The Sonic Theory Version 2

by dib07

This is a realistic evaluation on Sonic's body, from his skeletal frame to his hands and feet and how his body can cope with such speeds with ease. Disclaimer inside. This is the visualisation I use in my stories of him.

1. The Sonic Theory Version 2

The Sonic Theory Version 2

By Dib07

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Edit: I am fed up of people claiming that it is 'wrong' that Sonic is a vegan and that yes, he actually eats 'meat.' Guess where that meat comes from. No. Not from supermarkets. Yes, animals. You have it. You expect Sonic to go out and kill other animals to feed himself? Humans are used to humanizing everything, which obviously seems to involve Sonic too. Just because humans eat meat constantly does not make Sonic a human being. In media, and to appeal to the American way of life, Sonic was given a chilli dog by the Japanese. This Americanised him, but it does NOT make him an animal-cannibal-hybrid. If I get one more flame about Sonic needing to eat meat I will ignore you and chalk your name up to trolling.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog. He belongs to SEGA.

This is all purely theory and fun based. And since no one has ever done a full evaluation (well, not that I know of), I'm going to give it a shot. What you are now reading is VERSION 2, the new edition that goes into even more detail.

All these topics will be based realistically as possible and on fact when available. Some hedgehog facts were burrowed from the amazing Wikipedia site. I give them full credit.

This idea is mine and please do not copy or take without my permission!

This a study on a blue, little hedgehog. Sonic is basically a very good mutation where evolution may not have played a part unless ordinary Mobian hedgehogs share common traits with him i.e ears, tails and their facial structure.

This is a realistic evaluation on Sonic's body, from his skeletal frame to his hands and feet and how his body can cope with such speeds with ease. BTW this goes into a lot of detail and depth – so just to warn you how serious this study is. Also, Sonic may differ in height, weight and physical stats from official Sega information. This is the real Sonic I use in all my stories.

In General:

Before I start, I would just like to say how amazing Sonic is physically. He is literally like a biological machine. Everything is fitted and perfected for balance, speed, agility and lightweight. Nothing else compares. He is legendary.

Right, the technical hedgehog paradise of information. The name 'hedgehog' came into our human use around the year 1450. Hedge = because the animal frequents hedgerows, and 'hoge/hog,' from its piglike snout. Plus they make snorting noises when hunting or calling out for a mate which can be very loud. They have also be known to be called, 'hedgepig, and furze-pig.' Baby hedgehogs are called hoglets; of this would have applied to Sonic when he was a baby.

Before the great mutation set in on Mobius, they may have been many different species of hedgehog. We on Earth have 17 different species, from the common European hedgehog to the African Pygmy hedgehog and long eared hedgehog. Sonic's close relations would be moles or shrews and of course, porcupines. No other animal is like a hedgehog, and even echidnas are completely different.

Hedgehogs have always been very vocal and communicate through a combination of grunts, snuffles and/or squeals, depending on species. Sonic has evolved far beyond this of course, and uses his own Mobian language, and has the brain capacity to learn other languages too (if he can be bothered). He has adopted many, many human traits. He can laugh and cry just like us.

Since he is a prey animal however, when caught/trapped or with no foreseeable way out, he has a primal call. Think about it. Even we humans scream for help as a last measure to call for assistance from our tribe. It is instinctively built into us for survival. Sonic's primal call is a high-pitched squeal that can be heard in a 1 mile radius. However, this coming from him is rare indeed. The best way to hear this any time soon is to give him a bath. A deep one. And bring some ear plugs too. It's loud.

Another interesting fact I found is that, similar to mice and moles, hedgehogs have some natural immunity against snake venom due to the protein erinacin in the animal's muscular system (although it is only available in small percentage and a rattlesnake bite will kill Sonic anyway).

Quills and spine:

Hedgehogs are easily recognisable by their spines, mutants or otherwise. Abandoning the design of the ancient hedgehog defensive form in some ways, Sonic's main quills have become fewer, but each quill holds thousands upon thousands of tiny spines that are always being replaced by new spines. When moulting or sick, more spines than usual will fall out. It is a proven fact that sick hedgehogs steadily lose their spines. This also happens under extreme stress.

