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Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie)
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|This character exists primarily or exclusively within the Post-Super Genesis Wave continuity.
Information in this article may not be canonical to the storyline of the games or any other Sonic continuity.
|This page was either created or contains content from another article at Mobius Encyclopaedia. When rewriting sections, remember to adhere to our Manual of Style.
- For the version of this character before the Super Genesis Wave, see Sonic the Hedgehog (Pre-Super Genesis Wave).
We've been through some crazy stuff together, which means we're more qualified to take on even crazier things! We're the Freedom Fighters! We can handle anything!
— Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Universe #75
Sonic the Hedgehog is the main protagonist of the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics. He is an anthropomorphic hedgehog endowed with the power of super speed and the ability to control the Chaos Emeralds. Regarded as the hero of his world, Sonic has since early childhood stood as the primary opposition to the villainous reign of the evil Dr. Eggman and the Eggman Empire. He is the strongest and the primary agent of the New Freedom Fighters, a generation of heroes whom he inspired with his unyielding heroism and continues to be their source of strength to this day.
Sonic's speed is his ultimate weapon and he has used it to help those in need, as well as foil his enemies' plans. Although he is sometimes overconfident and assumes he can deal with things on his own, Sonic also realizes he has friends to back him up when needed. Additionally, he is willing to put his life on the line for his loved ones.
Sonic is an anthropomorphic hedgehog with blue fur that covers most of his body, peach skin that covers his arms, muzzle and torso, and emerald green eyes. He has six head quills dropping back from the back of his head, two quills protruding from his back drooping downward and a short tail that points up. He wears two light-weight, hyper friction resistant red sneakers with a white strap, cuffs and a gold buckle, and a pair of white gloves with sock-like cuffs.
The series has offered differing depictions of how Sonic appeared in his younger years. Some sources shown that he was merely a lot shorter,[1][2] whereas others have shown the young Sonic to have other physical differences, such as his fur being a lighter shade of blue and that his green eyes were previously black.[3]
Early life
Not much is known about the Speedy Hero's early life, but when Dr. Ivo Robotnik began his attempts at world domination as Dr. Eggman, he would quickly make his presence known to the omelet dictator, constantly thwarting his plans at every turn.[4][5] Sonic's heroism would be quickly known throughout the world, inspiring many heroes as a result. At some point he joined the New Freedom Fighters, a group of heroes brought together by Princess Sally who had been inspired by Sonic's heroism, and they united in their efforts to save Mobotropolis.[6]
Later adventures
After these early victories, peace returned to South Island, until Sonic's friend, Tails, was kidnapped by Dr. Eggman. In the Underground Zone, Sonic fought against Coconuts of the Super Special Sonic Search & Smash Squad and the first generation super-Badnik, Egg Antlion. After defeating them, Sonic came across the other two members of the S6 Squad, Scratch and Grounder, who pretended to use their double agent, Breezie, as a hostage, but Sonic managed to take both out. Sonic took Breezie along with him afterwards, who winded up betraying him, with Breezie revealing her betrayal to Sonic when they reached the Scrambled Egg Zone. It was here where the prototype version of Silver Sonic made its appearance and battled Sonic, but was eventually defeated.[1][2][7] Sonic eventually faced off against Eggman in the Egg Storm Chamber, where Eggman held Tails captive. However, the Naugus twins, Walter and Wendy, arrived nearby seeking revenge on both Eggman and Sonic. Eggman let Tails go free in an attempt to keep Sonic from chasing after him while Eggman fled before the twins could find him. However, he was intercepted and trapped in crystal by the twins before he could escape, and Sonic caught up with him moments later, only to be trapped in crystal himself by Wendy, and taken away by the Naugus Twins. In the end, the twins were defeated, and both Sonic and Eggman were set free.[8] Sonic however became reluctant to share the tale of Breezie's betrayal even with his closest friends.[1]
When Dr. Eggman conquered Little Planet after it appeared over Never Lake, Sonic went on a new adventure to stop him and save the small planet. On Little Planet there existed the Time Stones, which were powerful gems capable of controlling the passage of time. Eggman had his eye on these stones all along, ever since the planet appeared on the last month of the year, and so he successfully chained Little Planet down on a mountain with his face carved into the mountain set about converting the world into a giant fortress. Sonic arrived on the scene to stop Eggman from taking all the Time Stones that would allow him to manipulate time and conquer the world. It was during this adventure that Sonic met Amy Rose, who had a massive crush on Sonic. Soon after meeting, Metal Sonic swooped in and kidnapped her. Sonic eventually caught up to Metal Sonic, and the two raced against each other in Stardust Speedway Zone, with Dr. Eggman flying closely behind to attack whoever was too slow. After Sonic outraced his metallic doppelganger, Metal Sonic got struck by Dr. Eggman's laser, leaving him out of the picture for the time being as Sonic was able to rescue Amy. Eventually, Sonic successfully prevented Dr. Eggman from obtaining any Time Stones and defeated the evil doctor. Sonic and Amy landed back on their world as Little Planet orbited away in freedom.[9][10]
Eggman would not stay down easily, and eventually set out to relaunch the Death Egg from where it had crash-landed on Angel Island. He would be joined in this endeavor by Knuckles the Echidna, Guardian of the island and its source of flight, the Master Emerald. Knuckles was convinced that Sonic and Tails were trying to steal the Emerald, and he attacked Sonic and stole the Chaos Emeralds from him after the pair arrived on the island. The pair would go on to engage Eggman's forces and Knuckles in battle on several occasions, though Knuckles would eventually learn Eggman's true nature and the first Death Egg would be brought down for good.[11][12][13]
Sonic's battles with the mad doctor would continue, and he later went up against Eggman and the revived Metal Sonic who the doctor rescued from Little Planet. Sonic defeated the two in the doctor's revived Death Egg, the Death Egg Mk. II, which was built around the small planet.[14][15]
At some point in the past, Lupe the Wolf's village was invaded by Dr. Eggman's forces. Thankfully, Sonic, Sally Acorn and Antoine D'Coolette came to her aid. Sonic ran off to follow and defeat Dr. Eggman while Antoine defended Sally and Lupe. Using the terrain of the Thunder Plains Zone to his advantage, Sonic lead the evil dictator into a lightning bolt, destroying the doctor's vehicle and sending him fleeing while Sonic made a mockery of his nemesis's name.[16]
While returning home through Station Square after being gone for a while on a long journey, Sonic encountered the water-based Demi-God Chaos for the first time. Sonic defeated Chaos, but it escaped. The next day, Sonic saw Tails crash in his plane nearby and came to his aid. The fox took Sonic to see a plane he was working on, powered by a Chaos Emerald, but at the workshop Dr. Eggman appeared to take the Emerald. Though the duo beat Eggman, Eggman snatched the Chaos Emerald and revealed Chaos, whom he transformed into Chaos 1 with the Emerald and told his plan to make it invincible with all seven Chaos Emeralds and build Robotnikland upon Station Square. As Eggman fled, Sonic set out with Tails to get the Chaos Emeralds before Dr. Eggman. Sonic and Tails soon got two Emeralds, only for Eggman to briefly knock them out with sleeping gas and steal one. Unshaken, Sonic and Tails soon found another Chaos Emerald, but were attacked by Knuckles, who had been tricked by Eggman into believing that Sonic had at least one Emerald Shard. Sonic fought Knuckles until he dropped the Chaos Emeralds, which were then taken by Eggman and given to Chaos 2, transforming it into Chaos 4. After Sonic and the others beat it, Eggman escaped to his Egg Carrier. Sonic and Tails tried following him in the Tornado, but were shot down.[17][18]
Back on the ground, Sonic began looking for Tails, but met Amy who wanted him to protect a Flicky. Despite Sonic refusing, Amy followed him until they were attacked by ZERO, who soon kidnapped Amy. Sonic followed them as ZERO fled to the Egg Carrier until he reached a dead end, but then met Tails in the Tornado 2 who got them aboard the Egg Carrier. When they found Amy with Eggman however, Sonic was attacked by E-102 Gamma, but before Sonic could destroy Gamma, Amy convinced him to let the robot go. As the Egg Carrier began to crash, Sonic had Tails got Amy to safety while he followed Eggman. Eventually, Sonic found Eggman with Chaos 6 just as Big the Cat showed up to save his friend Froggy, who was trapped inside Chaos. After saving Froggy, Sonic defeated Chaos 6, but as Eggman escaped, Knuckles showed up, whom Sonic left Chaos to while he followed Eggman. On the way, Sonic found an ancient temple with a mural depicting a monster on the inside and a mysterious light which took him back in time to see the Altar of the Emeralds in ruins and Tikal trying to stop a catastrophe. Back in the present, Sonic found Eggman and beat him for good before reuniting with Tails again.While trying to rest, Sonic had to head out when Tails reported that Angel Island had fallen. There, they found both Knuckles and Eggman, and learned that Chaos was still alive, had rebelled against Eggman to destroy the world, and possessed six Chaos Emeralds. As they were heading out to get the last Emerald before Chaos, Sonic was drawn into the past again, where he saw the Knuckles Clan's attack on the altar and Tikal sealing herself and Chaos inside the Master Emerald. Back in the present, Sonic and Tails found the Chaos Emerald in the Tornado 2, but lost it to Chaos, who became Perfect Chaos and attacked Station Square. As Perfect Chaos destroyed the Egg Carrier 2, Tikal came to Sonic to explain that Chaos was blinded by wrath. After Perfect Chaos released the drained Chaos Emeralds, Tikal wanted to seal Chaos again, but Sonic said it would not work as Chaos would still be full of rage. Sonic's friends then came with the Chaos Emeralds, claiming that he could still use their positive energy. Transforming into Super Sonic, Sonic defeated Perfect Chaos while neutralizing its anger. As Chaos and Tikal departed, Sonic noticed Eggman making his escape and decided to head off himself for his next adventure.[11][17]
