Time Eater

"The Time Eater obliterates time and space! Did you really think you could escape him just by running around?"

- Dr. Eggman, Sonic Generations (Nintendo 3DS)

The Time Eater (タイム・イーター) is one of the main antagonists in Sonic Generations. Initially an alien creature with the power to "erase time and space", the Time Eater was discovered by Dr. Eggman, who decided to use it to conquer the world by using it to erase his past failures at the hands of Sonic the Hedgehog with his past self's help. After the Time Eater had inflicted incomprehensible damage to the universe, it was used by the doctors to defeat Sonic's past self (Classic Sonic) and present self (Modern Sonic) and rid the timeline of Sonic completely, but was destroyed in the ensuing battle, undoing all its work.

History
The Time Eater was originally a supernatural creature/force of unknown origin whose primordial form had been drifting through the vast regions of space in Sonic's universe for an unprecedented amount of time. At some point after his last defeat by Sonic the Hedgehog, Dr. Eggman discovered this form of the Time Eater, while he, Cubot and Orbot were floating through space. After discovering the Time Eater's abilities, Eggman came up with the idea of utilizing the Time Eater's powers to prevent his previous numerous defeats at the hands of Sonic by erasing Sonic's history so that he would be victorious in the present.

Through unknown means, Dr. Eggman managed to provide the Time Eater with robot-like parts to control it. He was unable to complete the process, however, and he needed help from someone as smart as himself to finish the Time Eater's modifications. Still, even with the Time Eater incomplete, Dr. Eggman was able to travel through time and began interfering with history.

After beginning its time traveling, the Time Eater appeared in Green Hill Zone as Classic Sonic, Sonic's past self, explored it and caused the area and Classic Sonic to enter the White Space. Later, in the present day, the Time Eater appeared and disrupted a birthday party for Modern Sonic, Sonic's present self. There, Eggman had the Time Eater create a series of Time Holes that captured and scattered Sonic's friends throughout time, intending to bait Sonic into Eggman's laid-out traps. In the process, the Time Eater beat back Sonic when he tried to stop it. Sonic is then forced into the White Space by the Time Eater, only to meet with his Classic self later.

After Classic Sonic defeated the Death Egg Robot aboard the Death Egg, the Time Eater reappeared, apparently kidnapping that time's Dr. Eggman; this actually turned out to be the result of Dr. Eggman's search: It turned out that the only person smart enough to help Modern Dr. Eggman perfect the Time Eater was his past self, so he decided to kidnap this time's Dr. Eggman so he could assist him. After disappearing from the Death Egg, Classic Dr. Eggman gladly decided to team up with Modern Dr. Eggman to defeat Sonic and help complete the Time Eater. The Time Eater reappeared several times after that, flying through the White Space. During one these trips it painfully collided with a Chaos Emerald, before escaping. After Modern Sonic defeated the Egg Dragoon, the Time Eater briefly reappeared and took Modern Dr. Eggman with it.

After this, both Sonics confronted Time Eater in the Center of Time, where the perfected Time Eater appeared. Modern Dr. Eggman then revealed himself as the first pilot of the Time Eater, to which Modern Tails wondered how Eggman could pull it off, before the second pilot is revealed to be Classic Eggman. Modern Eggman then explained his discovery of the Time Eater, his partnership with Classic Eggman and his plans to use the Time Eater to erase Sonic's actions from history and to destroy both Classic and Modern Sonic, thus erasing Sonic from the timeline entirely.

Modern Sonic declared that he takes on Eggman all the time and wins, and taunted him with fact that this time there were two of him to fight. Modern and Classic Dr. Eggman then began assaulting them with the Time Eater, where the Sonics evaded all of its attacks. Modern Dr. Eggman, however, launched the Time Eater's arm into a Time Hole as the two Sonics attacked. The Time Eater then effortlessly beated back both Sonics when they tried to strike it, before the Time Hole opened up behind them and Time Eater's arm emerged from it, squashing the pair.