Each spine in his thick quills are hollow hairs made out of a stronger type of keratin. His spines are not poisonous or barbed. And unlike the quills of a porcupine, cannot be easily removed from Sonic. You would have to pull really, really hard, providing he'll even let you. During his life cycle from a hoglet, he would have lost his baby spines like losing baby teeth, being replaced by the adult quills we see today. This would be called, 'quilling,' and only happens once in his life stage.

Sonic's slender quills are strong and sharp. When relaxed and unthreatened, his quills will be limp and very soft to touch. However, when upset or attacking, they stiffen and are sharp enough to slice through metal. So even when he stretches after a nap, jump clear! Just in case!

Another very interesting fact is that, due to instant mutation or gradual evolution, his species has gone about the way of losing the amount of quills to lose the extra weight and adopt speed instead.

A defense that all species of hedgehogs possess is the ability to roll into a tight ball, causing all of the spines to point outwards. However, its effectiveness depends on the number of spines, and since some hedgehogs evolved to carry less weight, they are much more likely to try to run away and sometimes even attack the intruder, trying to ram into the intruder with its spines, and rolling as a last resort.

Sonic's lean back is made up of two powerful muscles which have the important duty of controlling the positioning of his massive quills. There are about 5,000 to 6,500 spines on the average hedgehog, and these are durable on the outside, while being filled with air pockets on the inside.

Sonic has full control of his quills, and though movement of them is limited, he can consciously sharpen them at will.

His spine, though resiliently strong, is very flexible. The many muscles lining it are complex and many. Also his spine is very well padded by fluid, ensuring that his spine can take punishment and not be damaged. This makes him a tough opponent. If you notice, if Sonic stands straight, his little spine curves up into a slight S shape. This has been designed to help support all that extra weight which includes his head and chest. This however, my make standing for too long uncomfortable, as his spinal structure (in fact all of him) is designed to run, where he feels most comfortable. Standing may put pressure on the middle of his spine because of the regimented straight position.

Head and eyes:

Sonic's skull must be lighter than the rest of his body, when you consider the proportion of his head compared to the rest of his body. His head typically takes up 35% of his length. A lighter skull would enhance his streamlining innovations while running. But this design would mean he would have to be careful how he would turn his head at high speeds, as his head centres his balance like all mammals. But to build a strong skull despite its lightness, the density of his skull would be far stronger than our own in evolutionary terms. This makes up for the extensive gap in his skull that houses his eyes.

Having a large head is really good news because this actually stops his brain from overheating due to long runs. He would lose more heat through his head than any other part of his body, and after a long run, he wouldn't want heat exhaustion or a boiled brain. However, having a large head is not helpful in winter!

His eyes aren't actually joined as one. Otherwise he'd be a Cyclops. Evolution or mutation has allowed his eyes to form up perfectly alongside each other, not only enhancing vision, but judging distances much better than we can. His forward view doesn't hinder the sides of his head, as his advanced eyes can span around as easily, if not more so, than humans. A noticeable difference is that since he is a prey animal, he had developed the forward facing predatory outlook of most predators. This also adds to his advantages. Lions, hyenas, wolves and humans all have forward facing vision. Deer, goats, sheep - anything naturally preyed upon has side vision, enabling them to have almost all-round vision to see who could be coming at any angle. He would also have superb color vision like us, as his species has come to rely more on sight. But also like us, Sonic loses his ancestral ability to see in the dark. Echidnas however, can still see in the darkness.

However, the size of Sonic's eyes poses a problem despite the advantages. Anything going fast – say at 60mph – causes turbulence on the body. Try sticking your head out of a car window when it's going really fast. This would make his eyes sore – unless he closes them – which is counterproductive. And like a car's windshield, he'd get bothered by flies because he'd be running into them – and Sonic leisurely goes at 300mph. To help against this, while Sonic runs, his eyes have to produce excess tears to moisten and clean his eyes as he runs to flush those pesky flies and to keep them from drying out against the wind. Due to this, Sonic shouldn't run full pelt in a hail storm. Going 600mph against a little peck of ice would effectively blind him.

