Antoine D'Coolette, the coyote of the Freedom Fighters

A coyote with a French accent, cowardly and pompous… who would go on to become a heroic swordsman. Antoine D'Coolette is one of the few Sonic characters to undergo such a radical transformation between the 1993 cartoon and the Archie comics. Portrait of a coward turned knight.

Who is Antoine?

Antoine D'Coolette is a member of the Freedom Fighters, born of the SatAM cartoon (1993) and of the Archie comics. First point to clear up, because it is the most common mistake: Antoine is a coyote, not a fox — not to be confused with Tails, the team's fox. The Sonic universe is full of animal species anyway, from the fox to the hedgehog by way of the badger Sticks.

His other trademark: a strong French accent, entirely canonical. He mangles English and peppers it with French words; in the comics we learn that he gets it from his mother Marie, who insisted on teaching it to him. Like the rest of the team, he appears in no video game.

The coward of SatAM

In the cartoon, Antoine is the group's comic relief: cowardly, pretentious and clumsy, he swaggers about before bolting at the slightest danger. Faced with the show's great villain, Dr. Robotnik, his first reaction is always to run. He also nurses a crush on Sally — never returned, which puts him in a rivalry with Sonic he has already lost.

He is one of the most irritating characters in the series, and that is entirely deliberate: his job is to raise a laugh by contrast with Sonic's heroism. His voice, in the original version, is that of Rob Paulsen — the same actor as Yakko in Animaniacs or Raphael in the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

His rival for Sally's heart

Sonic Karting Figure

Antoine and Sonic both court Sally in SatAM. Sonic in a kart, €29.90.

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The hero of the Archie comics

This is where the character becomes fascinating. Where the cartoon makes him a coward, the Archie comics take the opposite tack and let him grow: there Antoine becomes a Freedom Fighter who is brave, loyal and a fine swordsman, a genuine hero.

His courage goes as far as sacrifice: in a landmark arc, he falls into a coma after shielding the king from an explosion. Writer Ian Flynn had first considered killing him off, before giving up the idea — the character had become too dear to readers. Proof of how far he had come since the coward of 1993.

His marriage to Bunnie

The crowning moment of his development: in the Archie comics, Antoine marries Bunnie Rabbot, the team's cyborg. Against all expectations, the Antoine-Bunnie pairing has become one of the fans' favorite romances — a fine revenge for the one who sighed in vain after Sally.

Note that, like the coma, this marriage belongs to the comics alone. In the cartoon, Antoine remains the bachelor pining for Sally. The two versions of the character must therefore be kept clearly apart.

Depardieu, Renardière and company

Antoine collects surnames depending on the version. The canonical name is “D'Coolette” (taken up by Archie). But in the cartoon his surname is “Depardieu” — a nod to the French actor.

And in the French dub of the time he becomes, quite simply, “Antoine Gontran de la Renardière” — a delicious irony, since “Renardière” suggests renard, the French for fox, when he is precisely a coyote! One last trap to avoid: Patch, his evil double from a parallel universe, is a separate character — he is not the real Antoine.

Summary

Frequently asked questions

• Is Antoine a fox?
  No, he is a coyote — the most common mistake. The team's fox is Tails. His parents are coyotes too.
• Why does Antoine have a French accent?
  It is a canonical trait. In the comics he gets it from his mother Marie, who insisted on teaching him French. It feeds his whole pompous, comic side.
• Is Antoine a coward or a hero?
  Both, depending on the version! A comic coward in the 1993 cartoon, he becomes a brave, heroic swordsman in the Archie comics.
• Does Antoine get married?
  Yes, to Bunnie Rabbot, but only in the Archie comics. Their relationship is one of the romances fans like best.
• Why is he sometimes called Depardieu?
  “Depardieu” is his name in the SatAM cartoon, while “D'Coolette” is the canonical name from the comics. In the French dub he is called “Antoine Gontran de la Renardière”.

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