Manic the Hedgehog
From Sonic Retro
Manic the Hedgehog is a 15 (16 after Mobodoon) year old fictional character in the animated series Sonic Underground. He is voiced by Jaleel White, who also does the voices for Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonia the Hedgehog, Manic's siblings.
Biography
Manic was still a baby when he was separated from his mother, Queen Aleena. The queen left Manic in a basket at a doorstep on one night, where a thief stole the basket which Manic was in and brought it to Farrel.
Farrel raised Manic as a thief. One day, while Manic and Farrel were packing to leave the sewers, when Manic heard some music.
Manic told Farrel that he would be back, as Manic went off to find where did the music came from. Manic then met his brother and sister. Unfortunately when Manic returned, he found out that Farrel was gone (and roboticized).
The Oracle of Delphius gave Manic and his sibs a map. The map lead them to a forest. Manic and his sibs trained in a forest and then was sent to complete their training in the City Of Clouds. But it was their journey to warn the Oracle that brought them together and got their powers permanently.
From that day onwards, Manic and his sibs formed a band called the 'Sonic Underground' and fight against the evil Dr. Robotnik. They made a vow their mother, Queen Aleena would be found, someday.
Profile
- Residence: Rebel Base, SU van when traveling
- Status: Master Thief, Freedom Fighter, Prince, SU drummer
- Likes: Kids, drumming, surfing, stealing, his childhood home
- Dislikes: Desert, putting back stuff he stole, Dr. Robotnik and the bad guys
- Abilities: Drumming, stealing, disguising, hacking into computers, mechanic skills
- Weakness: Gets carried away when stealing, close range combat
- Weapon: Drums and drumsticks
- Powers: Earthquake, lasers, shield
- Transport: Hoverboard
- Style: Manic has got a slight wild style and often uses slang when he speaks.
- Personality: He is a good natured dude and sometimes a bit of a rebel. Although some people detest thieves, Manic is proud to be a thief. He is sensitive of his childhood. Manic is observant about and usually would manage to make a quick remark about something.
- Role: Manic plays an important role as a drummer that keeps the rhythm right in the Sonic Underground band. Manic is the mechanic of the group, and the person who can build devices. If Manic wasn't in the SU band, the SU wouldn't have the advantage of thieving skills (such as picking locks) against Dr. Robotnik.
Queen Aleena's Favoritism
Have you ever noticed in the introduction and in most of the flashbacks that Queen Aleena almost always is holding Sonia in her lap? Usually, Sonic is right nearby, and Manic is off by himself in a corner, largely entertaining himself (poor Manic). This happens in several of the flashback scenes. It seems that Queen Aleena had a favorite child. And this is supported by subsequent facts as well. For instance, Sonia is the only hedgehog to receive a gift from her mother. After the debutante ball, she receives Queen Aleena's pendant from her own debut.
But most importantly, don't overlook the simple fact of the places in which she deposited each of the children. Sonia was left on the doorstep of a rich society woman to be raised in comfort and luxury. Sonic did not receive equal treatment. Although his family was good, they had none of the financial advantage of Lady Windimere. Now, some people may defend her about Manic. She certainly didn't intend for him to be stolen by a sewer dweller, but then again, she didn't pause to consider the neighborhood in which she dropped him off, did she? For this type of characters to be running rampant, it must not have been a terribly good neighborhood to begin with. This seems like a clear indication of her priorities.
But there's another way I prefer to look at this. Queen Aleena truly seems to love all of her children. She seems terribly pleased w hen she watches Sonic at the chili dog stand in "Head Games," and we can't forget the wonderful moment in "A Hedgehog's Home is her Castle" when she actually touches and speaks to Manic, an occurrence which never happens to Sonia. Perhaps her decisions about housing and her greater attention to Sonia is a result of her femininity. As strong feminists as some of us are, we must admit that sometimes girls aren't as strong as boys. This isn't the case with Sonia, and as time wears on, Queen Aleena seems to realize this as well, but in infancy, it might be an easy mistake to make and one which doesn't indicate any greater love for one over the other.
- Update: Adina, a very dedicated fan of the French version of Sonic Underground has sent me these additional facts to supplement the favoritism theory: "I have another theory about QA favoritism. If you notice in the episode Mobodoon, when Manic and the Maier( the house lady) [Mayor Winnieham--E.] walk to the building, behind the big rock there is a picture over the door. The camera zooms in for a second. What is clear is that in the picture, Queen Aleena is holding Sonic and Sonia in her arms but Manic is left at her feet looking back at her. the "gravure" [engraving--E.] is not well defined and the only way you can make out who they are is by Manic and QA's hair. I can't tell in which arm she is holding the other two."
Manic is ambidextrous.