Due to Sonic's evolutionary eye design, it has its flaws. He is very likely to get eye infections at all stages in life. And they can be so easily damaged at high speeds of any kind.

Sorry Sonic. Yet again, evolution is capable of its many wonders. To counter the cons, his eyes can be extra resilient to damage and support a thick coating or outer layer that doesn't make them as fragile.

His eye color can be a bit controversial depending. Many have thought that his green irises came about due to close contact/long exposure to chaos energy. Chaos emeralds are a mystery, and their full effect on his body is still a mystery, so we shall leave it at that.

His eye color can also be due to genetics. Either way, they are a defining emerald hue that allows him to see for great distances in detail. They are a very discerning feature about him, and reflect the power of nature and freedom, of which he stands for.

Nose:

Sonic's nose plays an important job too. When he runs, he keeps his mouth shut most of the time (unless he wants to swallow down a billion flies, because, heck – they'd be more of them on Mobius than Earth). And breathing while running at 700mph can't be easy. In order to reach such amazing speeds while breathing normally, his nostrils would have to be specially designed to draw in air as fast and as effectively as possible.

His nose also has to be bent upwards with the wind to avoid damage. The large amounts of energy required for running have led to evolution (mutation) of a pulmonary system to provide large quantities of oxygen required for his high breathing rate. This metabolic rate produces a huge amount of radicals in his cells that have evolved as a more efficient antioxidant system than those in other animals. This ensures that he will barely be out of breath whilst running for extended periods. However, he can tire eventually.

Ears and tail:

His ears, highly evolved from his ancestors, can swivel forwards and back like a cat's. Again another predator feature – a high evolutionary trait that would mimic the creatures hunting him in order to stand a better chance of survival.

His ears are a major form of expression and communication (and the condition of his health). If sick or old, his ear tips will flop forwards.

While running (and to help protect them) they swivel backwards. When he is inquisitive or happy, they will be fully engaged and forward facing. This is their main position when relaxed or focused.

As a prey animal, he would have better hearing than us thanks to fast adaption and would probably be as apt as a rabbit's hearing. Or, you could try asking him. From a long distance. (Please be aware that you may have to repeat the question).

His tail is another fascinating, overlooked feature of this little guy. He has kept the stumpy tail trait of his common ancestors – something normal in his mutation. Echidna tails are a lot longer and stronger, and serve as balance whilst running or gliding (they use it as a rudder to change directions while in the air, hence the added length).

Though Sonic's tail doesn't serve as balance as he is a mammal that walks upright like us, it is still a conveyer of emotions and self-expression. When incredibly happy or excited, his tail will wag for brief periods, and is a rare sight. However, when afraid, angry or threatened, his tail will stiffen with his quills, and the fur will buff out.

His tail, like all mammals, is part of his spine, and has gone relatively unchanged in shape or style for millions of years. However, his tail is all bone, and be very painful if stepped on or bitten. It also makes lying on his side still more preferable, as it is his tail that will be flattened and more annoying to lay upon than his quills.

Teeth and diet:

His teeth would be small and similar to our own. He would possess only moderately sharp canines – enough to tear into roots and fish but not designed to rip or tear off meat. He is a vegan in most aspects. Fish, snakes and squid would be an added luxury to his diet.

Hedgehogs have always been lactose intolerant. And Sonic is still included in this because Mobius doesn't have cows to milk like us, so there were no generations of hedgehogs to build up lactose tolerance. He can't have cream, milk, cheese or yogurts of any kind unless he wants to sit on the toilet all day. This leads to a big problem. Lack of calcium. Sonic's bone structure needs to remain strong, so in order to bypass this is to eat snakes. Yes, snakes. Snakes are full of bones. He can get his calcium from eating these. And bird eggs.

