Downunda is a continent in the southern hemisphere of Mobius and the home of the Downunda Freedom Fighters. It is most famous for being the former homeland of what became the Floating Island. It was Thunderhawk's responsibility to monitor the region for the Brotherhood of Guardians. Both Dr. Robotnik and Dr. Eggman have sought to take over the region, the former employing the evil Crocbot as his overseer, the latter creating the Downunda Dark Egg Legion with the compliance of the local Platypus population. The continent is the home to many Mobian races including the Tasmanian Devils and Fire Ants and also is home to a number of settlements and locations including the Outback, Priscilla, and the Great Crater.
History[]
Echidna Colonization[]
Settled mostly by developing Mobian civilizations, Downunda was colonized by a group of rogue Echidna scientists from Albion during the Forgotten War. Apparently seeking new means of defeating the evil Order of Ixis, they started experimenting on the local Tasmanian Devil population, causing them to mutate into bestial "Devil Dogs." The Echidnas were removed after being arrested for their crimes, whilst the sentient Tasmanian Devil population continued to dwindle thanks to their machinations. (SSSM: #2)
Downunda was the continent where Echidnaopolis was founded by Echidnas from Albion-former compatriots of the Knuckles Tribe and Nocturnus Clan-after their failed attempt to start a colony in the Mysterious Cat Country. Centuries later, their descendants used the power of the Chaos Emeralds to send their city airborne in order to avoid its destruction by the White Comet. They were assisted in this endeavor by the Fire Ants, who were native to Downunda. (StH: #34, #84)
Early History[]
Downunda was known to have been visited by multiple Acorn kings, including Reginald Acorn who met his wife there. Later on Downunda grew unstable and was stabilized by Sebastian Acorn, causing Downunda to defer to the Acorn Line from then on. At some point the Kingdom also established a coastal town called Priscilla. (CSE)
War With Crocbot[]
During the ten year rule of Dr. Ivo Robotnik, Downunda was controlled by Robotnik's Sub-Boss Crocbot. Downunda played a key role at the end of the First Robotnik War, as it was only on this continent that a special ore could be located and mined to serve as fuel for the Ultimate Annihilator in Robotnik's Operation: EndGame. After the despot's demise, the Downunda Freedom Fighters managed to overthrow Crocbot and regain the continent's freedom. For a short time, the peace was disrupted when Crocbot's remains were located by Duck "Bill" Platypus, which then activated a mind-control chip placed in him while in Crocbot's prison camp. Bill went rouge and attempted a rebellion with tribes of wild platypi at his command. The revolt was stamped out soon after though, when Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower arrived while searching for Ixis Naugus. Following Sonic and Tails's activities here, Guardian Thunderhawk found himself with a significant mess to clean up. (TMS: #1, #2, #3, StH: #49, #50, #61, SSS: #6, KtE: #16)
Mild Peace[]
After the formation of the Eggman Empire and the expansion of its territories in the Second Robotnik War, the continent of Downunda remained relatively untouched. Knuckles the Echidna speculated this was due to the continent lacking any strategic value. This changed in the months following Sonic's return from space when the former Freedom Fighter, Bill, became the new Sub-Boss apparently of his "own free will" and led his fellow platypuses to serve the Eggman Empire with cybernetic enhancements and equipment from Dr. Eggman, forming an earlier chapter of the Dark Egg Legion. (StH: #136, SU: #11, #12)
The status of the Downunda Freedom Fighters was uncertain for some time as they were unable to respond to Princess Sally's distress call during the newest Enerjak's rampage in New Mobotropolis. However, Dr. Eggman was scrambling any outgoing or incoming signals, so the lack of contact with them may have been entirely for that reason or possibly also due to them combating the Downunda Dark Egg Legion. (StH: #181, 182, SU: #11)
New Dangers[]
Dr. Finitevus eventually made contact with Grandmaster Bill, and the pair orchestrated seizing Angel Island as it passed overhead. New Wing Dingoes were dispatched to seize Shrine Island, whilst the entire landmass was then anchored by grappling lines fired from the rim of the Great Crater, where the Downunda Legion had set up operations in the ruins of the original Albion colony. The Chaotix fought the Legion and were then joined by the Downunda Freedom Fighters, including their new ally Thrash the Tasmanian Devil. The two teams were briefly captured, but then released by Bill, who revealed that his becoming Grandmaster had been a ploy to sabotage Eggman's operations from within. Freed, the two teams of heroes engaged the Legion, who were forced from their Great Crater base whilst Angel Island was released from the grapple lines. (SU: #8, #9, #10, #11, #12)
Locations[]
Areas[]
- Great Crater
- D.E.L Base (abandoned)
- Tasmanian ruins
- Outback
Settlements[]
Background Information[]
- Downunda is clearly based off Australia, due to it being under the equator. Also, the Freedom Fighters of this region are animals exclusively found or commonly associated with Australia. It's possible that it used to be Australia before the Xorda attack on Earth. Interestingly enough, despite the resemblance to Australia, the region is not the native home of the Echidna race of Mobians, whose normal animal counterparts are native to Australia.
- Further evidence of Downunda being Australia is found on a map resembling present day Australia that hang in an abondoned dam which Guru Emu discovered in issue Issue 182
- Downunda is an obvious pun on down unda, a term often used for Australia.