Spinner

Spinners are a recurring purple bat-like Badnik featured in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. They first appear in Sonic Adventure. Spinners have the ability to fly in midair by rotating their wings like propellers, and they can use their wings as blades to slash their opponents.

Sonic Adventure
In Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut, they are named Bladed Spinner, and they can be found in the following Action Stages for each character:

In gameplay, the Bladed Spinners' attack patterns differs between one another, depending on the situation: some stays in one place, others fly around in circles, and some others will move towards the player once they spot them. When attacking a Bladed Spinner, the player has to hit the Bladed Spinner either from above or below, as hitting them where their blades are spinning will damage the player. In Sonic's scenario, the player can use the Bladed Spinners to access hidden areas or paths by using the Homing Attack to skip across them (like stepping stones). Also, upon their destruction, they release an Animal.

Sonic Advance 2
In Sonic Advance 2, the Spinners appear as an enemy. In this game, the Spinners look almost identical to how they looked in Sonic Adventure, except that they have bigger wings. The player only encounters them in Egg Utopia.

In gameplay, the Spinners remain stationary in one place in midair where they spin their blades. Like in Sonic Adventure, Spinners can only be successfully damaged on the top or bottom, and attacking them head-on where their blades are spinning will damage the playable character. Also, upon their destruction, they release an Animal.

Sonic Advance 3
In Sonic Advance 3, the Spinners appear as an enemy. In this game, the Spinners look like they did in Sonic Advance 2. The player encounters them in Route 99, Ocean Base and Chaos Angel.

In gameplay, the Spinners remain stationary in one place in midair where they spin their blades. Like in Sonic Adventure, Spinners can only be successfully damaged on the top or bottom, and attacking them head-on where their blades are spinning will damage the playable character. Also, upon their destruction, they release a Ring.

Sonic Unleashed
In both the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 version and Wii/PlayStation 2 version of Sonic Unleashed, this Badnik appears as an enemy and is simply called the Spinner (スピナ). In this game, the Spinners received a more modernized and less menacing design.

In Sonic Unleashed, the Spinners are some of the most common enemies in the game and can be encountered in nearly all of the daytime stages. In gameplay, the Spinners are virtually harmless as they only hover in mid-air and have no attack patterns, although the player can still take damage from them by touching their spinning blades. They primarily serve as stepping stones which the player can use to cross gaps and reach alternate paths by skipping across them using the Homing Attack. In some cases though, when a Spinner is destroyed, another one will appear shortly afterward to take its place.

Sonic Colors
In both the Wii version and Nintendo DS version of Sonic Colors, and the remaster Sonic Colors: Ultimate, Spinner returns as an enemy again. In this game, the Spinners received a new redesign, which resembles a hybrid of both their Sonic Adventure and Sonic Unleashed designs.

In both versions of Sonic Colors and Sonic Colors: Ultimate, the Spinners are once again one of the more common enemies encountered in the game. In gameplay, they have the same behavior and attacks patterns they had in Sonic Unleashed. They also reprise their role as stepping stones for the player to cross to reach other paths by using the Homing Attack on them in a chain. They are also very useful for advancing upwards in the 2.5D side-scrolling sections of the Acts.

Sonic Generations
In the console/PC version and Nintendo 3DS version of Sonic Generations, Spinners from somewhere across spacetime appear as enemies in Speed Highway, Seaside Hill and Rooftop Run in the console/PC version. and in Tropical Resort in the Nintendo 3DS version. In this game, they sport the same design they had in Sonic Colors.

In gameplay, like in Sonic Colors, Spinners display the same behavior and attack patterns that they had in Sonic Unleashed. Also, in the console/PC version of Sonic Generations, a statue of a Spinner can be unlocked in the Statue Room. 4 Spinners attempt to attack Classic Sonic after the Big Arm's defeat, but Sonic himself destroys them with a Homing Attack.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
In the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, the Spinners appear as obstacles, and use their design from Sonic Colors.

Spinners make an appearance during a Bonus Game in London Party where the player has to count the number of robots flying around the screen. They also appear during the Dream Sprint event on BINGO Highway, where they can be found hovering in midair above the track. If a playable character runs into a Spinner, they lose speed. Spinners are also featured in the Dream Discus event in Windy Valley, where they float along the racing course for the event. If a character crashes into a Spinner, they become temporarily stunned. A character can destroy a Spinner by ramming into it with the Boost maneuver. In doing so, they earn five points.

Sonic Jump (2012)
In the 2012 Sonic Jump, Spinners appear as enemies. The player only encounters them in Blue Sky Zone. In gameplay, they circle around specific spots in midair, although the radius of this circular movement may differ between Spinners. Like all the other enemies in the game, the Spinners can only be destroyed from below.

Sonic Jump Fever
In Sonic Jump Fever, the Spinners appear as enemies. Like in Sonic Jump, the player can only find them in Blue Sky Zone. In gameplay, they circle around specific spots in midair, although the radius of this circular movement may differ between Spinners. Like all the other enemies in the game, the Spinners can only be destroyed from below.

Sonic Lost World
In the Nintendo 3DS version of Sonic Lost World, the Spinners once again appear as enemies. In this game, they have a design resembling the one they had in Sonic Unleashed, but with a more cartoon-like look. During the events of the game, the Spinners and the other Badniks got hijacked by the Deadly Six when Eggman lost control over the group.

