The Kinetic Gyratoscope is a machine created by Doctor Ovi Kintobor and looked somewhat like a hi-tech hamster wheel. Kintobor used this machine to teach Sonic the Hedgehog how to run faster and to test out his Power Sneakers. During the Power Sneaker test, Sonic broke the sound barrier for the first time and overcharged the Gyratoscope, causing it to explode. Sonic survived the explosion, of course, and emerged with the blue streamlined form that we are all familiar with.
History[]
Kintobor's experiments with the Kinetic Gyratoscope began when Sonic the Hedgehog stumbled upon Kintobor's Laboratory. On learning of Sonic's innate speed, the scientist was keen to test this and encourage Sonic to run even faster.
The device was essentially a free-moving wheel that could go almost as fast as the object moving inside of it. Aided by electricity, the gyratoscope was comfortably able to reach 475 miles per hour once Sonic was wearing his new shoes. However, Sonic pushed the device too far and, at the speed of 761mph (just under the speed of sound), the device exploded. Rather than kill Sonic from inside, the accident instead turned the hedgehog blue and gave Sonic much more control over his speed. In return, Sonic frequently ran errands for Kintobor, such as searching for the missing Chaos Emerald to complete the Retro-Orbital Chaos Compressor.
The events within the Kinetic Gyratosphere would be witnessed twice more by future versions of Sonic, alongside both Porker Lewis and the Chaotix Crew, and later Shadow the Hedgehog.
Future Efforts[]
Keen to replicate the accident that turned Sonic blue and seemingly give him super speed, Doctor Ivo Robotnik constructed a machine some time later that would mirror its effects. Robotnik was unable to run to anywhere close to Sonic's top speed, so the Gyratoscope was modified with a core that would fire an energy blast at him instead. What Robotnik seemed to have forgotten since his own transformation from Kintobor was that Sonic already had super speed before his accident and that the machine's explosion only changed his looks. This was compounded when a brown Amy Rose was thrown into the machine (whilst malfunctioning) and turned pink in the explosion. No abilities were bestowed on her, however, and the experiment was a failure.
Appearances[]
- Issue 8 - The Origin of Sonic
- Issue 69 and Issue 70 - The Return of Chaotix
- Issue 127 - Amy's Secret Past
- Issue 234 - Genesis
In other media[]
The Kinetic Gyratoscope was pulled almost directly from early Sonic material that established the origins of Sonic and Kintobor in non-Japanese media. Although the name wasn't used, it was introduced into Sonic the Comic alongside Kintobor and the Retro-Orbital Chaos Compressor, neither of which were mentioned in the now-official canon.
See also[]
- Energy Absorption/Transmission Device, a device Robotnik again used to steal Sonic's powers.