Vector the Crocodile

Vector the Crocodile (ベクター・ザ・クロコダイル Bekutā za Kurokodairu) is a character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series and leader of the Chaotix detective team who debuted in the game Knuckles' Chaotix. Vector is a large strong anthropomorphic crocodile. Vector's trademark is a set of headphones which he always listens to, even during missions.

History
After the events that occurred in Knuckles Chaotix), The Chaotix separated and did their own little jig. Years later, Vector began his own Detective Agency. Upon contacting his friends Espio and Charmy, the two agreed to join Vector. However, Mighty declined Vector's offer. Once they had met, the three settled their Agency in Central City, and have been answering calls ever since.

Sonic the Hedgehog
Vector was originally mooted as a character in the canceled Sonic the Hedgehog sound test, and is one of the oldest (game appearance-wise) of the Sonic characters alongside Sonic, Mighty and Eggman.

Knuckles' Chaotix
Vector's first appearance was in Knuckles' Chaotix (called Chaotix in Japan) for the Sega 32X. The Japanese manual states that after an island rises from the ocean, Vector travels there, interpreting the island's sudden appearance as a miracle from God. Upon arriving, he is captured by Doctor Eggman, who is building his Newtrogic High Zone base there, and the villain places Vector in the "Combi-Confiner". In the American manual, he is a friend of Knuckles the Echidna, and is captured as Eggman attacks "Carnival Island" in order to steal its power source. In both stories, Knuckles the Echidna arrives at the island to stop Eggman, and can choose Vector as a partner character after the initial training stage. Vector can do mid-air dashes and climb on walls.

Sonic Heroes
The Chaotix reappeared in Sonic Heroes, where Vector, Espio the Chameleon and Charmy Bee create a detective agency, with Vector as leader. They are hired by an anonymous character who contacts them via a walkie-talkie, and they perform several missions for the voice upon a promise of a hefty reward. Throughout the game, Vector is the "power" member of Team Chaotix, and uses his strength to destroy obstacles and enemies. Team Chaotix rescue its client, who is Doctor Eggman, which Vector had figured out but not told Charmy or Espio, framed throughout the game by Metal Sonic. After Metal Sonic transforms into Metal Madness, Team Chaotix help by giving Team Sonic their collected Chaos Emeralds and by attacking Metal Madness's left side, buying time for Sonic, Tails and Knuckles to turn into their super forms and defeat him. After this, the Chaotix chase after Eggman in order to get their payment.

Shadow the Hedgehog
In Shadow the Hedgehog, Vector works on an unknown case with the rest of the Chaotix. He appears in a few cut-scenes throughout Story Mode and is mentioned by Charmy on one stage, but most notably he is a partner character on the Cosmic Fall stage. In that stage, Shadow goes to the Space Colony ARK where he runs into Vector, who is looking for the ARK's main computer room. The player can choose to help him or not, and if one does help him, Vector also appears in the boss fight against Black Doom. After Black Doom is defeated, he "reveals" that Shadow is just a failed experiment, and Shadow slowly walks away as Vector desperately tries to comfort him. If the player does not choose to help Vector in Cosmic Fall and does Doom's Eye's mission instead, Vector will still help Shadow fight the Egg Dealer. However, he doesn't appear in the cut scenes before or after the battle, so he was most likely there because every boss battle needs a mission character and Doom's Eye would not have been fitting for the battle.

That ending is however only a possibility, and not canon to the storyline. In the real ending, Vector and the rest of the Chaotix are again on the ARK, where they accidentally activate a video created by Gerald Robotnik, which gives Shadow the determination he needs to defeat Black Doom once and for all.

Sonic Rivals
Vector appears on two collectible cards in Sonic Rivals.

Sonic Rivals 2
Vector appears in Sonic Rivals 2 as the main supporter of Espio.

Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games
In Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games he appears as a Power-type character, and has the following stats in the DS Version:


 * Speed: 1.5 out of 5
 * Power: 4.5 out of 5
 * Skill: 1.5 out of 5
 * Stamina: 4.5 out of 5

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
Vector makes a cameo appearance working for G.U.N. to gather clues about the Marauders.

Design and characteristics
Vector represents the "power" third of Chaotix to match the speed–power–flight trichotomy of Sonic Heroes.

Vector is the manager of the Chaotix Detective Agency, and will take almost any job so long as the pay is right. He has a rough demeanor, and is sometimes rude, but deep down he's a kind soul, and has been known to occasionally investigate cases for free.

Like most Sonic characters, Vector can curl up into a ball (Moreso a wheel) or "spin jump" to jump on enemies. He was the power team member in Sonic Heroes. He was fast in Chaotix, although not as fast as Sonic, Shadow or Espio. Vector can use bubbles blown up with bubblegum to slowly descend and can slam his body on the ground to cause massive damage. In Sonic Heroes, he can hold and throw Espio and Charmy using his mouth, spit musical notes, breathe fire (seen also in Sonic X), fire exploding bubblegum and can bite through hard obstacles. He can also sing (sort of), as he does during the Team Chaotix' Team Blast, "Chaotix Recital". He is included in their theme "Team Chaotix" in the line "The muscle is Vector, the karma collector and he's sworn to fight for you." In the Archie comics, Vector uses his Walkman for long range attacks, usually stunning or knocking his opponents down or to put out fires.