Another adventure would see Sonic gain a new rival in the form of Shadow the Hedgehog. Sonic had to prove his innocence since Shadow was mistaken for him, and eventually Sonic and his friends made their way to Space Colony ARK, where Sonic and Shadow teamed up to stop the Biolizard.[19] Sonic would later cross paths with Shadow again when Tails, Knuckles, and he joined forces to form Team Sonic. This group would battle Shadow's Team Dark and then join forces with them, Team Chaotix, and Team Rose to battle Neo Metal Sonic and his transformed state, Metal Overlord.[11][20] Sonic would continue to make new friends on his adventures, such as the powerful robot Emerl, who was later destroyed and rebuilt into Gemerl by Eggman.[21][22] He would also befriend Cream the Rabbit and Cheese while helping them save Cream's mother Vanilla.[23]
When the Black Arms descended on Sonic's World, Sonic worked with most of his friends and G.U.N.'s forces to repel their invasion of the planet. Eventually, Sonic and his friends met up with Shadow (whom they had encountered during this crisis) on the Black Comet, as Shadow was about to hand the seven Chaos Emeralds he had gathered to Black Doom, the leader of the Black Arms. Sonic and the others told Shadow to stop though. It was then revealed that Black Doom wished to harvest humans as food. Taking the Emeralds, Black Doom used Chaos Control to warp the Black Comet down to Sonic's World. Black Doom then explained that he helped Professor Gerald create Shadow from his blood in return for the Chaos Emeralds, which were needed to bring the comet down to the surface. Black Doom then paralyzed Sonic and his allies with a special gas and left them to be devoured by his offspring. However, Shadow broke through the paralysis and chased after Black Doom. Eventually, Sonic saw Shadow kill Black Doom, who had transformed into Devil Doom, as Super Shadow and take the Black Comet back into space where it was destroyed with the Eclipse Cannon, stopping the invasion.[24]
Future adventures saw Sonic team up with the otherworldly princess Blaze the Cat to battle Dr. Eggman Nega,[25] and later meet Marine the Raccoon and help her and Blaze battle Nega's pirates led by Captain Whisker.[26] He would also be caught up in Eggman's schemes to harness the power of a monstrous creature in an aborted timeline that saw him meet Silver the Hedgehog while battling the evil of Solaris.[27] Sonic would go on and face new foes, such as the Babylon Rogues and their leader-yet another speedy rival-Jet the Hawk.[28][29][30] He would again face Dr. Nega and meet Silver-a first for both of them due to alterations to time-when the time traveling Hedgehog came back in time to try and stop Nega's plans.[31][32] Another adventure with Silver saw Sonic and Tails attempting to save the alien Wisp from Eggman's clutches.[33][34]
At some point before Eggman found the Time Eater, the doctor unleashed the first Genesis Wave, resulting in a major change. Sonic found himself in Green Hill Zone, unable to quite remember what he was doing, but then remembered he was investigating the disappearance of animals. After destroying some Badniks, he eventually came across and destroyed a prison pod that held several trapped animals within. After defeating Snively, he opened another prison pod, releasing even more trapped animals—including Sally Acorn and her friends, "Boomer Walrus" and "Antoine DePardieu." She explained to him they were investigating the kidnappings and recent earthquakes which they thought to be the work of someone called Dr. Eggman, adding that they could use Sonic's help. Sonic was reluctant but changed his mind when Sally knew a quick way to find Dr. Eggman. They traveled through the Marble Zone, finding that things seemed oddly familiar at times. Eventually, they reprogrammed one of Eggman's Buzzbombers to help them; using a willing Flicky as a temporary power source. After fighting more Badniks and escaping a magma flow, Sonic and the Flicky-powered robot ran off ahead, confronting Dr. Eggman himself, who retreated after a quick battle. Sonic then followed the group to an underground passage Sally believed would lead to Eggman's lair, and said being with them seemed right.[35]
Traveling through Labyrinth Zone, Sonic became jealous when he saw Antoine and Sally talk to each other in a romantic way, but was scared when they had to swim to go any further. Sally assured Sonic it would be fine but they were soon attacked by Orbinauts. and Sonic made a spindash through a nearby wall to get them out quickly. They slid down some sort of pipe, and had to jump to a platform to avoid falling to their deaths, except that Sonic missed Antoine's hand when an earthquake hit, and the latter fell into the dark. Remorseful, Sonic apologized to the others, but they believed Antoine was somehow still alright. Fighting their way through more Badniks and traps, they finally arrived in the Scrap Brain Zone. Sonic was electrified by a trap, while Boomer almost fell into a pit, but Sonic and Sally helped him up, and they soon confronted Eggman in some elevator shafts. He trapped Sonic in a force field again, and began to attack the hedgehog with electric balls but was soon washed by the hydraulics system, with Antoine falling in his arms. Sonic then used the distraction to break Eggman's pipe, whereupon he attempted to flee in his Egg Mobile, but a spindash from Sonic made him fall into a pit below. When Sally said that they won, Sonic replied that he felt like it was not over.[36]
Sonic brought the group back to Emerald Hill Zone and introduced them to Tails, and after a big earthquake, the group moved on to shut down the rest of Eggman's bases. In the Chemical Plant Zone, Sonic raced Tails to find the exit, and the group eventually became stuck in a shaft filling with Mega Muck. Sonic opened a door at the top and went back down to save Sally, enjoying with her a brief romantic moment. After the danger was over, Sonic had a clouded flashback to a time where Sally was in mortal peril, prompting him to go directly to Eggman alone, and he and Tails left the group. As they flew over the Metropolis Zone on the Tornado, Sonic grabbed a radio, telling Tails it was better if they handle things themselves. With this, Sonic jumped off and into the industrial wasteland to find Eggman.[37]
Inside, Sonic fought his way through a horde of Badniks, and began to wish he still had some friendly company with him. Eventually he found Eggman in his Egg Mobile, and a taunt from the doctor caused a memory reaction in Sonic, who stated that this fight between them had gone way longer then just a few days. Eggman, annoyed that Sonic was regaining his memory, then attacked him with his decoy replicas. During the fight, all the power in the Metropolis Zone cut off, thanks to the Freedom Fighters shutting down the Oil Ocean Zone. Eggman then fled to his Death Egg and Sonic gave pursuit, calling Tails via radio to pick him up. Doing this with dramatic timing, the duo flew off in the sky to find a giant flying fortress. Sonic noted the ship was a decoy though, seeing a space shuttle that just emerged, and to Tails' horror, he jumped from the plane and grabbed the shuttle.[38]
Once onboard the Death Egg, Sonic saw through a window that the whole world was falling apart. Eggman confirmed this, adding that robotizing the whole planet with the Death Egg would "cement" the dimensional breaches and make everything his "robotic slave" . Sonic was suddenly flooded with memories of past encounters with Eggman and attacked the doctor, only to be overwhelmed by his Egg Destroyer Battlesuit. Sonic was soon thrown down by the explosion of the shuttle, and Eggman prepared to finish him off, but not before telling him the station was powered by all the Chaos Emeralds. Seeing a broken power line, Sonic grabbed it, and used it to transform into Super Sonic. With his new power, Sonic easily dispatched Eggman's attacks, enraging the doctor. When Snively yelled at Eggman that the planet was way beyond saving, Super Sonic smashed the battle suit into a wall and grabbed some power lines to get all the Chaos power possible to use Chaos Control and reset everything to normal. With this done, Sonic said to Sally that he would see her on the other side while the world washed away in white...[38]
Prelude to Worlds Collide
At one point, Sonic had to with a younger version of himself to battle two versions of Eggman and the evil Time Eater. Though the Sonics prevailed with the defeat of the Time Eater, it unknowingly let to Eggman's meeting with Dr. Wily.[39][40]
A little while later, Sonic returned to Mobotropolis with Tails to find the city under attack by the transformed Tails Doll. The pair were about to combat the monster, when suddenly the world was enveloped by the newest Genesis Wave.[33]
Worlds Collide
- Note: Due to the Genesis Wave, Sonic's history from this point were changed to be nearly identical to that of his game counterpart's.
Sonic once again found himself running through the Green Hill Zone when he felt a sudden sense of deja vu, similar to what he had felt there previously. He shook off this feeling and focused on the task at hand: finding his missing friends. Earlier on, he'd gone to Tails' workshop where the young fox should've been getting ready to set off on a journey through the Mystic Ruins with him, only to find that his best buddy was nowhere to be seen, his bag of supplies spilled out across the floor. Worried about his friend, Sonic then flew the Tornado to Angel Island to get Knuckles to help him search for the young fox, but instead was surprised to find that the Guardian of the Master Emerald was not at his post. Finally, Sonic headed over to Amy's house, with the intention of asking for her help (noting that she'd be good at finding them as she seems always able to track Sonic down easily), but sure enough, the pink hedgehog had also vanished. Realizing that something bad had happened, he approached the Chaotix for help, asking them to join the search.[41]
Sonic was briefly joined in his search by Silver the Hedgehog, who informs him that he felt a disturbance in space-time that he had traced back to this point. Sonic questions whether Silver had, like him, acted upon a gut feeling that something was wrong, much to Silver's surprise. The two hedgehogs both come to the conclusion that Dr. Eggman is most likely the cause of whatever is wrong, moments before Silver is shot down by a mysterious blue-armored boy wearing a purple scarf in front of Sonic's very eyes. Sonic gave chase after the mystery assailant, remarking that he should've shot him while he had the chance. After a long chase, the armored boy quickly ducked out of sight at the very moment Mega Man was approaching their location, himself chasing Metal Sonic. Mistaking the identical Mega Man with the boy he'd been chasing, Sonic strikes the boy-robot with a spindash as Metal Sonic and the boy disappear from sight. After cheering that he'd knocked the scarf right off of him, Mega Man, in turn mistaking Sonic for the strange blue blur he'd been chasing, proceeded to shoot at Sonic with his Mega Buster Cannon, sparking a fierce brawl between the two.[41]
