Athair



Athair is a fictional character from the fictional universes of the comic books and TV series based on the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games. He is the great-grandfather of Knuckles the Echidna, and is approximately 109 years old.

In the comic universe he has brown fur; the cartoon in which he appeared depicted him with red. His eyes are blue in the comics, while they're black in the cartoon.

In the Archie-published Sonic the Hedgehog comics, Athair has had two wardrobes. One is a somewhat tattered tribal outfit, complete with a walking stick; the other is a plain white robe. In either form of attire, he wears the spiked mittens of the Guardian family and a pair of sandals. His only other decoration are the beads that have been looped over his dreadlocks. Following his assumption of the white robe, he appears to Sonic and co. in the form of a disembodied floating head.

In the cartoon series Sonic Underground, in which he was voiced by Maurice LaMarche (who affected a Sean Connery-style accent for the role), Athair is dressed in a white and blue robe, and also carries a staff, far more regal that his usual walking stick. He also wears a green-lensed pair of glasses.

Athair's name is translated as 'Father' in the Irish language, and Athair is the only Guardian besides Knuckles to appear on television.