Avatar


 * For the Avatar used to represent users in Xbox Live, see Xbox Live Avatar.

The Avatar (アバター), also referred to as the Custom Hero (カスタムヒーロー) and the Custom Character (カスタムキャラクター), is one of the protagonists in Sonic Forces, and a customized character whose appearance is dictated by the player.

An ordinary citizen, the Avatar took part in the war against the Eggman Empire after it began gaining ground. After months of service in the field, the Avatar joined the Resistance as the group's newest recruit. Although initially lacking in courage, their burgeoning sense of heroism allowed them to rise to prominence among heroes like Sonic the Hedgehog, and, in the final days of the war, be a crucial element in helping the Resistance reclaim the world from Dr. Eggman’s domination.

Concept and creation
According to Takashi Iizuka, the idea for the Avatar came about to make a character with a unique gameplay experience to differentiate them from other characters in the Sonic series. While a lot of fans wanted more gameplay variety too, however, they still wanted to play as Sonic, so the designers gave this character (which would become the Avatar) the Wispon to give it a unique gameplay style, and movements with emphasis on high-speed running and jumping that made it feel similar to Sonic. The idea for the Avatar to be a customizable character first began over twenty years ago when Iizuka took notice of all the Sonic-type characters the fans (especially Americans) were creating and sending him via fan-mail. Iizuka wanted to let people do that to some extent, but it was only until Sonic Forces that Sonic Team acquired the skills, people, and technology to make this possible in a Sonic game.

In the opinion of Iizuka, some the hardest things when designing the Avatar were "realizing what kind of characters [they] want to portray in the world." Because the Sonic series already had a lot of animals, the team needed to stay true to that representation, yet make the Avatar unique enough to stand out on their own without alienating them from the existing Sonic cast. The team wanted in particular for the Avatars to have a "plainer" and "unified" look, yet be identifiable with their distinct species and still feel like different, appealing, unique characters, all while looking cool with their customizable accessories. Another rule was that the Avatar could not look cooler than Sonic. The Avatar was originally intended to have an option for their species to be a Dragon, however the option was cancelled.

Appearance
As a custom character, the Avatar's appearance is entirely dictated by the player. While an anthropomorphic animal by default, their species can be one of seven options: bear, bird, cat, dog, hedgehog, rabbit, or wolf. So far, the following can also be customized: upper headgear, middle headgear, lower headgear, gloves, shoes, accessories, bodysuit, and skin color. A multitude of options is given for the player to customize the Avatar in any fashion.

In most promotional material, the Avatar is depicted as a male wolf with red fur and peach skin for his muzzle and the inner portion of his ears. He has four small tufts of fur protruding from both sides at the back of his head, a short bushy tail, pointed ears that curve upwards, orange eyes and pointed fangs. For attire, he wears thick-rimmed black glasses, a military green dome-shaped headset with a black rim and a small black circular-shaped microphone attached to right side of his head. He also wears a three-pouched tan utility belt around his waist, supported by a strap with a black buckle over the abdomen. On his hands, he wears military green gloves with medium-sized cuffs, a black inverted chevron on the front and tan patches on the back. His boots are military green with black tips and tan padded patches on the back. Much like his gloves, the boots are adorned with a black inverted chevron on the front.

Past
The Avatar started out as an ordinary citizen of Sonic's world. Throughout their life, they would hear stories about the adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends, whom the Avatar wanted to be like despite their own cowardice.

Sonic Forces
In Sonic Forces, the Eggman Empire began gaining dominance across the world after Dr. Eggman seemingly killed Sonic the Hedgehog. At some point during the next six months of war between the Eggman Empire and the Resistance, the Avatar began working for the Resistance.

