- "I miss you, Longclaw. I'm trying to make you proud."
- ―Sonic the Hedgehog[src]
Longclaw was the last of the Owl warriors, tasked with protecting the Master Emerald from evil. She became Sonic the Hedgehog's guardian on Mobius, shielding him from those seeking his power. One day, the Echidna tribe tracked Sonic to Longclaw's home, resulting in an ambush. To save him, Longclaw sent Sonic to Earth through a ring portal. She stayed behind to guard the ring but ultimately fell in battle against the Echidna.
After her death, the residents of the island made a memorial to honor her legacy. They no longer visit her former home out of respect.
Biography[]
Raising Sonic[]
- "Sonic, someone could have seen you."
"No one saw me. I'm too fast!" - ―Longclaw and Sonic the Hedgehog[src]
Longclaw lived on a tropical island on Mobius. As an adult, she adopted and raised Sonic, an orphaned hedgehog. Recognizing the value of Sonic's enhanced speed and special powers, she constantly warned him to keep his existence a secret.[3]
Attack of the Echidna[]
Longclaw receives a flower from Sonic
- "Listen carefully, Sonic. You have a power unlike anything I've ever seen, and that means someone will always want it. The only way to stay safe is to stay hidden."
- ―Longclaw to Sonic the Hedgehog[src]
One day, Sonic came home to Longclaw, bringing her a yellow flower he had picked. Longclaw immediately noticed that Sonic had been tracked however, spotting the Echidna with bows drawn behind him. She quickly shut the door, and covered Sonic as arrows flew through windows and pelted the walls of her home. As the Echidnas drew closer, she flew out of the building carrying Sonic.
As Longclaw was flying away, she was struck by one of the Echidna's arrows, sending her to the ground. She told Sonic that his power made him a target to everyone he would ever meet. She threw a ring, telling him to go to a planet on the far side of the universe. She directed him to use the bag of rings that she had given him if he were ever to be caught. Sonic reluctantly agreed, running through the portal.
Longclaw bids farewell to Sonic
Still being approached by the Echidna, Sonic was concerned about Longclaw's safety. He tried to run back through the ring, but it disintegrated before he could make it through, leaving him, in fear, to question what had happened to his early parental figure.[3]
Legacy[]
Tails visits Longclaw's Home
- "They say that no one has visited here for years out of respect. This is where Sonic was raised, but it's so much more than that. This is sacred ground… The place where Longclaw fell. Hard to believe he was just a kid like me when it happened."
- ―Tails[src]
After her death, the residents of the island placed a shrine as a memorial regarding her passing. With no one stepping foot near Longclaw's former home due to respect, Tails solely investigates the residence in search of Sonic the Hedgehog, Longclaw's guarded child.[2] On his first night in his cave on Earth, Sonic drew a picture of himself and Longclaw so he would never forget her.[5]
Longclaw's hologram tells Sonic about the Master Emerald
Sonic himself was destined to make Longclaw proud by attempting to proceed heroic acts upon danger and crime. After being informed about the once raging war between Owls and Echidnas, Sonic and Tails look upon a prerecorded holographic message in Sonic's Safe Worlds Map in case of her death, in which she tells Sonic more about the Master Emerald and its location, entrusting Sonic as a new guardian to the relic.[1]
Personality[]
- "My dear Sonic, you have a heart like no creature I've ever known. I love you so much. "
- ―Longclaw to Sonic the Hedgehog[src]
Longclaw was a wise, maternal and noble Owl, having been described by Sonic as "basically Obi-Wan Kenobi, if Obi-Wan Kenobi had a beak and ate mice." Akin to a zen master, Longclaw was peaceful and calm as well; she would never raise her voice in front of Sonic, even when he disobeyed her. As a warrior owl, she would likewise stay courageously steadfast and composed in even the worst of situations.
Opting to stay hidden rather than fight, Longclaw showed an overprotective way of thinking, believing that the only way to stay safe from bad people that seek what one possesses is to remain in hiding and escape to a new hiding place if discovered. This reasoning led her to instruct Sonic to live in hiding for the remainder of his life so that he could stay safe.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Flight: As an owl, Longclaw was capable of flying at great speeds.
- Enhanced Durability: When she was struck down by one of Pachacamac's arrows, she managed to shrug it off and get back up with no sign of visible injuries.
Abilities[]
- Combatant: Longclaw has shown great maneuverability while fleeing the Echidna and was ready to fend them off while allowing Sonic to escape to Earth through a ring portal.
Equipment[]
- Rings: Longclaw possessed a bag of rings that allow her to travel between worlds. When Sonic was discovered and hides him on Earth, she handed her ring bag to Sonic, along with a map of instructions that he must hide in the Mushroom Planet if ever discovered again.
Facilities[]
- Longclaw's Home: Longclaw lived together with Sonic the Hedgehog on an island. After her death, the house and the area surrounding it became sacred ground.
Relationships[]
Family[]
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Enemies[]
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Appearances[]
Sonic the Hedgehog
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2: The Official Movie Pre-Quill (mentioned; portrait)
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (hologram)
- Knuckles | Episode 1.01: The Warrior (hologram; flashback)
- Knuckles | Episode 1.04: The Flames of Disaster (costume)
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (drawing)
Trivia[]
- The Stay Sonic guidebook, comprised of early Sonic canon, details Sonic being found by an owl named Sophocles at a young age.
- Longclaw can also be compared to Bernadette Hedgehog from the Archie comics and Queen Aleena Hedgehog from Sonic Underground, both being mothers of Sonic. Uncle Chuck from Sonic the Hedgehog gave Sonic his Power Rings like Longclaw did.
- Sonic's comparison of Longclaw to Obi-Wan Kenobi is a reference to the character from the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
- In a deleted scene, Longclaw's original fate was that, after the Echidna ambush, she flees to Earth with Sonic and lives in isolation alongside him until she dies of old age. The idea was changed because the concept was deemed "too long" and needed more action.[6]
- Longclaw is the first original character introduced in the Sonic the Hedgehog Cinematic Universe before Tom Wachowski and the first original animal character introduced before Rava the Destroyer.
- She is also the second Owl character to be featured in a game after Doctor Fukurokov in Tails Adventure.
Behind the Scenes[]
- In foreign dubs, Longclaw is named "Grand-Bec" (Big Beak) in Canadian French, "Garra Larga" (Longclaw) in Latin Spanish, "Дългоноката" (The long-legged) in Bulgarian and "Гострокігтя" (Sharpclaw) in Ukranian.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sonic the Hedgehog 2: The Official Movie Pre-Quill
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Sonic the Hedgehog
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog 3 takes place in the summer of 2024. Going with in-universe implications and what was established from Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Knuckles, this event is placed here.
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog 3
- ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog Deleted Scene Reveals An Alternate Fate For One Character
