Infinite

Infinite (インフィニット), formerly known as the ultimate mercenary, is an antagonist that appears in Sonic Forces. He is an anthropomorphic jackal, and the former leader of the Jackal Squad mercenary group. During a raid, Infinite was hired by Dr. Eggman to protect his facility, only for him and his squad to fall at the hands of Shadow the Hedgehog. Ashamed of this loss, Infinite gained the power of the Phantom Ruby to become stronger and abandon his weak, past self.

Concept and creation
During the original drafts, Infinite was originally called "Zero". His final name ("Infinite") was intended to reference the nature of his ability.

According to Shun Nakamura, Infinite was created with an impressive and strong presence in mind since he would be accompanied by old bosses in Sonic Forces. This is the reason why he was made stronger and faster than Sonic the Hedgehog. His nature likewise inspired the staff to elaborate on his origin story. Sonic Team was also peculiar about giving him a cool, but evil design, with his mask being designed especially to emphasize his evil nature.

Appearance
Infinite is an anthropomorphic jackal with black fur. He has white long and stiff dreadlocks, a white collar of some kind, and white stripes on his back. He also has a bushy tail with a white tip, and wears black gloves with silver streaks on the back, covering his sharp fingers. He also has pointed, metal black hi-tops, with his personal infinity symbol engraved on red soles. His right eye is colored blue, though he has a scar across it, and his left eye is yellow. He also has a medium-long white muzzle with cheek tuffs and a black nose.

After abandoning his old identity, Infinite began wearing a silver-colored mask with large ears with white and black circular patterns on the inside, with the right ear being black with white circular patterns and the left being white with black circular patterns. While his left eye is visible through a red visor, his right eye is covered by a black lightning bolt-shaped piece, similar to an eyepatch, that is connected to his mask's right ear.

Infinite possesses the finalized Phantom Ruby prototype that is fused to his chest. When Infinite channels the power of the gemstone, he can surround himself in a red aura, with red, glitch-like pixel particles scattered throughout his body.

Past
Infinite was once the leader of the Jackal Squad, whom decided to invade Eggman's Facility one day to steal his devices for a bounty. Dr. Eggman, who recently discovered the Phantom Ruby, used the newly-found gemstone to conjure an army of Egg Pawns, giving the Jackal Squad some opposition. Infinite commanded his forces to handle the robots as he targeted Eggman straight ahead. Infinite's sword, however, struck against the Phantom Ruby, giving a vision of what Infinite desired the most: a desolate, destroyed world. Eggman, who also saw Infinite's vision, realized that he and the jackal leader that together, they can accomplish their goals. Offering Infinite a chance at joining his side as the Jackal Squad was cornered, Infinite accepted the proposal.

Later on, Infinite and his squad eventually fell victim to Shadow the Hedgehog, who infiltrated Eggman's Facility. After being berated by Eggman for his incompetence at protecting the facility, Infinite ambushed Shadow, only to be completely subdued by the brooding hedgehog. Calling the jackal leader worthless, Infinite broke into a tantrum, realizing just how weak and humiliating he truly was.

Infinite would then seek out the alligence of the Eggman Empire, fusing with the finalized Phantom Ruby prototype in an attempt to become stronger and seek out vengeance against Shadow. With his newfound power, Infinite abandoned the former, weak version of himself, gaining a mask to hide his scars, symbolizing his rebirth.

Shortly after obtaining his powers, Infinite was dispatched by Dr. Eggman to deal with E-123 Omega, who had proceeded to slaughter a whole lot of Eggman's henchmen on his way through Eggman's base. Confronting Omega, Infinite proceeded to effortlessly defeat the robot with his abilities.

Sonic Forces
In Sonic Forces, Infinite became the right-hand man of Dr. Eggman. When Eggman attacked a large urban center with his robots, Infinite engaged Sonic the Hedgehog when the latter made short work of Eggman's forces. Overwhelming Sonic with his power, Infinite defeated and captured Sonic.

After's Sonic's defeat, Infinite provided Eggman with a new power that allowed the doctor to conquer 99% of the planet, resulting in the Eggman Empire controlling that much of the world. Instated as the leader of Eggman's entire army, Infinite worked alongside Eggman's henchmen (Metal Sonic, Zavok and Chaos) and it is his existence that binds the aforementioned individuals in Eggman's army. However, Infinite eventually found opposition in the form of the Resistance.

Personality
Infinite is an enigmatic and mysterious, yet lethal and dark figure. He is cold and stern, though deeply sadistic and cruel. Prior to becoming Infinite, however, he had at least some degree of care for his men in Jackal Squad, as he angrily confronted Shadow over the destruction of the Jackal Squad before fighting him. He is also extremely sadistic, taking great pleasure in the pain and torment of others. He even willingly lets the Avatar run unharmed, just so he could relish in their terrified screams. Extremely collected and confident with a cynical, nonchalant demeanor, he presents himself as perceptive and aloof, toying with and barely sparing his enemies a thought even in direct combat. He also appears rather arrogant and sure about his strength, as he often exhibits a sense of superiority when talking to others and shows little respect for figures like Sonic. He is, however, able to acknowledge attributes to his opponents he deemed commendable, as he acknowledged before attacking Omega that the latter was "spirited." His violent disposition was present even before his transformation into Infinite, as evidenced by his touching the Phantom Ruby causing it to show a world that was desolate.

