Guardian Units of Nations

The Guardian Units of Nations, [The meaning of the abbreviation is confirmed in the manual for "Shadow the Hedgehog" and the [http://www.shadow-the-hedgehog.com/en/base.html official "Shadow the Hedgehog" website] .] often abbreviated to GUN or G.U.N., is a fictional organization featured in the "Sonic the Hedgehog" video game series.

Its status within the "Sonic the Hedgehog" canon (aside from its "Sonic X" incarnation) is that of a worldwide military/emergency law enforcement federation, somewhat similar to NATO and Marvel Comics' S.H.I.E.L.D..

Though it may be made from the general English term for a firearm, "gun," its origin could also stem from the Japanese word for 'army' which is simply 'gun' or 'guntai'. It is also likely the full title of the organization - Guardian Units of Nations - is a backronym. Though the acronym "G.U.N." was pronounced like a word in "Shadow the Hedgehog", it was only spelled out in "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "".

Game appearances

"Sonic Adventure 2"

In "Sonic Adventure 2", released in 2001 for the Sega Dreamcast, the G.U.N. organization was introduced.

It is sent to capture Sonic the Hedgehog after he is suspected to have stolen a Chaos Emerald and attacked G.U.N. forces while escaping, when in reality he was mistaken for Shadow the Hedgehog. The G.U.N. Federation's Prison Island base also plays a large role in the game; Dr. Eggman first goes there to release Shadow, where Sonic is imprisoned after his capture, and where G.U.N. keeps three Chaos Emeralds that are eventually stolen by Rouge the Bat. Three mechanical G.U.N. walkers (Big Foot, Hot Shot and Flying Dog) can be fought by the player as bosses.

The game also reveals that G.U.N. was responsible for attacking the Space Colony ARK fifty years prior to the game, after being ordered by the government to end Gerald Robotnik's "Project Shadow," a research project to create an immortal "ultimate lifeform." The G.U.N. military killed and imprisoned all that knew about the project, notably killing Gerald's granddaughter Maria Robotnik. The result of the project, Shadow the Hedgehog, managed to flee the ARK in a capsule, but was found on Earth and put in stasis on Prison Island by the G.U.N. Federation.

The organization was never specifically called "G.U.N." by the characters during this game, rather it was referred to as "the government" or "the military." The "G.U.N." acronym and logo are instead just seen on military technology and boxes that are spread around the game.

"Shadow the Hedgehog"

The G.U.N. Federation reappeared in "Shadow the Hedgehog" released in 2005 for various consoles. Its role in this game is to repel the invasion of Earth by the forces of the alien race the Black Arms. During the game and FMV sequences, the G.U.N. Commander, due to his own personal hatred of Shadow, orders his troops to attack him, even if he tries to help G.U.N. In the game, it turns out that Gerald actually intended all of his creations, the Eclipse Cannon, Shadow, and perhaps even the Artificial Chaos (and possibly the Biolizard), to protect Earth from the Black Arms, but because of the intervention of G.U.N. he never got the chance to do so. The organization's role in "Sonic Adventure 2" was also expanded in "Shadow the Hedgehog".

"Sonic Rush"

In the Huge Crisis Zone of "Sonic Rush", the robotic enemies resemble the G.U.N. military's Hunter and Hawk robots from "Sonic Adventure 2", and unlike Eggman's robots, they do not release animals when defeated.

"Sonic the Hedgehog" (2006)

G.U.N. has a small role in the 2006 "Sonic the Hedgehog" game. The role is small since the focus of game is more about Iblis and Soleanna, but shows that Shadow had been employed by G.U.N. after the Black Comet was destroyed in "Shadow the Hedgehog".

"Sonic Rivals"

Among the 150 collectable cards in "Sonic Rivals", 8 are G.U.N.-related pictures. These cards are "The Commander", "Big Foot", "Flying Dog", "The president", "Hot Shot", "Gun Wing", "Hornet-6" and "Shield Hunter".

"Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity"

G.U.N. is referred in the initial CG sequence of the , where it is said that they had knowledge of what's going on, and are doing everything they can to understand the situation.

"Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood"

It's revealed that in "", G.U.N. will enlist the help of Sonic and his friends to find Knuckles (who disappeared while protecting the Chaos Emeralds), and many interactive G.U.N NPCs can be found among the playing fields. [ [http://www.tssznews.com/2008/06/09/new-sonic-chronicles-playable-characters-plot-details/ tssz|news: New Sonic Chronicles Playable Characters, Plot Details] ]

Notable members

The Commander

The G.U.N. Federation's highest ranking officerGUN Commander's bio from Shadow the Hedgehog (game) manual] is the Commander (also known as the General), who appeared in "Shadow the Hedgehog". Described as having a "heart of stone," he has complete confidence and an iron will. He appears in several cutscenes in the game where he is seen ordering his troops against the Black Arms and Shadow. He also controls the Diablon robot, one of the final bosses of the game. It is not seen if he is inside it or controls it remotely, but since he is in the GUN fortress after the Diablon robot is destroyed, it is more probable that he controls it remotely.Cutscene from Shadow the Hedgehog (game)]

The Commander grew up with his family on the Space Colony ARK, and was a good friend of Maria Robotnik. However, he saw Shadow being created by Black Doom and Gerald, and his family and Maria were later killed in the G.U.N. military's attack. He harbors a deep personal hatred towards Shadow the Hedgehog, blaming him for their deaths, and sends his forces to destroy him throughout the game. The Commander appears to have heterochromia, as he has one blue and one amber eye. It is also revealed that his gray hair is not a result of age, but rather he has had that color when he was a child.

After Shadow defeats Devil Doom and destroys the Black Comet, the President states how ironic it was that people treated Gerald like he was evil, and he ended up saving them all in the end. The Commander and the President realize they were wrong about Gerald's intentions and that he was truly a good hearted person. They decide they will help create peace for the world in honor of Gerald. In the Expert Mode, it is revealed that the Commander had become a grandfather one week before the events of the game and invited Shadow over as part of his apology to the hedgehog.

He will be appearing in "".

Rouge the Bat

Rouge the Bat has been a G.U.N. agent for some time, and seems to have been working for it at least since "Sonic Adventure 2". She is one of the most valuable agents of the organization, and she is apparently highly ranked, as she often takes orders from the President himself. Her status seems to be that of an non-official cover (NOC) espionage agent. She is also Topaz's partner in "Sonic X".

hadow the Hedgehog

Like Rouge, Shadow the Hedgehog has also become a G.U.N. agent. In "Sonic the Hedgehog", Shadow was sent on a mission to rescue Rouge from Dr. Eggman's base in White Acropolis, where she had been captured while searching for the "Sceptor of Darkness". It is unknown what his ranking and status are, though he is assumed to be, like Rouge, a very valuable agent, being sent on several important, if dangerous, missions. He seems to often be assigned to accompany Rouge or, if she is gone missing in action, locate her.

E-123 Omega

In "Sonic the Hedgehog", Rouge contacts G.U.N. and says that she would like to meet up with Omega after she returns from the future.

Omega's relationship with G.U.N. is unknown, although he does care whenever they are destroyed, as per Iron Jungle in "Shadow the Hedgehog", where he scolds Shadow [Shadow the Hedgehog 2005 E-123 Omega: Reassess target priorities. (Every time Shadow destroys a G.U.N. robot.)] and his friendships with Rouge and Shadow, who are both G.U.N. agents, indicate that he knows of G.U.N.'s existence.

In comics and anime

Topaz

Topaz only appears in the "Sonic X" anime and associated comic book, in which she is a G.U.N. Tac Team agent and the human partner of Rouge the Bat. Though at first the regimental Topaz disapproves of the scheming Rouge, the two become friends fast. Their main assignments involve striking at Dr. Eggman and retrieving the Chaos Emeralds, as well as serving as envoys between Sonic and his friends and the government.

Topaz also seems to have romantic inclination towards Chris Thorndyke's butler, Mr. Tanaka. The two have worked together on several occasions, and when Topaz lost in a tournament over the red Chaos Emerald, Tanaka gave her a necklace, a sign of a growing relationship between them.

Topaz's field outfit is very similar to that of the character Janet Marshall from Sega's arcade games "Virtua Cop 2" and "Virtua Cop 3".

Captain Westwood

Captain Westwood is Topaz's commanding officer in the "Sonic X" comic book. Captain Westwood hates Topaz and Rouge because they always get better assignments than him. He attempts on numerous occasions to make them look incompetent so that the President would not trust them again. He is sometimes referred to as "Cowboy," and bears a strong resemblance to Albert Wesker from the "Resident Evil" series.

Commander Brass

Commander Hugo Brass appears in Archie Comic's "Sonic the Hedgehog" comic book, he is a member of Station Square's Corporate Military (G.U.N.), and serves as the President's military advisior.

G.U.N. army

Troops

The G.U.N. army consists of both human soldiers and a large variety of robots that are just as complicated as those of Dr. Eggman, though with a more "serious" appearance. The soldiers are armed with typical handheld firearms and first appeared in a cutscene in "Sonic Adventure 2". They reappeared as common enemies in "Shadow the Hedgehog", where they mostly wear black and blue, but they have also been seen with camouflage attire. The robots come in a variety of appearances and uses.

