Back in 2010, artist 0nyxheart released the poorly-drawn Sanic
meme. It was immediately popular and became one of the most beloved
memes on the internet. But did you know this story was a LIE?
Sanic was actually born from a violent webcomic that spanned
the 2010s which you may not know about.
Created from humble beginnings, Sanic is originally just a run-of-the-mill Sonic
adventure webcomic with the typical cast, drawn by 0nyxheart and hosted on Devianart.
It's considered generic, cliche. But it quickly sets itself apart at the end of the third issue
when a photorealistic 2014 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback is introduced to the cartoon world.
Sonic and friends are understandably confused, and moreso concerned when it engages its 148
horsepower, 2 litre 4-cylinder engine to lay rubber in the direction of the animated cast.
After a brief but harrowing chase, beloved characters such as Amy Rose
and Tails are brutally mowed down under 253 pound-feet of torque.
But the worst victim is Sonic. Thankfully though, the Mitsubishi Lancer was rated by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration as 4 stars in protection. However,
the car’s rear-seat side-impact rating was only given 3 stars, and unfortunately despite Sonic’s
reputation he simply isn’t fast enough here. He is mercilessly crunched by the car’s rear seats.
This came to be known as C-Day. The “C” standing for car.
In the very next issue, Sonic wakes up in the hospital riddled with scars
and wrapped in bandages. He finds out Tails was killed at the scene,
while Amy survives but refuses to see or speak to Sonic anymore.
For weeks, Sonic begins his recovery, with nary a visitor. The doctors inform him he’ll never
go fast again. Depression sets in, made worse because he’s stuck in the epilepsy
ward due to lack of beds. He’s under 24/7 watch, not even able to use the bathroom
without supervision. Nightly injections are administered to
prevent blood clots in his spindly legs. Sonic exhibits signs of mild psychosis.
It’s a dark, depressing time, oddly mature for a Sonic story.
The nurses finally unwrap the bandages revealing Sonic’s new flat & mangled form. This is
considered the origin story. The birth of Sanic.
Yes. We were aware of the webcomic back then and the sizeable audience it was generating,
but you have to understand it was considered by the team too graphic,
and quite frankly too lewd to acknowledge. We employed our legal team to issue a takedown
notice but it would take time, and every day the fan base grew. It was
getting out of control - we knew it - and there was not much we could do.
For months, fans speculate about the identity of the Mitsubishi driver. The names thrown
around are Knuckles, Eggman, Shadow and even Dante from the Devil May Cry series. But it
was around this time the first rumblings of a possible Sega lawsuit reach the artist's ears.
0nyxheart introduces a wide array of original characters to curb this.
The hope being to rotate out Sega characters and slowly out build his
own intellectual property. Some of the new characters become beloved staples,
while others are quickly and quietly discarded following intense fan backlash.
In a story arc that lasts at least 10 issues, Sanic and his private investigator rat friend
named Marcus track down the car which has been hidden in a vault in the frozen
wasteland of IceCap Zone. Unfortunately Marcus freezes to death at the apex of their journey,
but not before learning the name of Sanic’s vehicular assailant. With his final breath,
Marcus whispers the name: Coldsteel.
This is the moment the webcomic went from a niche novelty, to a full-blown
online event. For those that don’t know, Coldsteel the Hedgehog was first created
in 2004 by 20 year old blood_skull_boi84, and features the edgiest fan representation
of a Sonic character ever created. It has since achieved exalted meme status.
Sanic sets out across multiple zones, on a crusade to find photorealistic Mitsubishi cars
and get Coldsteel’s attention by turning them into cubes. But this backfires when
mid-crusade Sanic opens an envelope addressed to him and he finds Amy crushed into a cube. The
violence was escalating and it would take a dozen issues before Sanic finally traps Coldsteel with
the rumor of a new Panic at the Disco album. However as you might imagine, it’s a ruse,
it’s a hoax, and Sanic captures the elusive hedgehog for a long-sought showdown.
Life imitates art, as at the same time an online feud begins between
0nyxheart and blood_skull_boi84 as to the rights of the Coldsteel character.
In the ten years between the creation of Coldsteel and the origin of Sanic,
skull_boi had become a bit of a success in the financial sector, leading teams of people across
a variety of banks and investment firms. He employs his legal team to issue a number of
threats to take down his Coldsteel creation from the Sanic series, but it doesn’t deter 0nyxheart.