As their fight continued, Sonic bragged about having taken down hundreds of robots in the past; when the fight appeared to be a stalemate, Sonic decided to use the surroundings to his advantage, running through Green Hill Zone's loops to boost into Mega Man and then bounce around him in the springs before knocking him off his feet, only to be punched back by the Blue Bomber. Suddenly, a Warp Ring portal appeared behind the heroic robot, created by Mega Man's father, Dr. Light; this distracted Mega Man long enough for Sonic to disable his Mega Buster. Mega Man then tricked Sonic into following him through the portal and they (along with Tails Man) arrived back in Mega City. Sonic wondered if he was in a place he knew on his planet, though quickly guessed that such was not the case, as Mega Man called his friends Tango, Eddie, Beat and Rush to his aid.[42]
The two heroes continued their fight, Mega Man repairing his Buster and taking to the air against Sonic with Beat and Rush's aid. Tango's use of a spin dash-esque attack only riled Sonic further. However, as the battle began to endanger civilians, Mega Man again attempted to reason with Sonic, only to be confused as Sonic accused him for Copybot's crimes. As they argued, Tails Man attacked them on Eggman's and Wily's orders. This forced them to put aside their feud to protect nearby civilians and engage the Roboticized Master. Unexpectedly, their combined attacks-Sonic Spin-Dash and Mega Man's charged shot-immobilized the Robian, and Mega Man's weapon copying powers restored Tails to normal. Comparing notes, the two heroes quickly realized the truth: that their respective nemeses Eggman and Dr. Wily had joined forces, and that each had been framed-Sonic by Metal Sonic and Mega Man by Copybot. With that issue settled, Sonic suggested they meet with Mega Man's creator, Dr. Light, and they teleported to Light Labs. Unfortunately, they arrived just in time to see the doctor being kidnapped by Metal Sonic and his new partner, Bass. Quickly resolving that they had to save the doctor and Sonic's other missing friends, the pair and Tails teamed up with Mega Man, Rush, and Mega Man's "brother" Proto Man. With Tails' genius at work, they managed to create a portal that allowed them to enter the doctors' Skull Egg Zone.[43]
Making their way deeper into the strange zone, which combined elements from both their worlds, the heroes soon ran into opposition: Copybot, backed by the Genesis Unit. The group's name struck a chord in Sonic, but he had little time to think on it as the trio of Robot Masters attacked. The heroes split up, with Sonic taking on the monkey-like Buster Rod G, who brought back vague memories of fighting Monkey Khan. Sonic was quick to insult the robot. The fight was quickly ended thanks to Mega Man's new weapon-acquired from Tails Man-and the group's team effort. Mega Man and Proto Man then noted the strangeness of the Copybot and Genesis Unit returning, as intelligent robots from their world were incredibly complex and nearly impossible to rebuild. Moving on, the heroes encountered further strange activity, as well as a new threat: a team of eight Roboticized Masters.[44] After a brief battle, Proto Man left and drew most of the group off, leaving Sonic and the others to deal with Vector Man, Espio Man, and Charmy Man. Remembering their defeat of Tails Man, the remaining heroes resolved upon a strategy: Tails would modify the Mega Buster to emulate Sonic's Spin-Dash, and Sonic would run interference. The tactic worked, and the three detectives were soon restored to normal.[45]
Sonic's group continued their journey, but soon ran into another obstacle: the Roboticized Shadow, known as Shadow Man, and his Robot Master ninja partner, also known as Shadow Man. After some confusion caused by the shared name, the heroes engaged the two villains, and managed to restore Shadow to normal only to have him destroy Shadow Man, who had been frozen by the weapon Mega Man had acquired from Shadow. When offered a chance to join their quest or help find Proto Man, Shadow declined both and disappeared using Chaos Control. The warping of space-time rekindled lost memories for the heroes, making Sonic remember that Eggman had altered reality before, and making him dread the possible effects of a second Genesis Wave. Determined to undo the damage that had been done, the heroes pressed on only to meet Silver Man and Blaze Woman. Sonic and Tails engaged the fire-wielding robot, but fortunately were quickly relieved by a restored Silver and Mega Man. With his two friends deciding to rest and regain their strength for the coming battle, Sonic and the others continued forward to find the remaining Masters.[46] Soon afterwards, they met the pair-Rose Woman and Knuckles Man-who had been ordered to destroy them at all costs, including self-destruction. Fortunately, they were able to return the two to normal, and after ribbing Knuckles and being tackle-hugged by Amy, Sonic laid out their game plan. Tails and Knuckles left to join Proto Man and the Chaotix, Mega Man and Rush departed to collect Silver and Blaze, and Sonic and Amy took off to find Shadow.[47]
With their allies assembled-and joined by Shadow's fellow Team Dark member E-123 Omega-the heroes massed at the Wily Egg, where they were confronted by a massive army of Robot Masters, much to Sonic's delight. Sonic threw himself into the battle and continued to provide assistance to his allies while encouraging an anxious Mega Man about their efforts to rescue his father. He was soon targeted by a squadron of high speed Robot Masters-Slash Man, Charge Man, Metal Man, Turbo Man, and Nitro Man-but found his most entertaining opponent in Quick Man. After tripping up the Robot Master, Sonic helped Mega Man restore Rouge Woman-the newest Roboticized Master-to normal before going on a fighting spree across the battlefield. At Shadow and Proto Man's suggestion, however, Sonic broke off from the fight with Tails, Mega Man, and Rush to board the Wily Egg. Just as they were heading to board the flying fortress, however, they spotted Dr. Light plummeting towards certain death from its underside.[48]
Shadow was able to use Chaos Control to save Dr. Light and teleported him onto the battlefield to help the others. Tails was able to hack into the systems and teleported them into the Wily Egg. Once inside, Sonic and Mega Man bantered about the Wily Egg's interior defenses, which were inspired by features from both Death Egg and a typical Wily Castle. At that moment, they ran into the Mega Man Killers. As the two sides engaged, one Mega Man Killer, Punk, used a spin dash-like move to combat Sonic, much to the hedgehog's annoyance. Eventually, Sonic tricked Punk into crashing into his own teammate, Enker. He and Tails then attacked Ballade, but while Sonic managed to land a hit, Tails was hit at point-blank range by one of Ballade's bombs. With Tails too badly hurt to go on, Sonic and Mega Man had Rush carry him out of the Wily Egg. The blue heroes continued further into the Wily Egg, with Mega Man trying to assure Sonic that Tails would be alright. They soon ran into further resistance in the form of the Chaos Devil, which quickly overwhelmed them. Luckily, Duo arrived and saved them. With Duo keeping the Chaos Devil busy, the blue heroes made the last leg of their trek through the Wily Egg, stopping at a Wily/Eggman-themed boss door. On the other side of said door, the power seemed to go out, making Sonic wonder if they had already won. Just then, however, he and Mega Man were ambushed by Bass, Metal Sonic, and Treble.[49]
Sonic immediately engaged Metal Sonic while Mega Man fought Bass and Treble. Reaching a stalemate with their dark rivals, the blue heroes, realizing they were only being stalled to buy the doctors time, decided to try the old "mix-and-match" strategy of switching opponents. However, this plan almost immediately backfired; Metal Sonic disoriented Mega Man with his speed, while Bass fired too rapidly for Sonic to get in the mid-battle banter he favored. The two then decided to gang up on their rivals one at a time, with Mega Man using all of the abilities he gained from the Roboticized Masters while Sonic kept up the pressure. Bass was the first to go down, followed by Treble, and then Metal Sonic.[50]
Soon after this, Eggman and Wily burst into the room in their powerful new battle mech, the Egg-Wily Machine-X. Fatigued from the fight with their rivals, Sonic and Mega Man were quickly beaten and knocked unconscious. They later awakened to find themselves imprisoned in containment pods within the heart of the Wily Egg, face-to-face with the evil doctors and the gathered Chaos Emeralds. It was then that Eggman and Wily horrified the blue heroes with the truth of their master plan: to unleash a "Super Genesis Wave" to not only completely remake their universes in their image, but also erase their enemies from existence.[50] As Mega Man tried to reason with Wily, Sonic, struggling to free himself from his prison, inquired to Eggman if he was worried about reality breaking due to his and Wily's tampering with Space-Time.[51]
At this point, all seemed hopeless. A turning point came, however, when Knuckles, Proto Man, Dr. Light, and Rush broke into the Wily Egg. There, the red heroes attacked Eggman and Wily while Dr. Light freed Sonic and Mega Man. At Light's suggestion, Mega Man fused with Rush to don the Super Adaptor. Inspired by the word "super" Sonic had Mega Man hoist both of them up to the Genesis Reactor, where the Chaos Emeralds were. Then, as the Super Genesis Wave activated, the blue heroes absorbed the Emeralds' power to become Super Sonic and Super Armor Mega Man.[51]
After preventing the evil doctors from killing Knuckles and Proto Man, Mega Man and Sonic instructed them to evacuate Dr. Light and have Duo fall back. A huge battle ensued between the two sides, ending with Sonic and Mega Man emerging victorious. By then, the Super Genesis Wave was already starting to reshape all reality, so Sonic taught Mega Man how to use Chaos Control to restore their worlds to normal. However, Eggman, unwilling to accept defeat, attacked Sonic while his Chaos Control was still charging. After getting Mega Man to restore Earth 20XX, Sonic turned his attention to restoring his own world, which proved to be easier said than done as he struggled to focus Chaos Control under Eggman's assault. Realizing it was all or nothing now, Sonic used Chaos Control. Due to Eggman's interference, however, it was clear something awful was now about to happen to their world. As Sonic wondered what Eggman had done, white light consumed them both...[51]
Countdown to Chaos
- Note: From the readers point of view, this picks up from where Sonic's original timeline ended.
