Biolizard

The Biolizard (バイオリザード), also known as The Prototype of the Ultimate Life Form, is a character and semi-final boss that appears in Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. He was the first prototype of the Ultimate Lifeform created by Gerald Robotnik during Project Shadow in an attempt to create an immortal being, but he was far too dangerous and flawed. After the final version of the Ultimate Life Form, Shadow the Hedgehog, was created, the Biolizard was encapsulated by GUN, but was later used by Gerald Robotnik as a part of his plan to destroy the earth from beyond the grave to avenge his dead granddaughter, Maria Robotnik.

Early Life
The Biolizard was conceived more than fifty years prior to the events of Shadow the Hedgehog. The by then-President of United Federation had initiated a secret government project known as "Project Shadow" that was intended to create an "Ultimate Life Form" for humanity to research immortality with and create an "immortality formula" for war. The project was lead by Professor Gerald Robotnik who, despite finding this project unethical, hoped to use the immortality research from the project to develop a cure for an incurable and fatal disease afflicting his granddaughter, Maria Robotnik.

The Biolizard was created by Gerald onboard the Space Colony ARK as the first prototype for the Ultimate Life Form and was made after the image of a lizard. At 12:30 A.M. on the 27th of January, the Biolizard was successfully brought to life, with his eternal engine and Chaos Control-inducing organ working normally. However, because the measurements of the experiment were higher than expected, the Biolizard was moved to the Central Done for further tests.

As he grew, the Biolizard showed many of the researchers' desired traits, including regeneration, restoration, and self-reproduction, but he required a life support system fueled by Chaos Drives to sustain himself. Over time, the Biolizard proved too flawed. Besides having an unexpected and exponentially fast growth rate (growing to be 2,7m long and weighting 350kg in just a coupe of days) that strained his vital organs' control parts, he possessed a mind of a primitive animal, reacted violently to the Chaos Emeralds' power, and was too weak to walk at that time. As such, it was required to keep him under observation. Over time, the Biolizard became unruly and hard to control, causing many problems onboard the ARK. In the end, the Biolizard was abandoned when Gerald, with the aid of the alien Black Doom, produced a more advanced being: Shadow the Hedgehog.

Eventually, the private information about the Biolizard's violent nature leaked to GUN, supposedly by those on the ARK fearing him, which made the government deem Gerald's work a danger to humanity. When GUN invaded the ARK to eliminate everything related to Project Shadow, the Biolizard was found and encapsulated in the deepest part of the ARK. He did not go down without a fight though, and he destroyed almost the entire group of GUN soldiers before being subdued. When Gerald later tried to destroy the earth to avenge Maria's death by having the ARK collide with the planet once the seven Chaos Emeralds were inserted in the Eclipse Cannon, the Biolizard was retrieved by Gerald and programmed to ensure the ARK would stay on its collision course, having anticipated the likelihood that someone might interfere with the Chaos Emeralds.

Sonic Adventure 2
In Sonic Adventure 2, the Biolizard had remained in suspended animation for over fifty years aboard the Space Colony ARK until Dr. Eggman initiated Gerald's program that send the ARK falling toward earth when trying to use the fully-charged Eclipse Cannon. When Sonic the Hedgehog and Knuckles the Echidna came to Cannon's Core to stop the ARK by deactivating the Chaos Emeralds, the Biolizard awakened and appeared in front of them, blocking their path to the Emeralds to keep the ARK on its path. However, Shadow the Hedgehog then arrived to keep him at bay and the two fought. Despite his best attempts, the Biolizard was defeated when Shadow managed to damage his life support system.

After Knuckles stopped the Chaos Emeralds, the Biolizard made a fast recovery and used Chaos Control to teleport outside of the ARK and fused with the space colony itself, becoming the Finalhazard, to it on its collision course. Shortly after, he had to fight the combined power of Super Sonic and Super Shadow, but was defeated and seemingly destroyed as the ARK entered the atmosphere.

Shadow the Hedgehog
The Biolizard made an appearance in Shadow the Hedgehog, but only in one of Shadow's flashbacks, when he remembers his apparent death after defeating it.

Sonic Rivals 2
The Biolizard made an appearance in Sonic Rivals 2 as one of the collectible cards in the game.

Sonic Generations
Modern Sonic fights the Biolizard in the Cannon's Core in the Nintendo 3DS version of Sonic Generations. The boss fight remains somewhat unchanged from his Sonic Adventure 2 appearance except done on a 2D plane. He also seems to have gotten stronger as at times, balls of light can appear in front of Sonic as he runs from the Biolizard's head or tail, which must be jumped or slid under. He also has a new tail slam attack and he chases Sonic as he tries to crush him with his tail.

