Metal Sonic

"There is only one Sonic. Sonic!"

- Metal Sonic.

Metal Sonic (メタルソニック) is the evil "robotic counterpart" of Sonic the Hedgehog, created by Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. As well as resembling Sonic, he can also perform many of Sonic's moves, including his homing attack. Metal Sonic is always on the dark side throughout the series except Sonic Rivals 2, where he is one of the "heroic" playable characters.

Sonic CD
The first appearance of Metal Sonic was in Sonic CD for the Sega CD console. In this game, he is under the control of Dr. Robotnik and is sent back in time to change the past so that Dr. Robotnik can rule the future. Later, he kidnaps Amy Rose, who had been following Sonic. In the Stardust Speedway Zone, he challenges Sonic to a race rather than a traditional boss battle, with Robotnik on their trail and chasing Sonic with a death laser. Periodically, he uses one of two moves - if Sonic is ahead of him, he will explosively accelerate with the V. Max Overdrive Attack, which will make him go four times as fast temporarily and attempt to blast through Sonic. If Sonic is behind him, he'll instead use the Ring Spark Field, which is an electric attack that has a wider range but requires him to decelerate.

If Sonic does not reach the goal in time, the door will close as Robotnik kills Sonic and the robotic duplicate mimics Sonic's smug finger wave. If Sonic succeeds, the door will close on Metal Sonic, and he will humorously lose a life as Robotnik retreats, allowing Sonic to finally rescue Amy and proceed to the last zone. In the Japanese manual, it was claimed that he had all the abilities of the original Sonic and more, but in-game he does not demonstrate this.

Knuckles' Chaotix
Metal Sonic's second major appearance was in Knuckles' Chaotix, where he attempts to absorb the Chaos Rings' powers to wreak havoc in the Newtrogic High Zone. Once again, he has an unorthodox boss battle in which the goal is to stop his machine so it lands on a "damage" mark. After being defeated by the Chaotix, he is seen leaving with Robotnik. This occasion also featured his first supposed power up; a massive, red version of himself called Metal Sonic Kai appears right afterwards. In the bad ending, this monstrosity destroys the island.

Sonic Drift 2
Metal Sonic appeared as a playable character. He is the only newcomer that was around but not included in the original Sonic Drift.

Sonic R
Metal Sonic is an unlockable, playable character. He plays like an alternate version of Sonic, but is not as enhanced as Super Sonic.

Sonic the Fighters
Metal Sonic appears as the penultimate boss character. In this appearance, he demonstrates not only a powerful laser-type move that emits from the hole in his body, but also borrows certain moves from other playable characters. Another version, called Mecha Sonic Model No. 29 (or "Rocket Metal"), appears in the intro.

Sonic Triple Trouble
Metal Sonic appears as one of the surprise final bosses Sonic or Tails must face. Unlike Sonic CD, it is not a race; it is an actual battle, though Metal Sonic uses his flight and evasion to attack. After being defeated, he wanders off and isn't seen for the rest of the game.

Sonic Adventure
Metal Sonic had a cameo in Sonic Adventure , inside a tube in one of Dr. Robotnik's hideouts along with a second model of Mecha Sonic from Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Sonic Adventure 2/ Sonic Adventure 2: Battle
His next appearance was as an unlockable multiplayer character in Sonic Adventure 2, and subsequently a standard multiplayer character in the GameCube remake, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. In the Dreamcast version, he finally demonstrated the ability to act as Sonic, though his moves this time were a carbon copy of Shadow's. Hence, he could perform Chaos Control using ring energy. He would learn a stronger version of this technique in Sonic Heroes. In the GameCube version, each 2P character is made more unique, thus he has his own attributes. For one, he can grind faster than Sonic, Shadow, and Amy. He can also project a Black Shield, which is similar to the Ring Spark Field he had in Sonic CD. The drawback is that he has no longer has any other special attacks of his own, though the Black Shield can protect against the attacks of his opponents. Metal Sonic cannot maneuver while using the Black Shield, but he does maintain his momentum and can exceed max speed when using it on a dash panel.

