure, which is usually shared with other "Speed"-type characters. Sometimes, it's shared with all of the characters.
• Anti-Hero: Type II, due to his arrogant attitude and being somewhat snarky, but some recent games have played down this aspect of him. Fleetway's Sonic takes the anti-heroic traits further than SEGA!Sonic, though.
• Badass: Because who else can plow through robots, dark beings, and even gods at super speed, all while having fun at it?
  • Badass Adorable: Even he has his moments where he just looks cute, mostly pre-Adventure.
  • Badass Cape: As Excalibur Sonic.
  • Big Badass Wolf: His Werehog form has a noticeable wolf theme to it.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Depending on the Writer, he can be somewhat bumbling and highly wacky in personality at times. His bouts of skill and heroism, however, are usually no less pronounced.
• Baleful Polymorph: Averted. Contrary to popular belief, Sonic does not regard his Werehog form as being bad. In fact, Chip and Professor Pickle outright hint towards Sonic liking the way he looks, enjoying what he can do, and acting like he's in no rush to get his body back to normal.
  • It probably helps that no one he runs into while being a beast seems to be afraid of him (some people are surprised to see him like that, but ultimately no one's breaking out the Torches and Pitchforks, and those who were surprised get used to him quickly). If he was feared and shunned for being a monster, it surely would have spoiled his spirits on being in that form. The only real problem he has with it is that even Amy doesn't recognize him in this form.
• Berserk Button: At least 3: Don't call him a rat; don't mess with his friends; don't stop him from eating his chili dogs.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He's probably the nicest and most polite character next to Tails and Cream, but push his buttons and... well... Erazor Djinn learned the hard way. Not to mention Eggman on occasion.
• Big Brother Mentor: He's this to Tails in most of the games and adaptations.
  • Big Brother Instinct and Heterosexual Life Partners: Again, with Tails.
• Big Damn Heroes: One of his habits includes arriving in the nick of time to save anyone from Eggman's robots. Examples include Sonic Colors, Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Chronicles, and |Sonic the Hedgehog 2006
  • And even when he's not in his own games, as he did at the end of the Subspace Emissary in Super Smash Brothers Brawl.
• Big Eater: Despite his small size, he has a huge appetite; justified due to the fact that he burns a lot of calories constantly running at such high speed all the time.
• Black Hole Belly: He literally becomes one in the DS version of Sonic Colors when he transform into the Violet Void form. He will even consume the entirety of the Frigate Skullian, provided its HP meter is depleted enough.
• Blow You Away: Ever since Sonic Adventure 2, he could use wind based attacks, some of which use his great speed, some of which don't, although the games never elaborate much on this.
• Book Dumb: Sonic is often shown to be highly resourceful and even has plausible showings of wisdom. He's also been shown as being capable of operating the Tornado with equal proficiency to Tails, and clearly values literature. However, he isn't the most educated guy around, usually requiring more intellectual team mates such as Tails to explain the science of it all.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: The character most likely to do so, such as in Sonic Colors.
  • Even in his first appearance, he would stare at the screen and tap his foot impatiently if left idle.
• Brilliant but Lazy: A lot of incarnations, such as the Sonic in the OVA, epitomize this well. He doesn't tend to act until the last possible second.
• Calling Your Attacks: "Sonic Wind!" "Chaos Control!" "Speed Break!" "Time Break!"
• Catch Phrase: "I'm Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog!"
• Chaste Hero -> Celibate Hero: While he's aware of Amy's infatuation for him, he prefers to keep away from her when she acts on it. Probably because in the games, he has no understanding of romance. (Or simply that she squicks him out for some reason...) This is avoided in the Archie comics, where his relationships border on Unwanted Harem.
  • Played even straighter in Sonic Colors (DS), where he passes up Rouge's offer for a kiss. Though whether she was teasing or serious is up for debate.
• Chekhov's Skill: He saves himself from one of Eggman's Death Traps in Adventure 2 by performing Chaos Control with a Fake Chaos Emerald. He picked up the skill by watching Shadow.
• Chick Magnet: Mostly in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and the Archie Comics; the games show this quirk to a lesser extent. Depending on the continuity, he's sometimes annoyed by it, being the Celibate Hero and all.
  • He ends up lampshading this in Sonic Battle: "Got enough girls chasing me as it is."
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: Most bios state that he can never leave troubled people alone due to his sense of heroism and great kindness.
• Contractual Immortality: Sonic never stays dead because of his importance as the franchise's main protagonist. He was killed by Mephiles in |Sonic the Hedgehog 2006, but got better.
• Cool House: A rusted-out relic of a 747 jetliner in the OVA.
• Cool Plane: The Tornado. Which belongs to him, not Tails. Contrary to popular belief.
• Cross-Dressing Voices: Has actually been voiced by at least three women—Keiko Utoku in Sonic CD, Keiko Toda in the Japanese dub of Sonic Underground, and Meg Inglima in Sonics Schoolhouse.
• Cute Little Fangs: Was intended to have these from the very beginning until Sega of America had their final say on his design. However, if you look close enough at a few models, Sonic does have fangs. Sonic's Werehog form has prominent fangs as well.
• Dance Battler: Many of his moves are based off of techniques seen in the likes of Break Dancing and Capoeira.
• Dark Is Not Evil: The Werehog, Darkspine, Violet Void, Purple Frenzy, and "Dark Super" forms certainly look evil. However, they do not act evil nor do these forms carry out evil actions. Quite the contrary, actually.
  • Some of them, however, make Sonic much more aggressive.
• Deadpan Snarker: Played straight in the video games and the comics, Sonic Chronicles and Sonic Colors being some prime examples.
  • Sonic also had his moments of this in SatAM.
• Defeat Equals Friendship: With the exceptions of Amy, who was a Fan Girl, and Tails, who either idolized him or was orphaned and bullied, almost all of his friends and allies had to be "befriended" before they joined up with him. He does this so often that he can give Nanoha a run for her money.
• Determinator: Nothing slows him down for long.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: He has defeated, among others, a fully powered-up water god, a |time god, and a dark earth spirit. He did defeat all of them in super form, but it's still quite impressive.
  • In Sonic Generations, he beats said fully powered-up water god again, but this time, without the need of his super form.
• Does Not Like Spam: It is strongly implied in Sonic Unleashed that he does not like seafood going by the extremely low EXP gainage after he is fed it.
• Doesn't Like Guns: He openly admits in Shadow the Hedgehog that he "wouldn't be caught dead" utilizing guns and other firearms.
• Don't Call Me "Sir"!: He clearly dislikes being referred to as "Master" by Shahra in Sonic and The Secret Rings and insists on being called by his name. He also dislikes being called "Mr. Sonic", as Cream and Elise find out.
• Door Step Baby: In Sonic Underground.
• Eagle Land: Type 1. Take his snarky attitude, like of extreme/fun activities, and add in a "free spirit" cowboy personality, and you have Sonic in a nutshell. That his main colors are red, white, and blue helps.
• Establishing Character Moment: Sonic the Hedgehog CD conveys who he is fairly well, showing his great acrobatics, difficulty traversing water, and running into Eggman's next plan with no idea what's in store for him. All without talking.
  • The intro to the original Sonic the Hedgehog also counts, as it simply has him do his signature finger wag to establish him as THE Mascot with Attitude.
• Even the Guys Want Him: Louie Montaine in Sonic Unleashed loves to go on about how hot he finds Sonic and lusts after his body after every successfully cleared mission he offers.
• Everything's Better with Spinning: His primary method of attack.
• Expressive Ears: They'll flick frequently when he's irritated with waiting (Sonic the Hedgehog 4's Idle Animation) and lie forward or sideways when he's asleep or feeling sick.
• Extreme Omnivore: Eats anything, even moldy/rancid food (If Sonic Unleashed is anything to go by). Taken to the extreme in Sonic Colors when he absorbs Purple or Violet Wisps and morphs into a Purple/Indigo monstrosity that chomps down on anything, even robots and other metallic objects.
• The Face: He's easily the most social of the three, and usually does all of the talking.
• Face Palm: Does this fairly frequently.
• Fan Nickname: Several over the past two decades, but the most recent and most amusing is "Generic Sonic", as he is referred to in the coding for the Generations demo.
• Fire-Forged Friends: Knuckles, Shadow, Rouge, Jet, Gamma, Shade, Silver, Omega, Wave, Storm, Chaos, and even Eggman himself were all enemies/opponents at one point or another. However, they're now all (with the exception of the now dead Gamma, and Eggman, which is always temporary) invaluable friends/allies to Sonic.
• Flash Step: An ability he has had since Sonic Unleashed, used to sidestep obstructions on a straight path.
• Flight: But only when he's Super Sonic, Excalibur Sonic, Darkspine Sonic, or Hyper Sonic. In a meta example, the Purple Gem in 06 can have him jump infinitely in place of his Homing Attack at the cost of making him roughly ten times smaller.
• Fragile Speedster and Glass Cannon: In most games, he's easily portrayed as such and One-Hit-Point Wonder combined. He's both super-fast and able to destroy some strong robots, but he must avoid most hits or he goes down very easily. In some recent games, such as Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Storybook Series, and Sonic Chronicles, he isn't portrayed as such because one hit doesn't make him lose all his rings and his rings decreased at a slow interval. Sonic X also avoids this by showing that even though Sonic can take damage, he just keeps going.
• Genre Savvy: With the amount of times he hangs lampshades, he fits this to a T.

