Manic the Hedgehog

Manic1.jpg

Manic the Hedgehog was a character in the tv series Sonic Underground, that took place in an alternate universe. Here, Manic is Sonic the Hedgehog's brother, on a quest with Sonic and his sister Sonia to find their mother, Queen Aleena Hedgehog.

Manic's spines are more shaggy than Sonic's and Sonia's spines, and he is a green, anthropomorphic hedgehog while Sonic is blue and Sonia is pink. He wears a reddish-brown vest and a fanny-pack, which he seems to fit anything and everything in, from his drumsticks to his lockpicks to whatever he steals. Interestingly, his shoes are almost identical to those of Miles 'Tails' Prower. He has his left ear pierced with two small loop earrings. Manic was voiced by Jaleel White.

Role

Manic plays the drums in the band of the three siblings Sonia, Sonic, and himself. Like his siblings, he possesses a medallion resembling a drumkit that doubles as a weapon.

Manic's character is a pickpocket, placing him in the lowest role of growing up for the siblings: Sonic lived in an average home, while Sonia lived like a princess. When their mother was forced to separate them, his basket was stolen and brought to the thief, Ferrel, who raised Manic to be a thief. Though Sonia has a distaste for Manic's LifeStyle (and his tolerance for sewers), his thieving skills and mastery with computers and machines is greatly needed. Manic seems to be the only one of the three that can pick locks, get away with stealing, fix auto machinery, and hack into computers. While he gets defensive when his old background is criticized, he grew up without ever feeling he had a real home until he met his siblings. Manic is the "laid back" sibling, and slangs sometimes in the show.

Manic possesses neither his brother's SUPER speed nor his sister's strength. However, when used properly, his drumset can control the earth, creating seismic activity under Manic's direction. His cymbals can even reflect laser fire. According to the Oracle, his drums are the most powerful weapon of the three. He rides on a hover board which also acts like a surfboard.

Manic the Performer

Manic, of course, plays the drums in Sonic Underground. He can twirl his sticks with his left hand (later episodes show with his right hand), twirl both sticks in his right hand (shown twice), and throw them in the air and catch them like what most drummers do. His sticks are small, and "bend".

Manic's singing voice was done by Phil Hayes. His voice is smoother (in the French shows it was scratchy like Sonic's singing in the American), and can go pretty high in songs like "Working Together In Harmony" and "Fun In The Sun".

However, for some reason, in the episode "Sleepers", Manic's speaking voice is lower than normal.

Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic story line, there is a character called Manik that is the future child of Sonic the Hedgehog by Princess Sally and appeared in the miniseries Mobius: 25 Years Later. He is, for the most part, unconnected to the Manic of Sonic Underground save for his name. Manik was also known to have a crush on Lara-Su, one that she didn't reciprocate. Espio's daughter, Juanita, was known to have a crush on him.

In the alternate Mobius: 25 Years Later, Manik and his sister ceased to exist, due to their mother being married to Shadow the Hedgehog instead of their father Sonic. However, following Shadow's defeat, Sonic and Sally got back together and discussed having children, thus making it possible that Manik will be born at a later time in the alternate timeline.

Mobius: 25 Years Later Manik did not look like his Underground namesake, instead appearing as a younger duplicate of his father Sonic. He also has a younger counterpart in the future from which Sally's computer NICOLE originated, and both possess the power of super speed.

Manic himself also made a small appearance when he teams up with Sonic, Sonic Underground Sonic, and Sonia to battle Evil Sonic in "Sonic Super Special #10". While their Sonic teamed up with his alternate self to battle Dr. Robotnik, Manic and Sonia freed Evil Sonic from prison, only to turn him over to Zonic the Zone Cop, who placed him in custody. Manic, when introduced to Sonic Prime and told a little about Mobius Prime, was incredulous that his "brother" had a sidekick named Tails.