SatAM continuity. This article's subject exists primarily or exclusively within thecontinuity. Information in this article may not be canonical to the storyline of the games or any other Sonic continuity.

Nicole is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog television series. She is a highly advanced artificial intelligence in the form of a handheld computer unit that serves as Sally's faithful companion. Her database of knowledge, hacking skills and a number of included sensors make her a very valuable part of the Knothole Freedom Fighters in their fight against Dr. Robotnik.

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Appearance

The exact appearance of Nicole is not known since she is just an artificial intelligence made of data. However, she does has a physical appearance in the form of the small computer housing her. This device is similar to a gray calculator or a mobile phone with blue and yellow buttons and a small screen.

History

TV series

Past

Sometime before Dr. Robotnik's takeover, Sally's father, the King, inserted many programs and files into Nicole, some of which were time-locked so that Sally could not access information on certain subjects before she came of age. This included information about the Deep Power Stones and Drood Henge.[1]

Season one

During a mission to Robotropolis, Sally used Nicole to break into Dr. Robotnik's database and reprogram the Stealthbots. When Nicole got hooked up however, she received a message from the Dark Swamp, which interested Sally because she thought the message was from her father. After Sally traveled to the Dark Swamp, Nicole showed Sally the only structure in the area from where the message could have come from: Ironlock Prison. In Ironlock, Sally downloaded a map of the underground tunnels in Robotropolis into Nicole. When Sally, Sonic and Antoine later got trapped in the sewers, Nicole displayed the map Sally had downloaded for her, this allowing Sally to guide the heroes back into the Stealthbot hangar.[2] Later, when Sally and her friends went to Robotropolis to destroy a Swat-Bot factory, Nicole would display a map of the Swat-Bot factory for Sally and the places where Sonic had to set up their explosives.[3]

When the Knothole Freedom Fighters planned to head to Maga to get the Secret Scrolls, Nicole would display a map of Maga for Sally and the other Freedom Fighters while Sally gave a presentation of the place. While in Maga, Sally used Nicole to translated the various ancient inscriptions on the walls and riddles left behind in the ruins. She also translated one of the Secret Scrolls after the Freedom Fighters found them. Displaying its contents with a holographic image, Nicole revealed that the scroll spoke about one of the Seven Wonders of Mobius: a very powerful wind tunnel called the Breath of Mobius. With this piece of info, Sonic was able to force Robotnik and his forces out of Maga.[4] Later, Nicole began to malfunction, leaving Sally to go to Robotropolis to obtain replacement parts for her. Afterward, Sally would recited the story of the wizard Lazaar, who was resting in the Forbidden Zone, to Sonic while repairing Nicole.[5] Later, during the Knothole Freedom Fighters' mission to destroy Robotropolis' backup generator, Nicole showed Sally, Bunnie and Antoine the city's ​map and the interior of the room with the backup generator.[6] Some time after, Sally used Nicole to launch a rocket booster that Sonic and Rotor had boarded so that they could reach the Sky Spy space station and sabotage it.[7]

Later on, Sally used Nicole to intercept Robotnik's broadcast. With Nicole's help, the Freedom Fighters discovered that Robotnik planned to use his Cloud Burster and chemicals from the Island of Nimbus to create acid rain across the entire planet. When Sally later broke into Cloud Burster, she used Nicole to hack the machine's system. While Nicole downloaded the security code though, Sally was caught by Swat-Bots.[8] Some time after, during another one of the Knothole Freedom Fighters' mission to Robotropolis, Nicole used her holographic display to show Sonic where to in order to avoid the sensors surrounding Robotropolis' traffic center. Once Sonic had made it to the main computer, Nicole scanned for and located the disk drive for Sonic to insert the diskette that would fry the system into.[9] Later, when Sally and her crew got trapped in an underground lake, Sally asked Nicole for a map of any subterranean environments. However, Nicole had nothing of the sort on file.[10]

When a herd of Terapods walked past Knothole Village, Sally tried using Nicole to translate the speech of Momma T with aid of a wearable translator Sally had built. When the Knothole Freedom Fighters and the Terapods later walked through the Great Jungle, Nicole managed to partly translate the speech of Momma T, who warned them about approaching Stealthbots. Later, Nicole managed to fully translate Momma T's speech, thus allowing the Knothole Freedom Fighters to use her knowledge of the Great Jungle to make Robotnik and his forces lose track of them.[11]