Sonic (in Sonic Colors): Experience has taught me to investigate anything that glows.

• Get Back Here Boss: He's the final Dark Side story boss of Sonic Adventure 2 and insists on constantly running away from you, only stopping to fire off his signature move when there's enough space between Shadow and him.
• Getting Crap Past the Radar: This.
• Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: His trademark pose.
• Golden Super Mode: Super Sonic, perhaps the second most famous variant after the Super Saiyans. Excalibur Sonic is so far the second form of his to have this aspect.
• Good Is Not Soft: His sealing away of Erazor during the ending of Secret Rings comes off as this, and would have been disproportionate if Erazor hadn't established himself as a truly irredeemable villain beforehand.
  • His mocking of the despairing Metal Sonic in the end of Sonic Heroes comes off as downright cruel and cocky, only justified by how monstrous Metal was beforehand.
• Gratuitous English: He started getting this when later games started to play up his 'tude more; exclusive to the Japanese version, of course.
• Green Eyes: Acquired these when he's in his Super form in the classic games, acquired these in his regular form from Sonic Adventure onwards.
  • Black Eyes: His original eye color. In order to accommodate the change in his eye color, recent games gave Super Sonic red eyes instead.
• Grind Boots: While everyone gains this ability by the time of Heroes, Sonic Adventure 2 sees Sonic sporting a pair of Soap shoes (in his trademark red and white colors), due to a deal between Sega and the Soap brand.
• The Hero: In both senses. He's the main character of the series and the leader of "Team Sonic".
• Heroic Safe Mode: In most modern incarnations, his response to most tragedies is to simply keep going.
• Heroic Willpower: Present to a truly ludicrous degree. He can shrug off a mind-controlling monstrosity without even being aware of it. Curiously, this didn't work in Sonic Rivals 2. The Ifrit gains control of his mind (if you're playing as Tails) with ease.
• Hero on Hiatus: When he temporarily dies in Sonic the Hedgehog 2006, he's out of commission and it's up to the other characters to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds to bring him back.
• Holding Back the Phlebotinum: He never uses Chaos Control unless he absolutely has to.
• I Am Not Weasel: He's... ahem... rather temperamental about being called a Rat rather than a Hedgehog throughout Sonic and the Secret Rings
• "I Am" Song: They call him Sonic. 'Cause he's faster than sound, he keeps on jumping around.
• I Got Bigger: Sonic Generations confirms that "Modern" Sonic is the older version of pre-Sonic Adventure "Classic" Sonic.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Throughout the whole series, he pulls this against his Uncle Chuck and Knuckles, who was the new Enerjak in the Archie comics, Perfect Chaos in Sonic Adventure, and he tried this against Emerl/The Gizoid in Sonic Battle. I. Emerl's case, it only partially worked, and the result? A sad ending.
• Image Song: "It Doesn't Matter" and "|His World". "Endless Possibilities" for his relationship to his were-hog form.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Mephiles stabs him to death just to get an emotional response out of Elise and therefore unseal Iblis out of it's person-shaped can. Thank goodness the Chaos Emeralds are capable of resurrecting the dead...
• Improbable Piloting Skills: In Sonic X. Makes you wonder why he doesn't fly the X-Tornado more.
• Improvised Parachute: He can actually use his cranial quills and hands to catch air like a makeshift parachute in order to make his descents through air slower in Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Colors.
• Informed Attribute: His temperament. In most of the game manuals, he's described as being hot-tempered. This contrasts with the actual games, where he's simply cool and confident.
• Informed Flaw: Word of God has stated that not having a full eight hours of sleep can severely affect Sonic's ability to function and also has a large impact on his running. This is never actually seen in the games, however.
• Intergenerational Friendship: He's almost twice the age of Tails.
• Involuntary Shapeshifter: In Sonic Unleashed. He can't stop his Werehog transformation from occurring at night or, in the case of the Wii version, in darkness within the Gaia Gates. He can temporarily revert back into normal form when in light or when exposed to light, but once he steps back into darkness, it's only a matter of time before he'll transform back into Werehog form.
• Japanese Pronouns: "Ore".
• Karmic Trickster: In Sonic The Fighters, one of his throws is to take his opponent's weapon and use it on them in a very cartoony manner.
• Kid Hero: Is only 15 years old.
• Large Ham: His personality is very boisterous and magnetic. When he makes the scene, he will be sure to let everyone there know (subtlety is not a prominent trait of Sonic). He also likes to quip and taunt when he's in the middle of a skirmish.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Varies according to the story. Even at his mildest, Sonic has no patience for waiting around or discussing tactics. At his worst, he endangers others or gets himself turned into a robot.
  • Strangely enough, only the Archie comics play this straight enough for him to be called out on it. Other than the,^[3] he rarely, if ever, gets called out on this even if it's invoked.
    • Granted, said strategy (or lack thereof) comes to bite him back a lot more in the comics than in the games.
• Lightning Bruiser: In games where he isn't a One-Hit-Point Wonder, such as Sonic Unleashed and the Sonic Storybook Series, he comes off as this, since durability is combined with his speed and his ability to easily destroy large robots. Even then, he can withstand powerful attacks from godlike beings such as Chaos.
  • He's always portrayed as this in the comics or when animated. Sonic X especially takes this to a ridiculous degree, showing him being able to tear through walls and robots alike, without even stopping!
• Loveable Rogue: While generally having a strong sense of justice, he is willing to go against the law, especially if they are after him.
• Magic Pants: Applies to both the Werehog and Darkspine forms. Werehog loses his gloves then gains them back upon transforming back into normal form, whilst Darkspine loses his shoes, socks, and gloves and gains them back within a split second of turning back into normal form.
• Mascot with Attitude: The Trope Maker.
• The McCoy: He definitely fits this to a "T" among Team Sonic in the games.
• Meaningful Name: He's called Sonic for a reason.
• The Messiah: As far as the games go, no matter what happens, Sonic never holds grudges, and easily makes friends out of former enemies. If it's to save the world, he won't even hesitate to work alongside Eggman without a second thought.
• Mirror Boss: Acts like this against Shadow in Sonic Adventure 2 during the first boss fight against him. He does it again in the final Dark Side boss, with the exception of him having access to his Sonic Wind move whilst Shadow doesn't have his Chaos Spear.
• Miscarriage of Justice: He was sent to prison in Sonic Adventure 2 due to being mistaken for Shadow.
• Morphic Resonance: All of Sonic's forms share common design aspects to the 'normal' form. The Wisp forms also share yellow, pupiless eyes, ears, and spiky protusions (except for Violet Void form, which has only the eyes and mouth, and Blue Cube form, which only has the eyes and inner ears). All of these design aspects resemble the normal form's eyes, ears, and quills to a great extent.
• Motion Blur: He's even nicknamed "The Blue Blur".
• Mr. Vice Guy: Some versions of him are very prideful.
• Multiple Choice Past: Outside of a brief mention of his,^[4] he's never really been given an official backstory in the games.
