Silver the Hedgehog

Not to be confused with Silver Sonic, a robot made by Robotnik

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 with powerful psychic abilities who hails from the future. Silver was created in order to utilize the new physics engine added to Sonic Next Gen.

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)
In a distant, post-apocalyptic future, where psychic abilities are the norm, Silver and his best friend and partner, the pyrokinetic Blaze, work together in constant attempts to defeat the fire demon Iblis; however, all of their attempts so far have been in vain, as Iblis is immortal and can ceaselessly resurrect himself. Frustrated with this, Silver desperately wonders how they can permanently destroy him, and are then approached by Mephiles, who tells them of the Iblis Trigger, the one responsible for the resurrection of Iblis, and reveals that they must kill him to prevent Iblis's return. He states that the Iblis Trigger is Sonic, and sends himself, Blaze, and Silver back in time to when Sonic was still alive, though Silver and Blaze are separated in the process. Silver finds Sonic after his ultimately failed attempt to save Princess Elise from Dr. Eggman during the Festival of the Sun, but is mistaken for Sonic himself by Amy and distracted before he can strike, and Amy decides to help him find the person he is looking for, though he is largely unwilling to accept her help. Eventually, he warms up to her and decides to help her in exchange for her help, though they don't know that they are both looking for the same person.

Soon afterwards, Silver finds Sonic and attacks him. Sonic initially has the upper hand, but Silver psychokinetically throws Sonic into a building, incapacitating him, and wonders if Mephiles was joking, wondering how someone as weak as Sonic apparently is could possibly cause the apocalypse that resulted in the destruction of his world. Sonic attempts to run after when Eggman captures Elise again, but Silver knocks him down and is about to deliver the coup de grace when Amy intervenes, allowing Sonic to escape. Silver tells Amy about the world's devastation due to Sonic's actions, but Amy refuses to believe that Sonic would ever do such a thing, says that she would choose Sonic over the world any day even if it was true, and immediately leaves Silver. Disheartened, Silver leaves to ponder over whether or not killing Sonic to save the future is truly the right thing to do.

Blaze finds Silver at the docks and, after some conversation, she convinces him that they need to save the future by any means necessary. After failing to track Sonic down at Eggman's snowy mountain base (though they acquire Elise's blue Chaos Emerald there), they encounter Mephiles, who tells them that Sonic is at the train station. After tracking him down, Silver paralyzes Sonic with his psychokinesis, allowing Eggman to capture Elise once again in the confusion, and is about to kill him when Shadow, whom Silver at first mistakes for Mephiles, intervenes, once again allowing Sonic to escape. The two fight to a standstill, and Shadow uses Chaos Control to evade Silver's intended punch and kicks Silver in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground. Refusing to be defeated and desperate to save his world, Silver pulls out his Chaos Emerald and, much to Shadow's surprise, induces Chaos Control at the same time as Shadow, opening up a time portal to the Soleanna of ten years ago. Shadow tells Silver of Mephiles's true intentions, and they both decide to go back to the day that the Solaris Project went haywire and see what really happened.

Once they arrive, Shadow and Silver witness the project's failure first hand, with a machine exploding and the Duke of Soleanna getting badly injured while protecting Elise, then only seven years old, from the blast. The hedgehog duo splits up, Shadow pursuing Mephiles, and Silver pursuing Iblis, while the Duke gives Shadow the Scepter of Darkness to imprison Mephiles. Silver tracks down Iblis and paralyzes him with his psychokinesis, and the dying Duke (despite Silver's insistence that he run) seizes this opportunity to use a Chaos Emerald to seal Iblis within the unconscious body of his daughter, entrusting Silver to take her to a safe place and telling Elise not to cry, as doing so would release Iblis, in his dying words. Silver carries Elise out of the lab, meets up with Shadow, who has successfully captured Mephiles, and sets Elise down next to a nearby tree. Shadow leaves the Scepter of Darkness with Elise, knowing what becomes of it in the future, and they both open up another time portal to the present, which Shadow immediately jumps through. Silver, however, is just about to follow when he hears Elise call for her father in her sleep. Feeling sorry for her, Silver gives Elise his blue Chaos Emerald as a good luck charm, and then follows Shadow through the portal.

Upon their return, Silver reveals to Blaze that Mephiles had lied about Sonic being the Iblis Trigger and, realizing that Eggman may intend to release Iblis, they go to help Sonic save Elise from Eggman, arriving just in time to save Sonic from a small army of Eggman's robots; unsurprisingly, Sonic is somewhat wary of Silver at first, but graciously accepts his help nonetheless. However, they do not make it before the Egg Carrier crashes into a mountain and explodes, killing both Elise and Eggman. After a moment of grieving, Sonic and Silver use Chaos Control to allow Sonic to travel back in time to before the Egg Carrier exploded in order to save her, and Sonic gives Silver his Chaos Emerald in order for Silver and Blaze to return to their own time, which they do. Silver and Blaze defeat Iblis once more, and he attempts to use himself as Iblis's vessel; while he is not accepted, Blaze is, and she seals Iblis within herself and uses Chaos Control to teleport herself into another dimension to ensure that Iblis does not return, much to Silver's dismay and sadness.