Sonic Adventure DX
He then appeared as a gift for getting all of the Emblems in the GameCube remake of Sonic Adventure. One could then play as Metal Sonic in Sonic's stages. Metal Sonic essentially acted as an alternate skin for Sonic; in fact, his playable model is very much made in Sonic's image, and is very different from the Metal Sonic that can be seen in the Mystic Ruins Base. Another oddity is that this playable version of Metal Sonic can drown. Strangely enough, Dr. Robotnik calls him Sonic during boss battles.

Sonic Pinball Party
Appears as an opponent in the Story Mode.

Sonic Heroes
He appeared as the main antagonist in Sonic Heroes. After turning against Doctor Eggman and assuming his disguise he copies the physical data (and/or abilities) of Sonic, Shadow, Froggy and Chocola to assume his ultimate form, Metal Madness, and later Metal Overlord. This not only increased Metal Sonic's power, but gave him shape-shifting abilities and a new look (a cape, elf-like shoes and longer spines on his head), dubbed Neo Metal Sonic. He manages to achieve this through the use of Chocola, since Chao have a connection to Chaos, from Sonic Adventure, and Froggy, who had Chaos' tail in Sonic Adventure from swallowing a chaos emerald. In his Metal Overlord form, he transforms into a mechanical dragon-like entity, with one eye over the other, strangely. After he is defeated by Team Super Sonic in his Metal Overlord form, he reverts to his original form. Sonic then challenges Metal Sonic to a future rematch and races away. Metal Sonic passes out cold and is lifted off the ground by Omega, who exchanges a glance with Shadow. What they have in mind for the metallic hedgehog is never told. At some point, Eggman reobtains him and reprograms him to be obedient. Strangely, Metal Sonic did not appear in the following game, Shadow the Hedgehog, and was not even mentioned in it, despite the game being a sort of "continuation" of Heroes.

Sonic Gems Collection
Appears on the box art and final "Congratulations" image.

Sonic Rivals
Metal Sonic appears seemingly reprogrammed by Eggman Nega to serve him and stop Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow and Silver from stopping him. Metal Sonic is also playable and can be unlocked by either completing story mode with every character, or by collecting the Metal Madness, Metal Overlord, and Neo Metal Sonic cards. Metal Sonic's signature move is called "Copy Cat" where he uses his opponent's signature move.

Sonic Rivals 2
Metal Sonic returns, this time he is playable from the start. Reprogrammed by Dr. Eggman, Metal Sonic appears as a mindless servant, not able to talk himself (save for various mechanical noises); however Eggman can talk through Metal via a communicator. Despite not being able to talk, Metal can still hear and follow orders. Metal is sent out by Eggman and teams up with Shadow to stop Eggman Nega from releasing the Ifrit, a destructive monster from an alternate dimension. The cutscenes involving him occasionally glimpse into his thought process, showing he's capable of prioritizing goals. In Sonic Heroes, while under his Neo Metal form, it is shown he is able to speak. In Sonic Rivals 2, Eggman Nega makes his own version of Metal Sonic, Metal Sonic 3.0.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Metal Sonic appears as a collectible Sticker.

SEGA Superstars Tennis
In the Scrap Brain Zone court, Metal Sonic is standing on the side, spectating the match.

Mario And Sonic At The Olympic Winter Games
Metal Sonic is a playable character in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. He is a speed type and rivals with another new character, Bowser Jr. Metal Sonic tries to stop Sonic, Mario and friends in the DS Adventure Tour.

Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing
Metal Sonic is the first official downloadable character in Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing (who isn't an alternate version of an existing character).

Sonic the Hedgehog 4
There is a rumor said that Metal Sonic will be seen in the credits.