Like us, he can enjoy bread, pasta, rice, vegetables, fruits, coconut milk, fish, biscuits, mushrooms, roots, berries, melons and oatmeal (with warm water – yes, disgusting. Don't come round his cottage in the morning).

Now, would Sonic drink alcohol? Though I'm sure he would have undoubtedly tried it, it would have to be a solid no. Sonic likes to remain in full control of himself at all times, and the taste of it would throw him off. Also, his tolerance for it would be zero.

Hands/Feet:

He has tiny claws on the end of each finger. All animals have claws or nails of some kind, or else they'd have no natural grip whatsoever and their fingers would eventually be bent backwards. Wearing gloves and shoes protect his hands and feet from damage. But like us and all mammals, his claws will be worn down over time. His claws would be small and white – another example of superior adaption.

His hands have evolved from the common paw, and has retained the five-digits. This enables him maximum grip. His bone structure in his hands would be just like ours, only smaller.

His feet could either have pads like the common cat or dog, or he could have nothing but fur between his toes and under his foot like hares and rabbits, who do not have pads. To sustain good grip, pads would be complimentary. But with great traction shoes, it doesn't really matter.

Legs:

His legs I think are the most complex part of him. They are full of ligaments, stretchy tendons and of course, pure muscle. Everything in those legs are super flexible and forgive sudden stretches because they are so bouncy and strong. If he had one week bed rest, his muscles in this area would be wrecked. Exercising is always a must, so him exercising in games and whilst standing still isn't for fun. It's mandatory! So I'm glad they've put a lot of this in games! So yes, always staying in top shape is critical.

Evolution has provided Sonic's body with two distinct features: the specialization of the upper limb for visually guided manipulation and the lower limb's development into a mechanism specifically adapted for the efficient bipedal gait.

The ventral hip muscles function as lateral rotators and play an important role in the control of Sonic's body balance. Because they are stronger than the medial rotators, in the normal position of the leg, the apex of the foot is pointing outward to achieve better support.

He has barely any thigh muscle. This is simply because all the muscles, tendons and everything else that powers his forward motion are that much smaller and more defined than ours.

His legs, like his spine, come with a fluid that acts as a suspension which keeps him perfectly and geometrically balanced. He suffers a little bit going over rough terrain.

Fur:

Blue fur, soft and ductile and close-fitting, provides warmth and protection against the elements like all short-haired animals. In order to protect/keep himself warm while running, his front/chest fur would have to be a little bit thicker to buff the cold. And – having fur like most animals – means that he'd have a rough tongue, like a cat's, to help keep his fur clean. Most animals with fur lick themselves. This is a natural fact. And to cope with fur balls, Sonic would need plenty of roughage in his diet, especially during the summer. However, he can easily dodge this natural law. Thanks to their own technology, he can ignore this and bathe – shower and whatnot. Rarely would he ever need to lick himself unless it was to clean wounds. Or the shower was broken that day.

Sonic would have a summer and winter coat depending on his changing environment like all animals. I'm sure his world have seasons, the obvious weather changes being snow in winter. His fur wouldn't go through a dramatic change because it is so fine (like a thorough-bred horse). In winter his fur would become even more dense and soft. His fur on his chest and ears would become more wispy.

Dark blue fur is an indication of good health. When sick, his cobalt fur would lighten considerably, but this would have to be a severe illness to make his fur change over a long time. Blue being his distinctive color, he was born completely brown, like a normal hedgehogs. Until an experiment went wrong and changed his pelt.

Ribcage and lungs:

The hedgehog's ribcage is interesting. Apart from weight, there are three major drag forces that impede his running capabilities. Frictional drag (caused by the friction of air and body surfaces) form drag, due to frontal area of the hedgehog, also known as pressure drag and streamlining to keep him going as fast as possible.

He needs to breathe against great turbulence, so his chest must rise and fall naturally to allow his lungs to take in and exhale oxygen and carbon dioxide in all manners. For starters, his ribcage would be reinforced as a strong enough structure against high winds and drag. Something in evolution that we have not seen yet and again where possible mutation has helped him.

