Miles Prower
Miles "Tails" Prower from the character selection screen of the pre-release version of Sonic Advance 3
Miles Prower, better known as Tails (Japanese:テイルジ), is a character in the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games, comics and tv shows released by Sega. "Miles Prower" is a pun on "miles per hour", a reference to the famed speed of the Sonic games. He is a fox with two tails, which enable him to fly. He is believed by some to be a kitsune.
Yasushi Yamaguchi designed Tails for an internal competition for the sidekick. His entry won, but his character's name was changed from "Miles" to "Tails". Yasushi then sneaked the name "Miles" into the character's name as his legal name; "Tails" would be his nickname. Yasushi ended up with a compromise.
A picture of Miles "Tails" Prower from the manual of Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Miles was first seen on Sonic 2 for the Master System but made his first hit in Sonic 2 for the Megadrive where he played the part of Sonic's sidekick and also as a playable character. He could not be made to fly at this point- but this changed first in Sonic and Tails, and then in Sonic 3 when he made his second major appearance. This was a big step forward for Miles and he got much better known and respected at this point.
In the games, Tails first appeared as a big fan of Sonic's, who began following him after being rescued by the hedgehog. After following his hero relentlessly for a long time, Tails eventually became fast enough to keep up with Sonic by spinning his two tails like a propeller. Although he can fly like a helicopter, he also enjoys flying Sonic's red biplane, the Tornado. As the series progressed, it was obvious his interest in the old biplane went farther than just piloting it- Tails is a mechanical genius with intelligence comparable to Dr. Eggman's, and soon after, many modifications to the Tornado, as well as new biplanes, were added to his arsenal. He also operates a small blue submarine called the 'Sea Fox' and a F1 racer called the 'Cyclone'.
In Sonic Adventure 2 Tails uses a third incarnation of the Tornado, a half-plane half-mecha machine called the Tornado II, to attack, rather than his own strength, an arguably much more effective and destructive method.
Just like many of the characters who hang around Sonic, Tails can do the Sonic Spin and the Spin Dash, as well as attack with his tails by twirling around. He can also use Thundershoot, whereby he electrically charges Sonic and Knuckles and hurls them at his enemies. He can also swim quite well, something Sonic has never learned to do.
Tails cannot transform with the seven Chaos Emeralds like Sonic, Knuckles and Shadow can. In Sonic 3, Tails transforms into Super Tails if he gains the power of the seven Super Emeralds, which are powerful incarnations of the Chaos Emeralds when exposed to the Master Emerald.
Tails has appeared in several cartoon shows, such as SatAM, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, and Sonic X. (He is absent from Sonic Underground, however)
He also appears in Sonic the Comic and the Archie Sonic Comics, where he is developed upon as the Chosen one and the son of Rosemary and Amadeus Prower. In the Archie Sonic comic, he seemed to has lost his parents at an early age, and admired the Freedom Fighters, particularly Sonic. He has grown pretty close with the Princess Sally, as he calls her Aunt Sally. He is also Sonic's surrogate little brother. Jules and Bernie hedgehog (Sonic's parents in the comic version) also view Tails as a son to them and lastly Mina Mongoose has been making an impact too. While he is by no means romantically interested in Mina, he certainly does enjoy her company and likes her singing.
When he absorbs fifty rings and seven Chaos Emeralds, he becomes Turbo Tails. His fur color changes from orange to dark orange, and all natural abilities upgraded and he is, like Super Sonic, immune to all attacks that come his way. He is aided by four flickies that have chaos energy and will destroy whatever he wishes them to.
Recently (or not so recently, just more popular now) allegations of a Tails-Amy relationship have appeared. This may be touched upon by the TV series, or it may simply never be expanded upon. The same goes for the possible Tails-Fiona fox relationship that could be present in the comic. Also, a yaoi Tails-Sonic relationship is growing increasingly more popular, and does appear in Sonic doujinshi.
Some people, such as the SatAM crowd, claim that Tails could be female. In the Spanish dub of some of the TV shows (including Adventures of Sonic), Colitas (lit.: Tails) was referred to as ella (she), and she called herself zorra (vixen). This comes from many things, such as that the Spanish language has masculine and feminine words, and cola, the word for tail, is feminine, that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 pre-development, and the fact Tails seems to have a big attraction to Sonic. If this was true, this would also wipe away allegations that Tails was bi/homosexual and help explain the reason why Tails does hang around with Sonic. However, his real name, Miles (Romaji, Mairusu), is not a female name, so technically, the theory only evolves in fan fiction, where the "Tails is a girl" is popular, along with the Sonic yaoi theory.
It is also rumored by some fans that he was the original guardian of the Chaos Emeralds, and that when the Hidden Palace Zone was scrapped from Sonic 2, the role was given to a new character, Knuckles. The zone artist for Sonic 2, Craig Stitt, said that the emerald was merely an object for the player's character to break through. [1]
In the Video Games
Comics and TV shows
Rumors
Video Game Appearances