The Hoverby is a line of Badnik created by Dr. Eggman to serve as part of his robot forces in his efforts to conquer the world.
Overview[]
The Hoverby is a flying Badnik based on a butterfly. It has a purple, cylindrical body with a pair of antennae, two white eyes and a gray proboscis. On either side of its body is a rotary fan engine that allows it to fly.
The Hoverby has no particular armaments and is little more than a surveillance unit, though it will attack if commanded to by a horde leader or Dr. Eggman himself.
Background Information[]
- The Hoverby is based on the Hoverby Mk II Badnik from the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series. More specifically, this design first appeared in Knuckles' Chaotix. Interestingly, this Badnik shares its Japanese name, Pata-Bata, with another Badnik, Robot Butterfly, which first appeared in Sonic CD[1]. Regardless, it was given the name Hoverby in Sonic the Hedehog Issue #5.
- As their designs differ, it is possible that the original intention was to make one an upgrade of the other, or perhaps the "Mk II" was meant to point out that Robot Butterfly was unofficially retconned to be known as the first version of Hoverby. Still, Robot Butterfly would go on to appear in future games in the series, unlike Hoverby Mk II.
- However, since they share the same name, they are proven to be one and the same, since the Knuckles Chaotix design is preferred by Ian Flynn for Archie Comics and IDW, while the Sonic CD design is the one more used in the games. [2]