Kragok

Kragok was a Grandmaster of the Dark Legion for many years. After his sister Lien-Da assassinated their father Luger as part of their plan to gain power, Kragok siezed control of the Dark Legion for himself, as the experimental weapon he provided her with exploded and left her comatose for a prolonged period of time. Both tactful and vicious, Kragok posed a serious threat to Knuckles the Echidna and the Brotherhood of Guardians during his leadership of the Dark Legion. When Dimitri returned in the form of Enerjak, Kragok immediately turned over command to the Chaos-demigod, who was the inspiration for the Dark Legion's founding. Kragok found himself forced back into the Twilight Zone by the Guardian Tobor where the two fought for a prolonged period of time. When the two re-emerged, Tobor hurled them both into the Dark Legion Battle Cruiser, resulting in both of their deaths.

Early Life and Rise to Power
Born the only son of Grandmaster Luger, Kragok is the twin brother of Lien-Da. The two were still young when their mother, Merin-Da, died of unknown causes after becoming ill when the Dark Legion arrived in Mobius Prime. Sometime later, Kragok and Lien-Da were outraged when their father fell in love with Mari-Su and re-married. After Mari-Su gave birth to Julie-Su, neither he nor Lien-Da spent any time with their half-sister, shunning or ignoring her in her toddler years. Having never accepted Mari-Su, the two conspired to remove her from the scene, culminating in her assassination by Lien-Da, who made it to appear to have been a tragic accident. (StH: #205, SSS: #11)



By this point in time, Kragok and Lien-Da considered their grandfather, Moritori Rex, to be more of a father figure than Luger. As time went on and their ambitious grew, Kragok secretly discussed with his sister the assassination of their father. Although Kragok had no problem with the death of his step-mother, he had some hesitation when he and his sister discussed assassinating their biological father. Despite Moritori telling them he felt their time as Grandmasters was "long overdue", Kragok felt this opinion was largely based on Moritori's own ambitions, and that due to his lengthy time in Mobius Prime he had forgotten the Dark Legion's situation. However, both he and Lien-Da agreed to have Luger assassinated so that they could become the first joint-Grandmasters the Dark Legion had ever known. However, Kragok secretly had no plans to share the leadership, and thus provided Lien-Da with an experimental weapon he created that was highly unstable and untested. Thus, when Lien-Da fired the shot to atomize Luger, the weapon exploded, badly injuring her. During her lengthy time recovering in a body cast, Kragok took the opportunity to seize control of the Dark Legion, now that Luger had vanished without a trace and Lien-Da was temporarily abscent. When Lien-Da finally awoke, he informed her that he was the Grandmaster, and that promoting her then would have caused "unnecessary confusion" and thus kept her in the rank of Kommissar and act as his second-in-command. (StH: #205, SSS: #11)

Grandmaster of the Dark Legion
With Luger out of the way, Kragok and Lien-Da activated Julie-Su's Memory Neutralizing Chip, erasing her memories of her parents and relation to them. They then forced Simon and Floren-Ca to accept custody of Julie-Su and act as if she were an orphan. Hoping to get rid of Simon, as his position as the aid of Moritori Rex made him feel unthreatened by Kragok, he had Simon attached to an infantry unit which lead numerous supply raids, though Simon managed to survive them all. Eventually, Kragok and Lien-Da's fear that Julie-Su would come to learn the truth of her past caused them to once again have Julie-Su's memory wiped while also taking her away from Floren-Ca and Simon. After this, Kragok and Lien-Da kept a close eye on Julie-Su at all times. (SSS: #11)

Kragok became a father at some point, entering into a relationship with an unknown female Echidna and thus producing a son, Remington, who would wind up living in Echidnaopolis and becoming a Constable in the Echidna Security Team. (StH: #181, KtE: #18)

