Sonic’s New Ally Was Created by the Good Dr. Eggman

Warning! Spoilers for Sonic the Hedgehog #40!

A little while back, Sonic the Hedgehog and his buddy Tails stumbled upon a strange wooden version of a Badnik named Belle the Tinkerer without knowing where she came from and who made her, and now the latest issue reveals that she is the creation of Mr. Tinker, Dr. Eggman‘s kind and loving alter ego.

At the beginning of IDW’s series, the Eggman War had just ended and Sonic, whom Dr. Eggman had incarcerated for the majority of the war, was finally free and spent his days chasing after Eggman’s leftover Badniks. Everything was on the up and up. But a major question was still on everyone’s mind. Where did Dr. Eggman go? He just straight up disappeared. The only clue they had to go on was a man who looked exactly like him and went by the name of Mr. Tinker, except he enjoyed being in the company of little critters and fixing anything they brought to him.

Turns out, it was Dr. Eggman. He had just forgotten his true identity. Although the mysterious villain and major Eggman fanboy Dr. Starline would later restore Eggman’s memories, Mr. Tinker worked on a number of projects before his replacement, and one of them included Belle. Even though Belle doesn’t share her true origin with Sonic and his friends immediately, she is still welcomed to their Restoration effort nonetheless and treated as family. It’s only after she ostensibly goes to help Sonic on his latest mission against Dr. Eggman that she reveals her true origin in Sonic the Hedgehog #40 by Evan Stanley. Her true intent in following Sonic is to find out whether Mr. Tinker is actually gone and whether Dr. Eggman is really evil. She just cannot believe that the loving man who created her could be as evil as everyone claims.

Of course, when she finally confronts Dr. Eggman over a video chat, the villain immediately recognizes her as the product of Mr. Tinker and makes it abundantly clear to Belle his true evil nature. Luckily for Sonic and his friends, Belle is only loyal to Mr. Tinker and easily rejects Dr. Eggman, returning to her new home with the Restoration.

Although Belle is a fully committed ally to Sonic and his friends, a looming question still remains. Mr. Tinker may have created her with the best intentions, but she still came from the same mind, so doesn’t that mean she has the potential of being corrupted? If so, Dr. Eggman will surely exploit whatever weakness he can find to his advantage. This would undoubtedly be an unfortunate development for Sonic if it transpires, but a compelling plot point that the series would greatly benefit from. Ever since the Metal Virus saga ended, the series has struggled to pick up, even going so far as abandoning what could have been a great arc when Sonic literally loses his mind immediately afterward. Instead of making that a major story line, Sonic quickly remembers who he is, and everything returns to normal. Hopefully, IDW has learned from this mistake and can recognize a good plot device when there is one by making Belle the Tinkerer‘s connection to Dr. Eggman a big headache for Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends in the future.

About The Author