Espio the Chameleon


 * This article is about the Mobius Prime version of the character. For the Mobius: X Years Later version, see Espio (MxYL). For the Giant Robotno version, see Espio-Zilla. For the Sonic X version, see Espio (Sonic X).

Espio the Chameleon is a Mobian from Rainbow Valley on Angel Island, and also a member of the Dragon Kingdom's Shinobi Clan. He is one of the original members of the Chaotix and his ability to camouflage makes him a formidable opponent. While he tends to prefer performing missions on his own, Espio also works well as a team player in the Chaotix. Espio was the first denizen of Knothole to be captured by Dr. Eggman and transported to the Egg Grape Chambers but was subsequently rescued during the rescue effort by Sonic the Hedgehog, NICOLE and others, leading to his taking up residence in New Mobotropolis. Following the defeat of Dr. Eggman, Espio was forced to leave the Chaotix as the leader of his clan surrendered to the Bride of Four Houses and ordered him to serve her. However, the Shinobi Clan later broke ties with the Iron Dominion, and Espio rejoined his friends in New Mobotropolis.

Early Life and Joining the Chaotix
Espio was a member of the Shinobi Clan from the Dragon Kingdom. At some point he left that region and settled on the Floating Island with the chameleon community in Rainbow Valley. His purpose in going was to observe Knuckles on behalf of the Bride of Constant Vigil, as other Chameleons had observed Knuckles' forebears. (StH: #202, #212)

Espio joined the Chaotix when Dr. Ivo Robotnik's lackey Renfield T. Rodent had successfully captured the Knothole Freedom Fighters in the House of Mirrors section of Happy Land theme park. Knuckles the Echidna, requiring assistance to defeat Metal Sonic, enlisted the help of Espio along with the rest of the group that became members of the Chaotix: Vector the Crocodile, Charmy Bee, and Mighty the Armadillo, along with one-time members Heavy and Bomb. After successfully capturing Renfield T. Rodent and forcing Robotnik to flee, Espio became a regular member of the Chaotix. (KCX)

Though uneventful at first, the position led him and his teammates to be captured by the mysterious Archimedes. Transported to the Grand Conservatory, Espio and the others learned Archimedes' identity as Knuckles searched for them. All of them were soon menaced by Enerjak, a distant relative of Knuckles' gone mad with the absorption of 11 Chaos Emeralds. Espio and the other Chaotix were brainwashed by Enerjak, and forced to fight Knuckles and Archimedes after they returned from being exiled to Sandopolis. Fortunately, Knuckles was able to overpower his out-of-sorts allies and defeat Enerjak, releasing them from his control. (StH: #32, KMS: #1, #2, #3)

Early Adventures
When Knuckles departed Angel Island briefly to help stop Mecha Sonic, a Roboticized version of Sonic the Hedgehog, Espio and the other Chaotix were attacked by a group of criminals known as the Fearsome Foursome. Engaging Lightning Lynx, Espio was briefly surprised by his attacker's superior senses, but proved more than a match for him and his teammate Sergeant Simian with some help from Mighty. The heroes were then attacked by the Fearsome Foursome's employer, Mammoth Mogul, who wanted to steal Angel Island's Chaos Emeralds. Luckily, Espio and the others proved too much for the villains, and forced them to flee. (SMM)

The Chaotix faced no major threats again until after the Ultimate Annihilator erased the barrier between Mobius Prime and the Twilight Zone, freeing the Dark Legion, a group of cyborg Echidnas founded by Dimitri's descendants, to begin their campaign of domination. After battling these enemies valiantly, the Chaotix were able to drive them from their headquarters. However, they soon faced the return of some old foes, Mammoth Mogul and the Fearsome Foursome. Using his magic, Mogul disguised his minions as members of the Freedom Fighters to trick the Chaotix and the Chaotix to trick the Freedom Fighters, all in a bid to lay hands on the Sword of Acorns that Knuckles had recently retrieved. Though initially the two forces were fooled, Sally Acorn and Archimedes were able to cease the infighting and get the two groups to cooperate. Espio joined the others in attacking and defeating the Fearsome Foursome and Mammoth Mogul, only for the latter to escape with the Sword. Espio, however, soon found himself faced with other problems: the return of the city of Echidnaopolis and the uneasy alliance between the Chaotix and a rogue Dark Legionnaire named Julie-Su. (KtE: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, SSS: #1)

Once the Echidnaopolis crisis had been resolved, Espio joined his friends in exploring the city, hanging out at the local food court. Not long after Enerjak, aided anonymously by Mammoth Mogul, returned to seek his revenge. Seemingly betrayed by Julie-Su, Espio and the others were taken prisoner by the Dark Legion, who had sided with their ancestral hero. Escaping, they returned to Echidnaopolis just in time to save Dimitri from a sudden end after Mammoth Mogul used the Sword of Acorns to drain his powers. Espio joined in the fight against the newly empowered Master Mogul, but the day was only saved when Hyper Knuckles, Super Sonic, and Turbo Tails defeated Mogul, while Locke and Sabre sealed in the new Master Emerald. (StH: #56, KtE: #7, #8, #9)

