Chaotix
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The Chaotix are a group of video game characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. They debuted in the game Knuckles' Chaotix (simply called Chaotix in Japan). The group has since appeared in Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog. One of the members, Espio, also appeared in Sonic the Fighters, and Mighty debuted in SegaSonic the Hedgehog.
They have also appeared in many other Sonic continuties, including several Japanese Sonic mangas, Archie comics, the British comic series Sonic the Comic and the Sonic X anime series. While they show up for just one episode (episode 39) in the second season of Sonic X, they get much more screen time and play a much bigger role in Season 3.
In virtually all of their incarnations the Chaotix are presented as a somewhat dysfunctional and indeed chaotic group and are often used in plots to add a sense of comedy to otherwise serious situations. In Sonic X, Team Chaotix seem to be able to see beyond the fourth wall, adding to their humorous image.
Game storyline
Knuckles the Echidna, Mighty the Armadillo, Espio the Chameleon, Vector the Crocodile and Charmy Bee were first brought together at the discovery of Carnival Island, where Doctor Eggman had just built his latest fortress called Newtrogic High Zone: a strange amusement park based on the island's power to amplify the Master Emerald. When Knuckles returned from patrolling the far reaches of the island one day, he found his friends imprisoned and Dr. Eggman in control of the Master Emerald.
Freeing his friends one at a time, Knuckles slowly fought Dr. Eggman's minions across the 5 worlds of Newtrogic High. Mysteriously, they were also aided in their quest by Heavy & Bomb, two robots who claimed to have escaped from Dr. Eggman's tyranny. In the final showdown, the island was nearly destroyed and Dr. Eggman summoned Metal Sonic to battle the Chaotix. Aided by the power of the Chaos Rings, he was eventually defeated, and the island reverted back to normal.
Knuckles quickly went back to guard the Master Emerald and the group of friends dispersed. Mighty went on his own way and traveled the world. The whereabouts of Heavy and Bomb are unknown.
Vector, Espio, and Charmy however soon started a detective agency together, ready to do just about any job for money. As the story in Sonic Heroes opens the three friends are enjoying a lazy day when a mysterious package is delivered to the agency. Inside, they find a transceiver, which promises a handsome payment if they take on a case. True to Vector’s policy to “never turn down work that pays”, the trio accepts and begins their adventure, even though Espio has a bad feeling about the job.
The client, which was, in fact, a locked-up Dr. Eggman, had the Chaotix crew complete tasks to hamper Metal Sonic's plot to rule the world. Not only did Eggman have them destroy Metal Sonic's army (which was actually created by Eggman, but taken over by Metal Sonic), but he had them kidnap Chao in order to protect them from Metal Sonic, and also destroy the dormant Shadow Androids before they were used for Metal Sonic's advantage. These actions didn't stop Metal Sonic from transforming into his ultimate form, though. For more information, see the Doctor Eggman or Metal Sonic article.
In Shadow the Hedgehog, they have gotten a job from an unknown client where they apparently search for information on Shadow's history, via looking through Gerald Robotnik's records. This is backed up by the fact that they collect data disks on Prison Island (the base where Shadow was held), hack into Eggman's computers (since Eggman probably had information on his Grandfather), and look for the main computer room on the Space Colony ARK. If Shadow the Hedgehog follows the "Hero" missions during the game, he may ally with members of the Chaotix crew. In one of the endings of the video game, Vector teams up with Shadow to fight Black Doom. The Chaotix also plays a pivotal role in the final canonical ending, using the data they collected.
