Sonic The Hedgehog Main Characters, Ranked By Intelligence

With so many characters spanning different media formats, whether it be video-games, comic books, or movies, the Sonic The Hedgehog universe is brimming with many different fascinating walks of life. From talking furry creatures to zany human beings, they all have varying levels of intelligence, and even the so-called “geniuses” in the series can be totally irrational and far from level-headed.

However, although it might be hard to consider mutated animals intelligent, many of them actually have their wits about them, sometimes even more than the humans. Whether it’s a flying fox or a doppelgänger of the titular character, many have outsmarted Eggman himself on multiple occasions.

10 Knuckles

Being introduced into the series in the third installment of the Sega games, Knuckles is like the Hulk of the Sonic universe, as the echidna doesn’t think before he punches. Knuckles’ answer to everything is to start punching, and his cocky attitude often gets him into more trouble than it’s worth.

He is the “Chad” of video games, as the character always tries to prove his manliness, comes off as insensitive, and though he is heroic in the end, Knuckles knows it, as his ego also clouds his judgment on several occasions too.

9 Agent Stone

Though it wasn’t first clear how the end result of the movie was going to look, it’s thankfully one of the movies that barely escaped development hell, turning out much better than expected. One of the best things about the movie that is absent from the game series is Dr. Robotnik’s lapdog, Agent Stone.

It was great watching the evil genius scientist berate Agent Stone at every opportunity, and even if audiences did feel bad for him, he isn’t exactly the smartest character in the franchise. The biggest skill he has is making lattes with steamed Austrian goat milk, which isn’t exactly saying a lot.

8 Tom Wachowski

Tom might be one of the most likable characters of the movie, as his wanting to help Sonic is endearing, but it wasn’t without a fair few missteps, and Sonic very well could have gotten the job done a lot quicker without him.

In the movie, Tom accidentally shoots Sonic with a tranquilizer gun, and at the end of the day, if he had any sense he wouldn’t have gotten involved with Sonic at all, never mind roping in his wife’s family into the haphazard situation.

7 Dr. Robotnik

When it comes to the movie, for somebody who is such a genius, Dr. Robotnik is pretty stupid and lacks all common sense and logic. He’s always one step behind Sonic and makes the worst decisions. However, that’s quite a leap from the villain in the video games.

In the games, the scientist built some extraordinary weapons, including Metal Sonic, which every fan knows is one of the toughest and most frustrating bosses to ever be made for the Sega Genesis. But at the end of the day, he’s still outsmarted by a hedgehog.

6 Shadow

Though he sometimes comes off as vulnerable considering how lonely he is, Shadow is always alert and has his wits about him. The anti-hero’s sad history of being genetically enhanced in a lab and being used for evil motivates him to be one of the most skillful and smartest animals in the universe.

He never speaks out of term, never poses or pouts, and he keeps to himself without ever getting emotionally invested in anything. Though he chooses to work alone, it’s because he doesn’t necessarily need any allies.

5 Amy Rose

The introduction of classic Sonic characters, including Amy Rose, is one of the things the movie sequel needs to include, not only because she has some incredible acrobatic skills that not even Knuckles, Tails, or Sonic can do, but because of how confident and smart she is.

The biggest difference between Amy and her other spiky friends is that she actually has a physical weapon; the Piko Piko Hammer, but it’s her intelligence that’s her biggest weapon. Amy is also an archaeologist and has a vast knowledge of the many ancient areas in the world.

4 Sonic

Sonic has a bit of a prankster attitude and is always slinging sarcastic one-liners, whether it’s in the comic books, the TV shows, or even in the game in later years, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t smart.

After all, Sonic has defeated the self-proclaimed genius, Dr. Robotnik, on several occasions, and he has freed seemingly millions of animals from the villain’s wrath. The hedgehog might not be great with girls, as his relationship with Amy makes clear, and he’s insanely impatient, but he’s still one of the smartest characters of the series.

3 Maddie Wachowski

The 2020 film about the blue hedgehog was one of the movies with the lowest expectations, but it was some of the none CGI characters that made it such a joy to watch. Just like Tom, Maddie is one of the most likable characters, and one of the most intelligent.

She’s a vet and was able to bring Sonic back to consciousness after getting knocked out. Not only that, but she is the most sensible and logical of the couple.

2 Tails

Tails showing up at the end of the 2020 movie was a highlight for those who played the games. The fox has some strange abilities, with two tails that he uses like helicopter rotors to be able to fly, but that isn’t all he can do.

Being first introduced in Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Tails has proved to be one of the smartest characters of the series from his very first appearance, as he is always able to find Sonic if they get separated, which is exactly what the post-credits scene referenced in the movie.

1 Crazy Carl

One of the things the movie changed from the game was all of the new human characters, as Dr. Robotnik was the only human being in the game series, but as is often the case in real life, the smartest of them all was the one who was always ignored.

Crazy Carl often spoke of the “Blue Devil” that he had seen and nobody else hadn’t, and because nobody had seen Sonic. Given Carl’s wild behavior and the way he presents himself, nobody believed him, but he was right all along.