While Knuckles then departed to aid the Lost Tribe of Echidnas, Espio and the Chaotix joined forces with Echidna Security Team Constable Remington to investigate their old enemy Renfield T. Rodent, who had refurbished his old theme park and begun tainting the food with an experimental seasoning designed to cause addiction and thus bring patrons back for more. Renfield accidentally put too much of the ingredient into some of his food, and the resulting overdose killed Charmy's friend Mello. The Chaotix themselves-Espio included-were left disoriented by a similar poisoning, but recovered quickly enough. They then brought Renfield and his employer, Ebony Hare, to justice after defeating them and saving Julie-Su from their henchmen. (KtE: #13, #14, #15)

Battling the Dark Legion and Eggman Empire
Following Knuckles' return, Espio and the rest of the Chaotix would find themselves with no enemies to fight for a time. That ended when the Dark Legion resurfaced yet again, this time attempting to seize control of Angel Island through politics. Espio and the other Chaotix defeated them, only for Knuckles to be spirited away briefly by his ancestors in the Brotherhood of Guardians to Haven. Together with the other Chaotix, Espio would attend Knuckles' birthday party and then help his friend when Knuckles found himself switching bodies with Sonic due to a teamup between the Dark Legion and Robotnik. (KtE: #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, SSS: #12)

Shortly after, the Chaotix found themselves in the Mysterious Cat Country with Knuckles gone to aid the Freedom Fighters and the local inhabitants eager to punish them, and it was only Locke's timely intervention that saved them. (StH: #80, #81)

In his early plans for the Floating Island, Dr. Eggman managed to capture Valdez - a member of the Secret Service and Espio's friend. The newly roboticized Valdez was used to torment Espio and capture the other Chameleons-including Espio and Valdez' shared acquaintance Liza-on Angel Island. He proceeded to use extortion and threats of roboticization to force Espio into leading Robotnik's troops to the island's Chaos Emerald. With little choice, Espio was eventually forced to trick and destroy Valdez, deciding that after his actions he was no longer his old friend. Soon Espio was up against the Dark Legion again, but this time he and the Chaotix-except for Julie-were all transported to the Twilight Zone by the Quantum Beam. (KtE: #30, #31, #32, SSS: #12, #14)

Espio was soon brought back to Mobius, together with the other natives of Angel Island, by Chaos Knuckles. Having little to do with the attempted reunification of the Echidnas, he played an equally little role in Chaos Knuckles' battle with Mammoth Mogul, which resulted in Knuckles' death. Like the other Chaotix, he was present at Knuckles' funeral. Soon afterwards, the other Chaotix found themselves telling a grieving Julie-Su stories of their early days with Knuckles, though Espio was silent about his own past. Espio was quick to join the assembled forces against the alien Xorda, and there was witness to Knuckles' miraculous return. (StH: #107, #118, #121, #122, #125)

Post-Xorda Activities
When Sonic returned from his year in outer space, he discovered Espio to be highly proficient in ninja arts including the use of throwing knives and shuriken, non-camouflaged stealth, and close-quarters combat. He used these skills while infiltrating the Eggman-converted Golden Hive Colony, with NICOLE, to learn what became of Charmy Bee's people. After discovering that there were no survivors present, Espio set the place to self-destruct, figuring that if Charmy couldn't have his home, Eggman wouldn't either. Later, at roughly the same time as the wedding of Antoine D'Coolette and Bunnie Rabbot, Espio infiltrated the heart of the Eggman Empire, discovering the plan to attack Knothole. As he raced to escape so that he could warn the others, he was eventually cornered, captured and sent to the Egg Grape Chambers. During Eggman's destruction of Knothole, all of the other members of the Chaotix and the inhabitants of Knothole were teleported to the Egg Grape Chamber. He and the rest of the Knothole Mobians were quickly rescued however by Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Amy Rose, and NICOLE and were teleported to New Mobotropolis. Following this, Espio went with Knuckles and the rest of the Chaotix to help him overcome his guilt earned while he was Enerjak. (StH: #169, #174, #176, #186)

In the aftermath of the Enerjak crisis, Espio and the rest of the Chaotix launched an assault on New Megaopolis to take out the Dark Egg Legion and destroy one of Dr. Eggman's communications relays. Later, after the Suppression Squad's defeat, Espio and the Chaotix joined in the confrontation with the Eggman Empire. However both he and Mighty were trapped by the Legion's laser fire and found themselves being saved by Charmy, Saffron, and Ray. Espio later investigated the strange opening left in the debris by the Legion, reporting that it seemed to be wide enough for a single person at a time, leading it to be suspected as a trap. After Mighty and Bunnie broke through it, Espio and the others entered to find Eggman defeated and they all returned to New Mobotropolis to celebrate. (StH: #189, #190, #198, #199, #200)

