This character exists primarily or exclusively within the Pre-Super Genesis Wave continuity. Information in this article may not be canonical to the storyline of the games or any other Sonic continuity.

For the version of this character after the Super Genesis Wave, see Antoine D'Coolette.

No matter what challenge we meet tomorrow, or any other day, it will always be an honor to serve alongside my friends for the greater good.

— Antoine D'Coolette, Sonic the Hedgehog #234

Antoine D'Coolette (born 3217) is one of the main characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics. He was a mobian coyote and the son of the late army General Armand D'Coolette and Marie D'Coolette. He was as well a faithful and longtime member of the Knothole Freedom Fighters and husband of his teammate Bunnie D'Coolette. Outwardly brave and noble yet serious about his duties, Antoine fought alongside his fellow Freedom Fighters against the evil forces of Dr. Eggman and the Eggman Empire.

While originally one of the least contributing members and often a downright coward, Antoine gradually overcame his fears and honed his skills with the sword. However, he was critically injured in duty by the explosion caused by a self-destructing Metal Sonic while escorting Elias Acorn to safely. As a result, he was left in a critical coma, with his fate hanging by a thread.

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Appearance

Antoine is depicted as a brown-furred coyote with tan facial fur and blond hair, his eyes usually colored blue. As a youngster prior to the war, he was seen wearing a blue smock and a red ascot with red boots. His most common attire is his father Armand's old Royal Army uniform, a blue jacket with red trim, gold pads on the shoulders. He kept the red boots of his childhood, but sometimes was depicted with blue boots. At his wedding he wore a gray dress uniform with gold trim. For his honeymoon, he donned a red shirt, blue shorts, and green flip flops, the first occasion on which he has been seen in casual clothing.

In the early comics, Antoine had no visible tail, although in recent years he is depicted as having a short tail just barely visible from out under the back of his uniform.

History

Early life

Antoine was born in Mercia shortly before the Great War broke out, though his family moved to Mobotropolis while he was still young.[1] As a young boy, Antoine began training as a cadet to become a soldier in the Royal Army. His father personally oversaw his training, teaching him the local language in contrast to his mother educating him in their native tongue. This would lead to Antoine having difficulties with both languages later in his life.[1][2] Antoine also enjoyed playing with his friends Sally Acorn, Sonic the Hedgehog and Rotor Walrus, though Sonic would often pick on him.[3][4]

Antoine was only eight years of age when Dr. Ivo Robotnik began his military coup and takeover of Mobotropolis. During the coup d'état, Antoine was sent into hiding in the Great Forest with other children, while his father was one of the many citizens captured and roboticized. Antoine remained unaware of this and believed, as did many others, that his beloved father had perished in the chaos of the coup when he and his troop went missing. Fatherless and now with a grieving mother, Antoine took to wearing his old cadet uniform as a testament of loyalty to his father, despite having not completed his training.[2][3][4][5]

Antoine eventually went on to be raised by Rosie and Julayla after his mother had passed on due to an illness, as they were responsible for tending to the other children orphaned by war as well.[1][6] While still young, he became one of the founding members of the eventual Knothole Freedom Fighters when they came across an old limestone cavern outside of Knothole, vowing to stop Robotnik and save their old home.[7] While playing on a frozen pond with the others one winters' day, Antoine also got caught up in a strange experience that sent him into another Zone thanks to a Power Ring they found in a nearby well. While Sally and Sonic each had their own adventure, Antoine, Boomer and Tails had a shared experience which Tails believed had some meaning as they had been able to get through it together like they were part of a team.[4]

Freedom Fighter

As he got older, Antoine at first seemed to be very arrogant and cowardly, always being the first one to report trouble of any kind and then also run from it.[8][9][10][11] He was also not the most insightful person either, as he nearly brought down their entire group when he lead Pseudo-Sonic right into Knothole while obliviously thinking it was the real Sonic.[12] Throughout all this, he made every attempt to win over Sally's affection as he believed it was his duty from being brought up to be a member of the royal court. Sadly, despite his persistence, Sally always turned him down in favor of Sonic, whose more irresponsible and easy-going nature appealed to her and continued to make Antoine a regular victim of Sonic's joking.[9] However, Antoine did have a few shining moments in the early days of the war, such as when he saved Bunnie Rabbot from a SWATbot with a boulder he pushed from a ledge above.[2]

Years of fighting against Robotnik, Badniks, and even his own evil-counterpart toughened Antoine up though,[13] and he soon began to contribute much more. At one point, Antoine even single-handedly saved his friends from a surprise attack of Robotnik and his forces during their annual Freedom Fighter picnic by launching an aerial counter-attack with a hot-air balloon he had repaired.[14] During this time, Antoine also served a valuable function as the Freedom Fighter's pilot for various aircraft including the Tornado and Turbo Prop, manning the controls as they headed into imminent danger, including when the Floating Island was hijacked during Operation: Flying Destroyer, usually at the others' behest.[15][16] One evening, Tails left a Power Ring behind in Robotropolis and Antoine volunteered to retrieve it before Sonic found out. After navigating his way through the city and nearly getting captured numerous times, he returned the Power Ring to Tails and then kissed Bunnie in thanks for helping him, even though she meant to do so without giving herself away to Antoine.[17]

