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Shift E. Wolf was a Mobian wolf and member of the Freedom Fighter group known as the Sand-Blasters based out of Sand Blast City.
History[]
Encounters with Sonic, Tails and Bunnie[]
When Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower first arrived in Sand Blast City, the hedgehog found himself the object of hero worship. However, it turned out that the leader of the Sand Blasters, Jack Rabbit, planned to force Sonic to stay in the city as its protector against the Robian hoard beyond the city's force field dome. Shift was among the group who covered up the pair's biplane under the pretense of needing to do maintenance on it. However, not wanting to be kept against their will, Sonic and Tails were forced to make a break for it. Shift was among the group attempting to recapture (but not harm) the two. Despite this, Sonic destroyed the force field generator, and he and Tails escaped. The Sand Blasters were left to fend off the Robians themselves. Later, the Sand Blasters attempted to avenge themselves by luring Sonic into a trap; however, they caught Bunnie "Rabbot" D'Coolette instead. They decided that Sonic would have to come looking for her eventually and set the recaptured Robians upon her; however, she fought her way free, leaving the group to be once again attacked by the Robians. (StH: #62, #63, #119)
Fighting the Dark Egg Legion[]
By 3237, the Robians of the region had all been returned to normal; however, they later joined the Dark Egg Legion, becoming a local chapter at odds with the Sand Blasters. One day, Shift was lounging around watching Avery work when Sonic the Hedgehog suddenly burst from the ground, accusing the Sand Blasters of having attacked Bunnie. Regarding Sonic as a traitor, the Sand Blasters attacked him; throwing a clamp trap attached to a chain, Shift told the hedgehog that they hadn't had the "displeasure" of Bunnie's company in a long time. Not believing him, Sonic knocked the wolf to the ground with a kick. The Sand Blasters were largely outclassed by Sonic, but he was eventually stopped by Tex and confronted by Jack. Eventually, it was determined that Bunnie had run afoul of one of Avery's EMP Beacons and had been captured by the Dark Egg Legion; Jack offered to help Sonic rescue her if the hedgehog, in turn, helped the Sand Blasters take over the Oil Ocean Refinery guarded by the Legion. Sonic agreed, and the next morning, the group set out for the refinery. (StH: #217)
Later, however, Sonic left the group and appeared to have begun fighting Bunnie inside the refinery; not terribly fond of either of them, the Sand Blasters were happy to sit back and watch. Jolt, the only one without binoculars, pestered and begged for someone to let him see, and an impatient Shift decided to "relinquish" his own pair to the bird. Jack soon realized that Sonic and Bunnie were using the fight as a pretense to cause as much destruction as possible to the refinery; enraged, he ordered his team to move in. The Legion advanced as well and soon a huge fight broke out. Eventually, Shift attempted a sneak attack, throwing one of his chains at Bunnie; the clamp shut around her robotic arm, tearing the sleeve of her jacket. Glaring at him, Bunnie easily shattered the clamp and freed her arm, telling Shift to get a life. Indignant at the notion of "brute strength foiling [his] genius," Shift fled with angry tears in his eyes. (StH: #218)
Along with his teammates, Shift subsequently appeared to challenge the arrival of Mighty the Armadillo's teammates from the Chaotix: Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, and Charmy Bee. Mighty had previously joined up with the Sand-Blasters under the identity "Flex", while his friend Ray the Flying Squirrel had assumed the name "Jitters." Shift ended up battling Espio, but his favored chain clamp trap was unable to capture the skilled ninja. It was only after Avery the Bear snagged Charmy in a net that Espio, distracted, fell prey to another of Shift's traps. Shift and his teammates then escorted their "guests" into Sand-Blast City, where they met Mighty and Ray and turned the trio over to them. He also accompanied his team to a meeting with the Legion that turned into a Sand-Blaster ambush, but played little role before being driven off with the rest of his team by a crazed Mighty. (SU: #47, #48, #49)
Personality[]
Shift seems to have an air of sophistication about him, speaking in a more formal manner than his companions. He used to be fond of Sonic due to his heroics, but came to hate him as a traitor after his refusal to stay forcibly confined within Sand Blast City. He regards himself as a genius and is somewhat condescending towards others, and takes particularly pleasure in subduing enemies.. However, it seems that his high opinion of himself isn't entirely justified, as his preferred method of attack-the use of traps-is usually fairly ineffective, and he doesn't do very well in confrontations due to concentrating so much effort on creating working traps.
Appearance[]
Shift is a scruffy wolf with brown fur and blue eyes. Like the other Sand Blasters, his design was somewhat ill-defined in early appearances; he was eventually given a more solid character design. While he initially had a full, fluffy tail, it seems to have been reduced to a short damaged stub; in addition, he is now missing part of his left ear. In early appearances he wore a simple blue top and red wraps around his feet. His later addition gave him new attire consisting of a vest, boots, belt and wristbands, all in red-brown tones with gold details. He seems to have a chain around his neck. The belt and wristbands are studded, and the right boot is torn at the toe. Shift also carries a large metal chain ending in a fanged trap.
Abilities[]
Shift is a self-styled technical wiz who specializes in creating traps. His signature device is a large jawed clamp on the end of a chain, which he typically swings or throws at opponents. He has also designed various other mechanisms, such as full-body restraints, but possesses little the in the way of hand-to-hand combat skills.
Background information[]
- Shift was not given a name or a solid design until issue #217.
- As many of the Sand Blasters reference Looney Tunes, Shift's full name, speech pattern, and fondness for traps is a play on Wile. E. Coyote.
- Shift is one of two Mobian Wolves, along with Guntiver of the Arctic Freedom Fighters, with no known connections-current or previous-to the Wolf Pack Nation.