Being too afraid to fight on the front lines, the Avatar took up look-out duty in the City. When the Chaotix arrived, the Avatar observed their organization of the City's defenses for the next few days. When the Avatar considered quitting the fight however, he had to alert the City to an attack from Dr. Eggman and his legion of Egg Pawns. With the Chaotix needing aid with the defenses, the Avatar rushed in, hoping to be of use. However, they could not do any good. When the Egg Pawns then broke through the defenses, the Avatar hid, too afraid to fight. When the Chaotix needed to take down the Egg Pawns' battleship however, the Avatar, seeing a way to help without fighting, grabbed a bomb and fired it, hitting the Egg Pawns' battleship so that it had to retreat. After that, the Avatar was congratulated for their efforts by the Chaotix. From then on, the Avatar promised to do more and become a real hero.

Later on, the Avatar and their squadron got attacked by Infinite, the commander of Eggman's army, who killed all their friends. The Avatar tried standing against Infinite despite their anxiety and doubt, but Infinite saw through their facade. Wanting to enjoy their fear however, Infinite allowed the frightened Avatar to live after they ran away in fear. Eventually making it to the Resistance's HQ in one piece, they joined the Resistance after a couple of months, in spite of the terrified tension among the population. After being introduced to the members, the Avatar received a Burst Wispon from Knuckles.

On their first mission, the Avatar helped steal a space shuttle to reach Sonic with, who turned out to be imprisoned on the Death Egg. After that, they joining the Resistance on their rescue mission. Onboard the Death Egg, the Avatar ended up on the best route to Sonic and managed to instigate his release. Their fear nearly got the better of them though when Egg Pawns swarmed them. After Sonic saved them though, the two returned home in a shuttle. Although their cowardice during the rescue did not sit well with the Resistance, the Avatar was nonetheless send along with Sonic to destroy Eggman's weapon factory. After the attack, the Avatar was sent by Knuckles to rescue civilians from an attack from Eggman's army. Having grown more skilled, they were able to help make the enemy forces retreat, earning them praise from the Resistance. Soon after, the Avatar was sent to investigate Mystic Jungle due to mysterious readings around the area that Sonic and Silver fought Infinite (with Sonic and Silver being unable to investigate themselves as they were still recovering from the aforementioned fight). There, they found a Phantom Ruby prototype. They also found Tails and Classic Sonic (who were themselves present trying to find Sonic), who were brought to the Resistance and revealed that Eggman would have a plan for wiping out the Resistance ready in three days.

When Operation Big Wave began, the Avatar joined the Resistance's attack on Metropolis. However, when Infinite turned the fight around with the Phantom Ruby (the Eggman Empire's secret weapon), the Avatar scrambled to retreat. Along the way, they met Infinite, who tried intimating them. Remembering Sonic's encouraging words however, the Avatar found the courage to fight Infinite. During the fight, the Avatar's Phantom Ruby prototype gave them some protection from Infinite. Once again though, Infinite allowed the Avatar to live so they could swelter in fear before Eggman's began his endgame. After that, the Avatar joined Sonic on a mission to defeat a Metal Sonic replica. After handling the replica, the Avatar and Sonic marked their victory with a fist bump. When the heroes then needed to destroy the Phantom Ruby's power source in order to weaken the weapon, the Avatar provided a distraction for Eggman's forces at Guardian Rock while the Resistance destroyed the power source. Joining then the Resistance on an attack on Eggman, during which they learned that the Phantom Ruby had another power source underneath the Eggman Empire Fortress, the Avatar tried to save Sonic when he was being pulled into Null Space, only to get pulled in with him. Together however, the two broke out and rejoined the Resistance.

The Avatar and the Resistance eventually confronted the Eggman Army in an attempt to break into the Eggman Empire Fortress. It was then that Eggman revealed his endgame: having Infinite drop a sun on them via the Phantom Ruby's power. As the sun fell however, Tails noticed the Avatar's Phantom Ruby prototype, and deduced that they could use it to neutralize the sun. Since the prototype's design only let the Avatar use it, they made their way to the sun and wiped it out, giving the Resistance a fighting chance. After being helped back on their feet by Tails, the Avatar joined Sonic when he fought Infinite, and together they beat him for good. Warned by Eggman that it was not over however, the duo then made their way to the Phantom Ruby's power source and destroyed it, seemingly winning the war. After rejoining their friends however, Eggman revealed that the power source was a decoy and that the real Phantom Ruby had been incorporated into his triumph card: the Death Egg Robot. With the Eggman Army on the rise thanks to the Ruby, the Avatar, Sonic and Classic Sonic fought Eggman. Destroying the robot and the Ruby, the trio ensured the Resistance's victory over the Eggman Empire.