Shortly after this, Antoine accompanied Sonic and Tails on a mission into Robotropolis to survey the city after a recent earth quake. The trio was soon attacked by a group of Combots, one of which Antoine managed to strike down. However, Sonic's speed was temporarily taken away after one of the Combots exploded and knocked him unconscious. Antoine along with the other Knothole Freedom Fighters were soon captured, but with help from the Robotropolis Spy Network and the Substitute Freedom Fighters, Sonic managed to free Antoine and the others.[18]

During Mecha Sonic's attack on Knothole, Antoine questioned Sonic's loyalty as he had previously asked for permission to be roboticized with a Neuro-Overrider to maintain his free will.[19] After Mecha Sonic was defeated by Mecha Knuckles and restored to his organic self,[20] Antoine all too happily placed Sonic under arrest with the charge of treason. During the trial, Antoine acted as the prosecution and did everything he possibly could to find Sonic guilty, badgering Amy Rose and questioning witnesses in a way that made Sonic seem undeniably guilty. However, he was quickly put on the spot when Sonic argued that Antoine had left his post at the Knothole jailhouse, which allowed Nack the Weasel to escape and capture Sonic, leading to his roboticization, and Antoine was too busy plotting his coronation party to notice Nack's disappearance. Despite Antoine's admittance that Sonic was right, Sonic was still found guilty, but Sally agreed to give him the chance to prove his innocence, which he quickly did by recapturing Nack, much to Antoine's disappointment.[21]

Not long after, King Max was successfully recovered and Sally paired Antoine up with Bunnie to scout out the Lake of Rings and retrieve any Rings they could find in an effort to restore their monarch's health.[22] With Sally starting to get her family back, Antoine began going through his father's old belongings and came across half of an old map that lead to a site in Robotropolis called the "Budding Circle." Deciding to go it alone since it had been left by his father, Antoine ventured into the city and found Snively at the Circle looking for the last remaining seeds of the Krudzu with his Eggbots. Confused as to why his father would have a map leading to Robotnik's failed plant-badniks, Antoine accidentally gave himself away as he tried to retreat, leading to a dangerous chase with the Eggbots as he attempted to avoid capture in the city's sewer system. Eventually he managed to evade them and alert Uncle Chuck of what was happening, but then went back to the site to help the other Freedom Fighters after Sir Charles told him they had also gone there to investigate the digging activity they had detected.[23]

By the time of Operation: EndGame, Antoine's opinion of Sonic had changed. When Geoffrey St. John was ready to kill Sonic, Antoine punched him out, stating "The 'edgehog may be zee imbecile like you, but even he does not desairve death!". He also called St. John a liar who had stolen his family's honor by revealing that it was in fact his father who had established the Royal Underground before Robotnik's coup, while St. John falsely took credit for it. Wandering off in self-disgust, Antoine then found that Bunnie had followed him and received a surprise in that she openly admitted having feelings for him, and promptly kissed him on the spot.[2]

After Sonic's arrest for Sally's supposed murder, Antoine became suspicious of Drago Wolf spending much of his time with the mysteriously-healed King Max. While attempting to spy on Drago, Antoine and Bunnie were captured by a group of SWATbots and taken to Crocbot's prison camp in Downunda.[24] To prevent their escape, Antoine was fitted with an explosive collar rigged to detonate if Bunnie used her robotic limbs, but they were able to remove it with help from Barby Koala. While there the two helped free the Downunda Freedom Fighters who then engaged Crocbot in a final battle (though he actually managed to survive), covering for Antoine and Bunnie as they boarded an airship back to Robotropolis. Following this, they discovered Robotnik's plan for the Ultimate Annihilator, and stole a nuclear device from the Combots en-route, placing it on the weapon after they arrived.[25][26] The bomb proved useless however, as Robotnik was ultimately killed by his own creation due to Snively's tampering.[27][28]

Family (Re-)Building

With the war over, Antoine devoted his time and duty to helping rebuild the kingdom. He would often find himself paired up with Bunnie for a lot of their work, whom he also started feeling much closer towards after what they had been through.[29][30] During this period, Antoine joined Sonic and Sally on a recon mission that brought him up against the Eggbots a second time. It would have been the end for him and Sonic if not for the aid of Monkey Khan, whom Sally had freed.[31]

While Sonic and Tails were away chasing down Ixis Naugus, Antoine realized he and Bunnie had genuine romantic feelings towards each other despite the King considering him be Sally's suitor. Sonic took notice of this after he returned, seeing how Bunnie was hanging on to Antoine's every word while they were enjoying themselves at Deer John's. When Sonic asked him about this, Antoine admitted just how happy Bunnie had made him and how much she meant to him. As he mentioned that her love actually helped ease the pain of losing his father, his mood swiftly fell when Sonic dropped a bombshell on him- that his father was alive, but roboticized and last seen serving as the High Sheriff Sub-Boss of Robotnik's former holdings in Mercia.[32][33]