• Mysterious Past: The only things ever revealed about Sonic's past is that his rivalry with Dr Eggman predated Sonic the Hedgehog and that he was born on Christmas Island.
• Nerves of Steel: For the most part, at least in the games.
• Nice Guy: Probably the best example in the series short of Tails (except for Sonic Chronicles and Fleetway's Sonic the Comic), as Sonic is often noted for his compassion and selflessness.
• Nitro Boost: The Sonic Boost, which he has had since Sonic Rush Series, which allows him to easily break the sound barrier if the meter has some energy.
• No Guy Wants to Be Chased: Especially if the chaser's name is Amy Rose.
• One-Man Army: Technically, he's a "One Hedgehog Army". Wherever he runs, expect lots of trashed robots in his wake. Don't believe it? Watch the prologue to Unleashed.
• Our Ghosts Are Different: After Mephiles kills him in '06, his ghost/spirit appears in the form of a gust of ethereal blue wind that only Princess Elise can detect.
• Our Werebeasts Are Different: Sonic the Werehog in Sonic Unleashed. Even the "werehog" term was originally coined by the fans, and Sega just shrugged and went, "eh, why not?"
• Papa Wolf: He serves as one to Emerl in Battle. Earlier on, he was more of a Big Brother Mentor to Emerl, but as time progressed... He nearly has a Freak-Out when Emerl is on his death throes.
• Parental Abandonment: In most incarnations, his parents (or lack thereof) are not referenced even once.
• Personality Powers: He is one free-spirited wanderer with Super Speed powers.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: 3'3 tall, 77.2lbs in weight, and yet he can defeat monstrosities like this with only the shoes on his feet.
• Plays by His Own Rules: Almost all depictions have him as this.
• Power of the Void: He becomes a living, moving void in Violet Void form that consumes nearly anything he comes across and becomes bigger in the process.
• Razor Wind: His Sonic Wind attack, as depicted in Sonic Adventure 2.
• Real Men Wear Pink: One of his hobbies includes admiring flowers. In the OVA, his favorite clothes are pink.
• Ridiculously Cute Critter: Especially Classic Sonic.
• The Rival: Many; the current primary ones are Shadow and Jet. Knuckles once served this role, but he has since grown out of it.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: At least, as far the games' version of the Blue Blur is concerned; according to Sonic and the Black Knight, he's the genuine King Arthur.
  • He also fits the bill in Sonic Underground and in the 30 years later Time Skip in the Archie comics.
• Running Gag: He tends to fall flat on his face when falling from great heights from Sonic Adventure onwards.
  • Not the Fall That Kills You: He ends up walking away from those falls with no injuries at all.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right: Oh so much in Sonic and the Black Knight. He'll willingly become a king slayer to do what is right. Also has shades of this in Sonic X.
• Shout-Out: Collect all seven Chaos Emeralds and at least 50 rings, and jump into the air. Sonic will turn into Super Sonic! His fur will turn gold, his eyes will turn green (or red) and... wait, haven't we seen this before?
• Signature Move: Spin Attack, Sonic Wind and the Homing Attack.
• Sleepyhead: He appears to have a habit of momentarily dozing-off in idle animations. He is also often seen napping on a tree branch or Chris' roof in Sonic X.
• Small Town Boredom: One official source states that Sonic only began exploring because he was bored with his birthplace, Christmas Island.
• Smarter Than You Look: Especially considering some of his earlier portrayals. He is far from stupid.
• Smug Super: Most interpretations are rather boastful and arrogant about their speed and abilities, especially western incarnations. The games' rendition has shades of this, even if he is much more playful and less jerkish about it than standard examples.
• Sprint Shoes: The first US game manual mentioned that Sonic's speed comes from his power sneakers, although this bit of info is never taken as canon.
• Super Drowning Skills: In most of the 3D games. He instead has Walk, Don't Swim in 2D.
• Super Mode: Super Sonic, which makes him glow, fly, and takes his already established Super Speed Up to Eleven. Yuji Naka said it himself that this form was inspired by Super Saiyans. It shows well.
  • There's also Hyper Sonic, Darkspine Sonic, Excalibur Sonic, and Dark Super Sonic.
• Super Speed: He's called "Sonic" for a reason. The source of it remains unknown to this day.
• Swiss Army Hero: And then some! Especially in Sonic Colors. He can turn into a laser, cube, black hole, rocket, explosion-generator, organic Hover Tank, ball of spikes, drill, and a purple monstrosity that eats and grows in size with each eaten object.
• Teleport Spam: He loves doing this in the last Dark Side Story boss in SA2 if you get too far ahead of him.
• Teleporters and Transporters: Has the ability to teleport by using Chaos Control in-tandem with a Chaos Emerald whether it's fake or real.
• Thrown Out the Airlock: Eggman tries to murder him by doing this. Fortunately, he learned how to use Chaos Control just in time.
• Took a Level in Badass: He defeats Perfect Chaos in Sonic Generations in normal form without resorting to transforming into Super Sonic.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Sonic Chronicles, if you select the more snarky options in a Dialogue Tree.
• Totally Radical: He dips into this at times in his modern depiction.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Chili dogs in most adaptations, and later, including the games.
• Unable to Cry: In the majority of media Sonic has been featured in, he's remarkably stoic and does not show sadness, loss, and/or disappointment in the form of tears. Averted in American continuities such as Archie and SatAM.
  • The latter continuities were however asked to keep said aversions toned down, suggesting it is to higher ups rather uncharacteristic for him to cry in most interpretations. The fact that he dislikes crying may support it.
• The Unfettered: The Sonic OVA version fits this to a tee.
  • Other variations have him as a milder version; he wouldn't hesitate to put his life on the line for a friend, but he also wouldn't want to endanger his friends and is very protective of them.
• Unstoppable Rage: Darkspine Sonic in Sonic and The Secret Rings doesn't stop expressing his hatred, rage, and sadness until Alf Layla Wa Layla goes down.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Type 2 with Knuckles.
• The Voiceless: His younger self is this in Generations.
• Walk, Don't Swim: In the 2D games. He has Super Drowning Skills instead in 3D.
• Walking the Earth
• Wall Jump: First appeared in an unconventional form in Sonic Heroes, where it's used to cross chasms with walls on either side. Starting in Sonic Unleashed, he has a more conventional Mario-style Wall Jump.
• Weaksauce Weakness: He can't swim.
• Wheel-O-Feet: Present until Sonic 3 and Knuckles, abandoned since Sonic Adventure onwards, and then returning in Sonic the Hedgehog 4 once again. Also present in Sonic Generations for Classic Sonic.
• Who Wants to Live Forever?: Not him, as Sonic and The Black Knight proves. Sonic is apparently inclined to live life to the fullest in the time he has and stresses to others that they should do the same.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He occasionally mentions that he doesn't like water in games such as Sonic and The Secret Rings and Sonic Colors DS, as well as the various comics and animated series he features in. Considering that the drowning music so often heard in underwater stages is considered to be the most frightening thing in the entire franchise, this is entirely justified.
• Would Hit a Girl: He's fully willing to engage in a fight against Blaze in Sonic Rush when Blaze picks one with him and also fought Amy, Cream and Rouge in Sonic Heroes. He also had no compunctions about attacking Merlina when she revealed her plans as the Dark Queen in Sonic and The Black Knight
• You Gotta Have Blue Quills

