Geoffrey St. John

Geoffrey St. John is the leader of the Kingdom of Acorn's Royal Secret Service, having reestablished the organization following its destruction at the hands of Dr. Ivo Robotnik in honor of his father, Ian St. John, who was also his predecessor. Following Robotnik's military coup, he gathered the few remaining members of the old Secret Service and formed them into the Rebel Underground, an organization originally proposed to King Maximillian Acorn but never put into action. After some time working independently, his group met the Knothole Freedom Fighters, and after a number of meetings began working together with them. For a time, Geoffrey even contended with Sonic the Hedgehog for the hand of Princess Sally Acorn, but eventually found his true love in Hershey Cat, a member of the new Secret Service team formed following Robotnik's defeat. Since then, Geoffrey has been leading missions against Dr. Eggman and other villains in the service of former king Max and later King Elias Acorn. However, he later went rogue, restoring the wizard Ixis Naugus to full power and working as his apprentice.

Childhood
A young child during the last years of the Great War, Geoffrey idolized his father Ian St. John, who had instilled a sense of duty and honor into the young Geoffrey. The last he saw of his father was during the Great War, when Ian departed on a mission to transport Queen Alicia Acorn and her son Prince Elias Acorn to Angel Island for their protection. When their vessel was shot down by Overlanders, Ian perished. Afterwards, Geoffrey presumably went into hiding after Dr. Ivo Robotnik seized power, and remained so for years until becoming a young adult. During that time, it is assumed that he came into contact with Ixis Naugus, and eventually became his apprentice. (StH: #20, #118, KtE: #20, #21)

Rebel Underground
Geoffrey established the Rebel Underground towards the latter end of Robotnik's dictatorship, determined to strike a blow for his kingdom and for his lost father. On one particular mission into Robotropolis, he ran into none other than Sally Acorn, who had just set an explosive device in one of Robotnik's facilities. Naturally suspicious due to his years of training, Geoffrey held her at crossbow point up until the bomb went off, knocking them both off their feet with the explosion. Realizing that the same facility he himself had been targeting was now gone, Geoffrey thanked Sally and introduced himself. Given the anonymity of his group, Sally was skeptical, but that didn't keep her from being intrigued. The two then came under attack by SWATbots, and with a little teamwork were able to make and escape to rejoin Sally's temporary backup team, the Substitute Freedom Fighters back when they were still recruits. Geoffrey immediately gone on the wrong foot with Hamlin due to their similarly volatile personalities, and Sally had to intervene to get them to stop fighting. With that done, Sally introduced Geoffrey to the other members of the group-Arlo, Penelope Platypus, and Dylan-and announced that he would be joining them on their current mission. The nature of that mission: to knock out three energy substations providing power to the Robotropolis defense grid, leaving the city open to ground attacks. Joining in the attack on the first station, Geoffrey helped the team as they dealt with Robotnik's Orb-Bots, security robots armed with lasers that held the group pinned down. Fortunately, they managed to turn the tables and escape, with Geoffrey even rescuing Hamlin from being crushed by a falling robot. Despite this act, Hamlin remained suspicious, and the two continued to be at each other's throats as time went on. (StH: #20, PSM: #1)

Hamlin soon approached Geoffrey for combat training, though he seemed more eager for a chance to beat the Skunk to a pulp. Geoffrey soon demonstrated his superior skill, only to have Princess Sally show him up in a similar contest. He then accompanied the group in the attack on the final substation, infiltrating the installation by using hang gliders. Landing, they made their way into the interior of the island holding the station, and had almost completed their task when an Octo-Pod robot attacked, grabbing Sally. Evading the attacker, Geoffrey planted the last of the group's explosives, including setting one on the pod, and then ran alongside the others in escaping. He then reported in to Dr. Robotnik, having apparently placed Sally in a stasis pod and replaced her with an Auto Automaton duplicate in order to sabotage the Freedom Fighters. (PSM: #2)