So alongside stronger ribs than a human's (consider density despite size) – his ribcage would need to be a lot more rounded (circular domed) as opposed to a flatter ribcage that humans have. This would help air/wind whilst travelling to bend round his chest to minimise pressure/exertion on his lungs. This, with the help of his adapted nose, enables him to breathe adequately during his extreme speeds. So there you have it, lungs that are protected enough to work under such environmental pressures.

In his case, his lungs, though small to fit into the chest cavity, would be as effective as ours, perhaps more so. Like humans, his trachea divides into two main bronchi that enter the roots of the lungs. His alveoli, responsible for the gas exchanges of oxygen into carbon dioxide would be more effective than ours, and it is more than likely that he hardly ever uses the full extent of his lungs.

So, with a ribcage reinforced to prevail against wind exertion and small, but potent lungs – he seems amazing indeed. But the strength of his lungs only lies in 'taking in' oxygen. Having small lungs means that he cannot hold his breath nowhere near as long as we can. This also means he would drown a lot faster once submerged. It wouldn't take a lot of water to fill those lungs and this explains his fear of water even more than initially thought.

Heart and circulation:

His heart, though very small in order for his lungs to have priority and take up the room in his ribcage, is capable of meeting his body's demands. Since he is small anyway, the blood circulates round his system quickly, because he isn't tall like us, there is less gravity to fight and the blood completes a circuit through his system much, much faster. His resting heart rate would be approximately around 150 beats per minutes at rest. We as humans would have around 70/80 bpm. But since he is much smaller, this rate would be increased as the blood flow completes the circuit of his body faster. Also his heart is very well protected to ensure it is not damaged during fights or if something or someone hits him really hard in the sternum. His ribcage is so strong that even a chainsaw would have problems getting through.

Let's not forget that he is a creature of high metabolism. He would need a lot of energy and rest constantly throughout the day to achieve his speeds and other rigorous activities.

He would need more blood flow/circulation in his legs. This empowers his speed and strength while running (he has very special, strong muscles there to achieve suspension to protect his bones and tendons over the terrain). More blood flow would also be needed for his lungs. This means less blood flow to the stomach and liver in order to satisfy the demands of his major organs. So it would not be wise for Sonic to run on a full stomach, otherwise he'd give himself bad indigestion. Little amounts of food and often would bypass this.

Cons: Poison in his system would act much faster as it could travel to his heart in less than a minute. This includes snake bites.

Abdomen:

He has a small digestive tract, and so would eat frequently throughout the day because of his metabolism and this would be true for his species as a whole. One of the weakest aspects of his body is his soft underbelly. Getting hit there would render him immobile for a time, as this can wreck his diaphragm and digestive organs.

Life Span and reproduction:

Sonic's prime age is 15 up to 20 and this is when he is most strongest and literally in his prime. Sexual maturity is reached as 15, as they typically age faster than we do. 45 for his species is considered old. If he avoids fatal injury or doesn't get eaten by anything, he should live until he is 55.

Sonic's typical mating season is between September up to November to ensure that the young are born in June or later. Echidnas can sometimes differ, and well, have eggs instead of babies.

The average litter of hedgehog Mobian families may be only one or two for life like us.

Others:

Hedgehogs are normally active mainly at dawn and dusk. Sonic doesn't have to abide by these rules. He was evolved beyond his ancestral habits and grown into a civilized world. He would nap during the day, and to keep his energy levels up – would need approx. 10 hours of sleep in a 24 hour cycle give or take. Maybe more if he is very active on other days.

Again, different species can have slightly different habits, but in general hedgehogs (like Sonic for instance) can dig dens for shelter. Sonic is a natural burrower, and despite his human traits and civilized world, he can very easily go back to his instincts where the environment and needs permit. Also, due to his instinctive traits, he likes closed, cozy snug places, not big city houses or apartments. His ideal home would be a cluttered, small cottage. Interestingly enough, is that when he sleeps, he curls up into a fetal position, a natural position that helps him feel less vulnerable. Whereas Shadow, much more human in nature and nurture, would sleep just like us. Lying on his back like a human.