Following a pirate broadcast of the late Dr. Robotnik's biography and the disappearance of the Robian colony in Knothole, Antoine met with the others to discuss the appearance of a series of strange satellites around the planet, whose activation appeared related to recent events.[34] Journeying into space, Antoine and the other Freedom Fighters found a massive space station orbiting Mobius which housed the missing Robians and belonged to none other than Robo-Robotnik, who lured them away to be trapped while he took over Mobotropolis and started a second war.[35][36] Once they were freed by Snively and returned to the planet,[36][37] Antoine and Bunnie along with Jules and Bernie, followed Tails back to the city's library where they rescued the historian Jeremiah and recovered as many books as they could to preserve their history.[38] In the evenings that followed, Antoine and the others would discuss what they had brought back to Knothole around campfires, while listening to Jules' and Bernie's input from their experiences during the Great War.[39][40][41]

Not long after, Antoine learned Bunnie's robotic and organic halves were rejecting each other, putting her life at risk. As Antoine talked with her over her options, he told Bunnie he would love her no matter what decision she made, giving her the courage to get a permanent upgrade at the cost of losing all chances of ever being de-roboticized.[42] Antoine then went with the other Freedom Fighters to Station Square to warn its inhabitants, once they learned Dr. Eggman had located the hidden city.[43] While there, Amy Rose disappeared and Antoine and Bunnie went looking for her, though their efforts were fruitless as she later returned safely with Tails.[44] As he tried to get people to safety during Perfect Chaos' attack, falling rubble struck Antoine and broke his ankle, forcing Knuckles to rescue him.[45][46] After Antoine returned to Knothole, his injury forced King Max to relieve him of active military duty (at that time a Lieutenant), so he requested a leave of absence to look for his father in Mercia along with Bunnie and Amy.[47]

Enroute Antoine made a stop in the Northern Tundra to visit Rotor and his family, and picked a device his inventor friend designed to briefly disable hostile Robians.[48] Once they arrived in Deerwood Forest, they were confronted by Amy's cousin Rob O' the Hedge who accused Antoine of being in league with the High Sheriff and bewitching Amy, only to have Knuckles appear and save Antoine a second time. Joining with Knuckles, Antoine went to the mysterious city of Albion where he later discovered his roboticized father being held for impending disassembly. Antoine was unable to convince High Councillor Gala-Na to let him handle the situation, and once he was struck by his out-of-control father, required the help of Chaos Knuckles to send them back to their transport instantly. Antoine then brought his father back to Knothole where he kept him imprisoned until the Sword of Acorns restored his free will.[48][49][50][51]

Finally able to catch up with his father, Antoine attempted to impress him with a few exaggerated stories of his exploits. Sonic decided to play along, hoping to help Antoine reconnect with his father by making his tales seem legitimate. Later, Antoine defeated Evil Sonic after he escaped from the No Zone, thinking that it was actually Sonic in disguise helping him as part of an act. Antoine caught Evil Sonic off-guard and single-handedly took him down, enabling Zonic the Zone Cop to apprehend him.[52]

Replaced by Patch

Antoine's case of mistaken identity came back to haunt him when Evil Sonic kidnapped him and switched him for his Moebius counterpart Patch during the year Sonic was in outer space.[53] Forced to wear the mask of his Prime counterpart, Patch worked behind the scenes to secure the throne of Acorn, even poisoning Antoine's father and breaking off Antoine's relationship with Bunnie Rabbot.[54] Antoine was forced to play the role of his Anti Mobius self until Sonic finally discovered the switch and rescued him, sending Patch back to Anti Mobius.[55]

Once he returned, Antoine resumed his rank in the Royal Army and assisited in the defense of Castle Acorn during the Metal Sonic Troopers' attack.[56][57] After that, he joined in the celebration of Sonic's next birthday, only to have to fight again with the arrival of the bounty-hunters Bark the Polar Bear and Bean the Dynamite to take out Sonic, and then Croctobot, followed by Scourge and Rouge.[58][59] Some time later, Antoine joined with the others in a decisive battle against the combined might of Mammoth Mogul, Ixis Naugus, the Arachne, and the Destructix.[60][61][62]

Now back home, Antoine had the arduous task of picking up the pieces of his life; having found that, not only had Patch subverted his life and ruined his good name, but had destroyed all he held valuable. Antoine finally got a break when Bunnie offered to help. Antoine was on the verge of proposing, when Sonic dropped another bomb; his father, recently hospitalized at Julayla Memorial Hospital seriously ill, needed to see him. Bunnie came with Antoine at his request (as he felt he could not face another devastating event alone), and Antoine was given the news from Dr. Quack; Armand's illness was being caused by poisoning done by Patch, but the dose was far higher than that on King Max, and as such, was terminal. Antoine came to his father on his deathbed, where he threw himself upon his father's mercy, begging forgiveness for his weaknesses and believed himself a failure. Armand, however, pointed out how well Antoine had turned out, and assured his son he was not a failure in his eyes, accomplishing more than he ever did as a soldier. Before he passed away, Armand also implored Antoine to cherish his relationship with Bunnie and also told him that his mother would have been proud of him.[63]

Marriage

Having spent years fighting alongside Bunnie with their relationship as strong as ever, and remembering his father's final words, Antoine finally resolved to ask for her hand in marriage. It took weeks to pluck up enough courage, and only did so when faced with the prospects of their enemies growing in numbers and their only respite was in each other. The actual decision to propose to Bunnie came as a reaction to Fiona Fox's defection to Scourge. Happily for him, Bunnie accepted, but they still had to take part in the sting operation that resulted in the capture of both Ixis Naugus and Mammoth Mogul, along with Nack, Bark, and Bean that very same night.[64][65] Right before the wedding though, Antoine started to get cold feet and was receiving encouragement of how he had faced incredible danger before. When the time came, Antoine was able to go through with stating his vows and putting the ring on Bunnie's finger and the two's wedding ceremony was the biggest celebration in Knothole; with King Elias Acorn performing it, Sonic as best man, and Sally as maid of honor.[66]