His absence from the group's following mission elicited further suspicion from Hamlin, which appeared to be well-founded. When they broke into the command center of the base they were attacking, Geoffrey was there waiting for them with Robotnik. Sally then held the group at weapon point before they could attack, and Robotnik revealed that the energy substations had been a ruse, and that Sally had been replaced by a duplicate he had created in order to lead the Freedom Fighters to their doom. However, when he attempted to Roboticize the "real" Sally in her pod, the process was halted by a feedback loop caused by the Roboticizer trying to Roboticize a robot. The Sally Robotnik had thought to be his creation turned out to be the genuine article, and Geoffrey turned out to have duped both Robotnik and the Substitute Freedom Fighters. Unworried, Robotnik activated his Stealth Bot sentinels and ordered them to attack, but Geoffrey's Rebel Underground arrived just in time, burrowing through the floor and disabling the automatons. Greeting his associates Fleming and Smiley, Geoffrey accompanied them and Sally's team in escaping Robotnik's self-destructing base. Afterwards, Geoffrey and Sally told the Substitute Freedom Fighters the whole story behind their deception, and how Geoffrey had told Sally of Robotnik's planned deception. By activating the robot prematurely, he had let it pose as Sally so he could figure out the specifics of Robotnik's plan, and then placed it in stasis while reawakening the real Sally. His mission done, Geoffrey took his leave, determining that it would be best for his group to remain separate from the Freedom Fighters. To remember him by, he left Sally with a kiss, and in doing so planted the seeds of a romantic rivalry for her heart between himself and Sonic the Hedgehog. (PSM: #3)

Geoffrey and Sally crossed paths once again some time later, when both the Knothole Freedom Fighters and the Rebel Underground went after the same target: the robot Dynamac 3000, an adaptable combat machine being shipped to the western part of the continent both groups inhabited. The two ran into each other in the compartment of one of Robotnik's trains where the robot was being stored, Geoffrey proving as coy as ever by suggesting that they were more than just friends. While his men worked to stop the engine, Geoffrey had come after the robot itself, only for it to activate due to a fail-safe installed by Robotnik to work with the engines cutting out. In the course of the ensuing battle, Geoffrey met Sonic for the first time, and immediately assumed that he was another of Sally's Freedom Fighter trainees, much to Sonic's anger. Just as with Hamlin, Geoffrey found himself butting heads with the hedgehog as they struggled to defeat Dynamac. Not even trying to work together, each tried his own method to bring down the robot, but neither Sonic's speed nor Geoffrey's gadgetry prevailed. The robot was soon destroyed, however, and Geoffrey took the train for the use of his Rebel Underground, leaving Sally with yet another kiss as he went off. (StH: #31)

Not long afterwards, Sally called upon Geoffrey to accompany her into the Zone of Silence along with Sonic to rescue King Max and plant the Neutralizer device to prevent the Zone from collapsing. At Geoffrey insisting that he go alone, and his view of Sonic as a juvenile-despite being only a few years older than him-brought them both to the point of an argument yet again. The trio made their way into the Zone and found themselves confronted with visions of King Acorn's past in the zone, and before they could make any progress the Zone began to collapse, dragging them down into a destructive vortex. Putting aside their differences as the King, his mind disrupted by his years in the Zone, attacked, Geoffrey took Sally to safety while Sonic stayed behind to confront the monarch. The Neutralizer proved effective, and Geoffrey and his friends escaped the Zone with the King in tow. (StH: #41)

As King Max's body began crystallizing as a result of a deal made with the sorcerer Ixis Naugus while in the Zone, Geoffrey returned to Knothole to support Sally through the difficult experience. When Dr. Quack then proposed a way to travel into the King's fevered dreams and try to get through to him, Geoffrey flipped a coin with Sonic to see which of them would go, only to lose. Sonic proved successful in bringing the King at least partially back to his senses, and Geoffrey had to admit to a grudging admiration for him. (StH: #43)