Sonic returned after the Super Genesis Wave, but suddenly had a completely different set of memories: including the recollection that they had just been attempting to rescue Mecha Sally at the Northern Tundra with Silver and Team Fighters, seconds before being pulled into an adventure where he teamed up with a hero from another world. Noting the absence of both Amy and Silver, he was looked over by a concerned Tails, who reminded him that they were there to rescue King Acorn. Sonic quickly guessed at Walter Naugus' involvement, and the depowered sorcerer himself fled the city, completely ignoring his enemies. During the course of the battle with Tails Doll, Tails' memories of the unaltered reality returned, and the two swiftly acted to defeat the monster. As they headed for Castle Acorn, Sonic's memories of this new reality came to him, including the circumstances of Dr. Robotnik's initial meeting with King Acorn. Upon freeing their monarch, the pair were surprised to find that he had become healthy and cheerful, which Sonic noted as one positive change to their world. After discussing the matter with Nicole, Sonic and Tails determined that their best course would be to locate the other Freedom Fighters.[33]
Sonic and Tails soon found themselves the Mystic Ruins, searching for Rotor and finding Big the Cat instead. Fortunately, Big knew where their missing friend was located, and led them to the general area, which Sonic recognized as the Final Egg. Realizing that he recognized the area from his memories of the new timeline, Sonic noted that it was becoming harder to distinguish between the two. The heroes' pondering was put on hold as they realized that the Sky Patrol, Rotor's location and the Freedom Fighters' new base, was under attack by Spinners. Sonic and his two companions engaged the enemy alongside Rotor, defeating the lesser robots and a new Silver Sonic who appeared to join them. Afterwards, Sonic and Tails reunited with Rotor, both of them nothing with surprise the Walrus' vitality given his previous injuries and girth in the original timeline. Knowing that it was the only real way to help their friend realize what had taken place, Sonic and Tails handed him Nicole, granted Rotor his own memories of the other reality. Rotor reacted poorly, but managed to inform the pair that Sally and Bunnie were on deep cover missions, Antoine was with Uncle Chuck in Knothole, and Amy had disappeared mysteriously.[52]
Making their way to Knothole in the Wood Zone, Sonic and Tails found Antoine and Chuck, whom they were both happy to see given all the changes to reality and Antoine's previous condition. They were also stunned to encounter a new, and yet familiar face: Ben Muttski, Sonic's Mobini dog of the old reality turned Mobian. At Tails' urging, they refrained from restoring Chuck's memories, choosing instead to restore Antoine's. After telling him what little they could of Bunnie's whereabouts, the pair were suddenly shaken-quite literally-as a powerful tremor rocked the area. A massive fissure appeared, and both Chuck and Muttski fell in. The Freedom Fighters managed to save them, but in the process, Sonic inhaled some Dark Gaia Energy that the pair had extracted from below the surface for study. After displaying a brief, feral reaction, Sonic claimed to be fine, refuting Chuck's insistence that he see a doctor. Antoine reluctantly decided to escort the scientists to Spagonia, entrusting Sonic and Tails with the task of finding Bunnie and restoring her memories.[53]
The pair made their way to the Metropolis Zone, where they found Bunnie disguised as a member of the Egg Army. After being reminded that she was still partially roboticized, they decided to wait until they could reunite with the others before giving her alternate memories. Working together, they helped her complete her mission: acquiring a shield generator for the Sky Patrol from Eggman's Death Egg Mark 3 project. Returning to the Sky Patrol, they found Antoine waiting, and after restoring Bunnie's memories left the distraught Rabbot to be comforted by her husband. Still concerned over Amy's absence, Sonic decided to focus on locating Sally next. The heroes also had to deal with another dilemma: Nicole's diminishing reserves of Genesis Wave energy meant that she might only be able to restore one more set of memories.[54]
A return trip to Mobotropolis found Sonic arriving just in time to save Sally, Amy, Cream, and the Honor Guard from the attacking Metal Sonic. After working with Tails to deal with his metal doppelganger, Sonic happily reunited with his friends, though his comments about the alternate timeline and the Genesis Wave left the pair confused. Following a brief reunion with her father, Sonic took Sally and the girls back to the Sky Patrol, where they prepared to restore Sally and Amy's memories. Like the other Freedom Fighters before them, the two-particularly Sally-were deeply shaken by their newly regained memories. Unfortunately, they would have little time to mull the experience over, as Nicole finally computed the horrific consequences of the Super Genesis Wave's improper reversal. Not only had the entire multiverse imploded, but the damage caused the entire planet to break into large fragments. The Shattered World Crisis had begun.[55]
The Shattered World Crisis: Act 1
Damage Control and the Chase
The Freedom Fighters quickly traveled to Station Square in order to provide relief to victims of the Shattered World Crisis. Splitting into two teams coordinated by Sally, Cream, and NICOLE from the Sky Patrol, they set out to rescue as many of the civilians as they could. Despite their valiant efforts, the task proved overwhelming, and Sonic began to exhibit further signs of transformation as the stress got to him. Fortunately, Captain Amanda Tower and the Letter of Gabriel arrived with G.U.N. support forces to take over the rescue effort. However, the Freedom Fighters were soon informed of another piece of bad news: Muttski called in from Spagonia University to inform them that Chuck and his colleague Professor Picke had been abducted by Eggman's forces.[56]
Sonic and the Freedom Fighters managed to locate the captured scientists aboard an Bullet Train heading for the Rail Canyon Zone. Intercepting it in Soleanna Forest Zone, the group split into two teams to board the train and rescue Chuck and Pickle. Sonic's team were tasked with locating the missing captives, and initiated a car-by-car search. However, the other group had the misfortune of alerting E-106 Eta to their presence, and the robot's rampage made the train accelerating uncontrollably. After fighting a number of Badniks, Sonic located his uncle and the professor, only for Eta to arrive in the car ready for a fight.[57] The battle with the super Badnik proved more challenging than Sonic expected, and the stress of the moment caused him to exhibit further signs of transformation. Fortunately, Amy arrived just in time to subdue Eta, and the heroes were able to escape the train with the two scientists. A subsequent debriefing made the Freedom Fighters aware of the existence of Dark Gaia and the effects of its essence, which Sonic-despite his efforts to appear nonchalant-was troubled by given his previous exposure to it. The Freedom Fighters were thus left with a new quest: to locate the missing Gaia Temples and Chaos Emeralds in order to restore the shattered planet.[11]
Waves of Change
The search took Sonic, Amy, and Rotor to a seemingly uninhabited coastline, where they heard a mysterious voice coming from underground. Soon enough, Razor the Shark arrived to lead them to the Eusebes Shrine, where they were introduced to the voice's owner: Coral the Betta. The trio spent some time exploring the shrine and its adjacent Chao Garden, and getting to know Razor, Coral, and Coral's apprentice Pearly the Manta Ray better. Unfortunately, the pleasant visit was interrupted by the arrival of Captain Striker and the City Guard, who demanded to know what the surface dwellers were doing in the sacred shrine.[10] After a heated discussion, Sonic and Amy volunteered to accompany Coral and the guard in appearing before King Puff and Queen Angelica, rulers of the city of Meropis. Sonic attempted to explain that the recent problems that had befallen the city were caused by Eggman shattering the planet, but the king and queen refused to believe him. They thus stripped Coral of her title, and informed the Freedom Fighters that they were required to leave the city the following day. Sonic and Rotor briefly argued over helping Coral and her friends, but Amy diffused the situation and suggested that they take them aboard the Sky Patrol. Unfortunately, Coral was unable to maintain the city's mystical shield due to the stresses put on her, and it collapsed, allowing city and shrine to be swarmed by Dark Gaia Creatures.[58]
Sonic, his teammates, and Razor managed to fight off the first wave to attack the shrine, and Sonic and Rotor left to aid the city's defenders and see about getting help for the shrine. Sonic grabbed a pair of Air Charms to allow the pair to breathe underwater, and they soon located Captain Striker. Unfortunately, he refused to send any support to the shrine while the city was under attack, and Sonic and Rotor were left to continue fighting in defense of Meropis. They soon ran into the commander of the minions, a Dark Guardian, and began to battle it. Unfortunately, they realized too late that their Air Charms were not fully charged, leaving them on the bottom of the ocean with no air to breathe.[59] Sonic began to transform again, only to be interrupted by the Dark Guardian throwing Rotor into him. Just when the pair seemed doomed, however, an unexpected ally arrived: Chaos. Creating air bubbles around the pair, Chaos attacked the Guardian with the ocean as his weapon. The battle soon ended and Coral restored the shield, and she was subsequently reinstated as priestess. Tikal provided some counsel to help the heroes on their quest, and they set out with a new supply of Power Rings for the Sky Patrol.[60]
Control and Ambushed
On their way to Soumerca in their continuing search for the Chaos Emeralds and Gaia Temples, Sonic and the others were treated to a tour of the Sky Patrol by Rotor, who also handily dispatched the attacking War Walrus Badnik Horde Commander.[61] Sonic, Sally, and Amy were then deployed to recover a Chaos Emerald, only to run into a new enemy-E-113 Xi-and old friends-Mighty and Ray. After comparing notes, the two heroes introduced Sonic's team to their mentor Moss the Sloth, who sensed the darkness that Sonic had been struggling to contain within himself. Once again doing his best to assure his friends that he had things handled, he requested that Amy use her newly learned Mystic Melody to locate the Emerald. Joined by Mighty and Ray, the trio journeyed to the nearby Soumerca Egg Army base, only to be ambushed by Egg Boss Thunderbolt, whose electrical attack proved the final push to complete Sonic's transformation into the savage Sonic the Werehog.[62]
Enraged and feral, Sonic attacked and swiftly defeated the Egg Soldiers, and would have killed Thunderbolt had Mighty not engaged him. Between the Armadillo's efforts and Amy and Sally talking him down, Sonic gained a measure of control over himself. The group then returned to Moss' hut, and the return of daylight saw Sonic returned to his normal self. However, he quickly resolved that he couldn't afford to return to the Sky Patrol until he got his new savage side under control.[63] He thus joined Mighty and Ray under Moss' tutelage, though as usual he initially found himself trying to prove his own superiority. Moss quickly deduced that the root of his problem was his need to be in control, and that mastering his Werehog form would require acceptance of his own uncontrollable nature.[64] After gaining this mastery, Sonic found himself confronted by another attack from Thunderbolt: the Flying Dynamo. However, with his new powers and the aid of Mighty and Ray, he proved triumphant, and soon returned to the Sky Patrol. Finding his teammates beaten and weary after a failed attempt to recover another Chaos Emerald, he rallied their spirits, reminding them of their previous successes. Unfortunately, even Sonic was appalled when Nicole revealed that another Chaos Emerald was in the hands of an old enemy: none other than Breezie.[65]
Champions and aftermath
After sharing the story of Breezie's betrayal-and his reasoning for not doing so beforehand-Sonic learned that he, Amy, and Tails had been accepted into Breezie's Chaos Emerald Championship as competitors, but that the other Freedom Fighters had been denied entry. Rotor proposed stealing the Emerald given the stakes, which Sonic liked the idea of, but Sally and Amy both spoke against it. After learning that Sally had also attempted to buy the Emerald from Breezie, Sonic joked with her about how her father felt about her use of the kingdom's funds in both this attempt and hiring the Chaotix to help find the Emeralds. Sonic and the rest of Team Fighters traveled to Casino Park, where they were greeted by Breezie and had the tournament rules explained. Looking to keep his Werehog form out of the public eye, Sonic insisted that his matches take place during the day, and threatened to walk out when Breezie didn't want to accommodate him. After succeeding in this, Sonic and his friends met Honey the Cat, Amy's favorite fashion designer, who was also entering the tournament. She proved sympathetic to their cause, offering to give them the Chaos Emerald in the event that she won the tournament.[1] In the first round Sonic triumphed over the human fighter Segata Sanshiro, and after briefly basking in the adulation of the crowds was informed by Amy that the sun was about to set. He quickly returned to his room and transformed, and dejectedly settled in to watch the rest of the matches on TV. The first round ended with Tails eliminated from the tournament, and Sonic was paired with Honey for the second round.[2]