After a number of years spent preparing for the Dark Legion's next escape from the Twilight Zone, Kragok emerged with his forces to retake Angel Island when the Ultimate Annihilator broke down the barriers between Mobius Prime and numerous pocket zones. After the Dark Legion captured Knuckles and the Chaotix, Kragok attempted to learn the location of the Chaos Emerald by peacefully talking with Knuckles. However, when the Guardian failed to provide any information, he ordered his troops to beat him. Unaware that Knuckles managed to escape, he and the Dark Legion were caught off guard when the Chaotix were freed and sent one of the Dark Legion's tanks into the middle of their ranks. Ordering the legion to give chase, he had the tanks shoot several volleys into the forest with the intention of burning Knuckles and the Chaotix along with it. (KtE: #1, #2)

Believing Knuckles and the Chaotix to have perished in the fire, he led the Dark Legion to an ancient structure that had been there for generations. Once there, he had the legion assemble in the Great Hall, where he began his speech about reclaiming their birthright. His speech was interrupted by Knuckles, who managed to sneak into the proceedings with the Chaotix disguised as legionnaires. After facing Knuckles in close combat, the situation turned in Knuckles' favour when Locke used his Chaos-based powers to disable the Dark Legion's weapons and cause the base's systems to begin overloading. Kragok managed to flee the scene while the rest of the Dark Legion evacuated. (KtE: #3)

Surrendering Command to Enerjak
Despite this set back, Kragok remained determined, ordering that a statue of the great Dimitri be erected to inspire his men while they set up camp in the Sandopolis desert. The last thing Kragok anticipated was the return of Dimitri himself still in the form of Enerjak. Surrendering control of the Legion to his ancestor, Kragok followed Enerjak faithfully. After inspecting the Dark Legion troops to ensure they were prepared for the upcoming invasion of Echidnaopolis, Kragok spoke privately with Enerjak, who informed him he was setting out to deal with any major opposition. While Enerjak dealt with the Fire Ants and Knuckles, Kragok interviewed Julie-Su, who was returned to the legion by Enerjak. Due to Julie-Su's status as an outstanding and loyal soldier, Kragok believed her when she explained she was only using Knuckles to relocate the legion so she could return to its ranks. Before dismissing her however, Kragok warned her if he found out she was lying, a lot more than her "honor" would be at stake. Later when the captured Chaotix nearly escaped, Julie-Su managed to render them unconscious, at which point Kragok ordered her to finish them off. However, he was soon distracted when he was presented with the captured Archimedes and Deo Volente, whom he proceeded to place in a box and have buried beneath the sands of the desert. (KtE: #7, #8)

Following this, Kragok had the Dark Legion prepare for the invasion of Echidnaopolis. As soon as Enerjak returned from atomizing Knuckles, Kragok informed Enerjak of his battle strategy. Rather than follow Kragok's plan to invade the city at night, Enerjak provided a golden archway which provided direct access to Echidnaopolis from the desert. Kragok inquired about the fate of Knuckles before the Dark Legion set out to invade the city. As their forces entered Echidnaopolis, Kragok ordered the Dark Legion to attack hard and fast and take no prisoners. Shortly afterwards Enerjak was teleported away (unbeknownst to anyone at the time, by Mammoth Mogul), at which point Kragok attempted to quickly retaliate and reorganize the Dark Legion forces. However, before he could provide his orders, Julie-Su crashed the hover saucer he was on, delivering him straight into the hands of Echidna Security Team officers. (KtE: #8, #9)

Imprisonment and Death
Kragok was incarcerated in Echidnaopolis, and remained in prison for some time until Knuckles came to him seeking answers about the return of Tobor and his being impersonated by Moritori Rex. Kragok hinted at a long-running and intricate Legion plot before attacking Knuckles, both of them then being drawn through a portal into the Twilight Zone. Fighting briefly, they then escaped through another portal, but Tobor intervened and pulled Kragok into it with him, imprisoning them both. (KtE: #18)

