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Information in this article may not be canonical to the storyline of the games or any other Sonic continuity. |
Geoffrey St. John is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics. He is a Mobian skunk with light blue eyes, white and black hair, and his weapon of choice is a wrist-mounted crossbow. He is a member of King Acorn's Secret Service. He has a father, Ian St. John (killed in the crash that left Queen Alicia and Elias on Angel Island with the Brotherhood) and a wife, Hershey St. John. He is also the apprentice of Ixis Naugus.
History
Early life
As a child, St. John gained his sense of duty from his father, Ian St. John, and was groomed by him to one day take his place as head of the Royal Secret Service. When Ian was killed during the Great War by the Overlanders, Geoffrey developed a strong dislike for the Overlander species. Geoffrey is furiously loyal to the Kingdom of Acorn, especially King Maximillian and Princess Sally (with whom he once had a relationship), but was arrogant, rude and prideful. This stems from a number of unpleasant actions on his part, including accusing Sonic of murder, declaring Armand D'Coolette a traitor, and even attempting to give orders to Knuckles the Echidna.
Fighting the Freedom Fighters
Geoffrey St. John
Geoffrey first came to Knothole and to the Knothole Freedom Fighters claiming to be a former member of the King's royal guard and acting head of the Royal Underground, the "legitimate" underground movement acting against Dr. Robotnik, dismissing the rebels as foolish children (in his own words; "Sally's Trainees" or "Rank Amateurs").
Geoffrey and his men fought alongside the Freedom Fighters on many occasions, and St. John aided in the return of King Acorn and eventually re-established the King's Secret Service and, following Robotnik's death, became head of security during the reclaiming of Mobotropolis. Geoffrey in particular was increasingly jealous of Sonic the Hedgehog, putting him down as a child, and as such did everything he could to put himself in the best light possible. Geoffrey and Sonic physically fought on numerous occasions, but made temporary amends in the end. Upon forming a new Secret Service team, he recovered Queen Alicia and Prince Elias, Sally's mother and brother respectively.
A New Danger and Love
Upon the rise of Dr. Eggman, fall of Mobotropolis, and re-colonization of Knothole, Geoffrey witnessed Sonic being knighted, and reluctantly called Sonic "Sir" as he now surpassed him in rank, and was privately embarrassed when the Secret Service and Freedom Fighters were sent to work together on numerous occasions. Following the theft of the Sword of Acorns by Sonic, and paralyzing of King Max, Geoffrey, desperate to upstage Sonic, approached the inexperienced head-of-state, Elias, and manipulated his gullible nature to allow him to become his behind-the-scenes adviser. Using Elias as nothing more than a puppet, Geoffrey had Sonic's knighthood taken away, and as a child, confined to Knothole, and later had the Freedom Fighters forced to cease operations. During a mission into Robotropolis to retrieve the Sword, Geoffrey and his team were infected with nano-probes that left them vulnerable to Eggman's manipulation, and went through extensive medical treatment to destroy them. During his time of reflection of his actions, Geoffrey realized how big a pompous fool he had been, and considered resigning from the service. However, his long-time admirer Hershey the Cat convinced him otherwise, leading them to develop a relationship. Seeking a way to redeem himself, Geoffrey and Hershey journeyed across the world to find Elias, who had abandoned his position because of everything falling apart due to Geoffrey's advice. Geoffrey and Hershey later joined in the battle against the Xorda.
Post-Xorda Attack
Geoffrey shooting Sonic, from Sonic the Hedgehog #219.
Upon Sonic's return from his year spent in space, he saved the newly-married Geoffrey and Hershey from execution by a phalanx of SWATbots under A.D.A.M.'s control. Geoffrey, because of this, finally put an end to his rivalry with Sonic, acknowledging he was a better hero than he ever could be. Geoffrey has since took up residence in New Mobotropolis after Knothole's destruction, and runs the Secret Service from the top floor of the army headquarters.
He then decided to get a Chaos Emerald from the Special Zone alongside Sonic. When the obtained the purple Chaos Emerald, he shot Sonic in the back and stole the Emerald. He then went to Mammoth Mogul in order for Ixis Naugus to return back and get his throne. Upon using the Emerald, Naugus returned normal and wanted the crown back. Geoffrey had also mentioned about Hershey's "death," but it was interrupted by Dr. Eggman, when he returned from the brink of insanity on his newly-built Death Egg. Geoffrey had decided to help lead an invasion alongside Sonic, Tails, Sally, Bunnie, and Antoine. But, due to Operation: Clean Sweep, the attack was postponed until Sonic returned the world back to normal. (StH #219, #220, #221, #222, #223, #224, #225)
New World Order
Geoffrey putting the crown on Naugus, from Sonic the Hedgehog #232.