Season two

When Sonic go trapped inside one of Dr. Robotnik's fortresses, Nicole showed information about the fortress for Sally, although she revealed that there was no way in.[12] Nicole later displayed the damaged sections of the De-Roboticizer for Sally after Uncle Chuck's de-roboticization with the device failed. Nicole would subsequently reveal that only the original Roboticizer had the parts needed to fix the De-Roboticizer.[13] When Sonic and Sally later travled into the past, Sally used Nicole to show the past version of Chuck Robotnik's plans to take over Mobotropolis.[14] When Sonic and Sally were later arrested by Swat-Bots, Nicole helped them get out of their cell by locating an air duct going past their cell. Nicole was then used by Sally to turn off Robotnik's Roboticizer for two hours before he could test it on a young Bunnie. Making it to Robotnik's computer afterward, Sally downloaded the original Roboticizer's schematics into Nicole. When Sonic and Sally later attacked the Destroyer, Nicole counted down the time to launch Sonic and Sally up the Destroyer from the ground with the aid of a Power Ring and a tree trunk. Once they were onboard the Destroyer, Nicole showed the Destroyer's schematics to Sally.[15]

Some time after, upon Sally's request, Nicole gave Sally information about the Nasty Hyenas, revealing that they were a splinter group from a tribe of cannibals who was known for eating their kings.[16] Soon after, Nicole would display information about Dragon's Nest and the migration habits of dragons for Sally, Sonic and Dulcy. Sally later had Nicole display Dulcy's dreams via holographic display by locking onto Ducly's dream-wave frequencies.[17]

Later, Nicole was helping Sally research the Mandaras. Soon after though, Sonic arrived with an artifact which Sally believed was a remnant from the Mandaras and could thus help her research. After verifying the artifact however, Nicole noticed that it could be a counterfeit. A moment later, Sally and Bunnie were kidnapped by a red energy field that came out of the artifact, causing Sally to drop Nicole on the floor. When Nicole was later found by Sonic, the hedgehog wanted information from her about Sally's whereabouts. However, Nicole explained it to him in such a way that the hedgehog could not understand her. Frustrated, Sonic began to shake her, prompting Nicole to warn him that her circuits could be damaged. When Sonic would not stop though, Nicole showed Sonic what had happened through a hologram. Deducing that Sally and Bunnie had been taken to the Void, Sonic took Nicole with him to the Great Unknown to find a portal to the Void. There, Nicole detected the energy of the portal for Sonic, but it annoyed her that the hedgehog made her speak in a simpler language all the time. Nevertheless, Nicole helped Sonic when Robotnik's forces attacked him by suggesting that he use his Super Spin to dig itself away from the threat. When Sonic later tried to keep himself from getting sucked into the Void while Robotnik's forces shot at him, Nicole instructed Sonic to relax and jump into the portal because he had to save Sally and Bunnie anyway. After returning to Knothole, Sally was surprised to hear that Nicole begun to speak like Sonic due to her circuity damage.[18]

Some time after, when Sonic, Sally, Antoine and Dulcy went in search of the Wolf Pack, Nicole would display information about the Wolf Pack to the group. After explaining their story, Nicole pointed Sonic in the direction of the shortest way to the Wolf Pack's home base. This route, however, turned out to be too dangerous, so Sonic asked her for the second shortest route. Following Nicole's route, the heroes ended in a dead end in a canyon. While Sonic was not happy, Sally asked Nicole to translate an inscription on the wall. According to Nicole, these inscriptions spoke about a curse, which frightened Antoine. However, while panicking, Antoine opened the entrance to a secret underground tunnel. When Sonic and Sally later gave themselves up to Snively in order to get onboard his hovercraft, Sally used Nicole's laser to cut through their handcuffs. Afterward, she downloaded information about the Doomsday Pods from the hovercraft's computer into Nicole.[19] Sally later asked Nicole for information about the Deep Power Stones, but Nicole refused her access to those files because Sally would first be privy to that information when she came of age, which was two years from now. Sally later told Sonic this, who convinced Nicole that if Robotnik planned to use the Deep Power Stones for his Doomsday Project, he would destroy all life on the planet, and Sally would never reach adulthood. Concluding that waiting no longer made sense, Nicole unlocked her files about the Deep Power Stones and a recording of the King explaining them. Later, at Drood Henge, Sally gave Sonic Nicole to authenticate a trick to lure Robotnik away from Drood Henge using a fake Deep Power Stone. After pulling off their plan, the heroes dug up the scroll that indicated the location of one of the Deep Power Stone. After then translating the scroll, Nicole remarked that the Deep Power Stone was in the same place as the scroll.[1] Later, Nicole would display a magnet for Sally, Antoine, Bunnie and Sonic, which they planned to use to help them sabotage Robotnik's Fuel Tankers with. Afterward, during a mission to the Doomsday Machine, Sally and Bunnie connected their Hover Unit to Robotnik's machine and downloaded information about the Doomsday Machine into Nicole. Afterward, Sally used Nicole to decode the top secret operation of Robotnik, which revealed that Robotnik was onto Chuck, who was acting as a spy in Robotropolis.[20]