Sonic The Comic storyline
Some time after Robotnik abandoned his Special Zone operations, the Chaotix Crew were assembled (presumably by the Omni-Viewer) to act as guardians for the Zone and all the worlds within it. They had some success, making a nemesis in the supervillain Lord Sidewinder and defeating the evil Fundamental Four, but were also framed for bank robbery on the planet Meridan (as Nack the Weasel was a member of the Crew at the time, he may have been the one who did the robbery). Their first appearance in the comic was when Knuckles was accidentally transported to the Zone; believing he was still working for Robotnik, the Chaotix - Vector, Mighty, Espio, Charmy and Nack - attacked him. They soon realised he was no longer on Robotnik's side, but they had little time to apologise as they came under attack by two agents of the Brotherhood of Metallix. The Metallix had established themselves in Robotnik's abandoned Special Zone base and had, unknown to the Chaotix, bribed Nack with cash to betray his team-mates and help them capture the Omni-Viewer. The Chaotix pursued the Metallix and, with the help of Knuckles, just barely managed to save Omni; the entire team was nearly killed in the process, and Nack was both revealed as a traitor and badly injured.The Chaotix (sans Nack) soon discovered that the Brotherhood had not, as they thought, been destroyed but had instead relocated to the Miracle Planet. They went to Mobius and, teaming up with Sonic the Hedgehog and later Porker Lewis, they battled against the Metallix and their attempt to rewrite history. With that done, they remained on Mobius for a while and helped Knuckles stop Nack from looting the Sandopolis Zone before returning to the Special Zone.
After a brief rematch with the Fundamental Four (who were turned into a vase), the Chaotix continued business as usual until Sonic arrived, bearing warning that the demonic Super Sonic was loose in the Special Zone. They travelled to New Tek City on Planet Meridan to investigate, and discovered their old enemy Lord Sidewinder had found Super Sonic and made a deal - he'd bring Sonic to Super and Super would work for Sidewinder. Super, of course, had no intention of working with Sidewinder and when Sonic was brought to him, he went on a rampage until he was trapped within the Omni-Viewer. As a result, Sonic was left stranded in the Special Zone and had to stay with the Chaotix; the Chaotix, meanwhile, buried Omni-Viewer within the Black Asteroid to prevent Super Sonic ever escaping or anyone tring to release him for their own gain (battling Sidewinder's gang and Nack in the process). Over the next several months, Sonic and the Chaotix battled random villains, defeated an invasion of Wasps on Charmy's Hive, and cleared the Chaotix of the bank robbery. Eventually Super escaped the Omni-Viewer and began supercharging the Asteroid in order to break out, a feat that would blanket Meridan with an electromagnetic pulse; at the last second, the Omni-Viewer transported the Asteroid to Mobius where the pulse took out all Robotnik's Badniks.
The Chaotix continued to battle evil within the Zone, especially Meridan, and several times Charmy Bee went to Mobius to assist the Freedom Fighters. The next major case, also involving Mighty's senile dad Blockhead Bill, Bill's friend Society Max and Sonic, had the Chaotix go up against the legendary Root, a sentient plant living in New Tek Swamp who could control minds & wield powerful magics. Root, attempting to conquer New Tek City, ended up taking control of Blockhead Bill, Max and the Chaotix, forcing Sonic to battle them until Root & his control were defeated. The next big clash saw the Chaotix come under systematic attack by the Crimson Cobra, a Lex Luthor style archvillain - Vector was transformed into a rampaging monster, Mighty & Espio were hit by a ray that made them ultra-belligerent, and Charmy Bee was hit by a ray that messed up his mind. The Chaotix were seemingly beaten and discredited in the eyes of the public. However, the ray caused Charmy to go crazy enough to come up with a plan - to buy out the Crimson Cobra's company, and thus his villainous law, evil minions and his weapons ("Mr Bee owns this company now!"). The Chaotix had their reputations restored and the Cobra's menace was definitively ended.
While the Crimson Cobra story was the last STC appearance of the Chaotix, Lew Stringer originally intended to have them assisting the rescue operations in the apocalyptic Planet In Peril story. They also made a return appearance in the unofficial online continuation Sonic The Comic Online; joining Sonic & Knuckles in attempting to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds, they battled Shadow the Hedgehog but were unable to prevent him from destroying the Special Zone. They now reside on Mobius.