Other Sonic Robots
''Note - Some early material refers to Metal Sonic as Mecha Sonic. This has long since been phased out.''

Another robot often confused with Metal Sonic is the Sonic robot from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, called Mecha Sonic in Japan ("Mecha" is a Japanese word meaning "Machine" or "mechanical") and Silver Sonic in the western comics. There have been much confusion about whether the name "Mecha Sonic" really is an official name or not, but it was in fact mentioned in both the original Japanese Sonic the Hedgehog 2 manual and the Japanese version of Sonic Jam (though since it only means "Machine" or "mechanical" it still doesn't prove to be its real name). This presumed prototype did not have Metal's painted blue color and was also very clunky compared to the sleeker and generally more Sonic-like Metal Sonic.

Later on in Sonic & Knuckles, another Sonic robot appeared and attacked both Sonic and Knuckles. It too was called "Mecha Sonic" in the Japanese version of Sonic Jam, but isn't referred to at all in American manuals. Against Sonic and Tails, it appeared three times in Sky Sanctuary Zone - twice in machines Dr. Eggman had used in Sonic the Hedgehog (Green Hill Zone Act 3) and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Metropolis Zone Act 3) and once in a one-on-one fight. Against Knuckles it fought one-on-one, as in the final fight with Sonic and Tails, but in the second phase of the battle he used the Master Emerald to go Super (much like Sonic can go Super and become Super Sonic) for brief periods of time.

Another robot, unnamed in the game but called Silver Sonic II in the Archie Comics, appeared in a stasis tube in Sonic Adventure.

Whether these "Mecha" Sonics really are different robots, or if they are in fact one and the same that gets rebuilt whenever he is destroyed (like Metal Sonic) is a source of much debate among fans, as there is no official material that states anything about this.

Mecha Sonic returned to his 16-bit Sonic the Hedgehog 2 incarnation in Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure as the boss of Aerobase Zone. It is almost identical to its 16-bit counterpart except it has the added ability to dash backwards, like it did in Sonic & Knuckles.

In Sonic Rivals 2, Metal Sonic finds himself a new rival: Metal Sonic Version 3.0, Eggman Nega's personal copy of Metal Sonic. Metal Sonic has an unlockable costume based on him called "Mach 3.0". Metal Sonic Version 3.0 looks just like the real Metal Sonic, but is colored black and yellow, similar to Gemerl.

Personality
Metal Sonic is aggressive and very cold hearted. For a long time he more or less acted as Eggman's slave, but after turning against his master in Sonic Heroes it became clear he is actually a very controlling person, who views himself as superior to others and wishes to rule over them. He is also completely obsessed with the idea that he is the better Sonic. In Sonic Heroes he even goes as far as calling Sonic "my loathsome copy", as well as desperately shouting "I am the real Sonic!" when he is defeated by Team Super Sonic. He also says "Sonic, I was created for the sole purpose of destroying you", near the middle of the fight, raising questions as to how Metal Sonic can both believe himself to be the real Sonic and at the same time acknowledge his existence as a mechanical copy of Sonic.

However, in Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie, his personality is slightly different. He seems to be rather sane and acts rather solo towards the end than compared with himself in Sonic Heroes. Nearing the end, he falls into magma after an epic battle with Sonic. Sonic attempts to save him, but Metal does not accept, replying "there is only one Sonic". He is then destroyed in the magma, and this implies that Metal, though he was programmed for evil and reprogrammed by Tails, thinks on his own. It seems that his programming from both eggman and tails was overwritten upon impact. It was also stated by Tails that Metal Sonic received Sonic's personality traits and memories when Sonic's data was transferred into Metal.

Outer Armor
Strength Enhanced Navy Blue Metal Tektite.

Main Computer
Artificial Intelligence ROBOTNIK Custom Chip.

Internal CPU has a conversation system capable of high mathematical logic enactment. At the slightest sign of danger, the neuron connections simultaneously inform each section of the body to correspond. In short, this allows him to react quickly to certain situations.