Following battles

Shortly after his marriage, Antoine became one of the Mobians captured by Dr. Eggman during the destruction of Knothole Village, but was promptly liberated thanks to a quick rescue mission mounted by Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, Tails, and Nicole.[67][68] He then joined his rescuers and fellow former captives in bringing down Dr. Eggman's Egg Beater robot and force him to retreat.[69] Antoine was also one of several Freedom Fighters who were part of a mass attack launched at the new Enerjak, but like most of his allies was unable to even land a blow on him due to his immense powers.[70]

When the Suppression Squad, formerly the Anti-Freedom Fighters and now led by King Scourge the Hedgehog and Queen Fiona Fox, attacked Freedom HQ itself through a pair of stolen Globe Posts, a pitched battle soon erupted between both groups.[71] Antoine dueled with Patch, vowing he would pay for all he cost him, but Patch in turn threatened to kill him as he did his father. This motivated Antoine to be the only one to duel Patch, not out of revenge, but to ensure Patch would not kill Bunnie, who had become the only reason he had to keep living. Patch, Miles Prower and Boomer overheard this, and Antoine, disarmed and restrained by Boomer, panicked and was helpless as Patch held his sword to Bunnie's throat, interested in the idea of taking her life in order to hurt Antoine. Before Patch could slit her throat, however, Sonic intervened and knocked all three to the floor, freeing Antoine and Bunnie. Soon, the battle led the base dangerously close to collapse, forcing the Freedom Fighters to retreat, with Antoine helping Bunnie (due to injuries Boomer inflicted on her as they fled), but Sonic has vowed to regain the base.[72]

Miles from the Suppression Squad was later sent to bomb New Mobotropolis. He convinced the Freedom Fighters to aid him in overthrowing Scourge. Antoine and Patch could not do much against Scourge, who beat everybody up before he was left stranded on Moebius.[73] Antoine later accompanied the other Freedom Fighters and the Suppression Squad to Moebius to defeat Scourge through the repaired Star Posts, only for them to all be temporarily defeated by Super Scourge, but thanks to the quick thinking of Sonic, Super Scourge was defeated and they returned back to Mobius.[74][75]

Eggman's fall and the Iron Dominion

Antoine later assisted in capturing a small piece of land outside the Eggdome for the Freedom Fighters to set camp and get ready for the final battle against Eggman.[76] He also helped invade the Eggdome itself the next day while talking over old times with his wife and Princess Sally.[77] After Bunnie and Mighty finished taking down the barricade, Antoine and the Freedom Fighters entered to see Eggman defeated and headed back to New Mobotropolis to celebrate.[78]

Their celebrations were cut short by the arrival of the Iron Queen, who used her Magitek abilities to seize control of Bunnie's limbs, forcing her to attack her friends and even nearly kill Antoine before she was stopped by Monkey Khan. As a result, Antoine was furious, as Monkey Khan's failure to fully explain the Queen's powers or his own liability to them nearly cost Bunnie's life.[79][80] However, when Khan later apologized, Antoine did as well, expressing further forgiveness when the two of them visited Bunnie at Tommy Turtle Memorial Hospital.[81] Antoine joined the other fighting fit Freedom Fighters in rescuing Sonic from the Iron King after Sonic engaged the tyrant to allow Tails to escape with Dr. Eggman in tow.[82] Afterwards, he welcomed Sally into his home and left her and Bunnie alone to talk.[83] Later, as the Iron Dominion invaded the city, the pair evacuated civilians with the help of Vector the Crocodile and Mighty the Armadillo. Antoine asked Bunnie to leave, but was surprised when she remained behind, determined to fight alongside him. The two were then subdued by a corrupted "Iron Nicole", but managed to escape the city and get into hiding.[84]

Antoine managed to join forces with Amy Rose and Geoffrey St. John, bringing them back to where Bunnie was hiding and then meeting with Nicole. After learning of a public Legionization to be held in New Mobotropolis' stadium, Antoine and his comrades made their way there, charging in to save Rotor from being the first subject. After a brief and rather one-sided battle, they were joined by Sonic's team as they returned from the Dragon Kingdom.[85] With their allies returned and the Four Houses withdrawing their support from the Iron Dominion, Antoine and his friends were able to defeat their opponents, expelling the Iron King and arresting the Iron Queen with Antoine himself snapping the handcuffs on her.[86]

Honeymoon on Cocoa Island

With the Iron Queen incarcerated in the Dragon Kingdom, Tails offered Bunnie and Antoine a chance to finally celebrate their wedding- with a well-deserved honeymoon.[87] As a result, the trio were not present to join Sonic and Sally in becoming members of the newly formed Wolf Pack Nation.[88] With additional passenger compartments installed onto the rebuilt Sea Fox, Tails brought them out to the remote atoll of Cocoa Island where he kept his workshop. Antoine was not thrilled at riding along in the sub, but tried to put on a casual front with his compartment's window open despite being clearly uncomfortable. When Tails was puzzled about a "third" sister island not on his map, Antoine inquired where he got it in the first place and suggested he simply had not gotten to it yet. Antoine quickly put it out of his mind though, and agreed with Bunnie when she suggested they land on the beach. As Bunnie and Antoine went down the beach, they lightly joked about Tails' fears that they would be bored and spent the rest of the day together, enjoying each other's company and the beautiful sights of the island. At nightfall, Antoine brought up the fear that they might have rushed into their marriage at such a young age, but he and Bunnie both agreed that it had been the right decision.[87]

