Sonic

"Sonic's the name, speed's my game!"

- Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog is the main character of the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games and Sega Corporation's mascot. Since the beginning of the series, Sonic has been the champion of peace, risking his life to stop the plots of a variety of violent foes, particularly Dr. Eggman, in order to establish worldwide peace. Along the way, he has been aided by many characters, including his friends Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, and occassionally Shadow the Hedgehog. Sonic's greatest asset is his ability to run at supersonic speeds. However, he is also prone to making rash decisions.

Sonic has appeared in two crossover titles alongside of Mario: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Mascot Rivals
Nintendo was once business rivals with Sonic's company of creation, Sega; this rivalry peaked during the 16-bit era (the era of the Super Nintendo). As such, Nintendo and Sega often attempted to put each other down through their games (thus explaining Sonic's humiliation in Donkey Kong Country 2 [elaborated on below], and possibly explaining the blue hedgehog enemies of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island). Examples of Mario mockeries in the Sonic the Hedgehog series forms of media include the emphasis on "Super" on the back of Sonic the Hedgehog's box (a reference to Super Mario Bros. and other Mario series titles beginning with "Super") and the Marxio Brothers of Sonic the Comic, a British comic book about Sonic and his friends. Their rivalry went throughout the 90's and until 2001 when Sega left as a console manufacturer and became third-party. Sonic's first game for a Nintendo system was an enhanced remake of Sonic Adventure 2 for the Nintendo GameCube, titled, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle.



A Failed Quest
During the events Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, the elderly Cranky Kong held a contest to see who was the greatest video game hero of the 16-bit era. Contestants were ranked based on how many hidden DK Coins they could discover while progressing through the areas of Crocodile Isle and defeating Kaptain K. Rool (and his Kremling Krew). Although a great video game hero, Sonic did not collect many coins. As a result, he did not even place in the top three (Link was #3, Yoshi was #2, and Mario was #1. Eventually Diddy Kong claimed first place.). Distraught, Sonic left the Mushroom World, leaving behind his trademark shoes (next to a trash can). Along with Sonic, Earthworm Jim is implied to have failed the contest as well and left his plasma gun next to Sonic's shoes

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
"Mario and Sonic have been respectful rivals since the early days of video games. In fact, for a long time they have been discussing the possibility of one day competing against each other. Now that they have been given the perfect opportunity to meet at the Olympic Games, we may finally learn who is actually faster, Mario or Sonic?"

- Shigeru Miyamoto

Sonic competes against Mario and others in Olympic events in the game Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. He is a Speed character, similar to Yoshi, meaning he has great speed, but low power. Interestingly, Sonic wears a life jacket during the swimming events, since he can't swim, but he is not against water entirely, which is why he is competing in these events.

Profile
''The fastest hedgehog in the world, this little blue speed demon often gets going so fast, he appears to be just a whirling blur. He'll usually be found in front of any of the speed-based events in these Olympic Games, and will be very dificult to catch in any of the short-distance sprints.''

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Sonic is in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a character who is unlocked by completing the game's story mode. Sonic is the fastest character in the game, running faster than Captain Falcon, the fastest character from the last two Super Smash Bros. games. Several of Sonic's moves are from the original Sonic the Hedgehog game, with the exception of Homing Attack, which debuted later in the series. His Final Smash move is using the Chaos Emeralds to transform into Super Sonic and fly around the stage attacking opponents. Sonic and Solid Snake, are the only third party characters to appear playable in the game.

Role in the Subspace Emissary
Sonic does not appear in the Subspace Emissary until the very end, after The Great Maze. As when every fighter makes it to where Tabuu floats, he prepares his Off Waves, which would have turned every character into a trophy. As soon as he's about to release the attack, a dashing blue blur dashes past the fighters, and rams into both of Tabuu's wings; causing the Off Wave attack to not happen. As the blue blur jumps up on a "peak", he reveals himself to be Sonic. While he taunts, Tabuu's wings break apart, and then six fighters are selected to fight Tabuu in the final battle.

How Sonic had gotten into Subspace is unknown; as its never seen or mentioned in the game.

Solid Snake Codec Conversation

 * Snake: ...
 * Otacon: Snake, what is it?
 * Snake: Something about that hedgehog rubs me the wrong way...
 * Otacon: ...? Oh, you mean Sonic The Hedgehog? But everyone loves Sonic. He's a big star. Do you have any idea how excited people are that he's here in Brawl?
 * Snake: Yeah, yeah, I know, but there's something about him I just don't like.
 * Otacon: But...why? You must have some kind of reason.
 * Snake: ...Nope, just don't like him.

Trivia

 * An April Fool's Day issue of the magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly once said that Sonic and his friend Tails were unlockable in Super Smash Bros. Melee. However, this was soon proved to be a hoax.
 * All of Sonic's television shows (except for the recent Sonic X) were made by DIC Entertainment, the same company that made all of Mario's American shows. As such, the television programs shared certain similarities; for instance, the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog episode "Sonic is Running" ended on an almost identical note to that of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 episode "Princess Toadstool for President", the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog episode "Lovesick Sonic" has similar themes to those of The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 episode "The Beauty of Kootie", and DIC gave the protagonists of their shows certain food affinities almost exclusive to the programs (specifically, Mario's television love of Italian food and Sonic's of chili dogs).
 * Sonic's name and speed both come from the word "Sonicboom".