Uber Caterkiller

The Uber Caterkiller is a character that appears in Sonic Mania. It is a giant variant of the Caterkiller model that were used to intercept Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. So far, only two known units of this robot have appeared.

Appearance
Based on the common caterpillar, the Uber Caterkillers are basically giant versions of the Caterkillers with design elements borrowed from the Bead Worm Boss added to it. Surmised, these robots are made up of ten giant pink spheres, with the one up front acting as the head. The head sphere has a mouth with sharp teeth, golden antennas on the side, cartoonish eyes with rectangular black pupils, and a glass dome covering their scalp. The rest of their spheres have yellow underbellies and gray spikes covering them.

History
Two Uber Caterkillers attacked Sonic, Tails and Knuckles shortly after their arrival in the Mirage Saloon Zone. After being separated from Knuckles and forced through a horde of Badniks, Sonic and Tails (while riding the Tornado) met the Heavy Magician, who turned a RattleKiller into an Uber Caterkiller that attacked the duo. Fortunately, the duo managed to destroy it. Meanwhile, Knuckles overcame another Uber Caterkiller that attacked him while he tried catching up to his friends.

Powers and abilities
The Uber Caterkillers are super-fast burrows despite their size, capable of moving through sand like it is water and reaching extreme heights when leaping out of it. Their bodies are also covered in spikes, making it impossible to touch the Uber Caterkillers while their spikes protrude.

Like the common Caterkiller, the Uber Caterkiller can detach its numerous spiked segments from each other. Unlike their predecessors however, Uber Caterkillers can separate their body segments at will and throw them like massive projectiles.

Sonic & Tails
The Uber Caterkiller is one of the mini-bosses of Mirage Saloon Zone and the fourteenth overall boss of Sonic Mania. It is with fought with Sonic or Tails at the end of their playthrough of Mirage Saloon Zone Act 1, where the Heavy Magician turns an ordinary RattleKiller into the Uber Caterkiller.

Boss guide
This entire battle is fought aboard the Tornado. The battle begins when the Heavy Magician appear and make a RattleKiller appear out of her hat, which then turns into the Uber Caterkiller. Throughout the battle, the Uber Caterkiller attacks the player by first burrowing through the sand in the background and then leaping at them, like a Sandworm. These leaps can come from either the back, the front or the sides of the screen. However, the player can easily track the Uber Caterkiller when it digs through the sand.

To damage the Uber Caterkiller, the player must attack its head when it is directly above the Tornado; hittings its underbelly will do no harm, and hitting its back will only damage the playable characters. After landing a total of six hits, this boss will be destroyed, and the player can clear the Act.

Knuckles
The Uber Caterkiller is one of the mini-bosses of Mirage Saloon Zone and one of the fourteenth overall bosses of Sonic Mania. It is with fought with Knuckles at the end of his playthrough of Mirage Saloon Zone Act 1.

Boss guide
Upon arriving in the boss arena, the Uber Caterkiller will rise up from the ground like a tower and begin the battle. During the battle, the Uber Caterkiller attacks throwing its body segments at Knuckles. The first one will bounce across the arena, the second will roll straight across it, and the third will bounce across the area like the first one. For each body segment this boss detaches however, its head, which is its weak point, gets closer to the ground. It is after the third body segment that it the head touches the ground, which is when the player must attack it. However, this must be done quick, as the Uber Caterkiller will then replace its body segments and begin the cycle anew.

After landing six hits, the Uber Caterkiller will be finished, and the player will be able to complete the Act.

Trivia

 * The Uber Caterkiller is based on the Bead Worm Boss from Sonic Chaos. The boss fight against it in Knuckles' edition of Mirage Saloon Zone also proceeds like the Bead Worm Boss's.