Fang the Sniper (EntityTopic, 8)

From Compile Worlds

Fang the Sniper, also known as Nack the Weasel by early localisations, is an anthropomorphic weasel in the Sonic series. He is a thieving bounty hunter out to claim valuables for profit. His relationship with the nefarious Dr. Eggman is never made that clear.

Background Information

Not much is known about Fang's past. According to Japanese instruction manuals, he lives in the Special Stage. There he sought to grab the rare Chaos Emeralds for himself, though he merely wanted to sell them for a high price on the black market rather than use their power for global domination. This made him the sworn enemy of Sonic the Hedgehog, and possibly of Dr. Eggman as well. Later, he competes against Sonic and the good doctor in various contests, once again to achieve the ultimate prize of the Chaos Emeralds and sweet victory. Since then, he has gone at large for extortion as well as thievery. Quite the baggage you've got there, sir!

Fang is a greedy character, driven by money and profit. He's a bit of a coward and somewhat aloof, running away when things don't go well. Fang also tends to do himself in, as it is his malfunctioning mechs that cause him to lose the Emeralds to Sonic and Tails. Despite this though, he tries to be a sneaky little weasel, and fails hard due to his clumsiness and overconfidence.

In battle, Fang wields the incredibly intimidating cork gun. If that's not enough to get you, he also has a hoverbike, the Marvelous Queen, and various other mechs he brings into combat. He can also sit on his tail and build up kinetic energy to launch devastating kicks to the face. He's pretty weak sauce for an antagonist though. Sonic has no trouble brushing him aside as long as he can outwit the silly bounty hunter.

Appearances

Sonic Triple Trouble

Fang is one of the antagonists listed by the title in his premiere role, but is relatively overshadowed by Eggman and Knuckles going all Sonic 3 on the heroes again.

Sonic Drift 2

Fang is one of the seven playable drivers here, and people can take his Marvelous Queen for a spin and try (and fail) to win the game.

Sonic the Fighters

Deciding he'd had enough of Eggman's shit, Fang decides to pay Eggman a personal visit for damaages... but not before collecting 8 Chaos Emeralds. (Where'd that damn 8th Chaos Emerald come from???)

Tails Adventure

In Tails' Metroidvania-esque outting, Fang sneaks in as a power up Tails can obtain, which increases the chance of enemies dropping rings when defeated.

Sonic Generations

In the various city-levels, Fang appears on a wanted poster for his supposed extortion and thieving charges. Maybe he's been laying low all these years because he's apparently on Central City's most wanted?

Etymology

Fang's name is derived from the fact that one of his canines is oversized compared to the other. "Sniper" refers to his gun-toting antics, rather than his species as a weasel. His localized name Nack comes from "Nick Nack", a name given to an unusual or junky object, which Fang might be seen selling. Early promo material called him Jet, but this name quickly got dropped and reserved for a different character.

Trivia

• Fang was falsely rumored to be appearing on the upcoming cartoon Sonic Boom, replacing Charmy Bee as the third member of the Chaotix and turning them into a criminal organization. Sure is Sonic the Comic in here.