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Welp, now that that's settled, time to knock on the door. And by "knock", I mean "liberal use of high explosives."


— Bean the Dynamite, Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Special

Bean the Dynamite (ビーン・ザ・ダイナマイト Bīn za Dainamaito?) is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. He is an anthropomorphic woodpecker who competed in a fighting tournament for the Chaos Emeralds and the right to destroy the Death Egg II. In battle, Bean is capable of throwing an endless amount of bombs for his amusement and defense. He also hangs out with his friends Fang the Hunter and Bark the Polar Bear who created a group known as Fang's Gang, often will be hired by Eggman on missions.

Concept and creation[]

Dynamite Dux Arcade

Bin and Pin in the Bonus Game, from Dynamite Düx

Bean the Dynamite is based on the characters "Bin" and "Pin" from the 1988 Sega AM2 arcade game, Dynamite Düx, where the aforementioned ducks attempt to rescue a girl named Lucy from an evil Sorcerer known as "Achacha the Great". It should be noted that "Bean" is close to the Japanese pronunciation of "Bin".[3] Bean is near identical to Bin and Pin, except for his green feathers, attire, and species of woodpecker instead of duck. In his first appearance in Sonic the Fighters, Bean was most likely designed by Masahiro Sugiyama, the character designer of the arcade game.

Appearance[]

Bean is a green anthropomorphic woodpecker with black eyes, a yellow beak and legs, two spiky tufts of feathers protruding from his head, and two long tail feathers. For attire, he wears a red neckerchief around his neck, white gloves with cuffs, and red flat shoes with gray soles, each with a white stripe over it, similar to Sonic's shoes.

History[]

Games[]

Sonic the Fighters[]

In Sonic the Fighters, Bean had been entrusted to safeguard one of the Chaos Emeralds to keep Dr. Robotnik from abusing it. Eventually though, Dr. Robotnik constructed the Death Egg II, which he used to deploy hordes of robots to lay the world to waste with. Soon after, Bean joined the fighting tournament held to decide which one among the Chaos Emerald guardians was the strongest. If Bean could defeat all the contestants, he would earn the right to use all the Chaos Emeralds for Tails' single seat Lunar Fox and travel to the Death Egg II and destroy it.[4]

At the end of the tournament, the victor used the Chaos Emeralds to go to the Death Egg II and made it self-destruct moments after escaping it.

Other game appearances[]

Sonic Generations[]

In the HD version of Sonic Generations, Bean makes a cameo on some of the wanted posters dotted throughout City Escape.

Sonic Mania[]

SMBeantheDynamite

The Heavy Magician's Bean illusion, from Sonic Mania.

In Sonic Mania and its expansion Sonic Mania Plus, Bean makes a cameo appearance. Right before the start of Mirage Saloon Zone Act 2, he, Fang the Hunter or Bark the Polar Bear (depending on the random pattern) can be seen standing on an Armadiloid while throwing a bomb towards the Tornado, making the biplane crash to the ground. Like in Sonic Generations, he is also seen on several wanted posters through the Zone.

Bean also appears during the boss battle of Mirage Saloon Zone Act 2, where he is revealed to be one of the illusions created by the Heavy Magician. During the battle, Bean has a pattern consisting of throwing a couple of bombs and then hopping backwards or forwards. Landing an attack on him will make the Heavy Magician reveal herself.

Personality[]

He's a wild sports-enthusiast woodpecker who can seemingly generate explosives from thin air. He attacks with wild abandon, but always with an impish smile on his face.

Description, Sonic the Hedgehog Encyclo-speed-ia[5]

In the games, most of Bean's personality is hard to define, though he is characterized with rapid and erratic movements, suggesting that he is either hyperactive or highly eccentric. Supposedly, he is also considered to be highly dangerous.[6] He has also been stated to be a sports enthusiast.[5]

In the IDW comics, Bean's personality is fleshed out a bit more, and he possesses a very wacky and non-serious demeanor, rarely showing fear, even when fighting against the likes of Metal Knuckles or Heavy King. In spite of his goofy demeanor, Bean can be quite vicious, emotionally fickle and violent, with Amy describing him as a "jerk" and "mean, rude, and cruel". Despite this, Bean does appear to have a compassionate side, as he was moved to tears by Eggman's story of Heavy King's betrayal. Bean has a deep love for watching explosions, which he considers to be "beautiful".[2]

Powers and abilities[]

Bean, as his moniker implies, is an explosion expert who primarily attacks with bombs. It is unknown where he gets them from, but he seems to be able to produce them whenever needed, similar to how Amy pulls out her Piko Piko Hammer; his bombs, however, are weak and can backfire if they explode too close up to Bean. In addition, Bean is very agile, rivaling the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog.