After saying goodbye to Classic Sonic as he returned to his dimension, the Avatar and the Resistance set out to clean up Eggman's remaining forces. When they were done, the Resistance disbanded. Believing others needed their help, the Avatar took their leave too, with their teammates praising their growth upon their departure. The Avatar later shared a goodbye with Sonic before he left. Following Sonic's example, the Avatar then went in pursuit of new adventures.

Personality
The Avatar is an individual with a strong admiration for heroes. Throughout their life, they looked up to people like Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower and Amy Rose, and wanted to be as heroic and cool as them. These dreams shaped the Avatar into a benevolent person whose greatest desire was to help out others. Their ambitions were not very high however; during the beginning of the war with the Eggman Empire, the Avatar mainly stuck to assignments that did not had them confronting enemies head-on. As the Avatar grew from experience though, they found the confidence to try harder and become a real soldier and a real hero.

Early on, the Avatar was a coward with low self-esteem. Even after joining the war against the Eggman Empire, the Avatar chose duties that kept them away from the fighting and allowed them to save themselves when danger arrived, believing on the most part that they would only get in the way of the real heroes. Also, when finding themselves caught in the middle of a life-or-death situation, the Avatar would get overwhelmed by anxiety and self-doubt, eventually to the point where they would give into their fear and allow their actions to be ruled by it. Probably the biggest instance of their cowardice was with their first encounter with Infinite; they primarily hid behind rubble, and, although they attempted to point their Wispon at Infinite, they whimpered in fear and quaked as they did so while also struggling to pick up the Wispon beforehand, and were then ultimately forced down by Infinite's warning shot before being forced to flee at Infinite's insistence. Aware of their own flaws, the Avatar was not proud of their own cowardice and would constantly chide themselves for being a failure.

Regardless of their shortcomings, the Avatar ultimately proved to possess the seeds of great heroism and courage within them; even before developing a greater sense of bravery, the Avatar was able to activate a Phantom Ruby prototype, an object of which requires a strong will for it to be activated, with their innate sense of courage and heroism. These qualities would slowly surface during the war with the Eggman Empire as the Avatar came to have their doubts about themselves disproven by their own accomplishments. Eventually, due to Sonic the Hedgehog's influence, the Avatar ultimately found the inner courage to not give in to fear. From then on, the Avatar would not show hesitation about throwing themselves into danger for the sake of the Resistance's cause and their friends. Their newfound courage was such that they willingly tried to save Sonic from being sucked into Null Space, despite Sonic's insistence that they ran the risk of them being sucked in as well, and later them infiltrating the Eggman Empire Fortress to use their Phantom Ruby prototype to cancel out Eggman's artificial sun.

By the end of the war with the Eggman Empire, the Avatar had grown into an confident, humble, courageous and independent hero ready to make a difference on their own. In addition, thanks to their bond with Sonic, the Avatar had adopted a number of Sonic's traits, including his philosophy about keeping on moving forward no matter what.

A noticeably trait about the Avatar is that they are almost completely mute, rarely uttering more than a few grunts, let alone full sentences.

Powers and abilities
The Avatar is an ordinary person with no special abilities, such as super speed or super strength, nor did they possess any combat skills to begin with. After joining the Resistance however, the Avatar slowly developed proficient skills as a fighter. In fact, near the end of the war with the Eggman Empire, the Avatar managed to fight through an army of robots single handedly in Park Avenue. Also, both Espio and the near-omnipotent Infinite would commend on the Avatar for their growing fighting prowess on different occasions.