As the Time Eater got ready to finish them off, however, Sonic's friends arrived and encouraged them both to defeat the Time Eater and the Eggmans. The Chaos Emeralds emerged and the pair transformed into Super Sonic who confronted the Time Eater in another dimension. The pair are eventually victorious in destroying the Time Eater, leaving both Eggmen stranded in the White Space while they and their friends returned to the present day while undoing all of the Time Eater's work.

Space-Time Manipulation
The Time Eater possesses a vast mastery and control over the manipulation of time and space itself. Its time-space manipulation was in fact so advanced that it was able to interfere with alternate timelines such as Crisis City, which is supposed to be removed from the original timeline. Its primary and only known power in its original form, is its ability to obliterate time and space, which allows the Time Eater to erase events and places from history as if they never existed. It is unknown what other powers the Time Eater had in its original form.

In its modified form, the Time Eater displayed several other skills related to its time-space manipulation. The most prominent of these skills was its ability to create "Time Holes", spacial rifts that allows the Time Eater and others to travel through time and space to different locations and points throughout the timeline and going as far as to other planets such as Planet Wisp.

Despite its vast temporal abilities, the Time Eater's ability to travel through time served as a double-edged sword; When moving through time, the Time Eater literally tears space apart by removing places from their timeline, drains them of color and life and sends them to the White Space, a strange world without time. Living creatures which are put into this state experience it as, as Tails describes it, "floating without a body in a black limbo." This process effectively damages the world and throws the universe into chaos, which could bring the end of the world and possibly destroy the fabric of reality.

By building up time energy, the Time Eater can form a seal resembling the interior of a watch which temporarily slows down the flow of time while leaving itself unaffected. In the 3DS version of the game it can also form clock-shaped shields that can block even a Super Sonic Boost. It can also move freely between dimensions as seen in its final battle with Modern and Classic Super Sonic.

Physical Abilities
Besides its supernatural powers, after being modified by Modern and Classic Dr. Eggman, the Time Eater proved itself to be quite powerful in battle, being able to take on two super transformed characters at once.

The Time Eater possesses immense amounts of physical strength. Even in its incomplete form, it was able to easily knock Sonic into unconsciousness with a single swing of its arm. After being completed, the Time Eater was able to effortlessly repel both Classic and Modern Sonic's attacks and knock them out with brute force alone (Eggman even admitted he was holding back the Time Eater's strength) and during the final battle it proved it was able to briefly knock back and immobilize both Classic and Modern Super Sonic when catching them in its grip. It is as well capable of flight, and can move quite fast, even when compared to super transformed character, but is ultimately not as fast as Super Sonic.

As seen in the final battle, the Time Eater can form yellow homing shots in its hands and fire several rows of shots that can track the opponent. It can also perform a move called the "Warping Arm Attack" where it separates up to two of its arms from its body and sends them through time holes to attack the foe. This does not only mean the Time Eater can bring its arms into the close vicinity of the opponent, but it can also select a specific point in the future for it to appear, making this move impossible for the opponent to predict.

The Time Eater is capable of energy projection, allowing it to fire small purple orbs that can immobilize the opponent, form a large, vortex-like laser, manipulate objects in a manner similar to telekinesis or fire up to three small green lasers as seen in the 3DS version. Its arguably most powerful attack is where it summons a giant fireball in the background and fires it at the opponent. This attack is so powerful that it requires the power of two Super Sonics to repel it.

Archie Comics
The Time Eater have appeared in the Archie Comics's Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series and its spin-offs.

The Time Eater's first appearance was in Sonic the Hedgehog #230 as part of the comic's adaptation of Sonic Generations. Following  Sonic Generations'  plot, the Time Eater appeared at Sonic's birthday party, where it kidnapped Sonic's friends, knocked Sonic out and send him to the White Space. Since the setting here was set in another Zone, the events did not completely happen in the comic's main timeline.

Console/PC version
When facing the Time Eater, the player has control of both Classic and Modern Super Sonic (most of the boss battle is done in 3D style). The wormhole is cluttered with several ruin objects from Sonic's history, sometimes slowing Sonic down when he needs to boost. These obstacles can be destroyed with the partner attack. The battle begins with the two chasing Time Eater through a time wormhole, trying to maintain a distance from them. Its most used attack is a wave of homing missiles, aimed for whatever Sonic the player is in control of. But this attack is fairly easy to avoid as it is not very fast and Sonic does not lose rings when he is hit.