In combat, Bean is a flurry and strong fighter, capable of going up against experienced fighters like Sonic and Knuckles. His combat style revolves around heavy utilization of his bombs, either throwing or kicking them into opponent. Apart from the use of bombs, Bean's secondary weapon is his beak which he can use to deliver a rapid flurry of pecks to his opponents. He also possesses great agility, being able to perform flips and make great leaps with ease.[2]

Bean also has the ability to harness Chaos Emerald energy from the Chaos Emeralds to initiate an enhanced state called Hyper Mode.

Relationships[]

Fang the Hunter[]

Bean loves to annoy Fang in many ways even to the point of Fang not being able to trust Bean with the simplest of tasks. But Bean will follow all of Fang's orders despite not doing most of them correctly making Fang and Bean's bond special. Often times Bean will call out Fang's deeds as one incident he wanted to use Bark and Bean for his benefit and Bean and bark got nothing out the deal, despite this he does like hanging with Fang.

Bark the Polar Bear[]

Bark the Polar Bear and Bean have a good friendship both will help each other in combat as seen on some occasions.[2] Even in the Modern era the two are on the same wanted poster proving overtime they have grown a strong bond.[6] Bean even considers Bark his "buddy."[7]

Friends/allies[]

Neutral[]

Enemies[]

In other media[]

Books and comics[]

Archie Comics[]

Blog Bean

Bean, from Sonic the Hedgehog #160.

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs by Archie Comics, Bean is a mercenary with an undefinable past. He first appeared to attack Sonic along with his partner Bark, but was driven off by the Freedom Fighters and their allies. After serving Mammoth Mogul for a while, Bean and Bark joined Nack as Team Hooligan to find a Sol Emerald, but they eventually had to give up the hunt after facing too much opposition.

Following the Super Genesis Wave, Bean became a permanent member of the Hooligans, where he and Bark tried stealing a Sol and Chaos Emerald before joining the Chaos Emerald Championship with Nack.

IDW Publishing[]

Seasons of Chaos[]
IDWBean

Bean holding a bomb, from Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Special.

Bean, along with Bark and Fang, was hired by Dr. Eggman to locate the Chaos Emeralds for him. Having tracked one to Summer Falls Zone, Bean and his associates arrived there in to acquire it, only to encounter Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, who were also searching for the Chaos Emeralds. Springing into action, Bean distracted Sonic with an explosion, much to his annoyance. Bean asks the hedgehog if he missed him (calling their encounter a ‘big reunion’), getting a harsh ‘no’ in response. After feeling tearfully heartbroken for a second, he shows his psychotic side and begins to fight Sonic while his teammates handled the others. Despite eventually getting a clear shot at Sonic, Bean refrained from throwing his bombs so as not to hit the Emerald he was carrying. This led to the Emerald falling off a cliff, prompting Bean and his teammates to retreat to Autumn Forest Zone in search of another. Bean used this opportunity to roast a marshmallow over one of the Marvelous Queen's boosters.[2]

Beanjoking

Bean casually talking to Metal Knuckles, despite the situation, from Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Special.

Upon arriving at Autumn Forest Zone, however, Bean and his teammates faced resistance from Mighty, Ray, and Amy, all of whom were searching for the Emeralds. Bean subsequently threw several of his bombs at Ray, one of which managed to hit, blasting him and Amy to the ground, and allowing Bean to take the purple Chaos Emerald. Unfortunately, his victory was short-lived, as he was soon knocked out by Metal Knuckles, who took the Emerald. Bean and the others then pursued Metal Knuckles, only to find Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and a defeated Eggman. After listening to Eggman's explanation of Heavy King's betrayal, Bean teamed up with Eggman and the heroes to assault his former fortress in Winter Caverns Zone. Arriving at the gates to the fortress, Bean and his group were attacked by Metal Sonic and Metal Knuckles, both of which were still under the Heavy King's control. Bean attempted to fight back using his bombs, only for Metal Knuckles to slice them in half, barely missing Bean. However, due to Tails and Eggman's help, both were neutralized, and put back under Eggman's control, prompting Bean to attempt blowing up the gate to enter the fortress, only to be dissuaded by Fang.[2]