His most notable character trait, however, was his inferiority complex, especially regarding any perceived weakness he might have. This was most especially apparent when he fought Shadow and was easily beaten by him. After Shadow bluntly told him he was worthless and told him to not show "[Infinite's] pathetic face" to him ever again, Infinite proceeded to rage on how he was not weak before ultimately subjecting himself to being fused with the Phantom Ruby prototype, and completely discarding any trace of his old identity, to the point where he refused to show his own face. Other indications of this trait were shown where he expressed disgust at Eggman calling a retreat, viewing it as a tacit admission to weakness. Even after his defeat, Infinite tries to insist that he can fight on, even as he is pulled from the battlefield. This inferiority complex is implied to have developed into a mad obsession with strength. When Shadow runs through a Phantom Ruby-made Green Hill, Infinite's thoughts are echoed through a false Omega, constantly repeating that he was not weak, almost like a paranoid reassurance, showing Infinite as a truly insecure individual.

Powers and abilities
Described as powerful, Infinite is said to possess a strange ability. His power surpasses even that of Sonic's, whom he was able to defeat in combat with relative ease. He was also able to effortlessly defeat E-123 Omega in a flash. Likewise, Infinite was also capable of defeating Silver the Hedgehog with ease.

Due to being fused with the finalized Phantom Ruby prototype, Infinite has the power to manipulate virtual reality. This allows Infinite to cast intricate illusions that seem so real that any injury the victim incurrs happens to them in reality. In battle, Infinite's main ability is to create numerous red cubes of energy. He can move these cubes around telekinetically, allowing him to arrange them into a variety of shapes and forms, and use them to manifest objects, like turrets. Infinite can also use the Ruby's power to create virtual reality constructs of other characters. These constructs are described by Shadow as having mass and form, but no heart or soul. These constructs also carry the memories, powers, and personalities of the originals. Some of Infinite's other supernatural skills include the ability to fire laser beams from his hands, and levitation.

After gaining the Phantom Ruby's power, Infinite obtained unprecedented speed and acceleration that surpasses even that of Sonic himself, able to easily dodge one of Sonic's attacks even when he was boosting at point-blank range and move several meters almost instantaneously. He possesses far greater strength than Sonic as well, enough to knock away someone of Sonic's size with enough force to crack a concrete arch upon impact. Prior to being fused with the Phantom Ruby, he was skilled at swordplay, and was shown to be fairly fast and agile in his movements, although his speed is obviously outclassed by Shadow's Chaos Control abilities.

Shadow the Hedgehog
Arguably the person who had the most impact on Infinite was Shadow the Hedgehog. After his squad was destroyed by the brooding hedgehog during an attack on Eggman's base, Infinite, furious, attempted to attack him, only to be effortlessly defeated. Before he left, Shadow made clear his disgust, and demanded never to see his weak face again. Infuriated that he'd been humiliated, the mercenary took Shadow's words to heart, and went on to discard all remnants of his old life, becoming the entity known as Infinite.

Much later, Infinite once again encountered Shadow, having defeated Omega, and was ecstatic, though Shadow didn't remember him. Infinite would cast him into a false Green Hill, where Shadow would be contacted by an Omega that seemed normal, but devolved into incessantly repeating that he was not weak.

Infinite later uses a false Shadow to help install fear into the Resistance during Eggman's reign.

Sonic the Hedgehog
His first meeting with Sonic the Hedgehog had him beating the blue hedgehog effortlessly. This ultimately had Infinite's ego receiving a massive boost. When meeting Sonic for the first time since he defeated him at Mystic Jungle, Infinite proceeded to sense a smell from Sonic and assumed the smell was fear of encountering him due to last time, though Sonic corrected him and explained the smell was actually sweat due to Sonic having ran all the way there, and also smugly explained that Infinite had not left an impression on him at all. Because of his beating Sonic twice, he proceeded to spare him, solely because he deemed him not worth killing. This would ultimately prove to be his downfall, as not only did Sonic proceed to inspire the Avatar to fight off against him, but both Sonic and the Avatar proceeded to bring him down for the count even with a fully charged Phantom Ruby.

Avatar
Infinite had a personal connection with Avatar, as he had been responsible for slaughtering their friends during one of his raids, with Infinite ultimately sparing them simply to satiate his more sadistic nature of watching them flee in terror. They later re-encountered each other at Metropolis, with Infinite trying to intimidate Avatar, although they, due to Sonic's word of encouragement, ultimately chose to fight Infinite instead of giving in to fear. Infinite then tried to finish them off when remembering who he was, although due to Avatar's possession of a Phantom Ruby prototype, he managed to evade the attack, leaving Infinite shocked before ultimately dismissing the matter and leaving him be. Ultimately, the Avatar alongside Sonic ended up bringing him down for the count.

Allies

 * Jackal Squad
 * Dr. Eggman
 * Orbot
 * Cubot
 * Metal Sonic
 * Chaos
 * Zavok

Enemies

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

Trivia

 * Infinite is the second Sonic character to be depicted with heterochromia, with the first being the Commander.

Theme songs

 * "Infinite"