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Speedy is a Mobian bird and the Sixteenth Battle Kukku of the Battle Bird Armada. As the son of the current Battle Lord, Grand Battle Kukku XV, he is the heir-apparent to the Battle Kukku lineage and next in line to lead the armada.
History[]
Born to Lead[]
As the heir to the Battle Kukku lineage, Speedy was always expected to become the next Battle Lord of the Armada like his forefathers, due to the leadership being established through nepotism. Speedy did not desire to have his entire lifestyle pre-established though, as it meant he would be answering to his father's overbearing will all his life, and looked for a means to avoid this. Speedy found some relief when the "Legendary Wind Master", Jet the Hawk, joined the Armada, as to him Jet's actions and demeanor represented freedom, inspiring a desire in Speedy to become like him. (SU: #30, #33, #34)
By the time the Babylon Rogues decided to desert the Armada to find the Babylon Garden, Speedy had become disillusioned with Jet, and confronted them in the fortress hanger, hoping to keep them from leaving. He tried to remind them of the commitment they were walking out on, only for Jet to brush him off, infuriating Speedy enough to make him try to attack Jet. After discovering he could not stop them with words or force, Speedy realized this would be his only chance to escape as well, and pleaded with the Rogues to take him along. However, Jet threw him aside, telling Speedy he had to find his own destiny instead, while inciting a desire for vengeance in the young Battle Kukku. (SU: #33)
Speedy is attacked by Predator.
Speedy remained with the Armada afterwards, keeping up the appearance that he was content with the destiny his lineage had set before him. This granted Speedy with privileges not allowed to regular soldiers in the organization. Unlike those who worked their way through the ranks, Speedy had the power and freedom of a leader from the start without being limited by the Armada's rules and restrictions. This did not sit well with everyone, namely Predator Hawk, who trained for years and was promoted, only to find his purpose and future held back. Believing Speedy was weak and his privelages given without earning them, Predator attacked him in a hallway one day and grabbed Speedy by the throat until his father caught Hawk in the act and had him jailed for his mutiny. (SU: #30)
Two-Tailed Rival[]
While the Armada was stationed at Cocoa Island, Speedy was one of the first to notice the arrival of some members of the Knothole Freedom Fighters. Observing them briefly, Speedy went to inform the Battle Lord of the suspicious intruders upon witnessing that Miles "Tails" Prower could fly. Speedy then lead the task force that attacked Tails and the honeymooning Antoine and Bunnie D'Coolette. Speedy's troops dealt with the married couple, while Speedy went straight for Tails and assaulted him in the skies with his amazing speed. (SU: #17)
Eventually, he threw Tails to the ground and declared him a freak because of his twin tails and unusual ability to fly when he was not a bird. After accusing Tails and his companions of invading the Armada's training ground, Speedy was attacked by T-Pup, enabling the fox to attempt an escape. Speedy gave chase through a seaside tunnel, but found himself struggling to keep up with his prey. He finally caught up, only to Tails as he hid on a sheltered ledge. Speedy begrudgingly returned to the Battle Fortress after being ordered back by Battlekukku XV. (SU: #17, #18)
The next day, Speedy walked in on Antoine's escape, sounding an alert that interrupted the Battle Lord's meeting with Bunnie. Using the ruse that she was a Dark Egg Legion Kommissar, Bunnie joined Speedy in cornering Antoine at an escape hatch. Speedy quickly challenged Bunnie's authority in the matter, claiming she was subordinate to the Battle Lord while on Armada ground. Their argument was ended as Antoine, believing his wife had turned traitor, leaped out of the hatch. Suspicious of Bunnie's reactions being too emotional for a double-agent, Speedy did not buy her excuse of being upset over the damage control she had to do. (SU: #18, #19)
Speedy then went to the base's workshop where he had an awkward moment with Doctor Fukurokov over pronouncing the scientist's name. His mood shifted to triumph when he found Bunnie's file on the Egg Network and learned she was not a legionized ally, but a spy. Speedy then commissioned Doctor Fukurokov to upgrade the Mole Mech to prepare for their enemy's next move. Alerted to an attack on the Armada's base from their own underground entrance, Speedy reported to his father and was told Bunnie had been sent to deal with the situation and to stay out of her way. He became frustrated at how the Battle Lord was only helping their foes, but decided to have Fukurokov finish the upgrades as planned. (SU: #19)
Speedy thanks Tails for helping him.
After the Mole Mech was upgraded, Speedy piloted it attacking Tails, the D'Coolettes, and T-Pup when they arrived in the fortress' storage bay. Speedy at first had the upper hand--even able to knock Bunnie across the room with the mech's fist--but Tails came up with a plan for T-Pup to drop bombs onto the Mole Mech to damage and distract it while he loosened several of its bolts. Eventually, Speedy managed to grab Tails as he confronted Dr. Fukurokov, smashing one of T-Pup's legs as he did so. However, Tails merely tossed his wrench at the mech, causing it to collapse into pieces. An alarm began and Speedy--trapped inside with smoke coming out of it and filling his lungs--tried calling for help, causing Tails to realize that he was the pilot and rescue him. Speedy soon recovered and complimented Tails on his fighting skills. The young fox introduced himself and then told Speedy that they could try to be friends. However, Speedy declined and smacked Tails away before telling him to get out of the fortress. Tails tried asking him what was going on, but lost his balance when the fortress shook. When he regained it, Speedy was gone. (SU: #19, #20)
Later, after the Battle Fortress rose out of the sea and left Cocoa Island, Speedy and Dr. Fukurokov went to Battlekukku XV's throne room. Here, Battlekukku yelled at Speedy for not alerting him that Bunnie was a Freedom Fighter. While his father went on to state that "this little brat will pay most dearly" as he held up a holographic image of Tails, Speedy told XV the fox's name. (SU: #20)
Rogues' Reunion[]
Speedy confronts the Babylon Rogues.