Sonic takes a breather from laughing at his foes when he notices Tails pouting over his loss to Honey in the previous round. Tails explains that he's upset that people all over the world got to see him lose like a chump, but Sonic assures him that people everywhere know him as his best friend and the hero who saved Station Square. Meanwhile after Nack is declared the winner, Sonic asked Espio if he was happy to see his loss against Bean avenged. He also asked why he didn't manage to sneak Vector or Charmy into the tourney. Espio explains that he only planted Knuckles because he was in the area and it shouldn't have worked in the first place, suggesting that Breezie is aware of the sabotage and has tampered with the brackets herself. Espio also reminded Sonic that Dr. Eggman is sure to be involved and not to let his guard down. As they finish their conversation, Amy and Knuckles begin their fight. Amy gets pumped to take down Knuckles and face Sonic in the finals, but starts over-analyzing the situation and worrying about disappointing or hurting him. While she's distracted, Knuckles lands an explosive punch that sends her flying into the spectator seats. Sonic and Tails glared at Knuckles. Sonic and Tails later visited Amy in a hospital room, where she's more annoyed about her loss than hurt. Sonic takes her hand and asks if she's okay, but Amy insists that she's fine and asks Sonic to avenge her loss before swooning over her hero. Tails also requests to be avenged as Sonic heads out to start his match with Honey. Sonic and Honey meet in the ring and shake hands, ready to fight, but Honey admits that Sonic needs to win the Chaos Emerald far more than she needs to promote her brand. Sonic offhandedly mentions that they still need to put on a show for the crowd when Honey flips him over her shoulder and slams him into the ground. They have a fierce fight, dodging and countering attacks, when Honey decides to use her afterimage dodge. Recognizing the move from her fight with Tails, Sonic grabs Honey and flings her out of the ring. As she soars through the air, Honey is overcome by how cool their fight was. After Knuckles won his match against Nack, Sonic and Knuckles entered the ring for the championship match. The two heroes teased each other, joking about past fights and getting ready for a real fight.[66]
Upon learning that Knuckles had left Angel Island after being forced to shatter the Master Emerald, Sonic offered to throw the fight so that Knuckles could resume his quest. Knuckles refused and the battle continued, until Metal Sonic broke into Casino Park thanks to the Hooligans' sabotage. Putting aside their fight and teaming up with Sonic's teammates, Espio, and Honey, they managed to recover the Emerald. Knuckles and Chip were then invited to join the Freedom Fighters aboard the Sky Patrol, and agreed to do so. While traveling aboard the Speed Star, however, the pair were treated to an unexpected surprise as Sonic transformed into the Werehog. Shortly thereafter, Sally received a distress call from Gregorios in Apotos.[18] Sonic and the other Freedom Fighters subsequently traveled there in search of him, only for Sonic to run afoul of Dr. Eggman and a patrol of Egg Swats. Their battle was interrupted by the arrival of the Ifrit through a strange phenomena known as the Genesis Portal, but Sonic was able to drive it back through with help from Silver the Hedgehog.[67]
On another trip in Apotos, this time accompanied by Antoine and Chip, Sonic was forced to battle a force of Badniks. He and his companions then found Gregorios, who led them to the hidden Gaia Gate. He explained that they could use it to access the Gaia Temples without finding them through the use of the Gaia Keys, thought Sonic took occasion to mock Antoine's reactions to various bits of information he gave them. Gregorios then provided the trio with a list of names of families who protected the keys, wishing them luck as they departed. Sonic transformed into the Werehog yet again and expressed his hope that he would return to normal once the world was restored, while Chip hoped that his memories would return. They were then forced to deal with a force of Dark Gaia Creatures led by a Dark Gaia Titan, but were joined by Bunnie, Knuckles, and Amy. After defeating the creature and recovering a Master Emerald shard from it, Sonic and his friends passed on their new information to their reinforcements. The revelation of the Gaia Keys opened the way for Amy and Knuckles to leave in search of the Master Emerald shards, and Sonic found himself being teased over his reaction about Amy leaving.[68]
As Sonic attempted to recover the final unclaimed Chaos Emerald from Metal Sonic as he pursued him through the Crystal Desert Zone with Bunnie and Tails, Sonic ended up grabbing a hold of Metal Sonic and being dragged through a Genesis Portal into the Burning Ruin Zone. There he met Silver, and was distracted enough that Metal Sonic was able to punch him in the stomach and escape. After exchanging greetings, Silver revealed that he was still in the process of finding and closing the various Genesis Portals, a large number of which led to Sonic's world in his present. They then set out to stop Metal and find a portal Sonic could return home. They eventually succeeded, trapping Metal Sonic in another dimension while Sonic returned home with the Emerald.[69]
Worlds Unite
The New Freedom Fighters' search for the final Chaos Emerald led Sonic to the planetary fragment on which Green Hill Zone rested, and he wound up running underneath it. Following a reading from Tails, he located another Master Emerald shard, though Sonic bemoaned the fact that they could not detect the Chaos Emeralds more reliably. Unfortunately, Zavok, Zor and Zeena of the Deadly Six-acting under the control of Sigma-attacked him. Though he put up a fierce fight, the weight of numbers and the powers of their armor saw him defeated by the wreckage of numerous Badniks. He was then brought to Sigma's new base on the Lost Hex along with a captured Mega Man, both heroes having been captured on the suggestion of their nemeses Eggman and Dr. Wily, both of whom had been enslaved by Sigma.[70][71] The two, while unconscious, were then transformed into the latest Roboticized Masters, and Sonic Man was dispatched to Mega City to set up one of Sigma's Unity Engines.[40] The Light Robot Masters appeared to challenge him, but proved no match for the corrupted Sonic.[72][73]
As a result, Dr. Light was forced to call upon Quake Woman and some "reformed" Wily Robot Masters to try their luck. Unfortunately, they faired no better, and Break Man similarly proved to be no match for Sonic Man. As a result, he was able to complete setup of his Unity Engine, and Sonic's World and Mega Man's World began to merge together. This led to Sonic Man and M'egga Man being brought together, and the activation of another set of programming installed by Eggman and Wily.[73] The two then attacked each other, and eventually returned each other to their original forms. Recognizing his old friend, Sonic helped refresh Mega Man's memories-and those of his allies-regarding their previous alliance since they forgot due to the timeline of their world going back to it's proper position. Joined by X, Mega Man's descendent from the future, Sticks the Badger, a resident of alternate reality not-too removed from his own, and their allies, the heroes then boarded the Sky Patrol to launch their campaign against Sigma.[74]
While in flight, the heroes determined that the effects of their worlds being merged together was causing the Unified World to deteriorate. After being unexpectedly joined by Eggman, Wily, and Xander Payne, they learned that Sigma's plans involved fusing more worlds together and obtaining infinite power by draining their power. The heroes thus set course for the Lost Hex; along the way, Sonic talked to Mega Man about their previous encounter. Though he could not remember the events, Mega Man could tell that his blue friend was exaggerating the events somewhat.[75]
Sonic and his fellow heroes then joined together in facing the Deadly Six and Sigma's Mechaniloid army, with Sonic encouraging Mega Man not to take the situation so seriously. Unfortunately, he would subsequently be attacked Mega Man and their other robotic allies, who fell under the technology-manipulating powers of the Zeti.[76] Sonic and his organic teammates were thus forced to engage their friends, but due to their desire not to harm them were forced to retreat inside the Sky Patrol. Fortunately, Eggman and Wily managed to halt the villains and their unfortunate puppets using their Egg-Wily Uppity Robot Scrambler Cannon. The heroes' troubles were from over, however, as Sigma emerged from the Lost Hex in a massive new robotic body, accompanied by an army of Mavericks.[77] Weary from their previous battles, the heroes engaged the Mavericks, but were unable to stop the majority of them from scattering through Genesis Portals to attack other worlds. However, they were saved when Sticks returned from a trip to the World of Street Fighter with some of that world's heroes, though Guile's Sonic Boom maneuver did not impress Sonic. Given the chance to recover, the heroes prepared to follow Sigma's forces.[78]
Sonic joined Break Man in traveling to the world of Alex Kidd, where they recruited Alex Kidd and Stella to their cause.[79] They later rejoined their allies only to find the Sky Patrol destroyed, but joined the assembled force of heroes and villains in launching a massive attack on Sigma. While they succeeded in defeating his defenders and destroying his giant body, it proved to be a mere protective shell for his ultimate form. Sonic and Mega Man were thus forced to use the Chaos Emeralds to take him on as Super Sonic and Super Armor Mega Man.[80][81] Even then however, they would have failed had it not been for Eggman and Wily's interference. They managed to destroy Sigma, but his actions had left reality dangerously damaged, and it was only Xander Payne's quick-thinking that saved the universe from annihilation. However, the events of the conflict with Sigma were undone, and Sonic found himself in touch with a very much alive Shadow. The battle was not entirely forgotten by Sonic, as he recalled once again fighting alongside Mega Man.[82]
The Shattered World Crisis: Act 2
Following his second inter-dimensional adventure, Sonic returned home and resumed his search for the Gaia Keys, though he soon ran afoul of Tundra the Walrus.[83] Following this clash, he was reunited with Lupe the Wolf, and together they set out to take down E-118 Tau.[16] He would then lead Antoine and Big to Shamar, where an effort to rescue the local Gaia Key Guardian Ehsan from the Midesta Egg Army had them team up with the Desert Raiders to rescue Ehsan, earning them two more keys.[84][85] Sonic, Tails and Chip then made a trip to Mazuri where Sonic distracted the Efrika Egg Army while Tails and Chip took the Gaia Key they had stolen.[3] Sonic later headed for the city of Chun-nan to search for the next key, where he was aided by Dulcy the Dragon. However, after meeting the other Shijin Warriors, Sonic and his crew learned that the Gaia Key's guardian was trapped with the Dark Gaia Phoenix; a powerful phoenix spirit corrupted by Dark Gaia energy.[86] The Freedom Fighters soon came up with a plan and that night Sonic (in his Werehog form) battled the Dark Gaia Phoenix to weaken it enough for Chip to restore it back to normal while they received the last Gaia Key from Zonshen.[87] Back on the Sky Patrol with all the Gaia Keys and Emeralds secured, Sonic and Sally contacted their various allies and announced their plan to stage a worldwide assault on the Eggman Empire as a distraction so they could fix the planet.[88]
Sonic is an extremely confident individual who lives for adventure and going as fast as he can. He's a born risk-taker, and not always in favor of following the rules. Be that as it may, he has a firm conviction of justice and a desire to see Dr. Eggman and all others like him stopped. He has quick wits which allow to come up with ways to foil villains plans. He has quick wits which allow him to come up with ways to foil villains plans. If Sonic has a flaw besides recklessness and a certain disregard for authority, it's that he tends to take too much upon himself—not unlike his friend Mighty. Unlike the tactically orientated Sally, Sonic prefers making up plans as he goes along.
Powers and abilities
Sonic's most notable ability is his incredible super speed, allowing him to cruise at speeds far surpassing Mach 1 which is at the blistering speed of 768 mph or more. While his top speed is unknown, glimpses of Sonic's prowess are shown in his tendency to routinely scale vertical walls, effortlessly knock down enemies in his path and run over water, plow straight through foes, and even cause the ground to explode in his wake. He is also stated to be the fastest thing alive in any world.[89]
Sonic has demonstrated complete mastery of his speed at any level. Not only can he run at maximum tilt in straight lines, but also in full tight circles and through sharp turns with full control over his momentum, and without recklessly crashing into unintended targets. However, he has trouble keeping his balance when coming to a sudden halt at full speed though. As far as stamina goes, Sonic's is seemingly limitless as he is never winded from running. Sonic can also set strong winds in motions with high-speed movements to attack opponents, similar to aerokinesis.
Sonic possesses extreme acrobatic skills, agility, and reflexes enough to compliment his astonishing speed, enabling him to avoid sizable voluminous and minuscule obstacles with precise jumps and delicate movements despite their close proximity and incoming speed.
Sonic is incredibly resilient to pain and damage, capable of taking a series of pummeling from a large spectrum of adversaries without any lasting injuries and continuing the fight. He is also a skilled fighter and a profound user of hand-to-hand combat. Even as a child, he had the capabilities to take on hordes of Eggman's robots. Like Shadow, Sonic can use the power of the Chaos Emeralds to perform Chaos Control, which allows him to teleport to other locations.