Unfortunately, the moment was interrupted by the Battle Bird Armada, who set the jungle on fire and ambushed the pair in a raid. Cut off from escape, Antoine put up a valiant fight despite being taken by surprise and without his sword, but they both were ultimately subdued by the attackers' Mole Mech and captured.[87] The next day Bunnie was taken to meet the Grand Battle Kukku XV, while Antoine stole a key to his cell in the Armada's base from his guard. He escaped soon after tricking the guard into leaving, only to run into Armada officer Speedy. Antoine then ran and found an escape hatch, only to learn it opened into empty air with a long drop to the sea below. Speedy then arrived in company with Bunnie, who had passed herself off as a Dark Egg Legion member to gain the trust of the Battle Lord. Unfortunately, Antoine believed the ruse, remembering Silver's story about a traitor in the Freedom Fighters and that Bunnie had wanted to get away from New Mobotropolis for their honeymoon. Antoine then threw himself out of the hatch, an attempt at suicide, leaving behind a horrified Bunnie.[89]

However this was his own ruse, as he landed on Tails on-board the Sea Fox floating down below. After explaining he believed Bunnie was under cover, they proceeded through the island to find the entrance to the Armada's base, with Antoine bringing up Tails' earlier adventures, much to the latter's chagrin. Once they found the entrance and made their way through the tunnels, the duo fought through a small group of soldiers and were rescued by Bunnie. Following a joyful reunion with his wife, Antoine was presented with a sabre she found in the Armada's armory, which he eagerly accepted. The trio continued on into the base, only to be stopped be Dr. Fukurokov, who (after a failed attempt by Antoine and the others to pronounce his name), sent his Mole Mech to attack them.[90] During the battle, Antoine implemented part of Tails' plan to weaken the structure of the base by cutting through the lower cables. With the Mole Mech destroyed, the trio headed for the lower tunnels to escape, only to find that the Armada's base was really a flying fortress as it left the island's vicinity. After their escape, Antoine, along with Tails and Bunnie, enjoyed some hot cocoa in the young fox's cabin and toasted each other to their vacation, with Antoine considering sword collecting as a new hobby.[91]

The Death Egg returns

With leftover tension from the occupation mounting, Antoine joined the rest of the Freedom Fighters while staking out Mina's free concert when Geoffrey St. John and Ixis Naugus showed up, preaching to be able to protect the citizens against Nicole. When Sally gave the order to attack Geoffrey, Antoine again accused him of being a traitor and stealing his father's idea of a rebel underground. Geoffrey simply mocked him and took Antoine out with a knee to his stomach. After resuming his attack with the others upon hearing that Hershey was dead, Sally eventually convinced Geoffrey to stand down and let justice takes its course, and had Antoine and Bunnie keep him under watch.[92][93] Antone then witnessed the Death Egg Mark 2 arrive over the city and piloted the Freedom Fighter Special once Sally ordered a hasty counterattack. Antoine was unable to get close to the aerial weapon though, due to its laser defenses, and continued to fly around dodging them while Operation: Clean Sweep began and the entire world was enveloped in a flash of white light...[94]

Genesis

In a strange new world, Antoine "DePardieu" was freed from a capsule with Sally and "Boomer" by their new ally, Sonic. Frightened about going after Eggman, he still accompanied the others planning to stop him. In the Marble Zone, he attempted to hide from the fight against Badniks, but found a horde of Bat Brains and went running. Though Sonic defeated them, Sally gave credit to Antoine for "finding" the ambush. Once they escaped from a lava field caused by an earthquake, Antoine was the first to see Dr. Eggman and cowered in fear. After hiding behind Boomer while Sonic fought Eggman, Antoine examined an underground passage to the Labyrinth Zone. He thought it was "perilous" but went down hesitantly, following the others.[95]

Sonic noticed Antoine and Sally seemed rather close as they proceeded underground, though Sally later affirmed that they were just friends. As they swam through submerged parts of the ruins, Antoine attempted to flee a bunch of Orbinauts while Sonic created an escape route that sucked them down a slide. The others made it safely to a ledge on the other side and tried to grab Antoine as he passed by, but an earthquake struck at that moment and they missed as he fell into the darkness below. Antoine washed around in the dark for what seemed like hours until the water way ruptured, dumping him out of a hydraulics pipe in the Scrap Brain Zone where his friends were, and right into the arms of Dr. Eggman. At first furious at the others for leaving him, Antoine then noticed where he was and panicked, creating a distraction that allowed Sonic to destroy the elevator he and Eggman were in. Once Sonic sent Eggman and his Egg Mobile falling into a pit below, Antoine at first was ready to celebrate their victory until Sonic pointed out he believed Eggman may have survived just as Antoine had.[96]