Like members of other major resistance groups, he would then arrive at a wilderness retreat proposed by Sally to help her friends unwind, only to disrupt their relaxation with his suspicions of Sonic's uncle Sir Charles Hedgehog being a spy for Robotnik. Geoffrey quickly angered the remainder of the Freedom Fighters, referring to them as children fighting a war best left to adults. When he persisted in his accusations of Uncle Chuck, Sonic attacked him, only to be defeated by Geoffrey's tactical skill. However, any satisfaction from that victory was short-lived as Geoffrey took a punch from Antoine D'Coolette, another Freedom Fighter who accused Geoffrey of being a traitor, as he claimed that the Rebel Underground had never really existed. Questioned as to his source, he revealed the history of the Rebel Underground's proposal by his father, Armand D'Coolette, as a precaution against King Acorn's enemies, but that it had never been put into place before Robotnik's coup. The two then continued fighting briefly until Sally stepped in to break them up, and Geoffrey left the group in as bad a temper as those he had angered. (StH: #46)

Barely any time passed before Geoffrey was back, this time serving as King Max's agent in arresting Sonic for his alleged part in murdering Sally. Taking him into custody, he brought Sonic before the King to stand trial, and soon saw his rival being sent to Devil's Island Gulag for life imprisonment. Geoffrey was charged with escorting him to the transport that would take him to the prison, and took grim satisfaction in beating on the manacled Hedgehog. En route to the prison, however, the plane was shot down by SWATbots and Sonic escaped. Geoffrey and his men soon came in hot pursuit, determined to bring Sonic to justice. Having placed a bug in Sonic's restraints, Geoffrey soon caught up to him in a tunnel network, where the two fought a grueling battle. Fully convinced of Sonic's guilt, Geoffrey attacked him while professing his love for Sally, while Sonic replied with his own declaration. In the end, Sonic proved too powerful for Geoffrey but was then forced to dive off a cliff to escape him. Surviving through his quick thinking, Sonic was able to evade Geoffrey's pursuit long enough to enlist the aid of Dulcy, his dragon ally who flew him out of Geoffrey's reach-temporarily, at least. (StH: #47, #48, #49)

Following his quarry to Angel Island, Geoffrey found himself dealing with another of Sonic's rivals as well: Knuckles the Echidna, Guardian of the island and another old friend of Sally's. Geoffrey briefly convinced the Echidna that Sonic had killed Sally, inciting Knuckles to go after Sonic himself. However, with the intervention of Espio the Chameleon and a little time for Knuckles' temper to cool off, St. John found his pursuit blocked by Knuckles' jurisdiction over the island. Dulcy soon returned and with a dragon's inability to lie informed Geoffrey and Knuckles that Sonic had been framed by Robotnik. Humbled, Geoffrey redirected his efforts at an attack on Robotnik, which Sonic and Knuckles joined without hesitation. Together, the trio proved too much for Robotnik's minions, and Geoffrey kept up the fight while Sonic and Robotnik had their final showdown. In the end, everything turned out all right: Sally was revealed to have merely been badly injured and had recovered, Robotnik was dead, and Geoffrey was officially instated as the head of a new Secret Service by King Acorn, whose Auto Automaton duplicate had been the one to rule against Sonic. Around this time was also when Geoffrey met Hershey Cat for the first time. (StH: #49, #50)

Royal Secret Service
Geoffrey and his men fought alongside the Freedom Fighters on many occasions, and St. John aided in the return of King Acorn and eventually re-established the King's Secret Service and, following Robotnik's death, became head of security during the reclaiming of Mobotropolis. One of his first actions was helping to subdue yet another DYNAMAC and capturing Snively Kintobor Geoffrey in particular was increasingly jealous of Sonic the Hedgehog, putting him down as a child, and as such did everything he could to put himself in the best light possible. Geoffrey and Sonic physically fought on numerous occasions, but made temporary amends in the end. Geoffrey also accompanied the Freedom Fighters when they traveled to Angel Island in response to a falsified distress call from Knuckles, only to be caught in a trap set by Master Mogul, who subdued Geoffrey and a number of others in his initial assault. Following Mogul's defeat at the hands of Super Sonic, Turbo Tails, Hyper Knuckles, and an assemblage of other combatants, Geoffrey would return to Mobotropolis to find the city caught in a war as a spell cast by Ixis Naugus turned Mobians and Robians against each other, forcing Geoffrey to help restore order. (StH: #56, KtE: #9, SSS: #2, #4)



