The live-action Sonic the Hedgehog series already includes some big video game characters, each with their own introductory scene that has varying degrees of success. By the time of Sonic the Hedgehog 3‘s ending, the world of the franchise became more like its video game counterpart thanks to mᴀssive lore additions. Be it the story of Shadow the Hedgehog or the involvement of Dr. Gerald Robotnik, some deep Sonic cuts were found in the movie that will likely lead into the story of Sonic the Hedgehog 4.

The live-action Sonic movies are highly ranked due to the aforementioned fidelity they have to the original games. Despite many human characters having roles in each story, more lovable figures from the game series are introduced with each installment. With the trilogy now concluded, a rewatch of the Sonic the Hedgehog movies on streaming allows audiences to see when these characters debuted; some have cooler introductions than others, while some serve as a decent, albeit uneventful, first scene for the iconic heroes or villains.

Miles “Tails” Prower

First Appearance: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

Coming in at the bottom of the ranking for the coolest Sonic the Hedgehog introduction is Miles “Tails” Prower. Although the post-credit scene of 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog was exciting due to the promise that a sequel will delve deeper into the world and characters of the video games, Tails’ tease is not exactly cool by any stretch of the word. Instead, it serves as a solid debut.

The scene features one of the iconic Sonic ring portals opening up above the town of Green Hills. Tails steps out, stating that he hopes he is not too late. While the intrigue of what Tails is racing against time to prevent is present and the aforementioned deeper Sonic connections are exciting, the scene is fairly uneventful. There is no action involved nor any deeper teases of Tails’ cool abilities outside of his flying speed, rendering the lovable fox’s Sonic the Hedgehog debut the weakest in the series.

Knuckles the Echidna

First Appeared: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)

Above Tails is the introduction of Knuckles, which includes more exciting and outright cool elements than Tails’ debut. The scene is filled with a good sense of mystery, brought about by the eagle-masked warriors stepping out of a ring portal to face off with Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik. After they are defeated and Eggman sprints towards the portal, Knuckles’ proper introduction begins. The silhouette sH๏τ of Knuckles is immensely cool, highlighting the bulk and size of the Echidna warrior before he even steps out of the portal.

Knuckles’ introduction is then made cooler by the booming voice of Idris Elba. Colleen O’Shaughnessey is perfect as Tails, but her voice coming from the fox is more sweet and wholesome than menacing and cool like Elba’s. The tease of a team-up between Knuckles and Eggman only builds on these elements to rank the Echidna’s debut as cooler than Tails’, though with slightly less storytelling and outright badᴀss elements than those that rank above it.

Sonic the Hedgehog

First Appearance: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

Despite being the тιтular character of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, the blue blur has only the third-coolest introduction. The first film in the live-action franchise opens with this introduction, involving Sonic being chased through the streets of San Francisco by Dr. Robotnik. This scene is exciting and gives a cool glimpse at the big action set piece that will conclude the movie. The scene then shifts into Sonic’s backstory, with this portion rendering his debut cooler than Knuckles’ or Tails’.

The beginning of Sonic the Hedgehog’s movie timeline includes some of the biggest references to the original games in the entire trilogy. From the original level of Green Hills being depicted as Sonic’s home planet to the Echidna warriors trying to attack Longclaw in search of the Master Emerald, Sonic’s debut is cool to both those familiar and unfamiliar with the source material. The scene then shoots Sonic to Earth, setting up the entire story before the тιтle card plays, solidifying the excitement for the movie ahead that the opening creates.

Shadow the Hedgehog

First Appeared: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)

The second-coolest introduction in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise belongs to Shadow, the villain of the third. However, Shadow’s introduction comes in the post-credit scene of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. with GUN agents warning their leader about Project Shadow’s emergence. For anyone who knows the games, this scene was beyond awesome. Admittedly, not much happens. That said, the sheer hype of Shadow as a character caused this scene to be one of the coolest in the franchise. As a fan of the games myself, I cannot give many more reasons than that for this scene to rank second on this list.

Amy Rose

First Appeared: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024)

Although Shadow’s post-credit scene tease was insanely cool, it still does not top Amy Rose’s scene of the same nature from Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The post-credit scene begins with Sonic being ambushed by another video game character: Metal Sonic. As far as debuts go, it is a pretty awesome scene for Metal Sonic too, but Amy Rose’s cool introduction to Sonic the Hedgehog takes the cake.

Amy’s introduction is cooler than all of her peers due to the fact that she actually gets some action. The scene has Amy using her iconic hammer to smash through the Metal Sonics before an epic sH๏τ of her flying in front of the moon is shown. She lands behind Sonic and reveals herself, making her scene the most exciting of all on this list. From a sheer kinetic, action-based standpoint, Amy’s introduction to the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise is the coolest, ranking above her anthropomorphic fellow characters and their debuts.