It sometimes dives out of the wormhole and into the outer void surrounding it. At this time, the player can switch to Classic Super Sonic's version of the final boss by pressing /, pushing the two hedgehogs outside as well and shifting the camera to 2D. Another of the monster's attacks include warping its upper arms off its body and launching them through special rifts to attack Sonic. But the player can move Sonic away before the hand tries to swat them.

To defeat the Time Eater, the player must boost Sonic into the core of the beast, signaled by a lock-on target when in range. When the core is cracked from the impact, rings begin spewing out and can be collected through boost. After the first two hits, the Time Eater loses its lower body limbs, replaced by black misty smoke. It also has a new attack, a giant laser that charges before firing, which can only be dodged by switching Sonics at the last second. Also, the Time Eater can affect the flow of time and slow down time around both Sonics, letting it build a huge wave of homing attacks before time returns to normal speed. Also, it can shoot out a purple orb that will immobilize one of the Sonics, making a partner attack or switching impossible until the captured Sonic is freed.

Once Time Eater's core has been hit three times, it unleashes its final attack. It launches a giant flaming fireball towards them that is too big to avoid. The only way to counter this is to for the player to press both "L1" and "R1" or "LB" and "RB" buttons at the same time to combine both Super Sonic's powers, bursting through and striking at Time Eater's core for the final blow. Do this the game's storyline is completed.

In the hard mode version of this battle, it is harder to catch up to the Time Eater, there are more obstacles to avoid, and the Time Eater can shoot out three waves of homing attacks instead of one if given enough distance. Plus, it takes longer to strike the core with the last attack.

Nintendo 3DS version
In the 3DS version, the battle is fought differently. The player cannot switch at will between Classic and Modern Super Sonic, and the Time Eater takes eight hits to defeat instead of four. The player also starts with hundred rings.

At the start, the player is in control of Classic Super Sonic. Much like the console version, here, the player must avoid its attacks, which include homing missiles and a sweeping arm attack. After the player manages to avoid these attacks, Classic Super Sonic can attack the Time Eater's core.

The player is automatically switched to Modern Super Sonic. Time Eater flies away from Sonic while launching attacks. The player must boost towards Time Eater. When Super Sonic is close enough, the Time Eater launches itself at Super Sonic, and the player must avoid this attack. When Super Sonic avoids the attack, a chance is given to attack the Time Eater's core by boosting into it.

This is repeated another three times. In each round, the Time Eater adds a new attack (for Classic Super Sonic, a weak laser attack and a much stronger laser burst, and for Modern Super Sonic, a warping arm attack and a clock shield which he must boost through without hitting the clock face's spinning hands or its edges), as well as modifying its existing attacks (such as firing more homing shots, or moving faster with its warping arms).

On the eighth round, Time Eater and the two Super Sonics fall through a wormhole. To finish the battle, the player must boost towards Time Eater, streaking one last time through its core.

Missions (3DS version)

 * Boss Showdown: Defeat Time Eater in 9:00.00!