Sonic's primary offensive maneuver is the Spin Dash, a technique in which he homes in on the target while curled into a concussive ball or cutting disk which can damage, destroy, mow down, or burrow through many obstacles or foes. He also has an aerial variant of it called the "Homing Attack" where homes into a target from midair while in spinball form.
Super Sonic
By absorbing the seven Chaos Emeralds, Sonic can transform into Super Sonic. While transformed, his natural talents are not only increased exponentially, but he is also granted the ability of flight, invulnerability and can as well manipulate Chaos energy.
Sonic the Werehog
When Sonic accidentally inhaled a concentrated dose of Dark Gaia Energy, he unwillingly gained the ability to transform into Sonic the Werehog, a mutated version of his original form. In this form, Sonic is granted increased strength, elastic arms and sharp claws. However, the corruptive influence of the energy initially caused him to become extremely violent and aggressive. However, he soon learned to exert control over himself in this form. When exposed to sunlight, he automatically reverts back to normal.
Sonic Man
When he was subjugated to Dr. Eggman and Dr. Wily's specialized roboticization procedure, Sonic was turned into the Roboticized Master Sonic Man. In this form, though deprived of his free will, Sonic can overwhelm several Robot Masters at once, and his speed is so greatly enhanced that time-slowing powers have no noticeable effect on him. He can also use a variety of Special Weapons.
Dr. Eggman
Dr. Eggman is Sonic's arch nemesis, due to foiling his plans. Sonic has defeated him mutilple times, yet sometimes he helps Sonic and friends. Dr. Eggman will stop at nothing to take over the world, and Sonic keeps defeating him every time.
Miles "Tails" Prower
Tails is Sonic's best friend and sidekick, helping him a lot on his adventures. Sonic and Tails are as close as brothers and always sticked by each other's side. The two are always willing to put themselves and/or anything at risk for those they love and care about.
Amy Rose
Amy is another one of Sonic's close friends, and is also happening to be his number one fan and self-proclaimed girlfriend. Amy will doing anything to be with Sonic and has serious jealously when he's around any other girl. She is also willing to rescue him to keep her hero alive. On occasion, Sonic has been known to affectionately tease Amy for her feelings.[69]
Sally Acorn
Sonic is shown to retain a great fondness for Sally in the altered reality, expressing particular happiness over her return to organic form. While their dynamic friendship remains the same, they do not share a romantic bond.[90]
Antoine D'Coolette
Antoine is another one of Sonic's friends. Sonic was happy Antoine was recovered and healthy, and Sonic was said to have helped him gain the courage he needed to protect the kingdom.
Bunnie D'Coolette
Bunnie is also a friend of Sonic's. She was depressed when she was cyborged. However, Sonic helped show her that she was still herself and this made her fight alongside the rest of her friends.
Rotor the Walrus
Rotor is Sonic's second smartest friend. He aided Rotor many times, and helped him fight bad guys, fix things, and save people.
Nicole the Holo-Lynx
Nicole is Sonic's helpful and trustworthy computer friend. She helped Sonic gain Tails, Rotor, Antoine, Bunnie, Amy and Sally's old memories from the original timeline, although she also gave the evil wizard his old memories back as well. She aids alongside the gang in her Lynx form and her body gives her all the power she needs to aid the gang.
Charles the Hedgehog
Charles Hedgehog is Sonic's uncle and is like a parent to him. He calls him Uncle Chuck for short. Sonic is willing save his uncle at all cost, especially the time he saved him from the earthquake world genesis crisis.
Knuckles the Echidna
Knuckles the Echidna is one of Sonic's greatest rivals and best friends. They have known each other for a long time, but their relationship is somewhat complicated. Sonic and Knuckles are much like oil and water. While Sonic exemplifies the wind, laid-back, cool and free, Knuckles is the mountain, stern, serious and unmovable, which cause them to argue a lot. Because of their differences and morals, they do not understand each other and they do not always see eye to eye. While Knuckles at times rebuts his help and claims he could do better, Sonic just rolls with it and is merely glad to help him.
Sonic always welcomes a challenge from Knuckles and enjoys teasing him for fun because of his serious nature, and will even try getting him angry so he can fight him. Despite their differences, the two of them are connected by a hot-blooded friendship.
Shadow the Hedgehog
When Sonic and Shadow first met, they started out as enemies, each trying to stop the other from achieving their goals (Sonic was trying to save the world while Shadow tried to destroy it). However, when Shadow discovered he had been mislead by fake memories, he and Sonic joined forces to save the planet. Since then, they have remained arch-rivals, but also comrades, and have helped each other out on numerous occasions.
When Shadow was presumably dead after the destruction of Letter of Gabriel. Sonic felt sadness for his arch-rival's death and used it as further inspiration to defeat Sigma, who indirectly caused this.[74] After the timeline was reset, Sonic's first action was to call up Shadow to see that he was all right.
- New Freedom Fighters
- Tails (best friend, close like brothers)
- Sally Acorn
- Amy Rose (close friend)
- Bunnie D'Coolette
- Rotor the Walrus
- Antoine D'Coolette
- Nicole the Holo-Lynx
- Omochao
- Cream and Cheese
- Big the Cat
- T-Pup
- Chaotix
- Knuckles the Echidna (best friend and friendly rival)
- Chip
- Blaze the Cat
- Silver the Hedgehog (ally and friendly rival)
- King Acorn
- Vanilla the Rabbit
- Gemerl
- Professor Charles the Hedgehog
- Ben Muttski
- Prof. Pickles
- Moss the Sloth
- Ray the Flying Squirrel
- Mighty the Armadillo
- Marine
- Tikal
- Chaos 0
- Coral the Betta
- Pearly the Manta Ray
- Razor the Shark
- Honey the Cat
- Team Sticks
- Light Labs
- Maverick Hunters
- Shadow the Hedgehog
- Knuckles the Echidna
- Jet the Hawk
- Silver the Hedgehog (friendly rival)
- Eggman Empire
- Dr. Eggman (arch enemy)
- Egg Army
- Walter Naugus
- Breezie the Hedgehog (to a degree)
- Metal Sonic
- Hooligans
- Dr. Albert W. Wily
- Wily's Robot Masters
- Sigma
- According Ian Flynn, it is revealed that as of Sonic the Hedgehog #271, Sonic will no longer remember the Pre-Super Genesis Wave World until further notice.[91]
See also
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Head writer Ian Flynn has revealed on Twitter that Sonic's measurements are the same as those of his game counterpart.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Sonic the Hedgehog #268, "Champions Part One: The Gang's All Here"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sonic the Hedgehog #269, "Champions Part Two: Climbing the Brackets"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sonic the Hedgehog #280, "Keys to Victory"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)
- ↑ Sonic/Mega Man Free Comic Book Day 2014, "Sonic Comic Origins: Sally--The Exiled Leader"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit)
- ↑ Sonic Universe #83, "Eggman's Dozens Part One: Hostile Takeover"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog CD
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Sonic the Hedgehog #260, "Waves of Change Part One: First Ripples"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Sonic the Hedgehog #259, "The Chase: Part Two"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog 3
- ↑ Sonic & Knuckles
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Sonic the Hedgehog #277, "Thunder, Rain, and Lightning"
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Sonic Adventure/Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Sonic the Hedgehog #271, "Champions Finale: The One Left Standing"
- ↑ Sonic Adventure 2/Sonic Adventure 2: Battle
- ↑ Sonic Heroes
- ↑ Sonic Battle
- ↑ Sonic Advance 3
- ↑ Sonic Advance 2
- ↑ Shadow the Hedgehog
- ↑ Sonic Rush
- ↑ Sonic Rush Adventure
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)
- ↑ Sonic Riders
- ↑ Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
- ↑ Sonic Free Riders
- ↑ Sonic Rivals
- ↑ Sonic Rivals 2
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 Sonic the Hedgehog #252, "At All Costs Part 2: A New Lease on Life"
- ↑ Sonic Colors
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #226, "Genesis Part One: In the Beginning..."
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #227, "Genesis Part Two: Fate and Friends"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #228, "Genesis Part Three: Divide And Conquer"
- ↑ 38.0 38.1 Sonic the Hedgehog #229, "Genesis Part Four: Reset"
- ↑ Sonic Generations
- ↑ 40.0 40.1 Sonic Boom #8, "Worlds Unite Part Two: Broken Heroes"
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 Sonic Universe #51, "When Worlds Collide Part Two: Mistaken Identities"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #248, "When Worlds Collide Part Three: No Holds Barred"
- ↑ Mega Man #25, "When Worlds Collide Part Four: Through the Looking Glass"
- ↑ Sonic Universe #52, "When Worlds Collide Part Five: The Advance Guard"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #249, "When Worlds Collide Part Six: Friends or Foes"
- ↑ Mega Man #26, "When Worlds Collide Part Seven: Evening The Odds"
- ↑ Sonic Universe #53, "When Worlds Collide Part Eight: Liberation"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #250, "When Worlds Collide Part Nine: All-Out War!"
- ↑ Mega Man #27, "When Worlds Collide Part Ten: No Holds Barred"
- ↑ 50.0 50.1 Sonic Universe #54, "When Worlds Collide Part Eleven: Worst of the Worst"
- ↑ 51.0 51.1 51.2 Sonic the Hedgehog #251, "When Worlds Collide Finale: Best of the Best"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #253, "Countdown to Chaos Part One: The Builder"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #254, "Countdown to Chaos Part Two: The Soldier"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #255, "Countdown to Chaos Part Three: The Rabbot"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #256, "Countdown to Chaos Finale: The Princess and the Hammer"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #257, "Damage Control"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #258, "The Chase: Part One"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #261, "Waves of Change Part Two: Current Events"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #262, "Waves of Change Part Three: Terror in the Deep"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #263, "Waves of Change Part Four: Divine Waters"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #265, "The Grand Tour"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #264, "Control Part One: Breaking Point"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #265, "Control Part Two: Unleashed!"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #266, "Ambushed! Part One"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #267, "Ambushed! Part Two"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #270, "Champions Part Three: Raising the Stakes"
- ↑ Sonic/Mega Man Free Comic Book Day 2015, "Sonic Comic Origins: Into the Unknown"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #272, "Ray of Hope"
- ↑ 69.0 69.1 Sonic Universe #75, "Fury"
- ↑ Sonic Universe #76, "Worlds Unite! Part One: Across Time and Space"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog: Worlds Unite Battles #1, "Sonic the Hedgehog vs. Three of the Armored Deadly Six!"