Upon forming a new Secret Service team-having recruited new members Hershey Cat, Valdez, Wombat Stu, Heavy, and Bomb-Geoffrey embarked on a quest to Angel Island to discover what had become of Queen Alicia. After meeting with Colonel Sommersby on Angel Island, Geoffrey soon learned of the existence of Elias Acorn, King Max's son. Skeptical for some time due to the King failing to ever mention a son, Geoffrey soon came to accept Elias' story after meeting the Brotherhood of Guardians and having located Alicia Acorn in their base Haven. (StH: #61, #62, #63, #64; KtE: #19, #20, #21)

Upon the rise of Dr. Eggman, the fall of Mobotropolis and re-colonization of Knothole, Geoffrey witnessed Sonic being knighted, and reluctantly called Sonic "Sir" as he now surpassed him in rank, and was privately embarrassed when the Secret Service and Freedom Fighters were sent to work together on numerous occasions. Following the theft of the Sword of Acorns by Sonic, and paralyzation of King Max, Geoffrey, desperate to upstage Sonic, approached the inexperienced head-of-state; Elias, and manipulated his gullible nature to allow him to become his behind-the-scenes advisor. Using Elias as nothing more than a puppet, Geoffrey had Sonic's knighthood taken away, and as a child, confined to Knothole. (StH: #78, #93)



During a mission into Robotropolis to retrieve the Sword of Acorns, Geoffrey and his team were captured by Eggman's SWATbots and imprisoned - infected with nanoprobes that left them vulnerable to Eggman's manipulation. Sonic rescued the group and the Sword was eventually located and retrieved. (StH: #97, #99)

Geoffrey and Hershey were forced to undergo intensive treatment to destroy the nanites they were subjected to during their time as prisoners in Robotropolis. During his time of reflection of his actions, Geoffrey realized how big a pompous fool he had been, and considered resigning from the service. However, his long-time admirer Hershey the Cat convinced him otherwise, leading them to develop a relationship. Seeking a way to redeem himself, Geoffrey and Hershey journied across the world to find Elias, who had abandoned his position because of everything falling apart due to Geoffrey's advice. After weeks of searching, Geoffrey and Hershey managed to track down Elias in Feral Forest. Although Geoffrey failed to convince Elias to return home, the arrival of Sonic and Sally had Elias promise to keep in touch. (StH: #118, #121)

Wedding and Near Execution
Continuing to work with Hershey over the year of Sonic's absence following the Xorda attack, Geoffrey would later be captured with her by Dr. Eggman after the two learned of his stockpile of nuclear weapons. They escaped the prison, only to be captured once again by a legion of Shadowbots controlled by A.D.A.M., Eggman's computer virus "son". Feeling generous, Eggman offered the pair a last request, and so Geoffrey and Hershey asked to be allowed to get married. Their ceremony, held at gunpoint, was brief, but fortunately what they thought would be a marriage of only a few moments was extended by Sonic's timely return and his destruction of the Shadowbots. After overcoming his shock at seeing Sonic again after thinking him dead for a year, Geoffrey told the Hedgehog what he had learned regarding Eggman's plans before Sonic raced to inform Knothole. (StH: #130)

Later, following the defeat of Eggman's nuclear assault scheme, Geoffrey and Hershey met up with Sonic at Mina Mongoose's celebratory concert. After exchanging a few brief salutations, he and Hershey left for their next "secret mission": their honeymoon. (StH: #134)