On the day of the Doomsday Machine's launch, Nicole displayed information about the Doomsday Machine for Sonic and Sally, which revealed that the Doomsday Machine was able to produce over one hundred Doomsday Pods per hour and send them across the whole planet. After making it inside the Doomsday Machine, Sally tried to get in touch with their allies with Nicole, only to realize that they had been captured. Sonic thus convinced his friends to retreat and leave the Doomsday Machine's destruction to him. Before leaving though, Sally gave Sonic Nicole, who displayed the Doomsday Machine's schematics to him, including his position and the location of the main generator. After finding the generator, Sonic planted bombs on it and ordered Nicole to detonate them. Although Nicole successfully detonated the bombs, the generator remained intact due to his diamond glass dome. Later, Nicole helped Sonic break into Robotnik's safe in Robotropolis, who believed they could find the second Deep Power Stone inside it. When he did not find the stone inside the safe however, Sonic tried to look elsewhere until Nicole told him to take a few steps back, having noticed that the Deep Power Stone was on Robotnik's desk. Later, Nicole helped Sonic and Sally by pointing out where they had to dig in order to reach an underground tunnel connected to the Doomsday Machine. After reaching the Doomsday Machine's generator, Sonic and Sally wanted to use the Deep Power Stones' infinite energies to destroy the Doomsday Machine. At the request of Sally, Nicole carried out an analysis of such a move and showed that there was still a likelihood of danger occurring. Nevertheless, Sonic and Sally decided to take that chance, and successfully destroyed the Doomsday Machine with the Deep Power Stones.[21]

Personality

Nicole is guided solely by logic and her behavior is to-the-point, usually to such an extend that she displays an overall lack of real traits of a personality. She is also highly technical and scientific in her speech, much to the annoyance of Sonic, who is constantly frustrated by her technobabble.[18]

After Sonic violently shook her and caused circuitry damage on her however, Nicole adapted a manner of speaking similar to Sonic, using slang terms and expressed more emotions.[18] Despite this, she was still rather emotionless although she did display more emotion and much more free will during the Doomsday Project, commenting on how Sonic's nagging was stressing her out.[21]

Powers and abilities

As a computer, Nicole has many useful skills, mostly lying in the field of interfacing with electronics and knowledge. Most noticeably, she possesses an extensive database of information on nearly any subject. In a few seconds, she can also analyze and compute a problem or future scenarios.

Nicole can display different topics in the form of holograms, including past events she has witnessed.[18] Nicole can also interface with other mechanical systems, allowing her to hack into them, break passwords, and downloading data.[15][20][21] This also includes the ability to remotely detonate electronic explosives.[21] Nicole is also equipped with various sensors that allow her to detect various types of energy.[18] She is also equipped with a small laser that can cut through meal.[19]

Relationships

Allies

Enemies

In other media

Archie Comics

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, Nicole was an artificial intelligence who came from an alternate future zone about twenty-fives from the present. In this timeline, she was a valued member mentor to Sally Acorn but was destroyed during the final fight with Dr. Robotnik. After years of work, Rotor Walrus managed to rebuild her. Now queen, Sally (and assumedly Sonic) sent Nicole back in time to provide the guidance her younger self would need after the loss of her mentor, Julayla.