Sub Computer
The power control system is governed by the Neo Super FX DSP Chip (which has a 5 link system connecting to each section of the body). The TV picture imaging compensation unit is the Next Risk Chip Series 3 Model (each eye has an 8 link system utilizing RGB imaging).

Main Engine
255 cc, 4 Valve Organ Fusion Engine

Maximum Output: 55ps/6800rpm Maximum Torque: 7.54 kg-m/4000rpm

Secondary Engine
Tesla Power Coil, which produces electricity by means of electro-magnetic induction Maximum Output: 256kW

Note: In Sonic Rivals 2, Metal Sonic is apparently powered by a Chaos Emerald.

Abilities
Being a robotic clone of Sonic, Metal Sonic has access to many of Sonic's powers and abilities. He can utilize the Spin Dash (albeit a far more deadly circular saw variation) and the Homing Attack, and, thanks to the rocket in his back, move at speeds similar to those of Sonic himself.

He can achieve 4 times the accelerating speed of "early" Sonic when the circuits are overloaded. (Metal Sonic was possibly created before Robotnik knew about Sonic's Spindash and Super Peelout techniques.) When the energy overloads the circuitry, blue-white sparks spout from Metal Sonic. The reaction is called "V. Maximum Overdrive Attack" and its power can penetrate any substance.

However, the V. Maximum Overdrive Attack cannot be sustained because of its unfavorable cost performance and potential to destroy Metal Sonic himself. In addition, Metal Sonic can also use his radiation attack called Ring Spark Field, but this also has its drawbacks. This attack affects speed, since electric power is released to the outside.

In addition to Sonic's abilities, Metal has numerous personal capabilities. He can fire laser blasts from the cannon in his chest, fly by utilizing the rocket in his back, stretch his arms and legs to great lengths and strike from a distance, generate powerful electricity from his body, and generate a diamond-shaped force field (dubbed the "Black Shield") to protect himself.

His most powerful and impressive ability is that he can scan other characters, copy their life data into himself, and immediately and flawlessly replicate not only their abilities, but also form himself to look and sound exactly like them (this is how he tricked everyone into believing he was Eggman in Sonic Heroes and also the reason Team Rose believed Sonic to have Froggy and Chocola with him in that same game). His acquired abilities are listed below:

Using the data he acquired from Sonic, Shadow, and Chaos, as well as parts of Eggman's other machines, he is able to transform into Metal Madness, a superpowerful version of himself resembling a metal Perfect Chaos with a grenade launcher and flamethrower, and then into Metal Overlord, where he gains wings in addition to the other parts. Eggman states that he is so powerful in this state that they have a slim chance of beating him, even with all seven Chaos Emeralds.
 * Chaos Control from Shadow and Sonic
 * Super-strength from Knuckles and Big
 * Shapeshifting (in a manner similar to the T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgment Day) from Chaos
 * Speed from Sonic, Amy, Espio, and Shadow

Sonic the Comic
In the United Kingdom's official Sonic publication, Sonic the Comic, "Metal Sonic" was relegated to the character's title, and Sonic's robot double was redubbed with the name of "Metallix" (hence, he was "Metallix, the Metal Sonic").

Metallix first appeared in the magazine's adaptation of Sonic CD, in which it was destroyed by Sonic. However, it was later revealed that this first Metallix was merely one of a vast brotherhood of identical robots, known collectively as the Brotherhood of Metallix. Ruled by a giant red-and-gold Emperor Metallix, the Brotherhood captured the Omni-Viewer, allowing them to travel back in time, and erase Doctor Robotnik from history. Since it had been Robotnik's assistant Grimer who built the Metallix robots, and Robotnik had contributed only a self-destruct mechanism, the Brotherhood was able to conquer Mobius, leaving Sonic in the unenviable position of having to travel back in time and ensure that Robotnik existed. With the timeline back in place, Sonic was forced to ally with Robotnik to defeat the Brotherhood of Metallix once and for all.

