Luger (Sonic)

Luger is a former Grandmaster of the Dark Legion and the father of Kragok and Lien-Da. As a Grandmaster, Luger apparently had a less violent and direct style of leadership than previous Grandmasters, one of the things that contributed to him earning the animosity of his older children. When he lead the Dark Legion out of the Twilight Zone, his wife Merin-Da grew extremely ill, and thus he ordered the legion's return to the Twilight Zone in an effort to save her. Despite this, Merin-Da died, leaving him to care for his children without help. He soon remarried, now to Mari-Su, with whom he had a daughter, Julie-Su. After Mari-Su was assassinated by Lien-Da, she and Kragok soon plotted Luger's assassination. While cataloguing a series of crates, the unsuspecting Luger was atomize by Lien-Da, enabling Kragok to seize control of the Dark Legion.

Appearance
Luger had a very unique/distinct appearance from other echidnas. Most notably, Luger's dreadlocks were much longer than other echidnas, stretching down to his lower legs. Unlike most other male echidnas, Luger also had hair on his head distinct from his fur. Like a number of Dark Legionnaires, Luger clearly had cybernetic replacements and enhancements, notably on his face, dreadlocks and arms. His main uniform was a gray body suit with baggy shorts, boots, a belt and gloves. Patrick Spaziante, the artist who designed Luger's character, said that as the father of Kragok and Lien-Da he "had to have a menacing yet gentle look".

Grandmaster and Personal Life
Luger took over the Dark Legion after his father Moritori Rex infiltrated the Brotherhood of Guardians impersonating Tobor. As a young man he led one of the Dark Legion's invasions of Angel Island, but it was thwarted by the Guardian Thunderhawk.

Luger with Mari-Su
Eventually Luger married Merin-Da, and she gave birth to his first two children, Lien-Da and Kragok. He attended his first twin children's birth and viewed them as worthy heirs to great Dimitri.

Luger managed to lead the Dark Legion out of the Twilight Zone and into Mobius Prime a second time, but the new zone proved inhospitable to Merin-Da, who became very ill. For the first time in history, the Dark Legion willingly returned to the Twilight Zone (at the orders of Luger), though his wife still perished due to her illnesses. Luger was now forced to raise his two children alone, which proved problematic as he had no parenting skills and was occupied primarily with his position as Grandmaster.

Several years later, Luger managed to emotionally recover from Merin-Da's death. When Lien-Da and Kragok were sixteen years old, Luger found a new potential mate, Mari-Su, much to the dismay of his children, who saw her as a threat to their own ambitions. However Luger never betrayed any outward signs of disappointment in his children's feelings, and shortly afterwards, Luger married Mari-Su. A year later, she gave birth to Julie-Su. Unlike his first children's case, Luger was not present at the birth of his third child, and was often occupied with work during Julie-Su's infant years.

Luger was an inattentive father for all of his children as his duties took precedence, and in his rare moments of parenthood he apparently displayed more affection for Julie-Su, causing Lien-Da to feel that he loved her more. As a result of increased resentment on the part of his two eldest children, Lien-Da eventually assassinated Mari-Su, though she successfully managed to mask the event as a tragic accident. Bereft from the loss of his second wife, combined with the demands of his job as Grandmaster and his lack of parenting skills, Luger entrusted Julie-Su to the care of Floren-Ca, the wife of Simon.

Assassination
The unsuspecting Luger being targeted from afar by Lien-Da Shortly after the successful assassination of Mari-Su, Luger's demise was discussed in private between his eldest children. Disgruntled by their father's leadership, resentful of his personal choices, and with encouragement from Moritori Rex, who felt their time as Grandmasters was "long overdue", the two agreed to have Luger killed. While Luger was cataloging a series of crates, Lien-Da targeted him from afar with an experimental weapon provided by Kragok, which was designed to atomize its target and leave no evidence behind. The shot was fired, and Luger disappeared without a trace. According to Kragok, the Grandmaster's death would have been taken as either an accident or an attack by the Zoah.

Personality
Luger's unique leadership of the Dark Legion stems from his personality. He was the only Grandmaster to willingly return the Dark Legion to the Twilight Zone - an act he did with the sole purpose of saving the life of his wife Merin-Da. Her death deeply affected Luger, and he spent years recovering from his tragic loss. A romantic at heart, he paid little attention to Kragok and Lien-Da's disappointment when he started his relationship with Mari-Su. However, Luger was also a workaholic, and his job kept him from being present at the birth of his third child, Julie-Su. Despite his absence from much of Julie-Su's formative years, his eldest children still felt that he favored her, which was another reason they wanted to assassinate their father. When his second wife died, Luger prioritized his work above parenting Julie-Su, as he entrusted her into the care of Floren-Ca. However, this decision may have been influenced by Luger's innate need to grieve after his second wife's death, and his self-awareness at his lack of any real parenting skills. (SSS: #11, CSE)

In StH #183, Luger was depicted on the splash page with all of the other Grandmasters and Guardians. His facial expression was that of a much more gentle and happy person as opposed to his other Grandmaster counterparts, who all had angry expressions. This was likely a nod to the fact he was a much calmer and more reserved leader.

Trivia

 * Luger has only appeared in three issues, "Sonic Super Special #11", "Sonic the Hedgehog #183" and "Sonic the Hedgehog #205".
 * A sketch design from artist Patrick Spaziante for Luger was available in "Sonic the Hedgehog #115".
 * Luger's name is almost certainly a reference to the famous German pistol of the same name, invented by Heorg Luger.
 * The gap between Luger's appearance in "'SSS #11" and "StH #205" was exactly 10 years to the month of the issues' release dates.
 * In a Q&A, when responding to a question regarding how Moritori Rex viewed his son Luger, writer Ian Flynn said: "In a word: dissatisfied. I don't think Rex outright hated his son; I think there was still a small, "human" part of him that felt at least a responsibility to acknowledge him. But I don't think he lingered on the news of his death. While Rex was busy scheming in the Primeverse, Luger achieved very little in terms of returning to Angel Island. I see Rex as being disappointed with Luger's apparent lack of drive or viciousness, which is why he turned his attention to the next generation.".
 * Regarding Luger, Ian Flynn stated: "Luger was not a character; he was a plot point. He was a footnote in Julie-Su's origin story with no impact upon the main narrative and barely any influence in the greater echidna lore." He added later "I'm not saying Luger didn't have some potential, or that it wouldn't be interesting to investigate him. And to show that he's dead now doesn't mean there isn't opportunity to show him during his life...If I can find a place where I can devote valuable page time to the life and times of Luger, I will. Until then, you at least have an answer as to what happened to him.".