Bark the Polar Bear
From Mobius Encyclopaedia
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Bark the Polar Bear is Bean the Dynamite's partner. And while his partner is a crazy chatterbox, Bark is calm and completely silent. Thanks to his strength, he is a formidable foe for Sonic the Hedgehog and the other Freedom Fighters. He previously worked with Fiona Fox and Nic the Weasel and participated in an illegal fighting tournament along with the latter and Bean but lost to Rouge the Bat. He and Bean later ended up working for Dr. Eggman twice, once to trash Sonic the Hedgehog's birthday party and the other to try and steal the Master Emerald from Rouge. The latter mission proved to be a sting operation that landed Bean and Bark in jail along with Nack the Weasel, Ixis Naugus and Mammoth Mogul. After being saved from the Egg Grape Chambers by being transported to New Mobotropolis only to be put in jail again, Mogul managed to get his hands of the Chaos Emerald Sonic had collected from the Special Zone and freed himself and his fellow in-mates by taking control of Sonic's friends. Bean and Bark then took up a job to get Sonic's shoes under Mogul, only to temporarily switch sides when Sally Acorn offered to shorten their sentences and, as per Bean's wishes, give them cupcakes. When Nack managed to subdue Sonic, however, they switched back over and Sonic later took out Bark when Geoffrey St. John freed him in the Bottom of the Barrel Bar 'n' Grill.
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[edit] History
[edit] Past
Bark's past is almost completely unknown. The only thing known is that he was once a member of Nic the Weasel's gang, which also included Bean the Dynamite and Fiona Fox. The group used to compete in illegal fighting tournaments, and often found themselves defeated by Rouge the Bat. Despite parting ways with Fiona and Nic, Bark remained partnered with Bean. (StH: #165)
[edit] First Battle With Freedom Fighters
Bark and Bean's first encounter with Sonic the Hedgehog was when Dr. Eggman hired them to attack Sonic on his birthday. Sonic assumed that the two had in the past run into Evil Sonic and had confused the two, but Bean denied that any personal feelings were involved; it was strictly a job. They attacked the rebuilt Freedom HQ and everyone inside. However, Bark was defeated when the Freedom Fighters completely surrounded him and Fiona advised him to surrender, which he did. When Croctobot attacked Freedom HQ, Bark and Bean used this as their chance to escape, and although Fiona tried to stop them, she eventually let them go. (StH: #160, #161)
[edit] Later Encounters
Bark and Bean were later hired by Dr. Eggman once more to find out if the rumours of Rouge having the Master Emerald were true (and in the end, they weren't). Nack the Weasel was also hired to investigate the rumours, although he didn't actually work with the duo. Bark and Bean, now sporting Extreme Gear thanks to Bean being a former member of the Battlebird Armada, ran into Sonic and Antoine. Bark was defeated when Ant sliced his Extreme Gear in half and caused him to crash. Bark was sent to Knothole Prison along with Bean, Nack, Mammoth Mogul, and Ixis Naugus. (StH: #173)
Not long after, Eggman's Egg Fleet attacked Knothole Village and captured nearly everyone, including Bark and his fellow prisoners. Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Amy Rose freed all of Eggman's prisoners, including Bark and the other criminals, who fled with everyone else. When everyone was sent to New Mobotropolis, Bark, Bean, and Nack took advantage of the opportunity and joined Mammoth Mogul, who was attempting to rally the city under his command. Fortunately, NICOLE teleported all of the criminals to the new city's prison. While a prisoner there, Bark watched Sonic's fight with Tails. (StH: #178, #179)
Awhile later, Bark watched as Mammoth Mogul forced Sonic and Ash Mongoose to steal the Gray Chaos Emerald from Castle Acorn, under duress that he would have had Mina Mongoose, Mighty the Armadillo, and Tails (who were all under his control) kill themselves otherwise. When the two gave Mogul the emerald, he regained his Chaos-based powers and unexpectedly told Sonic that he would stop trying to take over Mobius... at least until Sonic had died of old age. Mogul also warned Sonic that he would not live in peace before teleporting himself and the other prisoners (including Bark and Bean) away. (StH: #185, #186)
Bark and Bean would find themselves going back into conflict with Sonic and the Freedom Fighters not long after, however, as Mogul hired them along with Nack and the Destructix to steal Sonic's shoes (with or without Sonic's feet still in them, he added). Outside of Freedom HQ, Bark and Bean ambushed Sonic and Sally Acorn. When Sonic commented Sally's tactics against Bean, Bark took advantage of the distraction and punched Sonic, knocking him into an area where the Destructix were waiting. The six then started fighting him while Bark and Bean watched, Bean cheering on the Destructix. Sally told the two she would pay them double whatever Mogul's offer (as well as give them cupcakes, on the suggestion from Bean) to help Sonic, effectively hiring the mercenaries herself. The duo accepted and started helping Sonic fight against their former allies. However, Nack, who had been hiding in some nearby bushes, suddenly blasted Sonic with an energy rifle, knocking him out. The Destructix then chained him up and put him into a truck. Bark and Bean, having failed to protect Sonic, decided to go back to Mogul's side and went back to the Casino Night Zone with the Destructix while Nack stayed behind to finish off Sally. Bark, Bean, and the Destructix then waited to be paid by Mogul in the casino's new kitchen, the Bottom of the Barrel Bar 'n' Grill. However, Sally, Amy, and Geoffrey St. John all showed up and freed Sonic, who then took down Bark and Bean. Although the duo have yet to be seen again afterwards, it is assumed they came to, were paid by Mogul, and left the casino. (StH: #187, #188)
[edit] Abilities
Bark is incredibly strong, able to smash through solid rock and can throw opponents such as Sonic long distances. At the very least, his strength is greater than Sergeant Simian as he was able to stop one of his punches with a single hand and then throw him a fair distance. He was also able to hault a punch thrown by Bunnie "Rabbot" D'Coolette's robotic arm.
- Bark's strength comes from his game counterpart, as he was the strongest character in Sonic the Fighters, but also rather slow.
[edit] Personality
Ian Flynn describes Bark's personality as: "rather level-headed in his surrender to being out-numbered and to Sally's better deal during the Mogul arc. He's seemingly even-tempered given his reactions to Bean - mortified, but not ripping his feathers out. He even appears to have a somewhat dark sense of humor given his amusement at Sally's aforementioned offer. He's a tough, down-to-business kind of guy." (1)
[edit] Background Information
- Some people have compared Bark to Silent Bob from Jay and Silent Bob, as neither of them speak, and both are larger than their skinny partners.
- Bark has had quite a few cameos on numerous covers, mostly non-canon, though someone resembling him appeared in a flashback shown in StH issue #50, as a soldier during the Great War, along with Bean (or someone looking like him), and unidentified panda, and a few lesser Sega characters, including Astal, and Ristar. The canonicity is still debatable, given recent developments, and the fact that that scene was in Dr. Ivo Robotnik's dream.
- Bark appeared on the cover of Sonic X #15 as a stuffed toy being held affectionately by Decoe.