Miles "Tails" Prower

"I've changed a lot since I started hanging out with Sonic, but I can't depend on him forever. I know I can do this by myself!"

Debut: Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Voiced by: Hekiru Shiina (Japanese, OVA), Kazuki Hayashi (Japanese, 1998), Atsuki Murata (Japanese, 2000-2002), Ryo Hirohashi (Japanese, 2003-present), Christopher Evan Welch (English, AoStH), Bradley Pierce (English, SatAM), Chris Turner (English, Sonic Christmas Blast), Lainie Frasier (English, STH: The Movie), Corey Bringas (English, 1999-2001), Connor Bringas (English, 2001), William Corkery (English, 2004), Amy Palant (English, Sonic X, 2005-2010), Kate Higgins (English, 2010-present)^[when?]

Sonic's young sidekick: a small fox who can use his unique twin tails to fly. Despite his young age, he's a reliable and dependable ally to Sonic. In later games, he's come into his own as a genius inventor that even rivals Eggman. His real name is Miles Prower, and he grew up as an orphan, ostracized because of his twin tails. One day, he noticed Sonic's running by and was so awed by his speed, he tried to catch up using his tails. Sonic didn't pay the young fox any attention, but witnessing how he nearly caught up with him impressed him enough to take him under his wing and give him his well known nickname. Together, they foiled Eggman's latest scheme on Westside Island and the two became nearly inseparable.

Ever since their first meeting, Tails has tried his hardest to be the best person he can for Sonic's sake, often times by mimicking him. Humble, docile, and good-natured with mechanical prowess that can potentially rival Eggman's, but he never thought it was much of a big deal.