Game members
Knuckles the Echidna
Vector the Crocodile
Vector the Crocodile is the team's leader in the games since Sonic Heroes, and in Sonic the Comic. His trademark is a set of headphones, which he always listens to, even during missions. He is 20 years old, 5 ft 11 in tall, and weighs 440 lb - the third heaviest character in the series, while Big the Cat is the second and Omega is the first. He has a rough demeanor, and at times he is even downright rude, but deep down he's actually quite a kind soul, and has been known to occasionally help people for charity. He is a skillful detective and the 'power' member of the Chaotix Detective Agency, and is also super fast as he must keep up with Espio in Sonic Heroes. Due to the shape of his body, Vector's combat style is mostly based on using his arms and body to create powerful smash attacks. He has also shown some evidences of being able to breathe out fire from his mouth. Although his loud, brash attitude might make him appear otherwise, Vector is in fact very intelligent, and while not a genius on the level of say, Tails, he is nonetheless a very clever and capable leader. Besides money, Vector's main joys in life are music, food, bubble gum and sports drinks. A little known fact is that Vector is quite a religious person. This is stated in the Japanese Chaotix manual, which mentions that his original purpose for traveling to the new island (known as "Carnival Island" in the western version) was that he interpreted the islands sudden appearance from out of nowhere as a miracle from God.
Vector was originally slated to be one of the characters in the scrapped Sonic the Hedgehog sound test, and is thus among the oldest of the Sonic characters alongside Sonic himself and Eggman. His first game appearance was in Knuckles' Chaotix. He also appeared in Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog.
In Shadow the Hedgehog, he is the hero partner in the Cosmic Fall level. He also partners with Shadow during the Black Doom & Egg Dealer Boss Battles following Cosmic Fall.
In the Archie comics, Vector is a crazy punk who likes having things his way and listening to loud music. So loud are his 'tunes' that he once single handedly stopped the Dark Legion army in its tracks by turning his music volume up to its highest setting and pointing it at the enemy. He also somewhat disliked Knuckles' girlfriend Julie-Su in the past issues. In Fleetway's Sonic the Comic, he is the intelligent leader of the Chaotix crew and a close friend to the Omni-Viewer, with links to the Equionix Research Center. He acts as the basic straight man of the group and takes out enemies with his powerful jaws. In Sonic X, Vector watches a lot of detective-based animes, and also has a strong conviction for settling favors. When Tails has to repair the Chaotix's ship, Vector decides to help him get involved with Cosmo, a girl that Tails likes. He also appears to have a crush on Cream's mother, Vanilla the Rabbit, but is way too shy to tell her.
Vector's appearance has changed a lot since Knuckles Chaotix. In Chaotix, Vector seemed slightly taller and was much skinnier. In his newer appearances, he is considerably broader, especially in the chest.
Vector's voice actor in Sonic Heroes was Bill Corkery. In his first appearance in Sonic X, he was voiced by Jimmy Zoppi. He has now been replaced by 4Kids Entertainment employee, Carter Cathcart. Many fans find this voice very annoying and out of character, as opposed to his gruffer, New Yorker-accented voice in Heroes.
Espio the Chameleon
Espio the Chameleon is a 16-year-old chameleon. He's 3 ft 7 in tall, and weighs 79.2 lb. He is a calm, disciplined ninja. Prior to Sonic Heroes he was the only detective of the bunch, and nowdays he is the Chaotix Detective Agency's speed member. He owns what are possibly the biggest shuriken known to man and can render his skin to match the environment around him, making him seem completely invisible. Espio's main interests include ninja training and camping. One thing he strongly dislikes, though, is Eggman (one can presume that most Sonic characters dislike the evil doc, but the Japanese Chaotix manual states that Espio's has particularly strong hatred for him).
