Zeke the Hedgehog

Ezekiel "Zeke" Acorn is a character in the Academy for Heroes-in-Training storybook series. He is the grandson of Sonic the Hedgehog and as such shares many of his abilities.

Lineage
Zeke is primarily a hedgehog (through his father Manik and paternal grandfather Sonic), although he has porcupine genes from his mother Jade and squirrel/chipmunk genes from paternal grandmother Sally Acorn. In the third Academy only, his maternal grandparents are Tom Nook and Sable, giving him tanuki genes as well.

Zeke's life, pre-Academy
Zeke was born on Angel Island, Mobius nineteen years ago. His father, Manik, had the same speed abilities as himself and Sonic, but never handled Chaos energy (it is assumed that he could if necessary, but the need never arose). Sonic gave Zeke as much training as he could, though it was limited as Sonic was getting on in years and could only do so much; he did manage to entertain Zeke on many an afternoon with stories of his youth. When Zeke was 14, Sonic disappeared along with Dr Eggman during his last failed plot for world domination, leaving behind nothing more than the blue Chaos Emerald.

Zeke spent the next few years travelling across Mobius. During this time he came across Shadow, an old friend of Sonic's, and was tutored in the basics of Chaos manipulation. At the age of 19 he returned to Angel Island and discovered he had been offered a position at the Academy. He showed little interest until he saw it was fully catered and had several entertainment facilities. He was brought to the facility by Shadow, who gave him the blue Chaos Emerald before returning to Mobius.

Strengths
Confidence is not lacking in the slightest. Zeke will never be the last one charging into battle (unless he oversleeps). He never kicks up a fuss about petty things, either; he prefers to just roll with it. And despite his ego, he will go to great lengths for those who have proven themselves his friends.

Weaknesses
His strengths can also be called his weaknesses. More often than not his confidence evolves into overconfidence and combined with his ego causes him to end up biting off more than he can chew. This happens especially often in battle as he is something of a showoff. His laid-back attitude can also work against him, as he occasionally will not recognise the significance of something potentially dangerous or important and put it out of his mind. To add to this, he can come off as rude and/or a smartass to people who aren't familiar with him.

Level 0
Can run at superhuman speeds.

Level 1
Learns the Spin Dash (Zeke rolls into a ball and propels himself forward).

Level 2
Speed increases slightly.

Level 3
Learns the Homing Attack (In midair, Zeke rolls into a ball and propels himself at a nearby target).

Level 4
Physical strength increases slightly.



Level 5
Learns Chaos Spear (Zeke charges a buildup of Chaos energy in his hand and propels it at a nearby target).

Level 6
Speed increases slightly.

Level 7
Learns Chaos Control (Zeke charges a buildup of Chaos energy and uses it to teleport; can teleport himself as well as a certain amount of other matter).

Level 8
Learns Chaos Blast (Zeke charges a buildup of Chaos energy within himself and forces an explosion that damages everything within a 5 metre radius).

Level 9
Speed increases dramatically.

Level 10
Learns Super transformation (Zeke transforms for a brief period into a glowing crimson version of himself that is faster, stronger, invulnerable to most weaker attacks and able to fly. In this form his spines float upward and his eyes turn blue. Although seven Chaos Emeralds are normally needed, Zeke only needs the blue Emerald he possesses).

Zeke's Theme
The Impression That I Get - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

Super Zeke
Solaris Phase II - Tomoya Ohtani

Trivia

 * Zeke has appeared in every incarnation of the Academy storybook thus far and is one of only two characters to do so, the other being Kumo Strife.
 * Up until the fourth incarnation, in which he was absent. His Academy III incarnation reappeared in The Fifth Academy as an NPC.
 * Zeke's age has fluctuated across the different incarnations of the storybook. In the Original, he was 17; in the Redux, he was 20. In the third and current instalment, he is 19.
 * Similarly, his personality is different across the series. The Original and Redux versions were both withdrawn and shy, while the Academy III version is laid-back and more charismatic.
 * Zeke is driven by chibibo.
 * Zeke's level 10 ability, the Super transformation, requires only one Chaos Emerald, as opposed to the Sonic series in which seven are required. This is mainly to prevent entire plots revolving around Zeke hunting for the other Emeralds. In-story, this is explained by Sonic's spirit entering the blue Emerald after a crisis between him and the original Dr Robotnik that is mentioned but never fully explained. Sonic's presence enables Zeke to utilise Chaos Energy with greater ease, as well as transform much more easily (though he still needs to be level 10).
 * On his profile for the Original Academy, Zeke is stated to like pie.
 * In his Super form, Zeke closely resembles the Super transformation of Scourge the Hedgehog.

Credit
Both images on this page are edited (namely, recoloured and had backgrounds removed) from official Archie Sonic comic art by Tracy Yardley. Credit where credit's due.