Working for the Shinobi Clan
During the celebration of Robotnik's defeat, Espio spent time at his house meditating, but was disturbed by the sound of Monkey Khan's thunder. He then rushed to the coliseum while asking NICOLE for an update. Before Espio could arrive at the coliseum, he encountered Lightning Lynx, claiming that he quit the Destructix and came to see Espio for "clan business." Lightning revealed the Clan Wars had ended with the Bride of Four Houses having slain the Bride of Rich Nights and laid claim on the Yagyu Clan as her own and the other clans of the Iron Dominion falling into place. Lightning then gave Espio a message entrusted to him from the Bride of Constant Vigil of the Shinobi Clan. Upon reading his new orders Espio reluctantly submitted to the summons and departed with Lightning to intercept Sonic and Monkey Khan as they headed towards New Megaopolis. Arriving in New Megaopolis, the two ninjas joined the fight against Sonic and Khan, forcing them to retreat. (StH: #201, #202)

The Iron Dominion later sent Espio to steal the Master Emerald, which led to a confrontation between him and Knuckles. Espio eventually had Knuckles at knifepoint, but is unable to kill him or steal the Master Emerald due to conflicting orders. Explaining briefly the status of the clans and his and Lightning's places in them, Espio departed, warning Knuckles to beware the Iron Dominion. Having "failed" his mission, he was called back to the Dragon Kingdom by the Shinobi Clan, prompting the Iron Queen to send the Bride of Conquering Storm to get the clans in line. Later, after negotiating with the Raiju Clan, a party led by Monkey Khan and Sally were contemplating how to locate the Shinobi Clan when Espio appeared to offer his help. (StH: #203, #204, #205, SU: #15)

Returning to the Chaotix
Espio would later return to New Mobotropolis, bearing the blessings of the Shinobi and Raiju Clans-as well as the Fan of Fen Xing-to Sonic and Monkey Khan, who used the magical weapon to defeat the Iron King. A week later, Espio gathered the other Chaotix on Angel Island to-with permission from the Bride-confess his original mission, as well as to reveal information that he had gathered about his teammates during their time together. Vector was quick to deny Espio knowing anything about him, but Espio then revealed that he knew Vector was from Downunda and that he had adopted a different accent to hide this. When Knuckles reacted angrily to the news that Espio had known about the Brotherhood all along, Espio replied that he had known of their existence, but had been given no other details. Things went from bad to worse as first Espio's attempts to jog Charmy's memory failed, and then Mighty stormed off in response to the news that his parents were dead and his younger sister was part of a Dark Egg Legion chapter. Espio was deeply grieved by the pain he had caused his friend, but the next morning bid him a warm farewell as Mighty left to find his sister. #212)

Abilities
Being a chameleon, Espio can camouflage himself to his environment. His camouflage is so effective that he is essentially invisible while remaining still. He can move while camouflaged, however, doing so causes more of a cloaking effect. Espio can also climb along any surface including ceilings due to his lizard sticky pads. Espio also can use his tongue as a short range projectile attack and as a grappling hook. After his ninja training, Espio is now a master of throwing knives and shurikens. He is also a master of non-camouflaged stealth, and has a wide knowledge of ninja combat skills. Espio also possesses great skill at gathering information, as shown by his ability to uncover secrets about his fellow Chaotix that they were either unaware of or went to great lengths to hide.

Personality
Before his ninja training, Espio was laid back and a bit acerbic. Always somewhat cynical, he nevertheless maintained a positive outlook on life. While Mighty also advocated keeping the peace among friends, Espio was more blunt in putting an end to any bickering, especially from Vector. After being forced to destroy his old friend Valdez, Espio became much quieter and more serious in demeanor. While Sonic was lost in space, Espio underwent his ninja training which further led to his stern and serious outlook on life. Espio is especially serious, quiet, and completely devoted to whatever job he is undertaking. While given to emotion in intense situations, he is relatively more reserved than others. He still holds a soft spot for his friends, going to some length to "avenge" the loss of the Golden Hive Colony for Charmy's sake. He is also very honor-bound to his clan, shown in how he went to serve the Iron Queen when his house swore their allegiance to her, even though he obviously does not wish to do this. Espio's loyalty to his friends is extreme, and the knowledge of causing them pain is particularly upsetting to him.

Appearance
Espio is a purple chameleon with a yellow horn on his head. Initially, his appearance in the comic was based on that of the earlier video games; he wore green, black and yellow shoes with simple white gloves and had a ridge of teal/green scales down his spine and coiled tail. Like many in the comic's earlier days, he was given light blue eyes.

With the release of Sonic Heroes, the character design was updated and so the comic matched his new appearance; his skin became a brighter purple and his eyes are now gold. He now wears dark purple and black shoes with more elaborate cuffs and studded bands around the wrists and ankles. The scales on his back were reduced to three and are now black in colour. However, they are still occasionally miscoloured various shades of green, as are his eyes (though less frequently). Some artists seem to have some difficulty in properly rendering the shape of his crest and the back of his head; additionally, early on, his horn was more likely to be placed much higher on his face, though these mistakes have become far less common.