Vehicles

G.U.N. uses vehicles very similar to ones used by modern military forces in real life.

In "Sonic Adventure 2", the player encounters Blue Eagle and Vulkan Fighter jet fighters that attack the player with bombing runs and hovering in place while firing machine guns, respectively. They closely resemble the Russian Sukhoi Su-34 "Fullback" strike fighter aircraft in appearance, with the side-by-side cockpit seating and an enlarged tailsting, but behave more in function like the similar Sukhoi Su-33 Flanker fighter aircraft, the Soviet (and G.U.N., evidently) equivalent of the U.S. Navy's F-14 Tomcat. A large transport helicopter similar to Russian Mil Mi-24 Hind also appeared in the Hero Story's opening cutscene. It has the identification code "Sigma Alpha 2", a reference to "Sonic Adventure 2". In "Shadow the Hedgehog", the "Westopolis" and "Central City" stages feature green military helicopters that can be destroyed, or in one case held onto for transport.

The final portion of "Sonic Adventure 2"'s "City Escape" stage also features a ridiculously huge semi-trailer truck with G.U.N. markings chasing Sonic throughout the stage. It eventually crashes into a tunnel too small for it to fit through. It obviously resembles the 1955 Peterbilt 281 truck from the movie Duel.

Several stages of "Shadow the Hedgehog" contain G.U.N. jeeps, armoured personnel carriers and motorcycles that the player could hop into and drive. A green tank can also be seen in a cutscene where Black Doom threatens the Earth.

The "Metal Harbor" and "Weapons Bed" levels set outside Prison Island in "Sonic Adventure 2" feature large aircraft carriers where G.U.N. keeps Blue Eagle planes. Huge warships can be seen outside the "G.U.N. Fortress" in "Shadow the Hedgehog" as well.

A common sight throughout G.U.N. forces are bipedal walkers.

Both "Sonic Adventure 2" and "Shadow the Hedgehog" feature walkers from the F-6 Big Foot series, large ones that are armed with gatling guns and have the ability to hover in the air with jets. The first one seen was the Spider Troops F-6t Big Foot that was Sonic's first boss in "Sonic Adventure 2", F-6 and F-6r variants appeared as the strongest standard G.U.N. enemies in "Shadow the Hedgehog", and took significantly more damage than the Sonic Adventure 2 equivalents. The "r" and "t" variants are armed with homing missile launchers on their "shoulders", the "t" variant also armed the gatling gun. In "Shadow the Hedgehog" they either have the rocket launchers or the gatling gun, because they are not bosses and only bosses have multiple attacks. Like most enemies the Shadow Rifle will rip them apart quicker than the boss battles from SA2. According to "Sonic X", the F-6t is 3.4 meters tall, 4.8 meters wide, and weighs 9.2 tons. [ [http://www.teamartail.com/sonicx/viewimage.php/34/images/043bigfoot.jpgBig Foot information card from "Sonic X"] ]

Nearly identical to the F-6t was the Scorpion Troops B-3x Hot Shot, that appeared as Shadow's first boss in "Sonic Adventure 2". It is armed with a laser cannon in its torso along with the gatling gun and missiles. According to "Sonic X", the Hot Shot is 3.4 meters tall, 4.8 meters wide, and weighs 9.6 tons. [ [http://www.teamartail.com/sonicx/viewimage.php/34/images/044hotshot.jpgHot Shot information card from "Sonic X"] ]

"Shadow the Hedgehog" featured the small one-man walkers JII-G and CV-4. The prior can jump to extreme heights, while the latter was armed with two machine gun turrets but had a small jump height. They both have some hovering capabilities that lets them fall down slowly, and they can both be used by the player.

The R-1/A Flying Dog also appeared in "Sonic Adventure 2" as a flying mech identical in equipment to Hot Shot, with the exception of not needing to land as it completely lacked legs. It is fought as a boss by Rouge. According to "Sonic X", it is 3.6 meters in both height and width, and weighs 5.4 tons. [ [http://www.teamartail.com/sonicx/viewimage.php/35/images/051flyingdog.jpgFlying Dog information card from "Sonic X"] ] In the games, Big Foot, Hot Shot and Flying Dog are manned by a soldier as they have radio and a pilot is visible in a cockpit. In Sonic X however, these are mass produced and unmanned despite still having what seems to be a cockpit, and are much more easily defeated.

