- You may be looking for Werehog (Another Time, Another Place) from the Another Time, Another Place Zone, or the Werehog in the Zone Jail.
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The Werehog is a bestial form that Sonic the Hedgehog can transform into. Sonic gained this ability after accidentally inhaling the purple gas that rose from the cracks in the Earth created by the earthquakes that proceeded The Shattered World Crisis.
History[]
Early signs of mutation[]
Sonic briefly becomes feral after inhaling the gas
During a mission to regather the Knothole Freedom Fighters, Sonic and Tails came to the Wood Zone where Uncle Chuck was in the middle of researching the earthquakes that had recently began occurring across the planet. After showing his nephew samples of a dark gas that had been emitted from the cracks in the earth, another earthquake struck and Sonic had to rescue his uncle from falling into an opened crater. As he dashed back down to retrieve the gas sample, a stray piece of debris smashed a part of the container open, giving Sonic a face full of purple gas, nearly suffocating him. Upon returning to the surface, Sonic briefly displayed feral actions, which immediately passed, brushing off his uncle's suggestion of being checked over by a doctor. (StH: #254)
After the Shattered World Crisis had begun, Sonic continued to show moments of feral behaviour: during the Knothole Freedom Fighters rescue efforts in Station Square, and again during his battle against E-106 Eta aboard the Egg Train. Uncle Chuck became increasingly concerned for his nephew, after determining through his and Professor Pickle's experiments that the purple gas exhibited corrupted mutagenic properties. Again, Sonic denied that anything was wrong.(StH: #257, #259)
During the battle of Meropis against the Dark Gaia monsters, Sonic nearly drowns while fighting off a Dark Guardian, and while he reached for the nearby air charm, he showed intense signs of transformation. However, the process was halted when the monster threw Rotor towards Sonic and slammed against him, leaving the two unconscious until they were saved by Chaos. (StH: #262, #263)
The Beast Unleashed[]
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Sonic finally snaps
Sonic finally underwent the full transformation during a mission to take the grey Chaos Emerald from a Soumerca Egg Army dog site. Egg Boss Thunderbolt used the emerald to lure Sonic, Sally, Amy, Mighty and Ray into a trap where they found themselves stunned by immense electrocution. The stress upon seeing his friends weak tipped Sonic over the edge and it caused his beast form to finally show itself. He made quick work of the Egg Army forces, but became unbalanced, his state distorting his perception. An attempt to eliminate Thunderbolt was halted by Mighty, whom Sonic through distorted vision and hearing felt was accusing and taunting him of being unbalanced and dangerous. The Werehog and the Armadillo engaged in a brief battle which was halted by Sally and Amy, who-though they too were initially distorted by Sonic's transformed senses-managed to talk him down from his rage. He later returned to normal when the sun rose the next morning, but-fearing the harm he might do if he transformed aboard the Sky Patrol-elected to remain with Mighty's mentor Moss the Sloth until he could get a grip on his new form. (StH: #264, #265)
Sonic's lessons with Moss centered on him learning to accept that the Werehog was a part of him, to be embraced rather than controlled. Sonic soon mastered his lessons, and when night fall again he turned into the Werehog but retained his usual senses. He was then able to employ his new form to defeat a Flying Dynamo robot sent after him by the vengeful Thunderbolt. Shortly thereafter, upon entering the Chaos Emerald Championship, Sonic stipulated that he would only compete during the daytime, so as not to draw attention to his Werehog form. The transformation forced him to make an early exit following his match with Segata Sanshiro, as well as to observe the rest of the first round from his hotel room. He would later change again during the trip back to the Sky Patrol aboard the Speed Star, startling new companions Knuckles the Echidna and Chip. (StH: #266, #267, #268, #269, #271)
Sonic transformed into the Werehog yet again in Apotos, where he and his teammates were forced to battle a Dark Gaia Titan. (StH: #272)
Some time later, Sonic turned into his bestial form during a rescue mission in Shamar. He was confused when the Desert Raiders became worried over seeing him at night. (#278, #279)
Sonic once more became his nightly condition before doing battle with the Dark Gaia Phoenix and the Yurashia Egg Army. The Werehog eventually managed to weaken the Gaia Phoenix enough for Chip to revert it back to normal, thus forcing the Egg Army unit to flee. (#282)
After a surprise assault on the Sky Patrol by the Battle Bird Armada, Sonic assumed his Werehog form while Sally explained to the Freedom Fighters her new plan to stop Eggman from gaining control of the world. Sonic's part in the plan was to head to the Gaia Colossus and save Chip from Dr. Eggman. However, the doctor confronted Sonic in his Egg Dragoon and eventually frozen the hedgehog in a block of ice. Luckily for Sonic, night fell and trigger his Werehog transformation, which gave him the strength needed to break free of the ice and quickly destroy the Egg Dragoon. After Sonic rescued Chip, the Dark Gaia began drawing it's energy from across the planet. Sonic was soon drained of his portion of Dark Gaia energy, which resulted in him loosing his Werehog form permanently. (StH: #285, #286)
Abilities[]
In Werehog form, Sonic is possessed of incredible strength, rivaling that of Mighty the Armadillo. He is also capable of stretching his arms to great length, useful for attacking enemies or moving through rough terrain. He can use powerful punches when in combat.
However, Sonic does not have any of his traditional abilities, such as spin dash, homing attack, or even his super speed.
Background Information[]
- The Werehog form was originally featured in the game Sonic Unleashed, and previously appeared in the comics via the Another Time, Another Place stories and Off Panel.
- The Werehog is based on the famous mythical creature the Werewolf.
- It's been commonly pointed out by fans that the term "Werehog" is not an accurate terminology. The word "Were", as used in the term "Werewolf", is a Latin word meaning "Man", making the term literally translate to "Man-wolf", a man who becomes a wolf. This would make the literal version of Werehog into "Man-hog", implying that Sonic would've been a man that becomes a hog of some kind, which obviously is not the case.
- The conditions met for Sonic to transform appears to differ between the comic and the Sonic Unleashed video game. In the game, Sonic would simply transform after sunset, while in the comic the transformation is not only triggered by Sunset but by extreme stress as well.
- Unlike most transformations of Sonic and other characters, the Werehog alters the host physically. In this form, Sonic has a height of 125cm and a weight of 60kg.
Off-Panel[]
The Werehog eventually returned in StH #264's Off-Panel, with Big the Cat and Cream the Rabbit using his elongated arms to play double-dutch. He appeared again in StH #267's strip, where he attempted to glide using his extending arms at the suggestion of Ray the Flying Squirrel, only to end up resembling a tree swing.