Espio first appeared in Knuckles' Chaotix. It has been speculated that he was originally meant to be the games main star. He later appeared in the arcade game Sonic the Fighters (Sonic Championship). He also appeared in Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog.
In Shadow the Hedgehog, he helps out in the Mad Matrix level and the Mad Matrix Egg Breaker boss battle.
In the Archie comics, Espio is a bonafide hothead, which causes friend Charmy to remind him of his manners. In Sonic the Comic, he is a friendly (or sometimes not so friendly) rival to Mighty and has an extremely short temper. In Sonic X, Vector and Charmy sometimes require him to use his cloaking abilities for pranks, which he dislikes.
Espio is often said to be claustrophobic. This fact, however, has most likely never been stated in any official Sega licensed material (including comics and cartoons), and could be considered fanon.
Espio was originally played by Marc Biagi, but has been replaced with David Wills. In Japan, Espio's voice is provided by Yuuki Masuda. Due to a mistake on the website GameFAQS, many fans mistake Espio's voice actor for Jason Griffith.
Charmy Bee
Charmy Bee (spelt Charmee Bee in the Fleetway comics) is an extremely hyperactive and scatterbrained 6-year old bee with a heart as big as his trademark flight helmet. He's 2 ft 3 in tall, and weighs 22 lb. He works in the Chaotix Detective Agency as the flight member, and can fly as well as run at super speed. He also has the ability to warp between special flowers. He loves all kinds of flowers, and he also loves honey and taking long naps, which Vector and Espio make him take in a locker in the Chaotix Headquarters (a rickety old two-story house that seems to take the brunt of their abuse when caught up in mishaps).
His first appearance was in a Japanese Sonic Manga. His first game appearance was in Knuckles' Chaotix. There he was labeled as 16 years of age in the US game manual, though his age was never stated in the original Japanese manual. He also appeared in Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog. In the Sonic Heroes manual, Charmy is labeled as 6 years of age, as old as Cream The Rabbit.
In Shadow the Hedgehog, Charmy helps out during the Prison Island level. In the Last Story, Charmy inadvertently saved Earth when ramming his stinger into a computer aboard the Space Colony ARK while helping Espio and Vector hack in. By doing this, Charmy activated a videotape that allowed Shadow to break free of Black Doom's mind control.
In both of the comic continuities he is a prince of the bees. In the Archie comics he is a sophisticated 18-year-old, and is married to a girl named Saffron. In Sonic The Comic however, his teammates do not know that he is a prince. In STC, just like in the post-Heroes games (though it predates them), he is extremely scatterbrained and hyper, frequently annoying his team-mates to the point of insanity with his banter, odd speech patterns and cries of "righty-diddly-doo!". Despite his seeming insanity, he sometimes appears to be smarter than he seems and deliberately putting on his annoying air; he is also the one responsible for defeating the villains in both Chaotix solo strips, first by having the Fundemental Four turned into a vase and then by buying out the Crimson Cobra's company and the base, minions, weapons and even robot arms that came with it.
In Sonic Heroes, Charmy was played by Emily Corkery, who was replaced with Amy Birnbaum in Shadow the Hedgehog. In Japan, Charmy has the voice of Yoko Teppoucho.
Mighty the Armadillo
Mighty the Armadillo is an old friend of Sonic the Hedgehog and Ray the Squirrel, who first appeared in SegaSonic the Hedgehog (arcade) game. Although most continuities feature Mighty as a member of the Chaotix, he is not actually associated with them in the game series.
Heavy & Bomb
Heavy & Bomb are two robots who first appeared in Knuckles’ Chaotix. Heavy is a clunky, silver robot, who was Dr. Eggman’s chief mechanic. He’s just as his name says: heavy, and slow. Bomb on the other hand is a small red bomb robot. He’s not very strong or quick, and he blows himself up when things start looking bleak, and can regenerate after blowing up. The two robots claimed to have escaped from the clutches of the evil Dr. Eggman, and are simply trying to help Knuckles and his friends. However no one knows if they speak the truth or if they are simply planted by Eggman to slow them down. After Eggman’s demise at Newtrogic High the duo disappeared and has not been seen since.
