Echidna growth hormone: Sonic is a hipster and Knuckles is ripped in Sonic Boom

Alex Rodriguez. Lance Armstrong. Knuckles the Echidna.

It’s time to add a new name to the roster of heroes who have tarnished their reputations through the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Earlier today at an event in New York, publisher Sega introduced new character art for its Sonic the Hedgehog and Knuckles the Echidna characters. These designs will star in a rumored new Sonic game that is due out later this year, and well … just take a look at what Sonic and Knuckles look like now:

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The new look for Sonic & Knuckles in Sonic Boom #sonicboom pic.twitter.com/X5zR07FSkK

— DaDa Rocks! (@dadarocks) February 6, 2014

Yes, that is a hipster Sonic rocking boxing tape on his fists and a scarf. Knuckles is even worse. He is apparently on a strict diet of protein shakes, steroids, and echidna growth hormone. He looks so swollen that it probably hurts for him to move. I bet Sonic probably hates hanging out with Knuckles now because all the red egg-laying mammal ever wants to talk about is how much he can bench press.

We’ve reached out to Sega to confirm the details of these new designs as well as the rumored new game. We’ll update this story with any new information.

Sega’s last Sonic game was Sonic: Lost World for Wii U and 3DS. The publisher worked closely with Nintendo, which published the game in Europe and North America. Lost World received mixed reviews from critics.