As Sally was roboticized into Mecha Sally, Ixis Naugus, in a act to become king, and Bunnie stopped the invasion of Titan Metal Sonic. When the Freedom Fighters returned back to New Mobotropolis, the citizens were cheering to Naugus for saving New Mobotropolis from Eggman. Naugus wanted the crown from Elias Acorn, the current king. Geoffrey had told the king that if the citizens can choose the Council Of Acorn, then they should chose the king. He then steals Elias' crown and puts it on Naugus, thus claiming Naugus as the king of New Mobotropolis. At some point of time, Antoine had arrested Geoffrey for treason against the Kingdom of Acorn. (StH #230, #231, #232)
Despite Geoffrey's actions being in the best interests of the now current King Naugus, he was found guilty by the court for acting against what was the current authority when his act of treason began. Using his power as king however, Naugus gave Geoffrey an official royal pardon, allowing Geoffrey to be proven guilty and free of all charges at the same time (StH: #231, #232, #233, SU: #35).
Later, Geoffrey came to remind Naugus to say his farewells to the previous King (Elias), his wife, and her daughter, who were leaving New Mobotropolis with Antoine, Bunnie, Sonic, Amy, and Tails escorting them. However, Naugus, hoping to get rid of Elias for good, informed Eggman of the departure. Their conversation had just ended when Geoffrey entered Naugus's quarters. Despite having been too late to discover his master's intentions, Geoffrey gave his master a suspicious look as they walked outside. (STH: #234).
Thanks to Naugus, the heroes came under attack from the Death Egg. During the battle, Metal Sonic latched on to Elias' vehicle with the intent to destroy it and its occupants; Antoine thwarted the robot, but was severely injured and rendered comatose by the resulting explosion. Upon learning of this, Geoffrey came to Antoine's room to pay his respects. He entered to see the departure of a newcomer, Silver the Hedgehog, whom Sonic had just dismissed in a fit of rage; the blue hedgehog tried to do the same with Geoffrey, but the skunk stood his ground. Turning his attention to Antoine, Geoffrey gave a salute and, stating the fallen commander had "had him all along", asked him to come back as soon as possible so they could have a man-to-man talk. Geoffrey then left, though not before giving his sympathies to Sonic for the loss of Sally and stating that, while they may be on opposing sides, that doesn't mean he can't respect his enemies. (STH: #234, #235).
Conflicting Loyalties
Geoffrey was later sent to the Windy Valley in Soumerca by Ixis Naugus to retrieve the remains of Ixis Vale, one of Ixis Mogul's Four Elite. He was unaware that Agents "Ace", "Jack" and "Joker" of the Secret Freedom Fighters were also dispatched to the same location to follow him. Despite the team's best efforts to stop him, Geoffrey managed to trap his pursuers in the crypt and escape, despite being a little worse for the wear. He then departed the scene and flew back towards New Mobotropolis on his Extreme Gear, unaware that Jack - in fact the original Metal Sonic (now renamed "Shard") - had planted a tracking device on it earlier. (SU: #41).
Geoffrey arrived back to New Mobotropolis and ventured into the pit caused by the Armada. Inside, he reported back to Ixis Naugus, who, much to Geoffrey's shock, had been hideously deformed due to the spirits dwelling inside his body. After Naugus undid his mutations, Geoffrey presented the remains to his master. However, after hearing what Naugus planned to do with them, he snatched the remains back, arguing that Naugus was going too far with this plan. Naugus, though, retorted that Geoffrey was not one to lecture on "morality" when he himself had committed questionable acts in order to serve the crazed wizard. In addition, Naugus noted that Geoffrey could not defy him as no one would trust him for his treachery and he had no chance of taking on Naugus himself even if he wanted to. Upon this reminder, Geoffrey reluctantly returned the remains, horrified at what he had done. Later, Naugus dispatched him to search the bottom of the pit to for the bodies of the Secret Freedom fighters. There, Geoffrey found them alive and uninjured as they discussed Naugus' plans. He was surprised to recognize the power gem core attached to Shard and as the same one he retrieved from Mount Mobius with his former team. There was, of course, only one Mobian Geoffrey knew of who could have created such a unique Freedom Fighter group: Harvey Who. As that moment, he heard them plan on capturing and interrogating him. However, Agent Ace - in fact Silver the Hedgehog - suggested simply asking him, to St. John's surprise. (SU: #42, #43).
The next day, Geoffrey was approached by Silver at the Lake of Rings. After the skunk shocked the hedgehog by slyly addressing him as "Ace" (therefore having guessed his identity), he invited him to sit down and talk. All throughout, Geoffrey made no effort to put up resistance, as he had previously overhead the team agreeing to attack him if he did so. Silver, who was from the future, revealed that he had done a great deal of research on Geoffrey since he had arrived in the latter's time. With this knowledge, Silver had drawn the conclusion that Geoffrey never wanted to bring harm to the city or its citizens. After Silver brought up the subject of his wife (much to Geoffrey's displeasure), the skunk informed him that Naugus planned to cast a spell that night under the Royal Military Headquarters to enslave the citizens of the city and left the scene. Silver tried to convince him to help them, but Geoffrey solemnly said that it was "too late" for him; Silver had a future to save, while Geoffrey did not. (SU: #43).