Back In Action
Geoffrey has since took up residence in New Mobotropolis after Knothole's destruction, and runs the Secret Service from the top floor of the army headquarters. His first known mission after arriving in the city was to accompany Rouge the Bat to a Casino Night Club run by Mammoth Mogul to investigate the villain and his many 'business associates'-Badniks and the Destructix-though Geoffrey also had to contend with his partner's flirtatious attitude. He later joined up with Sally Acorn and Amy Rose when the two came to liberate Sonic, who had been abducted by the Destructix. Although the rescue was successful, Geoffrey and company were humiliated when they were unable to prove their claims of Mogul's involvement in the incident due to lack of evidence. Mogul's plan had, in fact, been to discredit his enemies all along. (StH: #176, #187, #188)

Not long afterwards, Geoffrey returned from a mission to find the city under siege by the Iron Dominion, and joined up with Amy and Antoine to escape to an underground shelter whereupon entering he was surprised by the appearance of "Iron NICOLE". After being brought up to speed (and understanding that NICOLE was essentially working undercover), he came to assist Amy and Antoine in an attempt to free prisoners from a public display in the Coliseum; while somewhat hesitant when it came to Amy's more direct methods, he joined them in battle, taking on numerous Yagyu ninja and Dark Egg Legionnaires with ease and taunting them all the while. It was only when the Iron King entered the fray that he found himself in over his head, but that was when Sonic, Sally, Tails and Monkey Khan made their timely arrival. He subsequently aided the Freedom Fighters in battling the Iron King, and then helped Antoine in leading away the Iron Queen following her arrest. (StH: #210, #211)

Betrayal
Growing more unstable, King Max tasked Geoffrey with finding a way to restore the monarchy to "proper authority," thinking things could return to the way they were before the war. Geoffrey suggested he, with Sonic's help, could attain a Chaos Emerald to meet this goal - though as he later explained to the hedgehog, he was only doing it to appease the addled former king, his rational being that Max would be satisfied thinking something was being done and that having a Chaos Emerald around would be useful anyway. He and Sonic traveled to Freedom HQ, where Sonic casually asked what Hershey was up to; after a pause, Geoffrey explained that she was deep under cover on a mission and that he wouldn't be seeing her for a while. The two entered the Special Zone via the Star Posts; once inside the zone, the pair were met by an angry Feist. However, after they explained themselves, Feist considered letting them take one of his challenges, and Geoffrey further appealed to the demi-god by suggesting he pit himself and Sonic against each other to make things more interesting. While Sonic raced off after the purple Chaos Emerald, however, Geoffrey merely stood back, loading a stun dart into his wrist-mounted gauntlet. Sonic soon returned with the emerald, taunting the skunk for "not even trying" - he was caught by surprised when Geoffrey fired the dart at him. Telling the hedgehog, "I didn't need to, mate," Geoffrey took the emerald and kicked Sonic off into the abyss, much to Feist's amusement. He then left the Special Zone and took the emerald not to New Mobotropolis, but rather, Mammoth Mogul's Casino Night Zone. There, Geoffrey forced his way into Mogul's office; the latter was casual, saying that he had no need for a second Chaos Emerald, but Geoffrey told him that he didn't intend to give it to him. Rather, he was on a mission "to restore the true king to the throne" and claimed Mogul had the last thing he needed, looking towards the mindless, captive Ixis Naugus. He promised Mogul that the completion of his mission would lead to an increase of his business and, most importantly, would cause Sonic misery. He was soon allowed to use the emerald, which was able to restore Naugus' mind to normal. Naugus quickly reprimanded Geoffrey, grabbing him by the throat and showing displeasure towards Geoffrey's apparent lack of action all this time. Geoffrey escaped by turning to smoke and reappearing on the floor, gasping for air. Geoffrey insisted that everything he had done (or not done) in Naugus' absence had been necessary, and promised that he would ensure Naugus' rightful place on the throne if he were to follow his instruction. (StH: #219, #220)

