King (SatAM)

You may be looking for Maximillian Acorn or Nigel Acorn.

The King^[2] is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog television series. He is an anthropomorphic fox^[1], the rightful ruler of the kingdom of Mobotropolis and the father of Sally. After Dr. Robotnik came to power, the King was exiled to the Void, where he was imprisoned alongside Nagus.

History

TV series

Past

In the past, the King ruled the city of Mobotropolis, which became entangled in the Great War. Eventually, the kingdom of Mobotropolis emerged victorious thanks to the aid of the head of the War Ministry, Julian.^[3]

On the 13th, in the year 3224, after the end of the Great War, the King praised Julian for his heroic victory, and invited him to a banquet with other dignitaries of the kingdom. He also announced that he would close the War Ministry and make Julian the Minister of Science. At the end, he also approved of Julian's plans to disband the military. That same day, however, Julian assumed the name of Dr. Robotnik and took over Mobotropolis.^[3] The king was subsequently dethroned and banished to the Void.^[4] Though he had been banished, however, the King's daughter, Sally, managed to escape to Knothole Village. Sally had also received a handheld named Nicole. Though Nicole had knowledge on all the questions Sally would ask, the King had implemented special time locks into Nicole that were supposed to keep Sally from accessing certain files until she came of age. One such file included information about the Deep Power Stones, whose information was recorded by the King personally.^[5]

Season one

Several years later, Nicole picked up a transmission from Ironlock Prison in the Dark Swamp that allegedly came from the King. As it turned out later, the broadcast came from a computer in Ironlock that held a map of the underground tunnels under Robotropolis.^[6]

Season two

The King's history was later slightly altered when Sonic and Sally went back in time with the Time Stones to stop Dr. Robotnik before he rose to power. In the past, after the King had dismissed Julian, Sir Charles Hedgehog asked him for an audience. Although he heard from him that Julian was plotting against him, he did not believe Charles' story at first. However, he then met the Sonic and Sally from the future, and he recognized his daughter after taking notice of her appearance, her royal signet ring, and her familiarity with the family creed. Just as the King started to believe their warning however, Dr. Robotnik's forces surrounded the palace and all who were inside.^[3] The king was subsequently dethroned and captured, but Sonic and Sally managed to escape. Later, the King was exiled to the Void by Robotnik, like in the original timeline.^[7]

Approximately eleven years after his imprisonment in the Void, Nagus took the form of a sick King so that Sonic, who had arrived in the Void with Sally and Bunnie, would free him from the Void. After Sonic saved the false King, the real King arrived with Ari and greeted Sally, who threw herself into his arms. Later, Sonic saved the King, Sally, Bunnie and Ari from the Void. The king was free again, but not for long. It turned out that his body had begun to crystallize due to him having been too long in the Void, and the only way he could save himself from becoming a lifeless crystal statue was to return to the Void with Nagus. Knowing that he had to leave, the King told Sally to take the list of all the Freedom FIghter groups from his pocket. After she had done so, the King said good-bye to his daughter and returned to the Void with Nagus.^[4]

Personality

The king is a firm monarch who is guided by a strong sense of honor when governing his kingdom.^[3] A kind ruler and loving father, he is very concerned about his subjects, especially about his daughter and princess, Sally. Loyal to both his duties and his people, he swore that he would stop Robotnik, and even though he was banished to the Void, he tried to do everything in his power to support the Freedom Fighters.^[4][7]

Powers and abilities

The king is capable monarch and leader, able to plan for various events ahead of time.

Relationships

Sally

Dr. Robotnik

Friends/allies

• Freedom Fighters
  • Ari
  • Knothole Freedom Fighters
    • Bunnie Rabbot
    • Sir Charles Hedgehog
    • Nicole
    • Sally (daughter)
    • Sonic the Hedgehog

Neutral

• Nagus

Enemies

• Dr. Robotnik
• Snively

In other media

Archie Comics

Main articles: Nigel Acorn and Maximillian Acorn

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, the King was known as Maximillian Acorn, and was instead established as a squirrel-chipmunk. In this media, Maximillian was born to King Frederick Acorn at the height of the Kingdom of Acorn's power. He grew up traditionally: bonded with the Source of All at ten years old betrothed at eleven, and wed by eighteen. When he succeeded his father he was bestowed the Sword and Crown of Acorns, crafted from the Source that had bonded with him. Maximillian's time as king was short and brutal. Tension with the Overland quickly exploded into war. Mobotropolis fell to the invaders, leaving Maximillian to command guerrilla tactics from the sewers. A break came in the form of the Overlander traitor Julian Kintobor. Recalling his former tutor, Nate Morgan, Maximillian readily took Julian in and made him Warlord. Julian's tactics ultimately saw the fate of the war decided in a sword duel between Maximillian and Overlord Charlemagne. Maximillian won and showed great mercy upon the aggressors. But there was mercy when Julian took on the name of Dr. Ivo Robotnik and captured the city from within. Maximillian was exiled to the Zone of Silence where the nightmarish landscape and vicious residents nearly drove him insane. The natives brought him to their master, Ixis Nagus. Without any choice, Maximillian swore fealty Nagus in return of an organic-crystal body that could endure the zone. Maximillian eventually forgot who he was.

Years later, Princess Sally Acorn led a rescue mission that returned him home, but without Nagus's magic, Maximillian suffered uncontrollable crystallization. Thanks to the Knothole Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix he was later reunited with his sword and crown and healed by their magic bond. Once restored, Maximillian attempted to rebuild his kingdom and family as they would have been. But the world had changed, and his efforts drove his children away. His old tactics led to him being temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. Once he had nearly recovered, his obstinacy left him prone to poisoning from Patch D'Coolette. While the powers of a Chaos Emerald saved him from the brink of death, the damage had been done. Maximillian became a shadow of his former self but still resolved to restore his kingdom to the old ways.

When the Super Genesis Wave re-wrote history, Maximillian became known as Nigel Acorn. In this reality, he was the kind and just ruler of the Kingdom of Acorn until he got manipulated by Dr. Eggman, who banished him to the Special Zone. Eventually freed from the Special Zone, Nigel took over as ruler again and agreed to hold the throne so that his daughter Sally Acorn could continue leading the Freedom Fighters against the Eggman Empire.

Trivia

• The King is not named during the series, but in the show's bible, he is called "King Acorn".^{[citation needed]} Additionally, his daughter does have the last name Acorn, as confirmed on the N Circle DVD set release of the show, so it's quite possible that may carry over to her father as well.^[8]
• The King makes a cameo in the Sonic Underground episode "Beginnings". A statue of him is shown in the middle of the city.
• The King's personal timeline in the series has some inconsistencies. He was imprisoned in the Void on the same day as Robotnik took over Mobotropolis, but he also later possesses a list of all Freedom Fighter groups, which did not exist when he was banished.
  • Additionally, the first season episode "Sonic Boom" indicates that he was, until recently, held in Ironlock Prison, from which he transmitted sensitive documents to his daughter - an event that is totally incompatible with what would later be revealed as his fate.
    • However, Sally mentions that the timeline was messed with in "Blast to the Past, Part 2". when Robotnik's forces went towards Great Forest, an event that never happened prior to them time-traveling. It's possible that King being banished to the Void was another event that didn't happen before the duo arrived in the past.

References