Originally just a handheld computer, Nicole was often cold and literal in her ways. Sonic the Hedgehog's constant quips and wit awakened a bit of life in artificial intelligence. She eventually grew to be more than Sally's confidante and became a dear friend.

During the Second Robotnik War, Rotor tried to unlock Nicole's inner secrets which accidentally swapped her consciousness with Sally's. Although the swap was brief, the taste of real-life had a lasting impact on Nicole. She experimented with her power output and managed to create an artificial body for a brief time. Unfortunately, her handheld design could not support this form for long.

A blessing in disguise came from Dr. Eggman's Nanites, controlled by Anonymous. After Anonymous's plot failed, Nicole took control of the empty nanite city he had created and reshaped it into the lost city of Mobotropolis. Not only did she return her friends' long-lost homes, but the city housed enough hologram and energy projectors to allow her to live as a Mobian. The only drawback was the immense power demanded her to vanish if the city needed protection or her undivided attention.

During the Iron Dominion's invasion, Nicole was controlled by the Iron Queen and forced to capture citizens, sending them off for legionization. Sally broke through to "Iron Nicole", but not before her citizens were traumatized. Feared for her power, Nicole was exiled from the city she helped to build. She was later permitted back into her city, only for the second Genesis Wave to strike shortly thereafter.

After the Super Genesis Wave, Nicole's backstory was re-written to having her mind be based on Nikki, the daughter of Dr. Ellidy, whom he lost after a failed attempt to save her life using his invention, the Digitizer. He then gave the AI to the daughter of Nigel Acorn, Princess Sally as a parting gift, even though he intended to delete Nicole. In time, Nicole evolved from an emotionless A.I. into a sentient being and became a valued member of the Freedom Fighters.

Production background and future plans

One of the plans head writer Ben Hurst had for the Sonic the Hedgehog television series was giving Nicole her own character arc elaborating on her past. Originally, she was a normal little girl and a child genius. She was best friends with Sally, partly because they were both highly intelligent. One day, Nicole met Bots who took her to Julian, who offered her to participate in a research project. Trusting, Nicole followed Julian into his lab where he connected Nicole to a machine and transferred her entire personality into a computer satellite, her small hand-held computer being an extension of the program orbiting the planet, leaving Nicole's organic body dead. His experiment complete, Julian informed Nicole that she would serve him, or he would shut her mind down. Robotnik gave a demonstration and Nicole likened the experience to dying.[22]

However, Robotnik was unable to predict Nicole's sentience, which gave her total awareness and the ability to telepathically control anyone. Nicole soon realized that her living sentience combined with the power of a super computer and all the devices she could control, she had the power of a god. Nicole's heightened awareness let extrapolate her subsequent actions into the future and she saw that she would become corrupted and strip the world of free will, and create a hive society where everyone obeyed only her. Fearful of such loneliness, Nicole continued analyzing billions of future scenarios, but all ended up with the same results. In an intuitive flash, Nicole saw one way to keep her from interfering with the destiny of the world: by altering herself.[22]

Having made a plan, Nicole created an unstoppable program and executed it on herself. First, the program made her alter Robotnik’s memory so he forgot she was ever created and made him give her portable unit to the King. The program then made Nicole will the King to give the same machine to Princess Sally, consoling her over the death of her friend Nicole. Once in her possession, Sally named the computer after her friend, oblivious to the fact they were one and the same. As Sally left Nicole in her room, Nicole's program went into its next phase which sealed away her human and emotional side and removed the knowledge that she could control others, making her nothing more than the computer seen in the show.[22]

The only thing that could bring Nicole back was a threat to her satellite. And Nicole had created the program to pull her out with a built in mechanism to automatically turn her back to “computer” mode after the crisis had passed.[22]

Nicole's true consciousness would eventually be jolted “awake” by Sonic’s annoying questions and she would share her tragic past with him. Nicole attempted to seal herself off again and erase this event, but Sonic convinced her to let him keep his memories before she reverted back to her computerized self. At some point, Nicole was to be restored to her former self, becoming a part of the Freedom Fighters.[22]

Trivia

Sally carries Nicole by attaching her to one of her boots.

In pilot episode of the Sonic the Hedgehog television series, "Heads or Tails", Sally used a large, bulky, yellow computer on wheels, which had the same voice and analytical traits as Nicole.

See also