After meeting Sonic's protege Tails, Antoine and the others continued in their mission to shut down Eggman's bases and leave him powerless. While traveling through the Chemical Plant Zone, Antoine became annoyed by Tails' and Boomer's admiration-like enthusiasm in discussing what Eggman needed so much fuel for, and cautioned the others as they climbed up a shaft. His concern proved well-founded soon enough when a trap was sprung and the shaft filled with Mega Muck, but thanks to Sonic and Tails no one nearly drowned like last time.[97]

Once Sonic and Tails parted ways with them, Antoine and Boomer stayed with Sally and entered the noxious Oil Ocean Zone together. As they navigated their way across the terrain, Aquis badniks spotted and attacked them, forcing them to run. While Sally and Boomer wished Sonic stayed to help, Antoine became indignant and thought he should fight the robots in order to get praise, only to nearly be hit by laser-fire as Boomer pulled him out of the way. When they were finally cornered, Antoine fell off the walkway into a strange cannon-like device that eventually shot him right into the badniks, destroying them while leaving the other impressed and himself disoriented. With the help of Mobini freed by Antoine's actions, they located the main valves and proceeded to shut down the oil pipelines, cutting off the local power supply to Eggman's bases. Once finished, there was nothing more that Antoine could do but watch as a mysterious wave of white light washed over them soon after, causing everything to fade out.[98]

Changing world

Bunnie reached for Antoine and shook his shoulder. She asked if he was still with them, and he murmured "...see-saw..." and then shook his head violently. He asked if he took a nap in the middle of piloting the plane. She told him she thought that something got to all of them, but whatever it was it passed. He agreed, and he banked the Freedom Fighter Special away from the Death Egg. He then said that whatever it was it had affected the Death Egg, too, and that he would bring them around for another attack run. Just as they pulled away, laser-fire erupted from the Death Egg as it had before - and then subsided just as quickly. Tails called on the radio from the Tornado saying that it had gone quiet and asking if there had been any word from Sonic or Sally. Bunnie replied that they had not heard anything, and before she could tell him what she was wondering about them, an explosion rocked the inside of the Death Egg. Fire and smoke poured from its seems.[99]

The Death Egg then deployed its Titan Metal Sonic into New Mobotropolis. While Bunnie elected to deal with the robot menace, Antoine renewed his attack on the aerial fortress and closed in on it with the Tornado until he was clipped by a blast from the Egg Annihilator Beam. Thanks to Antoine’s piloting skills, he was able to safely crash-land the FFS outside the city, and eventually exploded in outrage at Geoffrey for having already created part of their situation when he tried to reason their next course of action. Once back in the city, Antoine was horrified to find a crowd surrounding his fallen wife who had been partially crystallized by Ixis Naugus’ magic during the battle. Dr. Quack quickly told Antoine he could only guess at the moment and had Big take Bunnie to the hospital while her condition seemed stable, and then helped along the distraught Antoine as well.[100]

In the hospital, Antoine frantically refused to allow “King” Naugus to examine Bunnie since he was the cause of her predicament, but Dr. Quack was forced to restrain him as he had run out of normal medical options. With a flash of light from Naugus’ wand, Antoine and everyone there was shocked to see Bunnie’s limbs had been completely restored to flesh and blood, and he went to be by his wife’s side in a moment of tearful joy.[101] This meant that he and Bunnie could have a family together, something that had previously been beyond their reach.[1] Later that day however, Antoine found Bunnie staring out the window by herself, whereupon she explained her fears of not being useful to the Freedom Fighters now that she was finally normal. Antoine dismissed her concerns and pointed out how he had become a valuable member of team even though he had no powers, and explained that her true strength came from within herself rather than her cybernetics. Antoine continued to restore Bunnie’s confidence with the certainty of her finding another way to be a great contributor, and reassured her that everything would be fine as long as the two of them were together.[102]

With his family life somewhat in order now, Antoine turned his attention to dealing with the more concerning matters of the city’s political takeover spurred by Geoffrey. Antoine had St. John arrested in order to put him on trial for treason.[103] Before he could get any further with prosecution however, the Battle Bird Armada was sighted en-route to New Mobotropolis. An evacuation of the city was ordered, and Antoine carried Bunnie to safety, insisting that she was not yet fully accustomed to her body to make it without assistance. After informing Elias that they had left with the last group, Antoine, Bunnie and the others waited in the nearby woods and could only watch as the Armada attacked and its Battle Fortress blew up their home.[104]

During the trial of Geoffrey St. John, Antoine played the role of the prosecutor. He fought words with the traitor over his theft of miltary documents before the coup while secretly undermining the former royal authority, and eventually came out on the top with the judges Hip and Hop declaring St. John guilty of treason. Despite his expert performance on the courtroom floor, Naugus quickly overturned the celebration by granting Geoffrey a royal pardon, leaving Antoine infuriated for making his entire effort null and void while Bunnie tried to keep him calm.[103]