Trivia

 * This is the only original boss in Sonic Generations since the rest are all re-imaginings of previous bosses.
 * Apparently, the Time Eater can also travel within alternate timelines, as Crisis City appears as one of the stages despite Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) being erased from the timeline and the Bad Future of Stardust Speedway is the stage where Metal Sonic is fought.
 * This is to date the only time Eggman has uncovered a mysterious creature that hasn't later grown out of his control and betrayed him.
 * Due to the fact that Eggman did not technically "create" the Time Eater, it leaves to wonder what gave birth to Time Eater.
 * The scene in the boss trailer showing Time Eater confronting the two Sonics and Tails in Green Hill never happens in the game. They really encounter Time Eater face-to-face in the Center of Time.
 * In the console version, the Time Eater has four arms and three sets of wings, but in the handheld version, he has two arms and one set of wings.
 * This is similar to the Time Eater in the console version after it takes two hits.
 * In the console version, when using Modern Super Sonic, the fight takes place inside the wormhole, and Classic Sonic fights outside. In the 3DS version, the roles are reversed; Modern Sonic fights it outside and Classic Sonic fights inside.
 * The Time Eater bears a heavy resemblance to the Shadow Blot from the game Epic Mickey (as you can see here). They both act as the main antagonist and final boss of the game and they are also consuming the world where the game takes place. He also bears resemblance to Diabound Kernel from the Yu-Gi-Oh series, as both act as guardians for their masters, as well as sharing the same name as the card Time Eater.
 * Every time Time Eater is damaged, the clock and the numerous cogs behind it begin to crumble and look distorted.
 * The Time Eater bears resemblance to Solaris in the way that their weak point is a sphere at the center of its body, they have time travel ability, they are destroying the timeline, and they are so powerful that it took the effort of multiple super-powered characters to defeat.
 * Ian Flynn, head writer for the Sonic the Hedgehog Archie Comics, believes that the Time Eater is remnants of Mephiles which managed to slip through the cracks of time following Mephiles' elimination from the timeline. If this is in fact true, it would mean that the Time Eater is also the remains of Solaris.
 * The Time Eater's face looks very similar to the Violet Void's.
 * The two Super Sonics destroyed the Time Eater in a similar way that Super Sonic and Burning Blaze finished off the Egg Salamander from Sonic Rush
 * In the 3DS version they even switch of like this fight as well with one Sonic handling their respective Eggman.
 * The Time Eater is one of the few major powerful foes who have been fought by more than one super character. the other ones that have this trait are Solaris, the Finalhazard, the Egg Salamander, and the Egg Wizard.
 * In the Nintendo 3DS version of the fight, only one of the two Eggmen is controlling the Time Eater while it's facing one of the Sonics, as one of them says "Leave this one to me!" after the Time Eater gets hit. This is clearly a reference to the final boss of Sonic Rush.
 * During the boss battle, the player can see many remains and chunks from the previous levels floating around the main area where the Time Eater is fought, such as pieces of land from Green Hill and cars and the G.U.N. truck from City Escape. While they don't deal damage when touched, they can get in both Super Sonics' way during a boost and block them.
 * Interestingly, the types of debris that are shown alternate between the flashes of light during the battle: As the fight starts, totem poles and chunks of grass from Green Hill, pieces of pipes, silos of chemical substances and cranes from Chemical Plant and towers and warp points Sky Sanctuary are seen. after the first flash of light, cars and minibuses from Speed Highway, and the the truck from City Escape may be seen. Then, after the next flash of light, destroyed cars from Crisis City, the clock tower from Rooftop Run and ground chunks and machinery from Planet Wisp float around. Other than the fact that nothing is there from Seaside Hill, the debris shown goes from the Classic Era, to the Dreamcast Era, to the Modern Era.
 * In this boss fight Omochao doesn't give you tips, instead Sonic's friends give you tips during the fight.
 * Interestingly, this is the only stage in the game where Classic Sonic can be used in 3D. While Modern Sonic, Classic Sonic flies next to you and you can shoot him in front of you. However, if you switch to Classic Sonic, you fly out of the main area and turn to a 2D perspective.
 * In both versions of the fight, a homing attack icon appears when you get close to the core. Strangely, in the console version, you can't use a homing attack on the Time Eater, while you can in the 3DS Version.
 * The Time Eater's growl before the battle sounds similar to the growl that the Egg Wyvern did before its battle.
 * On the final strike against the Time Eater, if the player releases LB and RB/L1 and R1 while holding them, the music will return back to the battle of the Time Battle and eventually the player is greeted to face the final strike again soon.
 * When finishing off the Time Eater with Classic Sonic (2D), the player can notice that the attack is simply a wall of fire as opposed to a large ball of fire when finishing with Modern Sonic (3D).
 * The words sung in the Modern version of the Time Eater's battle music are "Dominus Tempus", roughly translated from Latin to "Master of Time"; fitting Time Eater's role in the game.
 * Before the rest of Sonic's friends were captured and flung into different timelines in the beginning of this game, it's unknown how Shadow and Silver were sent into the white space by the Time Eater itself. However, they are seen in City Escape and Crisis City as rival bosses each after both Sonics saves both Rouge and Blaze.