Personality
Unlike Shadow, the Biolizard was more like a primitive animal, possessing a low intelligence and learning ability. It was as well extremely unruly, reckless and hostile as it caused many troubles, made the researchers onboard the ARK feared for their lives, and it was hard to control. Additionally, it was sensitive to temperature and humidity changes, and it would react violently when possessing the power of the Chaos Emeralds.

Powers and Abilities
As the prototype of the ultimate life form, which was aimed to have immortality, the Biolizard has the abilities attributed to the desired end-product, though the various experiments had severely weakened it, and it required a life support system to stay alive. It was capable of restoration which let it heal itself quickly whenever it took damage, regeneration of its body to the point where it could regenerate any lost limbs, and asexually self-reproduction through creating pinks eggs seemingly out of nowhere.

The surface of the Biolizard's skin was designed to absorb all outside attacks. With its life support system aiding it, the Biolizard's skin could withstand any attack, to the point where attacks would just bounce off it, making it virtually invulnerable. Additionally, the Biolizard was noted to possess a physically strong neck and tail. While it was also not able to walk at one point, it was a very fast crawler, being able to nearly keep up with both Sonic and Shadow's running by crawling.

The Biolizard possessed energy ball projection abilities, allowing it to spit out large and dark balls of energy from its mouth. It also had the ability to manipulate gravity, allowing it to either negate gravity or move and repulse objects in a manner similar to telekinesis. This is foremost demonstrated with its eggs where it would make the eggs it created levitate and then turn them into projectiles by repulsing them at opponents. The Biolizard is also capable of harnessing Chaos Energy from the Chaos Emeralds and can perform Chaos Powers such as Chaos Control (through a special organ) which lets it warp both time and space.

The Biolizard's main weakness is its own flawed design. It relies heavily on the power of its life support system which also serves as the creature's weak point as destroying it leaves it vulnerable. It also appears to have low stamina as it quickly exhausted itself with its attacks.

Finalhazard
By merging with the Space Colony ARK at the tip of the Eclipse Cannon, the Biolizard can transform into the Finalizard. In this form, the Biolizard can harness the energies of both the ARK and the Chaos Emeralds, allowing it fight on par with both Super Sonic and Super Shadow. Additionally, it can fire energy beams and its gravity manipulation is more refined. However because its life support system has been demolished, the harsh conditions of space are creating large boils all over its body, which are its new vulnerable points.

Battle
The Biolizard is the semi-final boss of Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle and is fought with Shadow the Hedgehog directly after completing Cannon's Core in the Last story. The boss battle takes place on a toroid shaped field with the Biolizard in the center. Cutting the field in half is two streams of water, one closer to the artificial shrine of the Master Emerald and the other to the pool where Sonic’s section of Cannon's Core ended. While the former stream is harmless, the latter will cause Shadow to be swept into what functions as a bottomless pit almost immediately, unless the player jumps as soon as Shadow touches the water.

Boss Guide
To defeat the Biolizard, the player must attack the life support system it carries on its back a total of six times, which can be reached with different means through the battle. Hitting the Biolizard's body with attacks such as the Homing Attack will cause Shadow to bounce off it, and sometimes even take damage.

Phase 1
When the Biolizard has taken no hits, it will chase after Shadow on the field by rotating on its axis. It will start by chomping at Shadow which will do damage and send him flying, but if the player moves too far away from its head, it will switch direction and try to whack Shadow with its tail. The player must there constantly keep the right distance from either threats. After about half a turn the Biolizard will tire out and stop to catch its breath. The pipe along its neck will then glow, indicating Shadow can now grind on it. The player must then grind up it to reach the Biolizard's back where the player must attack its life support system. Take too long to grind the pipe however, and the Biolizard will recover and start the phase over.

Phase 2
When the Biolizard has taken one hit, it will chase after Shadow again the same way it did in Phase 1. When it stops moving however, it will start splitting out energy balls that will home in on Shadow, either from a high or low angle. The lows ones can be jumped over while the high ones can be slipped under using Somersault, though the player can also dodge them with very quick movements. Should Shadow get hit by one, the Biolizard will wait shortly before resuming its attack. After firing a total of eight energy balls, the Biolizard will tire out in the same manner as in Phase 1, allowing the player to grind up it and attack its life support system again. This pattern is repeated for the next hit.