- ↑ Mega Man: Worlds Unite Battles #1, "Worlds Unite Battles: Sonic Man vs The Robot Masters"
- ↑ 73.0 73.1 Sonic the Hedgehog #273, "Worlds Unite Part Three: Clash of the Corrupted"
- ↑ 74.0 74.1 Mega Man #50, "Worlds Unite Part Four: Death and Destruction"
- ↑ Sonic Universe #77, "Worlds Unite! Part Five: Everybody in the Same Boat"
- ↑ Sonic Boom #9, "Worlds Unite! Part Six: Fire in the Sky"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #274, "Worlds Unite! Part Seven: Gears and Wills"
- ↑ Mega Man #51, "Worlds Unite! Part Eight: Holes in Reality"
- ↑ Sonic Universe #78, "Worlds Unite Part Nine: Infinite Possibilities"
- ↑ Sonic Boom #10, "Worlds Unite Part Ten: Justice Across Worlds"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #275, "Worlds Unite Part Eleven: Killing the Giant"
- ↑ Mega Man #52, "Worlds Unite Part Twelve: Last Rights"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #276, "Cold Hearted"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #278, "Face of the Enemy Part One: Friends in Need"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #279, "Face of the Enemy Part Two: Friends in Deed"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #281, "Wings of Fire Part One: Slow Burn"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #282, "Wings of Fire Part Two: Fighting Fire With Fire"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #283, "The Mission"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #277, "Sonic Grams"
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog #277, "Sonic Grams"
- ↑ Ian Flynn on Twitter (15 January 2015). Retrieved on 2 June 2015. "MB12g: Will Sonic's knowledge of the PRE-Super Genesis Wave world affect his upcoming battle with Knuckles ? / Ian Flynn: He doesn't remember. The pre-wave memories had faded away."
External links
- Sonic the Hedgehog at Mobius Encyclopaedia, the Archie Sonic wiki


text:
Reporter's Notebook: Discount Fashion Comes at a Cost
It began, as these affairs often do, with a frisson of illicit excitement. Here was an opportunity to trade up, to live for one glittering night beyond one's means. Six women in The Wall Street Journal's Washington bureau leased designer gowns -- think Escada, Halston, Badgley Mischka -- from Rent the Runway, to wear to the White House Correspondents' Dinner on April 30.
It ended, as these affairs often do, with designer finery flung everywhere, and days of pain on the road to redemption.
It's important to grasp the fashion significance of the "nerd prom" in a Lands' End catalog town like Washington D.C.
In addition to President Obama and Michelle Obama, the dinner has drawn designers Donatella Versace, wearing an elegant sausage casing, and Jason Wu, who designed the first lady's inaugural gown and wore a Jil Sander tux.
For the six of us, from the national daily least associated with fashion, it was a chance to release our inner Wintour. And Rent the Runway would do it for us at 10% of retail — cheaper than the wedding-wear most of us rock at this thing.
RtR's pitch: order one gown at regular price (about $100-$300) and get a second option for $25. You also get an additional size gratis. Jewelry and bags are available for rental too. After the event, you stuff the ensemble into the postage-paid envelope, and drop it in the mailbox.
High-strung reporters ordering formalwear online is inherently risky, and on the day before the gowns were due to arrive last week, the system went haywire.
According to RtR CEO Jennifer Hyman, the company shipped 1,000 orders in a single day, more than any day since its founding in late 2009 (thanks, sorority and prom brats). Fifteen orders were fouled up, she said—and four of those involved our reporters.
Backup sizes in several of the gowns we had reserved weren't available. So the company substituted what they had, not what we ordered, in those sizes. When those substitutions didn't fit or didn't work, they sent more. The apparel piled up as the clock ticked down toward Saturday.
We decided to document the silken chaos. That drew a call from Ms. Hyman. "There are growing pains in any great company," she said. "We're not going to stop until you feel amazing."
I told her that at this rate we'd have to bring all the dresses to the office for a Loehmann's fitting room-style mass try-on. "Hopefully in a more elegant, Cinderella, aspirational type way," she said.
Our aspirations grew more humble by the hour.
Over three days, and after a dozen deliveries by overnight mail and messenger, some 30 extra dresses and a score of no-charge accessories, all was resolved. (Was that because we are reporters? You make the call.)
Health reporter Janet Adamy got a call Wednesday from a RtR rep telling her the second size in her first-pick Halston Heritage gown wasn't available. She chose two new backups, and RtR agreed to send them, with no upcharge, though one replacement cost more than three times the price.
Banking reporter Victoria McGrane's backup size in each of the two dresses she ordered weren't available. A RtR stylist helped her choose two more dresses, including the one she wound up wearing—a violet Lela Rose gown that was three times more expensive than the dress she chose, at no extra charge.
The stylist also sent two more dresses just in case, plus complimentary earrings and a bracelet.
Regulatory reporter Alicia Mundy's first dress order was a bust. Literally. "The cavernous gap at the low neckline in the dress posed the possibility of numerous post-party reports of "costume malfunctions" (and lost hors d'oeuvres)," she said. Two more gowns later -- Nicole Miller finally won -- Alicia was saved "from having to put on the stretchable black jersey number that I have worn nine years in a row."
On Wednesday, I checked my order online: I had requested two Nicole Miller gowns, sizes 4 and 6. But there was no size 6. A Rent the Runway stylist sent three others: two 'Bride of Dracula' black cocktail dresses and one Easter Egg-lavender Bridesmaidzilla.
As reporters we deal with looming deadlines with somewhat less stress than most, and we're pretty good at demanding what we want. But faced with the possibility of our sole night of high style swirling irretrievably toward dog-fight fashion show, we divided. Two of us would do Rent the Runway all over again. Two of us found the uncertainty -- and the stress of keeping people's feet off the train of a $3,500 dress -- too much to bear.
On Friday, four more dresses arrived for me by messenger, along with a batch of accessories that included a dog chain bracelet and rhinestone earrings as big as a baby's head. Plowing through the pile, I retrieved my first choice, the size four Nicole Miller navy sequined number.
Held my breath, zipped up. Perfect.
I wore my own jewelry.
Write to Elizabeth Williamson at email@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Mining Camp III by HogRiderWatch
©2007-2016 HogRider
HDR. 3 shots with tripod and Pentax w. Sigma 17-70mm. Burned the sky to give it a more dramatic look.
Nice leading lines and composition. The HDR technique is carried out well.
I think you did a nice job on the sky. It really seems to complete it. (I can't imagine this without a dark sky)
Wow! fabulous texture! You did an amzing work with the HDR!
beuatiful shot!
Sometimes, HDR pops your eyeballs out, but this picture threesome came out great
By the way, that's some cool junk you gathered round your gallery.
By the way, that's some cool junk you gathered round your gallery.
I misseed this one..when I checked you r gllaery before ..Incredible and excellent +++ use of HDR
Superb shot and ambiance... congratulations!
love this really amaizing work
I'm lovin' this shot. Your editing is perfect and really makes the picture come to life. This HDR process you use really has my curiosity......I may have to check it out sometime.
Very gripping photo... sucks ya right in!
you''ve really managed the wild-west feeling in this one, amazing work! desided to it before i even fullviewed!
It does look really dramatic and youve caught such great detail, the image is so vibrant.
wow, love the details.
By the way, how do you make HDR's, or more, is there a program i can download to merge the photos.
By the way, how do you make HDR's, or more, is there a program i can download to merge the photos.
Thank you. I use "Photomatrix". They offer a free trial version. Do a search for Photomatrix on google and you will see it right away. great software.
Sweet, I ran outside, took some photos, and sure enough, I got it to work well....I know what i will be doing on my next photo shot.
Wow!! The sky is what makes this one for me! Well done!
Nicest HDRI i saw since very long time !! All the color Are perfect !! All the Picture is perfect !! +:fav:
This is such a cool location. I love the brown tones with the grey sky, even though its a new photo, it still has that old photo feel, through colors.
"Good" according to the mine cart but I think it's great.
Fantastic shot! This is how to do an HDR!
Your work is amazing
Great phot. Is it real?? Where is it??
It is a small (tourist) mining camp. Parts of it are real - somewhat authentic I guess. It is east of Phoenix and it's called "Goldfield".
Great image. Love the composition and, of course, the HDR.
I've always loved what HDR does to wood texture.. and rust too .. good stuff here!


text:
Shuttle bus tour to showcase waterfalls in DuPont Forest
Published: Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at 1:06 a.m.
Friends of DuPont Forest will sponsor Tour de Falls, a 12-mile tour by shuttle bus to Triple Falls, High Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and Lake Julia in DuPont State Recreational Forest, on Saturday, Sept. 24, and Sunday, Sept. 25.
Shuttle buses will leave the parking area about every 30 minutes from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Visitors may get off the bus at each stop to take photos and explore. The tour takes three hours or longer. Visitors should bring snacks and water. Triple Falls and High Falls have covered shelters with picnic tables.
Tour de Falls is intended to provide families and those with limited hiking ability a chance to see the beauty of DuPont Forest.
Visitors are encouraged to take short hikes during the tour. Volunteers will provide information about the history of the area and efforts to protect the historical and natural resources within the 10,400-acre forest. Light refreshments will be available in the lodge overlooking Lake Julia, the last stop on the tour.
DuPont State Recreational Forest is in Henderson and Transylvania counties in the mountains of Western North Carolina. The parking lot for the tour is located just up the road from the High Falls access area at 1300 Staton Road in Cedar Mountain.
Reservations are not taken. A donation of $6 for ages 6 to 17 and $12 for ages 18 and up is requested. We accept donations by cash or check. Buses are not handicapped-accessible. Dogs are not allowed on the buses.
Friends of DuPont Forest is a nonprofit that works to enrich the recreational experience and preserve the natural resources in the forest. Donations are used to finance construction projects such as shelters and steps at the waterfalls, to maintain 90 miles of trails, and to support research and educational projects that protect historical and natural resources.
For more details and directions, visit www.dupontforest.com. For questions about Tour de Falls, call 828-692-2929.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.


text:
Sorry, anonymous, I'll make it up to you on Buy Nothing day. Wait, I can't buy you anything that day. :(
Gotta love the true believer.
I believe the alligators are our future.
Wow, Anonymous REALLY needs to get laid.
Anonymous/Alligator '08
What does the "like the night skies of Mars" comment even mean? I don't think the Martian night time sky is very bright at all -- Mars' moons are relatively tiny and probably don't reflect much moonlight compared to ours. Phobos would look about a third the size of our Moon in the sky and Deimos would be like Venus, a bright star...
Thank heavens there's still someone out there telling it like it is, peering into our lives and finding us wanting. This is a service to our collective guilt.
it was too purposeless...."be more conscious!" seemed to be the goal.....
direct action should be targeted to a specific goal and decisionmaker so you can win or lose......
e.g., "US Steel should honor the 8 hour work day" or "we will deliver our plastic bags to The City Council offices every week, until they ban plastic shopping bags!"
Because turning your lights off for one hour is really going to offset that full tank you just purchased for your VW van.
I think "sip on urine" would've been a better closer than "slip on urine".
this very logical and critical chance to make a difference
oh noes we missed the one and only chance to make a difference. we're all screwed!
anonymous needs to go burn down a house or something.
