WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Sonic the Hedgehog #40, by Evan Stanley, Adam Bryce Thomas, Maria Keane, John Wycough, Heather Breckel, Leonardo Ito and Shawn Lee, on sale now.
IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog has raised a lot of questions about its newest character, a friendly Badnik named Belle the Tinkerer, since her introduction. As the series revealed more and more about the character, it became clear that she was indeed one of Eggman's inventions, but why exactly he created her remained unclear. Sonic the Hedgehog #40 finally answers that question, as Belle the Tinkerer meets her maker.
Belle and her friend Tangle the Lemur followed Sonic, Tails and Amy to a strange tower created by Dr. Eggman. Tangle dives into a portal to save Sonic and friends, leaving Belle alone with Eggman's right-hand robots Orbot and Cubot. When Eggman tries to communicate with his indisposed assistants, Belle finally has the opportunity she's been looking for all along -- a chance to talk to the man who created her.
Sonic and Tails first discovered Belle in Sonic the Hedgehog #34 by Evan Stanley, Shawn Lee and Reggie Graham whilst searching an abandoned Eggman base. Sonic recognized her as one of Eggman's Badniks right away, but was surprised when she didn't want to fight. Her ability to read Eggman's blueprints and the fact she instantly knew Eggman's voice also seemed to confirm her origins. Nevertheless, all of these things still left the question: Why was she created? Now, Belle finally gets to ask -- but the answer she receives is tragic.
When Eggman sees Belle through the communicator screen, he instantly recognizes his own handiwork. It doesn't take long for Eggman to recall who Belle really is. She was a helper he created when he was Mr. Tinker.
All the way back in Sonic the Hedgehog #5 by Ian Flynn, Tracy Yardley, Jim Amash, Matt Herms and Corey Breen, Eggman lost his memory and was taken in by the residents of a small town. Though they initially feared the amnesiac Eggman, they soon realized he was harmless, without any memory of his old life, and actually wanted to help the townsfolk. Sonic, Shadow and the Chaotix confirmed that Eggman was truly gone, leaving only the kindhearted Mr. Tinker in his place. This clearly didn't last though, as Dr. Starline kidnapped Mr. Tinker and restored the evil Dr. Eggman to his former glory.
It seems that Belle has been searching for her original creator, Mr. Tinker, ever since then, with the hopes that the rumors of him being the villainous Dr. Eggman weren't true. Even having confirmed that Mr. Tinker and Eggman are one and the same, Belle still cannot believe that Eggman would do all of the cruel things he does without reason. Noticing that Belle cared for his alter ego, Eggman tells her why he's doing all of this.
Eggman explains that the tower Belle is in has a number of purposes. The first purpose is as a labyrinth that tests the durability of his Badniks and will one day trap his nemesis, Sonic. The second is to create a model town, to figure out the most efficient way of conquering the outside world. The third and final purpose for the tower is to create new evolutions of his Badniks, each more terrifying than the last. Having finally found out the truth, Belle drops the communicator, falling to the floor in tears.
When Belle leaves the imploding tower with Sonic and co. aboard the Tornado, she breaks down in tears again, telling her friends what happened and what she had hoped Eggman would be. Though Belle didn't get the answers she was hoping for, Tangle reminders her of all the good she did and that her dad, Mr. Tinker, would have been proud of her for that.