Later, one evening, Geoffrey and Naugus appeared in the empty upper section of New Mobotropolis' Coliseum where the Forget Me Knots were about to give a concert, having emerged from the shadows using magic (a technique Geoffrey found extremely uncomfortable). Naugus showed some displeasure in Geoffrey, but while the skunk admitted his magical skills were lacking, Naugus would still need his help if he wanted to take over the kingdom. The day before Naugus planned to finally make his move, Geoffrey secretly observed Sonic and Sally spending time together by the Lake of Rings; he glared, but then looked saddened before drifting back to Naugus. (StH: #221, StH: #222)

Personality
Geoffrey was extremely egotistical, self-righteous and uncompromising, often belittling Sonic and other members of the Freedom Fighters as mere children, rarely hesitating to make insinuations against others. He would even end up in physical conflicts with Sonic, Antoine and others due to his attitude. He holds an intense hatred of Overlanders due to them being involved in his father's death. While determined to do the right thing, sometimes his sense of self-righteousness causes him to be pushy or make poor decisions concerning others. He tries to come off as both suave and businesslike, though he isn't above casual taunting. His personality has become somewhat more relaxed since Sonic's year-long absence and his marriage to Hershey. (StH: #46, #130)

Abilities
Geoffrey is generally skilled in a variety of combat, espionage and tactical areas. He's shown to have some proficiency with a number of tools and weapons, though he primarily uses a small wrist-mounted crossbow. He was eventually revealed to have some low-level magical abilities (specifically, turning to smoke), though these are extremely limited and unrefined; he uses them with difficulty.

Sally Acorn
Geoffrey didn't take long to become attracted to Princess Sally Acorn following their initial meeting, having been impressed by her maturity and spirit despite being somewhat older than her. His feelings towards her soon became romantic, as demonstrated by his kissing her before leaving her for the first time and then again when they joined forces a second time. However, he soon found himself a rival for Sally's hand in Sonic, and the two fought heatedly whenever they met. Geoffrey continued to be there for Sally, supporting her through a number of hardships while still competing with Sonic. Eventually, though, he came to accept that Sally no longer had feelings for him as she had in the beginning, and so abandoned his romantic relationship with her.



Hershey Cat
Geoffrey and Hershey met following Robotnik's death, and the two became fast friends before becoming members of the Secret Service. As Hershey continued to pass the rigorous tests Geoffrey set for her, he grew to be more and more impressed by her abilities, but was also more concerned when she went into the field alone than he might have been for others under his command. Presumably, his feelings of attraction towards her grew for some time following his breaking off romantic ties with Sally, but it wasn't until Hershey admitted her own love for him that Geoffrey responded in kind. The two continued to work together for a year, and were finally married at the same time that Sonic returned to Mobius. Proving himself a loyal husband, Geoffrey didn't take kindly to Rouge the Bat's comment that they were the best looking couple in Mammoth Mogul's casino when the two worked together to infiltrate the operation and spy on the long-time supervillain.

Background Information

 * Originally, Geoffrey spoke with an Australian accent, then switched over for a strong cockney one, common among those from London, England. Ian Flynn stated in his message board that he plans on going back to the Australian accent for whenever he portrays Geoffrey, effectively dropping the cockney one altogether. (1)

Appearance
Geoffrey is a black-and-white skunk with blue eyes and white hair. In early depictions, he was often drawn with a somewhat thick, bulky build, though this has gradually lessened. His original attire typically consisted of bright purple boots, belt/bandolier, gloves and a beret (though the later was not a constant feature), as well as a green (sometimes teal or blue) neckerchief. He later wore a similar outfit featuring boots, gloves, and a beret in brown or olive green, with the additions of a closed blue/violet vest, a blue neckerchief and a clear visor. He's often been shown in a black tuxedo with a black bow-tie and red cummerbund. Artist J. Axer later redesigned Geoffrey, giving him a highly-detailed full-body combat suit in olive green, retaining the visor.

As a child, Geoffrey was depicted in a simple t-shirt and shorts with boots. He once donned a long, hooded brown cloak with a green clasp at the throat for unknown reasons. He's also been seen in some sort of green swimming attire and a tan suit with a blue neckerchief. While not often the subject of artistic errors, his hair has once been coloured black.