• Ace Pilot
• Accidental Pervert: In The Movie, Tails accidentally fondles Sera's breasts when landing on her. Knuckles calls him out on this, and Tails, blushing, promptly apologizes.
• Adorably Precocious Fox Kit
• Adorkable
• All of the Other Reindeer: He used to get picked on for having two tails, though Intelligence Equals Isolation may have been part of it as well.
• Anime Fur: More so in his post-Adventure design then his original one.
• Backstory: A surprisingly sad one, considering his cheerfulness and optimism. He grew up alone on a tiny island, which was attacked by an armada (that he had to fight off by himself), and was bullied before meeting Sonic. And then he got kidnapped directly after meeting Sonic.
• Badass Adorable: Prevented Eggman from detonating his missile in Sonic Adventure and saved Station Square all by himself, but at his core, he's still just a quiet, geeky kid.
• Badass Bookworm: He fits this, but it's been mellowed down due to his lack of importance as a fighter in a majority of newer games.
• Berserk Button: Insulting his technological skills, ignoring him, and threatening Sonic's life.
  • Unique to the games, flirting with him.
• Beware My Stinger Tail
• Blue Eyes: His Post-Adventure appearance. Originally, they were black.
• Blow You Away: He uses the Tornado to create a huge tornado in Sega All-Stars Racing. Weird, considering Sonic is supposed to be the wind attribute one.
• Captain Crash: Eggman has an impeccable talent for gunning down his planes.
• Captain Obvious: Sonic lampshaded this in Sonic Adventure with an Aside Glance.
• Character Development: Tails started out as an Ascended Fanboy of Sonic, but as his character grew, his Gadgeteer Genius traits became more dominant and he is now less impressed with Sonic's heroics than before. On the other hand, with each game since the Adventure series, he seems to have become weaker and fights very little. Heroes, |2006, and Colors avert this.
• Cartoony Tail: Two of them.
• Chaste Hero -> Celibate Hero: In the games, he seems to be quite oblivious to romance, unless you bring the subject up, in which case he gets upset. In Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, it's quite clear that he thinks of it as an annoying waste of time. Like Sonic, this differs in the comics.
• Cheerful Child
• Child Prodigy: Just being able to fly the Tornado in Sky Chase Zone would've gotten him here, but he's been able to BUILD - as in, with his own two hands - more than one upgrade for the plane, a portable device that can bring up satellite signals and translate the Wisps' language, a fake Chaos Emerald, his team's Extreme Gear, and everything from his Game Gear spin-off games. Oh, and depending on whatever continuity you believe in, he singlehandedly learned to turn his twin namesakes into the most useful and deadly Cartoony Tails ever! All this at 8 years old.
• Cool Car: Remember that car he had in the Easter Egg picture from Sonic CD? It's a Caterham 7, and he's had it since 1992. In Sonic Drift 2, Tails drives an Expy of said car. His car in Sonic Adventure 2 was pretty cool too.
• Cool Plane: The Tornado 2, Tornado 3, and Tornado 1, but the original Tornado belongs to Sonic.
• Cool Shades: Wore those in one of his first manga appearances.
• Cross-Dressing Voices: He used to be voiced by young boys, but since Sonic X, he has been voiced by women. In the Japanese versions, he has been voiced by one single woman since Sonic Heroes and Sonic X.
• Cunning Like a Fox: Subverted - While he is certainly intelligent enough, his childish naivete prevents him from actually being cunning.
• Deadpan Snarker: Seems to have become this in Sonic Colors. Sonic must be rubbing off on him.
• Dude in Distress: In the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Can actually lead to a pretty depressing ending if you don't collect all the Emeralds, as it's implied that Eggman killed Tails.
• Drop the Hammer: In Tails Adventure, he uses a hammer similar to Amy's. Or, rather, the other way around, as his hammer appeared before Amy's.
• Exposition Fairy: He's this in Sonic Colors.
• The Face: He's a bit like this among Team Sonic in the games, being the most sensitive and reasonable member of the team. However, he actually talks to others less than the other two do.
• Fantastic FOX
  • Kitsune: He doesn't have the magic powers associated with Kitsune, but he has the intelligence and multiple tails.
• Flight: He can use his namesake tails to propel him upward, and when that isn't enough, there's always the Tails Tornado: later the X-Tornado.
• Fur Of Gold: Was orange-brown at first, then became lighter, but sometimes shifts between orange-yellow and plain yellow.
• Gadgeteer Genius
• Girls Have Cooties: To a mild extent. It actually helps resolve the plot almost every time it comes up.
• Good Counterpart: He has evolved into a good counterpart to Eggman (because Eggman was introduced first), seeing as Tails' Gadgeteer Genius abilities have become as prominent as Eggman's, and Tails is young, yet very mature (in some ways) while Eggman is older, yet rather immature. This is more apparent in Sonic Adventure 2, where Tails and Eggman are both "shooting" characters and control the same way.
  • It's sometimes implied that Eggman and Tails respect each other's genius in spite of all the trouble they cause each other, to the point where they sometimes devolve into a Friendly Rivalry.
