The Sonic the Hedgehog series is always at its best when it’s not taking itself too seriously, a lesson that the old Archie Sonic comics took well to heart. These old comics are full of plenty of silly jokes of debatable canonicity, but a throwaway gag in the Netflix description for Sonic Prime may have inadvertently catapulted one of the comics’ more mundane jokes into the broader Sonic continuity.
Eagle-eyed Sonic fans like Twitter user Apple Slipper noted a single line in the description for the new Netflix series Sonic Prime, which launched today. This small detail set theorists clamoring. The line in question makes reference to the fact that Sonic’s middle name, instead of Fast, Capable, or even The, is actually Maurice. This alone would be droll enough, but naturally, fans are taking the joke as evidence that the minutiae of the Archie comics’ Sonic world are, in fact, now canon. Among other things, this would mean not only that Sonic’s middle name is Maurice, but that his real first name is Olgilvie, a name so upsettingly embarrassing to the blue blur that he chose to abandon it and go by Sonic instead.
Of course, literally none of this has been confirmed by Sega, Netflix, or anyone else involved, and in fact, many fans are finding different descriptions of the show on those accounts that don’t mention Maurice at all. At least three different variations of the series description seem to be circulating at present, including the Maurice reference, which has been found in Spanish as well as in English. Unless Sega takes the unlikely move of making an official pronouncement on what Sonic’s official name is, though, any fan speculation remains just that, especially when it comes to the canon of the games. Perhaps the world is ready for Olgilvie Maurice Hedgehog. Perhaps not.