Aw, don't mind him; he's just tired from picking up all those feathers after the pillow fight.
I hadn't even heard of this Earth Hour thing.
maybe in the street of dreams
The hour off is nothing but an enviro-religion performing ritual. Any person who believes that turning off the power for one hour does anything to "save the planet" is not only naive, but out of touch with reality. If you believe that, you might as well believe that God will save humanity and the earth, so why worry.
How about this, save electricity everyday! One hour of one day of one year is insignificant ritualistic B.S. Better yet, do everyone a favor and opt out of society and refuse to use electricity ever. You and your brethren's sacrifice will more than offset our power use. You'll be instrumental in saving mother earth. Hallelujah!
So you turned out your lights for one hour. That means the 20% of residual heat from the lights was not there causing your furnace or electric heaters to kick in to compensate for the heat loss due to the lights not being on.
Some might think they saved energy but if you are not going to turn down the thermostat at the same time then you are doing nothing or at the least very little.
It is a good to draw attention to these things but when it comes to doing the energy savings math of different buildings you need to approach the energy consumption problem from many angles. Buy all the florescent bulbs you want you are only going to take away the 20% of heat regular bulbs produce which will be compensated by heaters once the thermostat registers %20 loss of heat from bulbs.
Also hoping people die because they do not turn off the lights is a big energy waster. Dead people never turn the lights off.
#16 is correct. Folks who turned off the power for an hour and thus, their heat, on a very chilly day, ended up WASTING power because they had to re-heat their house.
when you peel away the facade of peace love and understanding, those hippies are some angry ass motherfuckers.
the fixation about URINE is most interesting, hmmmmm
flood time, the rivers are full, hydro plants are maxing out, we do get very clean energy here
of course extra hydro can be sold, sometimes
I did not turn off the lights, I was busy sorting the paper, cans, bottles and sending all organic waste to the compost, diligent recycling of my own and the gutters and my office - every paper scrap, and can or bottle
drama queens who are thinking URINE all the time are not good role models to the public
I'm on a million enviro lists and though I heard through the press that something like this was going on, I don't think many local groups got on board. I (like a lot of people) would have done it if I knew more details. I wonder if bitchy I, Anonymous emailed all the contacts they had about the event beforehand.
#16 is a dumbass. Following this logic, I should turn on all my lights in the winter; what the hell -- I should probably replace those pesky fluorescent bulbs with 120W incandescents. Because the more lights I have on, the more I'll keep my house warm, and the more energy I'll save, right?
#11 - good chuckle - but don't push the idea - true believers can go to that extreme
you are the dumb ass - cheap kilowatt rates and heat from lights do make economic sense in the winter if the home is all electric
talk to city light
Here in the PAC NW we have our own version of Earth hour every winter. They're called windstorms and do more to knock down power consumption for multiple hours on multiple days than any "earth Hour" will achieve..lol..;)
I wonder if anyone's done the carbon saving calculations on those? "sarcasm off"
Wait, you mean residential light usage is not the biggest contributor to global warming and that turning off our lights for one hour will not save the planet. The hell you say. /sarcasm
I ignored earth hour like I ignore buy nothing day, stupid email forwards about not buying gas on Tuesdays, and other damn ass nonsense. There are meaningful things one can do to help the environment, but cheap tricks are not one of them. self satisfaction may be that cheap, but real change is not.
True, Brian@24... the 'Erev Hannukah' storm had my family freezing in the dark for SIX DAYS. Winter camping in our own house. Even our guinea pig was cold.
@21 Uhh yeah. It is very inefficient to cool down and reheat your house over and over again. That's why when you leave your house, you should only turn down your heat, not turn it off completely. Stop being such a dumbass, and look it up.
And the Earth Hour thing was a cute little stunt, but it wasn't very well publicized around these parts. You can hardly blame people for not participating in all the random little days various organizations insist we all celebrate. It gets confusing after awhile.
Did "Fuck you and slip on urine" come from one of those random insult generators? I am curious though, setting aside the debate as to whether the earth hour helped or not, why it wasn't more widely publicized in Seattle considering we're usually such a hotbed of environmental righteousness.
Earth Hour?
Wasn't on any of the local news ...
Using power = harming the environment?
The question really is how to use all the power we want and more from clean energy sources, like nuclear.
Apparently we were not the only ones.
By that logic, you shouldn't turn down the heat at all when you leave.
Sorry folks, you do save some energy when you turn off the heat. To bust out some science, the amount of energy you lose due to radiation is proportional to the temperature difference to the fourth power. The lower the temperature difference, the lower the rate of heat loss. It's just not that big of an effect.
Hey, guys, it was on Google, fer chrissakes. Their page was black for an hour. Uses less juice than white, or so I'm told. If it was really such a good idea, you'd think they'd do it all the time.
You gotta admit, too, that "a thousand volts worth of lamps" is an awful lot for one tiny little apartment. Not sure how they measured it from out on the street, but the rest of the screed was accurate, so I assume they did.
It was black all day.
I took one for the team and turned the hot tub down to 104 degrees from 105 for an hour.
@33: Actually, I think Google itself said that the colours a monitor displays doesn't really affect its power consumption, so its black page was meant as a symbolic gesture.
@36: Shit, I'm being a douche again.
PETA members have been known to throw red paint on fur wearers, maybe anonymous should carry a taser and give folks a good jolt when they appear to be over-consuming energy, that would be sure to win the hearts and minds of the general population.
Ha. Excellent idea, inkweary. ZAP!
Earth hour? Never heard of it. Rather than not use electricity for 1 hour during the entire year, I just have only 1 light on at a time in my apartment at night. I turn things off including the computer when I'm not using them.
I watch the news daily, read the news online daily so that guy who posted to I anonymous can kiss my dimly lit apartment ass because there obviously wasn't much mention.
Was everyone supposed to know about this, or something? What the fuck? When I invent MY day, I'm not going to be half as pissed as this guy when everybody shows up to work in pants.
The logic behind Earth Hour is hilariously flawed. Even if you turn off your lights the power is still being generated. Turning off your light does not equate to an immediate reduction in generation at a power plant, and here on the west coast where a large fraction of our energy is cleanly-generated (ie: hydroelectric) this is especially true.
Where we should be focusing our efforts is power consumption during the day, not at night. Peak consumption (you know, where a power plant would have to increase capacity to keep up with demand) occurs when everybody's at work, as many leave their appliances & climate control on at home as well.
Reducing our peak consumption (for good, not for an hour) is the way to reduce the environmental impact of current power generation.
Conservation all-around allows more homes and businesses to be powered by the same facilities, however, reducing the need for new generating stations.
@33&36 - On LCD displays, it requires the same amount of energy to display a white/black pixel. On CRT displays, a white pixel requires the most energy to display.
That chick on the cell phone was totally me. You'd leave all your lights on too if your apartment had a mean old ghost of a mental patient named Toby who likes to throw things at your head in the dark when you can't see in time to duck.
Plus I just kind of don't care. So there :P
My friend participated in this. Of course, she came over here to get drunk during, so really she just turned out the lights when she left the house. (Oh yeah, and then she drove over in her mid-sized luxury car.)
But hey, as long as it makes her feel better and fills her with a false sense of accomplishment...
Magic alligators would probably be the most effective solution to many of our problems.
We replaced the heat from our lights with candles. But the energy used to make those candles...oh well, the kids enjoyed it; we played board games.
Strictly speaking, all residential units in the U.S. get basically 240 volts service, delivered on two 110 volt legs. Depending on the size of your service, you could have thousands of WATTS of lighting igniting your apartment like the night skies of Mars. But I've never been to Mars, so I can't really say.
Nifty new comment format, by the way. I'm stuck in Iowa and haven't gotten on the internets much. We don't have that many tubes over here in Steve King's district.
At the treatment center I work at, we have half an hour of news, where they covered how Sydney and some other cities were going black.
The residents really, really wanted to participate... "for the sack of the environment!" Forget that turning off the power also meant all the alarms on their doors would be disarmed... and then they could attack staff in the dark and create a full on riot.
Yeah. We kept the lights on. I know, I'm a selfish prick, but darn it, I wanna live.
I'm with #40. Turning off your power for one hour is dumb when you already have extremely low consumption. I run my thermostat at about 55 to keep my plants alive, always just wear a fleece or sweatshirt, and I think I get heat from the apartment below me anyway. I never use lights in my bedroom, ever, and rarely in the bathroom. I berely even use lights in my living room, because two widescreen LCDs keep it lit enough for my taste. If I really need to read something on my desk or on the couch, I turn on one 75W lamp. When I'm in my kitchen, and it's sufficiently dark out, and I'm doing more than getting water or something from the fridge, I turn on a bank of three 75W bulbs. I do run a 750W power supply 24/7, but it's never even close to fully utilized. My city light bill for my last billing cycle (Jan 15 to Mar 15) was $30. I didn't even break into the second pricing tier.
So, yeah, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that I use less power than this douchebag.
I can't help but be amused by people who say "volts" when they're really talking about "watts". 1000V by itself doesn't mean shit. Lamps don't even HAVE voltages, the fucking power source does. I have, oh, 10 wall sockets in my apartment at 110V each for 1100V total, so that means I'm using more power than red dress woman? What a dumbass.
Thanks, that is all.
i think he's referencing but misquoting the xmas song silent night: "slip in heavenly piss." In this case the song would be 'invisible night'
The problem with saving energy goes far beyond just turning out your lights. Like I mentioned earlier turning out your lights just creates situation where your thermostat in your home will register the 20% heat not being generated by your house lights and it will compensate for it therefore using energy.
So what needs to be understood is each home or building has a different set of circumstances that need to be considered when trying to save energy. An old home built in 1910 will have bad insulation compared to a contemporary home built this year so each home would have to be approached differently when trying to save energy.
Turning of lights sounds like a positive way of saving energy but really it just buys into a simplistic vision that politicians use to buy new votes it is a trend that is not well thought out. Buy all the florescent bulbs you want but try to consider what is going to compensate for the heat your old bulbs generated or you will not save that much energy.
If you live in Australia using florescent bulbs are a great idea because it is hot most of the time all year round. So having florescent bulbs would not add to the heat of your house as much. But in the winter in Seattle heat is needed in your home and you have to consider that old incandescent bulbs do two things they not only produce light they produce heat so getting rid of them in the winter only means your furnace will compensate for the other thing they produce other than light, heat.
In the summer those incandescent bulbs are adding heat you do not need in your home so florescent bulbs would be better but in the winter the incandescent bulb is adding to the comfort of your home. Remove them and your furnace will compensate for the heat you are not thinking about.
So it is far more complicated than just turning off the lights.
Great to be conscious but saving energy is not something solved easily.
Maybe, just maybe? The entire post is so freaking intense, because it was meant to spark a discussion? Thats just me. OH, and I agree with everything he/she says. Even the urine bit. Do, please, slip.
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