Friends

 * Espio the Chameleon
 * Charmy Bee
 * Ray the Flying Squirrel
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Mighty the Armadillo
 * Shadow the Hedgehog
 * Cream the Rabbit
 * Cosmo the Seedrian
 * Vanilla the Rabbit (secret crush only Sonic X)
 * Doctor Bob Bobble (fleetway)
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Heavy and Bomb
 * Amy Rose
 * Big the Cat
 * Silver the Hedgehog
 * Mario (Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games)
 * Donkey Kong (Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games)

Foes

 * Dr. Eggman
 * Black Arms
 * Metal Sonic
 * Metarex (Sonic X exclusive)
 * Dark Legion (Archie exclusive)
 * Mammoth Mogul (Archie exclusive)
 * Ixis Naugus (Archie exclusive)
 * Destructix (Archie exclusive)
 * The Bulk (fleetway)
 * Bowser (Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games)

Rivals

 * Espio (Former)
 * Bowser (Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games)
 * Donkey Kong (Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games)

Sonic X
In the anime Sonic X, Vector and the Chaotix appear briefly in one episode of Season Two. They are hired by Vanilla the Rabbit to find her daughter, Cream the Rabbit. After finding Cream at the Thorndykes' residence, they believe that Sonic kidnapped her. After a failed sneak attack from Espio, Vector and Charmy fight with Tails, Amy, Cream, and Ella. When Sonic sees the fight, Vector calls him "Sonic the Kidnapper", but the fight ends when Vanilla arrives with Sonic. Vector is thanked by Vanilla for finding Cream and he gets confused when she thanks Sonic for taking care of Cream.

They play a larger role in Season 3, where Vector and the Chaotix take supplies from Chris Thorndyke's parents to the Blue Typhoon, the warship that Tails built that Chris is aboard. When they arrived, they are attacked several times on the premise that they are evil Metarex aliens. After a misunderstanding between Vector and others, they deliver Chris' items and Vector plans to catch Cream and bring her to their homeplanet. However, he captures Cosmo the Seedrian as well, and they return to the Blue Typhoon. Vector and the others leave without Cream but get lost on the way back and meet up with the Typhoon's crew.

The second time, they help Tails impress Cosmo. As payment for him fixing their ship, Vector tried to render Knuckles unconscious and disguise him as a Metarex, with Espio holding him up invisible, for Tails to protect Cosmo from, which fails and later appear to help fight the Metarex.

In the anime Vector makes puns about how he is a reptile, saying to Sonic "Sure I'm a warm hearted reptile".

Archie Comics
In the Sonic the Hedgehog Archie Comic, Vector is a crazy punk who likes having things his way and listening to loud music. So loud are his "tunes" that he once single handily stopped the Dark Legion army in its tracks by turning his music volume up to its highest setting and pointing it at the enemy. Vector and Knuckles met some time after Knuckles' father left to join the Brotherhood of Guardians, and after a few tussles, the two became fast friends. Vector also somewhat disliked Knuckles' girlfriend Julie-Su for some time after her first appearance, but they later came to mutually respect each other. Together with Espio, he is one of the only Chaotix members featured in Mobius: 25 Years Later, where he has a son named Argyle.

Sonic the Comic
In Fleetway's Sonic the Comic, Vector is the leader of the Chaotix crew and a close friend of the Omni-Viewer, with links to the Equionix Research Center. Vector is a native of the Special Zone (Sonic the Comic)|Special Zone, specifically the Planet Meridan. He is the straight man of the group, destroying enemies with his powerful jaws.

Sonic X (comic)
In the Archie Sonic X comic, Vector and the Chaotix appear in issue #10, when they help Vanilla the Rabbit find her daughter, Cream. They later disappeared without a trace. They appear in later issues up to #40.

Voices

 * Video games, Sonic X - Kenta Miyake (Japan)
 * Sonic Heroes - Marc Biagi (US)
 * Sonic X (Episode 39) - Jimmy Zoppi (US)
 * Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic X (Episodes 59+) - Carter Cathcart (US).
 * Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games - Dan Green (US) (He also voiced Knuckles)

Critical reception
A preview of Knuckles' Chaotix by Sega Magazine called Vector "pretty fierce by all accounts", noting that his abilities were often helpful in the game. Xbox World's preview of Sonic Heroes called Vector "rubbish too", highlighting his "stupid" visual appearance and name, and concluding that "[h]e looks like a character created as a cheap Sonic copy." IGN staff writer Lucas M. Thomas listed Vector as one of the characters he would most like to see in Super Smash Bros. Brawl after Sonic was confirmed for the game. Then IGN writer Jeremy Dunham called Vector "charming", citing his deceptive "dazzling smile".