The latest Sonic movie hinted at more character cameos to come. Here are some of the most important characters in the franchise to keep track of.
Sonic's franchise has developed a vast array of characters since the first game, Sonic The Hedgehog, came to light in 1991. Each character comes complete with powerful motivations, skills, and backstories (yes, more than one backstory in many cases). These characters give Sonic games the depth, heart, and humor that makes them fun to replay.
Lately, Sonic has re-entered the spotlight due to his starring role in two new surprisingly popular and well-reviewed new movies, Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The films got off to a rocky start with a poorly animated trailer that broke the internet, but now, fans of the sarcastic hero eagerly await the film's third installment. So far, these movies loosely follow the character arcs of the original trilogy/Sonic Adventure games. With promises for more characters in future films, fans new and old may need to brush up on Sonic's roster. Here is a cast and character guide to help both the casual and the passionate fan.
Sonic races across the world and into the hearts of viewers everywhere with his witty one-liners and immeasurable speed. In some versions of the character, nothing, not even the very fabric of reality, can beat Sonic's speed. Its rumored that he could destroy the universe if Sonic reached maximum velocity. In his first outing, Sonic takes responsibility for freeing his animal friends from a strange metal prison (a staple in the original games).
As Sonic grows older, his cocky attitude matures, and he becomes more selfless. Even though Sonic's powers lead him to great success, the hero is not without his weaknesses. Sonic doesn't have patience for those who can't keep up; he even leaves his own game if made to stand still for too long (Sonic the Hedgehog 1-3). Sonic also never learned to swim, and fears water in varying degrees throughout the franchise. Somehow, these weaknesses only make Sonic more lovable, and fans love watching him overcome his personal challenges along with his greatest foes. In the films, Sonic is played by the very funny Ben Schwartz, who does great voice acting work here.
With an IQ of 300, Dr. Ivo Robotnik (later referred to as Eggman) has his pick of careers, but chooses to dabble in mad science. Robotnik constantly invents new ways to stir up trouble. His greatest creations, the botniks, run off the life force of small animals. When Robotnik detects six massive energy signatures nearby, he hopes to obtain the power to take his creations to the next level. Unfortunately for Robotnik, Sonic the hedgehog has no intentions of letting that happen (as seen in Sonic the Hedgehog).
Robotnik appears as either a bumbling buffoon or sophisticated, world-threatening villain depending on the game or series. While Sonic becomes more likable with age, Robotnik only grows more evil. Sonic always finds a way to beat Robotnik regardless of the place or time, making Sonic the Hedgehog a rather old-school 'good vs. evil' conflict. Jim Carrey made a return to film after four years in order to play Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog, with many highlighting Carrey's great performance; the sequel grossed $72 million in its opening weekend alone, the highest for any Carrey film.
The younger and less confident Miles Prower, Tails for short, first teams up with Sonic in the video game Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (making the two-player version possible). The pair works together to destroy Robotnik's Death Egg, an orbital weapons platform. Tails lacks Sonic's boldness, but makes up for it with shear determination. His full name comes from a play on words using the phrase "miles per hour."
Tails can lift Sonic off the ground for a short flight using his twin tails or the Tornado (a bi-plane Tails built himself). He provides access to areas in the games and movies that are otherwise unreachable. Besides flight capabilities, Tails is an Ace Inventor; he claims to have built a TV out of paperclips and reprogrammed a supercomputer with detergent and a toothpick. Tails' weaknesses include mint candy and lightning. In the films, Colleen O'Shaughnessey voices the character; she is the only voice actor in the Sonic the Hedgehog films to have voiced their character in the video games as well.
As the only remaining Echidna warrior, Knuckles has trained his whole life for one purpose: protecting the Master Emerald. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 introduces Knuckles shortly after a massive metal moon crashes into and destroys Angel Island. Knuckles teams up with Eggman temporarily to go up against Sonic, who caused the accident. Knuckles can shatter stone or even knock the chaos emeralds out of Sonic with just one punch. He can also climb up almost any surface using the spikes on his gloves.