In the years since his introduction, Coldsteel had become something of a cultural touchstone
in the fan community, especially in the meme economy. Skull_boi quickly finds that fan-created
characters can’t be copyrighted, and the case is dropped. It instead turns from a legal battle into
a mud-slinging contest across social media. Skull_boi says “you smell”, and in return
0nyxheart says “you smell worse”, becoming wildly out of control and inappropriate.
But all this does is further heighten the already-increasing popularity of the Sanic story.
In the final confrontation with Coldsteel, Sanic opens portals and summons the assistance of all
the hedgehog-variants from Google when you type your name and add “the hedgehog” at the end.
However on the opposing side, Coldsteel is joined by every dark, emo, goth and edgy
fan hedgehog from the bleakest corners of the internet. Also giant enemy cockroaches.
It was an epic duel that sadly we cannot show for budgetary reasons.
In the aftermath of the battle, Sanic clutches Coldsteel’s beaten and bruised body and demands
WHY, WHY did you do this to me and also you killed that Tails guy and you turned Amy into a cube.
Coldsteel looks up at Sanic with his trademark smirk and offers his famous line in return.
This moment immortalises Coldsteel as the ultimate villain, next to Frieza,
Thanos and Mark Zuckerberg. Following the successful conclusion
of the story arc, 0nyxheart boldly flouts the lucrative sales numbers for Sanic and
Coldsteel merchandise. Shirts, mugs, plushies and even a line of Coldsteel
scented candles and body wash range. Skull-boi is furious, but can do nothing.
With his revenge extracted, Sanic finds himself without a goal or any reason to
live. 0nyxheart himself admits he only had the idea for the Coldsteel revenge arc,
but now the fandom is ravenous, feverish,
demanding more content. The Sanic franchise is a cashcow that cannot be ignored.
Out of desperation and with the threat of legal action from Sega seemingly simmered down,
Ugandan Knuckles is introduced to the Sanic franchise. Despite an initial rivalry,
they end up going on adventures together, becoming fast friends. But this wasn’t
enough for the fans - the era of Woke had begun and they demanded representation.
In one single frame in a later issue, a close-up frame of
Ugandan Knuckles displays his face and one of his pectorals during a heated discussion with
Sanic. Fans quickly latched onto this frame, claiming the pectoral resembles the edge of
a female chest, and so therefore Knuckles was multi-gender LGBT. The ship wars began,
and great pressure was applied to 0nyxheart to take their relationship beyond platonic.
In a stunning move, Sanic reveals deep feelings for Ugandan Knuckles and their relationship turns
graphic. The audience is split as the series takes on the elements of a romantic comedy.
Generally accepted as the peak of the series is the proposal and marriage between Sanic and
Ugandan Knuckles. The wedding is officiated by Marcus the Rat who is somehow back by
popular demand. Knuckles takes Sanic’s hand and vows to always “show him de
wey” with much clucking of approval from Knuckle’s side of the family.
But it is all downhill from here. Sega finally issues a cease-and-desist order with the threat
of legal action unless the webcomic is taken down from all domains immediately.
0nyxheart buckles under the intense legal pressure
and so he decides to end the series on a bittersweet note.
In the final issue, it’s established in this universe that in order to get pregnant and
bear a child, you must swallow your spouse. Sanic promptly eats Knuckles whole - causing
a huge debate online about the age rating for the comic, as well as the nature of cannibalism
in the evolutionary chain. In hindsight it was considered a forward-thinking move that
alienated an already-fragmented readerbase. The baby that Sanic gives birth to turns
out to be a photo-realistic fox creature - he calls it Tails in honor of his deceased friend.
Following this, no formal word is given about the series before every single issue
is swiftly and abruptly pulled from all hosting webpages including Deviantart,
Tumblr and Webtoons. This is known as C-day 2, this time the C standing for cleanse as
the comic is cleansed from the internet. Much speculation ensued about what happened to it,
not limited to Russian mob involvement or 0nyxheart’s conversion to Buddhism.
Sanic lives on as a simple meme, while fans hold onto this absolutely 100%
for sure true story as a special and nostalgic era of their lives.