Later, when the Dark Legion fired the Quantum Beam for the second time, Tobor was released and became determined to stop the weapon despite not knowing its effects. Kragok attempted to stop him, but the Guardian responded by grabbing his enemy and ramming them both into the weapon, ending their lives and destroying the Quantum Beam. (StH: #100, SSS: #14)

Legacy
Kragok's legacy would live on, however, as an amnesia-addled Remington would later learn of his heritage from Dr. Finitevus, who gave him implants that resembled Kragok's own. Remington then proceeded to lead the Frost faction of the Dark Legion to war with his aunt who commanded the Flame Legion. Remington's emulation of his father ended when a new Enerjak restored him to his fully organic state with his memories returned to normal. (StH: #165, #181, #183)

Personality
Kragok was violent, brutal, and patriotic to a fault. He enjoyed nothing more than crushing his enemies, unless it was faithfully serving the Dark Legion cause. Arrogant and overconfident, he only showed fear in the presence of Dimitri, when threatened with imprisonment in the Twilight Zone, or when death was imminent. Unlike his more reserved father, he was fully supportive of all out conflict against the other Echidnas, and felt confident in the Legion's "destiny" of world domination. Like his sister, Kragok felt that Moritori Rex, their grandfather, was more of a father to them than Luger. For this reason, combined with their feverent ambitions, the two agreed to have Luger assassinated in order to become joint Grandmasters. Secretly however, Kragok had no intention of sharing power with his sister, and thus provided her with an experimental weapon he knew was highly unstable. Thus, after Lien-Da killed their father, the weapon blew up and severely injured her, allowing Kragok to siezed power for himself while she healed. (StH: #100, #205, KtE: #7, #18)

Another noteworthy trait was his singleminded ruthlessness, which led him to set the forest on Angel Island ablaze when he failed to capture Knuckles and the Chaotix.

Abilities
A decent tactician and ruthless military commander, Kragok was an domineering presence on the battlefield. His leadership was unquestioned by the majority of the legion, only a few were suspicious of the takeover. The creation of experimental weapon showcased his more technical skills and engineering capabilities. Despite Knuckles being dominant in most of their physical encounters, Kragok was more than able to fight him, and was strong enough to actually stun the guardian with a punch.

Background Information

 * Kragok's age was calculated using the ages provided in Sonic Super Special #11 and Julie-Su's SEGA data file. In the former, it stated Kragok and Lien-Da were seventeen when Julie-Su was born. In the latter, Julie-Su's year of birth was stated as 3221, making Kragok's year of birth 3204.
 * A sketch of Kragok and Lien-Da as kids by Spaz was provided in StH #115.


 * In a Q&A, writer Ian Flynn said this about Kragok and Lien-Da when asked about the kind of relationship the two had: "I think their relationship was the closest to honest love they felt for anyone, and I mean that in the fraternal way. I think they came to rely and trust in one another when Luger re-married and sired Julie-Su. Once they began their swift rise to power I think they became the only people they truly trusted, and even then I think there was a seed of doubt - or at least a presumption that the other wouldn't hesitate to seize control if one of them faltered. In terms of your quote, I think Lien-Da feared that an indebtedness to the Guardians would show just such a weakness." (1)

Appearance
Kragok was a red echidna with a cybernetic left eye and arm. His one organic eye was blue, though it was on occasion coloured brown. His mechanical arm ended in a ball joint with three sharp "fingers" spaced equally apart. He wore a dark gray Dark Legion robe with tattered sleeves and a green and gold clasp on the front; usually, his hood was kept up. On his right hand he wore a blue mitt-like glove, usually with the thumb free. In some appearances, his dreadlocks were drawn noticeably shorter than average in what was perceived by many fans as an attempt to further distinguish his appearance from that of Knuckles (it was around this time that his eye was brown rather than the common blue). Eventually, his mechanical arm was damaged and twisted. The character was designed by artist Patrick Spaziante.