That night, Geoffrey unenthusiastically joined Naugus in his underground lair as he prepared to unleash his spell. The wizard asked his apprentice if he had found any traces of the Secret Freedom Fighters in the pit, to which Geoffrey lied, saying he seen nothing of them, whilst secretly hoping they would thwart Naugus's plan. Seconds later, the Secret Freedom Fighters themselves - minus Joker (actually Larry Lynx) - burst into the room and attacked. (SU: #44).
In the ensuing fight, Geoffrey was up against Agents "Queen of Diamonds" and "Queen of Hearts". Though he admitted they had great form in their fighting skills, Geoffrey knew they were only distracting him. He thus turned his attention to Agent "King", who was setting explosives to destroy the chamber, and fired a crossbow bolt at him. King attempted to shoot back ith his own crossbow, but Geoffrey disarmed him and the two then engaged in a brief but intense one-on-one brawl, ending with Geoffrey knocking punching off King's goggles, forcefully removing his mask, and throwing him against a wall to reveal none other than Elias Acorn. After taunting the dethroned ex-prince about his own callsign and the time when he had him "wrapped around his little finger", Geoffrey unexpectedly gave Elias his mask back; whether this was a gesture of respect is unknown. Geoffrey then prepared for "round two" - which was short-lived, as Shard destroyed Naugus's chalice and Ixis Vale's bones. Geoffrey told Elias he should have done that to begin with, but Silver telekinetically threw him into a wall, saying he did not get to judge them, allowing Elias to detonate the explosives. As the chamber collapsed around them, the Secret Freedom Fighters made their getaway and Geoffrey, shooting the beaten Naugus a dirty look, tried to follow them out, ignoring his master's cries for help. However, the enraged wizard trapped St. John and cornered him in the caverns in his mutated form. As he struggled to free himself, Geoffrey told his master that he was only trying to chase down the enemy agents, and suggested that Naugus play for sympathy in order to avoid suspicion from the Acorn Council. Buying the story, Naugus, again undoing his mutations, released Geoffrey and, commended him for his "good thinking", to which Geoffrey responded "Of course. I live to serve," with a stern look on his face. (SU: #44).
Two Betrayals
Geoffrey continued to serve Naugus even though his views of his master have been changed and with Naugus' mutations getting out of control. He guided Naugus to the Royal Military Headquarters, where Naugus preceded over the swearing of the new Council of Acorn member, Isabella Mongoose and took the Sword of Light away from him when it caused him pain. He continued to follow Naugus during the day, overhearing him talking to his voices and searching for a vessel. Later, he escorted Naugus to attend Mina's concert with it being his last public appearance of the day. As Mina dedicated the concert to Nicole, Geoffrey tried his best to have Naugus keep a good public image. When the concert started, Tails Doll caused the stage to collapse and Team Freedom rushed to save Mina and the Forget Me Knots. Geoffrey accused Naugus of causing the stage collapse, but realised that he was in pain. He helped escort Naugus out of the public eye to his thanks, but Geoffrey snapped with his true views of Naugus betraying the public. He tried to convince Naugus to ask for help and to accept that the citizens want to help as well. He believed that his message was helping Naugus, when Naugus revealed that Geoffrey was in contact with him and possessed his body. Using Geoffrey's body, he returned to the Council of Acorn, who were welcoming Nicole back to the city. He pretended that Naugus gave his support with Nicole and confessed that the king was sick-apparently dying-and needed their support to help him. (StH: #241).
The possessed Geoffrey was notably absent from the restoration ceremony of Castle Acorn, something which Nicole and Rotor were quick to remark upon. This would be the last time the situation was mentioned before Mobius was whited out by the second Genesis Wave. After the wave was improperly reversed, the altered reality saw Naugus bereft of his powers due to the first Genesis Wave. As a result, he no longer inhabited Geoffrey's body, leaving the Skunk's fate in this altered world unknown. (StH: #247, #252)
Powers and Abilities
Geoffrey is a master in close quarters combat, he shown he can handle himself on his own against all four Freedom Fighters. Geoffrey carries a mounted crossbow on his right wrist every where he goes just in case a fight comes his way, he also shown using other types of weapons, tools and gadgets. He's shown to have low level magic teleporting abilities by into smoke using wind-magic.
Trivia
- A skunk bearing Geoffrey's design and clothing was seen in several episodes of SatAM, but was never named or given a speaking role.
- Originally, Geoffrey spoke with an Australian accent, then switched over for a strong cockney one, common among those from London, England. Ian Flynn stated on his message board that he plans on going back to the Australian accent for whenever he portrays Geoffrey, effectively dropping the cockney one altogether.[1]
- The relationship of Hershey and Geoffrey, a romance between a black cat and a skunk, is likely a tribute to Penelope Pussycat and Pepé Le Pew from Looney Tunes.
References
- ↑ Ian Flynn (25 February 2010). StH#210: Preview/Discussion. BumbleKing Comics. Archived from the original on 2 November 2015.
External links
- Geoffrey St. John at Mobius Encyclopaedia, the Archie Sonic wiki.