In "Shadow the Hedgehog", the Mantis Platoon HD1 Heavy Dog and LZ-12R Blue Falcon appeared as bosses. They were both large, disc-like machines armed with several homing missile launchers all around its body, along with a Particle Beam Cannon, a weapon that fires blue energy waves in all directions. The Heavy Dog was also armed with floating mines, was a part of the attack on the ARK and is fought after Shadow's "The Doom" flashback stage. The Blue Falcon could instead drop bombs, and was assigned to protect the Eclipse Cannon in the games' current time. The latter is likely named after Captain Falcon's car in "F-Zero" of the same name, possibly since Sega happened to help develop "F-Zero GX" and "F-Zero AX". It is interesting to note that if you do the dark mission on "The Doom" you will fight Both Heavy Dog and Blue Falcon in the same story. (With The level "The ARK" In between the 2 boss battles)

The mecha U78-X/D Diablon appears in "Shadow the Hedgehog" as one of the possible final bosses. It is a partly-incomplete experimental humanoid robot, fully equipped with a powerful energy shield, a jetpack, a strong laser gun and its most powerful feature; the Antimatter Cannon, which — after some necessary charging up — creates an explosion of energy causing destruction within a large radius, possibly the same range as Shadow's dark power Chaos Blast. Diablon is controlled by the G.U.N. Commander, and is accompanied by Sonic when fought by Shadow. Its serial number and name are displayed on its wrists. It can be confronted in the G.U.N. Fortress, Final Haunt and Black Comet stages.

G.U.N. also has several gigantic flying fortresses. They appear in "Shadow the Hedgehog", where the "Air Fleet" stages takes place on and inside one of them. "Sonic X" also featured the G.U.N. Fort,

G.U.N. have also made Mobile Rockets, small rockets that are held onto by one person, and used to travel to high areas. Though they appear in "Sonic Adventure" and "Sonic Adventure 2", they were not explained to belong to G.U.N. until "Shadow the Hedgehog". In the latter, it also comes with a parachute for controlled descent.

Bases

G.U.N. Fortress

The G.U.N. Federation's headquarters appears in "Shadow the Hedgehog" and is considered the most secure shelter on Earth. The President is taken there for safety when the Black Arms attack Central City. The underground fortress is heavily guarded by three mother computers, armed security cameras, and an immeasurable number of G.U.N. troops and mechs. It is located in a mountain near the sea, as seen on the platform where the goal ring is located.

Prison Island

One of GUN's top secret bases which looks somewhat like a acoustic guitar from overhead view Shadow was being held prisoner in suspended animation here. This was also where Professor Gerald Robotnik was being held before his execution. Interestingly, when captured, Sonic is held in the same cell as Professor Gerald Robotnik, and this can be seen by the equations written on the walls that Amy asks about when she comes to rescue Sonic. Unfortunately, they don't talk much about it, as Sonic rushes off to find Tails, much to Amy's annoyance.

It has security cameras and robots throughout the entire island, along with battleships guarding the coast making it virtually impossible to escape. The armory of the military facility was subsequently blown up by Eggman during the events of , though it appears the majority of the island survived the explosion. While there are robots that still patrol the ruins of the base, the vegetation of the surrounding jungle has, for the most part, over taken the complex. There are also some information disks contained on the island, as revealed in the "Shadow the Hedgehog" level "Prison Island" where the hero mission was to collect 5 disks that are hidden in the ruins. The information of these disks are revealed later during the game's Last Story.

In other media

"Sonic X"

In "Sonic X" anime and "Sonic X" comic, G.U.N. is a military branch of the United States government. It took Gerald Robotnik's technology and, with a few tweaks, created its own robots. It also took Eggman's Eggfort and turned it into its attack vehicle.

"Sonic the Hedgehog" (Archie)

The Archie-published "Sonic the Hedgehog" comic book features G.U.N. as an elite military unit of Station Square, a city of humans. Sonic and the Freedom Fighters first encountered G.U.N. when both teams went to a dragon lair located on an island. Working together, they were able to seemingly kill the formidable beast living there.

Voice acting

*Commander ("Shadow the Hedgehog") - Marc Thompson (US)
*G.U.N. soldiers, Blue Falcon, Heavy Dog ("Shadow the Hedgehog") - Andrew Rannells (US)
*G.U.N. communicator ("Sonic the Hedgehog") - David Willis (US)
*Topaz ("Sonic X") - Kayzie Rogers (US)

References

In addition to information taken from the "Sonic the Hedgehog" games themselves, content from the instruction booklets of the U.S. and Japanese versions of the games were also used as references for this article.