Heavy and Bomb also made appearances in the Archie Comics, serving in King Acorn's Secret Service under Geoffrey St. John. However, on one mission, the two were reprogrammed to assassinate the Acorn family, and were destroyed by the defending Sonic and co. Later, rebuilt versions of the two were sent to assassinate Mina Mongoose. However, they were also thwarted, and presumed destroyed (although they are never seen being destroyed. The new Heavy was last seen sinking in a lake.)
As minor characters (and minor nuisances), they have remained somewhat unpopular amongst fans.
Other continuities
Nack the Weasel
In Sonic the Comic, Nack the Weasel was one of the original members of the Chaotix Crew, but he betrayed the team to the Brotherhood of Metallix for money. Since then, he twice battled his former allies.
Ray the Flying Squirrel
For game continuity info, see the list of minor characters.
In the Archie comics, Ray was a close friend of Mighty and for a while a member of the Chaotix. He originally appeared as a prisoner in the same facility that held Fiona Fox, as well as Mighty and Sonic for a brief time. After a failed rebellion (which was also an attempt to rescue Fiona,) Ray grabbed the base's power source, a large gemstone. This caused him to disappear, leaving behind his distraught friends. When Mighty came back later, he found Ray alive and well, but stuck to the gem and unable to leave the base. With a little help from Fiona and Nic the Weasel, Mighty freed Ray and brought him home to the Floating Island.
In his main game appearance, Sega Sonic Arcade, Ray helped Sonic and Mighty defeat one of Eggman's plots. The three then parted ways, and Ray has only made a camo as a keychain in Gale Racer since.
Ray's abilities include the basic Spin Dash, and he is also rather agile. Being a flying squirrel, he has the ability to glide through the air. Plus, Ray has a very strong and flexible tail which he can swing from and stand on. Ray is very timid, often stammering because of his shyness, but has become more confident since he met Mighty. He is also quite kind and polite.
In fandom, Mighty and Ray have a relationship that is very similar to Sonic and Tails'.
Julie-Su the Echidna
Exclusive to Archie comics, Julie-Su was a late addition to the Chaotix team, and is now a love interest of Knuckles the Echidna. She is good friends with the rest of the Chaotix, except for Vector, who doesn't seem to be able to trust her at all. In the Archie comics in the future story Knuckles and Julie-Su have a daughter, Lara-Su, 17 years old.
Omni-Viewer
In the Fleetway comic, The Omnipotent Omni-Viewer, or Omni for short, was a sentient energy field that was the guiding force for the Chaotix team. It resembled a floating flat-panel television with a force field instead of a screen, and a face formed out of deviations on its surface. The Omni-Viewer had been a part of the story for a while, having been the one that transported Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends into the future (against his will), thereby allowing Dr. Robotnik to take over.Omni could travel anywhere in the Special Zone or Mobius instantly (or transport other characters if they passed into his energy field). For a lengthy run, Omni attempted to imprison Super Sonic, a strange entity who by that time had been separated from Sonic entirely, within his energy field by stopping time. However, he could not do this completely, merely slow down time to a crawl. Because of Super Sonic's great speed, though, he eventually managed to escape, and was instrumental in ridding Mobius of Robotnik's rule.
Safron
Seen only in the Archie Comics, Safron is one of Charmy Bee's earliest friends. She was also his fiancee, but Charmy fled from his family and friends to avoid his royal responsibilities. Being a little naive, she did not understand why Charmy would do this. Later, Charmy accepted his fate, and the two began dating. However, tragedy struck as Dr. Eggman attacked the Golden Hive Colony. With nowhere to turn to, Safron went with Charmy to join the Chaotix and Freedom Fighters.Safron's abilities are identical to Charmy's own: she can shrink to insect size and fly.
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