Sacrifice

After his recent deposition, ex-king Elias decided to leave New Mobotropolis and return to his old home in Feral Forest with his family. Wary of an attack, Antoine and other Freedom Fighters escorted him for the first part of the trip. En-route, they were attacked by Mecha Sally along with a new Metal Sonic and a force of Egg SWATs, who were sent to kill Elias. With Bunnie no longer super-powered, and Mecha Sally working against them, they were at a severe disadvantage during the battle. Antoine tried to save his king when Metal Sonic latched onto the Mobo-Cruiser, and pulled it off the vehicle to defend his king and country even though he was clearly no match for the machine. As Antoine grappled with the robot, Eggman gave the order for Metal Sonic to self-destruct and the commander was caught in the explosion and critically injured, ending the attack. Bunnie and the others were in hysterics and at first believed him to be dead, but Sonic realized Antoine was still breathing and rushed him off to Dr. Quack.[105]

After emergency procedures at Tommy Turtle Memorial Hospital, Antoine was left in a coma. He was put on support with a machine using Power Rings which, helped his condition, but less effective than on those like Sonic. While the device that healed King Max with a Chaos Emerald had been considered, Bunnie decided against it out of concern of causing mental decline. Due to her husband's state, Bunnie became overcome with guilt, and told him to wait for her while she left to do what she needed to protect her loved ones. Silver arrived soon after from his own time, accusing Antoine of being the traitor who destroyed the Freedom Fighters, only for Sonic to drag him into the hospital room and show him how that was impossible before forcing Silver to get out. Geoffrey arrived at that moment, and despite being unwelcome, paid his respects to the commander for his performance in court and never giving up his suspicions against him. Whether or not Antoine could hear anything, Sonic finally admitted in front of him that Silver was actually right about the Knothole Freedom Fighters being done.[106]

Despite Antoine's incapacitation, his comrades managed to continue their fight against the Eggman Empire, although they were unable to truly oppose Naugus.[107][108] Some weeks later, another new Metal Sonic broke into the hospital to finish off the still-comatose Antoine. Luckily, Shard, the original Metal Sonic, arrived and challenged the enemy robot to a fight. Metal Sonic accepted and flew off with Shard just before Rotor and Big arrived, thus sparing Antoine further harm.[109] Soon after, the Prime Zone was hit by the second Genesis Wave, and the subsequent Super Genesis Wave, completely altering Mobius' timeline.[110]

Note: From this point, Antoine's history continues from his new life in the altered timeline.

Personality

Antoine was portrayed as arrogant and vain, but this is likely because he was simply proud and has no particular skills with which to compete with Sonic (who is often guilty of the same traits). Much of his deceptive bravado came from his efforts to hide his insecurities, though it earned him Sonic's ire early on. He was rather cowardly and easily spooked, though he gradually made more and more attempts at overcoming his fears, especially when those important to him were in danger and will back down if he thinks victory is impossible. However, during the time he was replaced with his Anti-Self, Antoine truly learned to stand up for himself and be more self-reliant, and when he returned, he had become far less cowardly. For a long time he felt that his cowardice had shamed him in his father's eyes, though as his father lay dying, he told his son that he had matured well and that he could not be more proud. Bunnie also helped him maintain his confidence, though he occasionally looks back on his old behavior with shame.

Antoine has a strong sense of duty and honor, instilled in him by his late father, to the extend that he will sacrifice his life for it, and with growing confidence his skill in battle has increased. Although he can be quite amorous, he is still proper; for example, when his home was trashed by Patch, Bunnie offered to let him move in with her, but he refused as they were not yet married.

Antoine has at times had difficulty speaking English properly, using the wrong words or speaking in French instead, especially when under great stress. He also has an intense dislike of margarine and has very strong opinions about how food should properly be prepared.

Powers and abilities

In the beginning, Antoine was a clumsy and unskilled Freedom Fighter in combat due to his cowardly nature. As time went on though, he developed superior fighting skills. Antoine is a great practitioner of swordsmanship and excels with the use of his personal saber.[1] His skills stems mainly from the lessons in the art of sword-fighting his father gave him while he was still young. Though he primarily relies on his swordplay. Antoine is also skilled in hand-to-hand combat. He has limited but formal military training from his father,[1] and has received additional training from Bunnie, and can also utilize other weapons when needed.

Antoine has demonstrated a noticeable degree of tactical wit which has continuously improved over time.[65] He is known to use logic in battle (he fought only to disarm his opponent when battling Sonic on Moebius, believing that if "Evil" Sonic died he would be trapped there), and his abilities in the field earned him the rank of commander in the Royal Army despite having originally been just a civilian wearing his father's old uniform.

Antoine is a seasoned pilot in both airplanes and balloons.[1] He has as well demonstrated efficient skills at riding Extreme Gear, even in the middle of battle.

Antoine is also bilingual, speaking both English and French.

Weapons

As a swordsman, Antoine uses swords as his primary weapon in combat. His primary choice of sword is his own personal saber which he wears at nearly all times and excels in usage of.[1] This saber has a thin and long greyish white blade with a golden knuckle bow and grip, and a round sword pummel. Though simple, it is quite durable and has an impressive cutting edge, easily cleaving through metal and other solid substances with little effort.

Relationships

Sonic the Hedgehog

Early on Antoine would often compete with Sonic, especially over the love of Princess Sally Acorn. Antoine would be annoyed with Sonic's immature behavior and would take any reasonable chance to knock him down a peg, and Sonic would nag Antoine with endless heckling. Both of them seem to have matured, though; With Antoine married to Bunnie Rabbot, both he and Sonic have buried the hatchet and are no longer feuding - though they sometimes poke fun at each other, with Sonic bringing up Antoine's past arrogance and cowardice while Antoine makes sly remarks about Sonic's lack of maturity.

