Silver the Hedgehog

Silver the Hedgehog (シルバー・ザ・ヘッジホッグ, Shirubā za Hejjihoggu) is a character in the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series. He is a white hedgehog who hails from the future. Silver has light silver fur, light tan skin muzzle and inner ears, yellow eyes with black markings at the side of each, two much elongated and quite rigid spines coming out of the back of his head, five upright-pointing spines resting right on his forehead and two smaller arched spines on his back, white furry mane on his chest that extended past his neck somewhat, small, triangular, perked ears somewhat hidden by his head spines, long, shiny black nose, and small arched tail. Silver wears white gloves with gold cuffs and teal markings on the palms and back of the head and navy blue, white, teal-tipped boots with gold collars at the top and a red jewel-like adornment under each collar.

Sonic the Hedgehog
Silver lives in the future. The time period was brought to ruins by the the evil monster Iblis and the force known as the "Flames of Disaster".

Silver and his partner Blaze the Cat battle Iblis every day. However, they can't truly defeat it, for it continues to revive itself after its destruction. Silver meets Mephiles the Dark, who tells him that if he wants to save the future he will have to go back through time and kill the one who is responsible for releasing Iblis into the world:The Iblis Trigger. Silver is convinced that the "Iblis Trigger" is Sonic the Hedgehog and goes back in time to find and destroy him. Shadow the Hedgehog, and Silver use Chaos Control to travel back in time to discover the truth of the Flames of Disaster. While Shadow seals Mephiles in the Scepter of Darkness, Silver watches Elise's father seal the Iblis in Elise. He later gives her his Chaos Emerald for protection before leaving. After telling Blaze that Sonic wasn't their objective, Silver runs off to assist Sonic in rescuing Elise. However, they fail as he sees Elise die in a crash. To save Elise, he helps Sonic travel to the past with Chaos Control. As a form of gratitude, Sonic gives Silver a second Chaos Emerald to use to get back to his own time. After returning to his time to fight Iblis, he attempts to seal Iblis inside himself using the same method as Elise's father. His failure resulted in Blaze sealing Iblis inside herself, and warping herself into another dimension. After he discovers why Mephiles wanted him to kill Sonic, he helps find the remaining Chaos Emeralds to revive Sonic. He later helps Sonic destroy Solaris as Super Silver. However, putting out the Flames of Disaster caused the events of the game to vanish. It is unknown what happened to Silver's world because of this.

Sonic Rivals
Silver is another one of Sonic's rivals, backed by his confirmed playable appearance in Sonic Rivals. He is responding to a distress signal, though he doesn't know who is sending it. He later finds out that Eggman Nega is linked to this distress signal. Silver states that he will bring Eggman Nega back to the future where he belongs. He is also given two alternate costumes. As the events of Sonic the Hedgehog never happened, Silver and Sonic are introduced to each other for the first time.

Sonic and the Secret Rings
Silver is a playable character in the multiplayer mode of Secret Rings, though he has no role in the game's story at all.

Sonic Rivals 2
Silver, along with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Espio, Rouge & Metal Sonic, appears in the sequel to Sonic Rivals: Sonic Rivals 2.[4] He comes from the future once again to save both the past and his own time, somehow by collecting and hiding Chao from Eggman Nega. Espio, on orders from Vector, follows after Silver and eventually the two work together.

Sonic Riders Zero Gravity
Silver is a playable character in the sequel to Sonic Riders, but for a second time he is not involved in the story's plot. He is a Flight Type character and his default gear is Psychic Wave, which can turn into an Air Ride to access new areas.

Sega Superstars Tennis
Silver makes a brief cameo in the Green Hill Zone as a cheering audience member.

Super Smash Bros Brawl
Silver makes a brief cameo as a sticker and a trophy. He is also seen occasionally in the Green Hill Zone level as one of three characters running through the shuttle loop.

Personality
Silver has "a strong sense of justice" and it is this personality trait that motivates him to head back into the past to correct the future. Also, he believes in standing up for those who can't stand up for themselves. This led him to accept Blaze when everybody else was teasing her for her pyrokinetic abilities. Although seemingly serious in nature, an interview states that Silver is young and slightly immature. Blaze actually comments on this, claiming that he is naive several times. Before sacrificing herself she comments that this is what she always liked about him.

Abilities
Silver, in his first appearance, possessed no superspeed like Sonic and Shadow. However starting with the restart of Sonic Rivals, he is able to run at an equal speed to them and can access Spin Dash and Homing attack. This is believed that in his original timeline, with lava everywhere, Silver could not run anywhere, so he used his psychic powers. He can also manipulate himself, levitating in the air and even zooming at high speeds. In Sonic Rivals, he is also capable of using his ESP to confuse his enemies. Like Sonic and Shadow, Silver has the ability of Chaos Control. He is also able to transform into a Super Form.

Trivia
Official concept artwork released by Sonic Cult shows an early design of Silver. The main differences from the current final design include a long orange amount of chest hair around his neck, and bright blue eyes. His boots are also quite different. It is unknown however whether Yuji Uekawa, the main character designer of the Sonic series, actually produced the artwork.

