
Art by Richard Elson, including Chaotix's home.
The Special Zone is a universe entirely different to that of Mobius and Planet Earth. It was originally just the home of the Chaos Emeralds but was later discovered to be home to entire suns, moons, stars and planets. As of Issue 233, the Zone has ceased to exist thanks to the Emeralds and Shadow the Hedgehog.
Geography[]
The majority of the Special Zone is known as "The Weird Bit", a kind of space where normal phsyics don't apply and the area is cluttered with nonsensical junk. The Chaotix Crew once lived in this area, protecting the universe from the comfort of a small bungalow based on a floating rock. The Hive was the other known structure to exist in the Weird Bit, a symmetrical home for bees and former residence of Charmy Bee. The Black Asteroid once resided in this section was beamed to Mobius by the Omni-Viewer when it acted as a prison for Super Sonic. The now-derelict Egg Fortress presumably remained intact until the Special Zone's destruction.
It was later revealed to be full of other planets, Planet Meridian the most prominent and the only one to be seen visited. New Tek City is probably the world's largest city and is one big superhero cliche. It was temporarily home to Sonic and became the full-time place to find Chaotix once they moved to Meridian.
There are very few ways of getting to the Special Zone from Mobius, one of them being to collect too many Rings. When these became sparse on the planet, the only foolproof way was for Sonic to use a Star Post until Doctor Robotnik destroyed almost all of these. The Omni-Viewer acted as a friendly transport when requested and Vector designed an Omni-Door which acted in much the same way. Knuckles the Echidna and Porker Lewis have also accidentally found themselves in the Special Zone when investigating an ancient echidna gateway.
History[]
The Special Zone was initially one home of the Mobian Chaos Emeralds. During the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic was required to collect Rings and traverse seven dangerous half-pipes in order to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds that Robotnik had hidden. With these now safely stored in North Cave, Sonic had no reason to visit the Special Zone but still had time to accidentally beam there when trying to rescue Tufftee. He also took Tails, Johnny Lightfoot and Porker Lewis to visit Omni and learn the hedgehog's origins.
In order to ensure total control over Mobius, Robotnik and Grimer retreated to his Egg Fortress, a large base in the Special Zone where heroes were unlikely to find him. Even so, Sonic and Johnny infiltrated the hideout to rescue captured Amy Rose and managed to get home without a Star Post. Later, after Robotnik returned to Mobius to oversee the repairs of his Death Egg, the Egg Fortress was taken over by the Brotherhood of Metallix and the Emperor Metallix continued to build more Metallix models. Knuckles and Chaotix ventured here to rescue the Omni-Viewer (who had been kidnapped to create the Pirate Omni-Viewer) and Sonic returned to rescue Grimer, tasked with creating the Alpha Device. With the Metallixes moving to the Miracle Planet, the Egg Fortress lay empty.
After a short altercation with the Fundamental Four, Chaotix' Special Zone home was host to Sonic, who had come to stop the evil Super Sonic. A vicious battle later saw Super imprisoned within an Omni that had slowed time down drastically within himself. Sonic found himself stuck in the Special Zone, just when Robotnik's hold on Mobius was reaching its peak. In this time, Sonic went on adventures to The Hive and the Black Asteroid, foiling minor crooks and the deranged Lord Sidewinder. The hedgehog found himself a temporary home in New Tek City but soon returned to Mobius when Omni's systems came back online.
Further adventures in the Special Zone all involved the Chaotix Crew. Porker accidentally transported himself and Knuckles there when examining an ancient device, right back to the place he had been accused of being a master criminal. Knuckles was reunited with Chaotix but not before a deadly experience with crime lord Hammerhead and after learning that Porker was actually called "Oscar". Chaotix later met up with Sonic to discuss the idea of an Omni-Door. Unfortunately, their progress was stilted by Blockhead Bill and Society Max who had been brainwashed by the ruthless Root. Later still, Chaotix found themselves torn to pieces by the cunning Crimson Cobra who caused three of them to go insane and the other to become a ferocious giant. His plans were foiled when Charmy bought out Crimson Cobra Inc., the Special Zone's most profitable company (after, perhaps, The Hive).
Sonic the Comic Online[]
A group known as The Syndicate rose to power in the skies of Mobius, planning to destroy the whole world with the Chaos Siphon. The Chaos Emeralds were a vital piece of this puzzle but Rouge the Bat was foiled while trying to steal them from the Floating Island. A rough ride in the Haunted Hill Zone saw Knuckles raise the temperature of the Emeralds' carry case, sending them back to the Special Zone. Once there, Sonic, Knuckles and Chaotix attempted to find the Emeralds again but were halted by Syndicate member Shadow. Simply seeing the Special Zone as another obstacle in his quest to avenge the insanity of his master, Shadow brought all the Emeralds together. The gems caused a chain reaction which completely wiped out the Special Zone, leaving only a void.
Chaotix have continuatlly come up with plans since then to discover what happened to their home. Despite being completely destroyed, they attempted calls to the Universal Chronotron Archive and unveiled Project Gordon to try and get home. Not even Father Christmas is safe from their desperate attempts to get home. They seem to have put these efforts on hold recently.
Former residents[]
- Chaotix Crew - Mighty the Armadillo, Charmy Bee, Espio the Chameleon, Vector the Crocodile, Nack the Weasel and the Omni-Viewer
- Doctor Robotnik
- Grimer
- Brotherhood of Metallix - Metallix, Emperor Metallix and Pirate Omni-Viewer
- Fundamental Four - Flare, Hydran, Squall, Gravel
- Captain Tornado and the Justice Brigade
- Baron X and the Discriminators
- Lieutenant Furor
- Mister Shifter
- Mister Hefty
- Lord Sidewinder, Lightmare, Proctor Speckle, Bio-Hazard
- Super Sonic
- Equinox
- Queen Bee
- Insect Guy
- Richie Rover
- The Blazer
- Doctor Bob Bobble
- The Bruise Brothers
- The Yob
- The Zed Monkeys
- Madmeano
- Doctor Plague
- Hammerhead
- Zombie Brothers
- O'Brien
- Root/Morton
- Blockhead Bill
- Society Max
- Maude and Harold Mudd
- Crimson Cobra
- Cribbins
Appearances[]
All appearances of the Chaotix Crew (as a complete team, other than The Return of Chaotix) were made in the Special Zone during the initial run of Sonic the Comic. To that end, see List of appearances by the Chaotix Crew. Additionally, there were other appearances without Chaotix:
- Issue 3 - Mayhem in the Marble Zone
- Issue 8 - The Origin of Sonic
- Issue 21 and Issue 22 - Girl Trouble
- Issue 25 - Prologue: Once Upon a Planet...
- Issue 26 - Kintobor spelled backwards is...
- Issue 54 to 58 - Total Chaotix
- Issue 60 - The Brotherhood of Metallix
- Issue 87 - Mister Shifter
- Issue 91 and Issue 92 - The Hive
- Issue 95 - The Big Fight
- Issue 96 - Hero Hour
- Issue 130 - Showdown
- Issue 134 - Back in the Special Zone
- Issue 135 to 138 - Roots
- Issue 232 - Something Wicked This Way Comes
- Issue 233 - Fate of the Special Zone