• Heartwarming Orphan: Depending on the adaptation. Though he is an orphan in every continuity, except in the comics where his parents eventually do turn up, this is hardly brought to the viewer's attention in Sonic X or in any of the video games.
• Heli Critter: Uses his two fox tails to fly like a helicopter. He's probably at least a Trope Codifier.
• Humble Hero
• Image Song: "Believe in Myself"
• Innocent Prodigy: While most depictions stick solely with one extremity of his personality or the other for the most part (eg. AoStH and Sonic the Hedgehog Tails are extremely childlike and not too bright, while the games' and Sonic X counterparts are arguably the most sensible and soundly intelligent member of their respective teams), he is a rather valid example of this trope in Sonic the Hedgehog The Movie, being just as skilled in his technical know-how as his games counterpart but with the addition of being rather childish and "afwaid of lightning". He is also shown in this light in some games, and the trait appears to be gradually coming back into focus.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Most of his friends, all of his close friends, are quite a bit older than him.
• Jack of All Stats
• Japanese Pronouns: "Boku".
• Keet: Earlier media such as Sonic the Hedgehog portrayed Tails as a much more hyperactive and immature character. As modern interpretations focused on his technogeek persona more and more, this trait faded, to the point that Tails is almost the most mellow and sensible-acting character of the team. Interestingly, the OVA played an unusual mix, with his intelligent technical persona juxtaposed with extremely childlike traits.
• Kid Appeal Character
• Kid Sidekick/Kid Hero
• The Kirk: Overlapping with The Spock at times. Tails is generally the most level-headed of the three.
• The Lab Rat
• The Lancer: In AoStH, some of the newer games, and the Archie comics.
• The Leader: Tails has been portrayed as the leader of Sonic's merry band recently due to his status as The Smart Guy, especially evident in Sonic Chronicles.
• Lovable Nerd
• Meaningful Name: Miles Prower fits in with Sonic's name, refering to velocity.
• Motor Mouth: Not as much as Marine or Omochao, but often with Techno Babble.
• Mr. Fixit
• Multiple-Tailed Beast: Being based on a Kitsune, it's to be expected.
• Nice Guy: One of the most mild-mannered of the cast.
• One Fox-Kit Army: In Tails Adventure, it's seen that he can easily be one of these.
• Only Known by Their Nickname
• Only Sane Man: In Sonic Battle, at least.
• Out of Focus: This has been a problem for a lot of his fans in recent games. He's rarely made a playable character anymore.
• Ping-Pong Naivete: Has astonishing technical abilities, but often has the disposition and naïveté of a child. This lessened significantly around Sonic X and |Sonic the Hedgehog 2006, but started to trickle back in with Colors and Generations.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: 2'7" tall, 44 lbs (and look at the size of his tails and tell me that they aren't most of that), is capable of punching through rock fairly easily.
• The Pollyana
• Punny Name: Miles Prower = miles per hour.
• Ridiculously Cute Critter
• Shock and Awe: He is sometimes depicted as having lightning powers, most prominently in Sonic Heroes.
• Shorter Means Smarter: Justified in that he is much younger than most of the cast.
• Sidekick
• Single Specimen Species: Probably; if the cartoons are anything to go by, Tails is the only two-tailed fox there is.
• Sleepyhead: Starts yawning in his idle pose in the classic games (or at least in the Retry/Return screen on Sonic 4: Episode II's Time Attack Mode) and in Sonic Adventure, and falls asleep in Sonic Advance 2's.
• The Smart Guy
• Super Mode: Super Tails, which has only appeared in Sonic 3 and Knuckles so far. Unlike the rest of the characters, he needs the Super Emeralds rather than the Chaos Emeralds to achieve super form. According to Word of God, this is due to his inexperience and young age. He even has four Super Flickies to attack enemies for him. In the Archie Comics, he can use the normal Chaos Emeralds to become Turbo Tails.
• Super Speed: His ability to move fast enough to keep up with Sonic while in flight impressed him enough that he took Tails as his sidekick. He's still one of the fastest characters in the series even without flying, and seems able to keep up with Sonic (although for a MUCH shorter amount of time) while running.
• Super Strong Child: Not as much as Knuckles, but he's significantly strong for his age. In Tails Adventure, he can punch through rock, and he can carry almost four times his weight whithout hindering his flight. In the Olympic games, he can bodycheck/tackle big characters like Bowser without difficulty.
• Tagalong Kid: Especially in SatAM, though he doesn't get to tagalong that often.
• Taking the Bullet: Does this a few times - He's back up within a few seconds.
• Tareme Eyes: Has the softest, droopiest eye shape of the cast—even more so than Cream.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Mint candy.
• Voice for The Voiceless: His classic self acts as this for Classic Sonic in Sonic Generations.
• Walking the Earth: He seems to spend time either doing this with Sonic, or in one of his multiple workshops.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He's afraid of lightning in some versions, especially in the OVA.
• Wise Beyond His Years: An eight-year-old who is able to fly a plane and make some cool gadgets. Also, he's often the mediator between Sonic's friends.