Bean and the others then entered the fortress, and were attacked by Heavy King, who was empowered by all seven Chaos Emeralds. Bean, however, enjoyed watching all the explosions created by his power, and assisted Sonic's plan by taking the green Chaos Emerald from Heavy King's stage. The plan succeeded, leaving Heavy King powerless, and allowing Bean and the others - excluding Eggman and his robots - to escape the fortress. With their mission done, Bean and his associates left Winter Caverns Zone in the Marvelous Queen, having been granted the purple Chaos Emerald for their efforts.[2]

Amy's New Hobby[]

Bean would later come to Amy's house to read some of Amy's self-made comic books. While there, he got shoved aside by Sonic when he came to see what this commotion was all about.[8]

Amy's 30th Anniversary Special[]
The best thing ever

Bean being freed from his Capsule, from Sonic the Hedgehog: Amy's 30th Anniversary Special.

Bean along with Bark and Fang were on a mission for Dr. Eggman and failed. he would task Metal Sonic to put them in Capsules as punishment. Bark, Amy Rose and Ray would team up to free everyone, Ray would free Bean within the capsule he would have a home display with Bin in a picture frame. Bean along with Fang and Bark would leave the heroes to their picnic.[9]

Merchandise[]

STF PlushToy Bean

Sonic the Fighters plush toy.

A plush toy of Bean was made as part of a line of plush toys for Sonic the Fighters in Japan, which could only be won from claw machines.

Trivia[]

  • According to Bean's Japanese bio in Fighters Megamix Official Guide, Bin (the main character from the 1988 arcade game, Dynamite Düx, who Bean as a character is based on) is his father.[1] The difference in species, Bin being a duck but Bean being a woodpecker, is not explained. It’s possible Bean is a Woodpecker Duck Hybrid.
  • Bean is one of the four characters (along with Fang the Hunter, Mephiles the Dark and Knuckles the Dread) to have a title that does not refer to his species. Dynamite refers to his expertise with explosives.
  • According to an interview on Sonic Central from 2004, Sonic "does not know the whereabouts of Bean, Ray, Bark, Fang, Chaos or Tikal."[10]
  • The cover of Sonic X #34 features Tails in a swimming pool with a Bean the Dynamite themed inflatable ring. The inflatable ring also has the Sonic the Fighters logo printed on it.
  • Bean being referred to as a "sports enthusiast" is most likely a reference to his cameo appearance as a Soccer mascot in Virtua Striker 2.

Notes[]

  1. Bean's height is taken from the official Japanese guide for Fighters Megamix, in which it was comparable to the human characters in the game. This appears to be inconsistent with his height in Sonic the Fighters, which was relative to the rest of the playable characters (for reference, Sonic stands at 100 cm).

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Bean" (in Japanese). ファイターズメガミックス オフィシャルガイド. SoftBank. 24 February 1997. p. 208. ISBN 978-4797302127.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Special, "Seasons of Chaos"
  3. Dynamite Düx. Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved on 17 March 2015.
  4. "Sonic the Fighters" (in Japanese). Gamest (173). June 1996. Archived from the original. Retrieved on 15 July 2018.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Flynn, Ian; Sega (8 December 2021). "Sonic Arcade Classics". Sonic the Hedgehog Encyclo-speed-ia. Dark Horse Books. p. 20. ISBN 978-1506719276. "Bean the Dynamite - He's a wild sports-enthusiast woodpecker who can seemingly generate explosives from thin air. He attacks with wild abandon, but always with an impish smile on his face."
  6. 6.0 6.1 File:Bean and Bark.png
  7. Sonic the Hedgehog: Fang the Hunter Issue 1
  8. Sonic the Hedgehog Free Comic Book Day 2021, "Amy's New Hobby"
  9. Sonic the Hedgehog: Amy's 30th Anniversary Special
  10. Sega of America . Sonic Q and A. Sega of America. Archived from the original on 13 June 2004. "Stephen F. (a.k.a Sonic's number 1 fan.): Will Ray the Flying Squirrel, Bean the Duck, Chaos, Nack, Tikal, and Bark reappear? P.S: COOL SITE!!! / Sonic: Actually, I don't know exactly where they are... but we do have some old faces from the past that will be with me in Sonic Heroes... make sure to check 'em out!"
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