Later on, after Mephiles kills Sonic and merges with Iblis, Silver is among the characters who are transported to Solaris's dimension, and they all work together to gather the Chaos Emeralds in order to resurrect Sonic and defeat Solaris. In the end, Sonic, Shadow, and Silver successfully destroy Solaris, and Sonic and Elise travel back in time to when Solaris was just a flame and extinguish him, erasing the game's events from history. What happened to Silver's world after this is unknown.

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, and it seems that Sonic has truly forgotten the events of the previous game (though it is implied at the end that he and Elise retain their memories of the events to some extent), as he does not seem to recognize Silver.

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

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Silver was originally intended to be playable, but was for some reason removed. He is only playable by hacking the game.

Sonic Rivals 2
Silver reappears in the sequel to Sonic Rivals. He comes from the future once again to save both the past and his own time, by hiding Chao so the Ifrit cannot reach full power. 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/hovering 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 and insecure when alone several times. Before sacrificing herself she comments, "You're so naive. But...I've always liked that about you." Silver is also kind hearted and is always ready to protect those in need and lend a helping hand.

Abilities
Silver, in his first appearance, possessed no super-speed like Sonic and Shadow. Starting with the retcon in Sonic Rivals, he is able to run at an equal speed to them and can access Spin Dash and Homing Attack. It is believed that in his original timeline, with lava everywhere, Silver could not run anywhere, so he used his psychic powers and thus never gained any super-speed.

Silver's main power is his Psychokinesis, being able to lift or throw people and objects tremendous distances with great force. He can also manipulate himself, levitating in the air and even zooming at high speeds that rival Sonic and Shadow. He can also project energy blasts that can either stun or deal damage to others, teleport short distances, and even form a bubble of pure psychokinetic energies that paralyze his targets. In Sonic Rivals, he is also capable of using his ESP to confuse his enemies.

Like Sonic and Shadow, Silver has the ability to use Chaos Control, and is able to transform into a Super Form using all seven Chaos Emeralds.

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. 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. After the retcon, it is unknown if they still know each other.


 * Amy Rose- In Sonic the Hedgehog, Amy 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. Strangely, when they meet again after Sonic dies and Mephiles and Iblis fuse, she bears no particular malice towards him for his past actions. Because of the events at the end of Sonic the Hedgehog, Silver and Amy never met.


 * 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 befriends him after discovering that Mephiles had lied to him. Once Sonic dies, Silver realizes they can bring him back using the Chaos Emeralds. Since Elise blows out the Flames of Disaster at the end of the game, Sonic and Silver never met. In Sonic Rivals, he sees 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. In the end, the two help each other out during the last stage of the game. When they meet again Sonic Rivals 2, Silver is more competitive towards Sonic and his partner, Miles "Tails" Prower.


 * Mephiles the Dark - In Sonic 2006, Mephiles uses Silver's frustration at the constant resurrection of Iblis to actually release him in the past. He informs Blaze and Silver that in the past, Sonic was "Iblis Trigger", and uses his powers to send them back in time in order to assassinate him.  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 his intentions.


 * Shadow the Hedgehog- The two first meet in Sonic 2006, when he mistakes him for Mephiles. The two venture back in time together using a dimensional rift, and learn more about Iblis and the Solaris Project. Since the events of that game were erased, they don't canonically meet until Sonic Rivals. At first, Shadow does not trust Silver's spectulations about Dr. Eggman's true identity. After realizing that he was right, the two form a bond and 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 to find out information about the recent Chao disappearances. He begins to investigate Silver, a suspect, which annoys him. The two eventually become partners in order to stop Eggman Nega and his plans. Once they completed their mission, the two bid each other farewell, in hopes of meeting each other again.


 * Knuckles the Echidna- Silver and Knuckles have somewhat of a rivalry with each other. Normally, they don't pay much attention to each other, though they do have heated battles with one another occasionally. Unlike most Sonic characters, Silver is one of the few to challenge him to a fight, instead of the other way around.

Trivia

 * Some fans think that Silver is based on (Future) Trunks of Dragon Ball Z, because both come from the future to fix something in the past. His entry in the game script reveals that even his creators compare the two.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * Due to his "unique" hairstyle, Silver is taller than most other characters.
 * Silver's odd hairstyle has prompted many reactions on fansites, including the labling of Silver as a 'cockahog', or a cockateil and hedgehog cross, or gags involving other various sight puns.
 * In both Sonic Next Gen and Sonic Rivals, Cream the Rabbit and Cheese were going to play a part in his story, but later scrapped.
 * Silver's trophy in Smash Bros. looks very similar to Super Sonic's.
 * Silver bears an odd resemblance to Nazo.

Theme Song

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