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This character exists primarily or exclusively within the Sonic the Comic continuity.
Information in this article may not be canonical to the storyline of the games or any other Sonic continuity.

Grouchio is a character that appears in the Sonic the Comic series published by Fleetway Editions. He is a native from Super Marxio World and the de-facto leader of the Marxio Brothers, a trio of villainous electricians closely allied with Dr. Ivo Robotnik. During the RBR era, Grouchio and his brothers would run Robotnik's various casino and carnival Zones.

Concept and creation[]

Grouchio was created by Nigel Kitching and Richard Elson. He, along with his brothers, are based on the Marx Brothers. Grouchio is specifically based on the stage persona of Groucho Marx. Like Groucho Marx, Grouchio is often seen smoking a cigar and smiling broadly.

Appearance[]

Grouchio is a short, middle-aged man with dark brown curly hair, and a mustache shaped like two hearts coming out of his nose. He wears red overalls with a yellow shirt underneath and brown shoes. He also has a white bowtie with pink polka dots.

History[]

Past[]

Harpio and his brothers were three electricians who came from Super Marxio World, a place they are terrified of. It is implied that they were brought out of this world to Mobius by Dr. Robotnik, after which they worked to run his 'commercial ventures'.[1]

Ruled by Robotnik[]

In the Casino Night Zone, Grouchio and his brothers were tasked by Robotnik to stop Sonic the Hedgehog. The brothers released Badniks to attack Sonic, and while the hedgehog was distracted, they captured Porker Lewis. By holding Porker hostage, Grouchio and his brothers got both him and Sonic tied to a railroad for a train to run them over.[1] However, Sonic and Porker would escape, and Sonic went after the brothers. Though the trio engaged Sonic in combat to keep his Disruptor from him (eventually by destroying it), Porker was able un-rig their gaming machines in the meantime.[2]

Grouchio and his brothers were later put in charge of the Carnival Night Zone on the Floating Island. After discovering Knuckles the Echidna in their park, Grouchio attempted to shoot Knuckles with a rifle, but with Knuckles evading and cornering the brothers, Grouchio quickly offered him a deal.[3] By offering Knuckles some of the earnings they would get from their park, which he could use to fix up the island for the return of his people, Grouchio mellowed out Knuckles and got him to try out the Hell House Ride, secretly planning to kill him using the ride.[4] While that did not work, Knuckles accepted the Marxio Brothers' business proposal.[5]

After Grouchio and his brothers made Knuckles their 'marketing consultant', they had to turn on him when the echidna attempted to destroy Robotnik's Launch Base Zone, since the brothers were secretly working for Robotnik. Confronting Knuckles in their weaponized hovercraft, they took down the echidna.[6] However, while the brothers were distracted while taking on the phone with Robotnik, Knuckles retaliated and took down their weaponized hovercraft. As the first visitors to the new park arrived, Grouchio went to welcome the guests while Chicio called in a Badnik horde to deal with Knuckles.[7] Nevertheless, Knuckles beat the Badniks and struck a fault-line before the guests entered the park, splitting the Carnival Night Zone away from the rest of the Floating Island and dropping it to the surface of Mobius, along with Grouchio and his brothers.[8]

Post-Ruled by Robotnik[]

Grouchio would later be put in charge of the Chemical Plant. With his brothers and him seemingly reformed thanks to no longer being under the rule of Robotnik, Grouchio asked Sonic and Miles "Tails" Prower to help with a problem they had with their factory.[9] The heroes discovered and defeated Megatox, the source of the problems, garnering thank and praise from Grouchio and his brothers, although Sonic still remained skeptical about their true intentions.[10]

Personality[]

Grouchio is recognizably the leader of the Marxio Brothers, and frequently belittles his younger brothers. He is the self-proclaimed "smart one" and likes to take credit for all of the group's brilliant ideas (even those that come from Chicio). Despite his overblown ego, he seems to have some business savvy and skills as a confidence man. Grouchio is also often seen smoking a cigar and smiling broadly.

Trivia[]

  • Grouchio is a clear mockery and parody of the Super Mario Brothers, Mario and Luigi.
  • On at least one occasion, Grouchio has used the phrase "You realise, this means war!"[2] Groucho Marx (whom Grouchio is based on) was famous for a similar line ("You know, this means war!") from the film A Night at the Opera, and for the shorter "This means war!" in several other movies (such as Duck Soup).
  • Writer Nigel Kitching claimed it was difficult coming up with dialogue for Grouchio. He had to listen to his tapes of old Marx Brothers radio shows.[11]
  • Harpio and his brothers have a video game series based off of them, although Sonic is not a fan, saying; "who cares about the adventures of three electricians?"[12]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Sonic the Comic #18, "Casino Night, Part 1"
  2. 2.0 2.1 Sonic the Comic #19, "Casino Night, Part 2"
  3. Sonic the Comic #39, "Carnival Night Conspiracy, Part 1"
  4. Sonic the Comic #40, "Carnival Night Conspiracy, Part 2"
  5. Sonic the Comic #41, "Carnival Night Conspiracy, Part 3"
  6. Sonic the Comic #42, "Carnival Night Conspiracy, Part 4"
  7. Sonic the Comic #43, "Carnival Night Conspiracy, Part 5"
  8. Sonic the Comic #44, "Carnival Night Conspiracy, Part 6"
  9. Sonic the Comic #114, "Crisis in the Chemical Plant, Part 1"
  10. Sonic the Comic #115, "Crisis in the Chemical Plant, Part 2"
  11. Re: Continuity stuff. Rambling really... at sonicthecomic Yahoo! Groups
  12. Sonic the Comic #26, "The Sonic Terminator, Part 3"

External links[]

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