More concept art of Silver was released in an interview with IGN, which was generally less similar to his current design. Notable designs include a hedgehog wearing a futuristic headset and another with markings on its hair. It is also revealed that Silver was originally named "Venice" after Venice, Italy, the place Soleanna is based on. He was also considered to be a mink, but that idea was later abandoned. Silver is said to have gone through over 50 designs before reaching his final look.

The bridge in Silver's theme song bears a resemblance to the Green Hill Zone music. Composer Lee Brotherton stated that this was not intended, but is appreciated.

Publically, Silver is one of the top Sonic characters in the series, ranking somewhere between Sonic and Knuckles.

Interestingly, even though Silver never debuted story-wise on a Nintendo system, Super Smash Bros. Brawl references the events of Sonic Next Gen on Silver's trophy.

Despite the voice debate that has been going on since 4Kids took over voice roles, his English higher-pitched voice is regarded canon among fans, however, some fans would prefer for him a deeper voice.

Recently, it has been confirmed that Silver is set to be introduced in the Archie Sonic Comic Book series. A fan asked in the Sonic Grams section (Sonic #190) if Silver would appear, and the reply was "Sooner than you think." Later, a plot synoposis of Sonic #195 released news that a new character was going to "finally" make his debut in this issue. Many fans have since speculated that Silver is this new character.

Relationships

 * Blaze the Cat - She is from the same time as Silver. Although Blaze is shy around strangers and strict with herself, she works well with Silver as a partner and secretly harbors strong feelings for him.  Blaze views Silver as a younger brother, and they constantly work together to fight Iblis in the future.  Silver is also emotionally dependent upon Blaze.  Before she vanishes from their world at the end of Silver's story in Sonic the Hedgehog, Blaze reveals that she always liked how naive Silver was. Due to the Retcon, it is unknown if they still know each other.


 * Amy Rose - In Sonic the Hedgehog, Amy initially mistakes Silver for Sonic, but they then team up to help each other find the people they are looking for. They are unaware that they are both looking for the same person.  Amy's alliance with Silver was only temporary.  She became his friend and promised to help him find the "Iblis Trigger", but left him upon finding out that he intended to kill Sonic.  Because of the events at the end of Sonic the Hedgehog, Silver and Amy never met, but there is a chance they may recognize each other as one may remember some of the events.


 * Sonic the Hedgehog - In Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic is referred to by Mephiles as being the "Iblis Trigger" that set "Iblis" free years before Silver's time. Silver is bent on stopping Sonic from unleashing Iblis onto the world but, over time, Silver begins to draw a liking to Sonic. After they team up at the end of their fight against Solaris, Sonic convinces Elise to destroy the Flames of Disaster, which causes Sonic and Silver to never meet.  In Sonic Rivals, he meets up with Sonic for the first time ever since the incident. Sonic first notices Silver's "attitude" when they first meet, and they don't exactly see eye-to-eye at first.  In the end, the two help each other out during the last stage of the game. As they meet again in Sonic Rivals 2, Silver is more competitive towards Sonic and his partner, Miles "Tails" Prower.


 * Mephiles the Dark - In Sonic the Hedgehog, Silver's frustration at Iblis's constant resurrections is used against him by Mephiles to ensure Iblis release in the past. Mephiles informs Silver that in the past Sonic served as the "Iblis Trigger", and uses his powers to send Silver and Blaze back in time in order to assassinate Sonic before this can occur.  In reality, Sonic's death would serve as the catalyst.  Silver initially believes Mephiles's lies, but his encounters with Sonic and the others begin to make him question Mephiles's intentions.


 * Shadow the Hedgehog - Silver and Shadow are both rivals in Sonic Rivals, and they both also appear in Sonic the Hedgehog. In Sonic the Hedgehog, when Silver first meets Shadow, he mistakes him for Mephiles.  This and other events help Silver learn more about Mephiles and his intentions.  In Sonic Rivals, Shadow, at first, does not trust Silver's instincts about Dr. Eggman's real persona.  After realizing that Silver's speculations were right, the two form a bond and they help each other in the final stage of the game.


 * Espio the Chameleon - Before they met, Espio was given an assignment by Vector the Crocodile ,via communicator, to find out information about the recent Chao-Nappings. As Espio walks on by, Silver is seen and he and Vector get suspicious. Silver spots him and asks if he has seen any chao around, and Espio doesn't answer. Silver then leaves, but Espio is on pursuit. Silver is annoyed at first until they join forces to battle the team of Shadow the Hedgehog and his partner, Metal Sonic. The both of them eventually team up and become partners in an effort to defeat Eggman Nega and his traps. Once they managed to comlete their mission, the two bid each other farewell, in hopes of meeting each other in the future.


 * Knuckles the Echidna - Silver and Knuckles have a somewhat rivalry with each other. Sometimes, they don't mind about each others companionship in missions, but other times, they have heated battles with one another, similar to how Sonic and Knuckles used to battle each other. Unlike most Sonic characters, Silver is one of the very few to challenge him to fights. Silver has an almost constant word battle with Knuckles, which always makes him angry starting fights.

Theme Song

 * Sonic the Hedgehog (2006): "Dreams of an Absolution" - Lee Brotherton