Tekno the Canary

One of the more noteworthy characters designed and created by Lew Stringer, Tekno debuted in Sonic the Comic Issue 64 and is a scientific genius and engineer. They ^[1] are one of the key Freedom Fighters on Mobius. While they possess similar attributes to Porker Lewis, they are far more adventurous and spends their days building up a backlog of inventions for every eventuality and then seeking out chances to use them against villains in the field.

History[]

TeknoBomb — Tekno assists Shortfuse in her debut story. Art by Carl Flint.

Tekno was originally a weapons designer for Dr Robotnik and was responsible for the creation of the super-alloy Megatal. When Robotnik caught them working against him by making anti-Badnik weaponry, he had them taken away to a Badnik Processing Plant; Shortfuse the Cybernik intervened to save them in Cybernik Strikes Back [STC issues 63-67]. In exchange, they fixed and repainted his armour and helped him in a mission to bomb one of Robotnik's Chemical Plant Zone factories. Tekno would assist Shortfuse several times after this by giving him repairs and logistical support. When Sonic was missing in the Special Zone, they were introduced to the Freedom Fighters when Shortfuse went to them for repairs, and allowed them to use their secret Emerald Hill Zone workshop as their base. When Robotnik was deposed, Tekno began to team up more with Amy in keeping

AmyTekno — Tekno and Amy during their adventures in time and space with the Ring of Eternity. Art by Nigel Dobbyn.

Mobius secure from the hordes of random criminals and (more frequently) nutters who were springing up, including the Doctor Robotnik Appreciation Tribe, Max Gamble and Agent X. They also helped rescue Shortfuse from the alien Insectra Empire, helping end their war with the Bluurgh in the process, and visited Earth while returning to Mobius, making an enemy of Colonel Granite in the process. Eventually they and Amy were sought out by the mysterious Ring of Eternity, a sentient dimensional warp which sent them on missions to right wrongs & fight injustice throughout time and space (possibly inspired by Quantum Leap as it features a similar premise). They even witnessed the beginning of life on Mobius, discovering it was created by dinosaurs (in space suits) working for an unspecified employer (hinted to be God).

Eventually they and Amy returned to Mobius, and Tekno began assisting Sonic in investigating the New Zones. Their final appearance in STC had her and the other Freedom Fighters attempting to stop Robotnik from draining the life-force from Mobius and causing a devastating environmental collapse.

Sonic the Comic Online has delved into Tekno's past on a number of occasions. One focused on Tekno sending a robot out, under Robotnik's orders, to attack the Freedom Fighters. In hopes of seeing Mobius free from Robotnik's tyranny, however, they ordered the robot to self-destruct from the shadows, sparing the life of Amy, the only one available to fight it. In another story, they and Amy had a run-in with Nack the Weasel, who had become a corrupt Zone Leader in the Coal Creek Zone and sought to seize control of the neighbouring Ocean Falls Zone. Tekno was arrested while uncovering Nack's plan, but was broken out by Amy later. A short time later, Tekno developed new armour for Shorty that could be activated and deactivated with the push of a button, thus giving him the best of both worlds. In the armour's first test run, they came face to face with the mighty and enigmatic Slave One.

Later, Tekno started to receive news that Shortfuse was committing robberies and kidnapping people, and decided to try to prove Shorty's innocence, after leaving him in the locked down lab for his own safety. They found that the robberies were being committed by an imposter wearing a fake Cybernik suit, but the kidnappings really were down to Shorty, who had hooked the victims up to a biological computer, which in turn, was hooked up to the Eternity Ring. When Tekno tried to deactivate the systems next to the Ring, they were attacked by Shortfuse, who seemed to be under someone else's control. They were able to deactivate Shorty's armour, but without warning, the pair were transported through the Eternity Ring into an unknown dimension.

For a few months, they were stranded in the backwater town of Solstice, where Shorty scraped a living selling carvings and jewellery made of gold and platinum from Tekno's earrings. While Shorty grew to like his new life and home, Tekno did not share his enthusiasm, scribbling down endless calculations on their cave wall and growing more and more insane. When Shorty was entered by the Regent into a fight with Slave One, Tekno was taken hostage to ensure that Shorty would fight. Shorty lost, and they were taken to Slave One's master: the false Egyptian God, Set, who Tekno had fought before, alongside Amy and Sonic. After learning from Set himself what his plans were, Tekno grabbed the weakened Shorty and tried to escape, but both were shocked into submission and thrown into the Pyramid's cells. When she came to, Tekno began negotiating with the slaves put in place to guard her and organised a rebellion against Set and Slave One. They were released, and went for Set while the assembled slaves dealt with Slave One. In the height of their insanity, Tekno apparently murdered Set, marking the slaves' freedom.

A few weeks later, Tekno and a scholarly slave found the Eternity Ring, and Tekno, keen to leave at long last, loaded a chest full of Set's files and archives. As they and Shorty sped across the desert, she kept blowing off Shorty's queries about what happened between her and Set, and the pair erupted into a massive argument after something collided with the speeder. Just as Tekno and Shorty found the Eternity Ring, they were attacked by a still-alive Set, Tekno having missed any major organs when she previously fought him. Set phased out of the modified Cybernik suit he was now wearing and attacked. Faced with impending doom, Tekno found the sphere containing the liquid metal Cybernik suit and hurled it at Shorty, turning him back into Shortfuse. With Shortfuse back to full strength and keeping Set busy, Tekno was able to establish a link to Mobius and shot Set through the chest, finishing him for good. When Shorty refused to return to Mobius with them, they took control of his armour, seizing it up long enough for them to be able to drag him through the Ring with them. Upon their arrival in the Emerald Hill Zone, they deactivated the armour and quickly found themself alone and realising that Mobius had entered into a war.

As of Issue 268, Amy received an emergency signal from Tekno and discovered, to Amy's horror, that Tekno was encased in Cybernik armour and under Robotnik's control. Although under attack by the Cybernik armour, Amy was able to utilize a portable communications device to decipher some beeping that the Cybernik armour was emitting as Morse code. Translating the Morse code, she discovered that Tekno was trying to fight the Cybernik programming. The two friends working together, they were able to create a power surge in the armour (via a trick shot to a port on the back of the neck of the armour) that allowed Tekno to reassert control. However, despite regaining control of the Cybernik armour, Tekno was trapped inside it, just like how Robotnik trapped Shorty inside his former Cybernik armour.

Telling Amy that they had to locate Shorty alone to make amends, the two friends parted ways as Tekno flew off to reunite with Shorty.

Trivia[]

Tekno makes a brief uncanonical cameo appearance in #134 of the Archie Sonic comics, done as one of several admitted in-joke tributes by the artist Jon Gray. This happened without the consent of Tekno's creator/copyright-holder Lew Stringer which is why it is not considered part of the STC canon.

Lew Stringer has confirmed that Shortfuse and Tekno had a "soft spot" for each other, but he never made it explicit in case it turned off the younger readers [1]. A recurring joke in fandom is that Tekno and Amy are romantically involved.

Appearances[]

See List of appearances by Tekno the Canary

Tekno first appeared in Cybernik Strikes Back, although Amy vs Tekno occurs chronologically just before this. Their appearances were few and far between at first, sticking only to working alongside Shortfuse. Eventually, they teamed up with the Freedom Fighters and, from them on, nearly every issue contained a story working alongside Amy, notably the Eternity Ring story arc.