Knuckles is very knowledgeable about Angel Island, but lacks people skills. As such, he hates any kind of subtlety. Knuckles usually mirrors Sonic's confident and snarky attitude, but can be portrayed as stoic or brainless depending on the game. Originally Knuckles' trademark white swoop looked like the Nike symbol, but Nike chose not to go through with the sponsorship. The great Idris Elba is a perfect vocal choice for the cocky Echidna warrior in the films.
After a particularly strong tarot reading, Amy Rose set off for Little Planet in the hopes of meeting her true love. When she meets Sonic for the first time (in the game Sonic CD), Amy immediately falls head-over-heels for him. Sonic, however, is too cool for love, and speeds off to save the day. Amy isn't very involved in her first appearance, but the character slowly evolved into a hammer-wielding heroine beloved by fans today.
Even though she can overlook many of Sonic's flaws, she can't stand being left behind when he wants to do a mission solo and has a lot of gumption and skill. While Amy hasn't been in the new Sonic the Hedgehog films, the third film's writers have hinted at a possible inclusion in the next installment.
After several iterations, Robotnik has finally created a machine that could turn the tables in his favor. After all, who better to defeat Sonic than Sonic himself? Metal Sonic contains data from every battle Robotnik and Sonic ever fought. Metal Sonic remains fiercely loyal to Robotnik, and obsessed with besting Sonic. After kidnappings Amy, Metal Sonic challenges the original Sonic to a race in order to prove his superiority. Metal Sonic appears sparingly after his debut, but remains obsessed with becoming the only and superior Sonic every time. Many have speculated that the sequel film has been setting up this character to appear in future movies.
Long ago, Chaos was the guardian of the Chao (cute little flying creatures attuned to chaos energy). After Knuckles' Clan launched an attack on Chaos (killing many Chao in the process) Chaos vows to enact revenge by destroying the world. Chaos is released from a shattered master emerald. He manifests as a water monster, but technically is a being of pure energy. He becomes stronger by absorbing Chaos Emeralds and loves nothing more than the Chao. It's unlikely that Chaos will appear in the films anytime soon.
Big was a simple fisherman until his best friend, a frog, went missing. Turns out that Froggy swallowed a Chaos Emerald, and became a central component to one of Eggman's evil plans. Big the Cat becomes less of an ally and more of comedic relief for the game players. At one point he laments that nobody would save him or Froggy if they were both in trouble at the same time. Still, he remains loyal to his best friend, and does whatever it takes to save Froggy. While many people rolled their eyes at Big the Cat and Froggy, recent plot leaks of the third Sonic the Hedgehog film suggest that they will appear.
Eggman hires Rouge the Bat after they both failed to nab the Master Emerald from Knuckles. However, Eggman didn't realize that Rouge was a spy for the Guardian Units of Nations (G.U.N), and intended to report on all of Eggman's activities. Rogue the Bat stands as the only recurring Sonic character with a formal job. Although, Rouge's job doesn't stop her from taking off nights to have some fun as a jewel thief now and then. Rouge the Bat also enjoys toying with Knuckles, much to his dismay, but her true feelings for him remain a mystery. Rouge is a fan-favorite character that many people want to see in the movies; there's even a compiled list of actresses (with a whopping 39 entries) who fans want to voice the character.
The fans' favorite antihero, Shadow emerges from the pod of a secret facility, barely remembering his own name, in Sonic Adventure 2. Despite the memory loss, Shadow can remember his friend Maria and her untimely death. Shadow knows that he must have revenge on those who killed her, so he aligns himself with the 'Eggman' until that revenge can be fulfilled. Viewers often think of Shadow as "Sonic with black fur," with his similar features, speed, and agility. If Shadow gets his hands on all seven chaos emeralds, he transforms into Super Shadow, with even greater and more dangerous powers.
Even though Shadow died shortly after his debut in the games, the fans' high demands brought the character back for both more villainy and heroics (and even his own video game). Fans are extremely excited for Shadow's appearance in the third Sonic the Hedgehog film, as he was teased in a mid-credits sequence for the sequel.