Sonic the Hedgehog Archie Comic
Metal Sonic first appeared in issue #25, the Sonic CD adaptation, in which he was incorrectly named Mecha Sonic. He raced Sonic as part of one of Robotnik's traps, but was destroyed at the end of the issue.

Metal Sonic returned in the adaptation of the game Knuckles' Chaotix. He was transformed into a giant red version of himself by a "Power Gem," but was destroyed by a similarly empowered Knuckles.

Metal Sonic's next appearance was in a two-part storyline in issues #86 and 87. He had rebuilt himself by the power of the Power Gem embedded in him, and boasted improved powers and a new design. He captured Tails while he was gathering firewood in the forest in which the Freedom Fighters were stranded. Metal Sonic confronted Sonic, then made him race for his friend's life to the top of the soon to erupt Mt. Mobius volcano, where Tails was tied. Despite Metal Sonic's attacks along the way, Sonic made it to the summit of Mt. Mobius just as the lava began to rise. Though it seemed like they were doomed, Sonic and Tails refused to abandon one another, showing Metal Sonic that there was more to life than power. Metal Sonic held back the lava for them and Sonic and Tails managed to escape, but Metal Sonic was destroyed in the effort. (This is similar to the Sonic OVA where Metal Sonic is destroyed at the end by lava)

A year later, Metal Sonic was re-created from scratch by Eggman as part of a storyline involving a 3-way battle between himself, Shadow, and Sonic.

At one point, he was teleported to other worlds, along with Shadow, and as the two faced off, they meet the characters from Sonic X, Blaze the Cat and Marine the Ratcoon, and Shadow and Blaze, with some help from Marine, ultimately join forces and destroy Metal Sonic.

Animation
Metal Sonic also starred in the OVA as Sonic's main rival.. In the anime, they had a mind link and were able to hear each other's thoughts. He's depicted being more powerful then Sonic in this incarnation, besting him whenever they fought. Near the end of the movie, Tails reprogrammed him to be on Sonic's side, but Metal was destroyed soon after.

Metal Sonic is seen racing Sonic in the ending animation for Sonic CD.

Metal Sonic has never made an appearance in any of the Sonic television series. However, there was a robotic Sonic piloted by a rat in the episode "Pseudo-Sonic" from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. Metal Sonic was also among the various candidates fans believed to have the red eyes seen at the end of the canceled Sonic the Hedgehog series, before it was revealed by the creator that they were Ixis Naugus'.

Theme Songs
What I'm Made Of...- Crush 40, played during the battle against Metal Overlord

Never Let It Go (Death Egg's Eye), played during the battle against him in Sonic the Fighters.

Metal Sonic - Howard Drossin, from the Virtual Sonic album.

Look-a-like - Riu Konaka, From the Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie

Memorable Quotes

 * "All Life Form Data.....Successfully Copied."-Neo Metal Sonic after he copies the data of Sonic, Knuckles and Tails after they defeated 'Dr. Eggman' in Sonic Heroes.
 * "Ultimate Life-Form Data....Has Been Copied."-Neo Metal Sonic after he copies the data of Shadow after Team Dark defeated 'Dr. Eggman' in Sonic Heroes.
 * "Chaos Data... has been copied"
 * "It's no use....but why can't I defeat you...?"-Neo Metal Sonic says after his defeat before transforming back into Metal Sonic in Sonic Heroes.
 * "You're all useless now that I've copied all of your data" -Metal Madness to Team Chaotix at the start of battle in Sonic Heroes.
 * "This victory shall soon turn into Despair!" -Metal Madness says to Team Chaotix after being beaten in Sonic Heroes.
 * "Long time no see Sonic, My loathsome copy."-Metal Overlord before starting his battle with Team Sonic with Super Sonic leading the team in Sonic Heroes.
 * "Why?! I had it all! I am the ultimate overlord, Metal Sonic! I am the real Sonic!"-Metal Overlord after being defeated by Super Sonic, Tails and Knuckles in Sonic Heroes.
 * "Even the Ultimate Life-Form can't stop me!"-Metal Madness during Team Dark's part of the battle in Sonic Heroes.
 * "How appropiate to have a robot overlord rule a robot kingdom" -Metal Madness to Team Dark after being beaten by them in Sonic Heroes
 * "I'll crush you!"-Metal Overlord after picking up one of Eggman's ships in and before throwing at Team Sonic in Sonic Heroes.
 * "There is only one Sonic..."-Metal Sonic says before being melted away in lava in Sonic the Hedgehog The Movie.
 * "All living things kneel before your master!"-Neo Metal Sonic says before starting his transformation of Metal Overlord in Sonic Heroes.
 * Chaos Control! -When Metal Overlord uses Chaos Control in the boss fight.


 * "I was created for the sole purpose of destroying you. But I can never seem to defeat you. That is why I transformed my body with my own hands."- To Super Sonic in the boss fight
 * "See me as I am, no longer afraid of anything! I shall become the ultimate overlord, ruling as the world's most supreme being!" - To Super Sonic in Sonic Heroes


 * "But that was the past. Now you're nothing but a speck of dust to me" - To Super Sonic in Sonic Heroes


 * "Burn to DEATH!"- when using his flamethrower against Team Rose/Chaotix/Dark

Trivia

 * Emerl's ability to copy others attacks was likely inspired from Metal Sonic himself.
 * Having a Metal Sonic 3.0 being shown in Sonic Rivals 2, it is unknown which of the multiple previous versions of Metal Sonic are versions 1.0 and 2.0. It could be possible that Metal Sonic 3.0 is an enhanced model of Metal Sonic from the future, since Eggman Nega is from the future in these games. Although the situation is different in the Archie universe, as the original Metal Sonic made by Dr. Ivo Robotnik was 1.0, and the other Metal Sonics made by his alternate counterpart, Dr. Eggman Robotnik, were all 2.0.
 * It is possible that Rocket Metal is an upgrade of Metal Sonic (or a precursor, considering his somewhat more uncomplicated design).
 * Sonic Rivals 2 was the first Sonic game where Metal Sonic has done some heroic deeds (by helping Shadow saving the world from the Ifrit then giving Shadow the Chaos Emerald in order to get Shadow out of the Ifrit's World). It was also the 2nd Sonic game where Metal Sonic is playable from the start.
 * GameDaily placed Metal Sonic 13th on their "Top 25 Video Game Robots" list, describing him as Dr. Eggman's "greatest creation" and praising the strength of his abilities.
 * The only time Metal Sonic appeared in animation was Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie but his true first time being animated was in the closing animation for Sonic CD (both of which have a similar art style).
 * Metal Overlord is most likely to be Metal's most powerful form.
 * The technical specifications given above abide by most, if not all, current physics behind robotics.
 * Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Winter Games is Metal Sonic`s first time playable on the DS & Wii as well his first time on a Nintendo Handheld console.
 * In Sonic Heroes, Metal Sonic denied that he was a copy of Sonic and said, "Long time no see Sonic, My loathsome copy" and when he was defeated he said, "Why, I had it all! I am the ultimate overlord, Metal Sonic. I am the real Sonic."
 * In Sonic Colors one of the planets is shaped as Metal Sonic.
 * Metal Sonic might be Sonic's most powerful enemy because in Sonic Heroes it takes 9 characters and 3 super forms to defeat him, and it wasn't completely destroyed.
 * Metal Sonic is one of the few villans to survive a final boss battle with Super Sonic.
 * Though Metal is playable in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, but in DS version, he is a boss character.

Gallery
For more images, see: Metal Sonic/Artwork