Phase 3
When the Biolizard has taken three hits, it will chase after Shadow and then use its energy attack like it did in Phase 2. After finishing its energy attack however, the Biolizard will form several floating pink eggs around it and fire them at Shadow one by one. The player must use the Homing Attack on the eggs to bounce higher into the air, and once above the Biolizard the player can attack its life support system. Take too long however, and the egg will disappear and the Biolizard will repeat the phase. This pattern is repeated for the next hit as well.

Phase 4
When the Biolizard has taken five hits, it will rear up and form several eggs before starting to levitate both them and Shadow in a disc surface in the same plane of the life support system. During this phase, Shadow cannot attack, but the player can still move him around. The player must then move Shadow through the right-swirling eggs to the life support system while being continuously bombarded with flying eggs. Once Shadow touches the life support system, the Biolizard will be hit and slump down in defeat.

Sonic X
The Biolizard's role in the anime Sonic X parallels the one it plays in Sonic Adventure 2. It appears in episode 38. In this media, the Biolizard is 85 meters (280 feet) long, 30 meters (100 feet) wide, 19.5 meters (64 feet) at the tallest point on its back, and weighs 87.5 tons.

In the series, the creature is not specifically named as a prototype of Project Shadow. In the original Japanese version, Knuckles identified the Biolizard, but in the English dub, it was unnamed, and Knuckles instead simply stated that he wouldn't let the monster get the Master Emerald. When Professor Gerald's diary reveals what really happened on the ARK 50 years ago, a small green lizard was shown that could possibly have been what the Biolizard looked like before being modified to its current state.

Archie Comics
The Biolizard also appeared in the Archie Comics' continuity following the Sonic Adventure 2 comic adaption. However it was not until Sonic Universe #2, which retold the story, that the Biolizard made a physical appearance.

The Biolizard had been guarding the shrine room aboard the Space Colony ARK since 3186 for fifty years until 3236, when Dr. Eggman released Shadow the Hedgehog from stasis and used the ARK in his attempts at world domination. After Shadow betrayed him and fought alongside Sonic the Hedgehog, the Biolizard used Chaos Control and pulled the ARK towards Mobius by fusing itself with the Eclipse Cannon, only to be stopped by the combined efforts of Super Sonic and Super Shadow.

Theme songs

 * "Supporting Me" - Everett Bradley

Trivia

 * It is often assumed that the Biolizard is female (due to the eggs), but this is unlikely because, additionally, the Omochao that appears refers to the Biolizard as a "he". The misconception is due to the fact that it appears to reproduce asexually. However asexual reproduction is largely done by species without clear gender differences and in the case of the Biolizard it is most likely that it is hermaphroditic.
 * The Biolizard was likely just an example of Gerald's work before Black Doom assisted him, and thus is of little interest to the Black Arms and was not stable because he did not have Black Doom's DNA.
 * It should be noted that after Black Doom transforms into Devil Doom, he has an identical cry to that of Biolizard. Several other Black Arms have similar cries. Also, the Black Annelids, Black Worms, and Death Leeches, have a skin texture very similar to the Biolizard's. This presents the possibility of the Biolizard actually being a Black Arms experiment, but it was simply unsuccessful. As it turns out, Devil Doom and Biolizard's cry is just a reused version of Perfect Chaos' cry.
 * When Biolizard summons the pink spheres and later levitates Shadow, the roar used is the same roar used for Perfect Chaos in Sonic Adventure, but with a different pitch. In the 3DS version of Sonic Generations, Biolizard 's roar is now reused from Dark Gaia Phoenix's from Sonic Unleashed.
 * The Dreamcast version of Sonic Adventure 2 had glitches in the game that led to unavoidable deaths when fighting the Biolizard (such as landing in the water as opposed to on the platform).
 * When playing the Dragon Slayer mission in Sonic and the Black Knight, Sonic sometimes mentions the Biolizard. The Earth Dragon, in fact, may be the Arthurian version of the Biolizard due to being so similar in body type, having the same neck, and even a similar roar.
 * When the Biolizard becomes FinalHazard, it loses some limbs like a missing arm, which might have been caused from its fight with Shadow or when attaching itself to the Eclipse Cannon.
 * In Sonic X and Archie comics, the Biolizard appears to have back legs, while in Sonic Adventure 2, it has two flipper like appendages located in front of its tail.
 * After defeating the Biolizard in Sonic Generations (3DS), the following cutscene shows Sonic saying he fought it before. Technically, he did not fight the Biolizard in its normal form (it was fought by Shadow) but he did fight it when it transformed into the Finalhazard.