Spectre

Spectre is a member of the Brotherhood of Guardians, one of many ancestors of Knuckles the Echidna. The son of the lost Guardian Tobor, father of Thunderhawk, Spectre became the oldest living Guardian in Knuckles' tenure in the position after his great-grandfather Mathias, grandfather Hawking, and father died, the first and the third in battle with the Dark Legion and Hawking of old age. Known as the most violent and unpredictable of the Guardians, he is disapproved of by his descendants. Spectre was last seen defending the Master Emerald from Dr. Eggman's forces and then disappeared, having been captured by Dr. Finitevus and then sent to the Twilight Zone.

Early Life
Little is known about Spectre's early life. When he was still an infant, his father Tobor took on the mantle of Guardian when his grandfather Hawking went to return to Mobius Prime to inspect the level of radiation poisoning remaining on the Floating Island from the Dingoes attempted nuclear strike. Not long after this, Spectre's father was replaced by Moritori Rex, a Dark Legion Grandmaster and operative. There is no evidence to indicate that Spectre or anyone else was aware of the swap, as the rest of the Brotherhood of Guardians remained unaware of Moritori Rex's impersonation until he was revealed by Knuckles generations later. (KtE: #17, #18)

Guardian
During his tenor as Guardian, Spectre made a speech to the people of Echidnaopolis and rallied them during one of the Dark Legion's many attempts to take over the city upon escaping from the Twilight Zone. In his speech, Spectre said "It is my conviction that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert defeat into victory. In every dark hour of our society, a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential in achieving the desired goal. I am convinced that you will again give that support to the leadership in these critical days." (KtE: #24)

Member of the Brotherhood
Spectre and the rest of the Brotherhood were introduced to Knuckles shortly after all the Echidnas returned to Angel Island with the city of Echidnaopolis. Prior to that time, Spectre was the most vocal in any objection to Locke's performing experiments on his son to make him a more powerful Guardian, and would later repeat this view stating that where he had once spoken from intuition, he now spoke from experience. Of all the Brotherhood he appeared the most suspicious of Moritori Rex when the true Tobor briefly appeared with Knuckles before carrying Kragok with him into the Twilight Zone. He joined in the pursuit when Moritori was exposed, and later blinded the imposter's cybernetic eyes. Prior to this encounter, Spectre and Locke were the only Guardians to escape capture by the Dark Legion when Dimitri attempted to seize control of Echidnaopolis through political means. (KtE: #16, #17, #18, #24)

Later, Spectre was the major spokesman for the Brotherhood when Sally Acorn approached them for aid against Dr. Eggman, which Spectre reluctantly denied based on the Kingdom of Acorn's refusal to use artillery. Then, during the Legion's Quantum Beam offensive, Spectre joined with the rest of the Brotherhood and Mathias in attacking the Grand Conservatory where the Legion had established their base. Caught in the effects of the Quantum Beam, Spectre and the others were sent to the Twilight Zone. (KtE: #29, SSS: #14)

Thanks to the efforts of the amazingly powerful Chaos Knuckles, the Brotherhood and the rest of Angel Island's populace returned, the Brotherhood to find Haven a ruin. Spectre, his senses more highly attuned than those of the others, was quick to report that he sensed the deaths of Mathias, Hawking, and a third being-unbeknownst to Spectre, his father Tobor-as they passed into "the Next Evolution", or the afterlife. After the Xorda's failed attack on Mobius, Spectre joined his son Thunderhawk as well as Sojourner and Sabre in defending the Master Emerald from an invasion launched by Dr. Eggman. Fighting bravely, the Guardians turned back Eggman's forces, but were left weakened and thus easy prey for Dr. Finitevus. After analyzing both the Guardians and Moritori Rex, he sent them all to the Twilight Zone. (StH: #107, #139, #183)

Personality
Spectre has a deep-rooted hatred for the Dark Legion far more passionate than that of any of the other members of the Brotherhood, possibly stemming from his being raised by Moritori Rex. He is violent and highly aggressive, and seems to have a rather bizarre code of combat: he thinks it vulgar to strike enemies physically when he can dispatch them with the Chaos Force. Spectre seems to enjoy violent acts, and has little regard for the opinions of his fellow Guardians. Still he does have an honorable side, as shown by his cordial interactions with Princess Sally. He also seems to be of the mindset that altering the natural order willfully is dangerous and foolish, as he vocalized in his objections to Knuckles being transformed into a mutant. It is possible that his own past experiences may be the reason for this conviction, or it could just be a natural element of his views. (KtE: #24, #29, SSS: #14)

Powers
Like all Guardians, Spectre draws Chaos power through his link with the Master Emerald. However, Spectre possesses either a greater command of it than most of his compatriots or otherwise simply uses it more extensively than they do. His uses of it include teleportation, enhanced senses, telekinesis, and beams of pure energy than he uses in combat. (StH: #107, KtE: #24)

Background Information
Given Spectre's gruding attitude towards the Dark Legion, some speculate he knew for some time Moritori Rex was impersonating his father, so he sought revenge. This would also explain Spectre's more outward feelings of hatred towards the Dark Legion.

Some have speculated that Spectre has black fur, as many depictions his helmet casts a shadow over him making it appear this way. However, in flashbacks of Spectre as a child he had red fur, debunking this theory.

Continuity Errors
Back in the letters page of Knuckles the Echidna #21 a fan asks a question about listing Knuckles' relatives in order up to Hawking. It states: "The father of Knuckles is Locke. Locke's father is Sabre. Sabre's father is Athair. Followed by Athair is his mother Janelle-Li, the first and only female guardian, and daughter of Thunderhawk. Thunderhawk's father was Sojourner, who was child of Spectre. Tobor the father of Spectre, and the son of Hawking."

It even goes as far as the official story in Knuckles the Echidna #29 when Spectre gives a roll call introduction to Princess Sally stating that his son is Sojourner and Thunderhawk is his grandson. It wasn't until the Sonic Data Banks that this was changed around to Sojourner being the son of Thunderhawk. As to reasons why this change was made nobody is quite sure. All that is known of this situation was that it was handled under poor editing. Hardcore fans got upset with this, but many have adapted to the changes.

Confusion once again arose in the letters page of StH #193. When asked the order of birth, the edited responsed: For the record: The order goes Spectre, Sojourner, Thunderhawk, then Janelle-Li, Athair, Sabre, Locke and Knuckles, for those of you keeping track at home.". When asked about this, writer Ian Flynn responded: I'm going to have to go over it all again to see if there's a nuance somewhere that can nail it down. We will eventually be setting it in stone. Officially. In print. That's more official than what's come before.1