Commander Brutus was a robotic villain that posed a significant threat to Planet Mobius between Issues 63 - 82 of Sonic the Comic. Originally one of Dr. Robotnik's SBS troops, he was extensively modified to serve as second-in-command of the doctor's armies. Enhanced with Megatal armour and programmed with his creator's brain patterns, Brutus proved to be a deadly foe to both Sonic and later Robotnik himself.
History[]
Creation and first mission[]
Brutus was created by copying the brain patterns of Robotnik himself, allowing the robot to think like him and make calculated command decisions in the field. This also allowed him to take the initiative when the Freedom Fighters were located in the Pleasant Zone, assembling a platoon of Badnik Troopers and leading them into battle without waiting for Robotnik's orders. While he would later be reprimanded for this decision, his squad actually succeeded in capturing Sonic and his team. However, instead of taking his prisoners straight to Citadel Robotnik, Brutus paraded his captives around the Pleasant Village as an example to anyone else who might dare oppose Robotnik. This gave Sonic an opportunity to free himself and his friends and the group fled across a bridge that was suspended over a deep gorge. Sonic destroyed the bridge so the Badniks couldn't follow, but Brutus was equipped with anti-gravity systems that allowed him to levitate over the pit. The Freedom Fighters' attacks had no effect against Brutus and Sonic, losing his cool, transformed into the homicidal Super Sonic. Brutus did not anticipate this and grabbed Amy Rose to use as a shield, but in his Super state, Sonic was completely rage-driven and didn't care about harming Amy. He attacked Brutus and tore off the robot's arm, but Brutus led Sonic back over the ravine and ordered his troops to open fire on the super-powered hedgehog. Super Sonic dodged the hail of bullets and destroyed most of Brutus' soldiers, but the commander ordered his nearby airship to fire a cannon loaded with a foam-like substance that solidified in seconds, trapping Super Sonic. The damaged Brutus boarded his ship and escaped before Sonic could free himself. After returning to Citadel Robotnik, Brutus had his arm repaired (now equipped with a laser blaster) and was scolded by Robotnik for disobeying orders. Brutus argued that he only did what Robotnik himself would have done (since they shared thought patterns) but the doctor cared not for what the robot had to say. As Brutus walked out of Robotnik's office, he thought to himself that Robotnik had made a mistake for making Brutus too much like him. Unknown to the doctor, Brutus had also inherited his maker's ambition and secretly plotted to usurp Robotnik's control over Mobius.
Ambition[]
For weeks, Brutus led Robotnik's forces against those who resisted the doctor's rule, all the while plotting how to best achieve his own desire for power. He concluded that his best option was to use Grimer - Robotnik's chief scientist - to develop his own personal army. However, Grimer's almost pathological devotion to the doctor meant that he would never willingly betray him, so Brutus resorted to using a brain-scanning device to copy Grimer's scientific expertise, allowing the commander to design his own Badniks. After establishing his own base of operations in the Misery Zone and abducting several Mobians for Badnik conversion, Brutus establishes his army and puts them to the test by invading the Cotton Factory Zone. Johnny Lightfoot, one of Sonic's Freedom Fighters, is in the zone and the Badniks attack him, managing to capture him and bringing him to Brutus. Brutus then uses a portable mind scanner on Johnny and copies his memories, discovering the location of the missing Emerald Hill Zone residents: they are in hiding on the Floating Island. However, before Brutus can lead an invasion of the island, he appears to malfunction and attacks his own Troopers. It seems that Brutus copied Johnny's mindset as well as his memories, compelling him to fight against his own Badnik brethren. To 'cure' himself, Brutus used the mind scanner to erase Johnny's personality and memory engrams from his own mind. He then destroyed the scanning device so that he would never risk using it again. Although he had forgotten about the Emerald Hill folks' whereabouts, Brutus now had the resources to wage all-out war against Dr. Robotnik and conquer Mobius himself.
The Badnik Revolution[]
The day eventually came when Brutus' army had grown enough in size and strength to oppose Robotnik, and so the Badnik Revolution began. The bulk of Brutus' forces stormed the Metropolis Zone, obliterating most of Robotnik's Badniks in the first wave and launched attacks against the civilians and the Freedom Fighters who were present in the city. Other Badnik forces loyal to Brutus were dispatched to various zones around the planet with orders to round up and exterminate all organic life-forms; Brutus intended to turn Mobius into an entirely mechanical world. Sonic was swiftly beaten when he confronted Brutus and Johnny Lightfoot and Amy Rose were captured and turned into Badniks. With the help of Shortfuse the Cybernik, Sonic was able to save his friends and release them from their Badnik shells. Meanwhile, Brutus attacked Citadel Robotnik and confronted his creator, who tried to activate a self-destruct device implanted in the commander. Brutus had known about the device beforehand and removed it, however, forcing Robotnik to flee into the Citadel's lower levels where a suit of experimental War-Armour waited. Donning the mechanical battle-suit, Robotnik fought Brutus face-to-face. Robotnik managed to gain the upper hand and froze Brutus by spraying him with liquid nitrogen. With the extreme cold causing Brutus' invulnerable body to become brittle, Robotnik smashed his traitorous creation with a single punch.
In the aftermath of the conflict, Dr. Robotnik took control of Brutus' remaining forces and made a planet-wide announcement stating that not Brutus, nor anyone else, would ever defeat him.
Capabilities[]
- Programming - Brutus was programmed with Doctor Robotnik's own brain patterns, allowing him to think and behave as the doctor would. However, he also inherited the doctor's ambition and hunger for power. Strangely enough, he did not seem to inherit Robotnik's scientific prowess, having to absorb the brain patterns of Grimer to learn how to make his own Badniks.
- Invulnerability - Brutus' outer body is comprised primarily of Megatal, the strongest alloy on Mobius. Regular physical force is all but useless, however, extreme temperature shifts can weaken his structure. Energy-based attacks are somewhat more effective, depending on the output of the attack.
- Laser Blaster - After Super Sonic tore off his right arm, Brutus had his hand replaced with a laser weapon that could stun or kill enemies.
- Levitation - Before being turned into a commander, Brutus was a Trooper unit in the Special Badnik Service, an elite group of Troopers with special abilities and training. He had been built with anti-gravity boots that allowed him limited flight capability.