In Sonic Lost World, Spinners are encountered in Windy Hill Tutorial, Windy Hill Zone 1, 2 and 3, and Desert Ruins Zone 1, 2 and 3. In gameplay, they display the same behavior and attack patterns they had in Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Colors, and Sonic Generations, and once again mainly serve as stepping stones for the player to cross gabs by skipping across them with the Homing Attack.

Sonic Runners
In Sonic Runners, the Spinners appear as enemies. In this game, they retained their design from Sonic Lost World. They are also some of the more common foes encountered in the speed type characters' stages. In gameplay, they either hover in stationary positions or fly back and forth, either separately or as a group. Also, unlike in previous games, their spinning blades do not regularly hurt the player.

The player can destroy the Spinners with any move or offensive power-up in the playable characters' arsenal. When destroyed, a Spinner will grant the player 100 points.

Spinners in Sonic Runners come in three types. Aside from the regular Spinners, there are golden ones which grant 300 points when defeated, and silver ones that grant 200 points when eliminated and which only Color Powers, Invincible and the power type characters' dash attack can defeat. All three variations also contain Animals that are released when they are destroyed. The Spinners also appear as part of several episodes' narrative, which features them being defeated time and time again by Team Sonic.

Sonic Runners Adventure
In Sonic Runners Adventure, Spinners appear as enemies. In this game, they retain their design from Sonic Lost World. The player encounters them in Desert Ruins and Lava Mountain.

In gameplay, most Spinners behave much like they did in Sonic Runners by slowly fly towards the player. Other simply hover in place. Also, upon their destruction, they release an Animal.

Sonic Speed Simulator
In Sonic Speed Simulator, the Spinners appear as enemies in Tornado Assault, being easily shot down. They also appear in Green Hill during "Meteor Mystery Event". Destroying 100 of them for the second task to get two sets of Velvet Chao.

Variants

 * Prism Spinner: These type of Spinners are composed of the material that prisms are made of and have a sharp point on their bottom. These type of Spinners periodically disappears and can function as a regular prism when using the Cyan Laser on them. They only appear in Sonic Colors for the Nintendo DS.
 * Spinner: Sharing the same name as their parent, these Spinners are clad in tough armor, making it virtually indestructible. They appear in Sonic Colors.
 * Thunder Spinner: A Spinner capable of discharging electricity, allowing it to shock its opponents. Like Spinners, they first appear in Sonic Adventure.

Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics)
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, Spinners first appear in the story "Countdown to Chaos Part One: The Builder" of issue 253, in which a horde of them ambushed Rotor the Walrus at the Mystic Ruins forest while he was finishing the last touches on the Sky Patrol. While he took on several of the robots, he was outnumbered, but luckily, Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Big the Cat, and Froggy were able to help destroy the remaining badniks.

In the issue 264 story "Control Part One: Breaking Point," during the Shattered World Crisis, Spinners were sent out in the night to protect the base from intruders or Dark Gaia Creatures. During their patrol however, Sonic and Amy Rose destroyed them.

In both the issue 284 story "Panic in the Sky Part One: The Best Laid Plans" and issue 285 story "Panic in the Sky Part Two: Falling Into Place," a squadron of Spinners accompany Metal Sonic, the Hooligans, and the Witchcarters in an attack on Mobotropolis. During the attack, the Spinners got destroyed by Cream the Rabbit, Big the Cat, and Gemerl.

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW Publishing)
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series by IDW Publishing, the Spinners are called Spinas. In this media, they are Badniks and a part of the Eggman Empire's Badnik army. They come in various sizes, ranging from small to very large. Their past is virtually identical to their game counterparts', up until after the events of Sonic Forces. They first appeared when Sonic infiltrated an Eggman Empire base.

Physical appearance
The Spinners' overall resembles bats, but their design has been rather inconsistent. In Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut, Bladed Spinners have a hemisphere-shaped purple head with pointy yellow ears and menacing black and cyan eyes with white sclera. Below their head they have a conical frustum-shaped gray body, and on the bottom of it they have two cylinder-shape attachments. On the bottom and the upper edge of their body they have a line of black and yellow hazard stripes. Between their head and body, Bladed Spinners have a pair of giant hook-like blades spinning around them like a helicopter rotor.

In Sonic Unleashed, the Spinners received a noticeable redesign. In this game, their entire body is orb-shaped with purple still being their dominant color. They have yellow drill-like ears, empty cyan eyes and a row of cyan lights on the front, resembling a mouth. Around the middle of their body, they have a yellow ring with a transparent cyan semicircle (reminiscent of wings) attached on a purple point on each side.

In Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations, the Spinners received a merge of their earlier designs. While their upper head and wings resemble those in Sonic Unleashed, their lower body look like they did in Sonic Adventure. Other changed details include their ears which look more like they did in Sonic Adventure, their cyan eyes have black pupils and sclera, their mouths are white, their wings are now solid and are colored purple, white and cyan, and they lack the hazard stripes.

In Sonic Lost World, the Spinners look more like they did in Sonic Unleashed in overall shape, but have more realistic ears, non-transparent wings, cylinders on the bottom of their body, and big, cartoon-like eyes.

Trivia

 * Spinner appears along with a figure of Sonic the Hedgehog with a background of Speed Highway. It was released along with other notable enemies for Sonic's 20th Anniversary.