If there are two things that define Sonic the Hedgehog, they're his incredible speed and his blue quills. However, there was a time before the spiny speedster had his iconic hue. In fact, Sonic turning blue is linked to Dr. Robotnik, with their shared hero and villain origins revealing how Sonic the Hedgehog's titular hero and iconic antagonist took their current forms. We're looking at exactly how Sonic turned blue, as well as how running too fast permanently changed the hero's design later in the franchise.

Fans saw Sonic's long-lost backstory in Sonic the Comic #8, by Nigel Kitching, Richard Elson and Elitta Fell. The comic purports to share "The Origin of Sonic," revealing that there was a point before Sonic the Hedgehog adopted his blue color. The modern-day Sonic the Hedgehog uses a sentient device known as the Omnipotent Omni-Viewer to look back through time, revealing his own backstory and the creation of Dr. Robotnik to his friends.

The story sees Sonic stumble across the lab of kindly Dr. Ovi Kintobor - a genius who is trying to harness the power of Mobius' Chaos Emeralds. Sonic looks far more like an actual hedgehog, with brown fur and separate, spiky quills. He's already a fast runner, and Kintobor attempts to use Sonic's speed in his studies, leading to a series of accidents.

But why is Sonic really blue? According to Rolling Stone, artist Naoto Ohshima chose the color to match Sega's logo. Sega tried out various character designs including an armadillo, a dog and an old man with a mustache, with test audiences responding best to the hedgehog.

A Science Experiment Turned Sonic the Hedgehog Blue

The 'Cobalt Effect' Is the Reason for Sonic's Distinctive Color

Sonic agrees to try out Kintobor's "kinetic gyratoscope," while also being gifted a pair of "power sneakers" that make him faster than ever before. Sadly, the two gadgets don't work well together, and when Sonic accelerates to the speed of sound, the resulting sonic boom causes an explosion that transforms him forever. Sonic takes on a "totally cool, streamlined" new look, fusing his quills into the shape fans know and love while increasing his speed to his famous superhuman levels.

There's no explanation for why Sonic turns blue in particular, though this question is answered in another comic. In a 1991 promotional comic released by Sega (created by Francis Mao), it's specified that Kintobor's treill is made out of cobalt, with Sonic's transformation referred to as the 'Cobalt Effect,' turning the hedghog cobalt blue. In that version of the story, Sonic gains his iconic red and white sneakers because his own are torn to pieces in the explosion.

Sonic and Kintobor keep working together until one day, Kintobor is exposed to the collected evil energy of Mobius while holding a rotten egg. The resulting explosion flips Kintobor's name badge, turning him into 'Ivo Robotnik,' and imbuing him with evil that forever turns he and Sonic into enemies. It's a goofy but audience-appropriate explanation for the key elements of Sonic lore, and one that gives Sonic and Robotnik a more personal connection. Indeed, there's even a note of tragedy, since Sonic was originally friends with the kindly Dr. Ovi Kintobor.

This Isn't the Only Time Sonic's Speed Permanently Changed His Design

The Comics Explained Away a Major Change with the Same Trick

Sonic the Hedgehog's speed being the cause of his unique appearance is a smart choice, and it's not the last time the franchise used this explanation. In 1999, publisher Archie Comics had a problem. The videogame Sonic Adventure had changed Sonic's design, meaning the comics now featured an outdated version of the character.

To solve the problem, Sonic the Hedgehog #71 saw Sonic strap a Chaos Emerald to his back and run through time, subjecting himself to a number of transformations - including taking on new forms including Thundra Sonic, Solar Sonic and Eco Sonic. When Sonic finally comes to a stop, he hasn't just saved his home of Knothole Village, but has subtly transformed, now matching his Sonic Adventure design with green eyes and altered sneakers. The issue was created by Ken Penders, Patrick Spaziante, Steven Butler and Art Mawhinney.

Archie Comics had a habit of explaining this kind of change in continuity rather than just changing details and expecting fans to accept it - another example saw Robotnik killed and replaced by a robotic doppelganger who then turned human, mostly to transition to using the name "Dr. Eggman" instead. Dr. Eggman was always the original name of the character in Japan, but he was renamed Robotnik for Western audiences. Following the franchise's immense success, Sega attempted to make the 'Eggman' name consistent across different markets.

There are multiple versions of Sonic the Hedgehog lore, with comics and TV often expanding on what's established by the mainline games. However, there's something charming about the version where a scientific accident turns Sonic blue while merging a kindly Dr. Robotnik with a literal bad egg. At the very least, it turns Robotnik from a two-dimensional villain to someone who can't actually help his morally dubious actions - though it's still pretty funny that Sonic the Hedgehog was always bizarrely fast, and his super-science origin just made him even faster... and blue.

Source: Blake Hester, Rolling Stone