A while after leaving Cocoa Island, the Armada headed for the Gigan Mountains to investigate a Babylonian energy signature that had been detected. Speedy was then dispatched with a large task force to find the energy source, only to come across the Babylon Rogues with the key to Babylon Garden in their possession. Speedy attempted to get the Rogues to surrender peacefully, claiming they would not be able to get away, but they took him by surprise and shot right past him in mid sentence. As Speedy gave orders to open fire on the Rogues, his father radioed him to remind him of the importance in recovering the key so the Armada could achieve its destiny. (SU: #33, #34)
With second chance to give up refused, Speedy then had Dr. Fukurokuov's Pursuit Drones attack, and went after Jet himself. Eventually, he shot Jet in the arm with a concealed blaster, and furiously pummeled the "Legendary Wind Master" until he crashed and was at Speedy's mercy. Before he could do anything else though, Speedy was struck from behind by Wave and then caught by Storm, who prepared to finish him off as he was in no condition to fight. However, Speedy was saved by his father's timely arrival and stayed back as he watched the Rogues get taken down with ease. As the Battle Lord forced the Rogues back into the Armada and then welcomed them as though nothing had happened, Speedy was incredulous and argued with his father that they could not be trusted, until he was finally yelled at to be silent. Speedy complied, but was livid over the turn of events regardless. After watching his father activate the key to display a map to Babylon Garden's resting place, Speedy then relayed its coordinates to the Armada with orders to proceed to New Mobotropolis and prepare for battle. (SU: #34)
During the Armada's attack on the city, Speedy zeroed in on Tails and yanked him right out of the Tornado while trying to defend his hometown. As they grappled in the sky, Speedy expressed his regrets over having to fight Tails as he had found some admiration in his rival, and soon ended their confrontation by throwing Tails into Ixis Naugus below. Speedy then landed on the Battle Fortress' flight deck next to his father and watched the ship's drill beam fire directly beneath them and destroy New Mobotropolis. With the operation nearly finished, Speedy returned to the bridge with his father in a state of revelry over their success while he remained composed and sullen. The mood changed drastically though, and Speedy was soon proven correct for his distrust of the Rogues when they attempted to steal the Babylon Garden. Deciding to keep silent over rubbing it in and not be punished, Speedy then left to get control of the situation on his father's orders. (SU: #35, #36)
Speedy boarded the Garden and flew into the control room after hearing how the ship would destroy Mobius by taking off. Knocking down the Rogues and Sonic the Hedgehog in a sneak attack, he then gloated at Jet and how his desire for glory was about to cause a disaster and how Speedy would be a hero for stopping it. Much to the Battle Kukku's horror, Sonic used this distraction to steal the key and destroy it, causing the Garden to fall out of the sky. Speedy realized nothing more could be done at this point, and resigned himself to explaining what happened to his father and told Jet how he was lucky to not have that task before they parted ways and escaped the ship as it crashed. (SU: #36)
Personality[]
Speedy is an aggressive bird with a vehement hatred for any flying creature that isn't a bird, particularly Tails. However, he will acknowledge that a number of other species that fly at least have something like wings. He seems to regard birds as superior to other Mobians, and feels that all birds belong to the Battle Bird Armada. Despite his loyalty to the armada, he resents the role forced upon him by his lineage, and briefly admired the Babylon Rogues for their free-spirited lifestyle. However, he also holds treachery in the highest contempt. He showed racism to Tails, since Tails isn't a bird and yet is capable of flight. Though he respects the authority of the Battle Lord, he has little regard for anyone else's, even treating supposed allies with disdain. However, he seemed to have gained a little respect for Tails after the young fox saved his life.
Appearance[]
Speedy is a lime green bird with orange-ish red eyes and a yellow beak. His attire consists of a tan flight harness made from his eggshell, a red ascot, brown gloves, matching goggles with red lenses and long brown boots with an orange stripe running across them.
Abilities[]
As a bird, Speedy is capable of flight, and as his name indicates is particularly fast. However, his abilities appear to be limited in narrow air spaces that are more challenging to navigate as opposed to wide-open areas when compared to Tails'. He has also displayed impressive strength while in flight, breaking through rocks in pursuit of enemies.
Background Information[]
- Speedy is based on the recurring boss character, Battle Kukku 16th (グレイトバトルクック16世 Gureito Batoru Kukku Juuroku Sei), aka "Speedy" (スピーディ Supīdi) from the classic Tails' Adventure game for the Game Gear system. Their appearences are quite similar but with a few notable differences; Speedy's game counterpart has no goggles or ascot/bandana and instead of a tan eggshell flight harness, his lower half is completely white, leading to a long-time belief amongst fans of the game that he was actually wearing a diaper. His fingers are also significantly longer.
- According to the Sonic Universe Graphic Novel Series #5, Speedy was originally conceptualized as the grandson rather than the son of the Battle Lord, and was also intended to be Bean's cousin. The pair of them would have shared a rivalry, based on both their opposite personalities and a previous antagonism that existed between their fathers. The idea was also apparently toyed with of having him wield bombs similar to those used by Bean. While none of these ideas have been implemented, artist Jon Gray's design concept did heavily influence Speedy's wardrobe.