While working for the Resistance, the Avatar developed impressive physical skills. These include the ability to run at speeds high enough to let them keep up with Sonic the Hedgehog. However, they are not as fast as Sonic, nor do they have the stamina to keep up with him for long. Besides speed, they also developed high agility, being able to dodge successive energy blasts from Infinite, and immense jumping skills that rival those of Sonic's too. They also gained proficient grappling hook skills, being able to expertly use grappling gear to latch onto targets and swing around. In fact, they are skillful enough with their grappling tool to use it to latch onto foes and pull themselves in for an attack, dodge attacks, make sharp turns at high speed, and safely tie up foes as large as a Death Egg Robot sentinel.

After spending time with Sonic, the Avatar learned the Spin Attack, a technique where they curl into a concussive ball or cutting disk and direct themselves at their targets. With it, the Avatar can shred or burrow through just about any substance given enough speed and hit with enough force to pierce a Death Egg Robot sentinel. They also learned how to envelope themselves in an energy field that lets them accelerate beyond the sound barrier on both the ground and in midair for a short time.

Equipment and weapons
The Avatar wears a wrist-mounted grappling hook which can detach its rope at command. This gear's rope is both long and strong enough to tie up three Death Egg Robot sentinels at once. They also carry around different types of Wispon, a series of customizable gadgets that can harness the power of Wisps and channel their respective Color Powers without causing the Avatar to transform.

Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog is the Avatar's partner. They met when Knuckles told them to rescue Sonic. When Infinite tried to intimidate the Avatar in Metropolis, they followed Sonic's advice that it was their great moment of no surrender. This inspired the Avatar to finally take a stance against Infinite instead of being afraid. Ultimately, the Avatar, along with Sonic, ended up being the champions that would end the war with the Eggman Empire.

Infinite
The Avatar and Infinite had a personal connection, since Infinite was the one responsible for murdering their friends during one of his attacks. Infinite spared the Avatar however simply to satiate his sadistic nature by watching them flee in terror. They later met again in Metropolis, with Infinite trying to intimidate the Avatar, although, due to the word of encouragement from Sonic, they finally chose to fight Infinite instead of giving in to fear. Infinite then tried to kill the Avatar, although due to the Avatar's possession of a Phantom Ruby prototype, they managed to evade the attack, leaving Infinite shocked before finally dismissing the Avatar and leaving them alone. Ultimately, the Avatar along with Sonic, ended up being Infinite's downfall.

Friends/allies

 * Sonic the Hedgehog (partner)
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Amy Rose
 * Silver the Hedgehog
 * Chaotix
 * Vector the Crocodile
 * Espio the Chameleon
 * Charmy Bee
 * Team Dark
 * Shadow the Hedgehog
 * Rouge the Bat
 * E-123 Omega

Enemies

 * Eggman Empire
 * Dr. Eggman
 * Orbot
 * Cubot
 * Infinite

Theme songs
All the Avatar's levels in Sonic Forces feature vocals with electronic, synth instrumentals and lyrics that describe the stage or the Avatar's thoughts, possibly to make up for the character's lack of true dialogue.
 * "Fighting Onward" - Space Port
 * "Nowhere to Run" - Prison Hall
 * "Justice" - Park Avenue
 * "Moonlight Battlefield" - Aqua Road
 * "Virtual Enemies" - Capital City
 * "Set in Motion" - Guardian Rock
 * "Fading World" - Imperial Tower

Trivia

 * During cutscenes, the Avatar can be heard speaking. However, it is only in grunts.
 * Despite having red fur in most promotional material, the wolf type Avatar has teal covered fur in the box artwork of Sonic Forces.
 * The bird type Avatar in the promotional material wears a black T-shirt with teal arrows, but in the game itself, the T-shirt is purple.
 * As shown in the TwitchCon 2017 stream, any accessories can be chosen for the Avatar no matter the gender.
 * The Avatar is referred to as a "child" several times by Infinite and "kid" by several Resistance members, implying they are meant to be quite young.