Knuckles the Echidna

"I'll probably be on this floating island forever, guarding the Master Emerald again. I may not know the whole story behind this, but perhaps it's better that way. I'm at peace once more."

Debut: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Voiced by: Yasunori Matsumoto (Japanese, OVA), Nobutoshi Canna (Japanese, 1998-present), Bill Wise (English, STH: The Movie), Ian James Corlett (English, Sonic Underground), Michael McGaharn (English, 1999), Ryan Drummond (English, 2000), Scott Dreier (English, 2001-2004), Dan Green (English, Sonic X, 2005-2010), Travis Willingham (English, 2010-present)^[when?]

A red echidna from Angel Island, and guardian of the Master Emerald. He was first introduced as an antagonist in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, having been told by Eggman that Sonic and Tails intended to steal the Master Emerald. Halfway through the game, Eggman betrays Knuckles and steals the Master Emerald himself, which forced Knuckles to accept Sonic & Tails help in getting it back. Afterward, Knuckles would then be one of the duo's chief allies in fighting Eggman, but his guardian duties keep him out of the action most of the time. Not much of his past was known, but that changed with Sonic Adventure which fleshed out his background quite a bit. Turns out, Knuckles is the last of the echidnas after they were wiped out for attempting to use the Emeralds and desecrating the shrine (and injuring numerous Chao) which the angered the at the time guardian Chaos. Afterward, the piece of the shrine became Angel Island.

If Sonic is like the wind, then Knuckles is like the mountain; stern and unmovable. So naturally, they tend to butt heads, but do get along occasionally. Because of spending most of his life on a secluded island, he naturally prefers to be by himself and has quite the wild temper. However, despite these traits he's a nice guy, and more than willing to abandon his post to help out his friends.

• Adorkable: Despite his tough exterior, he can be adorably awkward at times, especially around girls.
• Almost Kiss: Shares one with Rouge after he saves her from falling in the lava in Sonic Adventure 2.
• Arrogant Kung Fu Guy: Has some shades of this.
• The Artifact: Because the Master Emerald and the Floating Island have ceased to be very important in the Sonic series since Sonic Adventure, Knuckles is probably only kept around these days because of his fans and being billed as a Friendly Rival.
• Badass: One of the best examples in the series.
  • Badass Arm-Fold: Especially in Sonic X, where he does it more often.
  • Badass Baritone: And a sexy one at that! In both versions of his voice.
• Bare-Fisted Monk: Well, his name is Knuckles…
• Berserk Button: Don't make fun of him. Don't lie to him, and especially don't steal the Master Emerald.
• The Big Guy
• Butt Monkey: Many later incarnations are more bumbling in tone.
• Breakout Character: He was this during the 90s, especially since he had his own comic book, upgraded into the main cast with Sonic and Tails, and had his own video game.
• Can't Spit It Out: Word of God states that Knuckles does have feelings for Rouge, but he's too shy to tell her.
• Cartoony Tail: Knuckle's tail looks like it had been broken at one point, but in-universe echidnas usually have tails like that.
• Characterization Marches On: Knuckles was far less serious in his original appearance than he is just about everywhere else. Following Sonic Heroes, his character is much more jovial and comical in tone, and of course, he's always smug about getting the upper hand over Sonic.
• The Comically Serious: Most evident in Sonic X.
• Cool Shades: In the OVA. Also gets a pair in Sonic Adventure 2.
• Dating Batwoman: His relationship with Rouge in Sonic Adventure 2, complete with her nearly-Tsundere reactions towards him and an Almost Kiss when he saves her life (it doesn't help that "Kick The Rock!", the BGM for Wild Canyon—his first stage, right after he met Rouge—is a radar-jamming ballad of Intercourse with You). Later games have scaled back their romantic tension, reducing it to simple animosity.
• Defeat Equals Friendship: This is how he earns Rouge's respect.
• Determinator
• Dishing Out Dirt: Some of his moves in Sonic Battle and Sonic Heroes.
• Dreadlock Rasta: Word of God says his quills are styled in dreadlocks. Although he is not a Rastafarian, Knuckles is in some media known to be a somewhat spiritual character.
  • From the Dreamcast games and beyond, we see that other echidnas have this, making it part of Knuckles' culture, and not a fashion choice.
• Dumb Muscle: Not to Big the Cat's level, but he has been portrayed this way due to being tricked by Eggman from time to time and never learning. True to this character type, he also prefers force to diplomatic solutions.
• Fiery Red Fur
• Foil: Rouge. They're both treasure hunters, but his Hot-Blooded personality contrasts with her sarcastic personality. He was also one to Sonic as Sonic's adventurous, friendly and carefree nature conflicted with his stubborn, and antisocial behavior.
• Friendless Background
• Friendly Rival: He is describe in Sonic Generations as The Rival who is also Sonic's friend.
• Giggling Villain: In his debut in Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Though even then, he's more like an Anti Hero than an outright villain.
• Good Old Fisticuffs: His primary fighting style.
• Grumpy Bear: Especially evident in Sonic X.
• Gullible Lemmings: Tends to fall for Eggman's lies from time to time. Some fans exaggerate this to unrealistic levels.
• Hair-Trigger Temper
• Hero Antagonist: To begin with.
• Hidden Depths: Outside, he is very tough, but inside, he is actually quite shy.
• Hot-Blooded
• Horrible Judge of Character: He trusts Eggman and thinks Sonic is the bad guy at first.
• Idiot Ball: Knuckles is usually left holding this after he is tricked by others.
• Image Song: "Unknown from M.E."
• Important Hairstyle: His hair actually allows him to glide.
• Ineffectual Loner: At first, upgraded into a friendly Rival.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: Enjoys berating and getting the upper-hand over Sonic, but deep down, is jealous of his freedom and popularity as a hero.
• Inspector Javert: His role in Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
• Japanese Pronouns: "Ore" and "Oresama".
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold
• The Juggernaut: Super (and Hyper) Knuckles. Anything that Super Sonic can't handle, he can shake off.
• The Lancer: Especially in Sonic Chronicles.
• Last of His Kind: In the game canon until Sonic Chronicles.
• Let's You and Him Fight: How his altercations with Sonic in Sonic The Hedgehog 3, Sonic Adventure and Sonic Advance 2 went.
• Married to the Job: To the point where some fans turn it Up to Eleven and literally ship him with the Master Emerald.
• Meaningful Name: He's called "Knuckles" for a reason.
• Mighty Glacier: Compared to the other characters. He's much slower than Sonic, but is also much stronger. Played straighter when competitively balanced.
• Nice Hat: He gets a bitchin' one in the OVA. Speaking of which...