Conclusions:

His weaknesses:

Water/can't swim and he has a small surface body area. How thin he is (no fat for buoyancy), he'd sink like a rock.

Weak underbelly. No muscle tone for protection.

Has very sensitive ears – so excessive loud noise would hurt his ear drums. This includes loud music and traffic.

Ankles. Though much more resilient than ours thanks to added suspension – he could still sprain them badly.

Eyes – needs plenty of fly spray when out on speed runs.

Body temperature. Large head, greater mass of losing that heat from his skull. And losing heat quickly has always been a hedgehog trait, hence the need for hibernation, of which Sonic can't do. In cold weather, so long as he can run, he should be fine. But upon stopping for any reason, his temperature will dramatically fall. His fur isn't heavily equipped to guard off snow and cold winds. And because he has barely any fat on his body or around his organs, heat loss is even greater. Death can happen in less than an hour if temperatures go below minus 45 Degrees Celsius and he can't run.

His strengths:

His speed and insane muscle structure that allows him to pull off agile moves without straining himself. His skeleton is also madly flexible; this includes his spine and pelvis.

Pain tolerance. Even though males tend to be unable to cope with any kind of light illness or pain, Sonic can top this and rarely shows exhaustion or pain. This however can be seen as a weakness, because hiding it from his friends is not wise. His body can recover from bruises quickly, as his muscles/skin repair themselves swiftly. This makes him excessively invulnerable to fights. However, even one critical hit can bring him down. Check the Archie Comics when in doubt.

Also, he rarely gets sick because of how many rings he has absorbed. These protect him even more so.

A very strong, light skull. Even if he rammed into a concrete wall at speed, he may suffer a concussion, but that skull is so dense that it may not even crack. His brain is very well protected, something I am immensely jealous of.

Quick reflexes. All of us have reflexes, but Sonic's has exceeded to the highest point. He has all his senses to help him judge movement, how to act, and when and where to move. Again his first reflex is to curl into a ball once he has accessed the threat and where he should strike. He was very good timing.

Even though he is physically weaker than Shadow, Knuckles and Big, he can hold his own exceedingly well depending upon the circumstances.

Trivia

Sonic's birthday is June 23rd 1991. At this moment in time, he is 20 years old. Congrats, my friend!

Real name: Olgilvie Maurice.

Technically, he's ancestral linage is from the African Pygmy hedgehog and the long-eared hedgehog. Both have adopted speed and longer ears to combat their changing environment and the need to run rather than curl up into a ball all the time. These two types of primitive hedgehogs have had good stamina throughout the millennia, and this has helped Sonic in his linage. And yes, his epic mutation.

Height: Typically Mobian hedgehogs are about 100 centimetres (which on average comes to around 3 feet or more). Sonic is slightly smaller, and comes up to about 85 centimetres, which is slightly less than 3 feet).

Weight: Coupled with light bone structure, light, durable quills and ligaments, his muscles make up the mass of his overall weight, since muscle is heavier than fat. This would put him around 30 kilograms of weight which amounts to about 62 pounds. When put to bed rest, muscle radically disintegrates, so he'd lose weight very quickly which is a massive danger. Humans can live without food for a good week. Sonic couldn't manage that because of his mental metabolism. If Sonic doesn't eat in less than three days, we're looking at a fatality.

He is very aquaphobic. This is rarely shown in games, but in Sonic X it's a blast. He hates getting wet, doesn't like rain and even doesn't like tears. I'm surprised he hasn't dehydrated by now.

There. If there is anything else, I will add it. I hope you found this as interesting as I have. And yes, it's all just theory and guess work, and with a bit of mammal research thrown in. But everyone is allowed their own opinion and ideas.

So thanks! I enjoyed writing it. If there are any questions, please ask, but no flames please!

By Dib07