Romances

Tatiana

When Antoine was a child growing up in Knothole, he fell in love with a young girl named Tatiana who he affectionally referred to as his "Ooh-La-La". Antoine eventually convinced her to go out on a date with him after telling her about many of his "heroic" exploits. Unfortunately, there date wasn't meant to be as she soon found out from Sonic that all of the heroic deeds that Antoine claimed to have done were actually performed by Sonic and Antoine had lied to her in order to win over her affection. After discovering the truth, she told Antoine she no longer cared for him and walked off hand-in-hand with Sonic leaving Antoine alone and broken hearted. Because of this incident, Antoine vowed he would never fall in love again, though Antoine never followed through on his vow as he made numerous failed attempts to court Sally Acorn and eventually married the love of his life, Bunnie Rabbot.

Tatiana moved away shortly thereafter and Antoine did not see or hear from her until many years later when she wrote a letter to him asking to meet with him again. Antoine became nervous since he was now dating Bunnie, and when he told Bunnie of his dilemma she seemed resigned to let Antoine date Tatiana. However, Antoine publicly refused Tatiana's advances and acknowledged his preference for Bunnie's affection.

Princess Sally

Antoine is known to have had a crush on Princess Sally, but she largely rebuffed his advances, taking offense at his demeanor (it can be argued that Antoine never really loved Sally but pursued her so intently because his father was a big proponent for their marriage). This led to a very early rivalry with Sonic. Although it got very testy at times (for example, Antoine had Sonic tried for treason after the latter was roboticized and restored to normal), it rarely interfered with their resistance to Robotnik or any other threat.

Bunnie Rabbot

Antoine's feelings for Bunnie Rabbot were slow to develop, given that at the time they first met he was intent on pursuing Princess Sally. However, he did take an obvious interest in her during their first encounter, and later thanked her with a kiss for coming to his aid several times during an ill-advised solo foray he made into Robotropolis. The two continued to bond through many difficult circumstances, from imprisonment in Downunda to battles against numerous foes, and the two grew into having a steady relationship.

Their relationship was put on hold during Sonic's time in space, but only because Antoine had been transported to Moebius and replaced with his counterpart Patch who broke up with Bunnie. Upon being rescued by Sonic, Antoine returned to his relationship with Bunnie, gladly reuniting with her despite some attempts she had made to make his alternate self jealous while under the impression that Patch was the real Antoine. He refused her offer to move in with her, however not long afterward, proposed marriage. The two were then married, their relationship growing even stronger as a result, to the point of Bunnie coming with him at the time of his father's death. Later, when Bunnie reminded him that he would once have been the first to look for a way out of a fight, he replied that she had given him the courage to face any challenge.

Antoine's love for Bunnie was fully expressed when he asked her to be his wife, to which she readily agreed. Although he became a little nervous, the wedding went off without a hitch, and he and Bunnie were finally wed.

Patches D'Coolette

Antoine holds a grudge against Patch D'Coolette for trapping him on Moebius, killing his father, nearly killing King Max and nearly destroying his relationship with Bunnie.

Quotes

"I am wonder if you could teach moi about...how do you say? Err....marshmallow arts?" —Antoine asking Bunnie to teach him martial arts

"Non, mon amour! You are being all the ze flesh and ze blood for only the littlest whiles yet. You are still ze delicate flower!" —Antoine insisting to Bunnie that he carry her after her derobotization.

Trivia

When frightened or surprised, Antoine often exclaims "Mon Dieu!", implying that he may be religious (a theory supported by his father's belief in the afterlife — though it is the French version of "My God!", as in an exclamation).

It was implied in the early issues that Antoine wore a wig, but was later retconned to be real hair. On Ian Flynn's character Q&A during February, 2009, he reveals as Antoine that he had lost his hair during his childhood "antics" with Sonic, but it has since grown back. [111]

Early Sonic-Grams described Antoine's species as a fox, though it is likely that this was before it was decided that he was a Coyote.

In an early issue of the Archie comic series (in a Sonic Grams Q and A session about Tails), it was said that a reader believed that Tails' second tail was actually Antoine's, as he didn't appear to have one. However, in later issues, he was drawn with a short, fluffy tail that could be seen from a profile or back view. This same message also may have expressed some confusion of Antoine's species, which was never specified in earlier issues.

Antoine's hatred of margarine comes from an episode of Sonic the Hedgehog , in which Snively "tortured" Antoine by improperly preparing French cuisine in front of him. Antoine was outraged when, in preparing escargot, Snively announced his intention to use margarine instead of butter.

, in which Snively "tortured" Antoine by improperly preparing French cuisine in front of him. Antoine was outraged when, in preparing escargot, Snively announced his intention to use margarine instead of butter. According to Lost Hedgehog Tales, Antoine was originally planned to have died in Sonic the Hedgehog #237. However, fan reaction to Sally's roboticization and Antoine's sacrifice caused Ian to nix the plan.

Gallery

References

Notes

↑ Antoine's age is taken from the letters page of Sonic the Hedgehog #46 , where it states his current age was 18. Furthermore, the letters page of Sonic the Hedgehog #90 stated Antoine's age was 19, when the year was 3236. Since the year is now 3237, Antoine's age would be 20.