Knuckles: "MY HAT'S ON FIRE, HELP!"

• Nobody Calls Me Chicken: You can get Knuckles to go along with a plan he initially disapproves of by either stroking or insulting his pride.
• "No Respect" Guy: Most modern interpretations.
• No Social Skills: Although he's become more laid-back and jovial, Knuckles has lived in isolation for most of his life, which may explain his gullibility and social naivety.
• Not Quite Flight: His dreadlocks give him the ability to glide for long distances.
• Out of Focus: More so than Tails, his appearances and instances of being a playable character have decreased a lot over the years to the point that he didn't even appear in Sonic Unleashed or Sonic Colors Wii. Even worse, there were false rumors of Knuckles being playable in the former.
• Playing with Fire: Some of his other attacks in Sonic Heroes.
• Power Fist: Has these in Sonic Adventure and its sequel. He likely discards later on as he doesn't need them anymore.
• Pride: His ego over his strength is comparable to that of Sonic's over his speed.
• Proud Warrior Race Guy
• Purple Eyes: They used to be black.
• Real Men Wear Pink: His Super and Hyper forms in Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Also lampshaded by Super Sonic in the Archie Comics.

Sonic: "Hyper Knuckles was way stronger! Or are you just afraid of being pink?"

• Redheaded Hero
• Shock and Awe: His "Thunder Arrow" Limit Break as a boss and a Battle Mode character in Sonic Adventure 2.
• The Spock: By default, though Tails serves as the group's idea man.
• Super Mode: Super Knuckles and Hyper Knuckles.
• Superpower Lottery: In Sonic Heroes and Sonic Battle.
• Super Strength: In spades.
  • Pint-Sized Powerhouse: He's one of the physically strongest characters in The Verse (if not the strongest), but only stands at a height of three feet, seven inches. In Heroes, he is notably the shortest of the "Power" characters by far.
• There Is Another: In Adventure, Secret Rings, Black Knight, and Chronicles.
• Trademark Favourite Food: Fruits, especially grapes.
• Tsurime Eyes
• Unresolved Sexual Tension / Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Rouge since Sonic Adventure 2.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Type 2 with Sonic.
• Walking the Earth: In the OVA, he is a travelling treasure hunter.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: His one fear, addressed almost exclusively in Sonic Adventure 2, is ghosts. The BGM for Pumpkin Hill, "A Ghost's Pumpkin Soup", has Knuckles proclaiming that he fears nothing, going as far as to proclaim that the ghosts are afraid of him, but he is seen to be visibly afraid when facing King Boom Boo. By Heroes, however, he seems to have overcome this, instead teasing Tails on his fear of ghosts in both Hang Castle and Mystic Mansion.

1. ↑ Ironic, since Tails is often portrayed as having a Fear of Lightning. Also, he doesn't have any elementally charged attacks in Sonic Chronicles, though he does have some that are specifically mechanical in nature.
2. ↑ Sonic could use the Light Speed Attack at any time in the Sonic Adventure games, provided that he found the Ancient Light first; even so, he had to charge it up by holding a Spin Dash for as long as possible beforehand. There are no Level-Up items in Sonic Heroes, so the Light Speed Attack is left out.
3. ↑ Sonic and The Secret Rings and Sonic and The Black Knight, specifically
4. ↑ Christmas Island